The Making of the British Landscape. An Alternative History from the Ice Age to the Present

The history of 12,000 years of the British landscape, from the Ice Age to the twenty-first century, by prize-winning author Nicholas Crane, co-presenter of Coast. The landscape of Britain is set to change more rapidly than ever before in the next one hundred years. In his brilliant new book, BBC Two Coast’s Nicholas Crane describes the impact on our countryside of successive waves of civilisation, from Mesolithic adventurers and the Romans to modern-day city dwellers.

Significant events in human history – the Black Death, land enclosure, the Industrial Revolution and urbanisation among them – have all profoundly shaped Britain’s landscape. But in turn geology has determined the architecture of its cities, and no other factor more than climate has given so much character to the varied scenery of Britain. Part journey and part history, The Making of the British Landscape describes the evolution of Britain’s countryside and cities, revealing how its landscapes became so wonderfully diverse.