The Pull of the River: A Journey Into the Wild and Watery Heart of Britain

"Engaging and beautifully written ... Gaw's nature writing scintillates" - The Countryman; "It's just glorious ... a marvellous book ... it really put me in a good mood" - Georgey Spanswick, BBC Radio; "Beautifully written and highly engaging ... it cries out with a message from its pages - a message that life is an adventure and, if you have the physical capacity to do so, it's best spent out of that armchair - outdoors, active and immersed in nature" - East Anglian Daily Times; "Just started this and already have a hankering for a canoe and a long weekend on the river..." - EspressoCoco book blog; "Seen from the water, Britain's familiar landscapes are made mesmerisingly new. The Pull of the River is a hugely satisfying work of exploration and reclamation, and one that will have you itching to cast off on your own riparian adventure" - Melissa Harrison, author of Rain: Four Walks in English Weather; "Following in the long and distinguished tradition of The Wind in the Willows and Three Men in a Boat, Matt Gaw spends his time `messing about in boats'. In doing so, he entertains not only himself but us, in this delightful account of exploring the wonder of our waterways" -- Stephen Moss, author and naturalist; "A Lark for the soul" - Paul Evans, author of Field Notes from the Edge; "Gaw is an excellent writer ... [his] spirited book will encourage others to seek out such waterways, and to appreciate the importance of conserving them" - Nancy Campbell, Times Literary Supplement; "A joyful and beautifully written account ... if it doesn't make you want to pick up a paddle and head to your nearest river, you're reading it wrong" - Waterways World magazine; "A really enjoyable book, written with humour, a wry wit and a keen eye ... his research of the rivers uncovers those nuggets of information of the historical and cultural terrain that overlays the rivers and that makes this a much richer read as they paddle along. I also found it refreshing as Gaw brings no personal baggage to his watery voyages; it is just him and his friend taking the time to immerse themselves in the natural world, sleeping out under the stars and rediscovering a place where time moves at a very different rate to modern life; a world that few people see now days" - Half Man, Half Book ; "Jolly yet reflective ... I'm rooting for this to make next year's Wainwright Prize Longlist" - BookishBeck; "Rather wonderful ... An engaging travelogue of taking the slow route across England's inland waterways in a Canadian canoe belonging to an old friend" - Gather Outdoors blog for Adventurous Ink