The Circling Sky

From a Wainwright Prize shortlisted author comes an exquisite blend of memoir and nature observation, set in the New Forest of Hampshire ' An easy storyteller, with a companionable style' Herald 'An easy storyteller, with a companionable style. His year in the forest is painterly in its attention to colours...his knowledge of birds is formidable' Herald Magazine 'Every foray Ansell makes into the New Forest yields captivating insights' Saga Magazine In the form of several journeys, taken over a year, Neil Ansell returns for solitary walks to the New Forest in Hampshire. With beautiful observations of birds, trees, butterflies, insects and landscape, this is also a reflective memoir on childhood, on the history of one of the most ancient and important natural habitats in the United Kingdom, and on the Gypsies who lived there for centuries. It is also part polemic on our collective and individual responsibility for the land and world in which we live, and how we care for it.'A wonderful guide...this is a delight of nature writing' Choice MagazinePrice/ISBN etcEbook and audio logos From a 2018 Wainwright Prize shortlisted author, THE CIRCLING SKY is part childhood memoir, blended with exquisite nature observation, and the story of one man's journey over a year to one of the UK's key natural habitats, the New Forest of Hampshire In the form of several journeys, beginning in January 2019, Neil Ansell returns for solitary walks to the New Forest in Hampshire, close to where he was born. With beautiful sightings and observations of birds, trees, butterflies, insects and landscape, this is also a reflective memoir on childhood, on the history of one of the most ancient and important natural habitats in the United Kingdom, and on the Gypsies who lived there for centuries - and were subsequently expelled to neighbouring cities. It is also part polemic on our collective and individual responsibility for the land and world in which we live, and how we care for it. 'Neil Ansell is a wonderful guide... this is a delight of nature writing' Choice Magazine

From a 2018 Wainwright Prize shortlisted author, THE CIRCLING SKY is part childhood memoir, blended with exquisite nature observation, and the story of one man's journey over a year to one of the UK's key natural habitats, the New Forest of Hampshire 'I am standing on a little wooden footbridge looking down at the sluggish waters of the Beaulieu River. Further downstream towards the sea, the river is tidal and looks like a proper river; here in its upper reaches it is no more than a stream, winding lazily through the woods, narrow enough that in places a fallen tree is enough to make a natural crossing. Overhanging the banks beside the bridge are blackthorns in peak bloom, so dense with pure white blossom that they look overwhelmed by a sudden snowfall' From a 2018 Wainwright Prize shortlisted author, THE CIRCLING SKY is part childhood memoir, blended with exquisite nature observation, and the story of one man's journey over a year to one of the UK's key natural habitats, the New Forest of HampshireIn the form of several journeys, beginning in January 2019, Neil Ansell returns for solitary walks to the New Forest in Hampshire, close to where he was born. With beautiful sightings and observations of birds, trees, butterflies, insects and landscape, this is also a reflective memoir on childhood, on the history of one of the most ancient and important natural habitats in the United Kingdom, and on the Gypsies who lived there for centuries - and were subsequently expelled to neighbouring cities. It is also part polemic on our collective and individual responsibility for the land and world in which we live, and how we care for it.As Neil Ansell concludes so eloquently, 'Evolution has no choice in what it does, but we do, as a species, if not always as individuals'.