"This stunning photographic showcase of London’s wildlife wonders is a great gift for nature-lovers that will inspire conservation-conscious urban exploration."
Taking us through the seasons, and covering eighty species, Sarah Cheesbrough’s Wild Neighbours is a lovingly-curated collection of photographs that lays bare London’s often overlooked wildlife wonders. As such, it will surely inspire city-dwellers to explore urban environments with fresh eyes. What’s more, alongside its inspirational exhibition of natural beauty, the book is driven by an ethos of conservation, and a belief that even in the most urban areas we can “be good neighbours” to wildlife. Having spent hundreds of hours in the field, and walked as many miles, Cheesbrough’s photographs attest the sense of well-being that can come from observing wildlife. In her words, “I’m regularly awestruck at the generosity of the natural world to offer up gifts of connection, sweetness, beauty, hope, non-judgement and peace.
Here we encounter the majestic elegance of red deer as they bathe, graze and rest. Foraging hedgehogs hidden in spiky grass. Squirrels scampering and digging. Fleet-footed foxes, and dozens of insects, among them bees, butterflies, ladybirds and caterpillars. The avian images are stunning too, from the cheering tropical vibrance of ring-necked parakeets, and red-breasted robins dazzling against snowy backdrops, to piercing-eyed peregrine falcons, mallards, moorhens and everyday pigeons. The final photo is a dream of a shot that perfectly encapsulates the spirit of the book, and the wondrous unpredictability of nature as we see a huge, stately deer springing from river to waterside behind an unsuspecting pair of city joggers.
What a glorious pictorial pick-me-up this is - a reminder that wild magic is all around, if only we open our eyes to it.
| Primary Genre | Non-Fiction Books of the Month |
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Take four seasons, one photographer, eighty species, hundreds of miles on foot in a city of ten million people and through intimate and captivating portraits meet London's wild neighbours. London is not just a city of ten million people, it is also home to an extraordinary diversity of beautiful wildlife. With world population exploding and more and more countryside being lost to urban sprawl or commercial agriculture, the sharing of urban space with nature is more important than ever. To achieve this, we have to preserve and increase the green and blue spaces in our cities and see and love the wildlife that we already have. Since London is my city, I set out to observe and create photographic portraits of all the creatures I could find. Whilst this has taken many hundreds of hours, it has been the happiest time imaginable as I immersed myself in the sweetness and delight of my wild neighbours. London is not just a city of ten million people, it is also home to an extraordinary diversity of beautiful wildlife. With world population exploding and more and more countryside being lost to urban sprawl or commercial agriculture, the sharing of urban space with nature is more important than ever. To achieve this, we have to preserve and increase the green and blue spaces in our cities and see and love the wildlife that we already have. Since London is my city, I set out to observe and create photographic portraits of all the creatures I could find. Whilst this has taken many hundreds of hours, it has been the happiest time imaginable as I immersed myself in the sweetness and delight of my wild neighbours.
Wild Neighbours features in the following genres: Non-Fiction Books of the Month, Gift Books, Star Books, Recommendations, Stationery and miscellaneous items, Lifestyle, Hobbies and Leisure, Nature and the natural world: general interest
Wild Neighbours is available in Hardback
Wild Neighbours was written by Sarah Cheesbrough and published by Unicorn Publishing Group
Wild Neighbours has 192 pages
£22.50
