John Craven's Countryfile Handbook
Part of our Sunday evening ritual is Countryfile, a last glance of the great outdoors and some ideas for new adventures before returning to the working week on a Monday. John Craven is part of that routine, a bit of a Countryfile legend having joined the programme in 1989 and still regularly featuring in a "John Craven investigates" feature.
Over more than two decades on the programme he covered the country and all aspects of it. He distilled all of that knowledge and wisdom into "The Countryfile Handbook", described as an invaluable resource for those who live in the countryside or want to know more about it.
The handbook is neatly broken up into different types of land, with sections on villages, market towns, fields and farming, upland, lowland, woodland, waterways and the coastline — it covers everything.
As well as the types of land, it covers useful countryside must-knows including:
- How to tell the difference between the swallow, martin and swift
- How to learn the various sheepdog calls
- The do's and don'ts of foraging
- How lichen can help tell us how clean the air is
And essays on countryside priorities:
- Why hedgerows are important
- Saving British meadows
- Reintroducing beavers
Alongside the more serious parts of the countryside, the handbook gives you a host of fun and entertaining facts you can pull out at the perfect moment on a camping trip to impress your friends with — facts and stats such as: an acre is the space needed to park 200 cars; 10 things to do with a stinging nettle; and what to do if you see a sheep on its back.
So don't make Countryfile just a Sunday treat — enjoy the handbook throughout the week too.