DownloadThe Portobello Bookshop Gift Guide 2024

The Lost Rainforests of Britain

Exploring the history and revival of temperate ecosystems

Guy Shrubsole author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:HarperCollins Publishers

Published:27th Oct '22

Currently unavailable, our supplier has not provided us a restock date

This hardback is available in another edition too:

The Lost Rainforests of Britain cover

This book reveals the beauty and importance of Britain's temperate rainforests, exploring their history and the quest for their revival.

In The Lost Rainforests of Britain, author Guy Shrubsole embarks on a captivating journey through the remnants of Britain's temperate rainforests. Once covering a significant portion of the land, these lush ecosystems inspired legends and literature, from Celtic druids to Romantic poets. Today, only fragments of these vibrant habitats remain, yet they are home to an astonishing array of life forms that continue to thrive in their secluded environments.

Shrubsole's investigation takes readers from the Western Highlands to the Lake District, and further down to the rainforests of Wales, Devon, and Cornwall. This exploration is not merely an ecological survey; it is a heartfelt quest to rediscover and document the lost worlds of Britain's rainforests. Through vivid descriptions and personal anecdotes, he paints a picture of the beauty and complexity of these ecosystems, urging readers to appreciate their significance and the need for conservation.

Ultimately, The Lost Rainforests of Britain is not just a tale of loss but also one of hope and restoration. Shrubsole's passion for these forgotten landscapes shines through, encouraging a collective effort to revive and protect the rainforests that remain. This book serves as both a call to action and a celebration of the natural wonders that have shaped Britain's cultural heritage.

RemarkableShrubsole has completely changed the way many people look at the temperate woodlands that remain in parts of western Britain’ Financial Times

If anyone was born to save Britain’s rainforests, it was Guy ShrubsoleSunday Times, The Sunday Times Science Book of the Year

Fascinating, lyricalA celebration of these dazzling worlds and a plea to act before they are extinguished’ The Times

‘[The Lost Rainforests of Britain] could be a lament but instead it is suffused with the irrepressible positivity and cheerful enthusiasm of a born campaignerPatrick Barkham, Guardian

Enchanting and insightfulWonderfully evocativeGeographical

ExcellentInspiringUnherd

A treasure chest full of woodland jewels, rare, precious and beautiful

Chris Packham

A magnificent and crucial book that opens our eyes to untold wonders

George Monbiot

‘A beautiful, lyrical and urgent book … I cannot recommend it enough

Nick Hayes, author of the Sunday Times-bestselling The Book of Trespass

Utterly enchanting, transporting and spellbindingA rallying cry for restoring the rainforests of Britain urgently, and an inspiring and informative must-read for anyone interested in rewilding and ecological restoration’

Lucy Jones, author of Losing Eden

Passionate, powerful, political and practicable, Guy Shrubsole gives us a blueprint for how to bring our missing rainforests back to life in all their riotous, tangled glory. Impeccably researched, convincingly argued and with generous measures of joyful discovery, this really is a spectacular book

Lee Schofield, author of Wild Fell

ISBN: 9780008527952

Dimensions: 240mm x 159mm x 31mm

Weight: 610g

336 pages