On Gallows Down

‘I couldn’t put it down! A must read!’—Dara McAnulty, author of Diary of a Young Naturalist 

'From treetop protests at the Newbury Bypass to the grand Highclere Estate, On Gallows Down is that rare thing: nature writing as political as it is personal.'—Melissa Harrison, author of The Stubborn Light of Things: A Nature Diary

'A powerful personal and political journey through place that charts the profound influence we have on nature, and that nature has on us.'—Rob Cowen, author of Common Ground and The Heeding

'An evocative and inspiring memoir which touches on environmental protest, family, motherhood and most importantly, nature. Her passion for the natural world and especially birds, shines through in this wonderful book.'—Claire Fuller, author of Unsettled Ground

'Nicola Chester deserves many readers. On Gallows Down is an impassioned study of a contested landscape, which interrogates our attitudes towards land stewardship, ownership and living in the right relationship with both human and other-than-human neighbours. Charged with love and fire, On Gallows Down is a beautiful exploration of a much-mapped, multi-faceted landscape.'—Katharine Norbury, author of The Fish Ladder

'Chester’s writing has a lovely elasticity, dancing between wonder, introspection and anger as she moves from the particular to the universal…She belongs to the disappearing English, rural working class, and is intent on handing this baton to her three children, who play a part in the book. Chester also explores the familiar tension between wanting to write and being needed at home. The heady ecstasy of time carved out alone, in nature. The scrabble to earn a precarious living, and the insecurities of occupying a tied cottage. The idea of ‘home’ lies at the heart of this fierce, beautifully written, immersive book about one’s place within the landscape.'—Tessa Boase, author of Etta Lemon: The Woman Who Saved the Birds

'Nicola’s passionate and enduring love of nature shines through every single word, paragraph and page of this book, as she seamlessly weaves memoir with stories of the landscape in which she is so deeply rooted that it seems to speak through her. Powerful, enlightening, dazzling, hopeful, On Gallows Down is a rare and precious gem – to be savoured, not rushed, and returned to again and again. My words cannot do this book justice – it simply needs to be read.'—Brigit Strawbridge Howard, author of the Wainwright-shortlisted Dancing with Bees