Gilbert White

Richard Mabey is one of Britain's foremost writers on the subject of nature. He is the author of Flora Britannica, which won the British Book Awards' Illustrated Book of the Year, and Birds Britannica (Chatto, 2005) and he wrote, narrated and produced the popular BBC TV series Postcards from the Country in 1996. He writes a regular column for BBC Wildlife magazine and has written on nature for The Times, Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph. He lives in Norfolk.

His evocation of the landscape is brilliant. We seem to be jogging down those deeply rutted lanes behind the parson looking over his shoulder.