{"id":1811,"date":"2012-07-02T15:03:48","date_gmt":"2012-07-02T14:03:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thewhiterock.co.uk\/?page_id=1811"},"modified":"2025-08-05T14:45:23","modified_gmt":"2025-08-05T13:45:23","slug":"the-green-road-into-the-trees","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.thewhiterock.co.uk\/?page_id=1811","title":{"rendered":"The Green Road into the Trees"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

In the past, Hugh has written books of exploration about Peru, Mexico and the Indian Himalaya.<\/p>\n

Now he returns to explore the most exotic and foreign country of them all \u2013 his own.<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

.<\/p>\n

Reviews<\/p>\n

\u2018Frequently comic, his voice is original and engaging; proof that it is the walker, not the path, that cou<\/span>nts\u2019 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span>
\nJames Attlee, Independent [see full review]<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018An ideal companion \u2013 knowledgeable, but refreshingly unpretentious\u2019<\/span>
\nTom Robbins, Financial Times<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018Vivid with tales of the people whose lives were, and remain, linked to the ancient route [of the Icknield Way]
\n<\/span>Wanderlust<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

‘Often funny\u00a0and\u00a0always enlightening’
\n<\/span>Candida Lycett Green, Countryfile\u00a0\u00a0[see full review]<\/em><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018I would love to walk with Thomson\u2019
\n<\/span>John Sutherland, Financial Times<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018A joy to follow\u2019<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>
\n<\/em>Jason Goodwin, Country Life\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

‘An immensely enjoyable book: curious, articulate, intellectually playful and savagely candid’<\/span>
\nJohn Gimlette, The Spectator [see full review]<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

.<\/p>\n

From the land-locked centre of England \u2013 locals claim that his village is the furthest from the sea \u2013 Hugh travels
\nout to its far edges. The Green Road Into The Trees <\/strong>is a journey enriched and partly told by the characters
\nhe meets along the way. And the ways he takes are the old ways, the drover-paths and tracks, the paths and ditches
\nhalf covered by bramble and tunnelled by alder, beech and oak: the trails that can still be traced by those who know
\nwhere to look.<\/p>\n

Just as in his acclaimed book about Peru, The White Rock<\/em>, Hugh shows how older, seemingly forgotten cultures,
\nlike the Celts, Saxons and Vikings, lie much closer to the surface than we may think; they have created some of
\nthe fault lines of land, wealth and privilege that we still live with. In recent years, archaeologists have uncovered
\nsome remarkable new findings about these cultures that have often yet to reach the wider public.<\/p>\n

By taking a journey from coast to coast, through both the sacred and profane landscapes of ancient England,
\nHugh casts unexpected light \u2013 and humour – on the way we live now.<\/p>\n

.<\/p>\n

Winner of\u00a0\u00a0the\u00a0first\u00a0Wainwright Prize for Nature & Travel Writing<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
Dame Fiona Reynolds , the chair of the panel of judges, described the book as \u201ca narrative journey spiced with humour and anecdote, gritty reality and evocation of place and history… <\/span>In the end, the winner that emerged captured for us the best mix of contemporary nature and travel writing.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n

The other short-listed books included ‘The Old Ways<\/em><\/strong>‘ by Robert Macfarlane\u00a0and ‘Walking Home’<\/em><\/strong> by Simon Armitage. \u00a0(Telegraph<\/em><\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

Listen to Hugh’s Tweet of the Day<\/em> on woodpigeons (his favourite bird)<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

.<\/p>\n

Read an Extract: \u00a0‘Why I wasn\u2019t Walking with an Animal’<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

.<\/p>\n

Copy-editor’s Letter about Finished Manuscript of Green Road<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

.<\/p>\n

Interview with Hugh about the Green Road<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

.<\/p>\n

\n
\"The<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Goodreads reviews for The Green Road into the Trees<\/a><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n