The Complete Countryman: A User's Guide to Traditional Skills and Lost Crafts - Hardcover

Titchmarsh, Alan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1846073936 ISBN 13: 9781846073939

Publisher: BBC Books, 2011

Synopsis

In this comprehensive and practical guide to the countryside, passionate and hugely knowledgeable countryman Alan Titchmarsh explores the heritage of rural Britain, its landscapes and wildlife, its traditions, customs and crafts. He'll look at the beauty of chalk downland, offer a checklist of British butterflies and where to find them and show how to make moth traps and wildlife ponds. He'll identify the best breeds of cattle for meat and milk, explain how best to look after a pig and the secrets of a successful small holding. From keeping chickens to dressing a stick, from dry-stone walling to creating a wild flower meadow, the essence of country life and the best places to encounter it will be identified in this celebration of the British countryside and its delights, skills and treasures. Lavishly illustrated, beautifully produced and information packed, The Complete Countryman will be an inspirational showcase for all that is best about rural Britain and will reconnect us with its wonderful wise ways.

About this title

About the Author

Alan Titchmarsh MBE is known to millions through his career as a television presenter of shows including Love Your Weekend, Love Your Garden, Ground Force, Gardeners' World, The Alan Titchmarsh Show and Spring Into Summer. He has written more than forty gardening books, as well as twelve novels and three volumes of memoirs. He was made MBE in the millennium New Year Honours list and holds the Victoria Medal of Honour, the Royal Horticultural Society's highest award.

From the Back Cover

In this inspirational and practical guide to the country life, passionate and hugely knowledgeable countryman Alan Titchmarsh explores the heritage of rural Britain, its landscapes and wildlife, its rich traditions, customs and crafts.

* Keep chickens, ducks goats and sheep
* Brew your own beer, bottle fruit, make jam and chutney
* Make soap, candles and your own herbal remedies
* Learn how to track animals and forage for food
* Essential knot tying
* Build a camp fire without matches
* Lay your own hedge
* Create a kitchen garden
* Make hurdles and trugs
* Master the art of canal-boat painting
* Discover the origins on superstitions

With Alan as guide and companion, Britain's countryside is a treasure trove of all these delights and skills, plus man more, to be enjoyed by everyone, anywhere, whether you live in a terraced house or in a cottage on a farm.

Edition details

• Publisher: BBC Books
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1846073936
• ISBN 13: 9781846073939
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 312