Hidden Histories: A Spotter's Guide to the British Landscape by Mary-Ann Ochota
'A definitive classic field guide [...] Its scope is as magnificent as our countryside itself.'
BBC Countryfile Magazine
'This book is perfect for anyone who's travelled through the countryside, scratched their head, and thought, 'what on earth is that thing?'''
Tony Robinson
Have you ever driven past a lumpy, bumpy field and wondered what made the lumps and bumps? Or walked between two lines of grand trees and wondered when and why they were planted? Entertaining and factually rigorous, Hidden Histories has the answers and will help you decipher the story of Britain's landscape through the features you can see around you.
In this spotter's guide, Mary-Ann Ochota arms amateur explorers with the crucial information needed to understand the landscape and spot the human activities that have shaped our green and pleasant land.
- Photographs and diagrams point out specific details and typical examples to help the curious spotter understand what they're looking at, or looking for.
- Specially commissioned illustrations bring to life the processes that shaped the landscape (from medieval ploughing to Roman road building).
- Stand-alone capsules explore interesting aspects of history (like the Highland Clearances or the coming of Christianity).
- Feature boxes provide definitions of jargon or handy references as required (like a glossary of what different field names mean).
- Each chapter culminates in a checklist of key details to look for, other things it might be, and gives details of where to find some of the best examples in Britain.