I picked this up while visiting the lake district, thinking it would be an informative read about the locals from this region. I learned a LOT about sheep farming, but it was all quite repetitive. What really threw me off was his snobbery and disliking attitude towards tourists, who never can grasp the essence of the farming life and are just traipsing about being of nuisance. Ironically, his grudge about tourists is based on his own complete lack of understanding of why people would search out areas of natural beauty.. very disappointing!

The writing style is slightly off. On the one hand, mostly beautiful prose, but then on the other it felt stilted in places. The book itself is fantastic. It's a book about time: past, present and future. The descriptions of the land and life are amazing, and the distilled philosophy haunting at times. Highly recommended.

3.75/5