There are places where you have never lived but still know intimately. For 30 years I visited my parents in Harrogate, a few times ever year. I know the bits of transitional ground between the city and the farmland and moorland further away, albeit not specifically Bilton. But it was not only the personal recognition of the sense of place that meant that the author spoke so directly to me. His style of writing is gripping and the way he intertwines natural history, human history and his own personal history is just great. Unusually, although he focuses on a.few animal species, he doesn't neglect to tell us all the plants there, which I enjoyed. My only criticism is that I wish it was longer, I was disappointed that it came to an end, I wanted more.