NIGHTWALKING

Britain s finest living nature writer THE TIMES Lewis Stempel s greatest gift remains his prose with all its vividness and energy THE DAILY MAIL The hottest nature writer around THE SPECTATORAt night the normal rules of Nature do not apply In the night wood I have met a badger coming the other way tipped my cap said hello The animals do not expect us humans to be abroad in the dark which is their time when the world still belongs to them That was in winter The screaming of a tawny owl echoed off the bare trees For all of our street lamp civilization you can still hear the call of the wild If if you go out after the decline of the day As the human world settles down each evening nocturnal animals prepare to take back the countryside Taking readers on four walks through the four seasons acclaimed nature writer and farmer John Lewis Stempel reveals a world bursting with life and normally hidden from view Out beyond the cities it is still possible to see the night sky full of stars or witness a moonbow an arch of white light in the heavens It is time for us to leave our lairs and go tramping To join our fellow creatures of the night