Overview

It falls in a moment. When the heaviest droplets of ice can no longer be held, the first slips from the sky and plunges, down through the damp, cold air, thawing as it plummets. Once one slips, the others follow. The earth breathing in rain. Our raindrop splashes into the sodden hillside, reunited with its kind; then a pull, the tug of gravity, and it flows for the first time, merging with rainfall and river source.  The Waterlands explores the natural rhythms and miraculous power of water, following a raindrop as it falls to the ground in the Lowther Hills of Scotland and travels through the landscape down to the Firth of Clyde. On its journey it flows into river sources in the upland moors; saltmarshflanked firths and estuaries; serene and spectacular lochs; chalk streams, described as ‘Britain’s rainforest’ for their global rarity and unique wildlife; blanket bogs that are both land and water, a thin skin of peat over millennia-old water.  But these wetlands are under threat: 87% have been lost around the world in the last 300 years – reclaimed, built upon, polluted, diverted, dammed. We have affected water’s form, flow and health to the extent that some might say all water on Earth now bears our fingerprints. As scarcity and water conflicts loom, it is more important now than ever that we protect this shared and essential resource.  Exploring geography, ecology, climate change, natural history and social history, The Waterlands is a captivating retelling of the water cycle, revealing everything a single raindrop can show us on its journey from source to sea.

Full Product Details

9781783969319

Table of Contents

Reviews

‘The Waterlands is a lyrical and deeply absorbing meditation on water’s journey through landscape and time. Stephen’s luminous writing – like the water in these pages – meanders through geography, ecology, climate science, and social history with remarkable clarity and grace. As a conservation biologist, his writing makes familiar waterscapes feel newly alive, revealing both their fragile beauty and profound importance to human life. Wild, wet and urgent, this is a book that leaves you looking at rain, rivers, and land itself with fresh wonder and responsibility.’ Ruby Free, conservationist biologist and author of Rathlin, A Wild Life  ‘Stephen Rutt’s The Waterlands couldn't be more timely. In an age of floods, droughts, polluted rivers and shrinking lakes, this compelling and imaginative retelling of the water cycle beautifully illuminates the vital importance of water and wetlands to all life on earth. It's an essential book for our times. You’ll never see a raindrop the same way again.’ Julian Hoffman, author of Lifelines ‘Always engaging – this tale of a raindrop held me happily captive from journey’s beginning to end.’ James Canton, author of Renaturing ‘Ingenious, intricate and heartful, The Waterlands shows us all life in the hydrologic cycle, and reminds us just how significant our wetlands are as places for biodiversity and as deep reservoirs for our imaginations. Like his subject matter, Rutt’s writing is crystalline and life-affirming.’ Michael J. Warren, author of The Cuckoo’s Lea ‘A gripping observation of our most important element, at once informative, balanced, angry, hopeful and lyrical. The Waterlands is a wonderful piece of natural storytelling.’ Roger Morgan-Grenville, author of The Restless Coast ‘Extraordinary! Rutt’s writing combines a naturalist’s knowledge and eye for detail with his deep and particular sensitivity to people and place. A lucid, passionate and moving book that made me see water, and raindrops, differently.’ Helen Jukes, author of Mother Animal   ‘A masterpiece — ingenious and deeply felt, The Waterlands flows with ease and purpose. Rooted in Rutt’s lifelong connection to wetlands, it carries you on a beautiful journey, blending geography, science and soul in a wholly lyrical way — and quietly reminds us how precious and vulnerable our waters are.’ Ajay Tegala, author of Wetland Diaries ‘A deep dive into that most familiar yet mysterious of elements, The Waterlands brings its subject vividly to life.’ Malachy Tallack, author of Illuminated by Water ‘A book of breathtaking clarity and effortless beauty. Stephen captures the wonder of water with rare precision and quiet grace.’ Matt Gaw, author of In All Weathers   ‘A kaleidoscopic tumult of aquatic wonders. Lucid, limpid and bracing. Stephen Rutt’s exploration of the many forms, faces, moods and marvels of water is a confluence of delights.’ Dan Richards, author of Outpost

Author Information

Stephen Rutt is an award-winning writer, birder and book reviewer whose work has appeared in the Guardian Country Diary, EarthLines Magazine, Zoomorphic, The Harrier, Surfbirds and BirdGuides. He is author of The Seafarers: A Journey Among Birds, which won the Saltire First Book of the Year in 2019, a Roger Deakin Award and was longlisted for the Highland Book Prize 2019 and, most recently, Wintering: A Season with Geese. Stephen currently lives in Dumfries.

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