In no particular order...
Brendon Chase (1944)
Written by ‘BB’ (Puffin)
Classic children’s tale of three brothers who flee to live wild in the woods, fending for themselves. A tad dated but completely absorbing. Written and brilliantly illustrated by Denys Watkins-Pitchford under his pseudonym BB. JP.
The Living Mountain (1977)
Written by Nan Shepherd (Canons)
This richly beautiful elegy to the high plateau of the Cairngorms was written during the Second World War, but languished unpublished in a drawer until the 70s when it became an instant classic. JP.
Tarka the Otter (1927)
Written by Henry Williamson (Puffin Books)
Nature red in tooth and claw: the epic story of the life of a Devon otter, with all its harsh challenges, told in achingly elegant prose. Make sure you get an edition with the brilliant original illustrations by CF Tunnicliffe. JP.
Sea Room (2002)
Written by Adam Nicolson (Harper Collins)
The story of the author’s relationship with three remote Hebridean islands. Spending much of his time alone, Nicolson’s observations are untainted by distractions. His descriptions of the hundreds of thousands of seabirds that visit the islands, of the violent ocean storms, and the 500ft basalt cliffs are so evocative that you feel you are there. DG.
Kidnapped (1886)
Written by Robert Louis Stevenson (Penguin Classics)
Thrilling adventure set in 18th-century Scotland, which culminates in an exhilarating romp through the Highlands. JP.
The Snow Goose (1940)
Written by Paul Gallico (Penguin)
Powerful novella that tells the tale of an artist living on the Essex marshes, his friendship with a local girl, and the wounded snow goose who they nurse back to health. Intense, atmospheric and moving. JP.
The Death of Grass (1956)
Written by John Christopher (Penguin Books)
When a virus wipes out the world’s staple crops, civilisation collapses and engineer John Custance flees with his family to the countryside, desperate to survive the catastrophe. Gripping, harsh and horribly believable. JP.
Danny Champion of the World (1975)
Written by Roald Dahl (Puffin Books)
A young boy learns the dark arts of poaching in one of the finest children’s stories ever written. Funny, moving and intensely exciting. JP.
H is for Hawk (2014)
Written by Helen Macdonald (Jonathan Cape)
Grieving for her father, the author – an experienced falconer – procures a goshawk, and spends the next year training this wild and beautiful creature while wrangling with the pain of her loss. A sometimes demanding but always compelling read that became a huge critical and commercial success – and established a new kind of nature writing. JP.
The Outrun (2016)
Written by Amy Liptrot (Canongate Books)
Part a memoir of alcoholism, part an ode to the landscape and wildlife of Orkney. Breathtakingly honest, lavishly beautiful. JP.
The Cloudspotter’s Guide (2006)
By Gavin Pretor-Pinney (Sceptre)
A breathtaking layman’s guide to the many ways in which tiny droplets of water and ice crystals can clump together in the sky to form cotton wool, flying saucers, crashing waves and even udders. RW
The Plot: a biography of my father’s English acre (2009)
By Madeleine Bunting (Granta Books)
The Guardian columnist explores her complex relationship with her late father by digging deep into the story of his lifelong obsession, a small parcel of land on the edge of his North Yorkshire Moors. RW
Swallows & Amazons (1930)
Written by Arthur Ransome (Vintage Children’s Classics)
Chunky childhood classic about messing about in boats in the Lake District. The self-efficient Walker children (the Swallows) and their wild friends (the Amazons) sail away to Wild Cat Island, sleep under canvas, hunt for treasure and eat a lot of canned beef. RW
By BBC Countryfile Magazine writers Joe pontoon, Ruth Wood and Daniel Graham.