National Geographic Traveller UK - 01 e 02.2022

LIQUID HISTORY

John Warland visits more than 50 of the capital’s

most historic boozers, seeking out the characters that

frequented them and the oft-infamous events that

ensued. Transworld Publishers, £12.99.

GET THE GUIDES

WANDE R L US T AL P S

From the Matterhorn to Mont Blanc, take a

photography tour through the very best hiking routes

ˆ˜̅ič«Ã]Vœ“«iÌi܈̅ˆÕÃÌÀ>Ìi`“>«Ã>˜`wÀÃ̇

hand travelogue. Gestalten, £35.

ATL AS OF FORGOTTEN PL ACES

Travis Elborough makes a journey to abandoned

destinations, including an art deco subway station in

New York and a Soviet ghost town in the Arctic Circle.

White Lion Publishing, £20.

At the darkest point of the year, we highlight works that pre-empt

spring and celebrate our planet’s most incredible fl ora and fauna

THE NATURAL TRAVELLER

THE WORD

Living Planet:

The Web of

Life on Earth

Sir David

Attenborough's

seminal

biography of

our planet has

been fully updated with the aid

of zoologist Matthew Cobb. The

new narrative edition includes

the latest discoveries of ecology

and biology, along with a full-

colour, 64-page photography

section. Climate change,

pollution and mass extinction

are all addressed, and there’s a

look at fi sh that walk, snakes

that fl y and fl ightless birds that

graze like deer. But as ever with

Attenborough’s work, you’re

left with a profound sense of

wonder at how nature adapts in

the world’s most extreme areas.

HarperCollins Publishers, £20.

The Soaring

Life of the Lark

Master nature

writer John

Lewis-Stempel

off ers up an ode

to England’s

countryside

herald: the skylark. Usher in the

spring early with a book that

looks at how the lark’s distinctive

call is woven into the season’s

change, proving inspiration for

some of our very best poets and

composers. This is a bird whose

sound has brought succour

to everyone from struggling

farmers to soldiers far from

home in the wartime trenches

of northern France. Travel the

country and follow the swooping

highs and lows of this totemic

creature — and its struggle to

survive in shrinking habitats.

Doubleday, £9.99.

The Living

Mountain

With prose

that borders

on poetry,

Nan Shepherd

explores the

rocks, rivers

and remarkable creatures of the

Scottish Cairngorms. Written

during the Second World War,

her journey was taken at a time

when solace was to be found

in the wilderness — even at its

most unforgiving. With intense,

almost abstract illustrations by

Scottish artist Rose Strang, this

nature writing classic has been

given a vibrant new lease of life

thanks to a new introduction

by multi-award-winning author

Robert Macfarlane, who calls the

book ‘one of the most brilliant

works of modern landscape

literature’. Folio Society, £39.95.

The Cow:

A Tribute

What might

seem like a

niche title

is in fact

an almost

cinematic

celebration of the world’s fairest

bovine breeds. Tapping into

our love for the humble farm

creature, this photography tome

travels to India’s mountains to

take portraits of holy herds, and

to Alpine ranges where big-belled

beauties appear as much a part of

the landscape as meadow grass

and glaciers. These crisp, colour-

soaked images are a labour of

love that honours rare breeds

such as the European bison and

the Celtic longhorn, exploring

pastures in Austria, Colombia,

Ethiopia and beyond. teNeues,

£45. SARAH BARRELL

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Loch Affric viewed from Glen Affric,

Cairngorms National Park

SMART TRAVELLER

Jan/Feb 2022 49