Uncommon Ground

'Uncommon Ground is a genuinely remarkable book, an adventurous, intelligent, bold, empathetic, provocative, curious and argumentive exploration of the English countryside and its various human landscapes. Patrick Galbraith is unique among modern country writers in his capacity to draw out and marshall the many voices of our rural and near-rural communities; in this intrepid journey through the land-access debate, Galbraith brings to life the realities of our 'right to roam', and in the process delivers a raking survey of an England, ancient and modern, traditional and outlandish, that for too long has been left unexplored, and unspoken for.' Richard Smyth Praise for In Search of One Last Song by Patrick Galbraith ‘A treasury of a book … filled with beautiful moments, amazing and sometimes rather surprising characters, and, if we could only learn from them, reasons for hope.’ John Burnside, New Statesman 'It's a delight to jump into this slightly strange parallel world. Galbraith is such an able communicator of its weirdness, that it is a pleasure to go along for the ride’ The Times ‘In terms of both scope and execution, this book is a hugely impressive achievement, and it will be fascinating to see where Galbraith goes from here.’ The Scotsman ‘One of the great oral histories of British nature and the British countryside … Sad and honest and important and often very funny’ Richard Smyth, Review 31 ‘Galbraith’s writing is beautiful’ Stephen Rutt, British Birds ‘Patrick Galbraith’s engaging debut volume will appeal to the layman as much as to the committed naturalist, being a quirkily enjoyable journey through a slightly nether worldly version of Britain.’ David Profumo, The Critic ‘The writing is strong, the book an impressive debut, establishing Galbraith as a quality writer.’ Tim Dee, Caught by the River ​​‘The best book on conservation and the countryside I have read in years’ John Lewis-Stempel