Night Swimming : How to swim through the darkness by Al Mennie ( paperback August 2025)
£14.99
Al grew up in Castlerock in Northern Ireland after moving there as a child. He became a fearless surfer and swimmer, with an emotional connection to the sea which he shares here in this hugely informative and original book.
Discover the unmatched beauty of wild swimming by night. Combining motivational writing with evocative storytelling, international big wave surfer and night swimmer Al Mennie gives readers the tools to discover their own methods of navigating through darkness to find clarity and focus. Weaving together swim stories with the practicalities of how and when he swims at night, along with the benefits that connecting with nature has on the mind, this book is perfect for wild swimmers who want to experience their favourite waterhole after sundown. Discover what drew Al into the waters of the North Atlantic, how he found community after initially seeking isolation, his pre-swim rituals, and everything he has learnt along the way, including how he "found his moon" – something that shines brightly in his life.
The book will feature:Tides, currents, weather and seasonsHow the senses adaptNavigating by landscape, moon and starsPreparation, what to wear, pre-swim rituals Route planning, back-up plans and support teamsThe importance of community With illustrations of landscapes, moon phases, constellations and tidal patterns, and templates for planning routes and logging swims, this book will help readers find a new perspective on life, opening their mind to a deeper connection with themselves and with their local environment.
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Ponies At the End of the World, Catherine Munro ( paperback August 2023)
£12.99
Ponies At The Edge Of The World : A story of hope and belonging in Shetland.
A meditation on connection between humans and animals, and the homes we make in wild places. I was completely immersed' Katherine May, bestselling author of Wintering
Catherine Munro transforms her life when she moves to Shetland to study the hardy ponies who call this archipelago home. Over the course of her first year, she is welcomed into the rhythms and routines that characterise life at the edge of the world.
When faced with personal loss, Catherine finds comfort and connection in the shared lives of the people, animals and wild landscapes of Shetland. Ponies at the Edge of the World is a heartfelt love letter to the beauty and resilience of these magical ponies and their native land. This is a stunning book on community, hope and finding home.
** note cover design slightly different from this image **
Wild Atlantic Women, Walking Ireland's West Coast, Grainne Lyons ( paperback May 2023)
£10.99
At a crossroads in her life, Grainne Lyons set out to travel Ireland's west coast on foot. She set a simple intention: to walk in the footsteps of eleven pioneering Irish women deeply rooted in this coastal landscape and explore their lives and work along the way. As a Londoner born to Irish parents, she also sought answers in her own identity.As Grainne heads north from Cape Clear Island where her great-grandmother was a lacemaker, she considers Ellen Hutchins, Maude Delap, Edna O'Brien, Granuaile and Queen Maeve among others from her unique perspective. Their homes - in places that are famously wild and remote - are transformed into sites of hope, purpose, opportunity and inspiration. Walking through this history, her journey reveals unexpected insight into emigrant identity, travelling alone, femininity and the trappings of an 'ideal' life.
Against the backdrop and power of this great ocean, Wild Atlantic Women will inspire the twenty-first-century reader and walker to keep going, regardless of the path.
Murmurations, James Crombie ( hardback Oct 2024)
£22.99
A truly stunning book of photography for fans of this natural phenomenon .
In the dusk hours of a November evening in 2020, James Crombie set out for the shore of Lough Ennell, Co. Westmeath with no goal except to find a brief reprieve from the chaos of modern life. One of Ireland’s most lauded sports photographers, Crombie had spent months each year travelling the globe, snapping glimpses of sporting glory amid roaring crowds.
Once the pandemic arrived however, he found himself suspended in an unfamiliar moment of stillness, where his focus could roam beyond the pitch. When a close friend came to him in a moment of grief, the pair made for the lake. What Crombie found on the shore that evening - an undulating murmuration of starlings, dancing above the surface of the water - would change his life forever.
Desperate to capture the beauty of the murmurations, and to better understand this phenomenon and the surroundings of the lake itself, Crombie began a four-year journey, travelling to lake shore for over 100 days per year. In his efforts to capture the formations of the magical birds, Crombie managed to chart the stunning natural cycles of the lake and the surrounding countryside. An incredible combination of narrative and photography, this is a book about one man’s quest to capture the beauty of an Irish natural phenomenon, and about how our local environments harbour a wealth of beauty and complexity, if only we’re able to look closely enough.
Gift From the Sea, by Anne Morrow Lindbergh ( hardback)
£12.99
One of our consistently best selling little books in the shop. A lovely gift for new mums, or new retirees.
'Quietly powerful and a great help. Glorious' Emma Thompson
'Women need solitude in order to find again the true essence of themselves.' Holidaying by the sea, and taking inspiration from the shells she finds on the seashore, Anne Morrow Lindbergh meditates on youth and age, love and marriage, peace, solitude and contentment. First published in 1955 and an instant bestseller, Gift from the Sea's insights - into aspects of the modern world that threaten to overwhelm us, the complications of technology, the ever multiplying commitments that take us from our families - are as relevant today as they ever were, perhaps even more so.
