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Nightwalk: A Journey to the Heart of Nature
Chris Yates, one of Britain’s most insightful and lyrical writers, raises his gaze from his beloved rivers and ponds and takes us on a mesmerizing tour of the British countryside.
“Last November, the sudden appearance of a hundred wintering ravens in a wood in Cranborne Chase, where I have lived for twenty-five years without seeing more than a few solitary specimens, reminded me that there is always something ready to flame up again in the landscape, just when it seemed the fire had gone out.”
In Nightwalk we accompany Chris Yates on the most magical of journeys into the very heart of the British countryside. His acute observation of the natural world and ability to transcend it exquisitely sets Chris apart from his contemporaries.
Time slows down for a deeper intimacy with nature, and through Chris’s writing we hear every rustle of a leaf, every call of a bird. He widens the power of our imagination, heightening our senses and revealing beauty in the smallest details.
“Last November, the sudden appearance of a hundred wintering ravens in a wood in Cranborne Chase, where I have lived for twenty-five years without seeing more than a few solitary specimens, reminded me that there is always something ready to flame up again in the landscape, just when it seemed the fire had gone out.”
In Nightwalk we accompany Chris Yates on the most magical of journeys into the very heart of the British countryside. His acute observation of the natural world and ability to transcend it exquisitely sets Chris apart from his contemporaries.
Time slows down for a deeper intimacy with nature, and through Chris’s writing we hear every rustle of a leaf, every call of a bird. He widens the power of our imagination, heightening our senses and revealing beauty in the smallest details.
214 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2012
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381 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
April 13, 2025
I love books like this, a simple premise, a night time walk through familiar countryside.
Yet Chris Yates manages to make it so much more. It is a musing on life, nature, the passing of time, ecology, co-existence and tolerance.
The writing is tranquil, peaceful and amiable. I immediately feel I'm walking along with an old friend.
As a night owl, I greatly appreciate reading of perceptions of "night time, darkness and after hours". It's a time when I work and, when not working, find myself ruminative and reflective.
A really lovely book.
Some words that stuck with me:-
"If, after life, I were allowed to return to this world in some other form, I would hope to be a bird, just so I could experience the sensation of flight; and if that bird were a raven then I would be able to utter the lovely, sonorous call that the bird only appears to make while soaring so high in a thermal that it is almost out of sight. The call ........ expresses nothing other than joyfulness- joy at having the absolute freedom of the sky".
Indeed Mr Yates, indeed.
Yet Chris Yates manages to make it so much more. It is a musing on life, nature, the passing of time, ecology, co-existence and tolerance.
The writing is tranquil, peaceful and amiable. I immediately feel I'm walking along with an old friend.
As a night owl, I greatly appreciate reading of perceptions of "night time, darkness and after hours". It's a time when I work and, when not working, find myself ruminative and reflective.
A really lovely book.
Some words that stuck with me:-
"If, after life, I were allowed to return to this world in some other form, I would hope to be a bird, just so I could experience the sensation of flight; and if that bird were a raven then I would be able to utter the lovely, sonorous call that the bird only appears to make while soaring so high in a thermal that it is almost out of sight. The call ........ expresses nothing other than joyfulness- joy at having the absolute freedom of the sky".
Indeed Mr Yates, indeed.
September 16, 2013
A pleasant series of nocturnal ramblings and wildlife encounters (badgers, nightjars, deer, and so on), always interrupted “when a mirage of my teapot urges me home.” I especially liked Yates’s whimsical, synaesthetic musings on the taste of birdsong: “I decided that the skylark’s song was like the taste of apricot while the thrush’s was closer to the tartness of freshly picked gooseberry...and the song of a wren has the intensity of a clementine.”
December 14, 2015
A totally charming and gentle book about walking at night. Filled with deer, owlets, hares and thoughts of tea. Got this at End of the Road festival and the author signed it for me - to Sian, look to the moon. (My husband got it signed for me - I was too shy)
August 1, 2020
This is an appealing nature book that reminds me of W. H. Hudson’s books on the English Downs, except about 100 years later on. Both have a pleasant relaxed pace.
A big difference between the books is that Yates’ is a nocturnal walk taking place in one night. There are plenty of mentions relating to his childhood, his children growing up walking and mentions of friends and experts, so it is not strictly one night’s ramble.
Although I love sitting outside at night, listening and watching, it would never have occurred to me to actually walk dusk til dawn. In my part of the world it would be asking for a broken ankle in downed wood or an unfortunate step on a copperhead snake. Day walkers like me should like this reading experience.
A big difference between the books is that Yates’ is a nocturnal walk taking place in one night. There are plenty of mentions relating to his childhood, his children growing up walking and mentions of friends and experts, so it is not strictly one night’s ramble.
Although I love sitting outside at night, listening and watching, it would never have occurred to me to actually walk dusk til dawn. In my part of the world it would be asking for a broken ankle in downed wood or an unfortunate step on a copperhead snake. Day walkers like me should like this reading experience.
April 16, 2016
A personal account of a series of night walks in the Dorset countryside.
The chapters are a few pages long, an in them you are lead onto the chalk downs and woods that are near where he lives. He brings you the wildlife sights, the glimpses of starlight through coppices and trees highlighted by the moon.
The writing is beautiful, not a word is wasted and the thing that he sees and feels are brought to life. I really like the thing that they have done with the graphics at the start of each chapter. It is very subtle and very clever.
And best of all, i get to do a night walk with him as part of the Wimborne Literary Festival
The chapters are a few pages long, an in them you are lead onto the chalk downs and woods that are near where he lives. He brings you the wildlife sights, the glimpses of starlight through coppices and trees highlighted by the moon.
The writing is beautiful, not a word is wasted and the thing that he sees and feels are brought to life. I really like the thing that they have done with the graphics at the start of each chapter. It is very subtle and very clever.
And best of all, i get to do a night walk with him as part of the Wimborne Literary Festival
June 1, 2016
Evocative and lyrical writing draws you into the nature filled nighttime world of the author...
Stories, descriptions and reminiscences of events, smells, moments and encounters fill the short chapters and invite you to join in with this gentle passage through the hours of darkness...
Stories, descriptions and reminiscences of events, smells, moments and encounters fill the short chapters and invite you to join in with this gentle passage through the hours of darkness...
June 29, 2016
A beautifully written book, I would recommend it to anyone who loves nature writing. :)
May 20, 2020
Seriously enjoyed this book, as a regular night time rambler i was able to relate to it in so many ways. Well written and informative a real pleasure to read. Finished it in one afternoon.
January 6, 2014
Chris Yates does what many of us do, me included, and that's to go for long walks in the countryside around our homes.
The difference is that Yates often chooses to walk through the night in midsummer, setting off when the sky is darkening and returning home 'to his teapot' once he has observed the sun rise. Oh, and he doesn't take a torch either, finding his way by the moon and stars, or just instinctively.
He hasn't persuaded me to follow suit, but I can just about understand his reasons for choosing to walk at night.
There's some lovely nature writing in this book, it's never flowery and although nothing happens other than a walk in the countryside at night, it's always interesting.
Night time seems to accentuate the sounds and smells of the countryside. It's a brave writer who attempts to describe the beautiful song of a blackbird, or the sun rising at dawn on a summer morning, but he manages it really well.
I've always been aware that on my own walks I talk too much and am just generally far too noisy to be able to observe half the wildlife that Yates does. Maybe I should slow down, watch and listen more, be quieter..........
The difference is that Yates often chooses to walk through the night in midsummer, setting off when the sky is darkening and returning home 'to his teapot' once he has observed the sun rise. Oh, and he doesn't take a torch either, finding his way by the moon and stars, or just instinctively.
He hasn't persuaded me to follow suit, but I can just about understand his reasons for choosing to walk at night.
There's some lovely nature writing in this book, it's never flowery and although nothing happens other than a walk in the countryside at night, it's always interesting.
Night time seems to accentuate the sounds and smells of the countryside. It's a brave writer who attempts to describe the beautiful song of a blackbird, or the sun rising at dawn on a summer morning, but he manages it really well.
I've always been aware that on my own walks I talk too much and am just generally far too noisy to be able to observe half the wildlife that Yates does. Maybe I should slow down, watch and listen more, be quieter..........
February 7, 2025
Chris Yates is most known as an angler, having caught what was Britain's record carp, having starred in the brilliant TV series A Passion for Angling and having written numerous books on his angling life.
Nightwalk though is not a book about fishing, instead Chris takes us with him on a midsummer night time walk from dusk until dawn in the country around his home and describes his surroundings and encounters with nature is a beautifully evocative, and often eccentric way that only Chris Yates can do. Beautifully written account from someone who has a true passion for the natural world and has a very strong connection to it.
Nightwalk though is not a book about fishing, instead Chris takes us with him on a midsummer night time walk from dusk until dawn in the country around his home and describes his surroundings and encounters with nature is a beautifully evocative, and often eccentric way that only Chris Yates can do. Beautifully written account from someone who has a true passion for the natural world and has a very strong connection to it.
December 28, 2019
A description of a night walk in a forest during midsummer. Beautiful in its descriptions of nature and quiet simplicity. Every time I picked this book up it transported me to a forest where the air was fresh, the moon the only illumination, and stress washed away. Highly recommended for others who enjoy night wandering!
December 11, 2016
A lyrical view of the world of night, in which the author spends and entire night from twilight until well after sunrise walking in the British countryside. He views creatures from rabbits to barn owls to goatsuckers (related to whip-poor-wills). This book is an entertaining read.
November 20, 2018
The author has accomplished (apparently many times over through the years) a dream of mine -- spent an entire night walking in the woods and fields. Oh to wander gently in the hours when most others sleep, to wander and hear and feel and see and sense and then to remember it and relive it in my thoughts.
This author has enabled the last part of my dream to exist on sensory levels (if not memory). He walked, he saw, heard, tasted, touched, smelled, the wood and field night life, and he shared it along with the occasional reminder to us that this is all within our life's work not to ruin, not to overuse, not to ignore, not to miss. He didn't preach, he reminded and taught. I thank him.
This author has enabled the last part of my dream to exist on sensory levels (if not memory). He walked, he saw, heard, tasted, touched, smelled, the wood and field night life, and he shared it along with the occasional reminder to us that this is all within our life's work not to ruin, not to overuse, not to ignore, not to miss. He didn't preach, he reminded and taught. I thank him.
May 22, 2025
Each brief chapter is a miniature essay strung together to tell the story of an overnight stroll through the English countryside. He makes night hikes sound so easy, probably because he’s been doing them for awhile. Most of the meanderings are about birds.
A great book for slowing down, letting your own mind roam through the fields. Nothing much happens. Nothing much changes, other than darkness to light.
A great book for slowing down, letting your own mind roam through the fields. Nothing much happens. Nothing much changes, other than darkness to light.
April 16, 2023
Hypnotic and poetic, this book describes the author's night meander through nature from dusk to dawn.
It had a dreamy, mesmeric quality that made it particularly suitable for bedtime reading, sending me off into a slumber filled with the call of the nightjar and the soft brush of the barn owl's wings.
It had a dreamy, mesmeric quality that made it particularly suitable for bedtime reading, sending me off into a slumber filled with the call of the nightjar and the soft brush of the barn owl's wings.
March 23, 2024
This is all my childhood memories of nature walks a picnics in the countryside.
I remember waiting at night for badgers to come out of their dens.All the senses sharper and the smells and sounds stronger
The sight of my first fox.
A beautiful simple book which makes me want to lie on my back in the grass and listen to the skylarks again.
Thank you
I remember waiting at night for badgers to come out of their dens.All the senses sharper and the smells and sounds stronger
The sight of my first fox.
A beautiful simple book which makes me want to lie on my back in the grass and listen to the skylarks again.
Thank you
March 14, 2020
A tonic in book form, describing a solitary night walk, without torch or schedule. It’s a beautiful portrait of the flora & fauna of the English countryside studied under the light of the moon in early Summer.
June 11, 2025
A gentle book describing a world vanishing in fits and starts, to the loss of us all. Live the walk with him!
November 30, 2014
Yates has used a simple and effective framework, a walk over one night on the North Downs. Although a well known fisherman and writer on the subject, once a year in summer he gets the urge to walk out under the stars and keep moving throughout the night. This book is a record of a single walk but also reflections on his childhood within nature, encounters both on the night and previously with wildlife and their habitats at night, and the differences in quality between night and day.
I was initially a little irritated with Yates' need to name rather than just be within his environment, but his lyrical prose and evocation of all the things that make me need to be in and around the natural environment had be utterly captivated by the end. To me, this is an important addition to the nature writing genre, many books have been written about walking but this is the first I've read about the unique qualities of our night time environment.
I was initially a little irritated with Yates' need to name rather than just be within his environment, but his lyrical prose and evocation of all the things that make me need to be in and around the natural environment had be utterly captivated by the end. To me, this is an important addition to the nature writing genre, many books have been written about walking but this is the first I've read about the unique qualities of our night time environment.
May 11, 2016
Simple in structure, it traces one night (and morning) as the author rambles around the downs around his home and encounters deer, owls, and other night creatures. It's poetic, very well-written, and the simple line illustrations which start black and end white are a nice touch.
November 26, 2016
Very enjoyable. Although I read it at a busy time and dipped in and out thanks to the very short chapters. As a result it didn't transport me to a different time and place as much as it might have done if I'd read it in one or two sittings. I am inspired to do some nightwalking of my own though!
May 17, 2014
Thoroughly enjoyed this. Read whilst laying on a bench beside the river, hat on, vest off, making plans about my very own night time walk!
Wonderful. :)
Wonderful. :)
November 16, 2017
intuitive and insightful
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews