Lost Skills and Crafts Handbook

by Alan Titchmarsh

In this inspirational and practical guide to country life, passionate and hugely knowledgeable countryman Alan Titchmarsh explores the heritage of rural Britain, its landscapes and wildlife, its traditions, customs and crafts. The Lost Skills and Crafts Handbook will help you rediscover your love of the countryside, - a checklist of British butterflies and where to find them - how to keep chickens, ducks, goats and sheep - how to make soap, candles and your own herbal remedies - how to track animals and forage for food - essential knot tying - how to build a campfire without matches - how to create a kitchen garden - the origins of country superstitions And much more. With beautiful line art illustrations throughout, this compendium of the British countryside and its delights will be an essential read for any nature lover in your life.

288 pages, Hardcover

Published November 15, 2021

Reviews

[Angela Lewis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Most of his books have been entertaining, this I’d thought would be that but also very informative. It scratches the surface (particularly on things I don’t already know) but reading about spinning and weaving and then patchwork was a big disappointment: horizontal and vertical were confused - no mention of warp and weft (fundamental) a hexagon has six sides not an octagon! How can I trust what I want to know in these cases. Here he’s taken in too much, not been properly informed and produced something very superficial. There are so many books on individual topics that would be preferential to reading this. Feel like I’ve wasted hours and leared very little.

[Adrian Lupescu · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's not a horrible book, but it oversells itself a bit. The book has a plentitude of info, but it's kinda always hidden among other info. In between the story you find some knowledge. It's not devoid of knowledge so I can't give it 3 stars, but it is real hard to keep focused on it while reading. It constantly invites the reader to skip parts.

[Gabriel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cursory introduction into a wide range of homesteading skills and crafts. Overall I enjoyed reading it, but I would have liked to see more detailed instructions and references where possible so that I could dig deeper into the topics that interest me.