The Scottish nature writer Jim Crumley takes the Slightly Foxed team on a tour of literary landscapes, from the lochs of the Trossachs and the mountainous Cairngorms to Aldo Leopold’s sand county in Wisconsin and Barry Lopez’s Arctic. Together they trace the chain of writers who have influenced Jim, from Robert Burns and Wordsworth to Thoreau and Walt Whitman, and see nature through the eyes of his hero, the great Scottish naturalist and photographer Seton Gordon. They discuss how folklore has demonized the wolf while Jim believes its reintroduction could hugely benefit the ecology of the Scottish landscape. And finally they venture off the beaten track with this month’s wide-ranging reading recommendations.

Please find links to books, articles, and further reading listed below. The digits in brackets following each listing refer to the minute and second they are mentioned. (Episode duration: 40 minutes; 24 seconds)

We may be able to get hold of second-hand copies of the out-of-print titles listed below. Please get in touch with Jess in the Slightly Foxed office for more information. 

An Englishman’s Commonplace Book, Roger Hudson (1:14)

A Boy at the Hogarth Press & A Parcel of Time, Richard Kennedy (6:40)

The Cairngorm Hills of Scotland, The Charm of Skye and Amid Snowy Wastes, Seton Gordon are out print, but some Seton Gordon titles are available from Trieste Publishing (14:11)

A High and Lonely Place, Jim Crumley (15:49)

A Sand County Almanac, Aldo Leopold (18:14)

Arctic Dreams, Barry Lopez (18:43)

The Last Wolf, Jim Crumley (22:54)

Highland River, Neil Gunn is currently out of stock at the publisher (31:07)

Featherhood, Charlie Gilmour (33:28)

The Silver Dark Sea, Susan Fletcher (35:13)

A Month in Siena, Hisham Matar (36:12)

The Hunting Party, Lucy Foley (38:00)

Word from the Wood, Galen O’Hanlon on A Sand County Almanac, Aldo Leopold, Issue 54 (18:14)

Northern Lights, Penelope Lively on Arctic Dreams, Barry Lopez, Issue 4 (18:43)

An Englishmans’ Commonplace Book ‘launch party’ at John Sandoe Books (1:19)

Opening music: Preludio from Violin Partita No.3 in E Major by Bach

The Slightly Foxed Podcast is hosted by Philippa Lamb and produced by Podcastable