Matthew Oates has written a unique book for the winter months – a reminder of what is awaiting us in the brighter months if we go out and meet it. Inspired by the poetic approach to nature and the long hot summer of 1976, to which Beyond Spring is dedicated, he chronicles a series of adventures and musings during the months of an English spring and summer, and argues most eloquently why we need nature – to help us feel rooted, to replenish our souls, because nature is part of us, and we are part of it. Beyond Spring contains some of his highest quality natural history experiences, encountered from spring's genesis through to summer's fulfilment in autumn, from the Scilly Isles up to the Lake District fell tops, and back by way of the Peak District, the Norfolk Broads and the White Cliffs of Dover, all in the form of short chapters designed for snatch reading.
There are some lovely quotes and poems from the greats such as Edward Thomas, and also some of the English living greats, including Alison Brackenbury, Keith Chandler, Laurie Lee, Jo Bell.
Above all, Beyond Spring describes the spiritual landscape in which this lifelong lover of nature exists.