Nocturnal Adventures

Nightwalking, by John Lewis-Stempel

By Liz Treacher, Author

IT feels a bit strange reviewing a book about nightwalking when the days are getting longer and the nights are getting lighter, but I was captivated by Nightwalking by nature writer John Lewis-Stempel and wanted to tell you about it. Nightwalking (Transworld, 2022) is a description of four journeys into Britain after dark and describes how, as the sun sets and we settle down with a good book or in front of the television, nocturnal animals prepare to take back the countryside.


‘The animals do not expect us humans to be abroad in the dark, which is their time, when the world still belongs to them,’ he writes.


Lewis-Stempel is an author and traditional famer of cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry. He also pens a weekly column for Country Life magazine. He lives near the Black Mountains of Herefordshire, on the border between England and Wales.


The four different journeys he describes in his book coincide with the four different seasons of the year. Lewis-Stempel has a beautiful way of writing that brings his nocturnal adventures to life. It feels as if we are on the walk with him as he guides us past owls, otters, moonbows and luminous fungi, his faithful dog Edith at his side.


Lewis-Stempel explains how streetlights and floodlights can have an impact on bats, nocturnal beasts and even trees, and that we need to ‘reclaim the night’. Reading the book made me feel grateful about how few lights we have in Sutherland and how important this is for wildlife. But mostly, it reminded me to get up out of my armchair and stroll outside to explore the dark!

Liz Treacher is a writer and teacher based in Dornoch. Her two romantic comedies (The Wrong Envelope and The Wrong Direction) are set in 1920 and tell the story of an impetuous artist and his determined post lady. Both titles are available to buy from Dornoch Bookshop.