In the past few years I have heard Robert Macfarlane's name mentioned frequently as a nature writer 'must read', so I was happy to finally get round to sampling what he had to offer. He does indeed write finely and conveys a real sense of the landscapes that he describes. I have been lucky enough to visit many of the places he describes, perhaps not exactly but close by, in the same landscape, which adds a particular poignancy to his tales.
He has a poetic turn of speech, "bleak comes from Old Norse... meaning 'white', .. a word through which the bone shows", for instance, is a typically memorable phrase. Other aspects I find harder to relate to; sleeping in a tent is close enough to nature for me, bivvy bags don't really appeal, let alone swimming in freezing cold waters. On the other hand, although it is a long time since I last climbed a tree, I now wonder why it has been so long. I'm in agreement with the author that beech trees are the best for climbing, anyway. I do have one reservation.
All those hidden places inside hedges and in isolated valleys are refuges for wildlife, and it is perhaps better to leave them be rather than invade them for our own pleasure and curiosity. But I suppose that no matter how enticingly he writes, not many people will follow his example, so it is probably ok.