Wild Riverbanks

’The forest is awake, louder, and livelier than usual. I have walked these woodland paths hundreds of times. I have jogged. I have sat silently, moved only by the spring breeze. I have meditated. I have watched the wild, black-billed geese glide across the water ... The dusty paths know my feet. The fresh morning winds know my lungs. The trees, my faithful friends, know my secret thoughts and longings.’

From hiking through the crisp mountain valleys of the Lake District to wild swimming in waterfalls beloved by poets of old to silent meditations at sunrise, discovering wildflowers, and enjoying waterside adventures, Wild Riverbanks is a collection of personal essays, memoirs, and poetry, inspired by the rivers that I have frequented throughout the years, from my childhood to the present day.

This book is my gift to all those who carry a love of rivers, nature, and Mother Earth in their hearts and bones. It was also written for those of you who long to dip your toes into fresh waters, to feel the tall greying grass slip through your fingers and the gentle morning sun upon your skin, but are unnaturally estranged ...

There is a little bit of wilderness within all of us.

Atalina