Wrendale’s Hannah Dale’s new book tells farm project story in unique sketches and artwork
Undertaking the rewilding of the family farm has kept Wrendale Designs’ owners Hannah and Jack Dale busy in recent years and fans can now find out how it was done in a new book.
A Wilding Year, written and illustrated by Hannah, is soon to be released by Batsford Books and it gives her story of the ambitious project at 340-acre Low Farm since deciding the poor soil made it unproductive for arable farming.
Hannah told PG Buzz: “I’ve been working on the book for the past three years – it’s a very personal account and I’ve put a huge amount of myself into it so I’m quite nervous about how it’s received!
“The rewilding project is the best thing we’ve ever done – I’ve always been inspired by nature so it feels amazing to be able to channel the success we’ve had with Wrendale back into restoring it.
“The most exciting thing has been seeing how quickly nature starts to come back when you give it the space and time. We’ve had some brilliant results in a very short space of time – it’s incredibly rewarding.”
The couple inherited Jack’s family farm in 2015 and spent four years trying to work the land, before gathering a final harvest then allowing the land to take care of itself, and they have now planted thousands of trees, allowing native seeds to regenerate which helps the bird population regroup and diversify, turned 70 acres into an enclosure to reintroduce beavers to Lincolnshire for the first time in over 400 years, and given over another five acres into a series of ponds to create a haven for amphibians and insects.
“My artwork has always been inspired by nature, interwoven with a dose of imagination for good measure,” Hannah explained, “and this book is a journal and a sketchbook, capturing glimpses of the characters that have joined us at Low Farm over the course of a year.
“The illustrations were all new for the book, but we’re definitely going to use lots of them throughout our collections.”
Hannah recounts the remarkable and exciting changes, together with the struggles the farm undergoes as natural processes are allowed to return, creating a mosaic of opportunities for wildlife.
In the familiar style of her work on greeting cards, gifts and homewares for Wrendale, the abundance of flora and fauna is captured by her sketches and illustrations of skylarks, hobbies, short eared owls, goldcrests, hedgehogs, polecats, hares, meadow brown butterflies, emperor dragonflies, hawk moths, bats, roe deer, woodcock, snipe, marsh orchids and ink cap and beef steak fungi, bringing to life the beauty and power of nature in every season.
The book has already received the thumbs up from important book reviewers such as Ben Goldsmith, author of God Is An Octopus, who described it as: “A marvel. Participating in the restoration of nature is about the most joyful thing a person can do, and this book radiates that joy.”
Meanwhile Patrick Barkham, The Guardian’s natural history writer, commented: “Hannah Dale tells the beautiful, heartening and quietly courageous story of rewilding her family farm. It honestly reveals the opposition she has faced but also the support, and the joy of witnessing the wild world burst into life. Most of all, it powerfully shows nature’s own enthusiasm for rewilding.”
A Wilding Year will be published on 13 March on sale at £14.99, but is available for pre-sale now. It joins Hannah’s other books for Batsford, including A Dog’s Life, The Farmyard Set, The Young Ones, and Flying The Nest. All Wrendale stockists are being invited to sell copies of the book and Hannah is planning to organise incentives such as signed copies.
