‘The knockings of autumn are making themselves heard in the rustle of the leaves and whistle of the chilly wind. Spiderwebs are festooned on hedges and a spider is poised at the centre of one. In the fleeting morning sunshine the webs light up in twinkling displays.’

Recovering from surgery, Paul Clements and his wife, Felicity, spent a year in a remote cottage in the woodlands of Montalto Estate, Co. Down. Through the lens of a curious observer and a budding bird watcher, Clements describes in exquisite detail his discovery of the restorative power of nature. Beautifully written, A Year in the Woods is a fusion of social and cultural history, nature writing and memoir. Reflecting back on this magical year spent in the woods through the journal he kept, Clements describes his awakening to the wonder of the woodland and developing his deep connection to nature.

Peppered with fascinating folklore and history, Clements celebrates the changing seasons, from harsh winter storms to dry languid summer evenings. Clements is a gifted writer, but it is his detailed and often humorous descriptions of the complexities of nature at his doorstep from the foibles and idiosyncrasies of various fauna, to his awe of nature’s resilience to ever-changing weather conditions that ultimately captivates the reader.

Paul Clements is a literary journalist, author, and public speaker and broadcaster. A former BBC assistant editor, he is a recipient of the Reuter Journalist’s Fellowship Programme, a Fellow of Green Templeton College, Oxford, a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and of the Royal Society of Literature. A contributor to The Irish Times, he writes a regular local history column and Irishman’s Diaries for the newspaper.

Part I: Background and History Chronology of Montalto estate
Chapter 1. Rebellion in the Drumlins (1641–1799)
Chapter 2. A Flamboyant Legacy (1800–2024)

Part II: The Seasons (1992–93)
Preamble
Chapter 3. Autumn
Chapter 4. Winter
Chapter 5. Spring
Chapter 6. Summer

Part III: Sprinklings of Feathered Gold Dust
Chapter 7. Reawakening the Woods
Chapter 8. An Avian Odyssey