A Scots Dictionary of Nature

BY AMANDA THOMSON £12.99

★★★ ★★

Grab a cup of tea, sit down in the summerhouse and enjoy a moment of tranquility while reading Amanda Thomson’s delightful dictionary of nature.

Split into six categories – land, wood, weather, birds, water and walking – the author has brought together some long-forgotten words that are customarily used to describe Scotland’s rich fauna and flora.

Exploring unique Scottish lexicon, rediscover words like ‘sooch’ – a hollow, murmuring sound or the sighing of the wind; ‘huam’ – the moan of an owl in the warm days of summer; and ‘glouk’ – the sound made by crows or skathies over carrion.

A celebration of Scotland’s great outdoors, this is a lovely book to have on the coffee table. Easy to read and interesting to rifle through on a quiet afternoon, it keeps alive archaic words that have been shaped by the environment itself.