As part of the 2024 Farsley Literature Festival we bring you an evening at the Old Woollen with Sunday Times Best Selling Author, Guy Shrubsole in conversation with Boff Whalley. They will be discussing Guy’s new book The Lie of the Land: Who Really Cares for the Countryside?

For centuries we’ve been sold a lie: that you need to own the land to care for it. Just 1% of the population own half of England, and this tiny landowning elite like to present themselves as the rightful custodians of the countryside. They’re even paid billions of pounds of public money to be good stewards. But what happens when they just don’t care?

A small number of landowners have laid waste to some of our most treasured landscapes, leaving our forests bare, our rivers polluted, our moorlands burned, and our fenlands drained. Here Guy Shrubsole journeys all over Britain to expose the damage done to our land, and meet the communities fighting back: the river guardians, small farmers and trespassing activists restoring our lost wildlife. Full of rage and hope, this is a bold vision for our nation’s wild places, and how we can treat them with the awe and attention they deserve.

It’s time to demand better for nature. We can start by replacing the lie of the land with a profound truth: that any of us can care for the countryside, regardless of whether you own it.

This is set to be a night of great discussion and their will be chance for the audience to ask Guy their own questions on this subject.