Books by Polly Pullar

In the Company of Sheep

Sheep have shaped Britain’s landscapes for centuries yet remain among our most misunderstood animals. Drawing on a lifetime’s experience, nature writer Polly Pullar reveals the fascinating and deeply human story of sheep farming

On a journey around the British Isles, Polly explores a range of unique native breeds – from the Scottish Blackface, the most numerous in Britain, and the Welsh Mountain to the hardy four-horned black Hebrideans and the  eaweed-eating North Ronaldsays – creatures that are more than just white blobs in the landscape

Told with warmth, wit and a keen sense of humour, this is a celebration of remarkable animals and the characters whose lives are culturally entwined around them.

Reviews

Christopher Price – CEO – Rare Breeds Survival Trust:

This book is a real treat.  Polly Pullar does a wonderful job capturing the remarkable bond between native sheep breeds, the landscapes they belong to and the people who care for them. These breeds are living reflections of Britain’s diverse pastoral heritage, shaped by centuries of adaptation to place. Polly’s warmth, knowledge and affection for both sheep and shepherds shine through every page. At RBST, we know how vital these locally adapted breeds are to biodiversity, culture and sustainable farming. This is a heartfelt celebration of their enduring value and a wonderful read for anyone who loves the countryside. 

‘A real treat. Polly’s warmth, knowledge and affection for both sheep and shepherds shine through every page.’ 

‘A heartfelt celebration of native breeds and their enduring value . . . a wonderful read for anyone who loves the countryside.’

Mark Stephen presenter, BBC Radio Scotland: Out of Doors:
Yet again, Polly Pullar has managed to shine new light on some of our more remote rural areas, and she does this through the most unlikely lens of sheep. As everyone knows, sheep are famously stupid, and their greatest ambition is to die. Not so, says Polly, and demonstrates on page after page how much sheep have formed our landscape, culture and heritage.

From Shetland to Dartmoor, she meets the breeds, and the breeders who are keeping odd corners of these islands rich and alive. Breeds I’d never even heard of come to life on the page: you can see them, get to know them, damn near smell them. The Wensleydale, the Whiteface, the hardy Swaledale, the Exmoor Horn, the Balwen and the Badger Face. Each has its own history and character. Some breeds are so ancient they’re almost not domesticated at all. Unless you have gone eyeball to eyeball with a Soay sheep, munching on the turf roof of a cleit on St Kilda, you cannot begin to know how almost psychotically wild they are.  In one chapter she tells the tale of a day I shared with her, and the late Lawrence MacEwen. Lawrence, who flatly refused to be called the Laird of Muck, looked like a Viking in a boiler suit. Polly was fit and sheep-savvy. I was basically dead weight. The three of us, and two dogs, one of which was as green as grass, managed to clear a tidal island of sheep, and shepherd them on to Lawrence’s farm on Muck. It was a wholly unexpected triumph, a glowing memory for us all, and she is kind enough in the book not to mention the fact that it nearly killed me.

I speak to a lot of people in my line of work, so I mean it when I say that Polly has an uncanny ability to find the authentic voices of the countryside, people like herself, not separate from nature, but part of it. Passionate about what they do, and keen to share their hard-won experience and wisdom.

This is a fascinating book that touches on all sorts of countryside issues through the medium of an animal that sadly, most of us take for granted.  It’s a masterclass in why sheep count. 

Peter MacQueen – author, crofter, & broadcaster:
‘Warm, wise and rich in storytelling – a beautiful celebration of sheep, fank, and folk’ 

Jim Fairlie – MSP – Minister for Agriculture and Connections :
Polly and I have several things very much in common, not least of all our love of nature and the fabulous sheep that are so integral to our landscape heritage and economy. We have a shared understanding that balance is essential in seeking to depolarise the debate around biodiversity, trees and living with nature while maintaining rural traditions, economies, communities and our national diversity of sheep stocks. The role sheep play has to a large extent been demonised because of previous policy decisions without understanding that when the balance is right, sheep are a vital ecological managers, particularly in our uplands.

Polly has undoubtedly tried to bring balance into the debate with this book while taking us on a fabulous journey meeting wonderful people and beautifully describing the abundance of character and the unique role different breeds have in the areas they are bred to be. 

A fabulous read for sheep enthusiasts, for those with an interest in the debate and anyone who likes to get lost in the meandering landscapes and insight into lives of country people who are dedicated to their sheep and natural environment right across the country.  

‘With a deep understanding and passion for nature,  sheep and the people who keep them, Polly gives us a fabulous journey through the country, and a balance to a sometimes polarised debate’. 

Price: £14.50 inc p&p

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The Horizontal Oak

Ever since her pet sheep Lulu accompanied her to school at the age of seven, animals and nature have been at the heart of Polly Pullar’s world. But an otherwise idyllic childhood spent in the spectacular Scottish West Highlands was marred by family secrets which ultimately turned to tragedy. Following the suicide of her alcoholic father, and the deterioration of her relationship with her mother, Polly rebuilt her life, earning a reputation as a wildlife expert and rehabilitator, journalist and photographer. This is her inspirational story. Written with compassion, humour and optimism, she reflects on how her love of the natural world helped her find the strength to understand her parents, and to find an equilibrium.

Reviews

A remarkable, candid and fearlessly honest memoir, from the hugely talented Polly Pullar, peppered throughout with captivating details of nature in the wilds of Scotland.

– Sue Lawrence

In ‘The Horizontal Oak’ Polly Pullar skilfully and generously invites us into a life defined by a passion for wildlife and wild places, a life shaped by the addictions and loss of loved ones, a life full of compassion for the complexities of what it means to be human. The characters in this book are magnificent in all their flawed and colourful humanity. This deeply personal memoir is a treasure of insight, empathy and vulnerability, and the glorious people, animals and places within its pages will stay with you for a long time.

– Leonie Charlton

Nature in all its guises and a delightfully dark sense of humour are the forces that unite to overwhelm the consequences of a chaotic parental regime in this extraordinary and occasionally eye-moistening autobiography. Naturalist, writer, photographer and wildlife healer Polly Pullar emerges as a force of nature herself, still nursing some of life’s wounds, still smiling at the benevolent moments, still laughing out loud at its jokes. Like the eight-year-old girl watching her aviary who told her, “You are so lucky to have owls in your ovaries”, thereby summing up the life and the remarkable woman herself.

– Jim Crumley

A bright and illuminating memoir of both human and wildlife from one of this country’s finest nature writers. A work that often startles with its honesty and truth.

– Donald S. Murray

Price: £13 inc p&p

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A Scurry of Squirrels – Nurturing the Wild

Scotland’s much-loved wildlife writer knows the red squirrel on a uniquely personal level having hand-reared numerous kits. Here she reveals the squirrel’s history and natural history and shares entertaining anecdotes and personal experiences. This is also the story of her dedicated rehabilitation work not only with squirrels but also a wealth of other wildlife and documents an inspirational rewilding project on her small Perthshire farm. Polly also explores many of the wildlife conflicts that face us, and highlights vital ways in which we can nurture the wild as never before in this thought-provoking and delightful book.

Large format ( Royal paperback) : £11.00 inc. p&p

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The Red Squirrel: A future in the forest

Photographs by Neil McIntyre

The Red Squirrel: A future in the forest showcases one of Britain’s favourite mammals and at the same time, makes the case for the expansion of its native woodland home. The book’s stunning imagery comes from renowned Cairngorms photographer Neil McIntyre, who has spent 20 years following the lives of his local squirrels. Neil’s images are perfectly complemented by the insightful and evocative words of celebrated nature writer Polly Pullar.

Out of print.

A Richness of Martens

Wildlife Tales from the Highlands
Introduction by John Lister-Kaye
Illustrated by Sharon Tingey

Long-Listed for the Highland Book Prize 2019

When Les and Chris Humphreys moved to Ardnamurchan 15 years ago, little did they realise they would be sharing their home with some of Britain’s most elusive and misunderstood mustelids. Amongst all the animals and birds that visit their garden, they have formed a special bond with numerous pine martens, and have studied them and a cast of other creatures at close range through direct observation and via sensoroperated cameras.

Naturalist and photographer Polly Pullar has known the Humphreys and their pine martens for many years. In this book she tells the remarkable story of the couple and their animal friends, interpolating it with natural history, anecdote and her own experiences of the wildlife of the area. The result is a fascinating glimpse into the life of a much misunderstood animal and a passionate portrait of one of Scotland’s richest habitats – the oakwoods of Scotland’s Atlantic seaboard.

Out of print.

A Drop in the Ocean

Lawrence MacEwen and the Isle of Muck

Polly Pullar tells the fascinating tale of one of the Hebrides, unique thriving small communities through the colourful anecdotes of Lawrence MacEwen, whose family have owned the island since 1896. A wonderfully benevolent, and eccentric character, his passion and love for the island and its continuing success, has always been of the utmost importance. He has kept diaries all his life and delves deep into them, unveiling a uniquely human story, punctuated with liberal amounts of humour, as well as heart-rending tragedy, always dominated by the vagaries of the sea.

Filled with fascinating and extraordinary tales and priceless observations, this is not only a highly entertaining read but is also an important part of Scottish social history. The story begins with the amusing debut of Lawrence as a new baby when his mother returned from the hospital on the mainland, and carries on through his colourful island childhood and up to present day. Here are tales of coal puffers and livestock transportation on steamers and small boats, extraordinary chance meetings and adventures that eventually led him to finding his wife, Jenny, on the island of Soay.

It’s a book about the small hard-grafting community of 30 souls on this fertile island of just 1500 acres. Residents work closely with the MacEwen family in business interests: the thriving farm, market garden, a modern school, a busy tearoom, craft shop, and a winter shoot. A new village hall was opened in 2012, and a guesthouse in May 2013. Until March 2013, Muck depended on an unreliable generator for electricity that only came on twice daily, but now has finally been electrified with solar panels and wind turbines. It was one of the last places in the UK to receive 24-hour power.

Out of print.

Fauna Scotica

ANIMALS AND PEOPLE IN SCOTLAND

Polly Pullar and Mary Low

Scotland is home to a huge and diverse range of wildlife. This informative and beautifully illustrated book is the most complete companion to Scottish animals and birds available.

Themed around various habitats (mountain; bog and moor; woods; lochs and rivers; croft and farm; sea and seashore; and about town), and including material on mythical beasts, it features a wealth of information on hundreds of species, and also includes our wonderful native farm livestock.

Packed with descriptions and natural history information, the text is interspersed with much detail – historical, folklore, anecdotal and even culinary – which offers fascinating insights into the role of animals and birds in our cultural life and the way man has interacted with them over a period of thousands of years.

Aimed at a wide audience and highly readable – Fauna Scotica is a valuable addition to every country enthusiast’s library.

[Out of stock]

Rural Portraits

SCOTTISH NATIVE FARM ANIMALS, CHARACTERS & LANDSCAPES

Polly Pullar – Illustrated by Keith Brockie

A magnificent journey round Scotland encompassing every breed of Scottish native farm animal, and many of the colourful characters who keep them. Each chapter evolves through the meetings with the people both young and old. It is largely their anecdotes and nostalgia which shapes this fascinating book.

Here for example are tales from the infamous Lairg Sheep Sales, the Perth Bull Sales and the Royal Highland Show. Time is spent with the sea-weed eating sheep of North Ronaldsay, Blackface sheep, Belted Galloway cattle, Highland cattle, Clydesdales and Shetland ponies. There are amusing childhood reminiscences from remote Ardnamurchan, an account of an Ayrshire milking parlour at daybreak, a visit to the atmospheric bothy workshop of an elderly stick-maker, or the story of our newest breed of cattle, the Luing. From up and coming young farmers using embryo-transplant techniques for prime Aberdeen-Angus beef production in Orkney, to crofters in far-flung locations, Rural Portraits is richly varied.

Polly Pullar’s writing is clear, informative and full of anecdotal humour and deep feeling for the countryside. Her vivid images of landscape and the sights and sounds of nature are stunning, perfectly complimented by the 116 detailed images of internationally renowned artist Keith Brockie. This comprehensive and thoroughly readable record of a vital part of Scotland’s heritage is destined to become the definitive work on the subject. This is a book that appeals to a wide audience of varying age groups.

SOLD OUT

A Winged Collective of Birds from around the World

Illustrated by Clare Mackie

Ever wondered about what to call a group of ducks or swifts? A Winged Collective is an A-Z of the collective nouns of birds of the world.

Written by Polly Pullar, each bird section gives the reader some understanding about the bird and why they have the collective noun they have. The humorous illustrations by Clare Mackie make the book fun as well as informative.

You will soon be able to say there goes a Scream of Swifts over the heads of that Raft of Ducks!

Out of print
Clare Mackie (illustrator)

Further Afield With a Camera

A beautiful, unusual collection of photographs depicting Polly Pullar’s fascination with the countryside in all its aspects. The diverse chapters illustrate her deep passion and ‘seeing eye’ for subjects ranging from the monumental sea stacs of remote St. Kilda, to the tiniest details of back-lit floral studies. The relationship between the photographer and her subjects will delight.

Out of print