The Pull of the River by Matt Gaw

What an absolute gem The Pull of the River by Matt Gaw (Elliott & Thompson) really is. Imagine two friends Matt and James decide to paddle their way through the waterways of the heart of Britain. This is exactly what they both do. Not only that but they build the canoe themselves.

The red canoe is christened ‘Pipe’ for reasons that become clear early in the book and after putting the canoe through some trials off they both set to explore the rivers and not only that but explore and discover nature.

The real beauty is that you can imagine the two in their red canoe silently paddling the waterways of Britain which gives them both the perfect way to get back to nature and to pause real life in their year long quest to examine our rivers and the wildlife that makes this their home.

Not in any way was this an easy relaxed year long quest there was at times real life drama and peril. Examining the rivers from The Waveney and The Stour and Alde, through to the Upper and Lower Thames to the River Severn.

At times you can almost hear the birdsong as they paddle gently through the rivers but at times you sense their real fear. The beauty of knowing that both become at one with our watery arteries of Britain but also at one with nature even glimpse of wild Beavers. There are Kingfishers, Otters and Damselflies to name a few that the reader discovers on the journey with Matt Gaw and James Treadaway.

I for one would not even dream of paddling some the extreme rivers and Lochs this is not for the faint hearted but the message that comes across to anyone reading this is simple. Life is for living and live in the now. Beautifully written and told but I would have loved a few photos as this would have made this book. Definitely one I would really recommend reading sat by a river when the sun shines listening to the birdsong.

288 Pages.

Thank you to Alison Menzies for the review copy of The Pull of the River by Matt Gaw.

The Pull of the River by Matt Gaw was published by Elliott & Thompson and was published in Paperback on 21^st February 2018 and is available through Waterstones, Amazon and through your local independent bookshop.