Books published by Whittles Publishing

Set atop the rocky plateau of Lundy Island in the Bristol Channel, the Old Light stands proudly - a monument to the skill of its builder, Joseph Nelson. It is of a pleasing construction, both solid and graceful, and when built in 1820 it had two lights - an upper and a lower, and was the highest lighthouse in the country. In this fascinating history of the old lighthouse and the fog signal station, the author has combined her wide knowledge of the island's history with information gleaned from extensive research into Trinity House's archives. Some tantalising insights into the life of the keepers and their families have emerged - the keeper who was too tall for the lantern room; the keeper's wife who tragically died of water contamination, and the gunners who poached their dinners and hid their numerous children when the Elder Brethren came to inspect the cottages! Interwoven throughout the story are details of the numerous wrecks from the 15th century until 1897. Accounts from newspapers are often included, and the wrecks are linked to the lighthouse keepers of the time and the heroic rescues performed by the lighthouse staff. There are also some wonderful snippets of island history - one owner regarded Lundy as independent of mainland authorities and issued his own 'puffin' coins and stamps - the latter are still in use to cover postage to the mainland although the coins are now collectors' items. The height of the Old Light soon proved to be its downfall and eventually the reason why it was extinguished. Due to Lundy's plateau-top fogs which completely obscured the lantern, although there was clear visibility at ground level, a programme of alterations and intensifications took place under the advice of Professor Faraday. In 1862 a fog signal station was built on the west coast, providing shipping with another warning. This was not wholly successful either and it was not until 1897 that the Old Light was replaced by new lights on lower levels at the north and south ends of the island. Since the light was extinguished, the Old Light and the fog signal station reverted to the owners. The Landmark Trust restored the lighthouse and holiday-makers can now stay in the keepers' quarters, climb the 147 steps to the lantern room, and enjoy the breathtaking views across the whole island to the coasts of Wales and Cornwall. Owned by the National Trust, Lundy Island is an outstanding area of great natural beauty which attracts many visitors, who frequently return year after year to enjoy this special place.

An epic drama of the Highland clearances by an expert

Archibald Menzies was one of a legion of intrepid Scots plant collectors in the 18th and 19th centuries who roamed the world and, by a combination of toughness and knowledge, established the foundations of the botany of the British Empire. This is a fascinating tale of how he brought the monkey puzzle to England for the first time and provides an insight to international plant collecting in the 18th century. Based on his diaries, the author recounts how Menzies, whilst on a classic voyage of exploration in which he circumnavigated the world twice, is the only naval surgeon to be placed under arrest for insubordination - and all because his precious plants were washed away! He is also the only man to have pocketed his dessert at a foreign presidential banquet, which subsequently resulted in the introduction of one of the most curious trees to Britain's parks and estates. The Author tells a tale of high adventure on land and sea in the latter part of the 18th century, from a surgeon's grisly work at the Battle of the Saints in the West Indies to the seductive allure of Tahitian maidens and plant collecting in freezing Alaska. Menzies was the first to ascend the fiery volcano of Mauna Loa in Hawaii, where the natives aptly descibed him as 'the red-faced man who gathered grass and cut off men's limbs'. An acclaimed naturalist, Menzies made major botanical dicoveries during the epic journey of HMS Discovery under Captain George Vancouver along the north-west coast of America in the early 1790s, discovering many plants which now adorn British and continental gardens. He also described the Californian condor and made important early anthropological observations on the native peoples of North America. In this highly readable book, the author recounts the story of how a young Scots gardener from humble origins became a distinguished plant pioneer who changed the face of gardens throughout Europe by his botanical discoveries.

Provides a detailed understanding of the issues associated with the processes of decommissioning and radioactive waste management.

After joining the Australian Merchant Navy at the age of sixteen, Dick Jolly trained as an engineer before joining the Australian National Line as a cadet. After a four-year apprenticeship, he gradually gained promotion while travelling around the Australian coast. Fascinated by the world of commercial deep-sea tugs and salvage, his first real break came in Portsmouth in 1963 when he landed a job on RFA Typhoon. Relocating to Singapore and with a Foreign Going tugmaster's qualification under his belt, he went on to travel the oceans of the world, hauling derelict ships, dredgers, floating cranes and all manner of other craft. For four years he left the sea, trying to earn a living as an opal-miner in Andamooka in the Australian Outback where the vast majority of miners go bankrupt! It was an advert for the post of tugmaster in the Port of Eden which brought him to his senses, and he returned to the world of salvage. After further work in the Far East, his no-nonsense attitude was appreciated by the managing director of a new salvage company and the author was sent to Germany to purchase the company's tug, the Intergulf. Captain Jolly relates many fascinating stories from the hard-bitten world of commercial salvage: dragging blazing ships off rocky shorelines, rescuing crews from the middle of the ocean and avoiding hostile natives. On one occasion, he had to drive through the jungle at break-neck speed to avoid being taken hostage! These and many other gripping adventures are recounted in this exciting, true-life and humorous story, which is complemented by stunning colour and black & white photographs.

A kayak trip in Greenland's Nuuk fjords through an area of amazing beautyTurreted fairytale peaks, glistening snowfields, waterfalls plunging over immense cliffs into the sea, a million tons of ice capsizing - this is the setting for Fallen Pieces of the Moon, an account of a kayak trip along the west coast of Greenland, paddling about 150 miles of coastline in the Nuuk fjords area. Into the day-to-day account of contending with unsettled weather such as fog, unstable icebergs, midges and bugs by the billion, are woven insights into Inuit culture - their language, their shamanic practices, their hunting and navigation techniques and much more. On the way, the reader learns a great deal about the Arctic animals, pollution and the Arctic environment. Information on the early Arctic whalers, when whole fleets were beset and crushed by ice, is included; and an appreciation will be gained of the hardships endured by the Viking settlers and explorers such as Frobisher and Franklin who suffered scurvy, frostbite and starvation. Told with humour, the book is endlessly informative and entertaining on topics ranging from cannibalism, kayak rolling and Inuit string games to cargo cults or how the invention of bully beef influenced naval tactics. Fallen Pieces of the Moon is a celebration of a sparse, billion-year-old landscape where the roots of things, both physical and human, seem less hidden. It conveys something of the wonder and awe that Greenland inspires in all who have been there. It describes days of absolute stillness, sliding though shoals of waxing suns; ephemeral cloudscapes on broad-winged breezes; a high corrie where jet black ravens float in a crystal bowl of Alpine air; and the ever-present icebergs like cathedrals of glass, like floating jewels, like fallen pieces of the moon.

Biography of famous geotechnical engineer

After giving up a hectic life as a journalist in Europe and Hollywood in the late 1960s to return to his boyhood love of nature, Mike Tomkies found Eilean Shona, a remote island 'between earth and paradise' off the west coast of Scotland. There he rebuilt a rotting wooden crofthouse which sheep had used for shelter from the bitter Atlantic winds and began a new way of life, observing nature, that was to last to the present day. He tracked wildlife, stags, foxes, made friends with the seals, and taught a young injured sparrowhawk to hunt for itself. It was the indomitable spirit of this tiny hawk that taught Tomkies what it takes for any of us to be truly free. Whether he was fishing, growing his own food or battling through stormy seas in a small boat, he learned that he could survive in the harsh environment. This book, the beginning of a remarkable Scottish odyssey, has long been out of print until now - but one which has long been demanded by Tomkies' loyal readers. Between Earth and Paradise tells of an astonishing story - of daring to take the first step away from urban routines, which many of us only dream about - which led in turn to an even more remote location and his unrivalled series of books on the golden eagle, the wildcats he reared, and his faithful dog, Moobli.

The legendary wildlife writer's biography including his time mingling with Hollywood stars, before he went to the Canadian wilderness

The story of the conversion of a general dumping-ground to a rich and productive wildlife haven

Second part of auto about leaving his Hollywood life for wilderness writing

The geological background to carbonate sediments and rocks is provided and basic information on the compositions, origins and distributions of carbonate sediments.

Suitable for both practitioners and students, this book covers the topic of engineering geomorphology as a distinct discipline. It explains the causes, mechanisms and consequences of landform change and then considers how the land surface works in the context of wetland, flatland, hills, mountains, rivers and coasts.

Horrific experiences of the blitz in wartime London and the spiritual bankruptcy of her lover and his Marxist acquaintances are seen through the eyes of Nan, a young Scotswoman, who has returned to her native Highlands to recover from a nervous breakdown. Her letters to her lover from the warm and friendly ambience of a widowed aunt's farmhouse reflect her innermost thoughts on the essence of being and the restorative effects of the quiet rhythm of country life. The shadows of the immediate past begin to recede, but her return to health is rudely interrupted by news of the brutal murder of a neighbouring crofter and the unsolicited attentions of a sinister stranger. The inevitable relapse brings her aunt, a practical and cultured woman, into contact with both lover and stranger and pits her optimistic, human and emotional approach to life against the theories and bleak logic of the two men. The recovery of the young woman brings aunt and niece even closer together in their understanding of life, but the final denouement, although imbued with hope, is inconclusive and leaves the reader to imagine the eventual outcome. Written with all the power of a master hand this is a subtly thoughtful and gripping novel that has a strange relevance to today's events. The blight of terrorism, the dominance of consumerism, the absence of a spiritual dimension in domestic affairs and fears of the harmful effects of globalisation on the freedom and development of small communities, are symptoms of an uneasiness with regard to world stability and the erosion of traditional values and beliefs

Worked examples derived from international publications on the subject; valuable learning/teaching tool

First class nature writing from an acknowledged master

Observation of deer behaviour providing insight into forest life

A record of a life spent at sea, from junior cadet to captain, encompassing the mundane and the exotic

Biographical accounts from 30 eminent international engineers

Discussing the durability of construction materials in the context of structures, this book also deals with steel, concrete, timber, masonry, aluminium, plastics and composites. Each chapter is augmented by examples illustrating the durability of elements in a structure, the performance of materials, and any problems encountered with durability.

This is the story of a man who achieved what thousands only dream of. He shed the pressures of urban life as an international journalist and exchanged it for solitude, self-sufficiency and new purpose. He emigrated to Canada, found a plot of rock, trees and cliffs in a remote part of the British Columbian coastline, and moved in with typewriter, tent and the barest necessities to build his dream cabin. How he eventually built his log cabin, learned to live off the sea, adjusted to and worked with the hardest taskmaster of all - Nature - fought loneliness and was inevitably drawn to greater understanding of his remote wilderness and its wild creatures, is an inspiring story. His adventures with nesting bald eagles, a cheeky raccoon, grizzlies, a lame seagull, killer whales and other creatures, are as informative as they are enthralling. Three extraordinary characters enhanced his experiences: Ed Louette, a skilled backwoods carpenter; Pappy Tihoni, a Scots-Indian who guided him on his most dangerous but fulfilling expedition into the mountains and wild dog Booto, who scratched at his cabin door with wagging tail when loneliness threatened to overwhelm. This book is as compelling and perhaps even more relevant today with the world's great wilderness areas continuing to disappear.

Established text for students of geomatics and related subjects

A classic of Scottish nature writing and of the literature of our mountains

The story of a British Liaison Officer in a Free French sloop during WWII. Acclaimed as a minor classic