Tristan Gooley - How To Read A Tree

Do two trees ever appear identical? No, but why? Every small difference is a clue.

Each tree we meet is filled with signs that reveal secrets about the life of that tree and the landscape we stand in. The clues are easy to spot when you know what to look for, but remain invisible to most people.

Nicknamed 'the Sherlock Holmes of nature', Tristan Gooley has been instructing people in the art of reading trees for two decades. Join Tristan on stage to discover the principles that explain the shapes and patterns you can see in trees and what they mean.

Once you have learned to see the hidden patterns in trees, it is impossible to unsee them. Join us for a spectacular session, learn skills that can be applied whether you are in a town or a wilder spot, and prepare to never look at a tree in the same way again.

Tristan’s book 'How To Read A Tree' will be available to purchase at the Festival Book Store over the Festival weekend. Wanderlust Magazine has listed it as one of the best travel books of 2023.

There will be a book signing straight after the event.

Published by Sceptre.

Reviews

‘An important book and a pleasure to read.’ – Raynor Winn, author of The Salt Path

‘You will never look at a tree in the same way again after reading this mesmerising book. Gooley drops learning as lightly as blossom falls in spring.’ – John Lewis-Stempel

‘Tristan Gooley has done trees the greatest service.’ – Isabella Tree

‘It was a lightbulb moment! I thought I knew my local woods – I walk there almost every day. But it’s a thrill to see it through fresh eyes, to develop a much deeper understanding.’ – Peter Gibbs, Chair of BBC Gardeners’ Question Time

‘Wherever you are – city or wilderness – if you want to understand the secrets of trees you pass, this is the book to read…Tristan has the rare gift of explaining the most complex ideas with humour and deep insight.’ – Peter Thomas, Emeritus Reader in Plant Ecology at Keele University, author of Trees

‘This book will add a new dimension to your countryside stroll.’ Wanderlust

About Tristan Gooley

Tristan Gooley is an author and natural navigator.

Tristan set up his natural navigation school in 2008 and is the author of award-winning and internationally bestselling books, including The Natural Navigator (2010) The Lost Art of Reading Nature’s Signs (US) / The Walker’s Guide to Outdoor Clues & Signs (UK 2014), How to Read Water (2016), The Secret World of Weather (2021) and How to Read a Tree (2023); some of the world’s only books covering natural navigation.