Gently beguiling, Otter Country chronicles nature writer Miriam Darlington’s year obsessively observing the wild otter.

A plan formed in my mind. I would explore the places in this land that hid my grail. I would spend a whole year or longer, if that’s what it took, wading through marshes, hiding between mossy rocks, paddling down rivers and swimming in sea lochs; recording my journey through the seasons as I searched for wild otters.

With sumptuous, lyrical prose, Darlington takes us along her winding journey from Devon, England through the waterways of Wales, Scotland, Cornwall, the Lake District, and beyond in search of otters. Marshes, fens, rivers, woodlands — all are rich fodder for searching, seeking, spying, and contemplating a species Darlington has been fascinated with since childhood. Part Walden, part eco-guide, part meditation, and part literature survey, Otter Country gives an account of otters’ habits and habitats as graceful and sinuous as the animals themselves. She deftly winds nature observation, thoughts on conservation, ruminations on the otter’s place in modern society, and sharp commentary on human encroachment into a journey both poetic and educational. Transportive, definitely worth a read.