Paul Besley is a writer who started exploring the British landscape while at school in the 1970s. His main focus of work is the interaction between human and land from the Neolithic period to the present day. His work has evolved into the study of how the physical environment imprints itself on humans and how we as a race respond. Paul first hiked in Derbyshire as a teenager, and has honed his outdoor expertise as a volunteer ranger for the Peak District National Park, a member of Woodhead Mountain Rescue and a walking guide. His previous publications include Day Walks in the South Pennines for Vertebrate Publishing and three guides to walking in the Peak District for Cicerone Press. He lives close to the peat and gritstone of the Peak District with his wife, metalsmith Alison Counsell, their two pet dogs Monty and Olly, and his Mountain Rescue Search Dog, Scout.