Rick, former BBC journalist and a lifelong birdwatcher, presents an illustrated journey along the 230 miles of England's famous Fosse Way

Rick is joining our panel of speakers for Southam Bookfest!

See main event page here: Southam Book Festival 2026 Tickets, Sunday 11 October • 11 AM - 4 PM | Eventbrite

Please note that Rick's talk has a different location and date/time than the rest of the line-up, so you get to visit both as you wish.

Rick will present an illustrated journey month by month along the 230 miles of the Fosse Way that spears through the heart of England from Lincolnshire to Devon. It was paved by the Romans shortly after their mass invasion of England in AD 43 to secure southern England from incursions by the Celtic Britons and Welsh. Where the Romans built forts at key crossing points, towns and great cities grew up over the centuries, and there were countless battles along its length that changed English history.

The quarries that provided limestone for the Fosse Way were developed later to provide the materials for urban Britain, and many of the flooded pits are now nature reserves. The book describes the wildlife to be found on these reserves as the seasons change, with reflections on the biodiversity crisis and the local impacts of climate change, and the successful efforts of thousands of volunteers bringing back species that became extinct because of human activity. There are stories of enterprise, folklore and some curious human tales along the way.

Rick is a former BBC journalist and a lifelong birdwatcher living in Warwick.

Description supplied by the event organiser.