My canine adventures through Britain

Isle of Dogs

Every dog must have his day. 
 
There's nothing the British love quite as much as their dogs - but did you know that our canine companions have also shaped the history of this sceptred isle? From hunting to our hearths, and from herding to heavy industry, our dogs have accompanied us through centuries of social and economic change, and our relationship is still evolving today. 
 
In this fascinating alternative history of Britain, Clare Balding takes us on a journey across the length and breadth of the home nations, exploring our unique heritage of canine tradition and meeting the people who still live, work and innovate with their dogs. A story of companionship, loyalty and good old-fashioned hard work, Isle of Dogs is an unmissable read for anyone whose life has been transformed by a faithful hound.

CLARE BALDING is an award-winning writer and broadcaster who has been at the forefront of sports presentation since 1998. She has been a key anchor at seven Olympic and six Paralympic Games as well as multiple Commonwealth Games and Winter Olympics. She was awarded a special BAFTA in 2012 for her work at the London Olympics and Paralympics. In 2023, she took over as the lead BBC TV presenter at Wimbledon. She was a key commentator on the BBC's television coverage of King Charles III's Coronation in 2023 and for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee coverage in 2022. She has presented the television coverage of Crufts for nearly two decades and Lost Dogs Live on Channel 5, which helps reunite missing dogs with their owners. During most of her childhood she thought she was a dog and has tried to live with the mentality of a Labrador puppy: be pleased to see everyone and treat every new task as an exciting adventure. Her first book, My Animals and Other Family, was published in 2012 and won the National Book Award for biography of the year. In 2013, she was awarded an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List and in 2023 received a CBE for services to sport and charity in the Queen's final Honours List.

The Racehorse Who Wouldn't Gallop: Read It Yourself - Level 4 Fluent Reader

Charlie is excited when she finally gets a horse she can ride. She believes Noddy can help her family to afford their well-loved farm. But when Noddy does not want to gallop, Charlie must think outside the box to achieve her dreams. 
 
The Racehorse Who Wouldn't Gallop is from Fluent Reader Level 4 and is ideal for more fluent readers aged from 7+ who are starting to read independently. 
 
Each book has been carefully checked by educational and subject consultants and includes comprehension puzzles, book band information, and tips for helping children with their reading. 
 
With five levels to take children from first phonics to fluent reading and a wide range of different stories and topics for every interest, Read It Yourself helps children build their confidence and begin reading for pleasure.

Ladybird (Author) 
We make growing up the best story ever! Here at Ladybird, we publish books to inspire curious minds. From first words to fluency, we're here for young readers at every step. As the home of Read it yourself, Ladybird Readers and First Words with Peppa, we guide learners from one story to the next - sparking plenty of smiles along the way. 
 
Clare Balding (Author) 
When she was young, Clare Balding thought she was a dog. Disappointed to discover she was only human, she did her best to spend every waking hour with dogs and ponies. She could ride before she could walk and, growing up surrounded by racehorses trained by her father, she dreamt of winning the Grand National or riding for Great Britain at the Olympics. Those dreams never came true but the consolation prize hasn't been bad. As a television and radio presenter, Clare has worked at six Olympic Games, the highlight being London 2012, as well as the Winter Olympics, Paralympics, Commonwealth Games, the Grand National, Royal Ascot, Wimbledon and the Ryder Cup. Clare lives in London with her wife, Alice, their dog Archie and their cat, Button.

Charlie is excited when she finally gets a horse she can ride. She believes Noddy can help her family to afford their well-loved farm. But when Noddy does not want to gallop, Charlie must think outside the box to achieve her dreams. 
 
The Racehorse Who Wouldn't Gallop is from Fluent Reader Level 4. It is ideal for children aged 7+ who can confidently read texts with a wider vocabulary, and who are beginning to read longer stories by themselves. 
 
Read It Yourself is a series of modern stories, traditional tales and first reference books written in a simple way for children who are learning to read in English. 
 
Beginner Reader Level 0 is a twelve-step programme to support children who are developing their phonics reading skills. It introduces new letters and sounds in a systematic order. 
 
Levels 1 to 4 are written for children who are moving beyond phonics and gaining reading confidence and fluency. Each book includes simple sentences and high-frequency words, as well as a limited number of new words for essential reading practice. 
 
Each book has been thoroughly checked by educational consultants and includes tips for helping children with their reading, as well as comprehension puzzles and book band information. 
 
With five levels to take children from first phonics to fluent reading, Read It Yourself helps every child on their journey to becoming a confident reader.

A BBC nature collection

Go Wild

22 BBC radio programmes celebrating the great outdoors, introduced by Harriet Noble 
 
Spending time in nature is good for both our bodies and minds - but with our hectic lives (not to mention the unreliable British weather), it can be hard to get outside as much as we'd like. But fear not: we've selected some of BBC Radio 4's best nature documentaries to transport you to the great outdoors - and encourage you to take your own trip into the wild. 
 
Discover the tranquility of canoeing down the River Waveney; go rambling in the countryside with Clare Balding; explore al fresco cooking with the Food Programme team and learn the history of Cornwall's colourful flower fields. Or why not go surfing in Scotland, off-grid in Wales or on a journey of a lifetime with Paralympian cyclist Karen Darke? 
 
These captivating programmes will let you experience the sights and sounds of nature - from an oak woodland to a rainforest canopy and a rock pool - and introduce you to some remarkable naturalists, such as filmmaker Roger Deakin, author Robert Macfarlane, pioneering ornithologist Emma Turner, writer and poet Nan Shepherd, and perfumer and mountain photographer Walter Poucher. 
 
Whether you're an intrepid explorer, a weekend micro-adventurer or simply a nature lover, you're sure to be inspired - so step away from your screen, get out into the open air and enjoy the beauty of the natural world. 
 
 
Contents 
 
Cigarette on the Waveney - presented by Roger Deakin 
 
Ramblings: In Search of the Old Ways with Robert Macfarlane - presented by Clare Balding 
 
Open Country: Nan Shepherd's Cairngorms - presented by Helen Mark 
 
The Food Programme: Outdoor Cooking - presented by Sheila Dillon and Simon Parkes 
 
One to One: Isabel Hardman on nature and depression 
 
Ramblings: George Monbiot in search of the wild - presented by Clare Balding 
 
The Life Scientific: Sky at Night with Maggie Aderin-Pocock- presented by Jim Al-Khalili 
 
Open Country: Off Grid in Mid-Wales - presented by Ian Marchant 
 
A Guide to Coastal Wildlife: Rock Pools - presented by Brett Westwood and Phil Gates 
Sound recordist: Chris Watson 
 
Soundstage: The Oak Woodland 
Sound recordist: Chris Watson 
 
Costing the Earth: Cycle City - presented by Tom Heap 
 
Open Country: Surfing on Scotland's North Coast - presented by Helen Mark 
 
Journey of a Lifetime - Karen Darke: From Source to Sea via Me 
 
Nature: The Rainforest Canopy 
Recorded by wildlife cameraman John Aitchison 
 
Nature: Emma Turner - A Life in the Reeds 
Sound recordist: Chris Watson 
 
The Flower Fields - presented by Michael Bird 
 
The Perfumed Mountaineer - presented by Hayden Lorimer 
 
Living World: Winter Seashore - presented by Trai Anfield 
 
Open Country: The Boat Builders of Pin Mill - presented by Helen Mark 
 
Ramblings: Bonding Walks: Stiperstones, Shropshire - presented by Clare Balding 
 
Open Country: Somerset Wassail - presented by Helen Mark 
 
Winter Starlings 
Sound recordist: Chris Watson 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
(p) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Clare Balding (Author) CLARE BALDING is an award-winning writer and broadcaster who has been at the forefront of sports presentation since 1998. She has been a key anchor at seven Olympic and six Paralympic Games as well as multiple Commonwealth Games and Winter Olympics. She was awarded a special BAFTA in 2012 for her work at the London Olympics and Paralympics. In 2023, she took over as the lead BBC TV presenter at Wimbledon. She was a key commentator on the BBC's television coverage of King Charles III's Coronation in 2023 and for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee coverage in 2022. She has presented the television coverage of Crufts for nearly two decades and Lost Dogs Live on Channel 5, which helps reunite missing dogs with their owners. During most of her childhood she thought she was a dog and has tried to live with the mentality of a Labrador puppy: be pleased to see everyone and treat every new task as an exciting adventure. Her first book, My Animals and Other Family, was published in 2012 and won the National Book Award for biography of the year. In 2013, she was awarded an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List and in 2023 received a CBE for services to sport and charity in the Queen's final Honours List. Robert Macfarlane (Author, Reader) Robert Macfarlane's Sunday Times- and New York Times-bestselling books include Is a River Alive?, Underland, Landmarks, The Old Ways, The Wild Places and Mountains of the Mind, as well as a book-length prose-poem, Ness. His work has been translated into more than thirty languages, won prizes around the world, and been widely adapted for film, music, theatre, radio and dance. He has also written operas, plays, albums, choral works, and films including River and Mountain, both narrated by Willem Dafoe. 
 
Macfarlane has collaborated closely with artists including Olafur Eliasson, and with the artist Jackie Morris he co-created the internationally bestselling books of nature-poetry and art, The Lost Words and The Lost Spells. In 2017, the American Academy of Arts and Letters awarded him the E.M. Forster Prize for Literature, and in 2023 in Toronto he was the inaugural winner of the Weston International Award for a body of work in the field of non-fiction. He is a Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and is presently working on a graphic novel re-telling of the Epic of Gilgamesh. 
 
Macfarlane and Morris's latest project, The Book of Birds, will be published in May 2026. Roger Deakin (Reader) Roger Deakin, who died in 2006, was a writer, filmmaker and environmentalist of international renown. He was a founder member of Friends of the Earth, and co-founded Common Ground. He lived for thirty-eight years in a moated farmhouse in Suffolk. Waterlog, which was first published in 1999, became a word-of-mouth bestseller, and is now an established classic of the nature writing canon. Clare Balding (Reader) When she was young, Clare Balding thought she was a dog. Disappointed to discover she was only human, she did her best to spend every waking hour with dogs and ponies. She could ride before she could walk and, growing up surrounded by racehorses trained by her father, she dreamt of winning the Grand National or riding for Great Britain at the Olympics. Those dreams never came true but the consolation prize hasn't been bad. As a television and radio presenter, Clare has worked at six Olympic Games, the highlight being London 2012, as well as the Winter Olympics, Paralympics, Commonwealth Games, the Grand National, Royal Ascot, Wimbledon and the Ryder Cup. Clare lives in London with her wife, Alice, their dog Archie and their cat, Button. Jim Al-Khalili (Reader) Professor Jim Al-Khalili, OBE FRS, is a physicist, author and broadcaster based at the University of Surrey. He received his PhD in theoretical nuclear physics in 1989 and has published over a hundred research papers on quantum physics. 
His many popular science books have been translated into twenty-six languages. He is a recipient of the Royal Michael Faraday medal and the Institute of Physics Kelvin Medal. 
In 2016 he received the inaugural Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication. He lives in Southsea, Hampshire, with his wife Julie. Tom Heap (Reader) Tom Heap is the creator and presenter of BBC Radio's flagship climate change podcast '39 Ways to Save the Planet'. He is also a regular presenter on BBC1's Countryfile specialising in the more investigative films and has made many BBC Panorama documentaries on food, energy and the environment. Tom also hosts BBC Radio 4's regular environment series 'Costing the Earth'. For fun he likes to ride bikes, chop wood, watch films, grow chillies and bodge carpentry.

22 BBC radio programmes celebrating the great outdoors, introduced by Harriet Noble 
 
Spending time in nature is good for both our bodies and minds - but with our hectic lives (not to mention the unreliable British weather), it can be hard to get outside as much as we'd like. But fear not: we've selected some of BBC Radio 4's best nature documentaries to transport you to the great outdoors - and encourage you to take your own trip into the wild. 
 
Discover the tranquility of canoeing down the River Waveney; go rambling in the countryside with Clare Balding; explore al fresco cooking with the Food Programme team and learn the history of Cornwall's colourful flower fields. Or why not go surfing in Scotland, off-grid in Wales or on a journey of a lifetime with Paralympian cyclist Karen Darke? 
 
These captivating programmes will let you experience the sights and sounds of nature - from an oak woodland to a rainforest canopy and a rock pool - and introduce you to some remarkable naturalists, such as filmmaker Roger Deakin, author Robert Macfarlane, pioneering ornithologist Emma Turner, writer and poet Nan Shepherd, and perfumer and mountain photographer Walter Poucher. 
 
Whether you're an intrepid explorer, a weekend micro-adventurer or simply a nature lover, you're sure to be inspired - so step away from your screen, get out into the open air and enjoy the beauty of the natural world. 
 
 
Contents 
 
Cigarette on the Waveney - presented by Roger Deakin 
 
Ramblings: In Search of the Old Ways with Robert Macfarlane - presented by Clare Balding 
 
Open Country: Nan Shepherd's Cairngorms - presented by Helen Mark 
 
The Food Programme: Outdoor Cooking - presented by Sheila Dillon and Simon Parkes 
 
One to One: Isabel Hardman on nature and depression 
 
Ramblings: George Monbiot in search of the wild - presented by Clare Balding 
 
The Life Scientific: Sky at Night with Maggie Aderin-Pocock- presented by Jim Al-Khalili 
 
Open Country: Off Grid in Mid-Wales - presented by Ian Marchant 
 
A Guide to Coastal Wildlife: Rock Pools - presented by Brett Westwood and Phil Gates 
Sound recordist: Chris Watson 
 
Soundstage: The Oak Woodland 
Sound recordist: Chris Watson 
 
Costing the Earth: Cycle City - presented by Tom Heap 
 
Open Country: Surfing on Scotland's North Coast - presented by Helen Mark 
 
Journey of a Lifetime - Karen Darke: From Source to Sea via Me 
 
Nature: The Rainforest Canopy 
Recorded by wildlife cameraman John Aitchison 
 
Nature: Emma Turner - A Life in the Reeds 
Sound recordist: Chris Watson 
 
The Flower Fields - presented by Michael Bird 
 
The Perfumed Mountaineer - presented by Hayden Lorimer 
 
Living World: Winter Seashore - presented by Trai Anfield 
 
Open Country: The Boat Builders of Pin Mill - presented by Helen Mark 
 
Ramblings: Bonding Walks: Stiperstones, Shropshire - presented by Clare Balding 
 
Open Country: Somerset Wassail - presented by Helen Mark 
 
Winter Starlings 
Sound recordist: Chris Watson 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
(p) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The Racehorse Who Learned to Dance

Charlie's racehorse has certainly earned the name Noble Warrior: he won the Derby against all odds and bested a bunch of nasty kidnappers. But now Noddy is facing his greatest challenge yet . . . 
 
Charlie's best friend Polly is still recovering from an accident that left her almost paralysed. But Polly has a real talent with horses - and she and Charlie are determined not to let it go to waste. Can the two best friends find a way to make Polly's equestrian dreams come true, and forge a new path for the racehorse who wouldn't gallop?

A heart-warming story with a great girl-power message

Jacqueline Wilson on The Racehorse Who Wouldn't Gallop

Clare Balding (Author) When she was young, Clare Balding thought she was a dog. Disappointed to discover she was only human, she did her best to spend every waking hour with dogs and ponies. She could ride before she could walk and, growing up surrounded by racehorses trained by her father, she dreamt of winning the Grand National or riding for Great Britain at the Olympics. Those dreams never came true but the consolation prize hasn't been bad. As a television and radio presenter, Clare has worked at six Olympic Games, the highlight being London 2012, as well as the Winter Olympics, Paralympics, Commonwealth Games, the Grand National, Royal Ascot, Wimbledon and the Ryder Cup. Clare lives in London with her wife, Alice, their dog Archie and their cat, Button. Tony Ross (Illustrator) Tony Ross was born in Wandsworth, but moved during the war to Cheshire. He ended up at the Liverpool Regional College of Art after despairing of working with his first love - horses. He went into teaching after a bad day in an advertising agency, where he was art director, and at first taught in all sorts of areas - design, advertising, typography. At that time he was drawing cartoons in magazines like Punch. He has written and illustrated many popular books for children including Foxy Fables, I'm Coming to Get You and Naughty Nigel, all published in Puffin. He lives in Cheshire with his wife and daughter.

The Racehorse Who Disappeared

Clare Balding's second brilliant adventure for Charlie Bass and her funny family of humans and animals. 
 
Life is slowly getting back to normal for Charlie after her reluctant racehorse, Noble Warrior, won the Derby and saved her family from financial ruin. But drama soon returns to Folly Farm when thieves break into the farmyard in the dead of night and kidnap Noble Warrior! With the police baffled and no trace of the prizewinning thoroughbred to be found, Charlie launches her own investigation...

A cheerful paean to books, big thighs and working hard to realise your dreams

There are useful human life lessons here: create a team, Balding urges, delegate, do your research, believe in yourself, and magic ensues

Charlie is a feisty, funny girl who will appeal to pony-mad readers who'll devour all the inside knowledge of the equine world that Balding brings to her debut

Life is slowly getting back to normal for Charlie after her reluctant racehorse, Noble Warrior, won the Derby and saved her family from financial ruin. But drama soon returns to Folly Farm when thieves break into the farmyard in the dead of night and kidnap Noble Warrior! With the police baffled and no trace of the prizewinning thoroughbred to be found, Charlie launches her own investigation...

The Racehorse Who Wouldn't Gallop

'A heart-warming story with a great girl-power message' - Jacqueline Wilson 
 
Charlie Bass is a horse-mad ten-year-old who dreams of owning her own pony. So when she accidentally manages to buy a racehorse, Charlie is thrilled. 
 
The horse she buys, Noble Warrior, looks the part: strong, fit and healthy. There's just one problem - he won't gallop. In fact, he won't even leave his stable without his best friend, a naughty palomino pony called Percy. 
 
Charlie is convinced that Noble Warrior has what it takes to be a champion. But can she prove it? Derby Day is fast approaching and only a win can save the family farm from being repossessed. 
 
The stakes couldn't be higher for the Basses. Can Charlie turn her chaotic family into a top training team? Can Noble Warrior overcome his nerves? Will Percy the pony ever stop farting? 
 
Find out in this classic, funny animal story, perfect for fans of Dick King-Smith and Gerald Durrell.

A heart-warming story with a great girl-power message

Charlie Bass is a horse-mad ten-year-old who dreams of owning her own pony. So when she accidentally manages to buy a racehorse, Charlie is thrilled. 
 
The horse she buys, Noble Warrior, looks the part: strong, fit and healthy. There's just one problem - he won't gallop. In fact, he won't even leave his stable without his best friend, a naughty palomino pony called Percy. 
 
Charlie is convinced that Noble Warrior has what it takes to be a champion. But can she prove it? Derby Day is fast approaching and only a win can save the family farm from being repossessed. 
 
The stakes couldn't be higher for the Basses. Can Charlie turn her chaotic family into a top training team? Can Noble Warrior overcome his nerves? Will Percy the pony ever stop farting? 
 
Find out in this classic, funny animal story, perfect for fans of Dick King-Smith and Gerald Durrell.

Clare Balding

Books by Clare Balding

Series by Clare Balding

Charlie Bass

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