The Pebbles on the Beach

Clarence Ellis

Dec 2018 · Faber & Faber

About this ebook

This is a book about the simple pleasure of pebble spotting. Clarence Ellis is a charming, knowledgeable and witty guide to everything you didn't know there was to know about pebbles. He ruminates on what a pebble actually is, before showing us how they are formed, advising on the best pebble-spotting grounds in the UK, helping to identify individual stones, and giving tips on the necessary kit. You'll know your chert from your schist, your onyx from your agate, and will be on your guard for artificial intruders before you know it. Understanding the humble pebble makes a trip to the beach, lake-side or river bank simply that little bit more fascinating.

About the author

Clarence Ellis was born in Holyhead in 1889. He studied History at Bangor and served on the Western Front before beginning a career in Further Education. His private passion was pebble collecting, and Pebbles on the Beach was first published in 1954.
Robert Macfarlane was born in Nottinghamshire in 1976, and is currently a Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He has written a number of bestselling, prize-winning books about the relationships between nature, language and people, including The Wild Places, The Old Ways, and Landmarks. His books have won the Guardian First Book Award, the Somerset Maugham Award, and the Boardman-Tasker Award, and his journalism has appeared in the Guardian, Sunday Times, and New York Times. His most recent book is the Sunday Times bestseller The Lost Words, illustrated by Jackie Morris.