Author John Lewis-Stempel has joined The Countryman magazine as its new regular columnist.

John Lewis-Stempel is an English farmer living on Garway Hill and a best-selling author.

He has written on a range of subjects but the countryside and natural history are particular passions.

He is the only person to have won the Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing twice, and In 2016 he was named Magazine Columnist of the Year.

His writings are based on his own experiences of living and working in the countryside.

He could be said to be an archetypal countryman, having been born in Herefordshire, where his family has lived for more than 700 years, and where he still farms cattle, sheep, pigs, and, poultry.

His new column in The Countryman will draw on this heritage but will also consider the issues of interest to and concerning people living in rural areas in the 21st century.

Said John: “I was flattered to be asked by The Countryman for my ‘rural view’; because the much loved little green book is a place where anyone who believes that they can contribute to the great necessary discussion about the countryside and farming wants to be. Needs to be.

‘‘So, no pressure then! More seriously, my hope is that the magazine’s readers will find utility and pleasure in my words.

‘‘I do know I shall enjoy penning them.”

Said editor Lorraine Connolly: “We are so thrilled that John is joining The Countryman family – he knows exactly what our readers want; because he is a true countryman himself.

‘‘The Countryman magazine is one of the oldest, most respected countryside magazines in the world, and we will be celebrating our 100th anniversary in 2027.

‘‘As John said, the magazine, is still known to many as the ‘little green book’.

‘‘It is published monthly and is read by more than 80,000 people throughout Britain and overseas, who share its concerns for the countryside, the people who live and work in it, and its wildlife.”