Hidden Valley

The story of the real 'good life' of an off-grid existence in rural Spain. 'Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of the earth.' Henry David Thoreau, Walden 'A beguiling book about a lifestyle that many of us dream about' Daily MailPaul Richardson fled the city to live on the land in a rough-and-tumble village on the edge of Europe. Immersing himself in the culture of his remote Spanish community, he learned the traditional arts of animal husbandry and vegetable growing, wine-making and home distilling, and made bread from the rye he sowed on the stone-walled terraces of his twelve-acre farm. In Richardson's hands, off-grid living both becomes an act of rebellion and a heartening proof that a simpler, better life is possible, if only we can remove ourselves from the ethos in which conspicuous consumption is a duty and success/failure the wheel on which society turns. Hidden Valley is a glorious narrative of one man's journey towards self-reliance. Original and thought-provoking, it is also hugely entertaining.