In the two days before Ned’s arrival at the log cabin, Taylor revisits the forests, rivers, and lakes of his earlier adventures in Canada, where he learned more about ecology than he did in museums and university laboratories. The people he admires are nature writers such as Thoreau and Henry Williamson. The only scientists that rate a mention are the Greek philosophers Thales of Miletus and Aristotle.

Taylor’s elegant, reflective style flows easily between past and present. His vocabulary is a simple blend of the formal and informal, and his paragraphs are phrased with a fine attention to rhythm. The memoir is nicely shaped, meandering to a high point two-thirds of the way through when Ned arrives, and then moving to a soft inspirational ending.

Taylor reflects on geology, global warming, technology, and fly-fishing: rods, lines, flies, and the element of water. He has learned much from watching the water. It is at the heart of his knowledge and at the centre of life. Ned proves to be an apt pupil and absorbs his grandfather’s hard-won wisdom by observation. In the way of any good educator, Taylor allows the child to ask the questions and, in the process, learns much himself. Their time by the river is not so much about fishing, as about searching nature for answers. This is an inspiring first book by a gentle and generous writer.