Bookseller’s choice of the week with Malcolm Angel from Gullivers Bookshop in Wimborne

I know I’m not alone in taking the opportunity, when the weather permits, to get out there and take a walk in our wonderful countryside.

But whether it’s along the Jurassic coast or inland I wonder how many are like me and come across a species of wild flower, either singular and alone in a hedgerow or in profusion on the cliff tops and need a little help identifying the genus.

This is when I find that although I may have an excellent book at home I’d need to revert to the bad old days of whipping the flower head off for later identification – which you must admit would be a little drastic in today’s enlightened times and not to be recommended.

Now, there have been many publications of excellent wild flower guides throughout the years that one can keep in a pocket – but the latest to arrive on Gulliver’s book-shelves is proving extremely popular and it’s easy to see why.

The Pocket Guide to Wild Flowers by local author and renowned naturalist Bob Gibbons is handy and easy to use – covering around 120 species common to Britain and Europe.

But the secret of the book’s success is the author’s remarkable photography used for the many stunning full-page and double-page images which support his authoritative and informative text.

Bob, who has written about 35 books on many aspects of natural history and photography, will be a guest at Wimborne’s Literary Festival this November.