The story of the real ‘good life’ of an off-grid existence in rural Spain<\/b><\/p>\n
Paul 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. <\/p>\n
In prose that shimmers with wit and sensuality, the author charts his personal route-map along a road less travelled – from urban pressures to rural tranquility, and from insecurity to fulfilment. Along the way he pays tribute to the influences that have shaped his progress – from The Good Life to Henry David Thoreau, from the 1970s pioneers to self-sufficiency to his farming neighbours in the far-flung region of Extremadura. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
Hidden Valley<\/i> is a glorious narrative of one man’s journey towards self-reliance. Original and thought-provoking, it is also hugely entertaining.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Paul Richardson fled the conventions of his bourgeois upbringing to become a peasant farmer in a village on the edge of Europe. Immersing himself in the rural 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 12-acre farm. In prose that shimmers with sensuality and wit, he charts his personal route-map along a road less travelled – from the city back to the land, and from insecurity to fulfilment. He pays tribute to the influences that have shaped his progress – from The Good Life to Henry David Thoreau, from the 1970s pioneers of self-sufficiency to his farming neighbours in the far-flung region of Extremadura. In Paul’s hands off-grid living both becomes an act of rebellion and a form of personal growth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[257],"product_tag":[525],"class_list":["post-97078","product","type-product","status-publish","product_cat-travel-writing","product_tag-travel-holiday","pa_book_author-richardson-paul","pa_cover-hardback","pa_dewey-914-60484-edition23","pa_imprint-abacus","pa_language-english","pa_pages-8341","pa_publisher-abacus","pa_readership-general-trade-code-k","first","instock","taxable","shipping-taxable","purchasable","product-type-simple"],"yoast_head":"\n