The Eel Trap: A Memoir of a Lost Way of Life

'An utterly engrossing, fascinating read' – Tim Pears, author of the West Country trilogy

An evocative, lyrical debut memoir from the heart of our vanishing countryside – a story of the solitary life of an eel fisherman and the radical choice to live more in tune with the natural world.

Growing up in rural Herefordshire, Richard Fleming watched as his earth-bound world quietly slipped away. The peasant ethos – built on a shared stewardship of the land and its resources – had given way to private enclosures and stark divisions between landowners and those who worked the soil.

Drawn by the values of that vanishing way of life, Richard set out for the edges of the British Isles. In this intimate memoir, he recounts his journey from the English countryside to the rugged coast of Connemara, the depths of the Scottish Highlands and to an ancient silver-eel trap in the West Marches, where he harvests eels as they begin their 5,000-mile migration back to the Sargasso Sea. Learning traditional craftsmanship from local carpenters and fishermen, Richard builds himself a quiet, fulfilling life.

But when the European eel population suffers a catastrophic collapse, the idyll of an eelman’s life shatters. The realisation that a harmonious relationship with the natural world seems to be no longer possible leads to a deeply personal awakening, as Richard becomes an activist against the exploitative nature of the elver trade.

Both a fierce call to action and a sweeping story of our changing natural world, The Eel Trap asks what it means to belong to a landscape rather than possess it – offering a refuge for anyone longing to reconnect with the wild.