Pastures New

The perfect novel for anyone who has ever dreamt of a fresh start…

‘Funny, sensitive, and insightful – the perfect book to turn to at the end of a long day’ Bonnie Garmus

Alex has perfected the art of dodging responsibility during her almost 40 years – until an unexpected letter turns her life upside down.

She’s inherited a crumbling sheep farm in wildest, wettest Wales. This was not her life plan. Not at all.

Now, her closest companion is a stubborn Welsh terrier, she’s speed-reading The Idiot’s Guide to Farming, and her arrival has set the village gossip mill spinning. With the farm near collapse, Alex sets out to uncover the truth behind her mysterious inheritance.

But as secrets surface, Alex finds her heart pulling her in a direction she never saw coming.

Will she pack her bags – or has she landed exactly where she’s meant to be?

The perfect feel-good read for autumn 2025, and a joyful celebration of new beginnings, community and rural life – buy your copy today!

Readers love Pastures New:

'Books like [this] have become my safe haven … like a long country walk with a bit of rain and a warm fireplace in the pub at the end'

Reviews

‘A moving story of a young woman finding herself with the help of a Welsh farm’ Katie Fforde

‘Warm, witty, wise, wonderful' Gyles Brandreth

'It romps along and is stuffed with appealing characters, both human and animal' Daily Mail

'Perfect if you are in the mood for something brimming with warmth and thought' Adele Parks, Platinum

Praise for Clare Balding's books:

'A heart-warming story' Jacqueline Wilson

'Funny and touching' Telegraph

'Moving, funny and larger than life' Michael Morpurgo

'Magical, enchanting, riotously eccentric' Daily Mail

'Simply fabulous' Jilly Cooper

'Funny and unexpectedly wise' Mail on Sunday

'The reading equivalent of snuggling by the fire with a labrador' The Guardian

'So good you just don't want Clare to grow up' Jennifer Saunders

‘Forthright, thoughtful, funny … reads like a Jilly Cooper novel’ Sunday Times

‘Funny and moving, James Herriot meets David Sedaris’ The Times

'You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll want a horse' Caitlin Moran

About the author

Clare Balding grew up in the countryside surrounded by horses and dogs. A keen reader, she devoured the books of everyone from Jane Austen to Gerald Durrell. After an English literature degree at Cambridge she became a journalist and broadcaster, but always itched to write a book. She has now written nine, including her autobiography, My Animals and Other Family, which won the National Book Award for Autobiography of the Year. Encouraged by Jilly Cooper, she took the leap from her series of children's books and Pastures New is her first adult novel.

Alongside her award-winning broadcasting and coverage of major royal events, Clare hosts her much-loved Ramblings series on Radio 4, exploring Britain's landscape and its storytelling.