The Turning Tide: A Biography of the Irish Sea

The Turning Tide is a beautifully-written biography of the Irish Sea. England is obviously not Ireland, but Cheshire and other parts of northwest England face this ocean. Home to the rarest sea bird in Europe (which visits the coast each summer), this sea teems with life (seals, seabirds, sea turtles, whales and basking sharks).

Alas the Irish Sea is now full of oil refineries (therefore pollution), far too many wind turbines and is the most nuclear-contaminated sea in the world, no thanks to Sellafield nuclear power station (which will take several decades to decommission).

Ireland and the Isle of Man face the Irish Sea, along with a few areas of England: Birkenhead and Southport (both near Liverpool), Blackpool and a small stretch of the Cheshire coast and Barrow Island (in Cumbria).

Parts of Wales (including the Isle of Anglesey) also face the Irish Sea. Also found here are harmless basking sharks and the seabed is a rich habitats for crabs and lobsters.

The book equivalent of being hosted by a travelling storyteller, around a fire. Gwenno

The Irish Sea has found her bard. This is a dazzle of storytelling, an enthralling trove of history and a joyful work of travel and reportage, singing with the love of the sea. Horatio Clare

About the Author 

Jon Gower grew up in Wales and studied English at Cambridge University. A former BBC Wales Arts and Media correspondent, he has over 30 books to his name (in both Welsh and English). His other book The Story of Wales was published to accompany a landmark BBC series. He lives in Wales.