We rely on the soil and its rich biodiversity for our food, traditions and folklore, but are we guilty of taking it for granted? 

In Down to Earth, Robert Ashton traces five centuries of human relationships with the soil, from farming and folklore to the modern environmental crisis. In so doing he reveals the wisdom of the gardeners, farmers, gravediggers, archaeologists and naturalists who work with it every day.    

Each chapter focuses on an aspect of our connection to the earth beneath our feet, seeking to deepen our understanding of its importance and encourage us to take its preservation more seriously.



Robert Ashton worked on farms in his teens, studied at agricultural college and spent the first decade of his career selling fertiliser. He followed this with 35 years of self-employment, advising charities and social entrepreneurs who strove to balance income-generation with making a difference.

Already an established business author, Robert graduated from the University of East Anglia with a Creative Writing MA in 2020 and now writes about our evolving relationship with the natural world.

A Quaker, he is driven by a strong sense of social justice and has founded a number of social enterprises. He and his wife Belinda live near the Suffolk coast.



'Naturism can be a spiritual experience: vulnerable, naked and in touch with mother earth. This book will help you understand why'



'It all starts and ends here. The soil, the earth. Where there are cultural roots, flinty axes, badgers and bodies, the very roots of nature. Robert Ashton brings us another fine and wise book that looks forward, back and down. Here is great attentiveness to nature and culture. Here too the very cycles of life and regeneration'



'Reading this book is like going for an enjoyable countryside ramble with a knowledgeable and entertaining friend, and I heartily recommend it'



'This reflective travelogue is often as charming as it is unexpected'