In the Mountains Green

In the Mountains Green: Harvest to Harvest in the Southern Wilds: The Diary of a Country Parson

“As a boy, I would walk out into the fields alone. Looking south, I set my eyes on the far ridge, wondering, not knowing, what lay beyond it. What world existed there? Now, as a man, I stand on the top of the Downs, up on the mountains green. To the south, the land folds down to the sea, but to the north the boy is there looking back at me . . .”

In a series of joyous, reflective, and inspired diary pieces, Peter Owen Jones takes us on a voyage through the annual cycle on a journey of inner and outer discovery. With the variety and color of seasonal life in Britain and the beauty of the Sussex countryside as his backdrop, Owen Jones observes the magic in the everyday—in the birds, bees, and butterflies, as well as in people. With lightness of touch and good humor, he calls us to awake to the world around us, to ourselves, and ultimately to meaning in life.

Originally published as a series of articles in Sussex Life magazine, these essays provide a delightful glimpse into the life of a nature-loving country parson.

About the Author

Peter Owen Jones (born 1957) is an English Anglican priest, author, and award-winning television presenter. He spent his early years in the countryside before dropping out of school and working as a farm laborer in Austraila. He was ordained and became a parish priest in 1992. He has since written a handful of books, including Pathlands: 21 Tranquil Walks Among the Villages of Britain (Rider, 2015). In his BBC documentary How to Live a Simple Life (2009), Owen Jones tried to live a life without money, in the footsteps of Saint Francis of Assisi. That same year, he traveled the world in Around the World in 80 Faiths, visiting practitioners of various religions. His 2006 documentary, The Lost Gospels, discussed the Apocryphal Gospels omitted from the canon of the New Testament, considered how they might have altered Christian theology had they not been suppressed. He serves as a parish priest in Sussex, England.