Published Works
by Van GreavesMountain Magic (by Van Greaves) (Frances Lincoln) is probably the finest book collection of British Mountain photographs by one author, certainly over the last few years. Not content with mere records of mountains and their environments, Van Greaves has captured pictorialism in his images containing mood, dramatism, early, late and unusual lighting conditions and rare atmospheric phenomena in all seasons and weathers. Pictures like this don’t come in short periods, rather over many years of adventures in Britain’s beautiful mountains.
Moods of Staffordshire Discover the large and deceptively varied county of Staffordshire through the discerning eye of photographer, Van Greaves. After skirting the Black Country, his journey takes in the mix of pretty countryside and tastes of industrial heritage, including an abundance of canals, and leads the reader to the quite, rural country west of the M6. To the east, suburban towns and villages about Cannock Chase, the former hunting grounds of kings which is now a walkers’ haven. On the northern tip of Cannock Chase lies eighteenth century Shrugborough Hall now a tourist attraction in the hands of the National Trust. Between Tamworth with its castle and the brewery town of Burton upon Trent lies the newly-created National Memorial Arboretum and part of the National Forest. Other towns include historic Lichfield, with its stunningly-ornate three-spired cathedral; Uttoxeter of Saxon origin, and Stafford itself, architecturally and culturally stimulating. North and east of The Potteries, the Staffordshire Moorlands, a region of gritstone crags and scarps fall away to wooded dales. The classic defile of the Churnet Valley supports a preserved steam railway and in sharp contrast, the white knuckle rides of Alton Towers, Britain’s biggest theme park. Our photographic journey climbs yet again to The Weaver Hills to the limestone country of the Peak District National Park, dominated by the Dove and Manifold valleys, and proudly accentuated in the west by the famous gritstone outcrops of Hen Cloud and The Roaches.
Moods of Worcestershire The mighty River Severn, the picture-postcard Cotswold Hills and the incredibly ancient rocks of the roller-coaster Malvern Hills are the three most obvious physical features of the county of Worcestershire. But the spirit of the county, as reflected in Van Greaves’s sensitive portrait of his home county, rests in the beautiful collection of peaceful, black-and-white painted half-timbered cottages which define so many of Worcestershire’s finest villages.
Moods of Shropshire and the Marches There can be no doubt that Shropshire is a border county. A glance at the map shows a string of forts on prominent hills dating form the Iron Age and medieval castles like Ludlow and Stokesay, all of which reflect a tempestuous history of conflict and division.The ancient name for the area of The Marches originates from the Old English mearc meaning a boundary, and this was traditionally the meeting place of the ancient Saxon kingdom of Mercia with the unruly tribes of Wales. But apart from the glorious hill country of the west, including the Long Mynd, Caer Caradoc and the mysterious Stiperstones, Shropshire has a wealth of lovely, black-and-white half-timbered villages, superb churches and unspoilt countryside, alongside the ancient Severn-side county town of Shrewsbury.
Van Greaves, who knows the county well, manages to capture the essence of Shropshire through over 140 evocative photographic images, in this superb celebration of the border county.
Moods of Warwickshire and Shakespeare Country What Warwickshire may lack in grand countryside, it makes up for in its historical heritage. The scene is one of quiet rural uniformity with its gentle undulations often masked by hedgerows concealing pastoral fields, punctuated by the scattered remnants of the former Forest of Arden. Van Greaves, a landscape photographer who knows the county well, has sought out the major vantage points at the southern end of the county, where hills become well-defined as outliers of the Cotswolds. His portrait includes the rustic villages, typified in the south by the very warm, honey-coloured Hornton limestone and to the north, west and east of Shipston on Stour, by villages or small towns dominated by the black and white half-timbered influence from medieval times through to the seventeenth century, such as Alcester, Henley in Arden, and Welford on Avon. Elsewhere, the county contains numerous stately homes, such as Charlecote, and England’s longest aqueduct on the Stratford Canal. Stratford upon Avon is world-famous as the birthplace of William Shakespeare and the scenic River Avon on whose banks the Royal Shakespeare Theatre dominates. The towns of Warwick and Leamington almost merge these days, but are strikingly different in character. The former is more intimate and contained, with the famous castle as lynchpin, while the latter is a grandiose Georgian spa town, planned out on a grid-iron and sporting fine white-rendered terraces on wide boulevards. All these varied facets and many more are captured in Van Greaves’s intimate portrait.
Portrait of Birmingham Van Greaves, a commercial photographer in Birmingham for many years, gives an unusual and often surprising portrait of his home city in this beautiful book. Through over 140 stunning and original images, Van Greaves shows Britain’s Second City in a refreshingly different light. His sensitive camera captures Birmingham old and new; from the ultra modern new development around the Rotunda in the Bull Ring and the new shopping centre of The Pallisades above New Street Station, to the older Birmingham which still exists around the cobbled streets of the Jewellery Quarter, the Jacobean elegance of Aston Hall, and the confident Victorian swagger of Victoria Square, the Council House and the Town Hall. Birmingham’s unheralded countryside is not forgotten either, from the beech-clad heights of the Lickey Hills to the surprising wilderness of Sutton Park.
Discovering the Pennines Details of 14 great Pennine walks all with map, illustrated with over 100 magnificent photographs…
Snowdonia to the Gower: A Coast-to-coast Walk Across Highest Wales (Teach Yourself)This illustrated guide book gives a visual and literary narrative covering a long distance walk through the Welsh mountains from Conwy Bay in the north to the Gower Peninsula in the south. The walk is split into eleven stages (each for one day of walking). Each stage is given a full narrative description and is illustrated with photographs and a detailed map, with low level and high level alternatives so that the walk is fully adjustable to the prevailing weather conditions.
100 Walks in Hereford and Worcester This omnibus collection of local walks covers the whole of Hereford and Worcester, and is designed to appeal to those wishing to go on family outings. The book includes 100 route descriptions of circular walks from 3-12 miles. Each walk has a map, points of interest and places to eat and drink en route, plus suggestions for easy car parking. Places covered include Ross-on-Wye, the Malvern Hills and Stourport.