This Natural Life - Angela Harding

Martha Kearney travels to one of Britain's most isolated islands where the illustrator of books by the likes of Simon Armitage and Isabella Tree seeks her inspiration among the seabird colonies of Fair Isle.

Angela Harding's lino-cut prints are an integral part of the recent boom in nature writing. Dynamic birds or mammals dominate the foreground while abstract interpretations of landscape set them in the context of wild shores and woodlands. Martha catches up with Angela as she searches for fresh inspiration on an artist's retreat on Fair Isle, a tiny island halfway between Orkney and Shetland.

They take a walk along the steep cliffs of the island's southside, meeting puffins, kittiwakes and fulmars and discuss Angela's determination to make her career as an artist.

Producer: Alasdair Cross

Published on Thursday, 31st July 2025.

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