The Ghost Lake

'Remarkable'OBSERVER


'Deeply profound… this is no ordinary memoir' THE TIMES


‘Astounding’ ADAM FARRER


‘Brave and luminous’ SARAH LANGFORD


‘Mesmerising’ POLLY ATKIN


‘Beautifully written’ YORKSHIRE POST


‘Steadfastly honest’ GEOGRAPHICAL



A memoir of grief, nature and ancestry in rural Yorkshire.



I am setting out on a pilgrimage through an ancient landscape.






I will begin at my daughter’s grave.




Paleolake Flixton is an extinct lake in North Yorkshire. Human occupation of the site dates back thousands of years, but today, all that is left is a watermark.


Wendy Pratt brings readers on a pilgrimage around its periphery, to locations that have acted as journey markers in her own life. While traversing forests and fenland, she finds refuge in nature.



The Ghost Lake is a lyrical meditation on local history, changing landscapes, and the lives and legacies of rural working-class people.