Exmoor’s Celebrated Nature Writer Hope Bourne: New Exhibition Honors Her Legacy

Regarded by some as an oddity, she led a simple life on a wild moor in England, subsisting on what the land provided and bartering her landscape drawings for food.

However, a pioneering museum exhibit dedicated to the life and achievements of the now largely overlooked nature writer and artist Hope Bourne reveals that her perspectives on environmental issues, such as recycling, public access to nature, and even rewilding, were remarkably prescient.

Set to open at the Somerset Rural Life Museum in Glastonbury, the exhibit posits that Bourne, who passed away in 2010 at the age of 91, deserves recognition as a significant figure in nature writing and environmental advocacy.

Sara Hudston, who co-curated the exhibit, explained: “Hope Bourne was among the most influential nature writers of the 20th century, though her contributions have been unfairly ignored. Her ecological consciousness, disdain for materialism, and deep bond with nature are increasingly pertinent today. She held some remarkably progressive views on ecology.”

Bourne devoted many years to documenting the landscapes, wildlife, history, and evolving rural customs of Exmoor. Her writings generated a modest and unstable income.

“She practiced extreme thriftiness. She recycled everything. Many of her artworks were created on the reverse sides of envelopes and shopping lists. She treaded lightly on the earth. She was very ahead of her time, even in the 1970s, in terms of water conservation,” Hudston noted. This was partly out of necessity—as when living in a caravan, Bourne had to transport water from a spring on the hillside.

Rewilding is now a global initiative, but Bourne had already envisioned such efforts fifty years ago. “She referred to it as the impossible dream and suggested the reintroduction of brown bears, wolves, and lynx,” Hudston remarked.

Bourne was also captivated by another very modern issue—the right to unrestricted access to natural spaces. “She believed people should have the freedom to roam Exmoor, provided they were on foot or horseback,” Hudston said. “And camping was permitted as long as it did not harm the wildlife.”

“Many viewed her as just a quirky local figure. What we aim to show in this exhibition is that her lifestyle was crafted out of necessity to support the creative work she was passionate about,” Hudston explained.

“Exmoor was her muse for her artistic endeavors, but living there was challenging; it was far from a pastoral dream. She often clarified that her lifestyle was not born out of an idealistic back-to-nature impulse but out of sheer necessity. She frequently cited financial constraints, but it was also essential for her creative process,” Hudston added.

The exhibition includes personal items like Bourne’s paraffin lamp, Roberts radio, compass, binoculars, and Swiss Army knife, along with displays of her landscape sketches, personal journals, and published works.

The exhibition A Life Outside: Hope Bourne on Exmoor, developed in collaboration with the Exmoor Society, which maintains The Hope L Bourne Collection, is scheduled from 27 September to 10 January 2026.

Hudston’s book A Life Outside: Hope Bourne on Exmoor will be published next year.