The Search

The life of a mountain rescue search dog team

Signed copies

Coming from a working-class background, Paul Besley knew the worst and best of life in a Yorkshire steel town. He had always been drawn to the solitude of the hills, but that life nearly ended when a fall while hillwalking left him critically injured and alone in the mountains of the Lake District. Paul was found and brought to safety by a mountain rescue team. This was the trigger for him to transform his life, first by joining his local team, then by finding Scout, his very own Border collie puppy, and training him to become a mountain rescue search dog. In The Search, Paul writes with humour and honesty as we follow him and Scout through their complex training, with searches and rescue incidents sometimes tragic and often funny.

Coming from a working-class background, Paul Besley knew the worst and best of life in a Yorkshire steel town. He had always been drawn to the solitude of the hills, but that life nearly ended when a fall while hillwalking left him critically injured and alone in the mountains of the Lake District. Paul was found and brought to safety by a mountain rescue team. This was the trigger for him to transform his life, first by joining his local team, then by finding Scout, his very own Border collie puppy, and training him to become a mountain rescue search dog.

In The Search, Paul writes with humour and honesty as we follow him and Scout through their complex training, with searches and rescue incidents sometimes tragic and often funny. Paul’s demons and headstrong characters threaten to derail them, until his past finally catches up with him and his life inescapably unravels. It’s up to Scout to keep an eye on him now as Paul tries to build the best life he can.

Paul Besley began exploring the British landscape while at school in the 1970s. His focus of work is the interaction between humans and the land. His work has evolved into the study of how the physical environment imprints itself on humans and how we as a race respond. His belief that walking is a simple activity has led him to support the effort of many just starting out on a lifetime of pleasure. He has a desire to show people that walking does not just have to be in the hills and mountains of national parks or rely on expensive equipment but can be enjoyed from the front door of home through our urban landscape and out in our local countryside. His books, Day Walks in the South Pennines and 1001 Walking Tips for Vertebrate Publishing, and his three Peak District guidebooks for Cicerone Press, are well respected by walkers and explorers of all ages. He joined Mountain Rescue in 2013, becoming a dog handler with Scout, his Border collie mountain rescue search dog. He now writes full time. He lives close to the Peak District in The Outdoor City of Sheffield with his partner, metalsmith Alison Counsell, and their three dogs Monty, Olly and Scout.

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Customer Reviews

Based on 14 reviews
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J
John Howarth
Easy to pick up. Hard to put down.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It's well-written - sometimes beautifully written. It's informative, not only if you want to learn about how to train a search and rescue dog (and handler), but also if you just want to get to understand your dog better. It's funny in parts and sad in others but holds together throughout. I found it inspiring.

C
Customer
Brilliantly written.

Eagerly anticipated book written by a straight talking, inspiring author.
The book takes you from Paul's youth through to the early frustrations of being a dog handler with trainee search dog Scout to finally passing stage three to be a search dog team. I can remember the news coming through from the of their achievement and them being put on the call out list. It's all there in the book which is inspiring, motivational and suggests we all live in the moment. A wonderful heartfelt read.

Body Paul x

H
Helen Shakespeare

Beautifully written, emotional and poignant book which made me laugh and cry in equal measure. A fascinating insight into the life of a working mountain rescue dog and his handler, Paul brings Scout to life. We are privileged to witness the bond between them develop and grow. Interspersed with social history and Paul’s story, this is a truly remarkable book. Highly recommended.

D
Diane Earnshaw
Compelling

‘The Search’ is a masterfully intermingled autobiography swinging from poetically lyrical description to one of brutal honesty. Paul reveals demons from a traumatic childhood, then his first meeting with saviour Scout and their symbiotic relationship working with Mountain Rescue.
I was hooked from the start with the raven observing Paul’s near-death experience, his desire to survive and the appearance of ‘a family all in red’. Paul’s wife Alison is referred to throughout and clearly plays a key role in his life.
I feel privileged to have bodied many times for Paul; a skilful teacher. However, Scout is my true hero…the invisible bond between their team is magical, unconditional and forever.
I rarely re-read a book, but this is an exception.

P
Putri Denney
Absorbing

I am not a walker, a hiker and nor do I have a dog! But I am reading this book and it is absorbing and captivating. I am enjoying it, so I am reading it slowly!