AN Alexandria author is venturing into new territory with his latest series of books on nature in West Dunbartonshire.

Paul Murdoch took up writing in his 40s, a move that would see him travel across the world sharing his stories in locations including the jungle in Bali.

His latest series however, does not look at far off exotic destinations but focuses on the beauty available right here on his doorstep.

It is titled Nature in West Dunbartonshire and is split into four different books focusing on walks in the area during each of the seasons - spring, summer, autumn and winter.

Paul told the Reporter that the books will be released during the relevant seasons, with Summer available to purchase now, adding: “If you do the same walk in different seasons you’ll see different things.”

Paul said: “I think it’s a case of letting people know that okay, superficially sometimes the area doesn’t look wonderful but there’s actually some really lovely parts to it.

“I’ve lived in Alexandria all of my life, so I know the area fairly well and I’m always up in the hills doing walks.

“It would have been easy to centre myself around this area but I wanted to explore Dumbarton, Clydebank and the rest of West Dunbartonshire as well because there is plenty to see.

“I think the area can get a bad rap sometimes and it’s a shame as it’s such a beautiful area.

“If you look at the Kilpatrick Hills, the Clyde Estuary, the bottom, south part of Loch Lomond, there’s a great variety of landscapes. You see nature you wouldn’t expect to see.”

Nature in West Dunbartonshire focuses on 16 walks - four per book - across the area and consists of a huge compilation of Paul’s own wild life shots as well as information, and helpful advice when visiting the areas such as how long local car parks are open for.

It has been a labour of love as it took the Alexandria resident two years to compile all of the photographs.

The inspiration behind the series came during lockdown when like the rest of the world Paul’s life was turned upside down.

He added: “I used to go round schools across Scotland and read children’s books and I couldn’t do that during lockdown.

“I was stuck trying to find something to do.

“I’ve always had a love of nature, I have a degree in zoology, and I’ve also always loved photography so I thought why not combine the two?

“I think it was around May near the time of my birthday and I treated myself to a half decent camera.

“I started going out on walks, many of which I’ve done since my childhood, and taking shots of the wild life.

“People have had issues during, before, and after Covid where their mental health hasn’t been great.

“Some people I’ve spoken to have said even just looking at the pictures helped cheer them up.

“A few of them actually got off of their couches and did a few walks.

“They said they felt better for it getting out and amongst nature.”

Despite having completed many of the walks during his childhood Paul said that he was still surprised by some of the things he discovered whilst carrying out research for his books.

He said: “I’ve walked past the Renton monument countless times and I’ve never taken the time to look at the plaque on it and actually find out what it says.

“I did some research on things I would normally have walked past. It’s made me more aware of my surroundings and made me appreciate things more.

“I’m proud to be from West Dunbartonshire.”

Now that the books are beginning to be released, Paul said that the next step is to film some footage of the walks so that people who aren’t able to go on them can still enjoy them.

For more information about the new series of books, go to paulmurdoch.co.uk/the-nature-of-west-dunbartonshire.