A STUNNING new book just published by Halsgrove is guaranteed to inspire any amateur photographer to rush for his camera and head out to the moors.

Dartmoor Moods by Peter White is a collection of beautiful colour photographs, capturing the myriad images of some of the most beautiful countryside in England.

From close-up shots of the delicate tracery of frost on leaves, to the rushing exuberance of a Dartmoor stream, tumbling through a jumble of granite boulders, there are images to really pause over and enjoy.

Pages depicting vast silent expanses of barren-looking hills with dramatic cloud shadows jostle for space with peaceful, pastoral scenes of sunlit moorland villages.

Organised into chapters covering tors, water, archaeological artefacts and weather, plus more, each page of 144 is a joy to turn.

Peter White first visited Dartmoor in 1957, when he was eleven years old. A less than sympathetic youth hostel warden and plenty of Dartmoor rain did not make for a good impression, but a return to Devon in 1967 whetted his appetite to explore the moor.

Hooked by the beauty and variety of the moorland landscape, Peter was lucky enough to work within it, spending 25 years in the employ of Dartmoor National Park Authority.

Since taking early retirement in 1999, he has been able to indulge his passion for photography, walking and Dartmoor to the full and the work he produces with his ?ancient? OIympic OMI has been exhibited, featured in magazine articles and now appears in this beautiful book.

Dartmoor Moods by Peter White is published by Halsgrove, priced £12.95 and is available at local bookshops.

JANE HONEY