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Terry Nutkins: In the Ring of Bright Water

Terry Nutkins

Karen Gregor

Terry Nutkins: In the Ring of Bright Water: Episode 2

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Episode 2

BBC Radio 4 Extra - Terry Nutkins: In the Ring of Bright Water, Episode 2

Following the death of Terry Nutkins we revisit two programmes he made about his childhood

Terry Nutkins recalls the impact of fame on author Gavin Maxwell and speaks to his former wife Lavinia Hankinson. From October 2009. Episode 2 of 2.

Following the sad death of Terry Nutkins, we revisit two documentaries he made about his unusual childhood spent with the author, Gavin Maxwell, in the remote west highlands. 

When Terry Nutkins was 13 he moved from London to the isolated west highlands to live with Maxwell, whose most famous book is 'Ring of Bright Water' . Forty years after Maxwell's death (in 2009) Terry told the remarkable story of his life with this mercurial man and his famous otters, Edal and Teko.

Part 2:


The romantic setting of Camusfearna has become almost mythical since Ring of Bright Water was published in 1960; it's now a place of pilgrimage for people who love the otters, the landscape and the wildlife described in the book. But, according to Terry, the purity of this little white cottage in pristine surroundings was sullied after Maxwell made his money from the book: the cottage was extended, pools were constructed and Maxwell himself became a reluctant celebrity, under constant pressure to live up to the reputation he had established.

Maxwell, a homosexual, entered into an unhappy marriage; the otters began a series of savage attacks and a fire devastated Sandaig House. In this programme Terry spoke exclusively to Gavin Maxwell's former wife, Lavinia Hankinson; to the naturalist and writer, Sir John Lister Kaye who knew Maxwell shortly before his death, and to Maxwell's biographer, Douglas Botting.

'Ring of Bright Water' is, arguably, the finest book ever written about a man's relationship with landscape and wildlife. Maxwell's poetic observations of otter behaviour and the detailed sketches and photographs in the book helped to change - on a worldwide basis - the reputation of these animals which were widely persecuted at the time. 

Producer: Karen Gregor.

BBC Radio 4 Extra

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Terry Nutkins tells of his childhood, spent with the mercurial author Gavin Maxwell

When Terry Nutkins was 13 he moved to the isolated West Highlands to live with the writer Gavin Maxwell. 40 years after Maxwell's death, Terry tells the story of that time

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