A delightful picture of an Oxford Sandy & Black appears in Beautiful Pigs (Frances Lincoln, £12.99) a collection of portraits of pigs posing in their home territory.

The author, Andy Case, has 25 Oxfords at his farm in Dorset, but I saw a trio of delightful youngsters closer to home during a recent walk on Bledlow Ridge, in the Chilterns. Docile and easily managed, it was the cottage dweller’s favourite and was known as the ‘Plum Pudding’ pig, according to Case. As well as the stunning photographs by Andrew Perris, the book has details of how to keep and show traditional breeds.