From Chard to Chewton Mendip & from Witham Friary to Withypool, Somerset Pubs is a journey into the past, with photographs of over 140 pubs in the late nineteenth & early twentieth centuries. Coaching inns rub shoulders with back-street beerhouses, time-worn taverns wtih roadside hostelries. Although many are still open, the way of life captured in these photographs is one that has gone forever, destroyed by the onward march of time. Yet this is not just a wistful look at the past. After decades of rationalisation & standardisation, local pubs & breweries are staging a comeback, while farmhouse cider is more popular than ever. Somerset Pubs celebrates a tradition that, despite all the efforts of the multinationals, never really went away. This virtual pub crawl into the past is not so much an exercise in nostalgia as an inspiration for the future
- & for journeys in search of Somerset's pub tradition.
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Somerset South & West Pevsner Architectural Guide, in a series of publications begun with the express aim of providing up-to-date guides to the most significant buildings in every part of the country, suitable for both general reader & specialist. Each volume provides an introductory overview of the architecture of the area, followed by a descriptive gazetteer arranged alphabetically by place. Whilst cathedrals & their furnishings, great country houses & their parks form the grand set pieces, the books demonstrate the enjoyable diversity of architecture in the British Isles in accounts of rural churches & farmsteads, Victorian public buildings & industrial monuments. A continuing programme of publication keeps the series up-to-date with new information on older buildings & recent architecture while maintaining the tradition of Pevsner's own succinct accounts. Each book has over 100 photographs, mostly specially commissioned, numerous maps & plans, a glossary & indexes. ...

Somerset, the Mendips & Wiltshire in the Pathfinder Guides series, produced in association with Ordnance Survey & published by Crimson; comprising a range of walking guides to popular British destinations. Each Pathfinder guide

Includes:: 28 varied walks ranging from easy strolls to exhilarating hikes & is accompanied by 1:25, 000 Ordnance Survey mapping with marked, colour-coded routes. Introductory sections profile the county or region covered, with recommendations on the best time to visit & a brief explanation of GPS. An

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Both scenically & historically, Somerset & Wiltshire rank as two of the most attractive & interesting counties in Britain. Landscapes range from the breezy heights of the Mendips to the flat meadows of the Somerset Levels, & from the rolling chalk uplands of the Marlborough Downs to the mudflats & sandy expanses that fringe the Bristol Channel coast. Walkers can experience a variety of such terrains in this guide. The region boasts Europe`s greatest concentration of prehistoric monuments such as those at Avebury & Stonehenge, & sites that inspired a host of romantic myths & legends, from King Arthur to Alfred the Great. ...

There`s a lot more to Somerset than scrumpy cider, cheddar cheese & the Glastonbury Festival. It`s a county of contrasts: moorlands & marshes, castle & caverns, cheese & strawberries, gorges & tors. With a variety of landscapes, extraordinary buildings, fascinating wildlife, & history round every corner
- not to mention some of the friendliest people you`ll ever meet
- Somerset is simply asking to be explored. This selection of 40 circular walks will help you make the most of the uplands & lowlands, woodlands & wetlands of Somerset
- `the land of thesummer people`.


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Walking is one of Britain`s favourite leisure activities, & this guide features a variety of mapped walks to suit all abilities. The book features all of the practical detail you need, accompanied by fascinating background reading on the history & wildlife of Somerset, & cear mapping for ease of use. Every route has been colour coded according to difficulty. All walks are annotated with local points of interest & places to stop for refreshments. Every walk is given a summary of distance, time, gradient, level of difficulty, type of surface & access, landscape, dog friendliness, parking & public toilets. ...

This expertly revised & enlarged survey is the perfect architectural companion to one of England`s most beautiful regions. From the misty Levels to the heights of Exmoor & the Mendips, the Somerset landscape is enriched by buildings of outstanding quality & interest. The early medieval ruins of Glastonbury Abbey & the Elizabethan great house of Montacute are among the finest works of their time. Also famous are the lavishly decorated church towers of the Perpendicular period, such as those at Taunton, Evercreech, & Huish Episcopi. Many of these churches serve towns & villages of exceptional charm, marked by an unusual diversity of building stones & materials. From Porlock to Burnham-on-Sea, the ports & resorts of the long coastline all have their own distinctive architectural inheritance. Well-kept vernacular houses & other rural buildings complete the inland picture. ...

Birds eye views of the towns of Northampton & Peterborough are shown in fair detail, with a windmill & even field boundaries portrayed on the Peterborough plan. Below the plan of Northampton, a short history details the three dissentions witnessed by the town, & just above the Peterborough plan is a history of the battle of Edgecot. There are eleven armorial devices shown on this map, with those of the Earls of Northampton depicted on the right hand side of the map. The royal forest of Rockingham, Fotheringhay Castle (where Mary, Queen of Scots was executed), & Althorp Park are marked on the map, as is the village of Naseby, but before the great battle that happened there in 1645. Altogether, this is a fantastic piece of artwork, & would make a wonderful present for anyone from the county. ...

Christopher Somerville is one of Britian`s best-loved walking journalists & personalities. ” Somerville`s 100 Best British Walks” presents a personal selection of his best walks around Britain. Laid out by region, with over forty illustrations & area maps showing walk locations & easy-to-follow directions, this volume is a treasury of anecdote, observation & description, as well as a comprehensive guide to walking your way through Britain. ...

Christopher Somerville’s 100 Best Walks presents a personal selection of his favourite hikes within Britain from his long-running Daily Telegraph series. Read individually, they brilliantly evoke people, places, moods & reflections. As a collection, they take the reader on a unique adventure through Britain’s townscapes & countryside. Laid out by region, with over forty map illustrations for individual walks, area maps showing the walk locations & easy-to-follow directions, this volume is a treasury of anecdote, observation & description, as well as a comprehensive practical guide to walking your way through Britain. Christopher Somerville is a journalist, presenter & the author of many books. He has been walking, exploring & writing all over the world for 30 years, 20 of which as the walking correspondent of The Daily Telegraph, & now for The Times. ...