Somerset: Local, Characterful Guides to Britain's Special Places (Bradt Travel Guides (Slow Travel series))

This new guide to the idyllic and popular county of Somerset is the only full-length, standalone guidebook to the county from a mainstream publisher. Written by expert author and Somerset resident Norm Longley, it's ideal for both visitors and locals alike with its mix of visitor information, history, culture and anecdote, not to mention coverage of wildlife, birdwatching, walking, cycling and other outdoor activities. Accommodation and restaurants - and cider - are covered, too: as Longley himself says, he often spends weekends 'roaming the Somerset countryside in search of exciting and/or novel things to do - or at the very least, hunting down good food and drink.' Divided into seven easy-to-explore geographical regions, from Bath and north Somerset through Wells and the Mendips to Exmoor National Park and International Dark Sky Reserve, this is an indispensable companion for everyone from culture devotees to outdoor adventurers, birders to beach lovers, transport enthusiasts to event-goers, families to foodies. The Somerset Levels are covered, and so are Quantock and Blackdown Hills, the coast, and east and south Somerset. Somerset is consistently seductive: windswept marshes and wild moorland, enchanting upland areas, iron-flat lowland terrain, limestone gorges, and a forty-mile long stretch of coast with rocky coves, fossil-filled cliffs and a tiny offshore island. And, of course, there's the UNESCO World Heritage city of Bath, with its beautifully preserved Roman baths, graceful Georgian architecture and enticing gastronomic possibilities. Bradt's Somerset covers all this and more: from the Glastonbury Festival to the American Museum and Gardens; from carnivals to quirky local customs; from the longest heritage railway in Britain to England's first designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty; and a good dash of legend and myth, from King Arthur at Avalon and Camelot to the country's third largest complex of standing stones at Stanton Drew... not to mention the ever-popular Cheddar Gorge.