New Forest Slow Travel

This new, thoroughly updated and expanded second edition of Bradt’s New Forest – part of the award-winning Slow Travel series of guides to UK regions – focuses on this peaceful, enchanting area in Hampshire. Walkers, cyclists, wildlife lovers, families and foodies are all catered for, with coverage of a wide range of attractions. The only comprehensive travel guidebook to this compact, increasingly popular national park barely 90 minutes from London, it contains all the practical information you need to enjoy time here, including accommodation options ranging from fine hotels to campsites where grazing ponies may nose at your tent flap. Such free-roaming animals are integral to both the New Forest’s charm and its suitability for a Slow guide. Here ponies and cows routinely halt traffic, while donkeys peer into shop windows. In a region named one of the world’s top 10 destinations for outdoors enthusiasts in the 2022 TripAdvisor Traveller’s Choice Awards, truly wild creatures abound too. Sites of Special Scientific Interest cover over half the national park. All the UK’s six native reptile species occur, alongside its largest population of Dartford warblers. Given the region’s name, the landscape varies surprisingly. Wander through ancient, broad-leaved woodlands originally established as hunting grounds for King William I (William the Conqueror), or marvel at towering conifers at Rhinefield Arboretum. Explore miles of heathland, the yachting town of Lymington or the great coastal spit leading to Hurst Castle (where the ghost of King Charles I is said to wander by night). Alternatively, visit distinctive villages from 13th-century Beaulieu, with its abbey, palace and National Motor Museum, to Burley, infamous for witchcraft. Alongside providing practical information with a personal touch, experienced travel writer and local resident Emily Laurence Baker leads visitors behind the scenes to explain the ‘working Forest’, outlining how various organisations manage the land, how grazing animals have shaped it for centuries, and how the ‘commons’ system functions. She further brings the New Forest to life through interviews with local people, from butchers to conservationists, and agisters to verderers, making Bradt’s New Forest the must-have guide for all visitors to this beguiling region.

This guide is part of the Bradt series that embraces the Slow Tourism movement, and encourages visitors to slow down and discover the often hidden and unsung delights of one of the most unspoiled and varied of English counties.The New Forest, where free-roaming ponies and cows regularly halt traffic and donkeys peer in shop windows, is ideally suited to a Slow guide. Despite the name 'New Forest' the landscape varies with towering conifers lining the Bolderwood and Rhinefield Ornamental Drives, dense broad-leaved trees in the ancient and ornamental woodlands and miles of open heath. Just beyond the heart of the Forest, are riverside and coastal roads by Buckler's Hard and East End, the water meadows of the Avon Valley and the yachting town of Lymington. The villages in and around the New Forest have distinct characters. In Brockenhurst animals regularly walk on main roads. Burley is known for its link to witchcraft and Fordingbridge is a charming small town on the banks of the Avon.Author Emily Laurence Baker outlines the 'working Forest,' including how various organisations manage the land, how grazing animals have shaped its outline for centuries, and how the commoning system functions. Interviews with an Agister, local butchers, conservationists, commoners and other locals bring the book to life. The guide also features a wide range of activities, including walking, horse-riding and cycling, and explores accommodation and food options, from camping to luxury hotels and from simple pubs to the more gourmet variety. All venues are the author's personal selection.The New Forest is easily accessible to overseas visitors - about two hours from central London by train, bus or car.

Dorset is quintessential rural England: rolling hills, thatched houses, narrow, winding lanes and stunning stately homes and gardens. The author takes you on a personal journey through the county introducing some of Dorset's best kept secrets and hidden delights

This new third edition of Bradt's popular guide to Dorset - part of its distinctive series of 'Slow Travel' guides to local UK regions - has been thoroughly updated to reflect all the most recent changes to the region. Where - and what - to eat, where and when to go and what to see are all covered, providing an essential guide to one of Britain's most rural counties. The author, a Dorset girl born and bred, says: 'Many of Dorset's attractions are well-hidden and known only to locals, who like to keep the county's treasures to themselves. This guide takes you to those secret places and introduces you to some delightful Dorset locals past and present. Practical information covers accommodation, eating and drinking, and travelling in this unspoilt region.' Dorset is quintessential rural England: rolling hills, thatched houses, narrow, winding lanes and stunning stately homes and gardens, all of which make it perfect for slowing down and discovering what really makes the region tick. The enchanting Dorset landscapes described in Thomas Hardy's 19th-century novels are largely unchanged and are likely to remain so as the county has the highest proportion of conservation areas in England. A sense of history is conveyed by innumerable sites of archaeological interest, including Britain's largest Iron Age hillfort, Maiden Castle, and the county is trimmed by the spectacular Jurassic Coast, England's first natural World Heritage Site, whose cliffs are constantly revealing their prehistoric, fossilised secrets. For walkers, the Dorset section of the South West Coast Path, which includes part of the Jurassic Coast, offers some of the most spectacular seaside walks in England. This guide provides walking routes with maps to help you explore some of the finest sections of the coastal path, as well as other walks around the county. Whatever your interest, be it local food, brewery tours, peaceful waterways, horse-riding, beach walks or simply escaping to an unspoiled corner, Bradt's Dorset is the ideal companion.

'Whimsical, unexpected, frequently revelatory, exquisitely observed (and written), this is vintage Tim Ward–I loved it.' Ian Weir, author of The Death and Life of Strother Purcell In the aftermath of the pandemic, author Tim Ward and his wife, Teresa, decided to leave their home and professional careers in the US to spend a year in Europe as flâneurs. The French word "flâneur" means one who “wanders without purpose, observing society.” As the French literary critic Sainte-Beuve explained it, to flâne “is the very opposite of doing nothing.” Indeed, it is to give yourself the gift of time: permission to live an unstructured life and, by so doing, discover something about the world, and about yourself.

First Published in 2010. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This new, thoroughly updated edition of Bradt's award-winning North Devon & Exmoor remains the only dedicated general guide to this compelling area. North Devon's relative inaccessibility has been a deterrent to ugly development, and Exmoor National Park is one of the smallest, least well known, and utterly delightful of all national parks. The rugged western cliffs around Hartland Point are the most dramatic in Devon and the cliff-top walking some of the best. New to this edition are several nature reserves which didn't make it into the first edition and more in-depth descriptions of the far western part of Devon abutting the Cornish border. Also included are the Gnome Reserve and the Bakelite Museum - just two of several quirky places in the region - and expanded information on the island of Lundy in the Bristol Channel, as well as unique coverage of the whole of Exmoor National Park straddling Devon and Somerset. Particularly intriguing are the many descriptions of country churches, 'the storerooms of history'. The North Devon and Exmoor region is arguably the most scenic in the southwest. No other has this blend of wild rugged coastline, deep river valleys, heather-covered moorland, family-friendly sandy beaches, great surfing and enchanting villages. Some of the prettiest villages in the southwest are found here, with cream teas aplenty. Much information is unique to this guidebook, blending descriptions of little-known places and country pursuits with portraits of local characters, past and present. The guide also places special emphasis on car-free travel, walking, local food, pubs and unusual or special accommodation. Whether you like to spend time exploring National Trust properties, discovering gardens, wildlife watching (Exmoor is home to Britain's largest mammal, the red deer), or indulging in more active pursuits such as coasteering, kayaking or just a gentle pony trek, Bradt's North Devon & Exmoor is the ideal companion for a successful visit.

Slow North Devon and Exmoor - Expert local tips and holiday advice featuring the best cream teas and pubs, cycling, walking and hiking routes and natural history. Also includes tips on sustainable tourism, local food and unusual accommodation, Exmoor National Park, wildlife and birdwatching, Barnstaple, Braunton, Ilfracombe and North Devon Coast.