South West England S Best Views

England's views are remarkable for their beauty and variety. In this illustrated, first-of-its-kind guide, bestselling author Simon Jenkins picks the very best views from South West England, including Dartmouth, Dartmoor's Haytor, Plymouth Hoe, Tintagel, Bath (Royal Crescent and Prior Park), Bristol's Clifton Suspension Bridge, Chesil Beach, Exmoor, Glastonbury Tor, Little Bredy, Lyme Regis, Salisbury, Stourhead, and much more - and explains the fascinating stories behind them. Jenkins' entertaining and erudite entries provide the rich historical, geographical, botanical and architectural background to South West England's breathtaking sights both iconic and undiscovered. Filled with roman roads, cliff-tops, follies, mountains, ancient castles, rolling forests and heart-stopping moments, you'll soon wonder how you chose walks, mini-breaks or spontaneous diversions without it.

The South West Coast Path National Trail (SWCP) measures a staggering 630 miles (1015km) from Minehead on the Somerset coast right round Devon and Cornwall to Poole in Dorset. The guidebook divides the route into 45 stages of between 12.5 to 37.5km, beginning and ending where amenities are available. Written by prolific outdoor writer Paddy Dillon, this guidebook is packed with lots of information for planning your walk, including clear step-by-step route descriptions and OS map extracts, public transport links, accommodation and facilities along the way. Also described is the 17-mile South Dorset Ridgeway, from West Bexington to Osmington Mills, which can be used as a scenic way to shave 42 miles off the total distance. This epic route takes in Exmoor National Park, five AONBs and the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site, besides various nature reserves and SSSIs. No other stretch of coastline compares for scenic splendour, historical sites and availability of refreshments, accommodation and public transport, making it easy to split the South West Coast Path into week or weekend-long sections.

England's views are remarkable for their beauty and variety. In this illustrated, first-of-its-kind guide, bestselling author Simon Jenkins picks the very best views from North East England, including Bempton cliffs, Gordale Scar, Hebden Bridge, Richmond, Rievaulx, Saltaire, Whitby Harbour, Durham, Hadrian's Wall, Lindisfarne and Newcastle's Grey Street, and more - and explains the fascinating stories behind them. Jenkins' entertaining and erudite entries provide the rich historical, geographical, botanical and architectural background to North East England's breathtaking sights both iconic and undiscovered. Filled with roman roads, cliff-tops, follies, mountains, ancient castles, rolling forests and heart-stopping moments, you'll soon wonder how you chose walks, mini-breaks or spontaneous diversions without it.

This volume illustrates some of the significant aspects of magmatic activity from Devonian (408 million years ago) to early Permian (270 million years ago) times in SW England. This period covers the progressive development of the Variscan mountain-building episode, from initial basin formation to final deformation and the subsequent development of a fold mountain belt - the Variscan Orogen. Both extrusive (volcanic) and intrusive (plutonic) rocks are found in the orogen, and chart the various stages of its magmatic development. The sites described in this volume are key localities selected for conservation because they are representative of the magmatic history of the orogen from initiation to stabilization. Some of the earliest volcanic activity in the Devonian is represented by submarine basaltic and rhyolitic lavas developed in subsiding basins, caused by the attenuation of the existing continental crust. In some cases, extensive rifting and attendant magmatism produced narrow zones of true oceanic crust, whereas elsewhere basaltic volcanism is related to fractures in the continental crust at the margins of the basins. After the filling of the sedimentary basins, and their deformation caused by crustal shortening (late Carboniferous Period), further activity is manifested by the emplacement of the Cornubian granites and later minor basaltic volcanism in the early Permian. Accounts of the constituent parts of this history have enriched geological literature from the nineteenth century onwards, and have contributed to the advancement and understanding of magmatic and tectonic processes.

Using south-western England as a focus for considering the continued place of witchcraft and demonology in provincial culture in the period between the English and French revolutions, Barry shows how witch-beliefs were intricately woven into the fabric of daily life, even at a time when they arguably ceased to be of interest to the educated.

STRUCTURE OF THE VOLUME AND TERMINOLOGY USED This book contains scientific descriptions of 63 localities (Figure A) of at least national importance for Quaternary geology, geomorphology and environmental change in South-West England. These sites were selected by the Geological Conservation Review and are accordingly designated 'GCR' sites. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the Quaternary. Chapter 2 synthesizes the geomorphological development and Quaternary history of the region, and outlines the principles involved in site selection. The individual GCR site descriptions form the core of the book. In the following chapters, sites are arranged and described in broad geographic areas and by research topic. This is necessitated by the widely disparate nature of the field evidence in Soutb West England: sites demonstrating the full range of Quaternary and geomorphological features are not evenly and conveniently dispersed throughout the region, and some areas have significant gaps. Neither do the individual chapters contain sites that neces sarily equate with particular site selection networks. Rather, the chosen chapter headings provide the least repetitive means of describing the sites and background material. Where possible, a chronological approach, from oldest to youngest, has been used to describe sites within a given chapter. Again, this approach is not always possi ble, and a group of sites may show variations on landform or Stratigraphie evidence broadly within one major time interval or chronostratigraphic stage; inevitably there are many overlaps.

Often featuring in lists of the world's best walks, the South West Coast Path is 630 miles long, and passes through two World Heritage Sites. This guide to the path is a modern take on the traditional (turn right at the stile, and follow the footpath to the bridge) guidebook: instead of telling readers where to go step by step, Stephen gives fantastic ideas for what to do as they travel along the path. There are so many amazing adventures and places to visit (some 'secret' and some well known) and this guide highlights 1,000 of them, all situated along the route. After an Introduction giving a history of the path and the stories of the people who made it (Why is this path the most popular National Trail? Why is it so closely associated with tales of King Arthur? When is the best time to visit?) the bulk of the book focuses on all the amazing things you can do along the path itself. It is divided into regions, with over 70 adventures/highlights per region: West Somerset, North Devon, Torridge, North Cornwall, South Cornwall, South Hams, Torbay, Teignbridge, East Devon, West Dorset, Weymouth and Portland, Purbeck and Poole. Each region is introduced with a 'Best For' section, with the ten best places for secret swims, tidal woods, fossils etc. It then highlights where to go, each place accompanied by basic directions, a short description and postcode/map coordinates. Readers can use this guide whilst walking the path in either direction, and at home when planning – Stephen Neale's engaging writing and beautiful photography make this book a joy to spend time with.

Presents a travel guide to England and Wales, providing recommendations on hotels, restaurants, shopping, local transportation, sights of interest, and nightlife.