About this book
This new guide to the idyllic and popular county of Somerset from expert author and Somerset resident Norm Longley is 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 too 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, carnivals to quirky local customs, the longest heritage railway in Britain to England's first designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and a good dash of legend and myth too, from King Arthur at Avalon and Camelot, to the country's third largest complex of standing stones at Stanton Drew.
About the author
Reviews
Contents
Part I Pakistan
The Plains: Sindh and Punjab
Chapter 1 Keti Bander
Chapter 2 Karachi
Chapter 3 Bhit Shah and Lake Manchar
Chapter 4 Mohenjo Daro
Chapter 5 Kalabagh and Mithankot
Part II Pakistan
The Mountains: Swat and the Karakorum
Chapter 6 Swat
Chapter 7 Deraig and Tirat
Chapter 8 Kohistan
Chapter 9 Nanga Parbat
Chapter 10 Baltistan
Part III India
Kashmir and Ladakh
Chapter 11 Srinagar
Chapter 12 Amanarth
Chapter 13 Ladakh
Chapter 14 Mahe Bridge
Epilogue