Search results for ""author gemma hall""

Travel writer Gemma Hall explored Durham extensively by bicycle and on foot to produce this brand new title in Bradt's award-winning series of Slow travel guides to UK regions. Walkers, cyclists, wildlife lovers, families, foodies, culture vultures and railway enthusiasts are all catered for, with coverage of a wide range of attractions. As the only comprehensive guidebook to the county, it also contains all the practical information you could need to plan and enjoy time in this delightful, diverse yet under-explored English county. Unexpected treats throng here, from Tanfield Railway (the world's oldest line) to fellside Methodist chapels accessed by remote footpaths crossing silvery burns, and the Bowes Museum, where an automated silver swan comes to life at 2pm every day to 'catch' a fish. And even well-known sites offer surprises: famed for its cathedral, medieval streets, world-renowned university and 500 listed buildings, the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Durham city is also the birthplace of English mustard. Durham city may be fêted by up to 4.37 million tourists a year (2019 figures), yet few visitors venture into the county's wider countryside, with its unsung wooded valleys, old mining villages, Heritage Coast Path, and the rugged hills and valleys of Weardale and Upper Teesdale, where national nature reserves harbour thriving meadows filled with relict plants from the last Ice Age. Key heritage attractions such as Castle Barnard's medieval fort and High Force waterfall (one of England's greatest) are described in intimate detail - but so too are many places that have never made it into a guide on Durham: lesser-known museums, historical buildings and birdwatching sites. Here too are more remote treats that need tracking down by cycling old railway trails, or on foot, following old packhorse trails to reach abandoned collieries, secluded bathing pools and the display grounds of the black grouse, a rare gamebird. Whether you are keen to visit Roman forts or understand England's industrial heritage, to wander the heathery uplands of Moor House or stride boldly along miles upon miles of coastline, discover Durham with Bradt's unique Slow guide.

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This new, thoroughly updated second edition of Bradt's best-selling, comprehensive guide to Northumberland including Newcastle, Hadrian's Wall & the Coast remains the reliable source of information for discovering the far northeast of England, an area which is home to Europe's largest area of protected night sky - and England's first Dark Sky Park, a 572-square-mile expanse in Northumberland National Park. Now including over 40 walks along beaches, over hills and through valleys, as well as dedicated chapters on Northumberland National Park, Hadrian's Wall, the coast and Newcastle, among others, Bradt's Northumberland including Newcastle, Hadrian's Wall & the Coast is the ideal companion for a successful visit. Northumberland is well-known for its beaches, castles, wildlife, islands and desolate upland scenery, but despite all the attention and accolades ('most tranquil county', 'darkest night skies in England', 'Best UK County/Region [Silver Award']), Northumberland remains for the most part wonderfully crowd-free. It is the ultimate place in England to get away from it all, where you can walk all afternoon over moorland and not meet anyone, skinny-dip in lakes, or picnic on pristine sands with no one else around. Northumberland is also home to Hadrian's Wall, 'the most important Roman monument in Britain' (English Heritage), while heritage enthusiasts will find a number of world firsts and unique museums such as Tanfield Railway, where you can marvel at 19th-century steam engines in the oldest engine shed in the world. Bradt's Northumberland encourages visitors to slow down and explore the green lanes, footpaths, rivers and cycle trails that link Northumberland's 'Castle Coast' with the heather-topped hills, Roman fortresses and villages of the interior. A guide to Newcastle is found in the chapter on Tyne & Wear. Local knowledge of historic towns, heritage sites, wildlife-watching spots and countryside walks, and words and tips from local heritage experts make this an authoritative guide - and as much an entertaining armchair read as a practical guide, perfect for walkers, birdwatchers, cyclists, families, and those interested in Roman archaeology, industrial heritage and medieval castles.

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