This new title in Bradt's distinctive series of Slow travel guides to regions of Britain is the only general guide to focus exclusively on Exmoor, covering all of the national park plus towns and villages just outside the boundary. Written by expert resident author Hilary Bradt, coast and moorland, hiking, wildlife and birdwatching are all covered, as are food and drink, historical background and culture both present and past, including Lorna Doone (and Doone country), Wordsworth and Shelley. Divided into ten regions and complete with 13 walks with maps, Bradt's Exmoor National Park also covers National Trust villages and nature reserves, little-known attractions such as private gardens, and the region's most interesting little churches. Exmoor is one of England's smallest but most beautiful national parks and is also particularly rich in festivals, both cultural, traditional - and frankly bizarre, including Hunting of the Earl of Rone in the village of Combe Martin and the Minehead Hobby Horse. The area is also increasingly recognised as a foodie destination and as a place for active holidays of all types. With its long coastline there are beaches for everyone, both sand and pebble, with wild swimming in the sea, rivers and reservoirs. This is also one of the most rewarding areas for walking in the West Country, combining stunning sections of the South West Coast Path with inland walks over heather-rich moorland and up river valleys. England's smallest church and largest number of wild red deer, and Britain's most distinctive native pony are all found here. Ideal for walkers, riders, foodies and lovers of beautiful scenery and wilderness, Bradt's Exmoor National Park is the essential companion for a successful trip regardless of age or budget.
About the Author: Hilary Bradt co-founded Bradt Travel Guides in 1974, but now lives in semi-retirement in Seaton, East Devon. After 40 years of writing guidebooks to Africa and South America, she has embraced her chosen home to the extent of insisting that such a large, varied and beautiful county deserved four Slow guides, not just one. Her first visit to the region was as a child on a pony-trekking holiday on Exmoor - a never to be forgotten experience. A keen walker, she has covered many miles of the South West Coast Path and inland footpaths, and most Saturdays see her taking part in one of Devon's Parkruns (5k, but she's appropriately slow). She is a productive member of the South West Sculptors' Association and lectures regularly on travel-related topics at libraries and literary festivals, both in Devon and further afield. In 2008 she was awarded an MBE for services to the tourist industry and to charity and in 2009 she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the British Guild of Travel Writers.