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 January 2011 Issue 148
 Reviews

Adult fiction

History & Nostalgia & Nonfiction

Children's books

 Stories

The Honey Bird Sang: part 3

 Art

Owen Owen

 Features

Countryside Books

Magbooks

 

STAN YORKE: LOST RAILWAYS OF GLOUCESTERSHIRE

Many thriving industries including farming, quarrying, coal and iron mining, and timber production for the shipbuilding and charcoal industries depended on the railways. In this well researched book Stan Yorke brings to life the county's railways and describes the reasons for their construction and for their subsequent closure. Modern photographs accompany those from earlier times. These together with specially drawn maps, will help the enthusiast to explore some of the old lines and stations that have survived.

If you read my review, opposite, of the "Gloucestershire Airfields in the second world", you'll know that I was a country boy, born in Brockworth and lived there for sixteen years. I remember going into Gloucester to get steam trains to London for holidays, and branch line steam trains to get to places like Bourton-on-the-water and so on. This book rightly laments the decimation of the railway network brought about by Beeching, but more than that, it describes in minute detail and with fascinating photographs, the railway heritage of the county. This is not just for railway enthusiasts, but for local history buffs also. Expertly written and produced, it will grace any collection. Fascinating.

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ANITA DELF & MARILYN TAYLOR: DRIVE AND STROLL IN NORFOLK

 

With its glorious countryside, inspiring views and fascinating reminders of an historic past, Norfolk provides a rich landscape with quiet woods, sparkling rivers and tranquil broads, splendid coastline, lush parkland and charming villages. The 20 circular routes vary in length from 2 to 5 miles and visit such places as Barton Broad; Horsey Mere; Thetford and Holme Dunes Nature Reserve.

 

This title shows Beeston Bump, on the cover - I walk over it almost every day when my wife and I take the dogs out. It's inevitable you'd find Beeston Bump in a book on walking in Norfolk, because it is one of the most spectacular features of the North Norfolk coast, and we're lucky to live here (though not for too much longer, I fear). The book is terrific - it gives you precise and detailed instructions, including where to park before you set off, and tells you what to look out for on the walk. Norfolk is not flat, or boring, and has some of the loveliest countryside in the country, particularly around the coastal areas, and this book brings out the best of the county. If you're looking for a peaceful, gentle holiday with plenty of places to walk, this is the book for you!

 

LIZ MOYNIHAN: PUB WALKS ALONG THE PEDDARS WAY and the NORFOLK COAST PATH

 

The Peddars Way and the Norfolk Coast Path are two totally different National Trails that together form a 93 mile route of astounding diversity throughout the best of Norfolk's scenery. The Peddars Way was originally a prehistoric trade route which runs from Knettishall Heath to Holme-next-the-Sea. The Norfolk Coast Path, opened in 1986, takes advantage of old droves and smugglers' routes and stretches to Cromer. There are twenty circular walks, which vary in length from 3 and a quarter to 8 and a half miles, and each is described in detail.

 

Another fine book with plenty of suggestions for walking in this fine county. Once again, the instructions are clear and precise, and the author clearly knows the county - and the pubs she so heartily recommends! The photograophs are beautiful and do perfect justice to the accompanying text. First class.

 

JOHN WILKS: WALKS INTO HISTORY - NORFOLK AND SUFFOLK

 

Twenty circular walks that visit historic sites within the counties, bringing back the drama and pageantry of the past. Includes routes at Sutton Hoo, Orford Castle, Lavenham, the Norfolk Broads, Hunstanton and Holkham Hall. With maps and photographs.

 

Norfolk and Suffolk are counties that are steeped in fascinating history. Norfolk in particular has a fantastic collection of churches and stately homes, and the author homes in on these with his rich, fascinating forays into the counties' past and people. Intriguing, informative, and thoroughly fascinating. People that live here will love learning about their history, whilst people generally interested in history will relish learning about the past in such a beguiling and engaging way.

 

 

NORFOLK: A PORTRAIT IN COLOUR

 

Full colour portraits of Norfolk today from the lens of Robert Hallmann. An ideal gift for all who love the county and its glorious countryside. With excellent complementary text.

 

The photographs are inspirational - I take my camera with me on my long walks with the dogs, in the hope of catching something similar, but as always, it's the professionals who capture the majesty and beauty of the country in which we are fortunate enough to live. This is a superb collection of the most picturesque places in Norfolk - Countryside have other counties in their collection, you can check them out by visiting the Countryside website.

 

DAVID BERRYMAN: GLOUCESTERSHIRE AIRFIELDS IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR

A full account of the part played by Gloucestershire's airfields during the Second World War. The history of each airfield is described with the squadrons and aircraft based at them and the main operations flown. The effects of the war on the daily lives of civilians and the constant dangers from raids and night bombing are also detailed. Fully illustrated.

This is a fascinating account of the airfields that were operational during the second world war in the county of Gloucestershire. Having lived in Brockworth for the first sixteen years of my life, I want to concentrate on that - the author describes in terrific detail how the Gloster Aircraft Company came into being, the aircraft that were produced at the factory, which lay between Brockworth and Hucclecote, and what became of the factory when aircraft production ceased in the early 1960s. The detail is fabulous, the photographs are sensational, and the whole book is a joy to read.

 

 

 

 

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