Cheshire (Slow Travel)

This brand new title in Bradt's acclaimed UK regional Slow series is the only full guide to Cheshire, a county known for its abundance of black-and-white timbered buildings and which was put firmly on the map in the 1980s thanks to then-resident stars Posh and Becks. Cheshire is a county that confounds expectations, from the Cheshire Plain to the hills and moors of the Pennines and Peak District in the east and surprisingly dramatic sandstone ridges in the west, not to mention the Wirral Peninsula, flanked by the major estuaries of the Rivers Mersey and Dee flowing into the Irish Sea. Home to premier league footballers it may be, but it is also a largely rural landscape and an area of farm shops, forests and falconries; meres, marinas and marshes. There is industrial and scientific heritage, too, ranging from Bronze-Age mining sites to the internationally important astronomical observatory and mighty Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank. With this new Bradt guide, discover all of this and more: the county town of Chester with its fascinating Roman history, unique double-decker medieval shopping arcades and the most complete city walls in Britain; ruins of ancient castles; and reminders of the salt and silk industries that have been so important in the past. For a truly slow experience, Cheshire also offers a network of canals, perfect for waterside strolls or pootling along in a narrowboat, while Bradt's Slow Cheshire details information for walkers and cyclists, too. Also included in this guide are gardens and parks, grand stately homes and structural legacies of the past (such as Port Sunlight), engaging museums, attractions and events. Local food and drink is covered, along with all types of accommodation, from farm stays and self-catering cottages to guesthouses and hotels.