Our range of UK guidebooks covers these fair isles from head to toe, reaching as far north as Scotland’s breathtaking Hebrides and Orkney, all the way down to Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. In between, sample the magnificent Peak District, the quaint joy of The Cotswolds, picturesque Northumberland and the rugged beauty of The Jurassic Coast.
Of course, our UK guidebooks come with a Bradt twist – we try to delve into hidden corners, to find the colourful and unfamiliar. Our first British Isles title was Eccentric Britain, a book that the Daily Telegraph called ‘wonderfully barmy’, and which includes such highlights as a toe-wrestling competition in Derbyshire, the Patwalloping Festival in Devon, the Giant Yorkshire Pudding Race in Yorkshire and details of the country’s quirkiest people and places.
“When we received a proposal for Eccentric Britain, our first reaction was to dismiss it – it was way outside our usual subject matter. Then I read some extracts and didn’t see how we could not publish it, it made me laugh so much. So we did it, and found we’d published a best-seller. The press loved it, so did the readers. Risk-taking can be fun.”
Hilary Bradt
UK guidebooks about ‘Slow Travel’
When developing our UK guidebooks, we wanted to get away from the usual ‘top sights’ formula and encourage our authors to bring out the nuances and local differences that make up a sense of place – food, history, nature, geology, or local people. So without our realising it at the time, we had defined ‘Slow Travel.
The ‘Slow Travel’ series of our UK guidebooks is unique: personal and engaging in a way that you won’t find in any other mainstream series. Written only by local authors who know their regions intimately, these books encourage visitors to ditch their ‘must see ticklists’, ease their pace and take time to enjoy some of Britain’s most distinctive and special corners.
“Bradt’s ‘Slow Travel’ guides take time to point the way.”
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
The books include all the practical information you’ll need, of course, but they also feature interviews with interesting residents, uncover local traditions and folk tales, and reveal the authors’ favourite places to eat, drink and walk.
Bradt Guides on British wildlife
But our range doesn’t just cover travel. True to form, we also offer a comprehensive range of titles that feature the wildlife of this rich and pleasant land, including literary tales The Country of Larks and Wild About Britain, all the way through to more guide-focused A Summer of British Wildlife and 52 Wildlife Weekends: A Year of British Wildlife-Watching Breaks – all of which provide inspiration for you to get back to nature around the British Isles.
“Red deer rutting. Puffins strutting. Salmon leaping. Bottle-nosed dolphins jumping. Beachcomber beetles burrowing. Natterjack toads churring. Otters cavorting. Bluebells carpeting. White-tailed eagles fishing. Purple emperors gliding. Adders writhing. Starlings swirling. Yews towering. Water voles munching. Grey seals pupping. And basking sharks cruising.”
James Lowen lists a few of Britain’s highlights in 52 Wildlife Weekends
Transport and tipples
Nowadays, our range extends even into transport, food – and booze. Bus-Pass Britain, Britain from the Rails and Scotland from the Rails have gathered together the nation’s most cherished bus and train journeys, while Britain in a Bottle celebrates the fine drinks that originate in the UK.
Get active, get outdoors
One extra element of our range of UK guidebooks embraces nature and all the ways to enjoy it: hiking, yoga, biking, cooking outdoors and even stand-up paddleboarding. Take a deep breath with Unlikely Positions (in Unlikely Places), or get active with Paddling Britain, or wander out into the wilderness with one of Phoebe Smith’s books:
See all of our UK guidebooks
Even this doesn’t cover the entire breadth and depth of our UK titles. To see the complete Bradt Guides collection of UK guidebooks and literature, go to our UK product category page.