Books about Devon (other than Dartmoor and Exmoor)

These are some of our favourite places, concentrating on those with free access. We hope the selection will help you enjoy your holiday to the full.

978-1-906474-18-8     £3.99    Order info

Covers the whole Devon coast and provides practical information including parking, access and lifeguard cover.

978-1-906474-58-4     £3.99    Order info

Devon has a huge number of festivals and other events, ranging from ancient pagan survivals to modern literary and music festivals. Here we have concentrated on those which are oldest and most traditional in character, such as Green Man Day in Pilton and Ale Tasting in Ashburton.
 

978-1-906474-61-4     £2.99    Order info

From the first steam engine to the first commercial Christmas card, from central heating to the importation of tobacco, Devon ingenuity has produced some remarkable results – not all of them beneficial.
 

978-1-906474-39-3     £3.99    Order info

A concise history and visitor’s guide to Devon’s true castles (medieval strongholds which were also homes) with some information on earlier and later fortifications.

978-1-915664-10-5      £3.99     Order info

Between 1700 and 1850, smuggling was a huge industry in Devon, actively supported by members of all social classes, but it was not romantic. This book gives a balanced view of 'free trade'.

978-1-899383-89-4       £3.99     Order info

This book suggests places to visit, including saw-toothed reefs, chalk landslip, tors and an extinct volcano, to see the very best geological features in Devon. The author gives simple explanations, as well as directions for getting there.

978-1-915664-02-0       £4.99    Order info

Far removed from the powerful influence of London, Devon developed in its own way, but with superb ports on two coastlines, it has always been open to the wider world...

978-1-915664-11-2       £4.99    Order info

Devon is a goldmine for railway enthusiasts, with a magnificent coastal stretch of main line, and several museums and preserved steam railways. This book will tell you what there is to see, and help you understand its historical context.

978-1-915664-08-2        £4.99    Order info

An introduction to the development of the railway system and its subsequent history, with many evocative old photographs, by a prize-winning local historian.

Devon’s Seaside History     Paul White

978-1-906474-73-7      £3.00    Order info

Before the 18th century, ‘the seaside’ did not exist. This book traces its development in Devon, from forcible dipping to motorised holidays.

978-1-906474-84-3     £3.99   Order info

In Devon, the author writes, 'it seems there is a subtle link between this world and the next; where centuries do not matter and time, occasionally, stands still'.

978-1-899383-51-1        £2.99     Order info   

Drake is known by some as a spotless hero, warm, generous and compassionate, and by others as an arrogant, greedy and villainous pirate. This book uncovers the real man, the truth behind the legend.

978-1-915664-05-1       £3.99     Order info 

A collection of stories, many of them humorous, including both legends and anecdotes about famous Devon personalities. They are told in their original form, but edited to avoid archaic usages.

978-1-906474-37-9        £3.99     Order info   

52 enticing recipes in which expert food researcher Carolyn Martin pools the wisdom of cooks across the centuries to bring the best of Devon’s traditions to the modern kitchen.

978-1-906474-55-3        £3.99     Order info

Walter White was a self-educated man who worked for the Royal Society as a library cataloguer. He used his generous holidays to explore the British countryside, and was an acute observer, talking to people of all classes. Here he walks from Lyme Regis to Plymouth.
 

978-1-906474-56-0        £3.99     Order info

This is another selection from Walter White’s A Londoner’s Walk to the Land’s End, taken from his return journey, including the Cornish coast north of Camelford, the Tamar, and the Dart from Dartmouth to Dartmeet.