England: Cultured, Classic, and Charming: A Guide to Hidden England (The Hidden Gems Series) Paperback – 8 Nov. 2023

This is an interesting and informative guide to ‘Hidden England’ which I read from cover to cover. As I live in England I as was pleased to see some of my favourite places mentioned in the book, but I also liked discovering new ones which really are off the ‘well-trodden’ paths. The author obviously knows England well and has done her research as this comes across in the quality of the information included. I love how the author has included English history, local myths, superstitions, as well as information on everything from Gods and Saints to what the best food and drinks to try are. The ‘Plans and Mechanics’ chapter is particularly useful for those travelling to/around England as its full of practicalities including tips and budgeting advice. I particularly found the write ups on geographical marvels and historical sites fascinating and it definitely gave me greater knowledge on places that were both known and not known to me. The narrative is written in a knowledgeable but lighthearted, friendly and easy to read style, and I found the resource section at the end very helpful. I would have found an index at the end helpful in order to refer back to specific places more easily, and although I enjoyed the pictures that were included I felt that more photos would have added to the over all look of the book. Overall this is a guide with a difference and it really does let you discover the hidden gems of the English realm.

This travel guide explores the history and mythology or folklore of England, religion and photography, and food and sight-seeing. I’ve learnt about places and things such as Barter Books, the Banksy Street Art Tour, and the Wing Maze in Rutland. I’ve also learnt about booking flights, booking accommodation, and taking medication abroad. The book could be a bit repetitive at times but overall it was really interesting and insightful. I recommend this book because I learnt a lot about the country I was born and brought up in. I’ve added a lot of places to my bucket list and gathered some useful information for if I ever want to feature England in my own writing. ‘There are many times I’ve looked back on my photos and remembered a scene I had forgotten, relived a memory I had lost.’

This was a really informative book to read. Even though I have lived in England all my life there was even things in this book that I wasn't aware of. The author does an incredible job of researching everything to do with England and I loved all the historical facts and myths. The author does a great job of showing people hidden gems and not just the normal tourist attractions.For someone who is planning a visit to England this would be an amazing book to have if you want to visit and soak up some of the amazing places and heritage.It was a interesting and informative read with an author who has taken the time to really research and produce something that is a good read for people visiting and also people who have lived here all their life

I’ve read many books by this author but this is the first of this kind I’ve read by her so I wanted to give it a go – also being British and living in England I was interested to see what she would include in her guide book.It was a good read, of course I knew many of the things she wrote about however I may have learnt a couple of things. There were some great facts about English history and the stories behind some of the popular historical places to visit.I can imagine even if you weren’t planning a journey to visit England this might be a good read just to find out more about the country and some of it history and places of interest.