Jan Dobrzynski

From a water-laden bog in the Cambrian Mountains of Wales to the mighty Bristol Channel, the River Severn carves its way through some of the most picturesque and varied landscapes in the country. River Severn: From Source to Sea follows the entire course of the river, describing its relationship with the surrounding countryside and how it has shaped local inhabitants’ lives for centuries. A rivulet surfacing on the slopes of Plynlimon marks the beginning of the Severn, known here by its Welsh name Afon Hafren. The youthful Severn passes through rich sheep-rearing hillsides in Wales, before crossing the Marches into England and Shropshire. Here the Severn sheds its Welsh name as it meanders into the former border stronghold of Shrewsbury. Beyond, the Severn enters the Ironbridge Gorge, the cradle of the Industrial Revolution. It meets Bridgnorth, known for its association with the Severn Valley Railway, the Georgian town of Bewdley, historic Worcester, and picturesque Tewkesbury, where it is joined by the River Avon, before flowing through the Vale of Gloucester. The Severn meets the River Wye at Chepstow and finally ends its 220-mile journey at Avonmouth. Illustrated with stunning photography, River Severn: From Source to Sea conveys the topographical and historical importance of the river. Passing through pastoral scenes, Roman cities and medieval fortresses and driving modern industry, the Severn acts as a metaphor for the changing nature of Britain through the ages.

The Mersey’s 70-mile journey to the Irish Sea starts with the merging of the rivers Goyt and Tame at Stockport in Greater Manchester. At Irlam the course of the Mersey is briefly diverted into the Manchester Ship Canal, where its waters combine with another captive river, the Irwell. Soon released from this manmade constraint the Mersey continues to flow unimpeded for the remainder of its journey – flowing past Warrington and through the Runcorn Gap – into the throat of Liverpool Bay. For centuries the Mersey has served as the natural boundary between Cheshire and Lancashire, its tidal flow washing through the developing conurbation of Merseyside which comprises the port of Liverpool, Birkenhead and the former coastal resort of New Brighton at the mouth of the estuary. This book takes the reader on a journey in words and pictures along the lower reaches of the river, its navigable companion the Manchester Ship Canal and the coast of Liverpool Bay, using more than 200 old photographs. It is a record of a major waterway with its ports, docks, warehouses, cargo ships and ocean liners immortalised by past generations of photographers for the benefit of visitors and travellers from around the world.

At 220 miles in length, the Severn is Britain's longest river. The author has followed the Severn's final 100 miles course to the sea, revisiting the locations of the older scenes, and taking an equvivalent photograph today. This is an exciting examination of how the Severn, known to the Welsh as Afon Hafren and to the Romans as Sabrina has been immortalised by earlier generations of photographers, and how it appears today. This is the second of two books which give a unique insight into this ever-changing waterway. It follows the course of the Severn through two of England's finest cities, Worcester and Gloucester and on into the Bristol Channel. The companion volume explores the first hundred or so miles from the source of the river in the Welsh mountains through the Marches and into Shropshire.

Flowing 220 miles from source to the sea, the Severn is Britain's longest river. The author has followed the Severn along its first 100 or so miles, photographing the present day views to compare with the enduring historic pictures which so appealed to Edwardian tourists and travellers. The Severn Plynlimon to Bridgnorth Through Time is the first of two books, which give a unique insight into the history of this ever-changing river.The journey starts at the source of the Welsh Afon Hafren (Severn) on the boggy slopes of Plynlimon in the Cambrian Mountains, and takes the reader through the Marches and into Shropshire. Reproduced in full colour, this is an exciting examination of how the Severn has been immortalised by earlier generations of photographers, and is essential reading for anyone who knows and loves this iconic waterway.

The steep western ridge of the Cotswolds has a commanding view of the Severn Valley, the Malvern Hills and the Forest of Dean. To the north is an equally impressive view of the Vale of Evesham, the Worcester plain and Bredon Hill. The source of many rivers, including the Windrush and Thames, are found in the high uplands dipping towards the Oxford plain, and in the south sits the city of Bath. The 790 square miles that comprise the Cotswolds formed between 200 to 150 million years ago and were then shifted, twisted and arranged over the next 100 million. Moreover, in the past ten thousand years, human activity has further shaped and altered the land through agriculture, trade, transport, building of towns and cities - constantly changing, but at the same time adding to the stunning appearance of this landscape. Dry stonewalls criss-cross hills and valleys marking out arable fields and pastures for sheep and cattle, farmhouses built in Oolithic weathered limestone, villages and towns built of the same honey-coloured stone all radiate the warm mellow colour of this local bedrock - the very foundation of this range of hills. A Postcard from the Cotswolds describes this outstandingly picturesque region in words and pictures as immortalised by earlier generations of photographers and artists for countless tourists and visitors to this exceptional part of England.

The rocks of the Lake District were laid down over millions of years of volcanic activity and sub-marine sedimentation, eroded by wind, rain, and ice age glaciers, which scoured the river valleys, widened them, and formed the lakes we know today. The towering fells hide a violent past. There were struggles over a disputed border between England and Scotland and the ruins of a Roman fort at Hardknott testify to an even earlier conflict with the Celtic Brigantes. From border settlements to market towns, mining and the coming of the railways, this book takes the reader on a journey in words and pictures across the entire Lake District along becks and rivers, down force and ghyll, across precipitous passes and over fells and through dales, using more than 200 old postcards from the authors’ extensive collections. A Postcard from the Lake District is a glorious pictorial record of soaring mountain ranges, tranquil tarns and the majestic lakes which keep visitors coming back time after time.

For more than a thousand years the Afon Conwy – the River Conway to the English – provided a military gateway into the heart of North Wales, firstly for the legions of Rome and then the English armies seeking to subdue the people of Wales. In later, more peaceful times, it proved a seemingly impossible barrier to the spread of transport links which sought to open up new and improved communications with Ireland – a barrier that can prove troublesome even today. A Postcard from the Conwy takes the reader on a journey in words and pictures along the entire length of the river and its headwaters, using more than 200 old postcards from the authors’ extensive collections. It is a pictorial record of soaring mountains and tranquil lakes, majestic bridges and castles, houses great and small, sailing boats and steamers – all immortalised by past generations of photographers and artists for the benefit of innumerable tourists and travellers.

This book takes the reader on a pictorial journey along the entire length of the Dee in over 200 old picture postcards, accompanied by informative captions. Our journey starts in North Wales, high above the village of Llanuwchllyn, by a stream which flows from ancient rocks into a sheet of still, deep water called Lake Bala. It is from this source that the River Dee flows. The river wanders through the former counties of Merionethshire and Denbighshire, and eventually reaches the town of Llangollen, home of the international Eisteddfod. With romantic views of the ruins of Valle Crucis Abbey and Castell Dinas Bran, and scenes of the Dee as it flows over Telford's Horseshoe Falls, we leave Wales and head into England. Crossing the border, the Dee meanders through low-lying farmland into Cheshire where it encounters the historic city of Chester. We now accompany the Dee on the final leg of our pictorial journey as it turns through the Cheshire and Flintshire countryside and emerges into the estuary to form the natural coastal boundary between the Wirral peninsula and North Wales.

With over 650 to choose from and hundreds visited, the task of selecting a representative number of historic pubs in Shropshire was far from easy, especially since this perfect embodiment of an English county has so many unique establishments worthy of mention. The search to find the choicest pubs took the author through all of the county's towns and villages, along its rivers, over the rugged hills and along Shropshire's lost and forgotten highways and byways. There were certainly more pubs found that could be put into this book, but sixty of the best were selected as a fair choice. All the pubs represent a particular style, type, or age of establishment and are dispersed throughout the whole county, but above all, they are of the highest standard.Included here are establishments that capture the essence of the wayside inn, the local, riverside mug house, railway and canal pub as well as the increasingly brewery tap house. Suffice it to say the pubs featured in this book are among the best in Shropshire and all certainly have a history and perhaps a tale of the unusual or even the supernatural. They are whole-heartedly recommended to anyone in search of good beer, a warm welcome and a historical setting.

Flowing for nearly 100 miles through gently rolling countryside at the very heart of England, the Avon is one of the most quintessentially English rivers in the country. Visiting places such as Naseby, Warwick, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Evesham and Tewkesbury, this book captures visions of the river as it used to be, from ye olde battlefields through to Edwardian tourism with, of course, plenty of Shakespearian history. A companion volume to the authors' A Postcard from the Severn and A Postcard from the Wye, this book takes the reader on a journey in words and pictures through the five counties traversed by the Avon, using images from more than 250 postcards drawn from the authors' collections - many posted to friends and relatives by some of the innumerable visitors to the river and its world-famous associated attractions. It is a record of how the river and its surroundings once appeared, and how they were immortalised by earlier generations of photographers and artists, printers and publishers.

The Wye flows for more than 130 miles, from the high slopes of Plynlimon in Wales to the Severn Estuary, passing through some of the most picturesque scenery in Britain en route. Indeed, the Wye Valley was the birthplace of modern tourism – when many eighteenth-century travellers undertook the English equivalent of the Grand Tour. By the nineteenth century, when the railway had arrived, many enterprising locals were running boat tours along the river, stopping off at Goodrich, Chepstow and Tintern to take in the ‘picturesque landscape’, and famous names such as Pope, Coleridge, Wordsworth and Thackeray had all made the pilgrimage here. By 1850 more than twenty accounts of the Wye tour had been published.A Postcard from the Wye takes the reader on a journey in words and pictures along the entire length of the river, using more than 200 postcards from the authors’ extensive collections. It is a record of how the river once was, including its industrial heritage as well as more rural scenes, and shows how it was immortalised by earlier generations of photographers and artists for the benefit of innumerable tourists and travellers.

Provides information on sixty of Worcestershires historic pubs. This book includes prime examples of riverside pubs - the famous Severn mug houses - wayside inns, canal and railway pubs, and home-brew pubs, as well as the mainstay of every community, the local.

This book takes the reader on a journey, in words and pictures, along the entire length of the mighty Severn - more than 200 miles - through rolling hills and verdant plains, using images from more than 200 old postcards.