Toulson Shirley

In a bygone age when few people travelled far from their homes and almost any journey was an adventure the drovers regularly made the long perilous trip from the Scottish highlands and islands or from the Welsh mountains to the south-east of England. They brought vast herds of cattle from the hill farms of the north and west to the markets of London and other towns. Sheep, pigs, geese and turkeys were also driven to the towns. In this book the author tells of these hardworking and resourceful men and of the dangers and hardhsips they faced. She describes the animals they drove and the way they conducted their business, and outlines some of the routes they followed, as well as indicating features of the countryside which may reveal the passage of drovers through an area in times past.

In Devon the thread of history is everywhere evident - on its wild, grand moors and in its charming villages, in the ubiquitous craftsmanship in wood, clay and wool on which its prosperity has so often rested - and Shirley Toulson traces it faithfully in this most comprehensive and engaging of guidebooks. We follow her through the pastoral delights of the South Hams, across Exmoor and Dartmoor, to the harbour-towns, where each quayside is drenched in Devon's maritime history, compellingly recounted for us in this most companionable of guides to this most hospitable of counties.