Shropshire III

I’ve signed a contract with Bradt Travel Guides to write a third edition of my guidebook, Slow Travel: Shropshire.

Bradt Travel Guides is the world’s leading independent travel publisher, for people interested in ‘less-obvious experiences, less-visited places and a thoughtful approach to travel’.

Hilary Bradt started it in 1974, while she and her then-husband George were young backpackers floating on a river barge down a tributary of the Amazon. They wrote about the hiking trails they had discovered through the Andes, which became Backpacking Along Ancient Ways - Peru & Bolivia.

Today Bradt Travel Guides has more than 200 titles - guidebooks and travel literature - and is celebrated for offering comprehensive coverage of lesser-known destinations, and for respecting wildlife, conservation and local communities. The team is marking its 50th anniversary this year, and last month I was delighted to join their celebration at the Royal Geographical Society headquarters in South Kensington, where Nicholas Crane, Colin Thubron and Hilary Bradt explored in a panel discussion what travel might look like in 50 years’ time.

January, February, Shrewsbury, March

I got to know Bradt Travel Guides in the mid-2000s through its famous travel-writing competition, then organised in partnership with the Independent on Sunday. My entries were longlisted a few times before, in 2010, I had a voicemail from Hilary herself, congratulating me on reaching the shortlist and inviting me to an awards evening at Stanfords Travel Bookshop in Covent Garden. The writer and broadcaster Matthew Parris would have the final say.

I kept Hilary’s voicemail for as long as my phone was in service. Because, to my astonishment, I won. I was treated to a luxurious holiday in Malta and Gozo plus a national newspaper commission for my story about finding my great-grandmother’s grave in northern Poland. This opened doors for my writing and definitely helped when I pitched the idea of a Shropshire title for Bradt’s ‘Slow travel’ series.

My eldest son was tiny while I researched the first edition - he was still portable. We spent his second and third birthdays in Shropshire, toddling over hills, exploring castles, museums and breweries, and scoffing scones in tea rooms. Shropshire was such a huge part of his early childhood that for a while he thought the months of the year ran January, February, Shrewsbury, March …

I loved - and still love - the autonomy that Bradt Travel Guides gives to its authors. The books have a set structure, of course, but our own authorial voices are able to shine through. And, with the Slow series in particular, we’re encouraged to seek out things that make a place special or unusual. ‘Boxed’ sections within each chapter let authors go into greater depth about a topic (a historical figure, quirky festival or specialist food, for example) and so with Shropshire I’ve indulged my love of local history at every opportunity and also invited guest experts to write entries on geology, folklore, Mary Webb, Philip Larkin and even the fascinating funerary custom of maidens’ garlands. I’ve also worked with local walking groups to devise the walks for each chapter because 1) they know the best, most beautiful footpaths and views and 2) I have a terrible sense of direction and risk sending readers into canals or down ravines.

Book baby versus human baby

My first book came out in February 2016, three days before my second son came out (so to speak). Bradt’s editorial team had been joking about a race between my book baby and human baby. While the book baby won the race, the human baby stole all my sleep. When he was three weeks old, I was invited for a phone interview with Jim Hawkins on BBC Radio Shropshire and got myself in muddle trying to explain the significance of a special tree in Aston-on-Clun. I could barely remember my own name and simply froze mid-sentence, leaving radio silence. Jim is lovely and he gently steered me through my tongue tie, but it’s one of those memories that I groan aloud at whenever it pops into my head.

The second edition was harder to research: I now had two small boys to carry over hills, nudge around castles, museums and breweries, and keep amused in tea rooms. I did it, though - thanks to my husband and our families and friends. ‘This time,’ I vowed ‘This time NOTHING will stop me from promoting the book.’ Unfortunately, the second edition came out in February 2020, a month before coronavirus lockdown legislation would make it illegal to go anywhere. Aside from the devastating loss of life wrought by Covid-19, it was a terrible time for the travel, hospitality and travel publishing industries. My book was a tiny casualty: much worse was seeing beloved small Shropshire businesses failing to make it through lockdown.

And now we are more than four years on from that tough time. My third edition is well underway. In 2024, I have two much larger boys to chase up hills, drag complaining around castles, museums and breweries, and bribe with cake into tea rooms. They have their own commitments now, including school and football, which tie us to Birmingham during term time, so my research trips are taking a lot more planning and I’m increasingly travelling alone. But I’m enjoying revisiting my favourite places and discovering new ones as I revise and rewrite the manuscript once again.

One thing I’m struggling with is keeping up with social media: I can’t seem to be a mum, run a business, research a book and share all the details online - but that’s OK, right?

The third edition of Slow Travel: Shropshire, published by Bradt Travel Guides, is due to come out in October 2025.