Long before the advent of the motorway and the automobile, between the Elizabethan and the Victorian eras, England's main travel arteries were the great coaching routes that connected towns and villages. Travellers on the highway, both commercial and private, needed hospitality and a place to sleep and coaching inns served their needs. Many of these old inns still survive - both rural and urban, large and small, medieval and Georgian - and represent the apex of England's living pub heritage.
England's finest hundred coaching inns have been photographed inside and out (with specially commissioned photographs) and brought to life with their histories: the great coaching era, the great roadbuilders (Metcalfe, Macadam), highwaymen (Claude Duval, the Golden Farmer, Dick Turpin), and literary associations (Dicken's, Jane Austen, Washington Irving). The pubs have been chosen for their well-preserved architecture and authentic interiors, for having a key role in local social history or having once been frequented by the famous, infamous and, in some cases, ghostly. The book, in addition to providing a lively history, is a practical guide for the tourist and day-tripper, offering practical tips and details on all the pubs featured (travel, accommodation opening hours, food and beer selections, nearby attractions).
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