'The Gustav Holst Way' is the first guidebook to describe the 35-mile rambling route across the Cotswolds to celebrate the life and work of the composer Gustav Holst. Published exactly 100 years after Holst began work on The Planets, the route visits many of the places that were important to the young Holst as his musical career took wing. Among the highlights are the house in Cheltenham where he was born (now the Holst Birthplace Museum) and several venues in the Cotswolds where he played, conducted and taught music. The richly illustrated guidebook divides the walk into five easy/moderate sections (with four optional detours) and includes detailed maps, points of historical interest and all the practical information you need to follow in Gustav Holst's footsteps from Cranham to Wyck Rissington. The Holst Birthplace Museum Gustav Holst, one of England's greatest composers, was born in a Regency terraced house in Cheltenham in 1874. The house has been carefully restored and converted into a 'living museum' that captures the atmosphere of the era, both above and below stairs. The most eye-catching of the museum's collection of 3,000 items is the piano on which Holst composed The Planets, as popular as ever nearly 100 years after it was published. Step inside the Museum and see the piano Holst used to compose The Planets. Find out how he developed into a world-class composer by examining and listening to original manuscripts written when he was a schoolboy in Cheltenham. "

The Little Book of the Cotswolds is a veritable smorgasbord of Cotswold miscellany, packed with fascinating titbits and all manner of factual frippery – from Cotswold lions to puppy dog pies. The region's strangest traditions, its most eccentric inhabitants, blood-curdling murders and right royal connections combine with humorous cartoons to make this quirky little book difficult to put down.

A guidebook to 30 circular day walks in the Cotswolds. Exploring the Cotswolds National Landscape across Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, there’s something for beginner and experienced walkers alike. The walks range in length from 9–19km (6–12 miles) and take between 3 and 6 hours to complete. Suggested extensions and shortcuts are also given for many routes allowing you to adapt the walks to you. 1:50,000 OS maps included for each walk Detailed information on refreshments and public transport are given for each walk Easy access from Cheltenham, Gloucester and Bath Local points of interest are featured including sections of the Cotswold Way National Trail

My book begins with a brief consideration of what we mean by “English music” and what factors are involved. I explain the reasons behind my choice of composers for consideration, and for the omissions from the survey.

"Exceptionally informative and thoroughly 'user friendly' in organization and presentation, making it an ideal resource for itinerary planning." ― Midwest Book Review 63 walks packed with local history, cultural and literary highlights, ecological and geological tidbits, and more Brief descriptions of gateway towns and services 75 full-color photos and detailed walk maps At-a-glance chart featuring trail information and amenities Walking Great Britain guides walkers and hikers of all levels and interests to the region’s superlative trails. From easy riverside strolls to challenging mountain summits, these beautiful, classic routes span the most scenic parts of England, Scotland, and Wales. They lend themselves to a good day’s walking with detail about local history, cultural and literary highlights, plus ecological and geological tidbits sprinkled throughout. Join in Great Britain’s national pastime while visiting varied and stunning landscapes--hidden waterfalls, wild beaches, long lochs, deep gorges, dramatic cliffs, striking sea stacks, high peaks, picturesque peninsulas, colorful gardens, Roman ruins, turreted castles, and more. Most trails are easy day trips close to popular towns and destinations, making this a perfect guide for a quick outing between museum visits or a week’s worth of robust striding.

Gustav Holst was a leading figure in the new age of English music in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His most celebrated work, The Planets, is an orchestral tour de force, but he wrote music of startling originality in many forms, drawing inspiration from sources as varied as English folksong, oriental melody, the Apocrypha and Sanskrit literature, as well as from writers such as Keats, Hardy, Bridges and Whitman. This biography, by his daughter Imogen, was first published by Faber in 1938 and revised in 1969. In it she quotes at length from his many letters to his friends - especially to his closest colleague Vaughan Williams - and draws on her personal memories of Holst's later years. Holst struggled all his life against bouts of ill-health and depression, but his remarkable and good-humoured resilience enabled him to compose great music in often difficult circumstances. He was essentially a very private person, and the huge popular success of The Planets in 1919 disconcerted him. Imogen Holst describes the effect of this sudden fame on her father, and records the late flowering of his music in the final years of his life.

Imogen Holst (1907-1984(, the only child of Gustav Holst, was a composer and arranger of folksongs, writer on music, conductor, and administrator. She also acted as music assistant to Benjamin Britten, of whom she became a friend and close associate. She subsequently continued as Artistic Director of the Aldeburgh Festival until 1977, when she retired to devote more time to preparing a thematic catalogue of her father's music.