Railway Walks: Wales

This is the 'lost' book in the 'Railway Walks' series, which The History Press re-published in April 2009. It takes a comprehensive look at disused railways throughout Wales, and provides an insight into their fascinating histories, as well as providing practical guidance as to how to follow them and what to look for along the way. It includes an appendix of useful addresses, as well as a comprehensive gazetteer that lists every official railway path in Wales that is two miles or more long.

Railway Walks: Wales is 208 pages long and lavishly illustrated with both present day and archive photographs.

Price (UK only): £14.99 including p&p.

See below for details of how to order.

Railway Walks: GWR & SR

This title, re-published in July 2009, examines disused railways in southern England, ranging from Cornwall to Kent via Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. It covers the areas once served by the Great Western and Southern Railways, excluding the former's more adventurous forays, e.g. to places such as Chester and North Wales. As with all titles in the series, the book includes an appendix of useful organisations, plus an enlarged gazetteer which now contains so many railway walks in southern England that the point size had to be reduced to fit them all in! Over one hundred routes are listed, all of two miles length or more, which means that there are few places anywhere in the south that are more than a handful of miles from a decent railway path.

Railway Walks: GWR & SR is 204 pages long and illustrated with both present day and archive photographs.

Price (UK only): £14.99 including p&p.

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Railway Walks: LNER

This volume in the Railway Walks series, re-published in August 2009, takes a look at the area once covered by the former London & North Eastern Railway, ranging from the high Durham moors to the rustic byways of East Anglia, where light passenger loadings condemned a number of lines to closure before Dr. Beeching was appointed to wield his axe. Each walk includes a thorough history followed by details of what to look for now, while an appendix lists useful organisations. The book concludes with a gazetteer of those old lines in the region which can now be walked and, in some cases, cycled with official blessing. Once again, this is a revelation and shows just how much local authorities and other public bodies have done to bring back parts of the country's lost railway heritage into everyday use.

Railway Walks: LNER is 208 pages long and illustrated with both present day and archive photographs.

Price (UK only): £14.99 including p&p.

See below for details of how to order.

Railway Walks: LMS – Available from October 2009

This volume explores the remains of the former London, Midland & Scottish Railway, and takes in a wide range of lines ranging from the Midland Railway's majestically engineered route through the Peak District (now the Monsal Trail) to minor branch lines that once served the Ironbridge Gorge, the cradle of the Industrial Revolution. Along the way, Josias Jessop's extraordinary Cromford & High Peak Railway is explored – a line built on canal principles with level sections connected by inclines – together with quiet railway byways dotted around the region that now enjoy use as traffic-free recreational routes. An appendix lists useful organisations in the area, while the gazetteer of official railway walks has been brought completely up to date. As with other titles in the series, this makes a good armchair read or can be used as an excellent handbook for a day out in the countryside.

Railway Walks: LMS is 208 pages long and illustrated with both present day and archive photographs.

Price (UK only): £14.99 including p&p.

See below for details of how to order.

Now and Then

This collection brings together lyrics and poems from 1969 to 2003, including a number which have been published commercially by magazines such as The Spectator and Candelabrum, the latter being a leading publication for traditional verse. Thanks to an appearance in Candelabrum, four of the poems have been added to the National Poetry Collection at the South Bank. The collection includes some free verse, but the form is generally traditional, with rhyme and metre to the fore. Importance has been attached to the rhythm of each piece, and especially its intelligibility.

Now and Then is 76 pages long and contains 68 lyrics and poems, presented in an attractive A5 booklet with a textured card cover.

Price (UK only): £5 including p&p.

See below for details of how to order.

This new collection is another blend of lyrics and poems from 1969 onwards, although just over half of the material was written between 2003 and 2008. Some of the work has already found a home, e.g. in anthologies, and in magazines such as The Poetry Church and Candelabrum; the latter was responsible for another of my poems being added to the National Poetry Collection. Light and Shade also includes 'Fifty Years On', a sonnet which won The Paddon Award at the University of Exeter in April 2005.

The style continues to be mainly traditional, with an emphasis on clarity and the musical qualities of verse.

Light and Shade is 72 pages long and contains 76 lyrics and poems, presented in an attractive A5 booklet with a textured card cover carrying an original design.

Price (UK only): £6 including p&p.

See below for details of how to order.

What Others Say

Over the years, I have received many compliments about my verse, but include here only a few of the more specific responses.

From the Poetry Editor of The Spectator: 'Thank you for "Stogumber Station" which I enjoyed and which we would be very keen to use. I particularly appreciate the meticulous skill that you've applied to the poem; it reads like a wonderfully reliable and beautifully designed machine.' (April 2002) 'I always enjoy and appreciate your work and hope that you'll remember us in future.' (February 2003)

From The Parlour Bookshop in Didcot, Oxfordshire: 'The variety of rhythms, and the phrasing, and the vocabulary – it really is all most enjoyable. "A Cornish Lament" – being a John Betjeman devotee I can feel the emotion in this poem, and today's dip in revealed "Surer than the Vows" – some powerful emotions there, beautifully expressed.' (October 2003)

From Michael Lewis, a reader in Southampton: 'I think that some of your poems are on a par with some of the household name poets.'

How to Order

All of the above titles are available in the UK only on a mail order basis from Jeff Vinter, 1 Victoria Road, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 7HY. Prices are summarised in the table below; please make cheques and postal orders payable to 'Jeff Vinter'.

Allow 7-10 days for delivery. Orders are usually processed by return, but work, family commitments and holidays can result in delay.

If you do not live in the UK and wish to make a purchase, please get in touch by e-mail.