For several years Diana has roamed Somerset; in her quest to get under
the skin she has taken the ‘b’ roads and lanes. Sometimes she travels by bus or train; this is a green and leisurely theme.

Diana wanders from the fascinating and medieval Frome at the eastern edge of the county to the mysterious Culbone in the far west. Linking history with the present day, she brings her own first-hand experiences to the journey and as well as the thoughts of earlier writers, who travelled the south west at the end of the 18th century. She uncovers some unpolished gems through her original and dedicated research.

Diana has always nurtured the bonds between landscape, art and food; the
strands that have earned her a reputation. Time for Somerset is brimming with vernacular buildings, beautiful churches, small museums, castles, some lesser- known gardens and regional taste. All this is laced with many diverting encounters. It is written with the seeing eye of an architectural historian who has had careers in fashion, food and design; as a cook, a restaurateur and restaurant design consultant.  This book is her own cultural journey.

The mix is rich. Diana mingles music making, artists and craftspeople;
she frequents village shops and delicious village produce markets; leads readers on a rural food loop, a farmhouse cheese trail, makes cider and, of course, visits a special farm making cider apple, brandy.

She explores the county’s rich architecture and proves that there is much
more than Minehead’s ‘kiss-me-quick’ image implies and that there is a feast of Georgian style behind the commercial façades of Taunton. Diana shares her love of the medieval at Wells and Mells; the elegant porches of Langport and Somerton, the willow lands and winter on the moors  around Muchelney. For her, the picturesque sings in what she calls `A Harmonious Quartet' - at Selworthy, Allerford, Bossington and Luccombe.

Time for Somerset is a timely reminder that we can allow ourselves time: to stand and drink in the sunsets, gaze at a ploughed field, enjoy
Somerset’s traditions, and the rich pattern of the farming year. This book
reflects her passion for the county where she feels privileged to have lived
and worked for nigh on ten years and her admiration for the farmers who
care for the landscape.

The Guardian October 2007- Extract of review

Crighton is at ease discussing such matters as escutcheons, tie beams, voussoirs and buttresses; and she know her ringlets and fritillaries, her kingfishers and housemartins, her foxgloves and hydrangeas. She whets your appetite for Keen's cheddar and Temperley's apple cider brandy. Crighton even succeeds in conveying the charm and interest of museums devoted to the history of the shoe and to Bakelite.

`This countryside ramble is interspersed with cameo photographs, and these together with the author's easy-going interviews...produce an impression of a  literary magic-lantern show...' Somerset Life 

Time for Somerset has been published and printed in Somerset.  Illustrated talks and lectures can be booked via the email address.

£12.95 Delivered in UK  

Non UK orders welcome, please email here