Beastly Journeys

The stories in this book were selected and edited by Hilary Bradt and Jennifer Barclay.The founder of Bradt guides, Hilary Bradt, has travelled with animals, mostly intentionally, for as long as she can remember. An early memory at primary school was being summoned by the head mistress to be shown her coat, hanging with the others in the hallway. It, and the coats belonging to other little girls, were covered in slimy trails ending in happily exploring snails. She had filled her pockets with them at the bus stop. Later, when lecturing on a cruise ship she lost a Madagascan hissing cockroach in her cabin; fortunately it was retrieved before being found by the cleaning staff. A more successful import from Madagascar was Millicent the giant pill millipede who made it to England disguised as a piece of camera equipment and lived for over a year in an aquarium. The Big Journey with an animal, however, was the thousand-mile ride through the west of Ireland, initially with Mollie (described in this book's predecessor, Roam Alone), and then with Peggy recounted in this new book. Now semi-retired, Hilary lives with her two guinea pigs in Devon. Jennifer Barclay is the author of Meeting Mr Kim: Or How I Went to Korea and Learned to Love Kimchi, Falling in Honey: Life and Love on a Greek Island and An Octopus in my Ouzo: Loving Life on a Greek Island. Growing up in a village in the north of England, she has lived and worked in Canada and France, and travelled around New South Wales, Australia, looking after animals from sheep to pythons. A literary agent and editor since the 1990s, she has been involved with books about both travel and animals for over a decade and co-edited the Bradt anthologies The Irresponsible Traveller, To Oldly Go and Roam Alone. She lives on a small island in the Aegean and when not reading or writing can often be found hiking to beaches or taking ferries to other islands while attached to her dog, Lisa. She is always looking for dog-friendly places to stay and despite the name of her blog, has never put an octopus in ouzo.

• Introduction Hilary BradtTHE AMERICASFrom Zoo Quest in Paraguay Sir David AttenboroughThe Llama that Couldn't Gordon ThompsonRunning with Parrots Katharine LowrieFrom Eight Feet in the Andes Dervla MurphyBarry's Flying Visit Adrian PhillipsPepper Pays her Passage Celia DillowJust a Dog Emma LaingFrom The Whispering Land Gerald DurrellBeer and Burras Graham MackintoshSpinny the Sea Cat Frances HoworthDapple the Reluctant Donkey John HarrisonEUROPEGoldfish Trek Emma MacdonaldFrom Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes Robert Louis StevensonMonty in a Basket Mike GerrardSmuggling Fleur Hugh TuckerFrom High Albania Edith Durham, selectedand introduced by Elizabeth GowingPolly Kala Mary JohnsUnderstanding Peggy Hilary BradtFrom Zarafa Michael AllinOne Man and a Mule Hugh ThomsonHedgehogs on the Road Tanis JordanFrom The Bible in Spain George BorrowThe Show Must Go On Sarah Pope Lost and Found in the Arctic Kelsey CamachoFrom Charles: The Story of a Friendship Michael JosephFrom Me, My Bike and a Street Dog Called Lucy Ishbel HolmesAFRICAHabibi Sheelagh ReynoldsFrom The Sky is on Fire Magsie Hamilton LittleThe White Cockerel Ash DykesPainted Wolves Jonathan ScottAnnie's Story Richard KitzingerAn Elephant Called Abu Brian JackmanFollow the Leader Suzy PopeOur Long-Eared Holiday Companion Alison ElyFrom Christian the Lion: the Ilustrated Legacy John RendallASIAFrom Travels on my Elephant Mark ShandFinding Gobi Dion LeonardKenny Dom TulettFrom Unbeaten Tracks in Japan Isabella BirdThe Road to Blue Paradise Lu BarnhamRani and Me Harjeet JohalFrom Across Coveted Lands Henry Savage LandorAUSTRALASIAPiloted across the Indian Ocean Sarah OutenStarboard Michael HoworthJack Sparrow Rachel A DavisFrom Tracks Robyn Davidson

'Quirky collection' - BBC Wildlife Magazine