IN recent years Johnny Kingdom has been the 'voice of Exmoor' — plus the human face of course — due to his highly popular television series on BBC2.

In this book he highlights Exmoor in all its moods, and brings a legion of viewers informative, entertaining coverage of the diverse wildlife, flora and terrain of the national park.

Now there is the opportunity for his numerous fans to read his words, as well as hear them, and the quality of this book is such that many will do so, plus others who may not have followed his TV exploits.

For the pages of this publication provide pleasurable reading — and at times it fascinates with its rich mixture of folklore, myths, personal views and experiences, all written in much the way this popular man talks.

The tales themselves are not limited to Exmoor but come from across both Devon and Cornwall, with Dartmoor well to the fore in terms of folklore.

Some, such as the 'hairy hands' will have been heard before, but the author, with his conversational, folksy form of writing, puts a fresh and revitalising slant upon them.

Many people who gain fame on television move into writing, producing novels, short stories, recipe books and inevitably, autobiographies — and a good number are not value for money.

The opposite must be said regarding Johnny Kingdom's Westcountry Tales. Here we have 35 fascinating stories in a most professionally produced hardback book of more than 300 pages, evocatively and wittily told by a man who clearly knows and loves his area — all for less than £15.

Jonny Kingdom's Westcountry Tales is published by Bantam Press, ISBN 978-0-59306-652-2, priced £14.99 and is available in most bookshops.

Ted Sherrell