A RENOWNED local historian is promoting her new book Railways of the Southern Marches by giving a series of talks.

Heather Hurley is giving a short, illustrated talk at English Bicknor Village Hall on Thursday, July 9 at 7.30pm.

The book is a richly detailed and illustrated account of the railways formed between 1845 and 1900 across Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, Monmouthshire, Brecknockshire and Radnorshire.

It unpicks the often-haphazard network of the early railways, this book traces the lines and infrastructure, the stations, bridges and tunnels, the investors, engineers and navvies, and the charismatic steam locomotives that criss-crossed the region up until the 1960s.

Entry to the talk is £4 but free for history club members.