Hilary Bradt's classic account of a journey through Ireland on horseback in the 1980s published for the first time in a single volume. In 1984, Hilary Bradt achieved an ambition from her pony-mad childhood to undertake a long-distance ride. This warm, funny and heart-wrenching account centres on the growing bond between the author and her Connemara ponies, Mollie and Peggy. Using her experience of horsepacking in Peru with saddlebags imported from America, she and Mollie set forth with no decent maps, and only a vague idea of the route. The many challenges and obstacles they face include impassable rivers, bogs, stone walls, and the author's own shyness. The book is also a portrait of a vanished rural Ireland before the Celtic Tiger era, built up from descriptions and conversations with local people. The journey takes Bradt and her ponies a thousand miles south from county Mayo, around the peninsulas of Kerry and Cork, and inland towards Waterford. ‘I've never tried hitchhiking with a horse before,' comments the author, faced with the challenge of getting across the River Shannon. ‘It's not easy!' Originally published in two separate volumes, Connemara Mollie and Dingle Peggy , this brand new edition brings the whole story together for the first time, with additional, previously unpublished photographs. On Connemara Mollie:'Hilary Bradt recalls her journey across rural Ireland among the people of Galway, Mayo, Clare and Kerry in the 1980s in this sweet – and surreptitiously affecting – memoir.' ― Longitude Books, USA On Connemara Mollie:'Hilary's descriptions take us with her every hoofprint of the way as she brings the landscapes to life. She's good on people too, with life in rural Ireland prior to the "Celtic Tiger" boom.' ― Wanderlust magazine On Connemara Mollie:'With adventure, characters, and lessons learned the hard way, Connemara Mollie has many of the elements of the writer's beloved pony books – but this true-life adventure has a charm all of its own.' ― The Connemara Journal On Dingle Peggy:'It is an entertaining and inspiring account of a solo journey through a wild and beautiful landscape… you will want to pack your bags to explore the area yourself.' ― Horse magazine On Dingle Peggy:'What sets this delightful book apart is the rider's relationship with this fabulous pony'. ― Good Book Guide Hilary Bradt is well known as the founder of Bradt Travel Guides and a writer of articles and guidebooks.