Addicted to gradients

You know you're addicted to cycling when.........<br />You keep this book beside your bed and read a couple of pages before going to sleep so you can surge up the 25% gradient in your REM sleep and wake up with fresh legs!<br /><br />A well written book detailing 100 hillclimbs in the UK based on club and national events. Of course some harder and steeper hills will not be included but there is a fairly even spread across GB. <br /><br />The book is small enough to take with you on a ride but best used as a reference beforehand to plot a hilly route on a map or GPS as the little maps in the book won't get you there but there is enough detail in the text to find the right road. <br /><br />I received the book just in time to organise a few rides around Yorkshire to prepare for the Etape du Tour and wouldn't have found some of the hills without it.<br /><br />Highly recommended.

Get lost!

Planning my route across France was going fine, until I found pages 1 to 18 of the map section were missing! I have bought a new copy of this otherwise excellent atlas each year for several years and this has not happened before. Fine if you do not need to navigate the north of France, but as this is where we arrive in France the absence of these pages is a problem. Watch this space for how the problem is resolved.

does what it says on the cover

just the job.<br />just driven virtually the full length of France with the maps with no problems.<br />speedy service , excellent condition.<br />cheers<br /><br />

Road Atlas, France

A disappointment.<br /><br />I had read reviews and couldnt see how it could be difficult to work around the pages.<br /><br />Its very difficult to plan a route and hard to follow page to page.<br /><br />It needs a proper rout planner ie at a reduced scale, in the front to help.<br /><br />Also it needs a better system of linking pages...you just lose yourself. I found myself using an old smaller scale Philips map to help me use the AA one.<br /><br />Big its is. Easy it aint.

Should be on every bookshelf

Have lived in London for 14 years and didn't know about hardly any of the intriguing places listed - let the adventures begin! Beautifully laid out and v well written.

Pretty, irritating but essential

I can't imagine walking in the Lakes without Wainwright so this was a must-buy. Read in conjunction with modern maps and/or the other Wainwright's guide, this all makes sense. And then add the wonderful Derry Brabbs photoguide with an alternative Wainwright description of the route ... ! Tiring and exciting.

informative and chucklesome

Those that know Dixe Wills travel writing from the Guardian will know that he writes with flair and subtle humour while ensuring you get the facts. This book is no exception and is a must for every discerning camper who hates large, faceless, municipal sites.

On Yer Bike

The cover of this book jumped at me in the bookshop and the excellent presentation and very readable chunks of history, cycle lore and cycle routes drew me in.<br />As an experienced cyclist, I could pick holes, as another reviewer has. The technical stuff, like the cycle routes, is necessarily incomplete, but the considerable merit of this book is that it promises to successfully engage, reassure and enthuse the novice.<br /><br />The TV series has started and seems also to have made a good start, promising to inspire more people to get on their bikes.<br />

As usual a very good map

Easy to read easy to use, it is what a map is supposed to be.

give it a miss

This is a stylishly made and well-iilustrated book, with some unusual sites listed in it. It's OK if you want to extend your repertoire of interesting campsites, but beyond that is of limited use. It is obviously aimed at middle-class, image conscious campers and the tone of the whole thing is somewhat condescending, talking about"yummy" farmers markets and rustic pubs. I wouldn't recommend it as a guide, as quite honestly you can find most of these sites on the internet.

map of snowdon

It is excellent map and I can highly recommend it. It is exactly what you need if you are going to go there. There is everything what you need to know. I just missed there some bus stops so you can take the bus if you need some help with long distance. There is quite nice net of busses around Snowdon.

Gotta get it

This is an excellent book for all levels of campsite campers. I bought it as a present for my brother and it was so good I've ordered one for myself. His reaction along with his fiancee's was Excellent, what a great present. It gives good reviews as all of the rough guides do, has colour pictures which is always nice and is well worth the money. A good addition to any bookshelf especially if you love to get away but just can't think where to go.

Great map for children

I have this map framed on my sons wall. It looks great and is often used when we are reading stories about other countries. The bright colours make it interesting for children and it has landmarks on it but it is not overcrowded with information. A brilliant buy.

Quite Cool

I've camped all over the place, US, Europe, Britain, and I love it. So do my kids which is why we bought this book. We especially liked the list of sites which allow campfires, as this is an essential part of the camping experience as far as we're concerned!<br /><br />A handy and useful guide which we are very pleased with.<br />

Excellent speedy delivery

As a last minute idea for a present, this book was delivered speedily and in excellent condition.

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - 25th Anniversary edition

This is an interesting book - no, really. Despite the title it is not really about Zen Buddhism nor is it really about motorcycle maintenance, although both these topics feature.<br /><br />It begins with the narrator (his name is never supplied directly) motorcycling through parts of North America with his son, Chris, and two friends, John and Sylvia. The topic of maintaining motorcycles comes up and it is clear that the narrator has a totally different attitude from his companions. There is a tension that becomes stronger as time passes. The friends depart, their journey completed, but the narrator and Chris continue.<br />As the book proceeds it becomes clear that there is not a single story here, there are at least two. There is the motorcycle journey, which provides the structure for the book, and there is the story told in memory-fragment flash-backs of an 'other' called Phaedrus. Suddenly, it is apparent that the narrator and Phaedrus are one and the same, yet different. This difference and what caused it are the main thrust of the book. Phaedrus was seeking the truth about excellence, quality, what is is, how it is defined, how to achieve it. His search took him into philosophy where he was overwhelmed. He was declared insane and subjected to ECT (electro-convulsive therapy - shock treatment) which stripped his memories. Somehow, the book doesn't define how, he survives for years with his early memories gone but Chris remembers the way he was and resents the present condition. Along the journey, the narrator remembers being in various places before as Phaedrus and the feelings become stronger as the journey nears its completion. The end of the book is almost as expected, but not quite.<br /><br />This book contains many thoughts and insights into attitudes about excellence and the approach to quality that impinge on every aspect of modern life. Don't read it expecting to learn about Zen Buddhism, nor about motorcycle maintenance, except in very general terms (it is notable that the author's bike always seemed to need work done on it to keep it running whilst John and Sylvia's bike was never touched yet they had no problems with it), just read it. It is a wonderful book.

Good for Uk, do not buy for Ireland

I would have rated this guide a 5 stars if it wasn't for the Irish section, which is very poor. There are not many campsites in the Republic of Ireland, and they're not of the same standard as UK campsites, which is why I think the authors deliberately chose to ignore some. <br />However the title of this book is : Britain ***and Ireland*** and this is why I bought it.<br />There are 18 campsites listed for Ireland, 10 in the North, and only 8 campsites in the Republic.<br />I do not think 8 listings justify a full blown"and Ireland" title !<br /><br />With a warning note about the standard of campsites in the Republic they could have developped the section further, and mentioned some of the 20/30 more ** acceptable campsites ** in Ireland, without compromising their rating standard.<br /><br />So, a great book with clear, functional descriptions of campsites, and the essential information you might need to plan your trip, but only good for UK.<br /><br />For Irish campsites see online sites.

New Collins World Wall Map

This map is very good value for money - however, I do think the laminating should be thicker, which would enable the map to be pinned to a wall more easily without the need for extra backing. At the time I ordered the map the other reviews were not available - I see now that the comment about the laminating is also made by other reviewers. Collins should be Collins World Wall Laminated Map (Wall Map)aware of this shortcoming.

Lovely map

Came on time, I'd ordered another 2 OS maps from same place so came all together in same packaging which was good. Great value.