Does not quite live up to its grand title (The Best Walks in Britain)

Member Name: markos9

Product:	The Best Walks in Britain
Date:	13/10/09 (75 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Some amazing walks. Spectacular photography.

Disadvantages: Some quite average walks, too. Maps are poor quality.

As a walking enthusiast, I thought that with "The Best Walks in Britain", I had found the perfect companion to allow me to discover the most beautiful places this land has to offer.

Indeed, first impressions were extremely positive. There are almost 100 walks described in the book many of which are justifiably famous and the cover promises maps produced by Ordnance Survey.

The photography is awe inspiring; chapters are separated by double page photographs showing the gorgeous scenery described on the walks. The photographs are works of art and are easily the highest quality I have ever seen in a book on walking.

Closer inspection, however, lead to disappointment. The mapping may indeed be by Ordnance Survey, but they are incredibly simplistic; a coloured line shows the route, with a few key waypoints shown and little in the way of terrain to guide the walker.

It's lucky that in the introduction, the author refers the reader to the 1:25000 and 1:50000 OS maps that can be purchased; following the maps in the book will almost inevitably lead to getting lost at some point (the cynic in me wonders whether Ordnance Survey's involvement with this book is designed to stimulate purchase of their own products).

I also had to take issue with the book's title; some of the walks, although nice, do not deserve inclusion in "The Best Walks in Britain". Local walks for me such as 'Hightown to Waterloo' in Merseyside and 'Blackpool to Fleetwood' in Lancashire whilst OK, do not compare with the best that Britain has to offer.

These couple of issues aside, the book is clearly useful in getting people out walking. The first chapter has some advice for novice walkers, the equipment needed and the care that should be taken when outdoors. How to use the OS maps that will be needed in addition to the book is also covered.

The book is divided into geographical chapters with two types of walks described; 'coastal and waterside', then 'woodland and hillside'. This arrangement for the walks is excellent and allows the walks to be selected on location and type before turning to the correct pages.

This is a reasonably large book, and the text is quite small, so although some walks are only given a single page to describe them, this is sufficient to get all of the required information across to the reader.

A small scale map shows where the walk is located. As described above, the map of the walk is, however, poor.

The detailed walk instructions make up somewhat for the poor map. These are clearly written and comprehensive and, with care, may be sufficient to follow. I, however, have played safe and used OS maps (downloaded and printed from www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/getamap/).

Several small information boxes give further details such as access points and local interest. These are not very detailed and the reader interested in learning more about the walk's history, wildlife, or geology will have to look elsewhere.

Having criticised the author's choice of some of his walks, I admit that there are some simply stunning walks described here. Few would argue that the tranquillity of Buttermere, the Victorian grandeur of the Elan Valley reservoirs, or the spectacular scenery around Gairloch are amongst the jewel in Britain's crown.

The book is too large to carry easily, and the maps too poor quality to use as a guide on the walk. This book is therefore, best utilised as a 'taster' to find a walk, with the planning trusted to the appropriate OS maps. Used in this way, this book will allow the reader to discover many of the 'Best Walks in Britain' (just not all of them!).

Summary: This book will get you itching to explore; but you may need extra information.