City Travel Guides
Home Page > Go back a page
Books : Great Britain (Lonely Planet Country Guide)
Search Books - select a category
See Larger Image |
Great Britain (Lonely Planet Country Guide) by: David Else, Oliver Berry, Nicky Crowther, Fionn Davenport, Martin Hughes, Sam Martin, Etain O'Carroll, Becky Ohlsen, Andy Symington |
|
Binding: Paperback Dewey Decimal Number: 914 EAN: 9781740599214 ISBN: 1740599217 Label: Lonely Planet Publications Manufacturer: Lonely Planet Publications Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 1012 Publication Date: May 01, 2005 Publisher: Lonely Planet Publications Studio: Lonely Planet Publications Sales Rank: 35673 Related Items:
Related Items:      see moreBrowse for similar items by category:
Editorial Review: Amazon.co.uk Review: Of all its virtues, the one indispensable aspect of Lonely Planet: Britain--and indeed the whole Lonely Planet Guide series--is the unprejudiced frankness of the opinions that may always be relied upon. Of course, the guides are massively comprehensive and packed with all the hardcore information that any traveller will need but it's the fashion in which the information is dispensed that makes the guides unique. Take the very welcome new edition of Lonely Planet: Britain: what other guidebook would list (among the areas covered) "timeless villages, kitsch seaside towns, historic cities..."? Most guides would opt for "delightful" as an adjective for the seaside towns rather than the more honest one chosen by the guide. But this rigorously truthful approach to the subject would go for little, if it were not backed up by the usual invaluable selection of maps (147 in this edition), rigorously road-tested places to stay (from barns and B&Bs to upscale inns and even Georgian mansions) and a cutting-edge guide to the best of modern British cuisine, from multi-starred restaurants to the best of pub food. Where the distinctive voice of the guide comes most into its own is in the sections on the cultural life and the individual character of each place: take Liverpool, for instance. While we are enthusiastically persuaded that the Walker Art Gallery (on the splendidly preserved William Brown Street) is one of the finest regional galleries in the country (with an important collection of Italian and Flemish paintings, along with canvases by Degas, Cézanne and Matisse) and the river Mersey estuary is evocatively conjured up with its shining light, its fogs, its gulls and its mournful emptiness, we're still told about the city's contrast between grandeur and decay, along with a warning that Liverpool's economic collapse has given the whole city a sharp edge you do well not to explore. In fact, this unflinching approach almost always has the effect of making one even more keen to visit the cities discussed. From Hadrian's Wall to the London Eye, it's all here, with a useful capacity to update the guidebook by visiting the Lonely Planet Web site for regular upgrades. An unmissable travel guide, for Brits and non-Brits alike. --Barry Forshaw Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
 Rating:  - A big book, but of limited appeal in the internet ageThis is a large book- over 1000 pages, and it aims to be a single, comprehensive guide to Britain. It begins with a section on travel advice such as tips about safety, information about currency and safety and information about travelling to Britain and within Britain. Basically, information for before you travel. But I would question the appeal of this kind of printed material. All this information can be found out quite easily online, and online sources are naturally much more up to date. In the intro, and throughout the book, they make remarkable generalisations. "English pubs general..." " The British public usually..." I hope people don't take this too seriously! Also this book is not re-written, it is simply ... Read More: Rating:  - EssentialDo those people complaining that this book runs down Britain actually live there? I am English and this book is an interesting and accurate portrayal of the country. For the tourist the UK is a minefield of over-priced goods, bad food, kitsch B&B's, dirty beaches, drab towns, rain, and dodgy plumbing. On the other hand it is a country of architechtural beauty, breathtaking scenery, delicious local fare, unrivalled cultural diversity, literature, music, theatre, history spanning back thousands of years around every corner and virtually never-ending summer nights (if the weather's fine). This book helps to make sure you visit the latter of those descriptions rather than the former. As a local ... Read More: Rating:  - Good for first-time visitor to the UKMost visitors to the UK come for short-term visits, business trips or weekend breaks, and tend to focus on London so it's appropriate that this book devotes a lot of space to London. Although nowadays, London is such an international melting-pot that it is perhaps not really part of Britain proper; the book should encourage visitors to travel further afield. I didn't think it was Anglophobic. Its criticism of much of the customer service and poor value of tourism in Britain is justified. Surveys show that many overseas tourists are disappointed by the transport, hotels and restaurants that they encounter while visiting the UK. Hopefully this book will point them towards the better places. Rating: - Not a guidebook for the BritishBeing British myself I was looking for a comprehensive guidebook. Unfortunately the Lonely Planet Great Britain falls short. There are a number of alarming omissions; Coventry, for example. I'm no fan of the city but surely it should get at least a mention for its Cathedral alone. It is as important for a guidebook to tell you what's bad and not worth seeing, just as much as what's good. Aside from the above the articles in the book are comprehensive, informative, well written and often accompanied by maps (although these could be clearer). The guide lists hotels by category (budget, mid-range and top end) and usually gives a telephone number and website address for each. Restaurant and bars are also listed, together with a critique. Read More: Rating:  - This is no good for indigenous peopleI read this book on the back of Reading Bill Bryson's "Notes from a Small Island" in the hope that it would be able to (as Bryson's book had) recommend me some places to visit in my own country. It was very disapponting in this respect - covering only the most touristy places and uncovering no little gems. This is probably a really good guide for people who are visiting Britain for a short time and want to concentrate on London and maybe one or two other major tourist traps - but for someone who really wants to get to know Britain it is worthless. This said, the guide to the English language at the back of the book is hilarious, albeit in no way comprehensive. |
|