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The Rough Guide to England 8
Make the most of your time with The Rough Guide to England, the ultimate companion to this stunning country. The full-colour section introduces England’s highlights, from afternoon tea at the Ritz to the beautiful North York Moors and punting on the Cam. Clue-up on all the top sights from the spectacular Tate Modern and the Baltic Centre in Newcastle to the Notting Hill Carnival and the beautiful Dorset coast. The guide takes a detailed look at England’s history, literature, politics and cultural life with a brand new section on music and expert background on everything from English beer to Thomas Hardy’s Wessex. There''s plenty of practical advice for experiencing the great outdoors, from cycling coast to coast, to hiking in the Yorkshire Dales; information on all the best accommodation, transportation and restaurants plus lively reviews of hundreds of shops, bars and clubs. Explore every corner of England with the clearest maps of any guide.
1015 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
74 people are currently reading
66 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 18, 2011
If your trip is all about London, with maybe a day trip to Stonehenge or elsewhere, you probably don't need this book. Stick to the typical guides that hit the high spots and are filled with photos. I have 5 different editions and every time I start to discard the older ones, I find myself holding off. Those pages hold a lot of memories.
The Rough Guide is a thick, heavy book printed on thin paper with few photos and lots of written descriptions of everything from major city to cathedral city to tiny coastal fishing villages. It's rich and dense with the kind of information that can make your trip a delight if you travel by auto.
On my most recent trip to England I didn't take the current Rough Guide with me. I downloaded it to my Kindle. But I regretted it. On previous trips it was our constant companion, highlighted and bristling with post-it notes, and ready to delight us with lively information not only about London, but also about Looe, Lundy Island, Lyme Regis and Lynton. Not only about internationlly-famed museums and cathedrals but about book shops, village churches and smuggler's inns.
I still purchase other travel guides or comb the internet to see photos, but even if those options weren't available, I'd still make the Rough Guide my only resource. (And I daresay, even if your primary destination is London, it has far more information about London than most of the other guides, anyway!)
The Rough Guide is a thick, heavy book printed on thin paper with few photos and lots of written descriptions of everything from major city to cathedral city to tiny coastal fishing villages. It's rich and dense with the kind of information that can make your trip a delight if you travel by auto.
On my most recent trip to England I didn't take the current Rough Guide with me. I downloaded it to my Kindle. But I regretted it. On previous trips it was our constant companion, highlighted and bristling with post-it notes, and ready to delight us with lively information not only about London, but also about Looe, Lundy Island, Lyme Regis and Lynton. Not only about internationlly-famed museums and cathedrals but about book shops, village churches and smuggler's inns.
I still purchase other travel guides or comb the internet to see photos, but even if those options weren't available, I'd still make the Rough Guide my only resource. (And I daresay, even if your primary destination is London, it has far more information about London than most of the other guides, anyway!)
September 23, 2017
A tourist guide just like any other. A perishable list of phones and addresses and not much more.
February 22, 2017
Výborné, zatim prokousano zakladnimi informacemi a Londýnem. K dalším částem se dostanu, až tam budu :)
August 26, 2023
A 5 star book all the way except for the too tiny print and too small to see easily maps. An e-book is included with this book and perhaps there you can use your fingers change the contents to a readable size. I haven’t tried it yet but might.
Other than those drawbacks I thought that this was a helpful and informative and interesting book.
I liked the history that is included.
Whether or not I get to England it was fun reading about places I’d read about in books and places people I know (living in or visiting England) have been to and talked about and sometimes shared photos.
The eating recommendations in these books are rarely of any use to me. Occasionally a veg*n restaurant is listed but it’s rare. I can’t use these books for food suggestions. In a perfect world vegans would write these books and list vegan places. Instead of books I make use of personal and vegan society/groups recommendations and https://www.happycow.net/ and its app.
I hope that I get to the UK but I don’t feel quite as badly that I struggle to plan and make an itinerary. I signed up for these emails (https://uktravelplanning.com/) and no wonder I find it challenging. Wow! Their advice is overwhelming with multiple steps but I’ll bet trips would be better if following at least some of their advice. I’m getting nearly daily emails from them chock full of tips and other information.
I’ve been reading many guidebooks about the UK. This is the last one I plan to read unless/until I make specific plans for an upcoming trip.
I need at least a year in the UK. Five years would be better. I need at least a month in London. A year would be better.
4-1/2 stars
Other than those drawbacks I thought that this was a helpful and informative and interesting book.
I liked the history that is included.
Whether or not I get to England it was fun reading about places I’d read about in books and places people I know (living in or visiting England) have been to and talked about and sometimes shared photos.
The eating recommendations in these books are rarely of any use to me. Occasionally a veg*n restaurant is listed but it’s rare. I can’t use these books for food suggestions. In a perfect world vegans would write these books and list vegan places. Instead of books I make use of personal and vegan society/groups recommendations and https://www.happycow.net/ and its app.
I hope that I get to the UK but I don’t feel quite as badly that I struggle to plan and make an itinerary. I signed up for these emails (https://uktravelplanning.com/) and no wonder I find it challenging. Wow! Their advice is overwhelming with multiple steps but I’ll bet trips would be better if following at least some of their advice. I’m getting nearly daily emails from them chock full of tips and other information.
I’ve been reading many guidebooks about the UK. This is the last one I plan to read unless/until I make specific plans for an upcoming trip.
I need at least a year in the UK. Five years would be better. I need at least a month in London. A year would be better.
4-1/2 stars
April 7, 2008
Solid book about England. Made me want to live there, and have a copy of this in my glove compartment. Some of the restaurants and prices were outdated, but I feel like you read this book for the big stuff, and if one door is closed it will definitely point you to another. Oh! And stay at the Gray Street Hotel if you're ever in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. It's bo-diggity.
October 25, 2015
I used to love having this sort of travel book on hand when going abroad. Nowadays we do so much of our planning online using resources such as TripAdvisor, that the large sections covering where to eat and lodge are often obsolete and make for inordinately heavy volume.
August 20, 2022
came across this from my husband's bookshelf.. it just naturally reminds me of my old days learning English with the tapes.. will definitely read this again when i got a real chance to travel to the UK..
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 2, 2013
A good guide to start with. Sure thing some bits are out of date but it's still useful.
September 12, 2024
Pairs well with Rick Steves' much more readable guide. I'm using the Rough Guide to get more detail about the area Rick covers and look into areas that he does not cover.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews