National Geographic Traveler: Great Britain

by Christopher Somerville

The allure of Great Britain's natural beauty, famously refined culture, and storied history has long attracted visitors. The guide explores all regions, including the countries of Scotland and Wales, covering every corner of this diverse and beguiling land. From venerable Westminster Abbey and the cutting edge art at the Tate Modern museum in London to Shakespeare's scenic hometown of Stratford-Upon-Avon to John Lennon's boyhood home in Liverpool, it's all here. Veteran travel author Christopher Somerville, a native Englishman, guides you shire by shire through the fascinating landscape that is 21st-century Britain, beginning with a detailed introduction to the island's history, food, land, and culture—factors that have clearly shaped the distinctive tongue-in-cheek character of the British people. Special features give comprehensive information on diverse topics such as the relaxing parks of London, Wedgewood and the potteries, Thomas Hardy's Dorset, and golfing in Scotland.
 
The book also offers seventeen guided walks and drives through many of Britain's most scenic and historic regions, including tours of the ancient cities of Oxford and Bath and drives around Snowdonia National Park in Wales and Wordsworth's beautiful Windermere in the hugely popular Lake District.
 
This newly revised, completely updated edition is illustrated with more than 150 vivid photographs and 30 detailed, full-color maps, and provides recommendations for hotels and restaurants in all price ranges and in all areas.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction

400 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1999

About the author

Christopher Somerville is a travel writer & 'Walking Correspondent' of The Times. His long-running ‘A Good Walk’ series appears every Saturday in the Times Weekend section. He has written some 40 books, many about his travels on foot in various parts of the world

Reviews

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Obwohl ich Grossbritannien liebe, habe ich mich für diesen ausführlichen und fundierten Reiseführer nie wirklich begeistern können... ohne dies jetzt allerdings gut begründen zu können. Da ich das Buch nun weggebe, möchte ich doch noch den einen oder anderen Gedanken daran verlieren. Blättert man im Reiseführer, fällt einem eine Fülle von tollen Bildern und übersichtlichen, farbigen und kreativ gestalteten Karten ins Auge. Die Einführung (Geschichte und Kultur) ist solide und gut. Die Aufteilung nach Gebieten ist vollkommen in Ordnung. All das verdient drei Sterne. Allerdings hatte ich nie wirklich Lust, das Land im Reiseführer zu erkunden und darin neue Orte und Dinge zu entdecken. Vielleicht stört mich die Wuchtigkeit des Buches? Nicht nur vom Inhalt her... das Taschenbuch ist auch wesentlich schwerer als manch eine gebundene Ausgabe. Vielleicht stört mich auch die Sprache (es sollte zwar keine Rolle spielen, aber über ein englisch-sprachiges Land lese ich doch lieber auf Englisch). Kurz, das Buch war nicht so meins, aber für manch anderen mag es genau das sein, was gesucht ist.

[Karli · Rating 2 out of 5]

National Geographic is a beloved brand. My respect for their publications led me to grabbing this off the store shelf without more than a cursory glance. The pictures are fantastic (naturally) and the maps are... accurate. There is also a useful section on history, though the narrow scope (limiting the influence of England on pop music to the Beatles and Sir Elton John (whaaa??) was disappointing. The rest, however, is mostly useful as wrapping paper for very small presents.

There is one cardinal rule for all travel guidebooks - they should guide. By this, my thought is that they tell you what to see, when to see it. They also say what to skip and why to skip it. This book fails because it doesn't distinguish between the good, the bad, and the boring. It lists everything. And with so many listings it is beyond tricky to tell what's important and what is listed just for the sake of being a "complete" reference. It's very uneven in the writing, as well. So while it's chock full of content, most of it is unremarkable. Some of it is even suspiciously similar to the bits available on the websites for the sites themselves.

This guidebook reminds me of a joke we made of the little old Lutheran church ladies when they complained of a banquet "The food was horrible. And such little portions!" Not a whole lot to like here but there certainly is a LOT of it.

[Tori · Rating 4 out of 5]

As one would expect from something by the National Geographic Society, this glossy guidebook is full of beautiful photographs. It's highly informative, and surprised me with the amount of humor injected into histories and descriptions of places-to-visit. One particularly nice aspect of this guidebook is that it gives walking tours for each region-of-note it highlights. The tours give concise directions on where to turn and what will be seen by a person following the walking tour. It strikes me as a handy sort of thing to have while actually in a region, while the pretty pictures and engaging descriptions are nice to read beforehand.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty comprehensive to have whilst traveling