Books Guides And Maps
16th Nov 2012 Fontainebleau Climbs – The Finest Bouldering And Circuits – A Review
Fontainebleau Climbs – The Finest Bouldering And Circuits – A Review J & Francoise Montchausse / Jacky Godoffe I’m beginning to wonder whether it is possible to have too many guidebooks to...
24th Oct 2012 Echoes by Nick Bullock
Echoes by Nick Bullock Echoes has been an interesting book to read. On the one hand I’ve found it incredibly interesting and enjoyable, but it’s also frustrated me at times. A number of years...
14th Sep 2012 Day Walks In Snowdonia
Day Walks In Snowdonia 20 Circular Routes In North Wales Vertebrate Publishing I was born and grew up in Snowdonia so know the area pretty well indeed. My folks were avid mountain people so we...
2nd Aug 2012 West Yorkshire Mountain Biking - Vertebrate Publishing
I’ve a neat little collection of these pocket sized guides on my shelf now. On a post card inserted inside the front cover Vertebrate Publishing claim to publish Britain’s best mountain bike...
1st Aug 2012 Dorset Rockfax
I’ve been climbing for more than twenty years now. I’ve climbed across much of the UK, but the south coast is somewhere I’ve only been three times. Don’t know why. It’s just panned out...
31st Jul 2012 Canoeing the Congo by Phil Hayward
Last year (2011) at ShAFF Phil Hayward came to the festival to introduce his film, a 20 minute short filmed and edited by himself, on his solo canoe expedition down the Congo river. A few months...
30th Jul 2012 Canyoning - Classic canyons in Spain, France and Italy
A selection of scrambling, aquatic and roped descents by John Bull. Cicerone are an unusual publishing house. They are an essential contributor to the world of outdoor guidebooks, primarily...
1st Jun 2012 5 and 6 - 3975 straight ups in central and southern Fontainebleau
Just over a month ago I went to Font for our annual Easter pilgrimage. I contacted Bart Van Raaij a week or two before going to see how his latest project was coming along, a similar guide to...
31st May 2012 Traversing Club - Climbing Games
My oldest lad goes to our local primary school. A couple of weeks ago local climbing wall builder Wallclimber installed a traversing wall in the playground and I offered to start running an...
24th May 2012 Wild Swimming – Coast
A few years ago I published a review of Wild Swimming. It was a breath of fresh air, a book packed with beautifully photographed wild swimming spots all over the British Isles. The thing was, it...
15th May 2012 Pembroke - Rockfax
Printed a few years ago this is nevertheless a worthwhile addition to the Rockfax arsenal. It’s effectively an update on the previous guide (which came out in 1995!), bringing it into line with...
30th Apr 2012 Fiva by Gordon Stainforth
I tend to avoid reviewing mountaineering and climbing books these days. I’ve read so many over the years that I struggle with them, even if they are well written, as they are essentially...
23rd Apr 2012 5 Plus 6 - Fontainebleau Guide by Bart Van Raaij
A few years ago I wrote a glowing review for a new guidebook to the boulders of Fontainebleau. It was a work of art and a labour of love all rolled into one, and the fruits of a talented and...
19th Apr 2012 Llanberis Slate by Ground Up Productions
Ground Up are a North Wales based company who produce North Wales guide books. As such they know their stuff. They also clearly knew that the slate quarries were desperately in need of a new, and...
17th Apr 2012 North Wales Classics by Jack Geldard - Rockfax
What a nice idea. A small pocket sized guidebook to the best routes in Snowdonia. It’s something portable that you can carry on a route with you. It’s a selected guide so saves you the expense...