The Rough Guide to England

Few travel destinations offer as much interesting variety in close proximity as England. London is one of the major cities of the world, with suitably world-class culture, shopping, and other entertainment. A day's drive or train ride can take the visitor to the natural beauties and recreational opportunities of the Peak District in the Midlands, the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales in the North of England, or the beaches in Southern England. Centuries of England history are preserved in the form of castles, great homes, museums, and cathedrals, whether as small as novelist Jane Austen's house in Chawton or as large as the enormous Warwick Castle in the Midlands. The latest version of "The Rough Guide to England" is a superbly detailed planning resource for the prospective visitor to England. "The Rough Guide to England" is broken into sections, beginning with some basic travel information and proceeding to cover the ground in thirteen regionally oriented chapters. The regional chapters include suggested itineraries for those with limited vacation time. The guide also provides some informative essays on context, such as a brief history of England, notes on architecture, and books and films that may provide insight. There is a nice selection of color photographs of some of the more interesting venues, and the guide is richly illustrated with regional maps and city graphics. The guide includes numerous website addresses for those who desire further research on points of particular interest. The average traveler may desire only a driving map to navigate around England or a detailed Ordnance Survey map to roam any particular park. "The Rough Guide to England" is written in standard Rough Guide language, addressed to the average traveler and not shy about expressing an opinion on which sights to see or what to expect in the way of manners and customs. It is very highly recommended to those interesting in planning a fascinating vacation in England, and as an orientation guide to those seeking more information on the English themselves.

It all depends on how much time you have to "indulge" into a travel guide. The rough guide compared to lonely planet satisfies me more because of the more mature approach to the writings, descriptions and presentations of the subject matter. I presume that both guide books offer more or less the same tourist info, so I choose this guide book for the simple fact which I value as most important that the authors take more time to make an enjoyable reading.

Authors of this guide show excellent taste in their choice of noteworthy sites, and their capsule histories and background information are accurate, informative, and entertaining. Practical information on where to stay and eat is highly reliable.

A year ago we went to England armed with the Rough Guide. I can't really compare it to other travel books (other than one of the Michelin Green guides, which we also used), but the Rough Guide worked for us. We particularly liked the fact that it did not only dirct us to the sights "everybody" would want to see. The writers were actually pretty up front about attractions that they considered to be overrated. The book was also really useful for the early stages planning our trip, because it provided a nice broad overview of the regions.

This reader looked thru oodles of travel books for information for the "remote" places of England vs. the typical visiting grounds like London & Bath. Key elements looked for were: concise transportation prices/options (especially on the railways & bus) , detailed regional maps, and alternate information places to contact (e.g. Dept. of transportation in Brighton, or Tourist info. on the Isle of Wight). This reader was not interested in finding the best place to stay -- but would respond in saying that this information was "broad" compared to a Frommers or Michelan vesions of text. This book's material filled in several holes that other travel books with pretty pictures and fluffy text could not. Bully for that!