No comments about Special Places to Stay: Scotland (Special Places to Stay).

No comments about Walking in the Ochils, Campsie Fells and Lomond Hills: 33 Walks in Scotland's Central Fells (Cicerone Guide).

1 comments about Sword of the White Rose.

1. It has been three decades since Dylan Matheson, with the help of the fairy Sinann, traveled back in time, hoping to change history and stop Culloden from happening. In time both realizes that fate cannot be changed and Dylan prepares the clan to change so that when times hard times arrive they will survive. When Dylan dies, Ciaran becomes the Laird of Ciorram and Sinann makes her presence known to him. She tells him that his father doesn't want him to go with Bonnie Prince Charlie to fight because the Highlanders will definitely lose.

   Captain Radley of the English Dragoons and his daughter are stationed with other English soldiers at Clan Ciorram. At first, Leigh thinks the Highlanders are barbarians but when she comes to know Ciaran, she falls in love with him. When the English retreat to the lowlands, Ciaran makes the decision to fight for the Prince. When the time of battle looms, Leah sneaks out to find Ciaran, which she does with the help of Sinann. They will live or die together depending on her father's decision.

   This brilliant historical fiction brings to life the events that preceded Culloden and gives the audience a taste of how the Highlanders felt going into the war. Ciaran is like his father, brave determined, and loyal to the Highlanders and just like his sire, he made his own decisions no matter that they might bring about his death. J. Adrian Lee gives readers a magical yet historically accurate historical fantasy that is tragically haunting.

   Harriet Klausner

No comments about Birds of Britain: An Introduction to Familiar Species of England, Scotland & Wales (Pocket Naturalist - Waterford Press).

1 comments about The Traveller's Guide To Fairy Sites: The Landscape And Folklore Of Fairyland In England, Wales And Scotland.

1. This book is simply a MUST for anybody interested in fairies. It wonderfully detailed, with old folklore and real acounts from all over England, Wales, and Scotland, and is filled with pictures and drawings of the exact place where the sighting happened. It even gives precise directions on how to get there.
   
   The only thing that I believe that should have added, was sightings from Ireland, as Ireland is well known for their fairy sighting and lore.

3 comments about Golf at the Water's Edge: Scotland's Seaside Links.

1. Harmless bit of fluff that looks more like a children's book than a serious golf tome. No real new information about the courses themselves, but the watercolor illustrations were good enough to keep me from returning the book. Can't recommend buying it unless you like pictures more than words.



2. One of the best books written about the links courses of Scotland. The reader can tell that the authors are passionate about the courses. The authors capture the very essence of what is like to play Scotland's link courses in text and illustrations. I took this book with me when I visited most of the courses. What a great find!



3. Quite a book with awesome illustrations. Has all of the great links of Scotland with great watercolors. I keep coming back to this book. I have to go to these courses now!

No comments about Bruce Davidson: England/Scotland 1960.

No comments about MapEasy's Guidemap to Edinburgn & Scotland.

5 comments about Scotland for Dummies, Second Edition.

1. While I have not gone to Scotland yet to put all the wonderful information into practice, this is a wonderful book! I found it very easy to read, it gave all kinds of websites to visit, and the overviews were very interesting. I felt like I could plan my whole trip just from this book.
   I highly recommend it.



2. I visited Scotland in November 2003, and I found this book to be extremely useful. The book layout is clear and easy to read. The "top 10 lists" really help in deciding what to see. No extraneous photographs or excessive historical backgrounds. The book has very good general travel tips as well. The author doesn't assume you know everything about traveling to the UK. One suggestion: if touring Glasow or Edinburgh on foot or by car, buy a good city map. The city maps in the guide don't quite cut the mustard.



3. I traveled to Scotland with a friend(who happens to be an experienced traveler; and i'm not!) in the summer of 1997. Deb planned everything and i coughed up the money and was just along for the ride. Which by the way, was most exceedingly pleasant! I recently purchased this book as I am planning a return trip with my sister in the summer of 2005. Reading this book was like experiencing the '97 trip all over again! Any advice given in this book should be well heeded; it absolutely does not steer you wrong. From "what to pack" to "where to eat" this read has instilled in me the confidence that i can do this trip without being led by the hand of a more seasoned traveler. I will be packing a couple of different maps but this will be the only tour book i pack!



4. I purchased 3 books prior to my first trip to Scotland in November, 2004. I actually purchased Scotland for Dummies to be funny! My family was hysterical when I showed them my purchase. However, once we got there, the laughter was replaced with "where's the Dummies book?" We truly didn't go anywhere without it. (Although, to avoid being spotted as a "tourist", they made me hide it. :) ) The maps were SO helpful. We did purchase a road map once there, but used it along with this book. The information about tourist attractions was invaluable. Where to find restaurants and which ones to avoid was great. Once in Scotland, I never touched the other two books purchased. If you're only going to buy one book, this is the one. Read the others at the library before you go.



5. 
   I bought this guide well in advance of a recent family trip to the 'old country' (as my Nana called it) kind of as a joke - but I'm really glad I did. It has everything from packing tips (if you don't have enough room for souvenirs, mail your dirty laundry home - what a hoot!) to budgeting worksheets and maps included. We bought the Explorer pass as recommended and had a blast. We purchased more detailed maps there as well, but as far as planning the trip out, this book is the cats pajamas. I like how it is broken down by region, it makes it super easy to plan a day or two ahead. Before I take another trip like this, I'll check for a 'dummies' book.

4 comments about The Great Glen Way 3rd Edition.

1. Scotland's newest long distance path, the 73 miles/117km long Great Glen Way, links Fort William on the west coast and Inverness on the east coast, and leads walkers through some of Scotland's finest scenery. Highlights include views of Britain's highest mountain, Ben Nevis and two days' walking above Loch Ness, internationally famous as the home of the Monster. The walking certainly isn't for tough mountain climbers - you'll follow canal tow paths, forest tracks and paths for most of the distance.
   An ideal companion is Jacquetta Megarry's 64 page, full colour, beautifully illustrated guide, published by Rucksack Readers. It's not a traditional, step-by-step guide but a guide to experiencing the way. The innovative spiral-bound format makes for easy use; it has clear, detailed maps of the whole route and the carefully designed notes are divided into five stages - the number of days most people are likely to take to do the Way.
   The many features you'll see along the way and those that you can visit from the villages en route are briefly described.
   The guide includes all the info you'll need to organise your walk - transport, food and clothing.
   This is one of Scotland's great walks and is well within the reach of anyone who's reasonably fit - and who has a copy of the Rucksack Readers guide in their pocket.



2. I just finished walking the Great Glen Way in June 06 and it was an amazing trip. I thoroughly recommend it- especially if you have no rain like us!
   
   Having used Rucksack Readers on other long-distance hikes and finding them to be very informative and useful, I did not hesitate to buy this as soon as the latest GGW edition was released in March. And I will admit, I did not really read it before we started, I just put it in my luggage and took off. I trusted it would be as good as the other ones.
   
   And what a waste of luggage space this was! I question if the author ever even saw, much less walked the route. She constantly refers to things off route- or our favourite "below you, but unseen." The majority of the photos (yes, we were angry enough that we sat down and counted) were taken off the trail at detours or other side hikes. We called it the "useless book" because what information we wanted was never there and what was there was useless to us as we were not taking extra days off the walk to see things. And the one time there was something that could have been interesting to see, the way she writes i, it is not mentioned until you've gona a mile past- and who really wants to go back? The last day when the information actually seems to be finally useful, it ended up to be incorrect!
   
   Rucksack Readers are normally really good walking guides so I am amazed they let such a useless piece of junk be released under their name. I will admit, the GGW is not as scenic and point of interest filled as the West Highland Way, but there was definitely information worth emparting. It would have been useful to be told about the hills and other terrain changes. Maybe about the trees we were walking through. Any history in the area? Or at least give us an idea of walk x miles to x.
   
   Trail gossip pretty much corresponded with my disappointing view-everyone had it and everyone hated it. I heard that the Footprints Guide is pretty good. Several people had foldout maps they had gotten at Nevisport in Fort William. That little one page map, which cost about 3-pounds, was more useful than the whole darn book we had. It's even better to walk to the trail without this book- it's well waymarked and the book won't give you any extra knowledge. Just takes up room that could be used for food- which the book fails to make the point that there is really no food en route. Rucksack Reader desperately needs to pay some attention to this wonderful trail and bring its guide up to par with its other publications.
   
   But go and walk the trail! It's 5-star experience- the book just isn't.



3. Declaration of interest first: I have been involved with this book since our first edition in 2001, and although I respect reviewers' rights to their own opinions, of one thing I am sure: this third edition, written with the help of a coauthor who actually lives on the Way and walks it regularly, is better than the first.
   
   Now the facts: this book, like every other Rucksack Reader, has a yellow panel at the start of each section of the Way that shows the distance, terrain and walking grade, with food and drink stops listed. For three days of the walk, food is exactly where it says, and for the other two days it says "Food and drink: none between X and Y" so you take a packed lunch. Anyone who says "there is really no food en route" either hasn't walked the Great Glen Way or had their eyes closed.
   
   Images next: most of the photographs were taken of or from the trail, as the captions confirm, with a few aerial/satellite images and some professional wildlife images. These include the species of trees that you walk through, and the birds and mammals that you're likely to see.



4. Not what I was expecting. Very general. All info in book was a copy of what is available on the Great Glen Web site. The map would have been much more useful with detailed info of facilities available in each town. Also distance between all towns marked on map. Disappointed in content.