No comments about Illustrated Edinburgh Map (Collins British Isles and Ireland Maps).

No comments about Seven for the Sea.

1 comments about The Castles And Mansions Of Ayrshire: Illustrated In Seventy Views With Historical And Descriptive Accounts.

1. A reprint of a book over 100 years old. Shows photos of Ayrshire in the most comprehensive treatment I have seen. Architectural emphasis with history of each place. Many gone with time. The rest allow you to plan a great historical tour of Ayrshire. This is beyond the average tourist and is most useful to those seeking family roots and locals interested in a day trip. If you or your family is from Ayrshire, I highly recommend this book.

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.

No comments about Islay And Jura (Images of Scotland).

No comments about Scottish Pipers (Souvenir Guide) (Souvenir Guide).

4 comments about Portrait of Scotland.

1. Colin Baxter pushed his way up to the top photographers in my book when I saw this book! The way he photographs this lovely country is amazing! The love he has for Scotland shows in the way the photos are taken, printed, and arranged in this masterpiece of Scottish photography! It's one of my favorites in several books that he's published with his talent, definately on the top of the list.



2. I do a little family history and wanted to know what the homeland of my possible ancestors looked like...Mr. Baxter makes me want to fly to Scotland and see it up close and personal. His photography is excellent and beautifully done and I couldn't be more pleased with the purchase.



3. This is a beautiful book which brought a lump to the throat of my Scottish husband (now living in the USA). This is the real Scotland that he and I (an English woman) both know and love. Highly recommended.



4. There's a living quality to the photos in this book, most of which are pictures of the land. A few photos of Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Inverness add the city sense but even those crawl to life with nature all about each picture.
   
   The title may be Portrait of Scotland but the land is alive in this book.
   Each page conjures a sense of the romance that the very name of Scotland invokes.

No comments about Scots on Scotch: The Book of Whisky.

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.

No comments about The Canoe Boys: The First Epic Scottish Sea Journey by Kayak.