Naturalist Summers Pages From a Field St

Book Description

From the seaside resort of Llandudno to Cardiff''s awesome Millennium Stadium, the Rough Guide to Wales tells you all there is to know about this beautiful and varied country. The 24-page, full-colour section introduces all of Wales'' highlights, from the world-famous Valleys and Welsh male voice choirs to the trendy bars of Cardiff Bay and the suprisingly tasteful delight of Welsh Laverbread. In addition, there are two, brand-new, 4-page, full-colour inserts: ''Literary Wales'' and ''The Battle for Wales''. The guide includes hundreds of listings of the all the top places to eat, drink and stay, whatever your budget, plus brand-new ''author picks'' to highlight the very best. There is plenty of practical advice on outdoor pursuits, including some of the best mountain and coastal walks, and activities from surfing on the Gower to rock-climbing in Snowdonia. The guide takes a detailed look at Wales'' history and culture, from the Celts and druids to modern post-devolution politics. The guide comes complete with maps and plans for every region.Â

Customer Reviews:

A good start.......2007-06-22

After travelling in Europe with the Lonely Planet guides for Paris and Barcelona, I found this guide somewhat more difficult to navigate. However, I suppose you must consider that the city guides will generally be more detailed than those for an entire country.

Although the guide gives a wealth of attractions, restaurants, and sleeping options for the various regions, I found it a bit lacking in maps and "how to get there" information. In addition, I would have liked it if the author had included a more website references. Finally, for some of the hotel and restaurant options, it would have been nice if there was some system used to denote how cheap or expensive a place was.

If you plan on using this book as your primary reference for your visit to Wales, I highly recommend purchasing a good map and plan on doing a lot of driving.

Good for detailed site information, but poor job updating.......2007-05-17

Like other Rough Guides, this book excels in its depth and breadth of coverage - if a town isn't covered, it does not have very much for the tourist. However, I was very disappointed by the out-of-date price information found in this ostensibly brand-new guide. While I don't expect guidebooks to be perfect, it became obvious that they had not contacted many of the bed and breakfasts they list for many years, as rates I was quoted were often almost twice as much as the Rough Guide price! In a couple of cases, the proprietor was no longer doing B&B, and had not been doing so for several years! So buy the Rough Guide for its detailed site information, but look elsewhere if you need accomodation advice.

Rough Guide to Wales.......2007-05-13

Great book for sightseeing and understanding history. Would be a perfect book if a bit more info on dining and shopping was added.

Could have used more opinions.......2003-05-12

My husband and I just toured Wales with this book and bought it because of the evaluations from other Amazon readers. I'd like to add my two-cents -- we were disappointed (probably because it came highly recommended). There is lots of information but no opinions so all items read as "this is the facts" == which is good but missing a "trip must see" or a "don't go out of your way" evauation. With a limited time to tour, we would have liked a guide to some of the must-sees.

In all fairness, all the facts are there and correct.

A very useful guide.......2002-09-20

This was the first Rough Guide I bought for the first of my solo
vacations. I chose it after comparing with various other guides,
such as the Blue Guide and others. This provided an immense
amount of detail on all sorts of historical sites, little towns,
etc. and was of great value in planning out my trip. One thing that keeps me from giving it 5 stars is that I later discovered that there are a number of "dark age" monuments (forts, inscribed stones, gravesites, etc.) that it doesn't list; it concentrates on larger places. I would have liked to have seen alot of those, as dark age Britain is an interest of mine. To be fair, other guides leave those things out, too, and I had to find the info in archeological and historical references.

Average customer rating:

A great guide
Best Wales Guide out there
Lots of Good Info

The Rough Guide to Wales
Rough Guides
Manufacturer: Rough Guides
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Guidebooks | Reference & Tips | Travel | Subjects | Books

Rough Guide | Guidebook Series | Travel | Subjects | Books

General | Travel | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1843531208

Book Description

INTRODUCTION

Perched on the rocky fringe of western Europe, Wales often gets short shrift in comparison to its Celtic cousins of Ireland and Scotland. Neither so internationally renowned nor so romantically perceived, the country is usually defined - if it is known at all - by its male voice choirs and tightly-packed pit villages. But there's far more to the place than the hackneyed stereotypes, and at its best, Wales is the most beguiling part of the British Isles. Even its comparative anonymity serves it well: where the tourist dollar has swept away some of the more gritty aspects of local life in parts of Ireland and Scotland, reducing ancient cultures to misty Celtic pastiche, Wales remains brittle and brutal enough to be real, and diverse enough to remain endlessly interesting.

Within its small mass of land, Wales boasts some stunning physical attributes. Its mountain ranges, ragged coastline, lush valleys and old-fashioned market towns all invite long and repeated visits. The culture, too, is compelling, whether in its Welsh- or English-language manifestations, its Celtic or its industrial traditions, its ancient cornerstones of belief or its contemporary chutzpah. Recent years have seen a huge and dizzying upsurge in Welsh self-confidence, a commodity no longer so dependent upon comparison with its big and powerful neighbour of England. Popular culture - especially music and film - has contributed much to this revival, as has the arrival of a National Assembly in 1999, the first all-Wales tier of government for six hundred years. After centuries of enforced subjugation, the national spirit is undergoing a remarkable renaissance. The ancient symbol of the country, y ddraig goch or the red dragon, seen fluttering on flags everywhere in Wales, is waking up from what seems like a very long slumber.

Once you've crossed the border from England into Wales, the differences in appearance, attitude and culture between the two countries are immediately obvious. Wales shares many physical and emotional similarities with the other Celtic lands - Scotland, Ireland, Cornwall, Brittany and even Asturias and Galicia in northwest Spain. A rocky and mountainous landscape, whose colours are predominantly grey and green, a thinly scattered, largely rural population, a culture rooted deeply in folklore and legend and the survival of a distinct, ancient language are all hallmarks of Wales and its sister countries. To the visitor, it is perhaps the Welsh language, the strongest survivor of the Celtic tongues, that most obviously marks out the country. Tongue-twisting village names and vast bilingual signposts point to a glorious tale of endurance against the odds, slap next to the heartland of English language and culture, the most expansionist in history. Everyone in Wales speaks English, but a quarter of the population also speak Welsh: TV and radio stations broadcast in it, all children learn it at school and visitors too are encouraged to try speaking at least a fragment of the rich, earthy tones of one of Europe's oldest living languages.

Customer Reviews:

A great guide.......2007-06-13

This guide breaks Wales down into several sections, and does a great job of highlighting the best things to do and see in each part. I would recommend the Rough Guides to anyone - a great series.

Best Wales Guide out there.......2006-06-09

I searched and searched for a good travelers guide to Wales. this is the best I found. I did utilize the wales visitors bureau for more options in accomodations, but if your doing a driving tour of Wales, this book is perfectly set up for that. It hits every little highway and biway, town by town, region by region.
We are planning our itinerary by it.

Lots of Good Info.......2004-09-26

I just got back from a trip to Wales. I had this book and Lonely Planet. This book had much more information, good maps and even good cultural and historical background. And it still fit in the back pocket of my jeans! It directed me to the Black Boy pub in Caernarfon - in business since 1533, so they say - and the Farmer's Arms in St. Davids and it was worth it for that alone. I particularly like the neolithic sites on Anglesey and this book directed me to some very interesting tombs, dolmens, stone circles, etc.

The Rough Guide to Sydney 4 (Rough Guide Travel Guides)

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Supplement to other travel guides

The Rough Guide to Sydney 4 (Rough Guide Travel Guides)
Rough Guides
Manufacturer: Rough Guides
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Guidebooks | Reference & Tips | Travel | Subjects | Books

Rough Guide | Guidebook Series | Travel | Subjects | Books

General | Australia & South Pacific | Travel | Subjects | Books

General | Travel | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 1843535084

Book Description

INTRODUCTION

It might seem surprising that Sydney, established in 1788, is not Australia's capital. Yet the creation of Canberra in 1927 - intended to stem the intense rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne - has not affected the view of many Sydneysiders that their city remains the true capital of Australia, and certainly in many ways it feels like it. The city has a tangible sense of history in the old stone walls and well-worn steps in the backstreets around The Rocks, while the sandstone cliffs, rocks and caves amongst the bushlined harbour still contain Aboriginal rock carvings, evocative reminders of a more ancient past.

Flying into Sydney provides a thrilling close-up snapshot of the city as the aeroplane swoops alongside sandstone cliffs and golden beaches, revealing toy-sized images of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House tilting in a glittering expanse of blue water. Towards Mascot airport the red-tiled roofs of suburban bungalows stretch ever southwards, blue squares of swimming pools shimmering from grassy backyards. The night views are nearly as spectacular, skyscrapers topped with colourful neon lights while the illuminated white shells of the Opera House reflect on the dark water as ferries crisscross to Circular Quay.

Sydney has all the vigour of a world-class city, and a population approaching five million people; yet on the ground you'll find it still possesses a seductive, small-town, easy-going charm. The furious development in preparation for the year 2000 Olympics, heralded as being Sydney's coming-of-age ceremony, alarmed many locals, who love their city just the way it is. It was not so much the greatly improved transport infrastructure, or the $200 million budget which improved and beautified the city streets and parks, but the rash of luxury hotels and apartments still adding themselves, often contentiously, to the beloved harbour foreshore. It's a setting that perhaps only Rio de Janeiro can rival: the water is what makes the city so special, and no introduction to Sydney would be complete without paying tribute to one of the world's great harbours. Port Jackson is a sunken valley which twists inland to meet the fresh water of the Parramatta River; in the process it washes into! a hundred coves and bays, winds around rocky points, flows past the small harbour islands, slips under bridges and laps at the foot of the Opera House.

Taken together with its surrounds, Sydney is in many ways a microcosm of Australia as a whole - if only in its ability to defy your expectations and prejudices as often as it confirms them. A thrusting, high-rise business centre in the CBD, a high-profile gay community in Darlinghurst, inner-city deprivation of unexpected harshness, with the highest Aboriginal population of any Australian city, and the dreary traffic-fumed and flat suburban sprawl of the Western Suburbs, are as much part of the scene as the beaches, the bodies and the sparkling harbour. But all in all, Sydney seems to have the best of both worlds - if it's seen at its gleaming best from the deck of a harbour ferry, especially at weekends when the harbour's jagged jaws fill with a flotilla of small vessels, racing yachts and cabin cruisers, it's at its most varied in its neighbourhoods, not least for their lively café and restaurant scenes. Getting away from the city centre and exploring them is an essential part of Sydney's pleasures.

A short ferry trip across to the leafy and affluent North Shore accesses tracts of largely intact bushland, with bushwalking and native animals and birds right on the doorstep. In the summer the city's hot offices are abandoned for the remarkably unspoilt ocean and harbour beaches strung around the eastern and northern suburbs. Day-trips away offer a taste of virtually everything you'll find in the rest of Australia. There are magnificent national parks and native wildlife - Ku-Ring-Gai Chase and Royal being the best known of the parks, each a mere hour's drive from the centre of town. North of the centre the Central Coast is great for surfers, and has more enclosed waters for safer swimming and sailing. Inland, the Blue Mountains offer tea rooms, scenic viewpoints and isolated bushwalking. On the way, and along the Hawkesbury River, are historic colonial towns. Inland to the northwest is the Hunter Valley, Australia's oldest and possibly best-known wine-growing region, amongst pastoral scenery.

Customer Reviews:

Supplement to other travel guides.......2004-06-29

Its nice and tiny enough to put in your purse and it does have some nice maps at the end of the book. That said, the book is hard to follow with detailed descriptions (unless you have another travel guide to see as well)
It does have some nice recommendations for travellers especially those on a low budget and it is worth supplementing a book like "Eyewitness Travel Guides: Australia"

The Rough Guide to The Music of Wales (Rough Guide World Music CDs)

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The Rough Guide to The Music of Wales (Rough Guide World Music CDs)
Rough Guides
Manufacturer: Rough Guides
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Music | Books on CD | Audiobooks | Formats | Books

General | Books on CD | Audiobooks | Formats | Books
ASIN: 1858286271

Rough Deal: A Plain English Guide to Drug Laws in Nsw

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Rough Deal: A Plain English Guide to Drug Laws in Nsw
Steve Bolt
Manufacturer: UNSW Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Administrative Law | Law | Subjects | Books

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Book Description

Sweeping changes to drug laws and police powers have been introduced in New South Wales over the past few years. If you're into drugs or want to give advice to someone who is, you need to be informed. Written in plain language, this new edition of Rough Deal brings you up-to-date, providing clear, concise information on all the new developments, how the laws operate and how they affect drug users.

Book Description

The selection of essays marked a breakthrough in studies of the Garvey movement and helped shape subsequent scholarly work.

Lucent Library of Black History - Marcus Garvey and the Back to Africa Movement (Lucent Library of Black History)

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Lucent Library of Black History - Marcus Garvey and the Back to Africa Movement (Lucent Library of Black History)
Stuart A. Kallen
Manufacturer: Lucent Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Board book

Book Description

In the 1920s, Marcus Garvey was one of the most famous black men in the world. Marcus Garvey and the Back to Africa Movement examines the rise and fall of this charismatic leader from his days preaching from a soapbox in Harlem to his role as a spokesman for millions of black Americans who dreamed of a better life in Africa.

Average customer rating:

An appeal to the soul of white America
Marcus Garvey
Manufacturer: [s.n.] ;
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Marcus Garvey, the United Negro Improvement Association and Ethiopia, 1920-1940 (The Robert L. Hess Collection on Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa)

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Marcus Garvey, the United Negro Improvement Association and Ethiopia, 1920-1940 (The Robert L. Hess Collection on Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa)
Marcus Garvey
Manufacturer: Nauka Publishers, Central Dept. of Oriental Literature
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

African-American & Black | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Ethiopia | Africa | History | Subjects | Books

Who was Marcus Garvey? (1887 A.D. - 1940 A.D.): : the Back to Africa Movement (Ansaru Allah Community. Edition)

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Who was Marcus Garvey? (1887 A.D. - 1940 A.D.): : the Back to Africa Movement (Ansaru Allah Community. Edition)
ʻIsá Abd Allāh Muḥammad al-Mahdī
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B00071K8RC

Book Description

France still sets the standard for beautiful living. Whether it is the bohemian lifestyle of the Parisian artist or the grandeur of a medieval chateau, there is a romance and elegance associated with the French that people the world over seek to emulate. LA VIE EN ROSE takes readers on a grand tour of homes that perfectly capture the essence of French living. Gerard Depardieu escapes the rigors of his busy celebrity life by retiring to his country retreat in Anjou; Parisian decorator AgnËs Comar inhabits a spectacular apartment surrounding a wild garden courtyard; and the Comte Jacques de Crussol d'Uzes and his wife open the doors of their ancestral home--a castle in the South of France. Lavishly illustrated with 180 color photographs, LA VIE EN ROSE is sure to inspire readers to recreate a piece of France in their own homes.

Customer Reviews:

gorgeous photos.......2003-09-12

Looking through this book really made me feel as though I was touring the French countryside. Many of the homes are rural farmhouses or chateaus, and the pictures showcase the warmth and charm of that part of the world. Just beautiful.

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