Lonely Planet England (England, 2nd Ed)

Rating:
Summary: Not a shoestring guide
Review: England must be a difficult destination for Lonely Planet to keep writing new and fresh as it sucessfuly has this last decade. England however, is not a country generaly regarded highly by main stream travelers. Yes there are some kicking cities and night life and ofcourse there is always London, hoever England is not a cheep country to visit by anymeans and it takes a lot of effort and time to thoroughly enjoy the rewards of England. For this reason the lonely planet on England is comproable to the other guides on the market. The coverage is more extensive then the Britain guide, and the London section is nearly as useful to the Lonely planet city guide. I would recommend however the Britain guide to the typical back packer, or Antipodeans comming over for a while to work, you never know when you might go to Scotland or Wales. This is however a good guide for the mid range traveler who wants to stick to the Dales and lowlands. The coverage of cities, accomadation and getting there and away sections are adequate to excelent. The authors do miss coverage that I would expect in a comprehensive guide. Many northern cities are missing as with many cotswold villages and Cornish destinations. The set up however is still better then the other guides on the market and is much more user friendly. Four Stars.

Rating:
Summary: The Travel Guide That's Cooler Than You
Review: I will soon be traveling to England and plan to trek around the country for a week on as little money as possible. I know that Lonely Planet produces the best kind of guides for this type of traveler - that is, a cheapskate drifter like me. I'm certainly happy I picked this guide up and I'm mostly confident in the data it provides. There's a treasure trove of information on how to travel cheap, especially in terms of bus and train transport between the major cities, plus inexpensive lodging - including hostels and even YMCA's and campgrounds. The problem with this guide is a general "cooler-than-thou" attitude toward tourist areas, with a real snobbish outlook on some popular attractions. An example is the Madame Tussaud organization, as their various museums are described as boring at least twice in the book (I've been to England before and I strongly disagree). Also watch out for the general "tacky" or "dull" label for many towns that cater to tourists, which makes you wonder about Lonely Planet's motivation for including them in the guide at all. In most cities, the restaurant and club recommendations do not seem like a representative sample, but just a quick list of locations that the LP team found cool enough to visit in a short amount of time. A lingering production problem is the quality of the maps, which are mostly dim in the black-and-white format and hard to read. But despite the occasionally condescending attitude, Lonely Planet succeeds in providing a very informative guide for the penny-pinching traveler.

Rating:
Summary: The Travel Guide That's Cooler Than You
Review: I will soon be traveling to England and plan to trek around the country for a week on as little money as possible. I know that Lonely Planet produces the best kind of guides for this type of traveler - that is, a cheapskate drifter like me. I'm certainly happy I picked this guide up and I'm mostly confident in the data it provides. There's a treasure trove of information on how to travel cheap, especially in terms of bus and train transport between the major cities, plus inexpensive lodging - including hostels and even YMCA's and campgrounds. The problem with this guide is a general "cooler-than-thou" attitude toward tourist areas, with a real snobbish outlook on some popular attractions. An example is the Madame Tussaud organization, as their various museums are described as boring at least twice in the book (I've been to England before and I strongly disagree). Also watch out for the general "tacky" or "dull" label for many towns that cater to tourists, which makes you wonder about Lonely Planet's motivation for including them in the guide at all. In most cities, the restaurant and club recommendations do not seem like a representative sample, but just a quick list of locations that the LP team found cool enough to visit in a short amount of time. A lingering production problem is the quality of the maps, which are mostly dim in the black-and-white format and hard to read. But despite the occasionally condescending attitude, Lonely Planet succeeds in providing a very informative guide for the penny-pinching traveler.

Rating:
Summary: All of facts that any visitor would need to know
Review: Now in an updated and expanded second edition, England: An Ancient Land In A New Light is Lonely Planet's latest guide to traveling throughout England. Accessibly covering all of facts that any visitor would need to know, including transportation advice, and a careful piece-by-piece dissection of every corner of English territory, Lonely Planet's utility as a travel guide is further enhanced with the inclusion of extensive maps, information concerning activities such as horse riding, biking, visiting national landmarks, and so much more. The collaborative and impressive effort of David Else, Paul Bloomfield, Fionn Davenport, Abigail Hole, and Martin Hughes, this compact, portable, extremely useful and authoritatively informative resource make England invaluable for planning any kind of trip anywhere in this island nation.