Product Description

Around Birmingham is one of 20 titles in the new Philip's Cycle Tours series. The series is directly derived from the highly successful Ordnance Survey Cycle Tours series, but has been updated and improved, with a new focus on the needs of cyclists and the cycling market in the 21st century. Each book in the series contains 20 routes, both on-road and off-road, taking you along low-traffic or traffic free roads, tracks and paths. The route takes you through some of the most beautiful countryside and prettiest villages in Britain, and past some of the finest and most interesting houses, churches, castles, gardens and monuments in the land. Around Birmingham provides a rich variety of rides in the heart of England. Rides pass through the open country of the Tame Valley, the uplands of Warwickshire, the former Forest of Arden, undulating west Leicestershire, the Lickey and Clent hills, and the heath and woodland of Shropshire and Staffordshire. A unique feature of Philip's Cycle Tours is the superb Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 mapping showing the routes of the rides. This mapping not only gives the detail and clarity you need to follow the route with ease and safety, but allows you to plan short-cuts and detours, to look out for new places of interest, and to become truly involved in the lansdcape you are cycling through. The mapping now shows National Cycle Network routes and National Long-Distance Footpaths. Clear directions are given alongside the mapping, and cross-profile diagrams make planning the pacing of each ride an easy task, even for the beginner. Extra information includes an introduction to the area of the route, nearest railway stations, places of interest with descriptions, guides to refreshment stops, and clear indications of distance, grade and terrain. The books are beautifully and practically designed, with colour photographs throughout the ultra-clear layout.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #648800 in Books
• Published on: 2002-03-11
• Original language: English
• Binding: Spiral-bound
• 128 pages

Customer Reviews

Cracking rides around Birmingham
For a newcomer to Birmingham and an enthusiastic cyclist this book was just what I needed. The rides are all well described with excellent maps and start within easy reach of central Brum. Typically the routes take in minor roads and country lanes through pleasant parts of our rural landscape. They also provide a good starting point for setting out to explore on your own. Although primarily for the road cyclist a few routes do stray onto poorly surfaced roads or tracks adding to the fun. Pubs and good places to stop are detailed and a few historical titbits are thrown in adding interest to each route.
All in all an excellent resource.

A useful collection of routes
This guide might not be for the offroad rider who only gave one star, but I have ridden a good number of the routes in this book and they offer a good variety of riding within easy reach of Birmingham, mostly on very pleasant country lanes. The usefulness of this sort of guide is that it makes it easy to explore unfamiliar areas. The route descriptions are generally clear and will keep you from getting lost.

Don't buy this!!!
Don't buy this if you want any off road rides - it doesn't have any.

Despite the cover advertising on-road and off-road routes around Birmingham, the 20 routes in the book are all on-road routes, with maybe the odd excursion (1 mile or so) onto a bridleway,and then back onto road again. Definately not the true off-road experience found in the other books in the series.