Four Counties and the Welsh Canals: For everyone with an interest in Britain’s canals and rivers (Collins Nicholson Waterways Guides)

Purchased this to replace an old and very tattered copy of the same title. I was hoping for a similar format to the original version, which was a simple to follow map of the canal and immediate surrounding area on one page, with information relating to the canal itself and general interest / local facilities on the opposite page. This was a great formula for navigating the canal; any of the 'crew' could just grab the book to instantly see the distance to next lock, swing bridge etc. Also, this layout was perfect as canal features were the main focus.This new edition is more of a general interest publication, obviously aimed at a wider audience. The full colour maps are taken directly from the Ordnance Survey, with the surrounding areas covered in equal importance. This is fine if you want to wander away from the canal, but makes for a cluttered canal guide. I, and I'm sure most other narrow boat users will have the OS map as well as this guide, so why was it considered necessary to relegate the canal to just another feature on a 'busy' map. It is now far harder to use as a quick reference for navigating the canal.Overall, a very big disappointment. Ok, it is very colourful and maybe a nice book to read at home before your trip, but it is certainly not a dedicated canal user's guide any more. This book will accompany us on our next trip, but I'm afraid my old, outdated and very scruffy original will be still be our main guide and information source.

This book was one recommended by our canal boat hire company for our holiday on the Langollen canal. It uses Ordinance Survey base maps, which normally would be a plus, then adds the canal-specific details (locks, water points, bridge numbers, etc). We also bought the other guide Pearson Canal Companion, so had both to compare.It was quickly obvious that the stylised maps in the other book were a much more useful guide... this one didn't show key information such as 48hr visitor mooring locations. Also the bridge numbering was incorrect... bridges to the west of the Montgomery canal have a "W" suffix, which was missing from this guide. Essential navigation notes were very basic or missing too (blind corners, 1-way narrow sections). All in all, for information on surrounding areas this wasn't bad, but frankly all that is available via Google maps anyway. If you're on the water and want specific information on using the canals, this guide comes up well short. Not recommended.

Bought this for a canal boat holiday and found it useful. The maps show all the detail you will need for safe navigation - bridges, aqueducts, locks, tunnels and turning points, which enables you to route-plan and to estimate how long a trip will take and where you can eat and make use of various services. It lists facilities available at the different villages and wharves en route, such as water points, pump out facilities, and some of the pubs, grocery shops, takeaways, etc. There is some local and historical information too, but I would have liked more detail about the history of the canals. Sometimes we passed an interesting feature and found no mention in the book (for example structures that looked like former bridges or aqueducts). There aren't any detailed town maps, but I imagine most people have mobile phones these days so can use this in conjunction with online maps and google to find shops, etc and check for additional information like opening hours. In general a very useful book which I would not have wanted to be without on our trip.

This is exactly what I needed for my boating holiday. Clear, concise, and accurate mapping with extremely helpful guidance notes referencing everything from water stops to pubs to cafes and a sprinkle of local interest / history. I am able to perfectly plan and execute my days on the water - even narrowing it down to the perfect mooring spot. Unfortunately I have previously purchased a similar guide from another competitor that turned out to be designing the maps back to front - I kid you not - literally back to front - I gave up on that little book and threw it in the bin. I shall never deviate from the Collins Nicholson Waterways Guides again. 5 stars from me.

I got this for my Mum's birthday as she loves narrow-boating. It arrived in good condition and in good time. She thought it was quite a useful little book and is looking forward to using it on our next canal holiday. It is nice and compact so it is a good size for travel. The only thing is it is a little out-of-date now, so we're worried that the information may not be up-to-date anymore. Hopefully a newer version will be out soon, but for now this will do alright.

Ordered the book as we needed a detailed map of the canals unfortunetly the size of the book a5 is far to small in order to read anything without a magnify glass or microscope! collins books 20 years ago produced big A4 maps for easy reading now they seem to cost cutting and have reduced the size of all there new books to size 8 font, Item was returned as it was no use trying to steer a boat with one hand and magnify glass in the other!

Having to chop back or forth to follow the route of the ring is very annoying. Some of the info is out of date, pubs have shut or opening hours changed, for example. The waterpoint at Banbridge no longer exists. I would like to see launderettes near the canal shown. Other guides do it better.

Like all the others in the range .... excellent quaility and full of useful information needed to get around the canal network .... will i buy more ??????? yes so i get full set ......