This book is very well printed on good paper, sturdily bound, and includes quality reproductions of tiny sections of the OS maps, all as expected on a book listed at 1p under £13.I live near the Ridgeway, and bought the book in order to get ideas for daytrips on the trail.
The book describes in detail a 136 kilometre long trail. However, it lacks an overview map to allow you to locate where you are on the trail. There is a "key map", but that map is wrong. Example: you want to go for a walk near Aylesbury. According to the key map, the description for this section starts on Chapter 11, but the book only contains six chapters! Presumably an earlier edition of the book contained 12 chapters which were merged to form six, while neglecting to update the key map.
The book also contains descriptions of circular walks which can be taken in the viscinity of the trail, but only gives a vague idea of where they are. For example: "Begin at a point where a byway crosses the Ridgeway", with no indication of how to get there.
I was disappointed at the lack of practical information in the book. For example, near where I live is an approximately 15km long stretch of trail without any parking areas indicated on the OS map. It might have been nice to give some clues about accessing these areas.
Also lacking is any description of the condition of the trail, whether suitable for cycling, prams, etc. Due to a shocking legal loophole, motor vehicles are allowed on much of the trail, and more information on how to avoid these would have been welcome.
Yes, the book's historical descriptions and so on are informative, but they're not much use if I can't get to the sites in the first place.
I give the book one star because I expected it to enable me to choose walks, and tackle the logistics of getting to the walks. I don't feel the book has helped me in these areas. Really, I'm as well off just studying the OS map (which I had to buy).
