Lonely Planet England (Paperback)

~ (Author), Paul Bloomfield (Author), Fionn Davenport (Author), Abigail Hole (Author), Martin Hughes (Author) "The country of England, along with Wales and Scotland, is part of the state of Great Britain..." (more)
Key Phrases: crossing operator duration, beds per adult, saver return, Getting There, National Express, Lake District (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Nobody covers the world like Lonely Planet.' --New York Post, May 2004
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

Whether you dream of alluring countryside, vibrant cities, brash seaside towns, classic stately homes or traditional villages, Lonely Planet will help you find your vision of England.

• discover the best of England’s restaurants, nightlife and accommodation, with insider tips on where to eat, drink and sleep
• special section on England’s world famous pubs
• get out, get about: activities tips help you ramble on the South Downs, cycle through the Lake District or boat along the Thames
• escape the hordes: includes many off-the-beaten-track destinations
• find your way with over 100 detailed maps

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Product Details

• Paperback: 800 pages
• Publisher: Lonely Planet Publications; 2 edition (May 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1740593421
• ISBN-13: 978-1740593427
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,218,453 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Travel Guide That's Cooler Than You, July 11, 2003

By	doomsdayer520 (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

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.

33 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not a shoestring guide, July 18, 2001

By	David Goodman (Belgium) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lonely Planet England (England, 1st ed) (Paperback)

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.

34 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars UK Here We Come!, September 17, 2005

By	Richard R. Carlton (Ada, MI United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

You're going to LOVE BRITAIN! I've spent a year in England and have made >30 visits all together.

Here are my reviews of the best guides....to meet you r exact needs.....I hope these are helpful and that you have a great visit! I always gauge the quality of my visit by how much I remember a year later......this review is designed to help you get the guide that will be sure YOU remember your trip many years into the future. Travel Safe and enjoy yourself to the max!

Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet has City and Out To Eat Guides. They are all about the experience so they focus on doing, being, getting there, and this means they have the best detailed information, including both inexpensive and really spectacular restaurants and hotels, out-of-the-way places, weird things to see and do, the list is endless.

Fodor's
Fodor's is the best selling guide among Americans. They have a bewildering array of different guides. Here's which is what:
The Gold Guide is the main book with good reviews of everything and lots of tours, walks, and just about everything else you could think of. It's not called the Gold guide for nothing though....it assumes you have money and are willing to spend it.
SeeIt! is a concise guide that extracts the most popular items from the Gold Guide
PocketGuide is designed for a quick first visit
UpCLOSE for independent travel that is cheap and well thought out
CityPack is a plastic pocket map with some guide information
Exploring is for cultural interests, lots of photos and designed to supplement the Gold guide

MapGuide
MapGuide is very easy to use and has the best location information for pubs, hotels, tourist attractions, museums, churches etc. that they manage to keep fairly up to date. It's great for teaching you how to use the underground and the double decker buses. The text sections are quick overviews, not reviews, but the strong suite here is brevity, not depth. I strongly recommend this for your first few times learning your way around the classic tourist sites and experiences. MapGuide is excellent as long as you are staying pretty much in the city centre. When you get to be an old London hand, remember that the classic Londoners guide will always be an A to Z (zed) map and guide. If you want to go a bit beyond the central core of the city (perhaps to Windsor, Hampton, or further away) you really need the proper AtoZ to be able to find exact routes and streets.

Time Out
The Time Out guides are very good. Easy reading, short reviews of restaurants, hotels, and other sites, with good public transport maps that go beyond the city centre. Many people who buy more than one guidebook end up liking this one best!

Blue Guides
Without doubt, the best of the walks guides.... the Blue Guide has been around since 1918 and has extremely well designed walks with lots of unique little side stops to hit on just about any interest you have. If you want to pick up the feel of the city, this is the best book to do that for you. This is one that you end up packing on your 10th trip, by which time it is well worn.

Michelin
Famous for their quality reviews, the Red Michelin Guides are for hotels & Restaurants, the Green Michelin Guides are for main tourist destinations. However, the English language Green guide is the one most people use and it has now been supplemented with hotel and restaurant information. These are the serious review guides as the famous Michelin ratings are issued via these books.

Let's Go
Let's Go is a great guide series that specializes in the niche interest details that turn a trip into a great and memorable experience. Started by and for college students, these guides are famous for the details provided by people who used the book the previous year. They continue to focus on providing a great experience inexpensively. If you want to know about the top restaurants, this is not for you (use Fodor's or Michelin). Let's Go does have a bewildering array of different guides though. Here's which is what:
Budget Guide is the main guide with incredibly detailed information and reviews on everything you can think of.
City Guide is just as intense but restricted to the single city.
PocketGuide is even smaller and features condensed information
MapGuide's are very good maps with public transportation and some other information (like museum hours, etc.)

Frommer's
These are time tested guides that pride themselves on being updated annually. Although I think the guides below provide information that is in more depth or more concise (depending on what the guide is known for), if your main concern is that the guide has very little old or outdated information, then this would be a good guide for you.

Rick Steves' books are not recommended. They may be an interesting read but their helpfulness is very poor. They don't do well on updates, transportation details, or anything but the first-time-tourist routine and even that is somewhat superficial on anything but the mega-major sites.