Page published 23 March 2006 

Llangollen and Montgomery Canals

Editor:	Euan Corrie
Publisher:	Waterways World Ltd
Available by Post from:	WW Readers Services, 151 Station Street, Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, DE14 1BG Tel: 01283 742970 E-Mail: admin@wwonline.co.uk
Format:	A full colour, glossy, A5 booklet of 72 spiral-bound pages with many maps and excellent photographs.
Publisher's URL:	No web site!

General Comments:

An e-mail arrived out of the blue... "I wonder if its about time that you were offered some copies of Waterways World Cruising Guides to review since these are conspicuously absent from your site!", said Euan Corrie. How could I refuse? So a short while later three sample copies of Waterways World Guides dropped through my letterbox.

If you've read my other reviews on this site, you'll know I spend some time commenting on the physical nature of the books reviewed. In part, that is because I rarely know the waterways covered in any detail so it can be difficult for me to make a worthwhile comment on the contents. However, as many of these guidebooks are intended for use "at the tiller" features such as bindings that allow the book to stay open and wrap-around covers that can act as book marks can be useful and are worth noting.

The first thing you'll notice about these guides is the cover. In spite of the book being spiral bound, it is a single piece and wraps around the spine of the book. This has the advantage that the book looks more conventional on the shelf but does mean that, when folded back around the book, it forms a unprotected flap that cannot be folded into the book to form a book mark, as happens with the Nicholson Guide arrangement.

Once open and you count the pages you realise that the glossy paper is of considerably better quality than that found in a Nicholson guide. Next, a look at the pages reveals that the text is noticeably bigger than Nicholson, no bad thing for a guide to be used on the move. The maps too appear to be designed for use while cruising, rather than detailed planning at home. There are some three dozen of them, each occupying the whole of a right-hand page and having the simple clarity of those from GeoProjects, rather than the Ordnance Survey detail found in those from in Nicholson.

Now the contents themselves. Each of the Waterways World Guides follows the same pattern. The inside front cover provides a key to map symbols and the first page a overview map showing how the individual maps are arranged. After a brief introduction comes a few pages on the history of the canal, then Navigation Notes and, finally, a section called "Beyond the Towpath", before the main body of the book begins. The Beyond the Towpath section contains headings for guidance on walking the canal, a bibliography, a list of useful addresses and local public transport information.

The Navigation Notes are quite detailed. The same headings are used in every guide in the series and much of the text too. There is material here both for those hiring their first boat, such as that describing the basic passage through locks (My only complaint about this section are the lock illustrations. These are somewhat crude compared with everything else in the guide.), and the more experienced boat owner, who may require length or headroom measurements. In spite of the similar contents, the Navigation Notes are customised for each guide and it is definitely worth scanning each carefully for those nuggets that only apply to the waterway covered.

The bulk of the book contains the description of the waterway. The text is broken up with headings that may be that of a name of a town, village, bridge, lock or flight. Beside the headings for the centres of population will be symbols which match those on the map indicating its facilities. There may also be sub-headings for features within the centre, such as museums or eating and drinking places, as well as more directly boating facilities such as boat yards and marinas.

This works well. It is easy to look ahead on the map and find the heading in the text where you can read more detail. Written in an easy-going style, there is a nice mix of detail both of the history of the canal and current features, whether supporting the needs of the boat itself or the crew, whether young or more mature. The pubs mentioned almost always mention the beers sold. In these days of constant change in the drinking world you wonder if this was a wise decision!

It was only in reviewing these guides that I began to realise how difficult life is for a guide designer. Inevitably, there is far more to say about some sections on a map than there are on others. Nicholson get round this, to some extent, by arranging that shorter sections of canals are mapped where there is a lot to be said. With the fixed full page maps used here that is not possible. Nicholson use separate panels in a smaller, difficult to read, font for busy urban detail and boatyard descriptions. This technique means there is more jumping about to be done to learn everything about an area, but does allow you to skip information more easily, if you are just motoring by. The Waterways World Guides adopt a more straightforward approach, keeping the same large typeface all the way through. It certainly makes it easier to read - and it is why there are lots of good photographs on almost every page.

Unlike First Mate guides which target a distinct audience, and Pearson, who seem to assume that everyone on a canal is equally interested in railways buses and trams, Waterways World guides appear to be aimed at much the same audience as Nicholson as far as boaters go. The main advantage over Nicholson Guides is that they cover less area, so there is less "waste" if your only interest in a guide boating on one particular waterway.

Overall, these are excellent guides produced by an expert team and can certainly be recommended, especially, if you are not a dedicated towpath walker as interested in the Swansea or Neath and Tennant Canals, as you are the Llangollen or Mongomery Canals.

Reviewed by: Greg Chapman