Reviews and  web-links

The author

Brian Roberts writes:
Tiredness can kill, Take a break… so say motorway signs.
My relief comes from a walk beside water.
I take every opportunity to seek out waterways where van drivers are taking their lunchtime sandwiches or fishermen are taking a full day of relaxation. Clear GEOprojects maps have always helped me find what I wanted… and now, with the three different scales of maps collected in this book, plus the comprehensive indexing system at the back, many more such short breaks  are waiting to be discovered. A copy will be kept in the car to help me with my 'waterway spotting'.
I hope my notes will add to your fun whether you take a look, take a walk, or take a picnic… perhaps getting out onto the water itself using one of the many boat trips indicated.
Alongside the detailed maps I have suggested some short strolls which, even with a child's buggy should normally take less than sixty minutes to complete.

Brian Roberts, Weybridge 1999

" … there is something for almost everyone, boat trips, wildlife, industrial archaeology. … this is a valuable publication for anyone using the network whether by land or water and is strongly recommended."
World Wide Waterways : page 8, Autumn 1999

" … it is much more than simply a reference book. Its 21 walks are complemented by directions to hundreds of canalside attractions, and there are trip-boat and tourist information listings to help you further.  (It) is an ideal companion whether you are taking a leisurely cruise or simply exploring canals by car. Buy it as a Christmas present for someone else, or an autumn present for yourself."
Canal Boat and Inland Waterways :  page 78, November 1999

"If you've ever fancied boating in Britain, this book is a "must have". If you are interested in walking along or picnicking by waterways, his book is a "must have". If you are a waterway history buff, this book is a "must have". In short, this is both a practical and fascinating book on Britain's waterways"
Britainexpress ..."an internet magazine for anglophiles" March 2000 Read full review

Britain's Waterways is described as a 'comprehensive introduction' .. but it is much more than that. Author Brian Roberts brings a passion for his subject which gives the fact-packed, liberally illustrated pages a hard-to-put-down quality ... (they are) laced with contacts, from tourist information centres to boat hirers to useful guide books ... a great way to start.
British Tourist Authority's "Getting About Britain" Winter/Spring 2000 Editors bookshelf www.visitbritain.com

" Award winner cartographers GEOprojects have become well known for their increasing range of waterways maps, including a broadsheet of the Thames and a guide to the Thames Ring.
The unique insight reference in the title relates to the authors selection of areas worth exploring …(his) style makes an easy and entertaining read with a fresh approach to our waterways system."
Thames Guardian: Page 38, Winter 1999

"… A different slant on looking at the network … a colourful and comprehensive gazetteer-style directory and guide structured around the the maps of GEOprojects, Attractive, useful and reasonably priced …. We think you will like this one."
Waterways : Winter 1999

"…Britain's Waterways: a unique insight provides an eminently browsable one-volume companion to the maps. …. The book comes into its own as a guide for the motorist who wants to explore. Brief directions for finding any listed feature are given from the nearest motorway junction. While I can imagine dedicated public transport travellers finding this frustrating I cannot see, unfortunately, how details of rail stations and bus or coach stops could have been included without doubling the size weight and cost of the book. …. For me the combination of maps, waterways, a wealth of illustrations, intriguing facts and good place-name index is quite irresistable. … I'm sure "Britain's Waterways will find a home on most canal enthusiasts' bookshelves or glove-boxes."
Stella Wentworth : BITMites News 8-Oct-99 

“Cheerily colourful without appearing brash, direct and ‘in-yer-face’ without degenerating into the undignified, this (is a) quite comprehensive and thoroughly readable work… An engaging addition to the collection which also provides a tasteful pointer to the dramatic improvement in the quality of waterways literature over the recent years Britain’s Waterways – a unique insight’ will sit comfortably on the bookshelf midway between ‘general’ and ‘highly specialised’, just asking to be enjoyed.”
Canal & Riverboat: April 2000

"Did you know that a boatman's horse could haul over 30 tons, and that one narrowboat on a canal equals 250 packhorses? No wonder canals caught on! This book is great fun to dip into. You will come away with so many nuggets of information that you will be keen to pass by a canal and talk about it."
Association of Professional Tourist Guides, Guidelines  page 7, October 1999

"Brian Roberts' guide aims to do more than the Nicholson's detailed look at the waterways by placing them in context. The full colour maps show the canal in the centre of a map which also shows local roads major and minor .... It is in fact just the kind of guide you need when trying to arrange a rendezvous with visitors to your boat or when crew changes during a holiday require the arrival of members of the party by road...
... the book for motorists who might want to explore the waterways on foot and ... supplies at least one approach by road for those who might be seeking out a walk along a ... stretch of the cut or just a quiet picnic spot as an alternative to yet another Motorway service station or Little Chef.
... if I cannot manage to hang on to the review copy it will certainly be on my next birthday list. I suspect in time it will become an essential addition to all boaters bookshelves and we will, in a few years wonder how we managed without it and why it took so long for such a sensible idea to be put into practice."
Ownersnips : page 11, Spring 2000.
Magazine of 'Ownerships' ...the leading shared-ownership scheme.

"This is an odd book to be asked to review for such an august body as the R&CHS for, although written by a member, it has no academic pretensions. …(whereas this may)… suggest yet another coffee table tome, this book is actually very good. The reproduction of the maps, colour and black and white photographs is outstanding and it is well laid out and easy to use with a comprehensive index…. It packs easily for the car or holiday.
For an inveterate collector of minor canals, it was pleasing to find those in Scotland on the regional maps and in the directory … and to discover many in England and Wales that had previously escaped notice…. Thus one is encouraged to read more widely and herein lies the strength of this book."
Journal of the Railway and Canal Historical Society, No. 176 July 2000.

" … Brian Roberts, an active IWA member, obviously enjoys the waterways and hopes to promote them more widely than just to 'those in the know'.  In this, the book succeeds."
Waterways World : page 77, December 1999

"This book, with it's strolls and instructions about how to reach key features by road or rail, and just enough detail of the history of each feature makes it the perfect bedside companion for planning a visit to a remote part of the network. Listing web-sites and where to get local guides is a very useful bonus. Even a 128 page guide still leaves you with things to find out, however. …. I've asked {for} a couple of pages of potted biographies with references…in the next edition! It certainly worthy of being put on the "always-in-print" list!"
Waterwaysguides Website where users suggest updates to guides. November 2000. Click for the full review

The author

About the author :

Brian Roberts .. a Gemini,  has always been interested in waterways.
His first experience on the water was with Manchester University Boat Club coxing their first eight at many regattas and at Head-of-the-River races on the Thames.
After qualifying as both architect and town planner, he spent some time as a colonial civil servant in the far east ..where rivers were often the only means of transport… since when he has lived in a series of houses in Surrey … but always close to where the Wey meets the Thames. 
When working in Oxford recently, he lived part-time on a well-insulated narrow boat, and is now a part-owner of a narrowboat based near Lichfield. Researching this book was a marvellous excuse for him to travel by water along more than 750 miles of the 3000 miles of waterway available in the UK today, and countless miles by road to look at sites he had previously only read about. With his wife Jackie, most of the featured  21 'short strolls' were explored more than once.
He is a member of the Railway and Canal Historical Society, and was sometime Chairman of the Oxfordshire Branch of the Inland Waterways Association  -  a registered charity which started over 50 years ago campaigning for, amongst other things, the preservation of the ecological, architectural and heritage aspects of Britain's Waterways.