News

Dirty-looking Stones from Sierra Leone

Inconceivable though it might once have seemed, the fated timelines of West Africa’s historic freed-slave state and that of an otherwise inconsequential and stroppy fashionista have collided at the Hague’s Special Court for Sierra Leone. Since news of former Liberian president Charles Taylor’s alleged gift of blood diamonds emerged, Naomi Campbell’s recollection of events following a dinner with Nelson Mandella has er… evolved.  Earlier in the year La Campbell was resolute, responding to an ABC reporter saying that she had ‘never received a diamond’, before walking out of the interview as the camera, still-rolling, hit the deck.  However, subpoenaed to strut her stuff as an unwilling witness, and apparently at great ‘inconvenience’, the former Streatham girl arrived at the Hague by armoured van – whose protection this served was unclear.  When questioned the model recalled a nocturnal visit by two men who knocked on her hotel room door and handed over a pouch containing ‘dirty-looking stones’, ‘as a gift’, without further explanation.  If indeed these grubby pebbles prove to have been from Mr Taylor his denial that he has never owned, sold or traded in blood diamonds will be seriously undermined.

It’s now ten years since British military forces arrived in Sierra Leone. and almost nine years since the fighting stopped.  The Freetown Special Courts have finished their task and shut up shop, only Charles Taylor awaits judgement in the Hague.   Tangible improvements in infrastructure are assisting the tentative re-birth of the country’s tourism industry and the rebuiding of a shattered economy.  Bradt’s Sierra Leone (2009) is the best and only dedicated guide to a safe, welcoming and hopeful West African state.  More…

New Titles

Northern Lights by Polly Evans

No, not those you can see in the distance as you join the M1 at Elephant and Castle, rather a what, where and how to guide on the aurora borealis, a phenomenon that recently served to weaken Joanna Lumley’s knees almost as much as the Gurkas.  As a result of remarkable foresight by Bradt’s editorial planning department, publication is timed to coincide with the most intense period of solar activity for 400 years – auroral displays rivalling the hyperspace sequence in 2001 A Space Odyssey are predicted by some…  In true pioneering Bradt style Polly Evans’s handy new booklet will be the first dedicated Northern Lights guide for European leisure travellers.  As well as the basics, chapters cover specialist tour operators, auroral forecasts, photographic techniques, neck exercises, and what to wear in order to avoid freezing your ‘nads off.  More…

Kenya Highlights by Philip Briggs

Described by BBC conservationist Mark Carwardine as, ‘Everything you need to know for the safari of a lifetime in one handy, authoritative guide… – Bradt at its best.’ Philip Briggs’ new Kenya Highlights has already done enough to justify its presence in Bradt staff standard issue luggage, alongside spare underpant, sock, and what Australian’s refer to as ‘budgie smugglers’.  Illustrated in full colour, Philip’s unapologetically personal pick features the country’s southern national parks, making the most of a Nairobi stopover, and discovering little-known sights along Kenya’s Indian Ocean coast.  Elsewhere the guide details planning a safari holiday, sections on wildlife, history and people, together with suggested lodge and camp accommodation chosen in conjunction with leading specialist tour operators.  For most travellers a safari requires a longer commitment in terms of time and money than an average foreign break.  Kenya Highlights aims to ensure this investment is not misplaced and that a safari provides all those anticipated returns and more.  More…

Taiwan by Steven Crook

When Chang Kai-shek’s nationalist forces retreated to the island of Formosa he took with him China’s legitimate government, acknowledged as such by the UN until 1971.  What many Chinese thought of the victorious Communist forces under Mao Zedong is perhaps apparent in that the Republic of China AKA Taiwan, has become one of the most crowded islands on Earth.  However, these days it’s still possible to escape the crush of the cities and the aggressive posturing of an anti-democratic mainland.  Despite Taipei’s intensely glowing neon, Taiwan itself holds true to many ancient rituals, some of which have not survived years of repression and brutal social engineering on the mainland.  Whilst not ignoring  these echoes of the past, for most travellers Taiwan remains a new destination and one that is hardly mainstream.  Appropriately, author Steven Crook has written a guide for individuals, those wanting more than the National Palace Museum, the beaches of Kending and the trails of Alishan.  As well as business destinations, chapters describe hiking and biking amongst Taiwan’s world class mountains, where to see endemic birds and butterflies or encounter elusive Formosan black bear.  Whether you plan to sleep on the floor of a hidden temple or tucked up in a 5-star hotel’s sumptuous super king size, Bradt’s new Taiwan will point the way if not hold your hand.  More…

100 Bizarre Animals by Mike Unwin

Yes, I know we’ve mentioned this title before, but Mike’s colourfully illustrated compendium of strange creatures is yet to hit the shelves so a little more build up is not without precedent.  Ever wondered what a blobfish looks like?  The answer, on page 33, may appear disturbingly familiar.  A mata mata, page 54, is something else altogether although it’s impossible not to anthropomorphise this turtle’s smile into an expression of self-satisfied ghoulishness.  Finally, if you thought hammerhead sharks were evidence enough that even the divine creator superbeing once dallied with recreational drugs, the hammerhead bat on page 97 seals it.  100 Bizarre Animals is a fascinating collection of nature’s oddments, the mis-shapes, creatures more eBay than M&S, the only omission… and it’s way too late now… is man.  More…

New Editions

Oman Edition 2 by Diana Darke

Oman has had its fair share of historic excitement and in his early career British explorer Ranulph Fiennes served there as a mercenary supporting the Sultan against a Communist-inspired insurgency by the PFLO (People’s Front for the Liberation of Oman, if you will – very Life of Brian-ish.)  However, today, occupying an unsettled neighbourhood characterised by hotbeds, strongholds and failed or failing states, Oman stands out as an oasis of tranquillity.  Bradt author and Arabist Diana Darke describes the country’s landscape of mountains, ravines, cliffs, canyons, desert and coastline in a comprehensively revised second edition of Oman.  Darke’s prose covers archaeology, natural history and diving as well as combining the heady spices and perfumes of the souk with more disagreeable fragrances emanating from camel races.  Skies scintillate with stars at Bedouin desert camps whilst listings of familiar comforts – restaurants, bars and hotels – are all thoroughly updated.  More…

Azores Edition 4 by David Sayers

Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz attract the attentions of lethal missile-firing drone aircraft to their secret off-grid beach in the Azores, or should that be ‘Ayyyzores’, in a sequence from Knight & Day.  The new $107 million Hollywood action flick promises to see Cruise outed from the closet of Scientology career death and back on the rails of reason with a return to top billing…  time will tell.  As remote islands go, the Azores are remarkably easy to reach with direct flights from London and Manchester, making restorative short breaks of a week or less a realistic proposition.  A rugged volcanic landscape and dazzling blue coastline characterises the archipelago, moored loosely about a third of the way across the Atlantic 1,500km from the shores of Portugal and marking Europe’s westernmost extent.  Fully updated for a fourth time, Bradt’s best-selling Azores provides unparalleled features on culture, history, and festivals as well as detailing the islands’ best walks, where to eat and sleep and how to get around.  Illustrated by colour photographs and delicate line drawings from Czech artist Hedvika Fraser, this new edition of Azores is a call to action for all those considering a visit – do it now before Uncle Sam discovers you can’t drive there from LA.  More…

Paraguayan leaders once had the shelf life of an M&S prawn sandwich, and possessed a similarly fishy background.  Perhaps because of this presidential propensity to ‘go off’, along with ensuing political instability, the country became entrapped in a string of dictatorships, suffering the iron fist of right-wing Alfredo Stroessner for over 34 years.  Some outlandish conspiracy theorists even suggest Adolf Hitler didn’t die in a Berlin bunker but fled incognito and ended up in Paraguay.  Certainly a few unsavoury Third Reich figures did take a U-boat to South America, but as Bradt’s new guide states, ‘It would be a great mistake to suspect all Germans in Paraguay of having a Nazi background.’ Times change and these days Paraguay’s president is democratic messiah – and very naughty boy – Fernando Lugo, a former womanising Catholic bishop and ‘holy father’ to at least one illegitimate child. His sister is ‘First Lady’.  This is all good material for Bradt’s Paraguay – the only dedicated English-language guide to a colourful and unfairly overlooked state at the heart of South America.

Bradt author and former theologian Margaret Hebblethwaite emigrated to Paraguay in 2000.  Her lively prose describes a country with 17 distinct ethnic groups as ‘mercifully free of gringos’.  Indeed, Hebblethwaite confesses to having wrestled with the travel-writer’s classic conundrum: ‘It (Paraguay) is, to a large extent, pure, virgin, undiscovered territory. You do not want to tell other people about it, for fear of spoiling it for yourself. And yet at the same time you do want to tell other people about it because you love it so much…’ Exploring indigenous history, Jesuit influence, Spanish conquest, regional wars and the journey to democracy, Paraguay provides a wealth of context for the modern state without diverting the reader into obsessive detail.  From the semi-arid Chaco and the Pantanal’s watery byways and sub-tropical forests, to the green valleys and rolling hills in between, Hebblethwaite describes the country’s markedly different landscapes, towns and villages (encompassing the tri-border confluence just downstream from Iguazú Falls).  Elsewhere chapters offer insightful and up-to-date practical details about the capital city, Asunción, whilst for dilettante linguists the Guarani language is explored in a basic usable form.

Margaret Hebblethwaite is a professional journalist, former Assistant Editor of The Tablet, and author of a number of books.  She is currently working in Paraguay as trustee and fieldworker for the educational charity she founded – www.santamariadefe.org – and is also involved with a community hotel project, where all profits support her charity – www.santamariahotel.org

Title: Paraguay
Author: Margaret Hebblethwaite
Publisher: Bradt Travel Guides
Publication: July 2010
Price: £15.99
ISBN: 978 1 84162 315 3

Stella Martin, author of Australian Wildlife, pulls no punches: ‘Australia has a woeful record of wildlife extinctions.’ Statistically Australia ranks near the top of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List for threatened species, second only to USA. Non-native predators such as cats and foxes combine with habitat-degrading rats, rabbits, camels and goats to push indigenous species to the margins of an already harsh environment. However, Martin continues, stating ‘The good news is that, with the low population density and vast size Australia’s human footprint is relatively light. Lessons from the past have been learnt and steps are being taken to repair the damage. 84% of mammals and over 45% or birds are found nowhere else in the world. Australia, in short, remains a very special place for wildlife.’
Australian Wildlife’s handy 200-page compendium contains over 250 colour photographs, tips to improve your own pictures, and features all major animal phyla from mammals to invertebrates. Full-colour maps highlight the country’s key destinations for wildlife spotting, and Australia’s remarkable range of species adaptation is described in the context of the landscape’s formation… So, what are you waiting for? If you’re interest in antipodean animals extends beyond that of the Bush Tucker Man and you’re not unnerved by reports of killer koalas, Australian Wildlife could be for you.

Stella Martin grew up in Northern Ireland, emigrating to Australia in 1990 and working for the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service. She has written numerous freelance articles on travel and wildlife and in 2006 was runner-up in BBC Wildlife’s writing competition. For more background on Stella see www.stellabridgemartin.com

Title: Australian Wildlife
Author: Stella Martin
Publisher: Bradt Travel Guides
Publication: July 2010
Price: £14.99
ISBN: 978 1 84162 324 5

Kyrgyzstan

Intercommunal violence afflicting the people of Kyrgyzstan’s second city, Osh, has been leading the news of late. Sources within the newly established interim Kyrgyz government suggest 200 have died in attacks that appear to have targeted the city’s ethnic Uzbek population, others put the figure nearer 2,000. The United Nations estimates that almost 400,000 people have been displaced by the fighting including thousands of ethnic Uzbeks who have sought sanctuary across the border in Uzbekistan.

Author of Bradt’s Kyrgyzstan guide, Laurence Mitchell, comments ‘Things appear to have quietened down in Osh, Jalalabad and the south but it is still too soon to recommend travelling there for the time being. The British FCO currently advises against all travel to any part of Osh and Jalalabad provinces. Bishkek, and the north in general, is currently stable and safe to visit. Presidential elections proposed for October this year have been postponed until 2011, although the referendum vote of June 27th went ahead without incident. Travellers should be aware that some border crossings may close wthout warning. Border crossings with Uzbekistan are closed for the foreseeable future for non-Uzbeks.’

Osh lies in Central Asia’s Fergana Valley, an area whose natural ethnic constituency Stalin chose to ignore and instead apportion territory in an arbitrary manner across the three Soviet republics of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. It’s generally understood that this intrinsic instability was a foundation of the Kremlin’s strategy to divide, rule, and maintain dependence on Moscow. Since the collapse of the Soviet super state, and specifically in the case of Kyrgyzstan since the overthrow of Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s discredited government, a power vacuum has existed, leading at least in part to recurrent ethnic tensions. More…

New Titles

Uruguay

With the merciful termination of England’s residency at the global football love-in, at least the flags can come down and the hollow celebration of a ‘collective’, not a team, of overpaid idiot savants finally end. Not so in Uruguay… Winners of the first soccer World Cup, and with a very un-English record of success in the current competition, Uruguay play Ghana 2nd July. Bradt’s new, dedicated Uruguay guide is out this month and if you haven’t already seen the press release it’s here – and for retail info here – More…

Paraguay

Continuing, briefly, the World Cup theme, needless to say neither the ‘hand’ nor ‘ref’ of God has yet intervened to effect the Paraguayan team’s premature flight to Asuncion – the happy band from one of South America’s poorest countries plays again today. What’s more, Paraguay author and former theologian Margaret Hebblethwaite appears to have been inspired by the writings of Times Sport Correspondent, and Bad Birdwatcher, Simon Barnes. Barnes’s Paraguayan tales of ‘…birds, people, frogs, toads and wood sprites’ obviously did the trick as Hebblethwaite upped sticks and moved there full time in 2000. For a country that lies at the heart of South America, it’s often ignored, except by the ‘US Pigeon shooters’ and Brazilian sport fishers. Hebblethwaite describes Paraguay as ‘mercifully free of gringos’, and continues ‘It is, to a large extent, pure, virgin, undiscovered territory. You do not want to tell other people about it, for fear of spoiling it for yourself. And yet at the same time you do want to tell other people about it because you love it so much.’ Everyone at Bradt is familiar with that dilemma. More…

100 Bizarre Animals

Secularists attempting to stem the tide of reactionary anti-evolutionary theories espousing intelligent design may acquire a second string to their bow with the publication of Bradt’s 100 Bizarre Animals. 100 fabulous beasts that in every aspect of their being seem to defy the application of either ‘intelligence’ or ‘design’, are succinctly collated in a colourful celebration of extreme genetic randomness reassuringly manifest in the natural world. From star-nosed moles, lowland streaked tenrecs and narwhals, to aye-ayes, ground pangolins, shoebills and short-beaked echidnas, this is animal kingdom as designed by competing motor manufacturers, not an all knowing, all powerful god. Okay, so there are some Ferraris, a few Jaguars, and the occasional Alfa Romeo but the you can’t miss the slow convoy of rusty orange Austin Allegros, driven by vicars, occupying the outside lane, forgotten indicators still flashing away. 100 Bizarre Animals is not out till August but preview PDF spreads are available on request – just drop me an email. More…

New Editions

Estonia

Neil Taylor sets out on his sixth edition crusade to convert us all into Estonians, and remarkably, through a combination of wit, charm, enthusiasm and encyclopaedic knowledge his work is almost done. Indeed The Economist has already made Estonia ‘Essential Reading’ – see here. In his introduction Neil says what we’ve all long suspected, ‘Writing this book makes me feel young again. I visit bars that have an unspoken upper age limit of 25. I am often seen in restaurants well after 23.00 and in clothes that should not have been brought into the 21st century.’ Neil has displayed the courage of his convictions by buying an apartment in Tallinn, soon to be European Capital of Culture 2011, and characteristically apologises for having an easier time than most Bradt authors: ‘Buses and trains run to time and are sufficiently comfortable for me to keep notes… However, journeys in them do not provide enough time for me to master the 14 cases of the Estonian language. Perhaps I will reach six before the next edition.’ And if that doesn’t make you feel like an underachiever… Estonia 6 is out now! More…

Serbia

Serbs and Serbia have a mixed press in Western Europe, an immediate hangover for the break up of Yugoslavia, the conflicts that then arose, including the NATO’s intervention in Kosovo and Bosnia Herzegovina, and the procession of Serbian war criminals through the Hague’s international courts. Laurence Mitchell, author of Bradt’s third edition Serbia guide thinks ‘Thankfully, Serbia’s bad-boy reputation is wearing a bit thin these days and its demonised reputation is starting to be seen as a thing of the past… 2010 sees the country’s elevation to the so-called Schengen White List which will herald the lifting of trade restrictions and the easing of visa requirements for its citizens.’ Certainly Belgrade’s arrival on the party scene has already suffused the cognoscenti, and each year more visitors arrive for Novi Sad’s summer EXIT festival – not a celebration of euthanasia, rather a glitzed-up Balkan Glastonbury – and whilst hosting the Eurovision Song Contest may have a been a double edged sword, it does appear as though Mitchell has a point. Serbia 3 is due for publication mid July 2010. More…

Bosnia & Herzegovina

It’s 15 years since the Dayton Peace Accords brought an end to Bosnia’s bloody conflict. Today, though Bosnia & Herzegovina’s (BiH) resulting two entities, Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia & Herzegovina, are peaceful, current affairs pundits are voicing doubts over Dayton’s long-term durability. Tim Clancy, Sarajevo resident and author of Bradt’s third edition Bosnia & Herzegovina, reports that ‘the independence vote in Montenegro and the succession of Kosovo have again flared heated debates about Bosnia’s status. This political stalemate has halted political progress since then.’ However, he then points to some hopeful signs, ‘Another round of elections is due in October 2010, and polls suggest the nationalist parties’ stronghold might finally be broken.’ For the visitor, Clancy suggests these political machinations will be barely discernible, ‘Cafes are always full of smiling faces, people walk the streets wearing the finest of European fashions, and the warm hospitality you’re sure to find everywhere will certainly make you ask “Why did this happen here? This really is a great place.” Bosnians ask themselves this question every day.’ Bosnia & Herzegovina 3 due August 2010. More…

Winners of the first soccer World Cup, in whose waters WW2 pocket battleship Graf Spee finally pulled the plug, and point of origin for the Fray Bentos meat pie phenomena – already Uruguay encompasses enough historic trivia for a free pass into the twilight zone of pub quiz celebrity.  Combine this with the knowledge that Britain’s ‘literary Mick Jagger’, Martin Amis, chose to leave London for Uruguay, and a secret suspicion that the capital city Montevideo inspired a global home entertainment empire, and South America has never scored so highly on intrigue…

The new Bradt guide describes the continent’s second smallest country as one of the region’s most peaceful states, with minimal corruption and almost 100% literacy.  And it’s not just an author’s indulgent hyperbole – in 2008 The Economist characterised Montevideo as the most ‘liveable’ city in Latin America.  Author Tim Burford suggests ‘Uruguay has a similar relationship to Argentina as Canada has to the United States, Ireland to the United Kingdom, or Belgium to France – a permanent sense of being overshadowed by a larger, louder neighbour, while feeling deep inside that they are the smarter, wittier, more creative ones.’ Burford looks beyond football, battleships and meat pies to explore Montevideo’s Art Deco architecture, the coast’s boho-chic fishing villages, endless pristine beaches, wildlife-suffused wetlands and lagoons, and gets lost under the big skies of vast prairie grasslands.  Uruguay is the country’s first and only dedicated English-language guidebook, yet even without this qualification the wealth of original and up-to-date research manifest within its covers makes Bradt’s guide the best companion for all leisure and business travellers.

Tim Burford studied languages at Oxford and began writing for Bradt in 1991.  Initially covering hiking in eastern and central Europe, he progressed to backpacking and ecotourism in Latin America.  Having now completed nine Bradt guides, he love trains and rail travel, flying only across oceans by virtue of necessity.

Title: Uruguay
Author: Tim Burford
Publisher: Bradt Travel Guides
Publication:     June 2010
Price:        £15.99
ISBN: 978 1 84162 316 0

Inspired by the spirit of the Slow Food movement and with a reflective nod towards Jerome K Jerome’s Three Men in a Boat, this collaboration between Bradt and Sawday’s follows no formulaic headline-ticking template. The guides are joyously personal and subjective, each author freely espousing his or her own insights on their respective homes.  Slow Devon & Exmoor, Slow Norfolk & Suffok and Slow North Yorkshire all encompass original material, much of which has not appeared in print before.  Each title combines practical travel information with interviews with local people, coverage of atmospheric historic sites, descriptions of the most scenic walks, hikes and cycle rides, and tips on the best places to observe nature. Sawday’s carefully researched pub and accommodation listings provide a wealth of characterful places to quench your thirst and lay your head.

Slow observations include:

• Slow Devon and Exmoor – ‘Even if you’ve managed to evade Lorna Doone associations until now, if you go to Oare you’re doomed to get involved. R D Blackmore’s grandfather was rector here from 1809 to 1842 so the author of Lorna Doone knew the place well – and used it. Setting that aside, it’s a church with lots of interest. Note the box pews: the one for the squire has seats around three sides so he and his family could be fenced off from his labourers, and were in a position to ignore the vicar if so inclined.’ – Hilary Bradt

• Slow Norfolk & Suffolk – ‘Old Diss centres around a body of water, The Mere, a six-acre, spring-fed lake that gives the town its name (‘dice’ in Anglo-Saxon means ‘standing water’, or words to that effect). Diss folk claim that this glacial remnant is at least 60 feet deep, with about 20 feet of water and 40 feet of mud, so it is not a place to drop your keys.’ – Laurence Mitchell

• Slow North Yorkshire – ‘I had one of those it’s-hard-to-imagine moments whilst basking in the sun, sipping a cup of tea on a bench outside a tea room in Gunnerside.  The only sounds were the tinkling of water from the nearby beck, and the odd distant clang of a blacksmith’s hammer.  Enveloped in this rural comfort blanket, it was indeed astonishing to consider the frantic industrial past of 150 years ago, when Gunnerside was knicknamed Klondike.’ – Mike Bagshaw

For review copies contact nick.redmayne@bradtguides.com or 01753 893 444

Slow Devon & Exmoor by Hilary Bradt                   ISBN 978 1 84162322 1
Slow Norfolk & Suffolk by Laurence Mitchell          ISBN 978 1 84162321 4
Slow North Yorkshire by Mike Bagshaw                 ISBN 978 1 84162323 8
Cost All titles £14.99
Publication June 2010

Bradt returns to Zimbabwe with the first dedicated travel guide since Mugabe’s politically engineered crisis deprived the country of tourism revenue.  Whether or not to visit as a tourist is for each individual to decide but in the guide’s foreword Sir Ranulph Fiennes OBE gives an unequivocally positive response to the question – ‘By staying away from Zimbabwe, all you’re doing is making things even harder for all the people involved in tourism and conservation…’

Paul Murray is a South African-based writer who has visited Zimbabwe for over 20-years amassing the equivalent of a whole passport full of Zimbabwe entry stamps.  Since taking early retirement and buying a 4×4, Paul and his wife spend several months a year driving and camping around the region.

Title: Zimbabwe
Author: Paul Murray
Publisher: Bradt Travel Guides
Publication: May 2010
Price: £15.99
ISBN: 978 1 84162 295 8

The Pope has long since curtailed demands for annual rent in raptors, and almost 70 years after Faith, Hope and Charity patrolled the skies, Her Majesty’s Royal Navy weighed anchor for the last time in 1979. The creaking bedsprings of Strait Street’s bordellos have fallen silent and Prime Minister Dom Mintoff’s firebrand of charismatic socialism no longer invites Colonel Gaddaffi to pitch his tent on the capital’s Republic Street. More recently, in 1989, at the bar in a Valletta pub called ‘The Pub’, time was fatally called on Oliver Reed’s final hellraising session… Despite these momentous passings, Juliet Rix’s surprising new Bradt guidebook shows myriad reasons to unpackage Malta and discover afresh a much-underrated Mediterranean island nation.

Simplistically marketed for its temperate climate and extended season, along with its historic British connections, for years Malta sought and found the appeal of mass tourism. However, Bradt’s Juliet Rix suggests, ‘It seems to me that Malta has been hiding its light under the bushel of mass tourism for too long… For the main island at least, its USP is surely its history – and pre history – and the remarkable sites this has left behind.’ Looking at the facts, her case is pretty strong. A 5½ millennia distant ‘temple culture’ has bequeathed Malta the world’s earliest sophisticated stone buildings, the Ġgantija Temple – now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Later, Phoenicians, Roman’s and Arabs all left their marks both through physical, cultural and linguistic heritage. Today, perhaps the most obviously significant event in Malta’s history was the arrival of the Hospitaller Knights of St John in 1530, recently evicted from Rhodes by an irate Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. Following the order’s success against the Turks in the Great Siege of 1565, as Rix says, ‘The Knights were the heroes of Christian Europe… and Christendom was willing to show its gratitude with financial support.’ In accordance Valletta was designed by the Pope’s own military engineer Francesco Laparelli and progressed to become a showcase of Baroque architecture. When Disraelli visited in 1830, he described Europe’s smallest capital as ‘a city of palaces built by gentlemen for gentlemen’ and for visitors, despite the WW2 attentions of Mussolini and Hitler, this remains the case. As well as the main island’s capital, superlative Grand Harbour, surrounding Three Cities, ‘silent city’ of Mdina and villages beyond, Rix explores the contrasting relaxed ambience of neighbouring Gozo, only a ferry or short floatplane flight away. Across all three islands, activities such as birdwatching, diving, swimming and walking are all covered along with up-to-date hotel, restaurant and practical travel information.

Juliet Rix is a professional journalist and has worked all of her life in print, radio and television. As well as spending a couple of years as a BBC southeast Asia correspondent she has written on travel – as well as other subjects – for most of the UK’s broadsheet nationals.

Title: Malta and Gozo
Author: Juliet Rix
Publisher: Bradt Travel Guides
Publication: May 2010
Price: £12.99
ISBN: 978 1 84162 312 2

As airlines continue their irrevocable tailspin, weighed down by industrial unrest, the wrong sort of ash and low-cost contempt for passengers, travellers everywhere are getting back on the tracks.  Rave press reviews of Benedict le Vay’s first edition Britain from the Rails saw the title sold out in under six months; now the paperback is about to go on sale offering new readers insights into an increasingly important passenger rail network.  So forget the BDSM scene of air travel, leave your Chelsea Tractor in its shed, keep your bank balance in the black and the environment in the green and take a fresh look at Britain’s railways.

‘We live in one of the most beautiful countries in the world – sit back, relax and enjoy the ever changing landscape of Britain from the Rails!’
Pete Waterman OBE, Chairman of the Waterman Railway Trust

‘Whether you’re a first-time visitor or time-served commuter, Benedict le Vay’s book will open your eyes to the sights and history of Britain’s best train journeys. And his choice of the top ten British train routes is spot on!’
Mark Smith, The Man In Seat 61

‘A quite superb, indeed incomparable, combination of maps, railway trivia, engineering insights and breathtaking landscape features to look out for.’
Michael Gove, The Times

‘Britain from the Rails: A Window Gazer’s Guide by Benedict le Vay, tells you what you should look out for from your carriage window on rail journeys from Aberdeen to Penzance and all points in between. This is a book that will gladden the hearts of all who love train travel.’
Frank Barrett, The Mail on Sunday

Britain from the Rails is not an exhaustive gazetteer of the UK’s railways, nor is it a trainspotters’ manual or a backpackers’ guide to cheap fares.  Instead, author Benedict le Vay has applied his considerable skills of observation to Britain’s most notable rail journeys, recalling in amusing and sometimes eccentric style the landscapes framed by railway carriage windows from Aberdeen to Penzance and all points between.  To your left nuclear missiles, to your right the inspiration behind the witches of Macbeth and at the end of the line, Victoria – a tale of two stations.  Dedicating his book to ‘the great railwaymen and women of Britain’, le Vay is sincere about his own affinity with rail travel.  Indeed he’s on record stating that ‘I’ve asked for my ashes to be blasted from the chimney of my favourite steam locomotive at my funeral. Hasn’t everybody?’ Even if you’re not quite as enthusiastic about trains as the author, there’s no denying that rail travel has undergone a renaissance in Britain with passenger traffic reaching levels never before seen in peace time.  As a paperback companion of pleasing pastel tones, Britain from the Rails provides a commentary to enrich long-distance rail travel and, in the absence of flying boats, airships and ocean liners, revel in one of the few forms of transport to retain an aura of romance.

Benedict le Vay says he loves train travel because it’s romantic, fun, comfortable, civilised, sociable, fascinating and doesn’t damage the wonderful places you go to.  When he’s not travelling the rails, le Vay works full time on the Daily Mail.  He’s the author of several Bradt Eccentric guides, including Eccentric Britain.

Title: Britain from the Rails
Author: Benedict le Vay
Publisher: Bradt Travel Guides
Publication: May 2010
Price: £14.99
ISBN: 978 1 84162 333 7

Bradt returns to Zimbabwe with the first dedicated travel guide since Mugabe’s politically engineered crisis deprived the country of tourism revenue.  Whether or not to visit as a tourist is for each individual to decide but in the guide’s foreword Sir Ranulph Fiennes OBE gives an unequivically positive response to the question – ‘By staying away from Zimbabwe, all you’re doing is making things even harder for all the people involved in tourism and conservation…’

Zimbabwe author Paul Murray adds ‘These are exciting times for Zimbabwe’s tourism industry which has now had 12 months of dealing in US$, enabling them to resurrect their properties from a 10 year hibernation.

The economy is on the move again so everybody is champing at the bit to welcome tourists back to this stunningly attractive country; all it just needs is for the recession to end.

Finally, and I can’t stress this enough, you don’t need to be intrepid, brave, or, as many people think, stupid, to come to Zimbabwe as it is safe, safe, safe for visitors – I should know – I’ve driven literally all over the country for much of the last four years researching this book and I’ve met nothing but smiling, friendly people along the way.  And that includes the traffic cops!’

A key contributor to the guide, John Berry of Zambezi Safari will be a guest on tomorrow’s (17th April’s) Excess Baggage travel show to be broadcast at 10am on BBC Radio 4, and available to listen to online or download as a podcast shortly thereafter.

More…

News

Elsewhere, in Kyrgyzstan the turbulent sands of history have whipped into a storm, sending former President Bikayev to exile in neighbouring Kazakhstan.

Bradt’s Kyrgyzstan author Laurence Mitchell, who is travelling in Turkey and Georgia at the moment, advises caution until the situation stabilises, ‘Potential travellers to the Kyrgyz Republic will understandably be concerned over the present political situation in the country.  The British FCO is currently advising against all but essential travel to Kyrgyzstan but hopefully the situation should have normalised under the interim government by the time the main travel season gets underway in the summer.  This is by no means certain, however.  Be sure to keep up to date with current Foreign Office advise at www.fco.gov.uk’

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New Editions

Hungary, Edition 2 – By Adrian Phillips & Jo Scotchmer

Bradt’s Hungary – winner of the ‘Best Guidebook of the Year Award’ – has been fully updated by authors Adrian Phillips and Jo Scotchmer along with a little help from their friends.   Having initially been assailed by chickens’ testicles and indolent hotel managers – or was it the other way around? -  Bradt’s duo developed a real empathy for Hungarian life.  This second edition – the most comprehensive guide on the market – has a new, full-colour section on birdwatching, as well as expanded coverage of the Lake Balaton region and new sections on dental tourism and buying property.  There are details of walking trails, thermal spas and in-depth reviews of restaurants and hotels.  As Dan Linstead – editor of Wanderlust Magazine – writes’ ‘This book is first choice for the thinking traveller’.

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Malawi, Edition 5 by Philip Briggs

One of Bradt’s Africa experts, Philip Briggs returns to update this fifth edition of Malawi and comments, ‘Few countries are so dominated by a single geographical feature as the “Land of the Lake”… it (Lake Malawi) covers more than 15% of the country’s surface area’, but goes on to qualify this, saying ‘There is more to Malawi than the lake and with the publication of this guide, I hope to draw attention to several exciting destinations which have previously been overlooked by visitors.’ Exploring five national parks and four game reserves along with the wildlife-rich Nyika Plateau and rocky heights of Mount Mulanje before venturing to the remote Dedza Mountain and Elephant Marsh, Malawi is still the guide for both independent travellers and those on an organised tour.

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Syria, Edition 2 – By Diana Darke

Syria seems to have had a higher tourism profile of late, and it’s certainly a welcome change to see the country benefit from the right kind of attention for the right reasons.  Diana Darke, whose own Arab history is almost as intriguing as that of her subject, has updated this second edition of her Syria guide from the perspective of one of only a few foreigners who own property in Damascus.  She reports ‘This book aims to encourage an enlightened form of tourism to Syria and to help visitors appreciate the colossal variety and cultural richness it has to offer.  Contrary to widely held beliefs, Syria is an extremely safe tourist destination, with virtually no petty crime.  No foreigner has ever been kidnapped, raped or assaulted here, not even a Dane…’ This edition sees additional accommodation listings, expanded public transport information and as ever supports the facts with excellent historical and contemporary background encompassing  a multitude of Syria’s customs, its culture and its sights.

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