Historic Cumbria by Beth and Steve Pipe, £14.99
ALTHOUGH this book runs to only 98 pages, it is richly illustrated with180 photographs depicting various Cumbrian locations the authors declare to be 'off the beaten track'.
The publicity blurb points out that the book 'turns the spotlight away from the tourist honey pots, and on to the hidden gems that are so often missed'; and it is true that locations such as High Street, Haweswater, Smardale Gill, Dunmail Raise, Kentmere, Longsleddale and Walney Island could reasonably be described as non-mainstream Cumbrian tourist destinations.
But quite why the Langdale Valley is included in such a work is something of a mystery, especially when the authors admit that it is 'possibly one of the most visited valleys in the whole of the Lake District'. But that's a minor quibble about what is generally a very fine book, in which separate chapters explore each area under three headings - Natural History, Early History and Recent History.
Beth and Steve Pipe write on landscape and wildlife issues for a range of organisations and publications, including Cumbria Wildlife Trust, Lancashire Walks and Wildlife magazine and the Camping and Caravanning Club.
ALLAN TUNNINGLEY
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