Cycling Touring Guide: Southern England

The revised edition of the classic cycling guide by Harold Briercliffe of 1950. Used as the inspiration for the Britain by Bike television series and a vital part of the award-winning Britain by Bike book by Jane Eastoe, the original book is reproduced along with suggested cycling routes in the Central England region for today's cyclists. Harold Briercliffe was the Alfred Wainwright of cycling and his books provide great insight into cycling in various parts of the UK in the 1940s. Harold's fascinating description of the towns, villages and roads of Britain at the time is a joy for all those who love these isles and especially for cyclists looking for inspiration. Many roads have changed over the decades and are now too busy for enjoyable cycling, so Mark Jarman, along with Sustrans, have made suggestions for alternative routes in the region for today's cyclists. The book includes the original photographs taken by Harold Briercliffe and the original illustrations. The Cycling Touring Guide: Southern England covers cycle routes in the Thames Valley and the Cotswolds, The Isle of Wight, The New Forest, between London and the South Coast, and routes along the South Coast. The cycle routes vary in length from half day and day-long trips to weekend and week-long tours.

Harold Briercliffe (1910-94) was the Rochdale-born author of this series of cycle touring guides of the 1940s, which were spin-offs from the magazine Cycling. These lightweight books, easy to keep in saddlebags, helped open up the countryside to postwar cyclists. Mark Jarman was the cycling consultant on Britain by Bike and was the National Planning Officer with the Cyclists' Touring Club and in more recent years had been working with the engineering charity, Sustrans.