Illustrated Guide to Britain (AA Guides)

From stately homes to charming landscapes and treasures of art and history--a richly detailed compendium.

Covering the length and breadth of Great Britain, this definitive guide provides a wealth of information on over 500 of the country's most attractive, interesting, and historic destinations, both well-established tourist spots and those less well known.

Maps are complemented by the latest gazetteer descriptions of places of interest. Each map extract features one or more centers that are good starting places for a tour, and authors with local knowledge outline the attractions of the area, such as castles, gardens, famous landmarks, and areas of outstanding beauty and interest. The Guide also includes an extended section on the unique attractions of London.

• Clear, large-scale AA mapping and concise gazetteer descriptions
• Special feature pages for London and Scotland's Highlands and Islands
• Ideal for planning walks and tours, with a guide to local tourist centers

Full-color photographs, illustrations, and maps throughout

The Automobile Association (Great Britain) has been publishing travel guides since around 1910; and by 1929 they were issuing 239,000 routes a year. In 2003 this number had risen to a staggering 32 million. The AA (Great Britain) has always produced routes and travel guides, a business activity that has grown rapidly in recent years – AA Publishing is now the UK's largest travel publisher, producing more than 8 million books in 2003. Begining in 1912 the AA also started to inspect hotels, and those receiving the AA's famous star classification were included in subsequent editions of the Members' Handbook. Today the association inspects and rates more than 8,000 hotels and bed and breakfast establishments each year and review almost 2,000 restaurants, publishing the results in a series of annual guides.