Customer Rating: Summary: A most curious selection of places Comment: I bought this book for a trip from London to Glasgow using the M40 and M6. Firstly, I was disappointed at the lack of choices with only a few exits having choices. There was no mention of the distance from the exit to any establishment although adding postcodes is a good idea for satnav. There was no indication of the typical price to be paid for a meal. Even a simple grading system; cheap, average, expensive, very expensive, would have been useful. Then there is the curious choice of eating places. At one end of the spectrum I see the Fat Duck in Bray, considered to be one of the best restuarants in the world, and also Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons in Oxfordshire. Both very fine establishments but it is highly unlikely that you would get a chance to visit without reserving well in advance. I don't think they should belong to this type of publication.
At the opposite end of the experience, we did stop at the recommended old pub close to junction 11 on the M6. The staff were very pleasant and the service was fast and efficient. However, when you see that on the menu, there was curly fries and breaded mushrooms, you immediately realise that this was the type of place you were trying to avoid in the first place. I did enjoy my fish and chips but it all came out of the freezer. The purpose of the book was to avoid this experience.
All in all, a very disappointing book and a waste of money. For my next trip, I will find a suitable pub guide instead. Customer Rating: Summary: Invaluable little Book Comment: A truly wonderful little book. The author has personally visited every entry to test their food. All the places we have visited on the book's recommendation have been excellent and very easy to find using the simple maps. This book is not merely a list of places that have paid to be in a guide but is very individualistic giving a flavour of the architecture of the buildings, mine host,the type of food, whether or not children and dogs are welcome and places of interest nearby. You could base a touring holiday on this smashing book. Customer Rating: Summary: Get ready for the next invasion Comment: Hugh Cantlie has given away the secret of Britain's roads. The Germans were desperate for this information in 1940 - had they only known where to stop for a quick drink on their way to London. With Cantlie's book you get around Britain's Pubs near motorways as fast as the Germans got into Paris.
