Customer Rating: 
Summary: Already I've got itchy feet!
Comment: In the depths of winter my mind turns to long summer walks. I flicked through my old copy of Andrew McCloy's book on Lands End to John o' Groats walks, then found Mark Moxon's book on Amazon, which led me to Andy Robinson.
I can no longer carry big weights, but I can walk all day, day after day, and when I read that Andy had got his pack weight as low as 5.4kg I decided this might be the book for me. So when I saw it by chance in my local shop, I bought it. (Sorry, Amazon, but it wasn't in stock on your site.)
I've traced the north of Scotland route out on a small scale map, and I'm not sure I'd manage every part of Andy's recommendation, but I can see ways of tailoring it to my needs.
In summary, this is a tremendously useful, well written book which I recommend, and although I don't expect to do the walk before 2009, already I've got itchy feet!
Customer Rating:
Summary: The best end-to-end guide for walkers
Comment: When I walked from Land's End to John O'Groats in 2004, the only guidebook in print was Andrew McCloy's. Now there are three: McCloy's, Andy Robinson's and one by Mike Salter. Andy Robinson's is easily the most comprehensive and the best.
Robinson's approach is to give detailed route descriptions and maps only for those parts of his route for which other detailed guides do not exist. This is sensible, and avoids duplicating information readily available elsewhere on the national trails - the South West Coast Path, Offa's Dyke, the Pennine Way and the West Highland Way.
Robinson must be a very fit walker. His suggested schedule fits into 2 months, which is faster than most walkers manage. He used a mix of camping, B&Bs and hostels, taking a bivi bag which he swapped for a tent in the north of Scotland. But his book is just as useful for those of us who prefer the comfort of a bed at night.
The advice on preparing for the trip is spot on. Robinson shows you how you can keep the weight of your pack down to a mere 5.3 kg.
You can quibble occasionally with his choice of route, but wherever his route coincided with mine, I found his maps clear and accurate.
The one downside with this book is that at 416 pages it is a little heavy to carry from one end of the country to the other. You could cut up the book, and just take those pages which are relevant to your route - a suggestion that the author himself makes.
If I were planning the walk now, I would look at Andrew McCloy's and Mike Salter's books. I would also look at other walkers' accounts on the internet. There are so many variables that no-one is likely to follow any one route slavishly. But Robinson's book is the one that I would come back to.
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