Narrow gauge railways, so well suited to difficult, mountainous terrain, were built in many of the UK`s most scenic locations. Their genesis was in mines & quarries where they replaced man- or horse-pulled wagons, but their adaptability meant that by the 1860s they were also carrying passengers, in some cases over quite considerable distances. Today a good proportion of all the important lines survive in the service of tourists, whose appreciation of the landscape, & the railways themselves, keep these relics of industrial Britain alive in all their variety. Peter Johnson has been researching & writing about narrow gauge lines for many years, & this is the perfect introduction to a rich & appealing corner of British railway history. ...

At home, I`m a cantankerous old git. On the boat, after a week`s cruising, I`m just a cantankerous old git with dirty hair. Steve Haywood has a problem. He doesn`t know where he comes from. In the south, people think he`s a northerner; in the north, they think he`s from the south. Judged against global warming & the sad demise of Celebrity Big Brother, this hardly registers highly on the Richter scale of world disasters. But it`s enough to worry Steve. & it`s enough of an excuse for him to escape his long-suffering partner Em for a voyage of discovery along England`s inland waterways. Travelling by traditional narrowboat, he heads north along two newly opened Pennine canals, a trip that takes him from Banbury in deepest Oxfordshire, through the vibrant modernity of Manchester, to the trendy affluence of Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire`s answer to London`s ciabatta belt. With irrepressible humour he recounts the history of the waterways & stories of his encounters with characters along the way, & attempts to define the magic that makes England`s waterways so appealing. ...

Full-time life on a narrowboat is a novelty for so many of us, & is endlessly fascinating. How do people downsize their lives & belongings into what looks like a large, crayon-coloured floating toy-box? Narrowboat Life answers all the questions we`ve wanted to ask about the ins & outs of liveaboard life on the inland waterways. The book is filled with beautiful, enthralling photography of the waterways themselves, the narrowboats that occupy them &, most importantly, every nook & cranny of their insides. Should you become seduced, the author gives solid hands-on advice about how to make a narrowboat your home. Accompanying these absorbing images, the playful & always informative text satisfies our curiosity to know, among other things: * How do you fit all of your stuff into such a restricted space? * How much does a narrowboat cost? * How do you hold down a job if you`re always on the move? * Does s/he (the cat, dog, parrot) live on the boat as well? * Is it cold in the winter? Jim Batty has lived, worked & continuously cruised a 53-foot narrowboat with his partner & their cat for the past six years. The book answers a distillation of all the queries he has fielded on an almost daily basis since moving aboard
- through towpath & lockside conversations with young couples, those close to retirement, single men & women of all ages, young families, tourists, as well as talking with a host of inquisitive (and initially uncomprehending) friends, relatives & colleagues. Everyone, it seems, wants to know exactly what the live aboard life is like: inside & out.
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We were aware of a dreamlike quality to our trip. There was something far-fetched about it, something out of this world. Austerity might be getting everyone else down, but Steve is waving his worries goodbye on another of his light-hearted trips around the picturesque English waterways. This time it`s a bit different, though. This time he`s not just cruising with his cat, Kit, but with his long-suffering wife, Em, who`s given up work & wants her share of easy living too. They`ve rented out their home for the ups & downs of a life afloat, & there`s no going back now as they cruise from the historic River Thames, through the Midlands & westward into the hills of Wales, meeting a familiar cast of eccentrics & oddballs along the way, & experiencing one of the hottest summers of recent years. But how, after life in a four-bedroom house, do they manage to survive together squeezed into a space the size of a potting shed? Other books pretend to tell you about life afloat
- this one shows you what it`s really like.
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Narsaq, map no. 2, in a series of waterproof & tear-resistant topographic maps of popular coastal areas of southern & central Greenl&. Countours are shown at 25-metre intervals, with additional altitude colouring. The maps show settlements, farms, shepherds' huts, water supply areas, roads & tracks, fords, rivers & streams, etc. Tourist information

Includes:: marked or partly marked hiking routes, recommended kayak routes, information centres, hotels, campsites, youth hostels, general stores, places of interest, etc. A grid gives UTM co-ordinates plus latitude in steps of 5' & longitude in 10'. Map legend

Includes:: English. On the reverse of selected titles there are notes, in English, with advice on hiking in Greenl&, as well as descriptions of the area, including plans of main settlements highlighting important buildings & institutions.



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Narsarsuaq
- Narsaq
- Qaqortog, map no. 1, in a series of waterproof & tear-resistant topographic maps of popular coastal

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Narsarsuaq
- Narsaq
- Qaqortog, map no. 1, in a series of topographic maps of popular coastal areas of southern & central

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Topographic survey of Greenland at 1:250, 000 from Sagamaps in a series which along the western coast extends past Thule to the latitude of 78°, plus covers selected areas of the east coast including the Stauning Alps. Relief is shown by contours at 50m intervals, augmented by frequent spot heights. Main peaks are named, along with many other physical features, e.g. bays & islands. Glaciers, moraine & low-lying coastal plains are also indicated & contours continue for a limited extent into the icecap region. The maps show settlements, roads, airstrips & heliports, anchorages & selected other landmarks. Lines of longitude & latitude are drawn at 1° & 15` intervals respectively. Map legend which

Includes:: English is provided in a separate sheet. Saga’s topographic mapping of Greenland at 1:250, 000 is available either as 22 smaller sheets, sold separately or in sets of four maps, plus as three larger maps covering the western coast up to approx 65°. Selected titles are also published with a historical guide on the reverse illustrated with old photos, drawings & maps; all the text is in English. To see the full list of titles in this series please click on the series link.

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The sagas of the ancient Narts are to the Caucasus what Greek mythology is to Western civilization. This book presents, for the first time in the West, a wide selection of these fascinating myths preserved among four related peoples whose ancient cultures today survive by a thread. In ninety-two straightforward tales populated by extraordinary characters & exploits, by giants who humble haughty Narts, by horses & sorceresses, Nart Sagas from the Caucasus brings these cultures to life in a powerful epos. In these colorful tales, women, not least the beautiful temptress Satanaya, the mother of all Narts, are not only fertility figures but also pillars of authority & wisdom. In one variation on a recurring theme, a shepherd, overcome with passion on observing Satanaya bathing alone, shoots a ”bolt of lust” that strikes a rock--a rock that gives birth to the Achilles-like Sawseruquo, or Sosruquo. With steely skin but tender knees, Sawseruquo is a man the Narts come to love & hate. Despite a tragic history, the Circassians, Abazas, Abkhaz, & Ubykhs have retained the Nart sagas as a living tradition. The memory of their elaborate warrior culture, so richly expressed by these tales, helped them resist Tsarist imperialism in the nineteenth century, Stalinist suppression in the twentieth, & has bolstered their ongoing cultural journey into the post-Soviet future. Because these peoples were at the crossroads of Eurasia for millennia, their myths exhibit striking parallels with the lore of ancient India, classical Greece, & pagan Scandinavia. The Nart sagas may also have formed a crucial component of the Arthurian cycle. Notes after each tale reveal these parallels; an appendix offers extensive linguistic commentary. With this book, no longer will the analysis of ancient Eurasian myth be possible without a close look at the Nart sagas. & no longer will the lover of myth be satisfied without the pleasure of having read them. Excerpts from the Nart sagas ” The Narts were a tribe of heroes. They were huge, tall people, & their horses were also exuberant Alyps or Durduls. They were wealthy, & they also had a state. That is how the Narts lived their lives...” ” The Narts were courageous, energetic, bold, & good-hearted. Thus they lived until God sent down a small swallow...”” The Narts were very cruel to one another. They were envious of one another. They disputed among themselves over who was the most courageous. But most of all they hated Sosruquo...A rock gave birth to him. He is the son of a rock, illegally born a mere shepherd`s son...” In a new introduction, folklorist Adrienne Mayor reflects on these tales both in terms of the fascinating warrior culture they depict & the influence they had on Greco-Roman mythology. ...

Map No. 10139, Narvik, in the new topographic survey of Norway at 1:50, 000 covering the country on 195 double-sided sheets & first published by Nordeca in 2011
- 2012; fully GPS compatible, indicating waymarked footpaths, campsites, tourist huts, illuminated ski runs, etc. The maps, now published by Nordeca, the successors to Statens Kartverk & its subsequent owners the Ugland Group, are printed on light, waterproof & tear-resistant synthetic paper. Each map covers an area of 62x 45 kilometres (39 x 28 miles approx.), with a 2-km overlap between the sheets. The maps have contours at 20m intervals (10m glacier contours), plus colouring & graphics to show cultivated areas, bogs, forests, etc. In addition to all the information expected of topographic mapping at this scale the maps distinguish between waymarked & unmarked footpaths & show campsites, tourist huts (serviced/self service/no supplies), country hotels & restaurants, & illuminated ski trails. The series uses EUREF89 (WGS84) datum & the maps have a 1-km UTM grid. Map legend is in Norwegian & English. Each title comes in a sturdy protective card envelope.
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