The Peak District was Britain`s first National Park & the `breathing space` for people in the great cities of the industrial north. Prehistoric man built stone circles at Stanton-in-the-Moor & Arbor Low & the Romans had garrisons here, but for many centuries the region was regarded as a `howling wilderness`, exploited by its aristocratic landlords for hunting, sheep-raising, lead-mining & the stone used to build great houses such as Chatsworth & Haddon Hall & ancient parish churches in Tideswell & Bakewell. The River Dove was the inspiration for Charles Cotton`s continuation of the Compleat Angler & the Peak`s rivers turned the wheels that drove the country`s earliest textile mills. Later, its water supplied the needs of the new cities through reservoirs at Longdendale & Derwent. Soon the Peak District was `discovered` by writers & travellers seeking an unspoilt refuge from urban life. As railways made the area more accessible, demands by walkers & climbers for greater access to the moors led to historic clashes such as the Mass Trespass of the 1930s. John Bull explores the culture & history of the two landscapes of the Dark & White Peak, which annually attract millions of visitors seeking tranquillity, spectacular beauty & a chance to visit an area where ancient traditions & cultural distinctiveness live on. ROCKS & WATER: spectacular scenery & wild moorland; caverns & chasms; mines & quarries; rain, rivers & curative spa waters. LITERARY ECHOES: Chatsworth & Jane Austen s ` Pemberley`; romantic & gothic fiction from Charlotte Bronte & Conan Doyle to Hilary Mantel. STRUGGLE & CHANGE: mill owners, child labour & factory reform; Carpenter & Ruskin; radicals & nonconformists: Wesley, Ewan Mac Coll & the Clarion Cycling & Rambling Clubs. ...

Laminated waterproof edition of a detailed topographic map from the Ordnance Survey Explorer series, covering Kinder Scout, Bleaklow, Black Hill & Ladybower Reservoir (Showing part of the National Park & Pennine Way). Edition A4; Publication date December 2011 About this series: These highly detailed maps show all the administrative boundaries, settlements as small as isolated farms, the road network down to unfenced roads & country tracks, & field boundaries (hedges & drystone walls) which make navigation across the countryside much easier. Steep gradients on roads are indicated. Various landmarks, e.g. powerlines, archaeological sites, windmills, churches & lighthouses are shown & additional graphics indicate natural terrain features such as cliffs, scree, mud & vegetation variations. The contour interval is 5 metres in the lower parts of the country & 10 metres in the uplands, & spot heights are marked. Each map covers an area of 30 x 20km (i.e. approx. 19 x 12 miles), with some double-sided maps covering more, as indicated in the individual descriptions. The maps are fully GPS compatible, with the National Grid shown at 1km intervals & latitude & longitude indicated by margin ticks at 1'. The Explorer series has replaced the earlier, green-cover Pathfinder maps. The Explorer series is now complete & covers all of Engl&, Wales & Scotl&. Some sheets for popular areas like the National Parks are still branded as Outdoor Leisure (OL) maps, but are now included in this series as the cartography is the same as that in the Explorer Maps. The Explorer maps offer a substantial improvement on the Pathfinder series, with greater use of colour, larger area per map, & stronger emphasis on information for ramblers & tourists. This series is ideal for walking & other outdoor pursuits & each map shows a large amount of information for ramblers & tourists. Public rights of way are shown (except in Scotland), together with other routes with public access: National Trails & Recreational Paths, permitted paths & bridleways, & selected cycle routes. Open access land created under the Countryside & Rights of Way Act 2000 is marked. Tourist information

Includes:: caravan & camp sites, Park & Ride locations, recreation/leisure/sport centres, museums, historic buildings, English Heritage & National Trust sites, rural pubs, etc. The map legend is in English only, except for the tourist information content which is also in French & German.

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Laminated waterproof edition of a detailed topographic map from the Ordnance Survey Explorer series, covering Buxton, Bakewell, Matlock % Dove Dale (showing part of the Peak National Park, High Peak Trail & Tissington Trail). Edition A4; Publication date December 2011 About this series: These highly detailed maps show all the administrative boundaries, settlements as small as isolated farms, the road network down to unfenced roads & country tracks, & field boundaries (hedges & drystone walls) which make navigation across the countryside much easier. Steep gradients on roads are indicated. Various landmarks, e.g. powerlines, archaeological sites, windmills, churches & lighthouses are shown & additional graphics indicate natural terrain features such as cliffs, scree, mud & vegetation variations. The contour interval is 5 metres in the lower parts of the country & 10 metres in the uplands, & spot heights are marked. Each map covers an area of 30 x 20km (i.e. approx. 19 x 12 miles), with some double-sided maps covering more, as indicated in the individual descriptions. The maps are fully GPS compatible, with the National Grid shown at 1km intervals & latitude & longitude indicated by margin ticks at 1'. The Explorer series has replaced the earlier, green-cover Pathfinder maps. The Explorer series is now complete & covers all of Engl&, Wales & Scotl&. Some sheets for popular areas like the National Parks are still branded as Outdoor Leisure (OL) maps, but are now included in this series as the cartography is the same as that in the Explorer Maps. The Explorer maps offer a substantial improvement on the Pathfinder series, with greater use of colour, larger area per map, & stronger emphasis on information for ramblers & tourists. This series is ideal for walking & other outdoor pursuits & each map shows a large amount of information for ramblers & tourists. Public rights of way are shown (except in Scotland), together with other routes with public access: National Trails & Recreational Paths, permitted paths & bridleways, & selected cycle routes. Open access land created under the Countryside & Rights of Way Act 2000 is marked. Tourist information

Includes:: caravan & camp sites, Park & Ride locations, recreation/leisure/sport centres, museums, historic buildings, English Heritage & National Trust sites, rural pubs, etc. The map legend is in English only, except for the tourist information content which is also in French & German.

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A guidebook to the Peaks of the Balkans Trail, a circular route through the wild & rugged borderlands of Montenegro, Albania & Kosovo. Launched in 2013 to promote sustainable local tourism & transcend political borders, the 192km trail winds its way through the spectacular scenery of the Prokletije mountains (the southernmost range of the Dinaric Alps), taking in high passes, sweeping valleys & striking limestone peaks. It can be completed in around two weeks: the walking itself is not difficult though the route passes through some remote areas & demands a moderate level of fitness. Welcoming guesthouses & homestays offer accommodation & delicious local cuisine on route, though camping is also a possibility. The guide presents the trail in 10 daily stages & also

Includes:: suggestions for excursions to bag neighbouring peaks & visit local sites of interest. Comprehensive route description is accompanied by mapping & colour photos. You will find everything you need to plan a successful trip: guidance on how to get to the route, advice on when to go, where to start your trek & what to take, & information on cross-border permits. Appendices include accommodation listings, useful contacts & an English-Albanian-Montenegrin glossary. The trail has opened up this little-known corner of Europe to trekkers. Yet, despite increasing visitor numbers, the region remains underdeveloped & unspoilt, with traditional mountain villages that feel like somewhere time forgot nestled in dramatic alpine landscapes. Promising spectacular scenery & genuine hospitality, the Peaks of the Balkans Trail invites you to discover the magic of the magnificent mountains of the Balkans.

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When Kino, a poor Indian pearl-diver, finds `the Pearl of the world` he believes that his life will be magically transformed. He will marry Juana & their son Coyotito will be able to attend school. Obsessed by his dreams, Kino is blind to the greed & even violence the pearl arouses in him & his neighbours. Written with lyrical simplicity, The Pearl sets the values of the civilized world against those of the primitive & finds them tragically inadequate. ...

When Scarlet`s grandma goes into a retirement home, she must sort through her belongings in the cramped flat above a shop in Crouch End, north London. Here Scarlet comes across a real treasure: a novel that Gran wrote, imagining the life of a girl just like Scarlet, who once upon a time lived in the flat & worked in a cake shop downstairs. But as Scarlet reads about Ruby`s life in Victorian London, she begins to realise this is no piece of fiction
- Ruby was real! A real life, facing real danger
- & a mystery that unravels to the present day.

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Hong Kong & Macau sit today on the edge of a rapidly growing Chinese Pearl River Delta (PRD) region that encompasses nine mainland Chinese prefectures. The Pearl River Delta Guide is a comprehensive guide to the region for both business & leisure visitors. The book introduces the four largest mainland PRD cities, as well as largely untouched beaches; & historical & cultural treasures; all just a short MTR, bus or ferry ride from Asia`s Global City: downtown Hong Kong!
- Full hotel, restaurant, nightlife & shopping directories for the cities of Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Dongguan & Zhuhai.
- Full transport schedules between six cities, including Hong Kong & Macau.
- Culture, history & tourist sights.


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A luminous & unforgettable tale of two women, destiny, & identity in Afghanistan Kabul, 2007: The Taliban rules the streets. With a drug-addicted father & no brothers, Rahima & her sisters can rarely leave the house or attend school. Their only hope lies in the ancient Afghan custom of bacha posh, which allows young Rahima to dress & be treated as a son until she is of marriageable age. As a boy, she has the kind of freedom that was previously unimaginable... freedom that will transform her forever. But Rahima is not the first in her family to adopt this unusual custom. A century earlier, her great-great-grandmother Shekiba, left orphaned by an epidemic, saved herself & built a new life in the same way--the change took her on a journey from the deprivation of life in a rural village to the opulence of a king`s palace in the bustling metropolis of Kabul. Crisscrossing in time, The Pearl That Broke Its Shell interweaves the stories of these two remarkable women who are separated by a century but share the same courage & dreams. ...

When the beautiful pearl-fisher, Effie Williamson, arrives in a rural Scottish village, with her grandparents & siblings, the residents react in many different ways, from hospitable warmth to outright rejection, exacerbated when the religious, gentle Gavin Hamilton takes the family into his home, the Old Manse. A difficult love blossoms gradually between Effie & Gavin under the scrutiny of the watchful locals. ...

Where do pebbles come from? How were they made? This book tells the story of a pebble, from its origins in a fiery volcano 480 million years ago to a busy, modern landscape. Readers follow the processes of rock formation & erosion that create new pebbles all over the world. ...