Summary

English Country Lanes is a lyrical celebration of the beauties of the lanes of the English countryside. Gareth Lovett Jones, who has travelled through and photographed the lanes for over twenty years, has produced, in a perfect unity of text and pictures, the most comprehensive book on the lanes yet published.The emphasis throughout is on exploring by bicycle - 'pootling' in the words of the author - and the book rejects the stance of conventional guide books, which lead the reader passively by the hand, and replaces it with an exhortation to pioneering independence. By giving details of ten networks ranging from Yorkshire to Somerset, he demonstrates how we can all discover the delights of the lanes for ourselves. The book also takes a long hard look at the destruction going on unnoticed every day in the countryside and calls for measures to stop this and to begin restoring something of what has been lost.A combination of celebration and elegy, English Country Lanes is a visual feast as well as thought-provoking and exhilarating.