It’s that time of year when everything starts to look a lot happier and we as gravel riders are thinking about what gravel riding adventures we can add into our schedules. The team at Vertebrate Publishing have got their timing spot on and have two new gravel guidebooks to tempt you with. Read on to find out more details.
If you’re looking for inspiration for some gravelly adventures this summer, then Vertebrate Publishing might have just the thing. At the start of March they published their latest gravel guide book which covers the south-west of England and has been created by Katherine Moore, a long-time friend of Gravel Union.
Katherine’s book includes 24 routes across the south-west of England, with everything from “cafe-hopping routes to wilder rides through remote moorland, with the most rewarding routes often being the most demanding.” Katherine describes her home region as “A wonderfully diverse area comprising six counties, two national parks, 14 national landscapes, moor, coast, woodland and farmland, the South West truly is a gravel rider’s paradise.”
Some of you might ask whether there is still a place for a printed guidebook in an era of digital-everything, but we would say “Hell, yes!” in response to that. There’s something lovely about printed media – whether it’s the tactile feel, the smell of the paper, the beautifully crafted images or the fact it forces you to focus and removes distractions like pop-ups or notifications. Of course, Vertebrate realise that most people are unlikely to carry the hard copy of the book with them when they head out on a ride, so each route comes with a free downloadable GPX file which you can then install on a GPS unit of your choice. Each route has an overview, a detailed description and a map showing the key points along the route.
Katherine’s book is available now and costs £25 including postage. More details can be found here.
For those of you who fancy exploring some new gravel routes at the opposite end of the UK, then Markus Stitz’s new book, Gravel Rides Cairngorms and Perthshire is due to be published by Vertebrate on the 8th May and is available to pre-order now. Markus is no stranger to crafting guide books, having already published two others and this one will no doubt be equally as popular.
Markus’ latest guidebook contains 15 routes which are divided into three categories – easy, straightforward and challenging, so hopefully something for everyone!
Markus’ book is available to pre-order and costs £15.95 including postage. More details can be found here.