London's Lost Route to the Sea
by P A L Vine
October 2013
This was a speculative purchase of a book first published in 1965 detailing the life and times of Wey and Arun Canal. My version is a third edition published in 1973 suggesting that demand for this David and Charles product remained strong, but for the life of me I can't understand why.
The flyleaf concludes "...is a full length, detailed study, written with the interest of the general reader in mind, but fully documented for the historian." To my mind the attention to detail is tiresome to the point of exhaustion.
But maybe I am not being entirely fair. Had this book been about the BCN I would probably devoured every word and digested every morsel, but its not. Its about a canal which is far from my stomping ground which I have never explored and beyond a general interest in its dynamic restoration activity, its not one I am likely to spend much time on.
So, its a heavy read which exceeded my enthusiasm. Are there any Wey and Arun enthusiasts out there who would like my copy please drop me a line.
1 comment:
I have just looked out my copy. I see from the flyleaf I have had it for 30 years. I canoed past the entrance to the Wey and Arun many times as a kid,when exploring the river Wey.I was facinated to find out what was beond the blocked bridge,so I have to say I enjoyed the book. The work being done by the Trust is awsome.
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