Treasured Islands

Peter Naldrett

Conway Maritime

£18.99

A travel guide with an unusual range – offering ‘200 of the most beautiful and intriguing islands around Britain’. That choice of preposition allows the inclusion of the Faroes and the Scillies as well as the Atlantic islands off Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. Inland islands in the Lake District and the upper Thames are also included and, just as I was about to get huffy about the relative lack of attention to my own unglamourous Essex, I find Two Tree Island, included in the Top Ten for Wildife. It’s not a guide for yachtsmen: travel advice is based on ferry times and causeway openings but before you consign it to the gift cupboard, take another look and you might discover next year’s cruising inspiration.

Julia Jones