Land's End/John O'Groats Bibliography

This is a short annotated bibliography of books related to Land's End to John O'Groats trips, they are in no particular order. The annotations are mine, contributions would be welcome as long as I can attribute them to you.
If you know of other publications that may assist others to do this trip, let me know.

CTC Land's End to John O'Groats Pack, available from the CTC. I help to edit this. It's quite good especially if you want to arrange everything for yourself. It continuously gets better with the help of people using it.

Inspiration - Not a book but a visit to Ian Clare's web site can be an inspiration

End to End by Andrew Webster, 2004, published by faragher//jones.
Andrew's diary that seems to be his response to a mid-life crisis. Loads of details about what he ate and drank, a bit thin on route description and the maps are useless, some don't even show the roads he travelled on. An interesting read but not recommended to try and follow.

Land's End to John O'Groats: The Official Cyclists Challenge Guide by Brian Smailes, 2004, published by Challenge Publications.
This is only the 'official challenge guide' because that's the name of the publisher, it's not official in any other sense. It also claims to be the shortest cycling route by road at 900 miles which it isn't. It is a short route, and one that's easy to follow because it uses main roads that tend to go directly between places. I wouldn't recommend this route to anyone, even those trying the trip at randonneur pace, there are better options in a lot of places, some longer, some shorter.
I also have a copy of Brian's earlier book described as 'A Walkers, Cyclists & Motorists Guide', I don't recommend that either.

Bike Britain: Cycling from Land's End to John O'Groats by Paul Salter, 2002, published by Epic Guides, New Zealand.
This is one of the better guides I have seen. The book outlines one route with a good description, map and a photograph every 25 miles. The routes reasonably good if a bit busy in places, some of which have reasonable less-busy road options. Difficult to use the book on a bike, so some work would be required to produce usable route sheets.

Land's End to John O'Groats: The great British bike adventure by Phil Horsley, 1996 (new edition in 2005), published by Cordee, Leicester.
These comments are about the first, 1996, edition. A route description of a 977 mile trip. The route is quite detailed with options available at some points, each leg has a sketch map, a description of the area and towns, but no route description, you need to decipher this from the detailed map. The route also uses some busy roads in places. It indicates suitable stopping places for refreshments and cycle shops. Useful general information section.

On my bike: From Land's End to John O'Groats by David Jordan, 1996, published privately.
Written by David when he retired and decided to do the trip. He doesn't consider himself to be a 'serious cyclist' yet on the first three days in the hilly South West of England he covered 97, 95 and 113 miles. His account isn't a description of the route but is rather an edited diary, who he met, what he did and thought. He has an interesting training programme which he details in the book.

A cycling guide from Land's End to John O'Groats by Simon Brown, 1995, published by Cicerone Press.
A route description of a trip, slightly different from Phil Horsley's. The route is quite detailed , each leg has a sketch map, a route profile and a description. It suffers from too many busy roads. It also indicates that refreshments, accommodation and cycle shops are available at places without specifying where they are. Useful general information section.

The wind in my wheels: Travel tales from the saddle by Josie Dew, 1992, published by Warner Books.
Josie includes a brief tale about a trip she undertook on a wheelchair bicycle, she called the section 'Veering on the ridiculous' a description that could apply to a lot of trips.

The Lonely Planet guide to Cycling Britain, 2001
Excellent guide to cycling throughout Britain, especially aimed at those not resident here. Includes a detailed guide to an End-to-End trip. The route description includes an annotated map, cue card and description. I tried to use this on my bike and found everything was just too small. A useful Lonely Planet plethora of information about anything related to cycling in Britain.

The long distance cyclists' handbook by Simon Doughty, 2001, published by A & C Black.
Not really aimed at the End-to-End tourist but a very useful book on all aspects of long distance cycling including Audax, touring and racing. Has extensive sections on bikes, equipment, clothing, eating, health and training.

Cycling: Land's End to John O'Groats by Alan J Ray, 1971, published by Pelham Books.
An interesting history of trips, especially record breaking ones, undertaken since bicycles were invented.