East Coast Rivers

IPC Magazines 1998, 16th edition, 104pp, colourphotos, 1-85277-078-3, £9.95,

Seeing an up-dated and revised edition of "East Coast Rivers" is ery much like having the grandchildren back aboard for a summer holiday: one notices how they have grown up, how they have improved in so many little ways and how much more interesting and helpful they have become; even though, on previous visits, they have always been absolutely perfect!

Overall, the 1998, sixteeenth edition is no exception. In particular, the quality and usefulness of the aerial photographs are much improved, both for navigation purposes and to give a "feel" for an area. Some may carp at the two-page terseness of the Cross-Estuary Routes chapter but its brevity just emphasises the need to do a lot of homework before attempting the passages for the first time. As far as the rivers themselves are concerned, this new edition remains more thana dequate. Jack Coote's daughters, Janet and Judy, are to be congratulated on keeping this essential guide alive and, above all, developing. Buy this new edition but keep the old ones in your library. Each is a classic. RJJ