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lost lanes north - jack thurston. wild things publishing softback 253pp illus. £16.99

depending on your point of view, the hebrides could be said to be peppered with lanes, except, we rarely refer to them as such. the archetypal lane, almost by definition, is a narrow stretch of road that doesn't constitute a main thoroughfare, defined on each side by hedgerows, bushes, overhanging trees, high stone walls, or a combination of all the foregoing.

i spend my weekends riding along narrow, singletrack roads that, in a more southerly and sheltered part of the united kingdom, would almost undoubtedly attract the epithet lane. however, the hebridean islands all lie off the west coast of scotland and have no definable shelter from the atlantic ocean. thus, centuries of winter storms and gales, have shaped the island landscape to exist, devoid of hedgerows, bushes, overhanging trees, and high stone walls. naturally enough, there are occasional pockets of lane-style sanctuary on islay and other islands further north, but i have little fear that jack thurston will be knocking on my door anytime soon, eager for company to complete a future 'lost lanes in the hebrides' edition of his excellent series.

'lost lanes north' is the fourth book in this delightful series, one that has gradually moved up the british isles and brought many of its secret passageways to the attention of those keen to perambulate a tad more slowly than those inaccurately described as weekend warriors, or what i like to call the pelotonese. i cannot deny that i identify more with the latter than the former, but that may be a last valiant attempt to deny the vicissitudes of the ageing process.

the book is subtitled 36 glorious bike rides in northern england, testament to which is paid by the author's superb and luscious photographs that accompany each ride. a compendium of bike rides through these lost lanes, including cumbria and the lakes, the north york moors, the yorkshire dales and lancashire, to name but a few, surely needs little by way of justification. nonetheless, thurston's introductory paragraph states...

"Some people collect stamps, others collect coins, fine wines or cigars. I collect lanes."

the happy part of such a statement is that this book, in conjunction with its predecessors, allows us to join him in his hobby. should you require further persuasion "Before long, I'm lost in a daydream [...] I am on my bike and bowling along past spring hedgerows laden with blossom and wooded glades carpeted with bluebells." if that doesn't move you from the armchair to the bike shed in one swift movement, then jack and i have great concern for your soul.

of course, on publication of 'lost lanes north', they are now anything but lost. in fact, on order to prevent the intrepid reader from becoming so, all are supported by downloadable route instructions along with files that you might add to your bar-mounted gps devices. by way of encouragement, the author cites the versatility of discovering the lanes by bicycle: "A bicycle makes travelling the lanes so easy. There is no hunt for a parking space. You can stop whenever and wherever you want."

should that be your very mojo, mr thurston introduces the eager with a chapter entitled 'the genius of the north', in which he describes not only the topography and geography of the region, but offers a fascinating precis of its history, offering a rich background on which the cycling traveller can draw. this is followed by a chapter on the practicalities of so doing, featuring such essentials as maps, navigation, how to get there (not necessarily forgetting that not everyone will be travelling from the south), and what type of bicycle would be most suitable. it would be a very different type of cyclist who would take issue with the statement "A touring bike is an ideal choice: the Dawes Galaxy has always been a good place to start..." however, it's likely that most types of bike would serve you well, other than, perhaps, dedicated time-trial machinery.

falling only a little way short of actually riding the bike for you, the author has thoughtfully subdivided the routes into pertinent sections, such as 'best for wild camping', 'best for long weekends', 'best for pubs' and, oddly enough, 'best for wild swimming'. should you require a higher level of enticement to leave netflix and the fireside, the attractive photography is quite plentiful and alluring. in fact, if, like me, you're a bit of an armchair touring cyclist, lost lanes north is the ideal book with which to settle down of an evening and peruse at your leisure, all the while promising yourself that the next holiday will not be motorised.

each individual ride is augmented with salient information as to distance, total ascending and the terrain over which you and your bicycle must travel. each is suffixed with a pot pourri of pubs and pit stops. at one time, i would have said that, if you're the sort of cyclist who pays close attention to the average speed display on the handlebars, this book is probably not for you. but in point of fact, it more than likely is. inveterate pootlers will need no prodding to follow these lanes, chapter by chapter, but even if your regular apparel is drawn from rapha's pro-team range, you owe it to yourself to experience life on the more serene side of cycling, if only to realise that the word 'joy' has more than one pronunciation.

lost lanes north is of a size that deems it worthy of the description 'a gem of a book'. if this is a mode of cycling that has already exercised its appeal, you'll need little persuasion to add it to the bookshelf. if not, it's a book that ought to be purchased, if only to persistently promise what the future might hold on two wheels.

at the risk of repeating myself: a gem of a book.

lost lanes north by jack thurston, is published on monday 4 may.

sunday 3 may 2020