Treasured Islands is travel guide with an unusual range – offering ‘200 of the most beautiful and intriguing islands around Britain’.

That carefully chosen 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.

Just as I was about to get huffy about the relative lack of attention to my own unglamourous Essex, I find Two Tree Island, off Leigh on Sea, included in the Top Ten for Wildlife.

There are Top Tens also for ‘Foodies’, ‘Adrenaline Junkies’ and ‘Pure Escapism’.

Within Treasured Islands, the islands are grouped by location and icons are used to offer an at-a-glance indication of particular features such as arts & crafts, geology, or walks.

A pleasure to read

The book’s design makes it a pleasure to leaf through, pausing at many unexpected inclusions such as:

Kelham Island in Sheffield, a man-made island formed in the c12th;

Skellig Michael off the west coast of Ireland where episodes of Star Wars were filmed;

and Rivermead Island in the Surrey Thames, home of the annual Sunbury Regatta.

Scotland, unsurprisingly, takes almost half the chapter space; a reasonable response to the range and variety of islands in this endlessly fascinating area.

The six Slate Islands in the Inner Hebrides were a new group to me.

It’s quite a commercially focussed product with many of the enthusiastic endorsements coming from people making their livings from specialist local businesses.

But why not?

Too many of the islands are uninhabited because survival was just too hard.

This isn’t 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, or somewhere waterbound to visit when you’re not on your boat.

Buy Treasured Islands from Amazon (UK)

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