Cycling remains one of the most popular leisure activities in Britain today, and continuing numbers of people are taking up the sport whether for leisure enjoyment for all the family, or for health and environmental reasons. The Midlands has a high density of towns and cities and because of the congested and dangerous roads there is a growing need for a useful guide to safe, traffic-free cycling around the area. Cyclists living in the area want quick, easy access to a range of enjoyable new cycling routes where they can quickly escape from their usual crowded environment and explore quiet routes in attractive natural or man-made surroundings. In recent years, there have been many initiatives to develop traffic-free routes through national or local government schemes and organisations such as Sustrans, but it is often impracticable for leisure cyclists to keep right up to date with the latest information on the many thousands of miles of paths and lanes where it is possible, and legal, for cyclists to pursue their hobby away from traffic.All the more welcome then is this brand new title from experienced author and cyclist Nick Cotton who brings together 30 of the best routes in the Midlands and the Peak District. As well as offering practical general advice for the cyclist, the author gives clear instructions for each route, a useful diagrammatic map, suggestions on where best to park and/or start the trip, distance, gradients and hills, places of interest and suggested refreshment stops along the way or close to the route. This volume covers a large area of central England, with the majority of the rides concentrated in the counties of Cheshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire, Leicestershire and Northamptonshire. There are also descriptions of rides in and around the cities of Birmingham, Leicester, Nottingham, Derby, Stoke and Sheffield. Several sections of the Trans Pennine Trail are featured.