![]() |
![]() |
Your cart is empty |
||
Books > Sport & Leisure > Sports & outdoor recreation
A joyful dive into the wonderful waters of wild swimming. Vassos Alexander found solace and distraction swimming in the Thames during a difficult summer, and was bitten by the bug. Now he can't pass a body of water without wanting to jump in. Told through the story of training for a solo Channel swim, Swimmingly takes you on a journey across the world from Bournemouth beach to San Francisco Bay. Vassos discovers that outdoor swimming is not about being the fastest or the best, it's about finding that little bit of magic in every stroke. Working with elite coaches and interviewing the great and the good of swimming, he uncovers the massive sense of community at the heart of this time-honoured pastime. He meets Olympic champions and Channel legends – including Diana Nyad, who in her 60s became the first person to swim between Cuba and Florida; Lewis Pugh, the UN Patron of the Oceans and Lynne Cox, a woman who went for a swim and saved the world. It's about the everyday swims, too – the tips shared and friendships forged over coffee and cake after a morning dip with the Teddington Bluetits or the sea swimmers of Whitstable. With the sport exploding in popularity over recent years, we all know someone (or are that someone!) who swims outside throughout the year. Swimmingly will leave you with a renewed sense of connection to the world, and perhaps even inspire you to dive into your nearest lake, river or sea with gleeful abandon.
Despite his consistency, his achievements and more-so, his visibility, he has never written an autobiography and a biography has never been written about him. He remains an enigmatic figure. We barely know how his teammates really feel about him and we do not know what he thinks of them. We do not really know about the world around him: how the events of the past decade in Egypt have impacted on his own life. We barely know what really motivates him. And we also know very little about where he is heading: whether a deal to join the exodus of high level European-based footballers in Saudi Arabia really interests him. This biography seeks to answer those questions by attempting to speak to the people who know him best through a mixture of on-record and off-record interviews. A definitive biography to remember.
In the late eighteenth century, in the bustling city streets of Louisville, began a tradition of thoroughbred racing that has transcended centuries. Follow Kimberly Gatto as she chronicles the history of the world's most famous racing venue, which revolutionized the "Sport of Kings" and created the Kentucky Derby, Kentucky Oaks and Clark Handicap races. Fans will enjoy the tales of various horses, from the early triumph of Ten Broeck over Mollie McCarthy to the Derby victory of the heroic Barbaro. Churchill Downs: America's Most Historic Racetrack recounts how various financial hardships, the introduction of parimutuel wagering, the construction of the famed twin spires and the age of television transformed Churchill Downs into the majestic track we recognize today.
Malcolm Leatherdale has chosen 15 of the best short walks around Winchester and central Hampshire for you to explore. Our guide comes with easy-to-read Ordnance Survey maps and clear route descriptions, perfect if you're new to walking or are looking for something you can enjoy with the whole family. We've included information on local history, beauty spots and tasty refreshment stops, and most of the walks can be completed in under 3 hours. We haven't included any walks with challenging terrain or complicated navigation, and all you'll need to take with you are a waterproof jacket and a pair of comfortable trainers.
A guidebook to 30 circular Cotswolds walks in the largest Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in England. Fourteen of the routes include sections of the Cotswold Way National Trail, a 102-mile walk that winds its way from Chipping Campden to Bath. Covering 790 square miles, the Cotswolds is home to lush green hills, picturesque valleys and beautiful beech woodlands. The impressive Edge - a remarkable limestone escarpment - offers ethereal views across the Vales of the Severn, Berkeley and Gloucester to the Malverns and the distant mountains of Wales. Ranging from 4 to 12 miles in length, the routes are graded from easy to strenuous, offering something for every walker. Step-by-step route descriptions are accompanied by 1:50,000 mapping. There is plenty of information on the many points of interest passed en route, including Roman ruins, ancient stone circles, Neolithic long barrows and historic villages. Also included is a useful route table summary, information on accommodation, and details on the region's geology, landscape, plants and wildlife.
They are the best of nights, they are the worst of nights? Bivvying offers a chance to experience a whole new level of immersion in the outdoors, with just a lightweight bag between you and the elements. The Book of the Bivvy provides an informed, humorous, instructive, wry insight into the world of the bivouac, drawing upon Ronald Turnbull's own extensive experience. The book is a half-and-half mix of how to do it and why to do it (or how not to do it and why not to do it). Accounts of bivvybag nights and expeditions, both nice and nasty, are interspersed with practical tips about types of membrane, sites, techniques and minimalist kit. There are stories and anecdotes from all over the UK, plus a few from abroad. The rich and colourful history of the bivvy is also explored in Ronald's own inimitable style, with descriptions of how Diogenes (the Cynic) bivvied under timber and how the Eigerwand was climbed only through improved bivvying technique. The Book of the Bivvy is a celebration of back-to-basic camping, the perfect antidote to our fast-paced, comfort-based modern life. Honest and entertaining, there is every chance it will inspire you to find a remote hilltop, roll out your bag and watch the sunset.
The invaluable on-the-water reference guide to the essentials of the racing rules, updated for the latest 2017-2020 Racing Rules of Sailing. Every racing sailor should have a copy! The book summarises the basic principles, definitions and rules and then covers every aspect of the race. This edition includes a new section on starts as well as mark rounding, obstructions, signals, and dispute resolution. Colour diagrams throughout ensure the concepts are easily understood. Splash-proof and spiral bound, this little companion stands up to frequent use and serves as a great aide-memoire that will fit into your pocket or kit bag. Written by the acknowledged rules expert, Bryan Willis.
This guidebook describes 30 walking routes along the Devon-Dorset coast. The majority of the routes hug the shoreline between Torbay and Swanage, while others venture inland on the Dorset Downs. The walks range in length from 3 to 20 miles (5 to 33km) and are suitable for most walkers, with shorter routes alongside plenty of more challenging, full-day hikes. As well as detailed descriptions for every walk, accompanied by OS maps, there are details on available parking, points of interest along the way and advice on the terrain covered. The guide has been divided into areas: Devon's Red Beds, the Lias, Chesil Beach, Chalk walks (Lulworth and inland) and the Isle of Purbeck. The geological descriptions are accompanied by strata diagrams, geological timelines, explanations of the creation of the various sedimentary rocks along the coast, and discussion of how and why the various formations formed millennia ago. The incredible - yet readable - detail brings these walks and the landscape alive. The Jurassic Coast of Devon and Dorset, stretching between Exeter and Bournemouth, is a geological wonderland. Natural wonders like Chesil Beach, Durdle Door and fossils so numerous you'll be tripping over them, combine with southern England's rolling Downs, tiny villages, beaches and sunny summers to provide a stunning and awe-inspiring landscape to explore.
Earning a captain's license just got easier Whether you are an avid boater seeking to improve your seamanship and get a discount on boat insurance or aspire to start a business running a charter, sightseeing, or whale-watching boat, this revised and updated Fifth Edition is the only resource you need to obtain the captain's license you want, including the six-passenger "Six-Pack," Master and Mate Inland, Master and Mate Near Coastal, and Sail/Auxiliary Sail Endorsement. Get Your Captain's License is thorough enough to replace costly classroom instruction with its 350 pages of seamanship and navigation tutorials and more than 1,500 carefully selected questions and answers from the Coast Guard exams. The book also contains details of a special offer (20% discount) for access to a new associated website from Examiam that combines a digital version of this book with all 12,000 of the U.S. Coast Guard's latest Captain's license questions. Please note that access to this website is not included with the purchase of this book; additional fees apply.
This is the story of a simple idea that turned into a global movement. This is the story of parkrun, told for the very first time from the man who started it all. Growing up in the brutal care system of South Africa, Paul Sinton-Hewitt had a lonely, difficult childhood. Yet he found solace in running – a simple pleasure that taught him resilience and offered a young boy a sense of self-worth. With dogged determination, Paul built a stable family life for himself and eventually settled in the UK. But by 2004 he was struggling to hold it all together. He’d lost the successful career he’d worked so hard for, his marriage had broken down, and now a devastating injury threatened to cut him off from the running club which had been a lifeline. In search of connection and purpose, Paul came up with a simple idea. He would start a weekly time trial run every Saturday morning in his local park. There would be no winners or losers, it would always be free and Paul would be there every week – even on Christmas Day – whether or not anyone else came. Little did he know that from just thirteen runners on that first Saturday, parkrun would grow into a 10 million strong community across five continents. Twenty years on parkrun continues to grow, bringing together people from all walks of life in search of health, happiness and community. Filled with hope and optimism, One Small Step is a powerful affirmation of how coming together in simple ways can change our own lives and might even change the world.
The “Old Legs” mantra is Have Fun, Do Good and Do Epic on roads less
travelled and this beautiful photographic memoir of their epic cycle in
Zimbabwe not only shares the beauty of Zimbabwe, but amuses and
entertains at the same time.
A Field Guide to Larking is a practical, interactive and inspiring guide to 'larking' from the bestselling author of Mudlarking. LARK (verb): to get out and about, to explore the world around us and to discover the little treasures hiding in plain sight. We think, of course, of mudlarking but there is also beachlarking, fieldlarking or even simply exploring your own home with fresh eyes. In this beautiful field guide, Lara teaches us how to lark for ourselves. There are maps and charts, tips and lists, and colour illustrations throughout to help identify finds. From tide tables for mudlarkers to a flint guide for fieldlarkers, this book is richly informative and yet small enough to pop in a pocket. Like a journal it invites you to interact - to make notes and record finds along the way. If Lara Maiklem's first book was a glimpse into a hidden world, with this field guide she shows us how we can discover it for ourselves.
Guide to walking the 135 mile Glyndwr's Way National Trail through
mid-Wales, from Knighton to Welshpool, following in the footsteps of
medieval Prince of Wales Owain Glyndwr, taking in quiet hills, forests
and rolling countryside.
A guidebook to 39 day walks and one two-day Ten Tors challenge across the Dartmoor National Park and its surrounding area. The guide contains low-level shorter walks and higher level more strenuous and challenging routes, therefore there's a walk suitable for all abilities, allowing you to explore all of what Devon's national park has to offer. Each walk contains a detailed route description, 1:50,000 OS maps and colour photography, alongside practical information on public transport links and refreshment stops on each walk. Dartmoor, a National Park since 1951, is wild, and at times isolated. Its a land of blanket bogs and grass moors dotted with fascinating tors, old stone clapper bridges, tree-shaded river valleys and a diverse range of wildlife. Our ancestors have left behind a fascinating treasure trove from intriguing stone rows to fascinating stones circles and burial cairns to hut circles. There are also the stark ruins of Dartmoor's mining heritage, picturesque villages and hamlets that are home to interesting old churches and cosy pubs. You'll be able to stand on High Willhays which, at 621m (2039 ft), is not only a mountain, but also the highest point in Southern England. On a clear day from many of Dartmoor's summits there are great views out over Devon's rural landscape and west into Cornwall to Bodmin Moor.
HOW BAD DO YOU WANT IT? revisits some of the most extraordinary moments from the history of endurance sports to show how mental strength allows some athletes to perform at a level way beyond their physical limits - to will their body to do what was previously thought biologically impossible. Drawing on cutting-edge scientific research it suggests concrete habits and tactics we can use to cultivate our own mental strength, whilst providing thrilling accounts of some of the most inspiring and astonishing feats in sporting history. In 2010 Sammy Wanjiru entered the Boston Marathon suffering from injuries to his knee and his lower back, a stomach virus that prevented him from training and a lifestyle that meant he spent more time in nightclubs than on the track. He shouldn't have even been able to finish the race, and at times he seemed as if he literally had nothing left to give, yet in an epic battle he crossed the finishing line first. How did he manage it? HOW BAD DO YOU WANT IT? describes a new 'psychobiological' model of endurance performance connecting the mind, body and brain. Compelling accounts from triathlon, cycling, running, rowing and swimming are viewed through the lens of this model shedding new light on what science has to say about mental fortitude in sports. Featured athletes include: Sammy Wanjiru, Jenny Barringer, Greg LeMond, Willie Stewart, Cadel Evans, Joseph Sullivan, Paula Newby-Fraser, Ryan Vail, Thomas Voeckler, Ned Overend, Steve Prefontaine
King of the Fells. Iron man. Lake District fell running legend. Joss Naylor is all of these things and more. His achievements are astounding, his records stand the test of time. In 1983 he completed the 105-mile Lakes, Meres and Waters (LMW) route in a staggering 19hr 14min and to this day, describes it as one of the best routes he ever ran. High praise indeed and yet, so few know of it. Part guidebook, part inspirational regaling, this book interweaves tales of past and present as Naylor reflects on his 1983 epic on a re-walk 37 years later. In the company of award-winning author, Vivienne Crow, Naylor recalls that magical day, sharing stories and anecdotes from, not just his run, but the 1980s fell running scene, his working life and growing up in the Wasdale Valley. Naylor's tales, together with breathtaking photography, are accompanied by basic guide notes for the LMW route, sticking as closely to his 1983 run as possible. These notes divide the route into ten stages (ranging from 9 to 14 miles), allowing runners and walkers to follow in the footsteps of the King of the Fells, albeit on a more relaxed schedule. From Loweswater to Over Water, visiting 27 of the Lake District's largest bodies of water, the LMW route guarantees vistas of unparalleled beauty and an unforgettable experience in true fell country.
'People talk about football managers being under pressure. Trust me, that's nothing. Pressure is watching one of your drivers hit a barrier at 190mph and exploding before your eyes...' Guenther Steiner is one of motor racing's biggest and most celebrated characters, known to millions for his show-stealing appearances on Netflix's hugely popular fly on the wall series, Drive to Survive. In Surviving to Drive, the Haas team principal takes readers inside his Formula 1 team for the entirety of the 2022 season, giving an unobstructed view of what really takes place behind the scenes. Through this unique lens, Guenther takes us on the thrilling rollercoaster of life at the heart of high stakes motor racing. Packed full of twists and turns, from hiring and firing drivers, balancing books, pre-season preparations, the design, launch and testing of a car - and of course, the race calendar itself - this is the first time that an F1 team has allowed an acting team principal to tell the full story of a whole season. Uncompromising and searingly honest, told in Steiner's inimitable style, this is a fascinating and hugely entertaining account of the realities of running a Formula 1 team.
Join the quest to surf the biggest wave in history. In a small fishing village on the coast of Portugal, a select band of surfers take unimaginable risks, pushing the boundaries of their death-defying sport as they seek to go bigger than ever before. Their goal? To ride the Everest of the ocean – the 100-foot wave. Sports journalist Matt Majendie is welcomed into the inner circle of Nazaré's tight community of big-wave surfers and extreme thrill-seekers, living among them for a season as he chronicles their incredible highs and terrifying lows. Follow the endeavours of Britain's leading big-wave surfer, a former plumber from Devon, Andrew Cotton; trailblazing Brazilian female surfer Maya Gabeira; current World Record holder German Sebastian Steudtner; Portuguese Nic von Rupp and jet-ski driver Sérgio Cosme, nicknamed 'the Guardian Angel of Nazaré' for his daring rescues, in this gripping read.
The Dingle Way runs for 114 miles (183 km) around the beautiful Dingle Peninsula. It starts and finishes in Tralee, accessible by train or bus from Dublin and from Kerry Airport. The complete walk takes eight days, but it can easily be shortened. The Dingle Way follows country lanes, quiet roads and cliff-top paths, punctuated by long stretches of glorious beach walking. It offers spectacular seascapes and mountain views. The peninsula is rich in wildlife, archaeology and charming Irish pubs. This guidebook was fully revised for 2023 with route updates, improved mapping and additional Gaelic place names. It contains all you need to plan and enjoy your holiday on the Dingle Way: the Way in sections, with summaries of distance, terrain and where to find food and drink; concise background on prehistory, heritage and wildlife; information about climbing Mount Eagle and Mount Brandon; a special feature on the Blasket Islands; planning information for travel by car, train, bus or plane; detailed mapping of the Dingle Way on 16 pages (scale 1:55,000); in full colour, with 75 photographs; and printed on rainproof paper throughout.
For better adventures, use the best map. Corfu Tour & Trail Super-Durable Map is the most detailed, accurate, toughest, large scale map of the island that you can buy. Our large 1:40,000 scale produces a double sided map sheet of 840mm by 680mm; big enough to show masses of detail but compact enough to use in the car or on the trail. Corfu North is on the facing sheet of the map with Corfu South on the reverse side, including a generous overlap between the two sides. Our special concertina map fold means your map is easy to unfold, and more importantly easy to refold back to its pocket size. You get the most detailed map of Corfu that is produced including our 'Tour & Trail' level of detail ranging from major roads to secondary roads to minor roads to streets and narrow country roads, plus dirt roads and walking trails. We have a new method of highlighting the full Corfu Trail, including its options, with the trails, tracks, lanes and roads making up the Corfu Trail being outlined in green. This makes it easier to identify the Corfu Trail on the map and easier to find it on the ground. Altitude background colouring is designed to clearly show the altitude range when travelling across the island by car or on foot. 100 metre and 20 metre contours are clearly shown on the map along with a large number of individual height points. Tour & Trail attention to detail is legendary as is our useful symbol range including miradors, picnic areas, petrol stations, bar/restaurants and parking areas where you can pull off the road safely. We have included special Place-Name Plaques for Tripadvisor's most popular destinations making them easy to find. For adventurers on foot Tour & Trail Maps are researched and designed by hikers for use by hikers. Our comprehensive gps ground surveys produce the best road mapping available but the value of this on the ground research becomes even more important when you leave the tarmac. Super-Durable editions are printed on a plastic substrate with UV cured inks to produce a Super-Durable Map that feels like silk but will stand up to the roughest treatment of outdoor adventuring and yet fold up like new at the end of your adventure. Quite simply Corfu Tour & Trail Super-Durable Map is the most detailed, accurate, toughest, large scale Corfu map that you can buy. Super-Durable maps are 100% recyclable. Digital editions of Corfu Tour & Trail Map are available for phone apps and Garmin users at our Discovery Walking Guides website.
An intimate, original biography of tennis legend Rafael Nadal, and the first to cover his entire career. After his award-winning look at Roger Federer, Christopher Clarey, one of the world's pre-eminent tennis writers, focuses his lens on Nadal, the Spanish force of nature. When he arrived on the scene in 2005, the record for men's singles titles at the French Open stood at six. Nadal more than doubled that total to a mind-blowing fourteen titles: one of the greatest sporting achievements in history. Nadal won big and won often on all of tennis's surfaces: securing two Wimbledon titles on grass and six on the US Open and Australian Open hard courts. But clay, the grittiest of the game's playgrounds, is where it all came together best for his whipping forehand and warrior mindset. Clarey, who has covered Nadal since he was seventeen, draws on interviews over twenty years with Nadal, his team and rivals like Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. Brimming with behind-the-scenes insight, The Warrior tells the story of a global sporting icon, interlacing man and place in a unique, must-read account of the evolution of excellence. |
![]() ![]() You may like...
Goodnight Golda - A Handbook For Brave…
Batya Bricker, Ilana Stein
Paperback
Emerging Horizons. 21st Century…
W.David Nelson, Rivka Ulmer
Hardcover
R3,330
Discovery Miles 33 300
The Origin of the German Carnival Comedy
Maximilian Josef Rudwin
Paperback
R376
Discovery Miles 3 760
|