Need Rick Steve’s Advice!

I agree with Emma - including her comments about using more than one source for information. If you are still in London, and you must have that book, inquire at Stanfords.

You can also explore your delivery options when ordering the book from amazon.co.uk, if you aren't in London or Stanfords can't help you. There are Amazon pickup lockers in many places in the UK, or perhaps you could have it sent to you at your hotel.

Stanford’s is really worth a visit, also Daunt Books on Marylebone High Street...great travel section on 2 floors in a Victorian era shop.

If all else fails and you have the free Kindle app on your phone or tablet, you can download the electronic version of the guide from Amazon.

Stanford’s is just wonderful on a rainy day afternoon—-a bit of heaven (not that the rest of London isn’t). More then just travel guides but picture books, travelogues...wonderful.

Rick is not particularly well known in the UK and his books wouldn't be the ones your average British traveller would look for. Try Lonely Planet or Rough Guides while here in the UK. As others have said it's always worth looking at books by different authors and publishers as the selection of 'must see' places will vary considerably.

"Rick is not particularly well known in the UK"
I think he's more well known since posting that video of him driving (illegally).

Harleydonski...thanks for your response! I’d like to see the video and was wondering what was R Steve’s doing when he was driving illegally? What does that mean? I borrowed a cousin’s car in 2010 near Liverpool and got a ticket for not having British car insurance, which wouldn’t have been a problem had I rented a car, but instead...I was put out on the side of the roadway from Wales to Liverpool (near the Mersey River), my cousin from Bury was in the States, it was 4th of July and I couldn’t reach him to prove I hadn’t stolen his car. His car was towed, costing £250 and me and my 12 yr old son and my cousin’s Grandson, had to catch a train back to Liverpool. It was a horrible 3 days and cost me a lot of money. My cousin didn’t realize laws had changed and I would need UK insurance to drive. I was pulled over when a female cop saw my car had the headlights on and it was no longer raining. It caught her attention and she pulled up the license plate and saw it registered to a man named Jack...she told me “know why I pulled u over? Well, you don’t look like a Jack...” I had been warned NOT to drive w my lights on unless it was raining. The rain had stopped and I didn’t remember to turn off the car lights. An expensive mistake. So I’m just curious, what was R Steve’s doing when HE was driving illegally? Thank you!!!

If you have a Kindle or a tablet (I PAD) with you, don't forget that you can download his books.

You might look to see if your hotel has a book area. Many hotels will have an area for books that have been left behind by previous guests so they tend to heavy on guidebooks and light fiction suitable for long flights or reading before bed. Since Rick’s target audience is Americans and Canadians who aren’t Europe experts, they’re not too commonly read among Europeans.

Here's an article about Rick Steves' selfie-while-driving video: https://www.lancs.live/news/lancashire-news/american-travel-writer-slammed-videoing-16626721 . It appears the video has been removed from his Twitter feed. I assume he's acknowledged it was unwise (to say the least) to do that, much less post a video of it.

Besides holding his cell phone while driving (illegal in the UK and I wish illegal here), he hogged what the Brits call the "middle lane" on and we call the "passing lane." Even out here in the boondocks (Colorado) it's against the law to use the passing lane for anything except passing unless traffic volume makes it impossible to safely merge back into the other lane.

• 1 on downloading the E-book if possible to your android or I pad if available. Left my RS guidebook in a cab in Bruges 3 years ago, immediate download to Kindle. Lost my notes but back on the groove immediately.
  

sssssshhhhhhh... Don't tell anyone, but there's this thing called the internet. You can find more information, more current, accurate, and faster than any single guide book. ;-)

Suz, I sent the OP a personal message with the link to the news article as when I posted it on the forum before it was deleted very quickly by the mods.

Sadly, Stanford’s has sold and moved out of its classic digs in Covent Garden. I believe their new shop however is not far away.

But you can find good travel books on England in any decent bookstore — Waterstones, Foyle’s and Daunts would all have an excellent selection.

Thanks for posting the link to the video of Rick driving completely irresponsibly! Driving in the middle lane when there is no traffic in the left lane is at best stupid, as it encourages 'under-taking' (cars passing on the left) which is not permitted. Also driving while holding and using a mobile phone is illegal. And the idea of a picnic while driving (implied in the video) is also highly suspect. I'm glad he removed the video from his Twitter feed, but he really should produce another video explaining that he now understands what he did wrong and encouraging his readers NOT to follow his example. He also needs to learn that it is the LAKE District and not the LAKES District.

and not to call it 'joy riding', which it Britain means teenagers stealing cars and going for a joy ride, pretty sure that's not what he means......

"Joy riding" used to mean the same thing in the US - stealing someone else's car. I say "used to" because I haven't heard the term in years, so I don't know if some people nowadays are unaware of this meaning.

from the link
''He said: "Hey I'm Rick Steves and I am joyriding in the North of England, enjoying these motorways.''

I've started taking only the Kindle version of the guidebook along with me on the trip. I take my iPad anyway, so downloading the Kindle saves on bulk and weight.

Ugh...LAKE District not LAKES District...I shouted at my TV through that entire episode!!! :)

To be fair, after the outcry about the driving, RS did acknowledge his error and apologise.

OP Berry

About your driving experience in England during 2010, European legislation made Daytime Running Lights a legal requirement on new cars from 2011, so for several years cars have had daytime running lights, they're very common now.

And when the police seized the car you were driving, because you weren't insured to drive it, I can't believe your absent cousin had not sorted the insurance out before he left, it put you in a terrible situation, if my car has an additional driver I have to notify the insurer with the additional drivers details and driving history. Rented cars have compulsory insurance included.

The other potential issue is, was the car you borrowed from your cousin automatic or manual? we can only drive manual if we have passed the manual driving test, this is indicated on the U.K./EU licence, so there is a potential offence there for the unaware, although as a non uk visitor with a rental car, this doesn't seem an issue.