This is the 20th edition of the eat, sleep and drink pocket guide, and contains new mapping including off-road sections. It also includes a more cycle-friendly alternative to Allenheads and Rookhope: the Weardale Alternative, takes in St John's Chapel and Westgate. There is also an option for ending the route in Sunderland via the Lanchester Way and the great city of Durham.Much of the routing is traffic-free, along compacted cycle-friendly tracks built along old railway lines. The routes are all thoroughly signposted and somehow manage to eke out the least busy country lanes, taking in many places just off the beaten track. This guide has up-to-date listings of all the best pubs, B&Bs, hotels and restaurants. But importantly it also includes maps, topographical profiles, lots of route information and other practical help. Plus historical and cultural background to the fascinating and often beautiful communities the cyclist meanders through. Mark Porter has been publishing guide books since 2002 and is a travel writer. He also writes for the Daily Mail and other newspapers.