My first thoughts on looking through this sumptuous coffee-table book was “Wow!” Mark Savage’s photographs are awesome (in the truest sense of the word) and capture the almost fearsome beauty of the Northumberland landscape, as well as the hardy climbers who simply refer to the location as “The county”. But this weighty tome – which comes in at 472 pages – is not just fantastic to look at. Steve Blake and John Spencer have written a definitive history of climbing in Northumberland (illustrated with some fabulous archival images) that really captures the spirt of the discipline, from the routes to the achievements to the traditions, and if you’re looking for a truly comprehensive account of climbing in England’s most northerly and beautiful county, then this magnificent book cannot be topped – and I doubt it ever will. GM

Northumberland: The Story of Climbing in the County by Mark Savage, Steve Blake, John Spencer, Quiet County Publishing