One of our most exciting projects of recent years is finally coming to fruition. Early November will see the publication of the Lake District Climbs Rockfax which marks the end of many years of work by author Mark Glaister, with a particular effort in the last two years, where he has been ably assisted by Mike Hutton.

We are pleased to be able to offer the book at a big £10 saving for pre-orders placed now before the publication in early November. As an added bonus you can choose to add on a 6 month subscription to the Rockfax app for a bargain £10. This represents an overall saving of £24 on the whole deal! (Book RRP £34.95, 6 month app subscription £24).

The book covers all the best trad climbing in this beautiful area with stunning crag and action photography backed up by full descriptions, incredibly detailed maps and all the usual Rockfax features that make our guidebooks so user-friendly.

• More about the book
• The introduction (PDF)
• Dow Crag sample chapter (PDF)

What is it that makes Rockfax guidebooks so good?

Here are some of the design features we concentrate on when making a Rockfax guidebook.

1. Route descriptions and topos always on the same page.
2. Routes always listed left to right with page geography that reflects what is in front of you (ie. turn the page to the right and look right, turn it left and look left).
3. Topos properly split across the spine of the book so detail isn't lost in the fold.
4. Clear crag, buttress and route symbols that are easy to use and not continually being added to from book to book.
5. Colour-coded grade bands to enable you to quickly assess what a crag has to offer at your ability level.
6. Cross-referenced routes on adjacent topos to help put the main topo you are looking at into context.
7. Route descriptions made as autonomous as possible so that you don't need to read the previous routes in order to track down where you are.
8. Consistent use of approach and descent information in the same place so it is always easy to find.
9. Clear and detailed climbing-specific maps, either never more than a page or two away, or clearly referenced to a page elsewhere.
10. QR codes used with parking spots to enable quick phone navigation.
11. Maps with north always at the top and geo-accurate (ie. everything is to scale).
12. Cross-referenced page numbers all over the book so that you can find anywhere on a map or overview without going to the index/contents.
13. Double cross-referenced action photos so you can find the description from the photo, and the photo from the description.
14. Standard use of arrows and text on topos to ensure clear approaches and descents are obvious.
15. Massive detailed photo-topos taking using the best photography techniques available and printed as big as possible.
16. Contents 'thumb tabs' to allow quick navigation without going to the contents page.
17. Everything linked to online versions so that you can tick the routes in your UKC logbook and give feedback.
18. Destination Planner tables to help choose a crag based on grade-spread, approach and weather conditions.
19. All available in digital and print form.