Crecy 1346: A Tourists’ Guide
Publisher’s Site: Pen and Sword
Crecy 1346: A Tourists’ Guide is a neat concept. It looks exactly like a traditional tourist guidebook, such as those published for Disney World, or various cities and attractions around the world. Inside are photos, maps and directions guiding the reader on their travels.
The difference is that this guidebook focuses not on restaurants and the birthplaces of dead poets but on the route of the English army across northern France, and the environs of the battlefield at Crecy. Instead of advice for the best place to stand while watching the light parade, it offers advice on where to go to see the places important to the campaign.
The book offers five “tours”:
- St-Vaast-la-Hougue to Caen
- Caen to Elbeuf
- Elbeuf to Poissy
- Poissy to Abberville
- Abbeville to Calais via Crecy-en-Ponthieu
- The Battlefield
Each tour comes with an historical introduction, a map identifying significant points, and detailed information and photos on the stops. There is also advice on how to travel (including bicycle guides) and places to stay and eat.
Even if you are not headed to Crecy for a vacation, but still have an interest in the battle, I think this would be of interest. There is plenty of history in the book, and the modern photos are more useful than the typical period illustrations
You can also get the book in Kindle format, which would be great, since you could have it on your phone and reference it while travelling.
Thanks to Pen and Sword for providing a review copy.