I have sung the praises of two recent editions of the companion to this volume (RR 1999/295; RR 2003/223), or more exactly of the original work from which this title has sprung (Aslib Directory of Information Sources), largely in terms of the fascinating mirror its content holds to our society). I suppose, then, that this title must reflect the notion of Great Britain turning into one gigantic theme park. A total of 3,255 entries here must lend weight to the idea, especially as there are probably almost as many places omitted as included. That of itself is no real fault of the compilers, although a statement of criteria for inclusion (or exclusion) would be welcome. Of places I have taken my grandchildren in the last couple of weeks, it may be that limited opening excludes Blairquharn Castle but I cannot imagine why Drumlanrig Castle is not here, unless the Duke of Buccleuch or his agent declined to return the questionnaire. In both cases the contents of the houses deserve inclusion, especially in this context the small bicycle museum in Drumlanrig. I suppose the new shipbuilding museum at Braehead is the innocuously entered Scottish Maritime Museum at Kings Inch Road, Glasgow, but it is a pity the Tall Ship a couple of miles upstream and very visible (and accessible) from the Glasgow Science Centre fails to make the entry it deserves.
Both the subject index and a fascinating browse indicate that coverage is actually very good: looking at aircraft and aviation museums there is good coverage of both national and local collections, although the omission of the Shuttleworth Collection is a major gap. Coverage is obviously dependent still on the willingness of various bodies to make returns: to the local inhabitant it is immediately apparent that both East and North Ayrshire Councils have submitted full information, while South Ayrshire has not (no Rozelle House or Girvan Museum among others). At a national organization level, Historic Scotland properties are not all included: again, at a very local level, Dundonald Castle and Crossraguel Abbey at least seem to merit inclusion, especially as the likes of Dunstanburgh Castle in Northumberland do make it in.
Coverage then, is good but falls short of comprehensive. That is something that we can expect to develop as editions progress. What we do have is fascinating enough: at a random opening we find the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum followed by Sir Walter Scott’s Courtroom, Seaford Museum and Heritage Society, SEARCH (a hands‐on centre for history and natural history in Hampshire), Seaton Tramway, Segundum Roman Fort, Baths and Museum, Segontium Roman Museum, Seiont II Maritime Trust, Selly Manor Museum and Senhouse Roman Museum.
Each entry has full location, access and contact details, as well as descriptions of contents, special collections, services, catalogues and publications, where relevant, and Web site addresses where available. Arrangement is alphabetical by name with cross‐references in the main sequence from alternative names. The subject index is comprehensive, although some of the sub‐divisions under aircraft, and the distinction between aircraft and aviation, seemed less than helpful. Sub‐divisions do avoid those long lists of entries, although archaeology could still be worked on (more than four columns of entries before a geographical sub‐division is reached). At the other extreme, some of the more detailed index entries are invaluable: as an interested reader of her detective stories, I shall make a point if ever I find myself in Maldon of visiting the Margery Allingham display in the town’s museum. A reference after the single entry for Home Guard to Dad’s Army suggests a usefully thorough approach to the task.
The geographical index is invaluable, and would be more so if there were not so many mistakes with the Scottish entries: Strathclyde no longer exists, nor does Lanarkshire if there is a separate entry for North Lanarkshire. There is a good case for grouping entries under the old counties, as largely happens for Ayrshire except that, perversely since the local authority does not seem to have made a return, two entries are listed under South Ayrshire. I was delayed in finding the entry for what most people who know it refer to as the Wanlockhead Museum. It is listed, correctly, under its official title of Museum of Lead Mining and the geographical index puts it in the right region of Dumfries and Galloway, but as “By Biggar”, which is correct to the Post Office, but less helpful to the would‐be visitor. The Leadhills and Wanlockhead Railway also gets an entry, although the historic Leadhills Library is another omission. Perhaps some further, or a different form of, indexing for place names might be considered for future editions.
These are points for consideration to improve further an already very useful, and certainly fascinating, directory. It is to be hoped that work will continue to identify and include omissions as well as update existing entries for regular future editions. At £150 this is not a cheap item, but its acquisition will be more than justified for both information sources and tourist destinations for use in a wide variety of general and specialist (historical, tourist, etc.) collections.
