If you love seeing the sights of Great Britain, then these UK travel books are for you. For intrepid explorers and armchair travellers alike, our top 5 pick of the best is a good mixture of travel guides with handy maps and humorous works filled with fascinating history. Available online from a handful of interesting British bookshops with their own stories, they make ideal gifts or coffee table accessories for anyone who loves the amazing history and natural beauty of Great Britain.
1. Lonely Planet’s Ultimate United Kingdom Travelist
Imagine a book that could bring together all the ultimate travel experiences you can have in Great Britain - this is that book. The travel experts at Lonely Planet have ranked their top 500 experiences in a book that is filled with stunning photography of the UK's most iconic sights with fascinating insights and useful information on how to get there. This is a celebration of the best Great British travel experiences from small country pubs to ancient cathedrals and a must-own book for every real travel-lover.
Established in 1903 in London, Foyles is a famous chain of seven stores in England. Foyles was once listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's largest bookshop with an incredible range of over 200,000 different titles on four miles of bookshelves!
2. DK Eyewitness Great Britain Travel Guide
A detailed and easy-to-use guidebook to the British Isles with suggested itineraries and tours and over 60 colour maps for explorers of Great Britain. This is a comprehensive book with stunning landscape photography plus useful floor plans of many heritage sites.
An original independent Edwardian bookshop with bright picture windows, beautiful skylights and long oak galleries specialising in travel and literature. First opened in London in 1912, it is thought to be the first custom-built bookshop in the world.
3. Notes from a Small Island: Journey Through Britain
A humorous travel book, written by the well-known American travel writer, Bill Bryson. Travelling from the south of England to the north-eastern tip of Scotland's mainland mostly by public transport, Bryson offers an entertaining mix of historical information and affectionate anecdotes on British eccentricity that will make you want to explore every corner of the island for yourself. First published in 1995, Notes from a Small Island was a number-one bestseller and has gone on to become the nation's most loved book about Britain, having sold over two million copies. This title is also available as an audiobook on CD.
Stanfords is the leading specialist bookshop stocking travel books, accessories and maps, established in London in 1853 by Edward Stanford. Now with shops in Bristol and Manchester, it has the largest collection of maps, maritime charts and globes in the world.
4. The Road to Little Dribbling: More Notes from a Small Island
A humorous sequel to the classic Notes from a Small Island. Bill Bryson returned after 20 years to revisit his favourite places and rediscover the alarmingly beautiful and charmingly eccentric British Isles again. Winner of Best Travel Book in 2016 by National Geographic, if you enjoy Bill Bryson, this is a must-have joy of a book. Bryson offers ‘an acute and perceptive insight into all that is best and worst about Britain today.’
5. Rough Guide to Great Britain
A thoroughly entertaining guidebook that is full of practical advice on all the best things to see and do in Great Britain. This is a book that includes everything from world-renowned heritage sights to where to go in up-and-coming neighbourhoods with reliable reviews of all the best restaurants, bars, clubs, shops and galleries for every budget. 
All these titles and more are available online, and once the shops are open again you could plan a trip to include spending some time in one of these wonderful bookshops with branches in London, Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol.
Words by Kate Thompson.
