Outdoor Books of the Month

January 2026

January is the month for planning the year’s trips and for armchair travel while the weather keeps you in. These are books published in January 2026 that stand out in our catalogue: a bicycle journey along the Silk Road, a guide to the Isle of Man by someone born there, a memoir of thirty years on a Cotswolds farm and a sailors’ guide to the Dutch coast.

This page looks back at the month’s new releases. The picks were compiled in October 2026.

The pick of the month

Tea and Grit : A Bicycle Journey along the Silk Road

by Helen Watson · Paperback

Helen Watson’s Tea and Grit (Bradt, 9 January 2026) is the pick of the month. In 2009 she and her husband Ed set off on a cycling expedition from Glasgow to China, and the book follows that journey along the Silk Road. It is a long bicycle trip told from the saddle, which makes it good reading for a month spent indoors planning the next one.

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Also worth your time

Our picks by category

Travel Guides

Isle of Man (Slow Travel)

Emma Craig

Emma Craig, who was born and raised on the island, wrote this Bradt Slow Travel guide with intimate detail and insider tips. Published on 23 Januar...

Travel Writing

This is not my land : 30 Years on a Small Cotswolds Farm

Caroline Mills

Caroline Mills’s award-winning account of thirty years on a small Cotswolds farm, beginning in 1995. Published on 15 January 2026.

Water Sports

Adlard Coles Shore Guide: The Netherlands : Everything you need to know when you step ashore

Paul Heiney

Paul Heiney’s guide for sailors covers the Dutch coast from Vlissingen to the German border, including the IJsselmeer and Markermeer, along the Sta...

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Audio Books Travel Guides Travel Writing Walking & Hiking Guides Nature Writing & Wildlife Camping & Bushcraft Outdoor Skills & Survival Environmental & Conservation Climbing & Mountaineering Cycling Water Sports