This is, it seems, the only guidebook that focuses entirely on Albania. No, there isn't a "Lonely Planet Albania", usually my first choice of guidebook if I'm going somewhere a little of the beaten path. No, if there's a guidebook to the Southern Balkans, you might find a section on Albania, but I guess that the demand isn't there.
I get that. Albania isn't a huge country, with a population of less than three million, internal travel isn't straightforward (don't ask about trains), and there haven't traditionally been many direct flights to Tirana, although that is changing, and fast. But you'd think that there might be more enthusiasm to write guides, especially given that it has increasingly appeared on lists of interesting places to explore.
But no, not yet, is the answer. But Bradt are on the seventh edition of "Albania", so that's what I bought, courtesy of our local independent bookshop, Dial Lane Books (very sound, socially aware, probably knit their own muesli but a great resource in a town that needs more such things).
The name of the author caught my eye though. Gillian Gloyer? That Gillian Gloyer? The legendary Scottish Young Liberal who with others, blazed a trail through the International Federation of Liberal and Radical Youth (IFLRY) in its radical glory days? I did some research. And yes, it is her. Before my time, I admit, but she was still spoken of by the time I arrived in the (very) early nineties.
And the guidebook? Well, the seventh edition is now more than two years old, having been published in June 2022, and suffers as all guidebooks do, from the increasingly rapid development (and failure in some cases) of hotels and, in particular, restaurants, but as a means of guiding your steps and your expectations, it was a very successful purchase indeed. And, if I were to return at some point, with the intention of getting beyond Tirana, I would probably count on it again.
So, thank you, Gillian, wherever you are...
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