New Lonely Planet guide in fresh swipe at region

It is the travel bible that labelled Wolverhampton the fifth worst city in the world.

In its latest edition, Lonely Planet is a little more generous, admitting only that the Black Country is "worth a trip".

Yet the new England guide devotes more coverage on "gay and lesbian Birmingham" than it does to the entire Black Country.

And while the region warrants just a short couple of paragraphs in the latest guide, England's Second City is handed almost 14 pages.

In 2009 the travellers' guide caused outrage with an online article which listed Wolverhampton as fifth among "cities you really hate" — worse than San Salvador, Chennai, Arusha and Chetumal but better than Detroit, Accra, Seoul and Los Angeles.

Last year the company promised to send someone to review Wolverhampton for this year's guide but warned it would only be included if it had "something to offer".

Bosses today said they did send someone along — but that there was nothing worth mentioning. Instead, the section on the region concentrates on the Black Country Museum, with no mention of Dudley Zoo, Merry Hill Shopping Centre or art galleries in Walsall and Wolverhampton.

David Else, the main author of the guide said: "Our intention is to highlight the best bits of the country for the reader, which is why the Black Country is selected in the guide to feature as one of the 'worth a trip' destinations. We can also confirm that our author did visit Wolverhampton whilst researching the England guide."

The entry in the book, which will be read by 100,000 people worldwide, says in it's entry on the region"worth swinging by to see the Black Country Living Museum."

The guide is kinder about Staffordshire describing it as "surprisingly green and pleasant" and reporting favourably on Stafford for "handsome Georgian and medieval buildings", the "magnificent" gothic cathedral of Lichfield and Cannock Chase "a pretty swath of natural forest".

Wolverhampton City Council leader Roger Lawrence said: "I stopped buying Lonely Planet guides and magazines after their ludicrous comments. I've nothing further to say about them."