This book proves that good travel books do not involve having to drag yourself through jungles or up mountains.

McKie takes himself on a route around the UK on a series of bus journeys, from around London, right up to the very north of the country. Along the way he recount the history of the area that he is travelling through, and gives his considered opinion of the state of those parts of the nation that he visits.

Really enjoyed it. ( )

The author, David McKie is a journalist who had a regular column in The Guardian newspaper called “Elsewhere” and the chapters that make up this book are based on those contributions, but ”refreshed” he writes, with further visits and trips. There is somewhat of a lack of continuity in using this techniques – it could be considered a “dipping” book with readers picking up a chapter wherever and whenever, and indeed, this book (of some 350 odd pages) would still “work” like that and still give pleasure in the reading. I, however, could not put it down and read it cover to cover, marveling that such journeys – with remarkably few mishaps of routes and schedules – could still be undertaken in Britain, by public transport.

There have been a series of such ‘journey’ books in the last few years, mostly by using trains (On the Slow Train, Eleven Minutes Late) that … post-Beeching and despite years of hostile and multiple cut-backs in the Thatcher years … provide surprising evidence that Public Transport still works in Britain. But by BUS!?

Usually considered the most inconvenient and unreliable method of travel except for local runs to the shops, and suffering from the bankruptcies and take-overs of deregulation and the so-called “privatization” of British transport, the bus, it seems, like the trains, has not only survived but is beginning to suffer from almost too much patronage.

These journeys to ”unfamous places” are packed too, with interestingly written histories of places and peoples, of industry and pastoral beauty. An excellent book for lovers of travel, or local lore and a great source for our dreams of repeating some of the author’s visits.