Britain Travel

Acclaimed travel writer Oliver Smith sets out to radically reframe our idea of ‘pilgrimage’ in Britain by retracing sacred travel made across time, from murmurs of ritual journeys in the depths of Ice Age to new pilgrimages of the 21st century. He embarks on an epic adventure across sacred British landscapes – climbing into remote sea caves, sleeping inside Neolithic tombs, scaling forgotten holy mountains and once marooning himself at sea.

From John O' Groats to Landsend, Scotland's North Coast 500, Snowdonia, Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way to the Jurassic and Pembrokeshire coasts. Visit magnificent cathedrals, imposing castles, historic pubs and enjoy the craic in Irish bars. Explore a rich heritage and encounter King Arthur, Robin Hood, Dracula, Bloodaxe, Cromwell, Shakespeare, Constable, Burns, the Beatles and more. Anecdotes are enriched with incisive wit and whimsical, observational humor.

Ever since Fred Sirieix boarded a P&O ferry bound for Dover with a one-way ticket and just two suitcases, he has been in love with the UK. Working as a waiter at the famous three-Michelin-starred restaurant La Tante Claire in Chelsea aged just 20, he learned English, met people from all walks of life, and went dancing until dawn. From the pastel-coloured beach huts on the Southwold Promenade to the coast of Oban; and from deciphering regional expressions to loving a woman say ‘je t’aime’ like Jane Birkin – this is Fred’s mission to debunking French myths about the Brits.

The countryside is almost sacred to many Britons. There is a depth of feeling about rural places, the moors and lochs, valleys and mountains, cottages and country houses. Yet the British countryside, so integral to our national identity, is rarely seen as having anything to do with British colonialism. In Our Island Stories, Corinne Fowler brings rural life and colonial rule together with transformative results. Through ten country walks with varied companions, Fowler combines local and global history, connecting the Cotswolds to Calcutta, Dolgellau to Virginia, and Grasmere to Canton.

Amryl Johnson came to England from Trinidad when she was 11. As an adult in 1983, ready for a homecoming, she embarks on a journey through the Caribbean searching for home, searching for herself. Landing in Trinidad as carnival begins, she instantly surrenders to the collective, pulsating rhythm of the crowd, euphoric in her total freedom. This elation is shattered when she finds the house where she was born has been destroyed. She cannot escape - nor does she want to - from the inheritance of colonialism.

The Yorkshire coast is one of the most beautiful and varied stretches of coast anywhere in England. So many places to see and things to do from the traditional resort to the wild and windswept cliff tops and amazing natural beauty. Let me be your tour guide as we journey along the Yorkshire coast from Spurn Point to Staithes and points in between.

As the daughter of a white Welsh-speaking mother and black father from Guyana, Charlotte Williams's childhood world was one of mixed messages dominated by the feeling that 'somehow to be half-Welsh and half Afro-Caribbean was to be half of something but never quite anything whole at all.' Sugar and Slate tells the fascinating story of her journey of self-discovery, from the small north Wales town of her birth to Africa, the Caribbean and back to Wales.

Instead of scaling the Himalayas, trekking across the Antarctic or traipsing through the Brazilian rainforest, Robbie Coltrane has set himself a uniquely British challenge. Armed with a map, a classic car and a sense of adventure, he'll be exploring strange and exotic parts that are a bit closer to home. By venturing away from the tourist fast-track and on to the B roads of the UK, he'll be criss-crossing the winding back roads of our nation to discover all the people, places and events that make up Incredible Britain.

Geoffrey Fletcher's London was not the big landmarks, but rather 'the tawdry, extravagant and eccentric'. He wrote about parts of the city no-one ever had before. This could be an art nouveau pub, a Victorian music hall, a Hawksmoor church or even a public toilet in Holborn in which the attendant kept goldfish in the cisterns. He was drawn to the corners of the city where 'the kids swarm like ants and there are dogs everywhere'.

Dear Traveler, Welcome to the WanderStories™ guide to British cuisine, traditions and customs, holidays and celebrations, humor, and what makes the British so British. We, at WanderStories™, are storytellers. We don’t tell you where to eat or sleep, we don’t intend to replace a typical travel reference guide. Our mission is to be the best local guide that you would wish to have by your side when visiting the sights. So, we meet you at the sight and take you on a tour. WanderStories™ travel guides are unique because our storytelling style puts you alongside the best local guide who...

Author Harry Pearson takes a warm and witty journey around Britain in pursuit of the lost folk sports that somehow still linger on in the glitzy era of the Premier League and Sky Sports to find out how and why they have survived and to meet the characters who keep them going. No Pie, No Priest! combines sports reporting, travelogue and history, and features a cast of bucolic eccentrics and many deeply impenetrable regional accents.

As Roger Lytollis travels Britain, he encounters a man at Liverpool's Beatles statue convinced that Rod Stewart was in the Fab Four. In Edinburgh, he walks into a row over Greyfriars Bobby's nose, and in Glasgow, learns why the duke of Wellington wears a traffic cone on his head. London brings a controversial nude statue and some hard truths about racism. On a Pedestal is the first book to examine public statues around the nation.

Dear Traveler, Welcome to the WanderStories™ guide to British cuisine. We, at WanderStories™, are storytellers. We don’t tell you where to eat or sleep, we don’t intend to replace a typical travel reference guide. Our mission is to be the best local guide that you would wish to have by your side when visiting the sights. So, we meet you at the sight and take you on a tour. WanderStories™ travel guides are unique because our storytelling style puts you alongside the best local guide who tells you fascinating stories and unusual facts recreating the passion and sacrifice that forged...

Since time immemorial, people have passed through these misty mountains as they traveled between the Scottish lowlands and highlands. The old ways through the mountains - the Mounth passes, as they are collectively called - are the subject of this book. Twelve roads are profiled, from the Causey Mounth on the eastern coast to the Monega Pass deep in the heart of Scotland. Each route is considered from an historical perspective, followed by a guide to walking the road (or what remains of the road) today.

Yorkshire. The biggest and best county in England. So much tradition and history. So many things to see and do. A good number of which you may not be familiar with. So let's put that right shall we? Please allow me, a natural born Yorkshireman, to show you why my home county is such a great place by introducing you to my personal selection of Yorkshire greatness including language, tradition, scenery, food culture, industry, and plenty more.

This is another book in my popular castles series. Here you have volume II of Castles in England, a Traveler's Guide. Twenty more of the most impressive and history-laden castles up and down the land for you to hear about and plan your visits. Each castle has its own fascinating history and tale to tell. That's in addition to being wonderful places to visit and explore. So here is information about another 20 of my personal favorite castles in England.

In My Scotland, number one best-selling author Val McDermid takes readers to the landscapes she has known all her life and the places where her stories and characters reside. This remarkable book uncovers Val's own Scotland in all its glory - from the iconic Isle of Skye to the majestic streets of Edinburgh, from the undiscovered hideaways of the Highlands to the wild and untamed Jura. Featuring excerpts from Val McDermid's best-selling novels and charting Karen Pirie's Fife to Lindsay Gordon's Glasgow, My Scotland is an unforgettable and uniquely personal journey.

London is one of the great cities of Europe, a center of commerce, art, and science for more almost 2,000 years. Visitors today are treated to world-class museums, pulsing nightlife, and fine dining. But one does not have to search far beyond this prosperous and modern façade to glimpse an older and more unusual London; in fact everywhere one looks, ancient traditions and old patterns emerge.

Elizabeth Gowing is not a likely yogini. She is too fond of cake and to-do lists, and sometimes falls over on her mat. But yoga has taken her on journeys both inside and out, and now she follows yoga around Britain - from the village hall where a quivering triangle pose was interrupted by the council recycling collection to a sound gong bath in the country's noisiest city, from Cornwall to Scotland.

In the autumn of 1936, some 200 men from the Tyneside town of Jarrow marched 300 miles to London in protest against the destruction of their towns and industries. Precisely 80 years on, Stuart Maconie walks from north to south, retracing the route of the emblematic Jarrow Crusade. Following history's footsteps, Maconie is in search of what modern Britain is really like today.