About Britain

A fascinating view of the changing face of the country by car, using guides published for the 1951 Festival of Britain

A well-written book comparing car journeys taken in the 1950's and now. I like that the book is separated into different journeys, so it's easy to dip in and read when you are visiting that area yourself.

It's an enjoyable and interesting read, and I learned quite a few things about local areas that I didn't know or realise. It started slow by introducing the concept and the reasons for writing, but once onto the journeys it became an easy and fascinating read.

If you enjoy travel writing, you will enjoy this book.

It's been year since I read a book that made me create itinerary and check for places to visit.
I loved this book: it made me travel to new to me places, learn about historical facts and how things changes with time.
I would be curious to read the original guides but I thoroughly loved this travelogue that made me mentally design a new travel.
It's been a long time, I hope I will be able to travel using this book as a guide soon.
PS: it's well written and researched, compelling and highly entertaining.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I really enjoyed this book in which Tim Cole replicates where possible the journeys that are featured in the About Britain travel guides which were originally published in 1951 as part of the Festival of Britain. The original guides concentrated on the industrial areas of Britain as the idea was to showcase the country as being forward thinking and aspirational, optimistic for the future. So this is an unusual travel book but is very interesting, there have been lots of changes over the years, just as well as all of those industries featured were so bad for the environment. I also enjoyed the personal aspects of the book as the author had various companions with him on some of the journeys. I was a wee bit disappointed that the one journey which he wasn't able to do in reality was the local to me drive over to Fife and on to Dundee, it had to be done via Google Earth due to the pandemic and lockdown, but I think Tim Cole must have been even more disappointed about that than I was.

Those of us with access to British TV will be more than aware of the Michael Portillo programmes, where he carouses round the world with a Victorian-era traveller's help guidebook, and allegedly compares and contrasts the world of then with the world of now, to social history ends, but more often than not gets forced by the producers to waste our time and his by making cheese, or learning how to Morris dance. This is a book along very similar lines, but happily without the hands-on filler. There were a full set of guides to self-directed routes across England made for the 1951 Festival of Britain, and our author has plucked one route from each, got himself to the start and used it and his car to get to its end, seeing what has changed in the interim seventy years – and what tells those original guide writers left about themselves on the page.

That is not at all to say that there are no asides or diversions. Indeed the book comes happily constructed from the incongruous topic. The very first chapter discusses forestry efforts, speed limits on country roads and the history of British vineyards in much more (lightly-given) detail than I would ever have expected. I knew nothing of the grand old National Trust estate carved in two by the M5 – a road built since the guides and so never driven on. Whether we're in Hampshire or Wessex next, more modern road schemes are to the fore, as is that well-known delight of southern England past, the watercress industry.

What the book does superbly is ruminate, given first-hand current eye-witnessing of relevant things, on the likes of the end of Coventry's carmaking industries. As a book easily shelved under 'travel' it might raise an eyebrow or two however – it seems to leave out how very different the person of today is from the person of the 1950s who was directed around a mahoosive 147-mile loop from Hereford into South Wales and back. I don't think it quite covers the nature of these days out as well as it does the differences seen through the windshield. There are copious instances of our author getting himself lost courtesy of the wrong turn, but little of what he felt doing the self-imposed missions, and if they even felt like the Reithian tourism they were designed to be.

No, where this takes us places is via its timeline, and it's fascinating to see North Wales turn its slate pit remains into sports venues, and to learn about the birth of Conservation Orders – and those words are not ones I expected to type. I see the book as the result not just of the driving and observing but copious diligent historical researches afterwards, piecing together numerous instances of what 1950s Britain was thinking and what has been happening over the past seventy years. The volume closes with the author thinking aloud about a repeat exercise, done a further seventy years after his recce. While our culture will still be churning out the likes of "Michael, you've got ten minutes and those bagpipes – Action!", I would also relish a look at a sequel if done as well as this.

I really enjoyed this book. I was familiar with a few of the routes or areas and it’s proved fascinating to read about the way in which they’ve changed. As a child in the 1950s,, I travelled everywhere by car with my parents, particularly around Scotland, Wales and the Lake District. Some of the routes in those areas remain relatively unchanged, which is in itself remarkable. Others have given way to industry, tourism, housing development and more.

Tim Cole’s research is detailed and he has an easy style of writing which draws the reader into the journey, making it easy to visualise. It’s a great book to dip into and it should appeal to anyone with any interest in social history or the countryside.

My thanks to the publisher for a review copy via Netgalley.

A great book that I think will be enjoyed by all ages. This book taps into the current interest with 'staycations' and I think that this book will be enjoyed by pupils as a general interest book. It also would slot in nicely to the Travel Writing scheme of work as there are some really lovely passages in here that can be explored further.

I enjoyed this book, with many interesting facts. A little bit like Bill Bryson's books. Of course it is of most interest about the places where we are most familiar, such as holiday destinations of our local area.
A good book

I love reading about the country I live in, especially when it involves places I am familiar with. I found this amusing, informative and overall very interesting. A lovely read.

Some surprising and interesting facts and descriptions come to light in this book and the author deserves a lot of praise for such detailed research. Nothing to stop the reader polishing the book off in one go but probably best dipped into, especially if you are visiting any of the areas. Those of you with very long memories might find the detail especially fascinating.

One of my favourite genres of travel writing is the one where someone feels compelled to set off on a madcap trip after stumbling upon an obscure book in a secondhand shop. About Britain is a perfect example of this genre. Tim Cole amasses a collection of 1951 travel guides that were originally published as part of the Festival of Britain. He sets off on a road trip around Britain to see how much has changed since they were originally published.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was fascinating to see the contrast between Britain then and now. I found it fascinating to see how the publishers of the original guide were trying to portray post-war Britain. This is a fun, enjoyable read but it is also detailed and thought-provoking. The author has divided the book up into the different routes/areas of Britain so it means you can also dip into this book whenever you are planning a trip.