You shouldn't judge a book by its cover, the old adage goes. But I often find myself doing it.
It’s one of the main reasons I passed on Dan Brown's money making machine, The Da Vinci Code, way back in 2004. That drab brown cover was a complete turn off, as was the mention of ‘Da Vinci’ in fact.
Bollocks to Alton Towers, on the other hand, has a picture of grinning garden gnome on its cover. A masterstroke and, luckily for me, the first of many.
In a nutshell, Bollocks is a guide to odd destinations around the UK. Forget pages of yawn inducing exposition though. This is travelling light.
They say:
Yorkshire Soul: "The authors manage to write with joy and real interest in and an exuberance for their subjects, whether it's Diggerworld, The Beckham Trail, Gnome Magic or Mother Shipton's..."
The Independent: "Deftly balancing the British characteristics of delight in eccentricity and disdain for organised pleasure, this book explores 40 odd idiosyncratic attractions."
Student Direct: "Bollocks to Alton Towers provides a refreshing change to the conventional Lonely Planet-esque travel guide and, unlike the former; it is bursting with humour and enthusiasm."
We say:
Most people you meet these days are ridiculously eager to poke fun at the crap British day trips we took during our formative years. But the four minds behind this book said bollocks to all that and ending up championing all sorts of lame locations.
The authors argue that the thrill rides of Alton Towers are not what a British day out is all about. The place is a stage managed US experience – no bad thing, but not what we should be supporting with our hard earned pounds.
Instead, why not try Barometer World, the British Lawnmower Museum and Porteath Bee Centre? These destinations haven’t succumbed to ‘blinging’ everything up in order to attract the customers.
If you happen to venture to the British Lawnmower Museum, what you want to see is a sizeable collection of lawnmowers. And you won't be disappointed. No pitiful collection of lawnmowers here, shoved to one side to make way for the next hot dog stand or super fast ride.
Thankfully the four writers have neatly sidestepped the trap of over the top sarcasm. You can’t help but feel they've spent some quality time in each location and are eager to encourage us to do the same.
The book's filled with subtle humour that never fails to hit the spot – check out Beckham's alleged route to stardom in particular.
Plus spying an entry to a crap place you remember vividly from your childhood is sure to bring on a wide grin. At last, a travel book you'll want to read from cover to cover.
AUTHORS
Jason Hazeley, Robin Halstead,
Joel Morris, Alex Morris
POSTED...
Sun 30 Jul 2006 at 10:26am
