Places to Hide

by Dixe Wills

An indispensable guide to places to hide from modern life, this title contains a range of excellent hiding places in urban, rural, coastal and mountainous settings throughout Britain.

Hardcover

First published October 5, 2006

About the author

Assuming for a moment that we are what we do, I’m an author and freelance non-flying travel journalist. I’ve written a number of genre-bending books and one or two that give librarians fewer dilemmas. My most recent work is Tiny Stations (AA) which is a journey through the penumbric world of Britain’s railway request stops. Prior to Tiny Stations, I penned Tiny Islands (AA) and Tiny Campsites (Punk). Before the mania for all things tiny struck me, I managed to knock out a few non-size-specific books, including The Z-Z of Great Britain, Places to Hide in England, Scotland and Wales, New World Order (Wills Weltordnung in its Bloomsbury Berlin edition) and, under the name Johnson P Johnson, The Armchair Naturalist (all Icon).

I write for the UK newspaper The Guardian, mainly on green travel. You can read my articles here. You might also find me popping up in other newspapers (though not ones owned by Rupert Murdoch or edited by Paul Dacre, you’ll be pleased to learn) and magazines, some of which you’ll find listed here. I host a monthly spoken word night-cum-pub quiz mash up called Stranger than Fiction that you really ought to come along to because it’s great fun and only costs six quid. I also have a cracking Isle of Dogs-based romcom script unjustly gathering dust in a cupboard. Is there no start to my talents?

Reviews

[Tim Roast · Rating 4 out of 5]

First thing to say is that the concept for this book is brilliant. Immediately you know that'll it'll be a tongue in cheek type of book and indeed it is. Those who thought otherwise and expected an encyclopaedic book comprehensively listing all hiding places in England, Wales and Scotland will be disappointed. Instead you get 62 hiding places spread out across the nations, quite a lot of them on or near the coast so if you live there you're in luck. These come with nuggets of information such as what natural foods are abundant there to eat and where is the nearest toilet. They also come with pictures. These are black and white so are sometimes difficult to see properly and would definitely have been better in colour.

Amongst all the hiding places there are other articles about hiding, like a basics guide, how to hide up a tree and how to put on a disguise. There are also articles about famous people that have gone into hiding such as Agatha Christie and Robert the Bruce and why, where and how they hid (these are inspiration for newbie hiders).

The whole book is written with humour, most of it working, the rest not working for me thanks to the usage of some obscure quotes or references or some clever language that I just didn't get. I enjoyed this book and if I ever become a fugitive I may just take it with me.

[Ames And · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good humour and fairly original. Nice to find your nearest hidey-hole ('The Thetford Crater' in case you were wondering) however overall it is a book best used for killing 10-15 minutes every once in a while rather than something you can read for prolonged spells.

[Nettle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A perfect bathroom book.