Robbie Coltrane's B-Road Britain

by Robbie Coltrane

Tired of the endless tarmac and Little Chefs, and keen to see more on his travels than the tail-lights of the car in front of him, Robbie Coltrane has set himself quite a challenge. Instead of scaling the Himalayas, trekking across the Antarctic or hacking through the Brazilian rainforest, he has decided to explore strange and exotic areas that are somewhat closer to home. Armed only with a map, an inquisitive mind and one of his favourite classic cars - a Carmen-red drophead Jaguar XK150S - he ventures off the beaten track and on to the B-roads of deepest, darkest Britain.Travelling from London to Glasgow in search of the impressive, the eccentric and, sometimes, the downright ridiculous, Robbie's journey takes us through stunning countryside into the heart of Great Britain. From wing walking in Gloucestershire and bottle kicking in Leicestershire to pigeon fancying in Sunderland and ale brewing in Stirling, Robbie delves deep into our local communities to uncover strange festivals, inspirational people and treasured traditions that reveal exactly what it is that makes our country so incredible, so bizarre and so, well, British ...

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction

400 pages, Paperback

First published June 2, 2008

About the author

Anthony Robert McMillan OBE known professionally as Robbie Coltrane, was a Scottish actor, writer and comedian and was known for his performances on the stage and screen. He gained worldwide recognition as Rubeus Hagrid in the Harry Potter film series (2001–2011), and as Valentin Dmitrovich Zukovsky in the James Bond films GoldenEye (1995) and The World Is Not Enough (1999). He was appointed as Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2006 New Year Honours by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to drama. In 2011, he was honoured for his "outstanding contribution" to film at the British Academy Scotland Awards.

Reviews

[Duncan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tv tie in narrative of a documentary services series... an itv documentary series.

It's an interesting conceit but I found the writing quite condescending at times.

I've not seen the show but it just didn't feel naturalistic in its dialogue.

Robbie Coltrane is a great actor and a lovely bloke perhaps but sometimes can seem quite rude at times. Then again, some of the people he talks to can seem a little obsessive to the point of shortsightedness.

I'm sure if you like the usually itv documentary formula of "celebrity of varying degree of fame, with no knowledge or real interest in subject/ llocation goes on trip for special meet ups to locations a lot of people don't get access to and make bad jokes/talk crap for 30 minutes" then I'm sure you live this a lot more than me.

[Paul Holden · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wonderfully entertaining social history of the backwaters of England and partly in Scotland. I enjoyed it so much I bought the limited TV series on DVD before I’d even finished it.

[Richard]

An enjoyable, gentle read. Coltrane can make you enthusiastic about things that might otherwise sound rather mundane. This book is an excellent companion to the DVD of the TV show. At the start of the book, Robbie promises to cover the stuff that is featured on the TV show in less detail than the stuff that is not, I am not sure he succeeds - the bits that were the highlight of the TV show are also the highlight of the book - especially the stone masonry and the Highland Cow showing. In fact, you end up finishing the book still feeling that there are loads of his experiences that you have missed out on and I somehow wish that the book had been more of a diary approach than the "highlights" of the trip - but the it could have been three times as long and I still would have loved it.

[Moon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alas, a sign of the times is having no library access without finicky finagling of a library card PIN I was never granted in the first place. Choosing a book at random from a digital library just isn't the same as choosing from a real one, but we make do.

I dont know why I haven't read many travel books before when they seem right up my proverbial alley - and the word alley in and of itself is one that changes remarkably as one traverses Britain. "Up my proverbial ginnel," however, doesn't quite have the same ring to it.

First and foremost, this book is charming. Delightful, even. This is a very sweet book and a very easy read, even if all traces of the TV show it's a spin-off for have basically disappeared bar three clips on YouTube. It works perfectly well as a standalone, though, and I personally adore learning about local traditions so reading about them is a treat. It's by no means perfect, but I'm not about to do a critical discourse analysis about its flaws. It's not overly flowery, and I think that works in its favour; it certainly held my attention, and believe you me I bloody hate reading books on my phone. Also, it very much confirmed to me that I really want to go to the Lake District.

Four stars! I'm surprised, too!

[Nancy Thormann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this. It's a good companion to the DVD. There's only so much you can show in three 45 minute TV shows. This book has information it that the shows didn't have. I like it when books do that.

[Spurnlad · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit contrived I thought, could have been a lot better. Quite twee at times, not what you'd expect from Robbie.

[Erik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Robbie Coltrane seems lovely but the book isn't great.

[Margaret Rouhan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not fussed. A bit long winded at times.

[Lorraine · Rating 5 out of 5]

great read enjoyable

[Kevin de Ataíde · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hadn't realised that Mr. Coltrane is an author. This book is an excellent antidote to Mr. Paxman's rather critical 'the English,' for Coltrane is also aiming to discover the essence of Englishness and Britishness. The writing style is fairly informal, and there is an infective joy in the author's romp through the B-road network that takes him from London to Glasgow. What is it about Britishness? From the end of chapter five, it's a mixture of a devil-may-care, do-it-for-the-sake-of-it or a do-it-for-the-sheer-love-of-it attitude that characterises a score of pursuits that range from performing acrobatics on the wings of WWII aircraft and growing and marketing asparagus in competition with Paraguay, to pursuing exotic sports like disc golf and spending all your savings on drag-racing. A very entertaining read and highly recommended.

[Mark Farley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this. It's quite charming and really interesting, covering a lot of areas obviously are not wrote about in most UK travel writing. Whether that has anything to do with roads and accessibility, I'm not sure. But it's great to hear about these odd traditions and happenings within our country. In fact, I'm quite excited to hear that England's Oldest Sweet Shop is just down the motorway (sorry, Robbie) and might be a great day out for the kids. The only bit it falls down on though is that sometimes it's really quite gushing where it doesn't need to be and slightly pervy when he talks about some of the women he comes across. A lot of his one liners are not funny either. Great accompaniment to the TV series though, which was very good and this book has a lot of things that were edited out too.

[Sho · Rating 1 out of 5]

Travel writing? Yaayy. Robbie Coltrane? A clever chap. The B-roads of Britain and some unusual snippets of things about my home country? Great.

But. But. But. I absolutely hated it. I actually pushed on with it for a few days hoping it would improve but nope. The writing was basic and boring. And then it got all sexist (not in an obvious way but when it got to the quarry and how boys/men like big machines I just couldn't take any more)

Oh and seriously. Every village doesn't have to be "charming" or any other type of adjective. Really. Every. Single. Village.

All in all a massive disappointment.

[Alan Bartlett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although a fan of Robbie Coltrane I have to confess that this series passed my by on TV I don't know why. However, if it's ever repeated I will certainly make a point of watching it. This was an enjoyable and easy read but at the same time an uplifting and optomistic look at Britain (mainly England) and if I had the time and no need to go to work for a living I would like to follow this route off the beaten track - especially in an open top classic jag - a retirement project perhaps?!

[Sean Gladding · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming.

[Sally Daffarn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly interesting, boring in places.