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Slow Coast Home
In this book, Josie Dew takes another quirky and riotous ride, choosing to circumnavigate the coastline of the British Isles—discovering that her homeland can be as surprising and full of incident as anywhere she has ever been. Beginning in Portsmouth, Josie sets off in a clockwise direction after a Shetland grandmother warns her that she'll end up meeting the devil if she travels anti-clockwise. Through rain, hail, floods, bitter temperatures, minor earthquakes, and dusty drought, Josie pedals on, eventually returning to complete her odyssey along 5,000 miles of seaside, estuaries, creeks, and islands.
- GenresTravelNonfictionCycling
505 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 27, 2021
I strongly suspect this book is a two-star affair that I enjoyed a full three stars out of simply based on subject matter. Because I love bikepacking books so much, I can forgive a lot. And here there is, unfortunately, a lot to forgive.
At the start of this book, the author is nearing forty and has newly fallen in love (neither of these things need forgiving). She's more cautious about health and injury, but still inclined to take the long way round, the way uphill, and through the rain.
It's the early 2000s, and Britain is being ravaged by foot-and-mouth disease, necessitating a lot of closed footpaths and disinfectant-spraying checkpoints (yes really). Dew takes off on a tour around the coast of Great Britain (stop me if you've heard this one before) and, due to her innate love of biking and bikepacking, and her budding love for a builder bloke, this goes in fits and starts, with lots of meandering and side missions.
By "lots of meandering" I mean two things. One, that unlike traditional narratives of this sort, the author takes like, five or six trips to complete her route and basically doesn't complete it (but has a grand time doing so), and two, we are treated to an accounting of nearly every mile involved.
And while a lot of that accounting is interesting, as Dew sprinkles the text with historical and linguistic facts, this 500-page doorstop would have been a much better read at about the 300-page length. There are only so many atrocious "puns" (she's really bad at them) a reader can take.
But on top of that: she's really, really mean.
The fatphobia's back with a vengeance, but also, Dew portrays unkindly every person who offers her kindness or stops to chat, or interacts with her in any way. And I think she maybe just doesn't understand where the line for snark should stop, but it made me really uncomfortable.
So many times Dew bemoans that someone's stopping her to talk to her about her previous books and slags them off. All I could think was that I hope all those people don't read this book and see what she really thinks of them. She identifies them by name or by unmissable geographical and personal details, and I really hope she eventually grew out of it.
She's still out there biking, btw: she built a family with the builder bloke and blogs intermittently about their biking adventures. I'm just not sure I want to read any more of them.
At the start of this book, the author is nearing forty and has newly fallen in love (neither of these things need forgiving). She's more cautious about health and injury, but still inclined to take the long way round, the way uphill, and through the rain.
It's the early 2000s, and Britain is being ravaged by foot-and-mouth disease, necessitating a lot of closed footpaths and disinfectant-spraying checkpoints (yes really). Dew takes off on a tour around the coast of Great Britain (stop me if you've heard this one before) and, due to her innate love of biking and bikepacking, and her budding love for a builder bloke, this goes in fits and starts, with lots of meandering and side missions.
By "lots of meandering" I mean two things. One, that unlike traditional narratives of this sort, the author takes like, five or six trips to complete her route and basically doesn't complete it (but has a grand time doing so), and two, we are treated to an accounting of nearly every mile involved.
And while a lot of that accounting is interesting, as Dew sprinkles the text with historical and linguistic facts, this 500-page doorstop would have been a much better read at about the 300-page length. There are only so many atrocious "puns" (she's really bad at them) a reader can take.
But on top of that: she's really, really mean.
The fatphobia's back with a vengeance, but also, Dew portrays unkindly every person who offers her kindness or stops to chat, or interacts with her in any way. And I think she maybe just doesn't understand where the line for snark should stop, but it made me really uncomfortable.
So many times Dew bemoans that someone's stopping her to talk to her about her previous books and slags them off. All I could think was that I hope all those people don't read this book and see what she really thinks of them. She identifies them by name or by unmissable geographical and personal details, and I really hope she eventually grew out of it.
She's still out there biking, btw: she built a family with the builder bloke and blogs intermittently about their biking adventures. I'm just not sure I want to read any more of them.
July 7, 2019
Reading Josie Dew's Slow Coast Home is very much like cycling: plenty of ups and downs, and a few diversions.
Josie says she "never planned to cycle around the coast of the British Isles. It just happened that way," which is a very pithy description of the book. I didn't really believe she had done no planning, but when 40% of the way in she had only got as far as Plymouth, a mere 185 miles from home, it seemed more likely that she had been telling the truth.
Some of the experiences were uplifting, such as the ride over Exmoor, when the weather was "cruel and painful and penetratingly cold, but it all combined to add to the acute intensity and elation of the ride." Others were appalling, as when she relates that one of four lads in a car "leant out of a back window and gobbed me full in the face." Josie's humour is sometimes ponderous, and sometimes wonderfully mischievous with puns: after being forced to perform certain functions SAS-style in her tent, she professed herself, "light in spirit, and even lighter in buttock, with that rewarding feeling of a job well done." My favourite bit was Chapter 16, in which she discusses the problems of travelling with a bike on a train, something which I used to do a lot around about when Josie's first book, The Wind in My Wheels, was published.
Much as I admire Josie, I found the book a frustrating read. Up to half way through there had been so many detours that I really didn't think it was going anywhere. She went out of her way to holiday with friends, was called back home to publicise her books and cater for parties, and was twice forced to abandon the adventure due to health problems. That's not counting the number of stops to buy bananas and eat bananas. I just wanted her to get on with the journey.
One final note: I must call Josie out on her claim that "there was nothing special" about the day she sets out from home, Wednesday, 25th April. To give her the benefit of the doubt, I have never read anything that mentions what her favourite movies are, so she's probably not aware that April 25th, according to Miss Rhode Island, is the perfect date.
Josie says she "never planned to cycle around the coast of the British Isles. It just happened that way," which is a very pithy description of the book. I didn't really believe she had done no planning, but when 40% of the way in she had only got as far as Plymouth, a mere 185 miles from home, it seemed more likely that she had been telling the truth.
Some of the experiences were uplifting, such as the ride over Exmoor, when the weather was "cruel and painful and penetratingly cold, but it all combined to add to the acute intensity and elation of the ride." Others were appalling, as when she relates that one of four lads in a car "leant out of a back window and gobbed me full in the face." Josie's humour is sometimes ponderous, and sometimes wonderfully mischievous with puns: after being forced to perform certain functions SAS-style in her tent, she professed herself, "light in spirit, and even lighter in buttock, with that rewarding feeling of a job well done." My favourite bit was Chapter 16, in which she discusses the problems of travelling with a bike on a train, something which I used to do a lot around about when Josie's first book, The Wind in My Wheels, was published.
Much as I admire Josie, I found the book a frustrating read. Up to half way through there had been so many detours that I really didn't think it was going anywhere. She went out of her way to holiday with friends, was called back home to publicise her books and cater for parties, and was twice forced to abandon the adventure due to health problems. That's not counting the number of stops to buy bananas and eat bananas. I just wanted her to get on with the journey.
One final note: I must call Josie out on her claim that "there was nothing special" about the day she sets out from home, Wednesday, 25th April. To give her the benefit of the doubt, I have never read anything that mentions what her favourite movies are, so she's probably not aware that April 25th, according to Miss Rhode Island, is the perfect date.
March 30, 2026
EDIT: i picked it up again because i really hated the idea that i had cast aside a travel writing book by a woman, because I'm constantly complaining there aren't enough of them. But no. She's insufferable. So... cast aside again.
I nearly made a new shelf for this: "Cast aside with great force"
I love travel writing. I love the idea that there are women travel writers out there. But bloody hell i really wish there wasn't such sanctimonious stuff wrapped up as travel writing.
Yes, Josie, we get it. You hate cars. You particularly hate people who have a 4x4 and dare to drive them on roads. And yes, some of the driving behaviour is shit (i know because i also cycle) but really? And the hoiking up of the judgy-pants doesn't stop with 4x4 drivers. It is also released at people who stay in caravans, elderly people daring to enjoy sitting quietly looking at the sea, and there was a particularly unedifying discussion about the competence of a (named) doctor who examined her toe who hadn't investigated Tea Tree Oil but recommended something like Savlon (other brands are available) instead.
And all the banana eating. Yes, you are a healthy paragon of virtue and the rest of us are unworthy.
So while i enjoyed the asides and history, etc, of the places she cycled thorough - the sanctimonious (humorously intended) was too far on the bitchy side for me. So i cast it aside (metaphorically, because i read it on a Kindle) at about 35% and won't bother trying any of her other books.
I nearly made a new shelf for this: "Cast aside with great force"
I love travel writing. I love the idea that there are women travel writers out there. But bloody hell i really wish there wasn't such sanctimonious stuff wrapped up as travel writing.
Yes, Josie, we get it. You hate cars. You particularly hate people who have a 4x4 and dare to drive them on roads. And yes, some of the driving behaviour is shit (i know because i also cycle) but really? And the hoiking up of the judgy-pants doesn't stop with 4x4 drivers. It is also released at people who stay in caravans, elderly people daring to enjoy sitting quietly looking at the sea, and there was a particularly unedifying discussion about the competence of a (named) doctor who examined her toe who hadn't investigated Tea Tree Oil but recommended something like Savlon (other brands are available) instead.
And all the banana eating. Yes, you are a healthy paragon of virtue and the rest of us are unworthy.
So while i enjoyed the asides and history, etc, of the places she cycled thorough - the sanctimonious (humorously intended) was too far on the bitchy side for me. So i cast it aside (metaphorically, because i read it on a Kindle) at about 35% and won't bother trying any of her other books.
April 21, 2020
Particularly interesting when she rode through or talked about places I had been to but rather long and a bit repetitive. Having finished it during the lockdown it seemed a luxurious way to travel!
April 4, 2009
I'm getting a bit bored of this, although I mostly enjoy it. I think I just need to put it away for awhile and return to it later.
Josie Dew's writing is engaging and chatty, but she's a little too fond of clever puns (and I like puns) and plays on words. Can't think of an example now, but when you see the wordplay happening again, it's just a little wearing.
Also, each new chapter does not offer an insight into travelling by bicycle that the last chapter had not previously. Cycling 'round England is lovely, the cars are horrible, the people are a mixture of annoying, lovely, weird or frightening.
I find I get to about three-quarters of a travel story and get bored. Maybe the chronological narration annoys me. I'd prefer it thematic, even if it jumps around. Alternatively, close encounters with death or battling for survival will pique my interest again.
It's just a travel story. A nice one, one about cycling (and I like cycling), but no more than that.
2 and one half stars, really.
I'll finish it, but it might take me some time. I'll edit this review if last quarter offers me something the first three quarters have not already.
***** UPDATE: I finished! *****
In some ways, I felt my slow reading of the book rather mirrored JD's slow cycle around England's & Wales' coast. It remained unsatisfactory, and it ended unsatisfactorily.
Josie Dew's writing is engaging and chatty, but she's a little too fond of clever puns (and I like puns) and plays on words. Can't think of an example now, but when you see the wordplay happening again, it's just a little wearing.
Also, each new chapter does not offer an insight into travelling by bicycle that the last chapter had not previously. Cycling 'round England is lovely, the cars are horrible, the people are a mixture of annoying, lovely, weird or frightening.
I find I get to about three-quarters of a travel story and get bored. Maybe the chronological narration annoys me. I'd prefer it thematic, even if it jumps around. Alternatively, close encounters with death or battling for survival will pique my interest again.
It's just a travel story. A nice one, one about cycling (and I like cycling), but no more than that.
2 and one half stars, really.
I'll finish it, but it might take me some time. I'll edit this review if last quarter offers me something the first three quarters have not already.
***** UPDATE: I finished! *****
In some ways, I felt my slow reading of the book rather mirrored JD's slow cycle around England's & Wales' coast. It remained unsatisfactory, and it ended unsatisfactorily.
August 20, 2007
Author circumnavigated the coast of England by bicycle (4 separate trips). Not sure I'd recommend starting with this one, as her previous overseas adventures were a bit more "exotic"; still, it was a great idea to keep the series going between larger expeditions.
June 6, 2024
What I learned:
1. She hates any personal forms of motorised transport.
2. She loves bananas.
3. She loves the fact that lots of people think she’s younger than her age by about twenty years, even though the photos in the book belie this.
4. Because of this, she loves the fact that people think she’s on a gap year. Why would they think that unless she told them? If I saw a laden cyclist, I wouldn’t assume one was being taken.
5. Most people she meets seems to have heard of her. Me? No!
6. She really, really hates cars, lorries, vans, trucks (unless they drive her through a flooded road) and gets angry if anyone suggests she gets an electric motor for her bike. Let’s see if she has the same view when she’s 78!
The book took too long in getting going, then whisked through a lot of the places I knew e.g. South Wales and Bristol.
1. She hates any personal forms of motorised transport.
2. She loves bananas.
3. She loves the fact that lots of people think she’s younger than her age by about twenty years, even though the photos in the book belie this.
4. Because of this, she loves the fact that people think she’s on a gap year. Why would they think that unless she told them? If I saw a laden cyclist, I wouldn’t assume one was being taken.
5. Most people she meets seems to have heard of her. Me? No!
6. She really, really hates cars, lorries, vans, trucks (unless they drive her through a flooded road) and gets angry if anyone suggests she gets an electric motor for her bike. Let’s see if she has the same view when she’s 78!
The book took too long in getting going, then whisked through a lot of the places I knew e.g. South Wales and Bristol.
January 23, 2013
This review is a tough one. On the one hand, I enjoyed Dew's writing style - it's tough to describe a bike trip of 5000 miles without it turning into a seemingly endless recitation of "I spent a day in X and then a day in Y and the hills were awful as I headed on to Z". While there was certainly a fair bit of that, it didn't get tedious.
On the other hand, a journal-like travelogue also gives you some insight into the author's personality, and it's an inescapable part of whether a book like this works well. She clearly states that she's an introvert and prefers cycling alone ( a position I heartily agree with ). But along with that, she spends an inordinate amount of time either mocking the people she encounters, or letting us know in no uncertain terms that she assumes almost anyone who stops to say hello is a rapist or murderer. Granted, some of it is for humor, but the schtick, if it is one, gets very old, very fast.
I think that to truly enjoy a travelogue you have to imagine that you'd like the author, on some level, to be a person you'd want to invite over to dinner, or at least spend a few miles riding along in the countryside. That's certainly not the case here. If another reader can get beyond that aspect, they'll probably thoroughly enjoy the book. If not, like me, you won't think it was time wasted, but I have no desire to read another.
On the other hand, a journal-like travelogue also gives you some insight into the author's personality, and it's an inescapable part of whether a book like this works well. She clearly states that she's an introvert and prefers cycling alone ( a position I heartily agree with ). But along with that, she spends an inordinate amount of time either mocking the people she encounters, or letting us know in no uncertain terms that she assumes almost anyone who stops to say hello is a rapist or murderer. Granted, some of it is for humor, but the schtick, if it is one, gets very old, very fast.
I think that to truly enjoy a travelogue you have to imagine that you'd like the author, on some level, to be a person you'd want to invite over to dinner, or at least spend a few miles riding along in the countryside. That's certainly not the case here. If another reader can get beyond that aspect, they'll probably thoroughly enjoy the book. If not, like me, you won't think it was time wasted, but I have no desire to read another.
April 27, 2009
The title tells it all. Josie always writes interesting cycling books.
June 19, 2013
Yep ..... a good fun book.
July 15, 2013
I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11989783
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11989783
June 1, 2014
This is a book of exploration and discovery. It is full of wonderful insights as Josie Dew cycles the roads and by ways around the coast, it's an inspirational book.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews