Britain According to Very British Problems

by Rob Temple

Very British Problems are what make us so, well, British. And what better place to get to the heart of these problems than, urm, Britain? Starting in Land's End and heading all the way up to John O'Groats (via the Irish Sea), this tour of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland covering everything from the national sports of apologising, queueing and bog snorkelling to our national cuisine of chips, bread rolls and... chips in bread rolls. You'll take in sights such as Stonehenge (see the iconic prop from Spinal Tap in all its glory), Loch Ness (legend has it there is no monster) and Platform 9 ¾ (after a few hours waiting in a railway station, have your photo taken next to a brick wall) all whilst looking for somewhere decent to stop and eat your packed lunch.

Britain is a maze of idiosyncrasies, loveable foibles and outright eccentricities and Rob Temple is here to reveal them in all their glory.

Genres: Nonfiction

224 pages, Paperback

Published October 21, 2025

About the author

Rob Temple is a journalist and founder of the @SoVeryBritish Twitter account, which now has more than one million followers, and a consultant on the official Channel 4 Very British Problems series.

Originally from Peterborough, he recently moved from South London to the countryside to provide more storage space for his rapidly expanding collection of inedible hot sauces and to be alone with his thought(s). He’s not that keen on hot drinks but is fine with just water if that’s okay?

Reviews

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very funny insight into the indigenous British mind. Not bad.

[APR Lamprey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good, a little bit too Southern centric for a Northern like me.

[Jay Cat · Rating 2 out of 5]

More pleasant to read than the previous ones but it is not really working... I am not convinced: for example under the letter X, the writer coud have put Xmas.... and talking about different market towns just to fill in the space is too obvious.

[Arwen O'Brien · Rating 4 out of 5]

reading this made me feel a bit like Paddington Bear (see section P for more details)

[Sayu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very humorous

[Gaia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un divertente elenco di particolarità britannico. Autoironico

[Faizan Ansari · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun, light read for someone who's just moved to the UK.

[Cristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A funny book to read on a Friday night. Some entries were really hilarious