Route Britannia, the Journey South: A Spontaneous Bicycle Ride through Every County in Britain

by Steven Primrose-Smith

Tired of seeing Britain continually attacked by the media, politicians and the British themselves, Steven Primrose-Smith wants to see it for himself. All 97 counties of it! Surely it can't be as bad as everyone tells him. After twenty years living abroad, he thinks the time is right to search his homeland for the best of British using new eyes, those of a foreign tourist, and in the only way he knows how - by bicycle. Armed with a list of recommendations gathered from friends and strangers alike and the most spontaneous of routes, he pedals 5,000 miles through damp English country lanes, soggy Welsh moorland and windswept Scottish mountains. He gets wet quite often. Following on from the success and irreverent style of both No Place Like Home, Thank God and Hungry for Miles, Steven seeks out the quirky in the people he meets, the places he visits and the food he eats. Can his initial store of positivity survive the journey, or will it be ground down by the traffic, the weather and his British, vegetable-free diet of beer, pies and pork scratchings? In this, Book 1, The Journey South, Steven travels from Merseyside to Warwickshire, through the whole of Wales, the West Country, the south coast and to London. Armed with a bag of googly eyes, he meets a poetry-prescribing nurse, stumbles across Hilda Ogden's lawnmower, has his footwear stolen by foxes, discovers some very special Mexican fleas, crashes the TARDIS and visits dozens of British capitals, including its infidelity capital, its boob job capital and its dogging capital. He experiences "real" Britain - the good and the bad - its Morris dancers, pie 'n' mash and the pinnacle of British culture, a good old-fashioned street fight. The concluding part, Book 2, The Journey North, covering the east of England, Scotland and the north-west of England will be available in Summer 2017.

Genres: Travel

282 pages, Paperback

Published December 10, 2016

About the author

Steven Primrose-Smith has written sketches, songs, sitcoms and pantos for London-based NewsRevue, the world's longest-running live satirical comedy show, and The Sitcom Trials, as well as a series of comedy shows he produced in Spain. His writing has also appeared in The Independent, Cycle magazine and The National Student Magazine.

Steven's book "No Place Like Home, Thank God", about his near-death experience and the resulting 22,000-mile bicycle ride around Europe, is an Amazon International bestseller, reaching #1 in Cycling and #3 in both Sport and Travel. He has written four travel follow-ups: "Hungry for Miles" describes his 2015 attempt to cycle across Europe surviving on only £1 a day; "Route Britannia", another Amazon bestseller, explores in two parts his 2016 5,000-mile ride through every county in Britain; "Biking Broken Europe", yet another bestseller, follows his 6,000-mile journey through the more unstable bits of Europe, including the frozen and not-so-frozen conflicts of Transnistria, Abkhazia and Nagorno-Karabakh; and his latest book, "The Quest for the Holy Quail", tells of his 3,000-mile foodie adventure through the whole of Morocco as it closed down around him due to Covid-19.

As well as travel books, Steven writes humorous novels. His first, another Amazon UK bestseller (#1 in Satire), is "George Pearly is a Miserable Old Sod", a murder-mystery involving the most unpopular man on the Costa del Sol. He has recently released his third novel, "How Not to Be a Unicorn", in which a well-meaning New Age mum indulges her young son's wishes to be a unicorn and, while he sleeps, superglues a horn to his head.

Steven also manages EuropeByBicycle.com, a hub of information about cycling in Europe with country guides for over 50 destinations.

For the latest information about Steven and his latest releases and projects, please visit www.primrose-smith.com.

Reviews

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

On a mission!

This guy is very amusing! I rarely laughed out loud but grinned & sniggered lots! There is no time for boredom and 'next I did this' stuff! He is aiming to cycle thru each county of southern England & Wales, but he has a goal and we run to keep up! Dressed up fleas, campsites and characters, Brexit and museums, pubs and pints, animals and hedgerows, memorable meals & at least one he could forget! county facts, misnomers and the oddest of statistics, keep us smiling and reading til suddenly we are left high & dry(which he never was) with only 1/2 of the journey complete!!!

[Dr Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full of amusing witticisms.

I have now enjoyed reading several of stephen‘s books and all of them have been enjoyable. This is the first of the two books of his cycle ride around Britain, he continues in his humorous writing style bringing a smile to my face with his descriptions of some of the places he visits, the people he meets and the events he observes. I’m looking forward to the second in the series.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly entertaining. Genuinely hilarious and at times even touching. Despite a caustic realism, Primrose-Smith loves the UK. He evidences a keen political eye and isn't afraid to say "screw 'em" through a grin. Desperately in need of a copy editor, but not storytelling or great repartee. A very fun read.

[Lonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A different perspective of Britain

As usual, Steven’s humor is what keeps the book fun. Assorted facts and tidbits add to the interest. It takes a while for me to read these types of books because I follow along on Apple/Google maps and Wikipedia. For me, this is great entertainment!

[mr james e missin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read

I enjoyed reading this book and hope part 2 is published soon. I like how he is honest on his thoughts on camp site Price's, its true many are a rip of just to camp for one night in a field.

[Jacquie Jerrard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very funny

His writing is witty and it cracks along at a good old pace. The villages he goes through with there quirky and funny names. Made me laugh also describing the antics of the British public. He made me proud to be a Northwest person, at least we are friendly.

[Paul Richards · Rating 4 out of 5]

Something diifferent

An amusing account of the authors travels around Britain. Quite amusing and some interesting facts. Because of the distance travelled some of the counties barely get a mention but otherwise shook you can read and pick up again from time to time

[Chris Hancock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!

If you like cycling and travel, something funny that will make you laugh, try Steven’s books. They are all great and I always look forward to reading the next. What more can you say?

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

A blast

A great piece of cycle travel writing with just the right amount of camping detail saturated with interesting geographical and ridiculous facts. Some useful if damning pointers of Britishness but almost always wittily described. A 'Can't put down' type read as usual from Mr Primrose-Smith.

[Karl Elliott · Rating 4 out of 5]

very good book. looking forward to the second part