‘It is 1953, and I am ten years old and about to set off on a train journey of a lifetime.’ This is the start of John’s adventures which include travelling across Wales by six different modes that few can match. Stowing away on a freight train in Ireland, unexpectedly attending the ‘piping off’ of Scotland’s first-ever Nationalist MP at Stornoway, scaling Norfolk’s highest point by its north face, and Britain’s highest, Ben Nevis!

John travels to the coastal extremes and mountain summits through the British Isles with fascinating accounts of his experiences. The breath-taking background to his journeys – great mountains, bucolic countryside, spectacular coastlines – and impressions of three great cities are all described in detail in this exciting book. Travelling mostly by train as well as by road and sea, John’s natural inquisitiveness and spirit of adventure emerges at age eleven as he bunks off scout camp to ride solo in a steamer on Lake Windermere.

A real-life British Isles Odyssey.