Published to accompany the TV series, Janet Street-Porter takes in 500 miles of British footpaths, walking from Dungeness to Conway via the Bristol Channel. Illustrated with photographs and maps, this is a discovery of a different Britain, one of myths, legends, gossip and the fascinating characters she meets on the way.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book seemed to offer a chance for me to read about some of the things I miss since I left the UK; details of the beautiful British countryside, and told by a well-respected writer and TV personality. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement.
Janet's account reads like a primary school pupil's account of what she got up to during the 'hols'. It wouldn't surprise me to find that at least one third of the sentences start with the word 'I':
I then took the path leading....
I came to a stile...
I arrived at the meeting place an hour late...
I expect better of a professional writer-yes, that was intentional.
Exclamation marks abound, mostly for no good reason that I could see, and the writing seems so predictable. So many chapters or paragraphs are seemingly stamped out with what my American friends would call a cookie-cutter:
I left the inn/house/pub the next morning. The footpath was supposed to start at the back/left/right of the building, but after half-an-hour/45 minutes/an hour I still couldn't find it so had to walk along the road till I came to a farm/bridle path/track. Here the corn/nettles/barley was high/treated with chemicals, and scratched/blistered my legs.
On practically the first page there is a glaring error, although I'm sure this is not Ms Street-Porter's fault. The first of the two maps is labelled 'West to East; Dungeness to Weston-Super-Mare'. Well, things have changed significantly since I left England in the 80s, but I trust Weston hasn't migrated to continental Europe.
Finally, although again I'm sure this is not Ms Street-Porter's fault, I found the typeface very difficult to read, exacerbated by the small size of the punctuation-perhaps that's why she chose to use so many exclamation marks-and the tiny space between sentences. This reader often found himself running into the next sentence a couple of words before he realised he'd overshot the mark.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
When I wrote the above review, I had just finished the first part of the book-the so-called "West to East" section.
Janet's description of the second part-the route through Wales-reads much better and easier than the first; hence the upgrade to three stars.
If you can pick this up at a very reduced price, and if you skip the first section, it might make a worthwhile read. At the original £18+ asking price, I should say it's well overpriced.
Janet's description of the second part-the route through Wales-reads much better and easier than the first; hence the upgrade to three stars.
If you can pick this up at a very reduced price, and if you skip the first section, it might make a worthwhile read. At the original £18+ asking price, I should say it's well overpriced.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
2.5 out of 5 stars
2 reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
What I Did On My Summer Vacation
24 Jun 2004
By Peter Bradford
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
This book seemed to offer a chance for me to read about some of the things I miss since I left the UK; details of the beautiful British countryside, and told by a well-respected writer and TV personality. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement.
Janet's account reads like a grade-school child's account of what she did during her summer vacation. It wouldn't surprise me to find that at least one third of the sentences start with the word 'I':
I then took the path leading....
I came to a stile...
I arrived at the meeting place an hour late...
I expected better of a professional writer-yes, that was intentional.
Exclamation points abound, mostly for no good reason that I could see, and the writing seems so predictable. So many chapters or paragraphs are seemingly stamped out with a cookie-cutter:
I left the inn/house/pub the next morning. The footpath was supposed to start at the back/left/right of the building, but after half-an-hour/45 minutes/an hour I still couldn't find it so had to walk along the road till I came to a farm/bridle path/track. Here the corn/nettles/barley was high/treated with chemicals, and scratched/blistered my legs.
On the very first pages there are glaring errors, although I'm sure these are not of Ms Street-Porter's doing. The first of two maps is labelled 'West to East; Dungeness to Weston-Super-Mare', as is the first chapter. Well, things have changed significantly since I left England in the 80s, but I trust Weston hasn't migrated to continental Europe.
Finally, although again I'm sure this is not Ms Street-Porter's fault, I found the typeface very difficult to read. It is a small type, dark gray rather than black, and is made more difficult by the small size of the punctuation-perhaps that's why she chose to use so many exclamation points-and the tiny space between sentences. This reader often found himself running into the next sentence a couple of words before he realised he'd overshot the mark.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Addendum
8 July 2004
By Peter Bradford
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
When I wrote the above review, I had just finished the first part of the book-the so-called "West to East" section.
Janet's description of the second part-the route through Wales-reads much better and easier than the first; hence the upgrade to three stars.
If you can pick this up at a very reduced price, and if you skip the first section, it might make a worthwhile read. At the original $32+ asking price, I should say it's well overpriced.
Janet's description of the second part-the route through Wales-reads much better and easier than the first; hence the upgrade to three stars.
If you can pick this up at a very reduced price, and if you skip the first section, it might make a worthwhile read. At the original $32+ asking price, I should say it's well overpriced.
›
Go to Amazon.com to see both reviews
2.5 out of 5 stars
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