Hardback by AA Publishing, priced £16.99
Having dusted off his childhood copy of the classic novel Treasure Island, The Mail on Sunday travel editor Frank Barrett found poignant family memories sending him on an adventure of his own in search of the place which inspired, ‘where X marks the spot’.
However, that land lies far off the north coast of Scotland, so what better way to get there than to indulge in the surroundings which influenced literary greats en route? Ready to max out his National Trust membership from the south coast of England to Burns’ Cottage and beyond, Barrett embarks on a pilgrimage to the homes and museums kept in honour of weighty cultural figures, such as Jane Austen and William Wordsworth, getting his eyes opened to the perils of parking and running the gauntlet of sometimes officious volunteers.
After what feels like a haphazard start as he finds his feet, Barrett does hit his stride roughly 70 pages in, when you sense he is growing in confidence and purpose on the road, and it does build to a fine climax as he enters the world of Treasure Island author Robert Louis Stevenson.
There are some very useful tips which could save you both time and money if planning to visit sites around Britain, but you do feel the author gets a little jaded on the journey before managing to pull it back at the end with the true escapism which awaited at his final destination.
