I really enjoyed this book, written by Subud author Laurence Shelley. I didn’t think I would, not being into travelogues per se, plus the fact I knew ‘travel’ is an overblown genre, with writers constantly upping the ante by swimming in every English river, or climbing every Himalayan peak, for example. But the book is not what it seems, and it took me by complete surprise (perhaps I was misled by the, to my mind, redundant sub-title, ‘A Thumb Print of Britain’).
Laurence sets off to hitchhike the length of Britain, from Lizard Point in Cornwall to North Ronaldsay on the Orkneys, interviewing the people who give him lifts and those whom he meets en route, asking questions such as ‘What led you to do what you like?’, ‘What dream remains unfulfilled?’ and ‘What one thing will you never forget?’, constantly modifying his questions and approach as the journey unfolds. Marcus Bolt