- Dishonesty Is The Second-Best Policy and Other Rules to Live By” by David Mitchell
- “Michael Palin In Venezuela” by Michael Palin
- “Happiness: Lessons From A New Science” by Richard Layard
- “The People on Platform 5” by Clare Pooley
- “Encyclopaedia of Narrow Gauge Railways of Great Britain and Ireland” by Thomas Middlemiss
- “Moscow Coup: The Death of the Soviet System” by Martin Sixsmith
- “The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged Thirteen and Three-Quarters” by Sue Townsend
- “The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole” by Sue Townsend
- “Adrian Mole: The Collected Poems” by Sue Townsend
- “How To Live Like A Stoic” by Tom Hodgkinson
- “The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass aged 37 3/4” by Adrian Plass
- “This Present Darkness” by Frank Peretti
- “Don’t Sleep, There Are Snakes” by Daniel Everett
- “Brutal Scotland” by Simon Phipps
- “Idler XXX: Thirty Years of The Idler, A Visual History” by Tom Hodgkinson
- “We” by Yevgeny Zamyatin
- “British Railways Mark 1 Coaches” by Keith Parkin
- “Meditations” by Marcus Aurelius
- “The Story of Railways” by Richard Bowood, illustrated by Robert Ayton (Ladybird)
- “Riders” by Jilly Cooper
- “The Dark Half” by Stephen King
- “Everything In Color” by Stephanie Stalvey
- “Final Destination: Riding Britain’s Trains to the End of the Line” by Nige Tassell
Date Started: 29th August 2026
Date Finished: 2nd September 2026
4/5 stars
Recommended by a friend, this is exactly the sort of book I love. Covering (pretty much) the full length of the country from John O’Groats to Land’s End, the author takes sixteen trains to the far end of the line, seeing what he can find, and describing the history, people and sights he encounters.
Written in a chatty and engaging style, I think it really helps that the sixteen lines have been well-chosen, spread throughout the country. As well as the national rail network, he ventures onto the Tyne & Wear Metro, London Underground, and the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway, and finishes up in grand style with an overnight trip to Penzance on a sleeper train.
I think there’s plenty for everyone here. I’ve done a few of the routes myself, but there’s some I’m definitely keen to try after reading this, and one or two that could do with revisiting. It’s given me a few ideas for a writing project of my own, too, so that’s all good.
Well worth reading if you like to make the everyday into a quirky journey of discovery.