John HillabyCritiques

John Hillaby the well known travel writer and explored listed the beetles that he found on Hampstead Heath between 1947 and 1949. His collections were given to the Hampstead Scientific Society. The notebooks were given to the editor of the Hampstead and Highgate News and donated to the LNHS by his widow Delphine Isamaan

Having recently read a lot of bad travel writing I have come back to revise my opinion of Hillaby´s walk through Britain. My first impression was that it was very slow, it took me longer to read it than he to walk it. This isn´t adventure so much as an experience of the few remaining wild parts of Britain (and how it is being encroached upon by modern life). There are beautiful snapshots; gypsy ponies and Hillaby trespassing on a military airfield, startling each other during the night. Hillaby´s love of nature, of walking and of Britain comes through strongly in this book. I will read Hillaby again, and set my clock on slow next time - walking pace. Books like this make Google Earth make sense; together it is the next best thing to being there.

John Hillaby walked from the bottom of England to the top of Scotland, averaging twenty miles per day. This book tells of his encounters with people along the way, with policemen and hostile dogs, with flora and fauna, with good and bad weather. It is about blisters and lost toenails. It is about suspicious locals and "heart-warming hospitality." It is about deserted villages and getting lost in the "sterilized grandeur" of "the dead vast." Rich with social commentary, subtle humor, and interesting digressions into local history, folklore, linguistics, and geology.

Lovely account of his journey across Europe. Interesting to read about walking 40 years ago and the issues that were around then, many still relevant now. A very personal account, that allows you to walk by his side with interesting snippets of history and marvellous drawings of people he met on the way.

Bought 17 May 2008 - Cinema Bookshop (outside), Hay-on-Wye

Excellent narrative of his solo walk, avoiding roads where possible, from Lands End to John O'Groats. He gets rained on, a lot, meets some mean people and some memorable ones, and describes flora and fauna beautifully.½