With the follow-up to Bill Bryson’s best-selling travelogue Notes From A Small Island hitting shelves in October, here's a few other literary picks to tickle those itchy feet of yours...
McCarthy’s Bar, Pete McCarthy
Obeying the rule, “Never pass a pub with your name on it”, travel writer Pete McCarthy embarks on a boozy tour of the Irish coast he fondly remembers from his childhood. The result is a warm, often funny look at modern Irish life, and will inspire you to go on your own pie-eyed pilgrimage to the Emerald Isle.
Take it to...
Cork County. Combine an Airbnb jaunt to the beautiful city of Cork with a road trip along the breathtaking south west coast.
Moby-Dick, Herman Melville
This classic adventure novel takes readers on the most intense voyage in one of the original and best “man vs beast” yarns. It's the sort of bone-bending tale you’d expect to be told by a mad old fisherman over a fireside whisky.
Take it to...
Staithes. This sleepy Yorkshire fishing village is closed to cars and has eff-all phone signal, so you can wander through the cobbled streets, pretending you’re a 19th-century whaler. Parents might recognise it as the setting for Old Jack’s Boat on CBeebies.
Jaws, Peter Benchley
The 1974 novel was based on real-life accounts of terrifying shark attacks in small-town America, so is big on detail. And good news if you're a fan of petrifying page-turners – it contains all the toothy terror and suspense of the big screen adaptation, and then some.
Take it to...
Boscastle. The sea around the beautiful north Cornish coast is a regular playground for many types of sharks. If you’re feeling more flush you could pop over to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, to see where the 1975 Spielberg blockbuster was filmed.
Coasting, Jonathan Raban
Back in the 1980s, author Jonathan Raban took a 6,500km one-man voyage around the entire British coast in a 10-metre sailing boat known as a “ketch”. The result was this book, a compelling portrait of Britain’s varied coastal communities, seen from the viewpoint of a very personal voyage.
Take it to...
Horsey Beach, Norfolk. Raban was born in the county that boasts some of the UK’s finest beaches. Horsey Beach near Great Yarmouth is a sandy paradise, and perfect for seal watching.
The Haunted Book, Jeremy Dyson
The seaside was made for spooky stories, and Jeremy Dyson’s acclaimed anthology includes a cracking spine-chiller set off the Lancashire coast. The sea can be a very lonely place, unless you’ve got unexpected company...
Take it to...
Morecambe Bay, Lancashire. The haunting bay boasts miles of tranquil coastline – perfect for camping and sharing a few ghoulish yarns of your own.
The Bridge, Iain Banks
A man’s life within a vast, water-spanning bridge community and his quest to find out the source of his amnesia forms the background to Banks’s homage to the mystery and power of the sea. Full of bizarre characters and glimpses into another realm, The Bridge is an essential coastal read.
Go visit...
North Queensferry, Edinburgh. The Firth of the Forth is the city’s captivating estuary, and home to a famous bridge of its own. Gazing up at its vast towers, you’ll feel transported to another world.
Brighton Rock, Graham Greene
Admittedly a murky murder mystery might not inspire the most romantic of seaside weekends, but many of the themes in this 1938 thriller still resonate today, and it’s a reminder that the city nicknamed “London-on-Sea” has long had a dangerous charm.
Go visit...
Er, Brighton. The perfect base for a vibrant city break, but with the brooding West Sussex coastline within easy reach.
Tender Is The Night, F Scott Fitzgerald
If The Great Gatsby didn’t make you want to see out your days partying by the water on Long Island, Fitzgerald’s final novel (about the demise of a brilliant young psychiatrist) will make you want to elope to the French Riviera.
Go visit…
Devon. If you’re short of the time or cash to get to the south of France, a weekend escape to the English Riviera – Torquay, Brixham and Paignton have changed a lot since the Fawlty Towers era – should do the trick.
