Where Tourists Seldom Tread

A perceptive, generous survey of Britain's towns, in all their grit and glory.

Take your pick. Dubrovnik or Doncaster? Corfu or Crewe? A safari in Kenya or an abandoned zoo on the Isle of Man?

Most people in the United Kingdom live and work in towns. Only a handful of these ordinarily qualify as conventional tourist destinations, with most deemed too plain, rundown or unfun to be worthy of a leisure visit, but they have much to offer for the inquisitive traveler.

Travelling from Warrington, Birkenhead and Slough to East Kilbride, Armagh, Newport and beyond, Chris Moss seeks out Britain's bypassed towns. As he encounters the rich stories and spirits of these places, peeling back layers of history and culture, he considers why most have ignored the hidden pleasures they have to offer, be they Stockport's viaduct, one of the largest brick structures in the world; the scene-defining punk venues of Paisley; or Ipswich's ancient origins (the town being twice the age of Machu Picchu).

Where Tourists Seldom Tread is an invitation to move away from the preference for major cities and rural idylls and offers a new field guide to the country.