Rating: 4 out of 5

I have to say, I’m a bit torn. I saved this book especially for my holiday, eager to continue the journey I’d started in the first book, which I thought was brilliant.

But, like another book I took with me on this trip, I’m left feeling a little disappointed. The main issue for me was all the whining! I get it, leaving the stunning Scottish coastline for some of the more populated parts of England must have been a change, but it felt like the landscape itself got lost as a character.

The first book was full of wonderful descriptions of where Chris was, and I loved hearing about the people he met and called his friends. In this one, as he’s joined by his partner, we lose that a bit. Even the South West Coast Path, a place I’ve recently walked a few miles of, gets little more than a complaint about car park prices.

At the end, Chris actually breaks the fourth wall a little and admits the book was a bit rushed. It was a surprising moment, and it made me feel like my thoughts weren’t so far off.

What Chris achieved is incredible. Walking the entire UK coastline is an absolutely amazing feat. I still have so much respect for that. I just wish this second part of the story had engaged me more.

I didn’t come away from it feeling like I’d traveled with him. I wasn’t inspired to visit any new places based on his descriptions. And that, for me, is a real shame.

Originally posted to my Goodreads account