This was an intriguing book, though somehow it didn’t quite work for me. The premise was an excellent one, and seemed designed specifically to appeal to me, which makes it even more disappointing.

Gary Harden and his wife, on returning from five years living and working in Vietnam, decided to walk from John O’Groats to Land’s End. Having made this decision, they planned what seemed the most appealing route, even though that would take the total mileage to around 1,200. Harden recounts his experiences in a fairly perfunctory way, focusing more on his feelings at the time rather than describing in close detail the countryside through which he walked.

He does, however, devote a lot of time to his thoughts about philosophy, offering fascinating morsels from a selection of the most noteworthy thinkers. He draws particularly heavily on Plato, whom he first encountered on a camping holiday as a teenager. Books about walking have become increasingly popular recently, and the combination with the teaching of philosophy is a new and intriguing twist.

My only problem was to do with the tone of the book. I can’t quite put my finger on it. I think that there was an underlying smugness that rankled all the way through. While I found his apostrophes about philosophy interesting informative, I simply couldn’t bring myself to like the book. I am quite happy to concede that the fault may lie with me, but there it is. ( )