Not only physically through the miles he covers for his travel books but also literally through his meandering, charming and humorous writing style. And he combines the two superbly in his latest book Sh*tty Breaks.
Over the course of the year Ben visited twelve of the least popular spots in the UK and Ireland according to official tourist board visitor numbers (or lack of them). But don’t get the title wrong. This isn’t an opportunity for Ben to take the mickey or stick the boot in further.
Instead, as the book’s strapline shows, this is ‘A Celebration of Unsung Cities’ and a chance for Ben to prove that anywhere - like anyone - can be interesting and enjoyable if approached in the right fashion.
And among the cities was Wolverhampton where Ben arrived with the added bonus of being told it was voted the fifth worst in the world according to readers of Lonely Planet.
He took time out to marvel at the statues of young war hero Douglas Morris Harris, Prince Albert and Lady Wulfruna, cause a security scare at the Snow White panto at the Grand and take in a tour of Wightwick Manor as well as a day at the races. With food and drink featuring highly in Ben’s meanderings across all his city breaks his favourites had to be a toss up between the Goan King Prawns at the Bilash and taking a tram ride out to Major’s in Bilston for the orange chips and a battered pig-in-blanket.
If he had his way Ben said he would: ‘Get Slade back together and play The Gifford every other Thursday… and float orange chips on the stock market.’ He referenced Ian McMillan’s poem which compared Wolverhampton to a favourite auntie who’s always getting overlooked at discos. And ended his visit by musing: ‘So do yourself a favour and drop in on your old auntie, She might not remember who you are and there’s a chance she’ll get p****d and start heckling your kids, but she'll definitely be happy to see you.’
Summing up his experiences of the cities at his official book launch Ben said: ‘They weren’t flawless, they weren’t unblemished but where is and who is? I really think anywhere can be interesting, like anyone, if you ask them the right questions and give them enough time.’
And this is exactly what you get from Sh*tty Breaks as Ben steps out of the train or bus station on arrival, takes you by the hand and leads you through the local attractions and oddities while ensuring there is enough time to grab a pint here and savour a local delicacy there so you never lack for sustenance on his weird and wonderful wanderings.
Ben admits to enjoying ‘walking in a curious fashion’. And he doesn’t mean backwards or without bending his knees but with his eyes peeled and ears to the ground. ‘When you walk in such a fashion, things jump out at you, like bits of stimulating shrapnel.’
So be prepared to be hit by these flying bits of shrapnel from all angles, whether from skiing and skinny-dipping in Sunderland, falling in love with Dunfermline, kissing an alpaca in Bradford, suffering jellied eels in Chelmsford to having more craic in Limerick than was wise.
But what I loved most was not the things Ben unearthed but the random assortment of characters he met along the way. Most of them thought he had lost his marbles when he explained he was writing about their cities and many, when asked the best part of where they lived, suggested it was going somewhere else.
But, wherever he went, Ben’s easy-going nature ensured he could always find someone to talk to so he could discover what really makes these places tick.
This is an affectionate and humorous tour of our nation - an ode to the unfashionable and little loved. Many of us could extol the virtues of cities such as Bath, Oxford, York, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Belfast and Cardiff. But Ben shows through Sh*tty Breaks that there will always be something worth discovering and someone worth talking to no matter where you are.
Ben Aitken is the author of six books. His latest, Sh*tty Breaks: A Celebration of Unsung Cities, is published by Ikon Books and is on sale now.