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A former Chancellor of Durham University, he was President of the Campaign to Protect Rural England for five years, and is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society.

Unsurprisingly I haven’t visited many of the wonderful places in Bills book but have a hunger to do so next time I go and will plan accordingly. There is no shortage of idiots - which is why Down Under will sell thousands more copies than Anglo-Australian Attitudes.

By beginning on the far Eastern area, to the Southeast,and then walking us through towns that vary in climate, style of living , and people themselves, this is a journey well worth taking. Another travel book, A Walk in the Woods, has become a major film starring Robert Redford, Nick Nolte and Emma Thompson. Those who read Bill Bryson’s travel books must end up in two minds about whether or not they would like to be his travelling companion for one of his journeys: or indeed, one of the people he meets, chats with, or whose conversations he overhears and records. Points well made, but just when you thought all was lost she produced a generous conclusion that helps to explain why Bryson gets away with his speed and shapelessness: "Bryson is such an agreeable, warm-hearted and witty companion that I ended up enjoying this book despite its shortcomings. If he had bravely reversed his percentages, perhaps the public - surely not as idiotic as he suggests - might have been more likely to follow suit.I am glad of the opportunity for reading this book because I learned so much about a Country and its people for which and for whom I have a great affection and previously had little knowledge. The thing that Bryson most loves about Australia - its "effortlessly dry, direct way of viewing the world" - is, in fact, his own. Ignoring such dangers and yet curiously obsessed by them Bill Bryson journeyed to Australia and promptly fell in love with the country.