so I'm reading the travelogue written by Paul Theroux in the 1970s....

[grasswire]

...wherein he walks and rides trains 'round the coast of the UK. It is a very gloomy read; he has very little positive remarks to make. Most of the people are very old, or very provincial, or very ill-informed. Most of what he sees is ugly, cluttered, dirty.

Is that a true picture of the coast? Really?

He didn't go to Clovelly. Perhaps that little village makes up for everything else?

I'd like to read any comments that DU-ers have to make about the area!

And is the train system ruined in the last several decades?

[LiberalEsto]

1. I found his book very depressing too

It seemed like all he saw was ugliness.

[Speck Tater]

2. Couldn't be much more depressing than his "The Mosquito Coast". nt

[Nay]

3. No shit! Wasn't that book an absolute downer? Sad to say, the crazy father reminded me a lot of my

own father, and the whole book was extra-creepy and more depressing because of that fact.

[grasswire]

5. Theroux has enjoyed significant success

...and I wonder now why that is. I remember reading several of his books years ago, and the allure was because of the destination and travel. The train across Siberia, for example. Maybe he didn't get so bitter and cynical until later.

[dipsydoodle]

4. Never been to Clovelly so ca't comment on that.

Done most of the rest of our coasts including Scotland across the sixties and seventies.
Dunno what he's on about. Maybe what he wrote he picked second hand.

[grasswire]

8. so if you had to pick one section of coast to visit...

....and you had a week to do so, where would you go? With as few tourists as possible...

[dipsydoodle]

10. Actually a number of my cousins live in Wales

and from what they say and also from what I've seen in our documentaries here that may take a bit of beating especially if you want peace and quiet. Having said that Scotland takes some beating too and that's despite the fact I love Kent and Sussex with their variations in the landscape - they're busier though. None of that is to say you wouldn't enjoy Devon , where Clovelly is , and Cornwall - its not that hard to find somewhere quiet but the villages like Clovelly always tend to be busy.

In a different context from what occurs here on DU from time to time - enjoy your stay !

[non sociopath skin]

6. In the 70s, some of the British coastline was blighted by heavy industry ,,,

... especially where coastal installations disposed of waste onto beaches or into the sea.

However, as we don't have any industry now, this has largely been rectified.

Haven't read the Theroux book but I live near the coast of Northumberland which is an area of outstanding natural beauty and very popular with tourists, in spite of the Northern European climate.

http://www.northumberland-cam.com/coast.htm

The train ride up the coast from Newcastle to Edinburgh has always been pretty stunning. I guess Theroux missed that one.

The Skin

[grasswire]

7. thank you SO much for that link!

Maybe some day I'll get there. The citizenship law that Canada passed in 2009 gives me dual citizenship (US & Canada) and I yearn to travel to the "homeland" my ancestors left in the 1600s. I'm starting to research for that possibility.

I never thought of looking for web cams, so thanks! Now I'm wondering about local newspapers online. I would particularly like to find one for Henlow, Bedfordshire, and one for Fenstanton -- villages where family members lived before they set sail for the New World. Should be possible, eh? (Catch that Canadian "eh"?)

[LeftishBrit]

9. I haven't read the book...

but it certainly isn't true that all of coastal Britain is 'ugly, cluttered and dirty'. It is true that seaside holiday resorts out-of-season can become economic and cultural deserts, and also that, as non sociopath skin says, some coastal areas were polluted by industry at the time when Britain actually had industry! But most would regard the British coastline as diverse, varied, and at its best quite beautiful.

It should, however, be noted that, if you are referring to 'The Kingdom By the Sea', it was published not in the 70s but in 1982. This makes a difference. The early and mid-80s were the nadir of Thatcherism in the UK; great for the rich and those who hoped to be rich and the entrepreneurs and wide-boys; a period of depressing decline for everyone else. Perhaps this is reflected in the book.

[grasswire]

11. oh yes, you are right about the date

What is a "wide-boy"?

Thanks for your thoughts.

[muriel_volestrangler]

12. It's someone flashy, probably looking to make a fast buck

in business deals, not necessarily entirely legally.