Bollocks to Alton Towers

Cover of paperback edition

Bollocks to Alton Towers: Uncommonly British Days Out (ISBN 0-14-102120-9) is a humorous travel book written by Robin Halstead, Jason Hazeley, Alex Morris and Joel Morris (the creators of The Framley Examiner), which showcases unusual attractions, left-field museums and one-off days out in the United Kingdom.

The introduction describes the book as "a collection of the underdogs of British tourism… [that] say more about Britain and the British than any number of corkscrew thrill rides or high-tech Interactive Visitor Experiences."

According to the book's information, the authors, on average, "were born on 2nd November 1971 and live on Blackfriars Bridge in London with their three-quarters of a partner and half a child each."

The book was published in hardback by Michael Joseph Ltd (an imprint of the Penguin Group) in 2005. It was also published in paperback by Penguin Books in 2006.

A sequel, titled Far From the Sodding Crowd, was published in hardback in 2007. A paperback edition, More Bollocks to Alton Towers, (ISBN 0-14-102785-1) was published in April 2008.

A short documentary Far From the Sodding Crowd was made in 2009 and features some of the attractions included in both books, as well as writers Jason Hazeley and Joel Morris.

Contents

Attractions covered in the book:

• Blackgang Chine
• British Lawnmower Museum [1]
• Peasholm Park Naval Warfare [2]
• Louis Tussaud's House of Wax
• Kelvedon Hatch Nuclear Bunker [3]
• Porteath Bee Centre [4]
• Mad Jack's Sugar Loaf [5]
• Keith and Dufftown Railway
• The EastEnders Set
• Pitt Rivers Museum [6]
• Eden Ostrich World [7]
• Keith Harding's World of Mechanical Music [8]
• Shah Jahan Mosque [9]
• The Beckham Trail [10]
• Mother Shipton's Cave and Dripping Well [11]
• Apollo Pavilion
• Hamilton Toy Collection [12]
• Imber [13]
• Cumberland Pencil Museum [14]
• Pack o' Cards Inn [15]
• Diggerland [16]
• Orford Ness [17]
• The Wellcome Collection of Medical History
• Cast Courts [18]
• Tebay Services [19]
• The Williamson Tunnels in Liverpool
• Barometer World [20]
• Portmeirion [21]
• Edinburgh Camera Obscura and World of Illusions [22]
• The Dinosaur Park and Tidal Lake [23]
• House of Marbles [24]
• Dennis Severs' House [25]
• Bletchley Park [26]
• The Workhouse Museum [27]
• Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch [28]
• South Bridge Vaults [29]
• Gnome Magic [30]
• A La Ronde [31]
• Port Sunlight [32]
• Morpeth Bagpipe Museum [33]
• Bekonscot Model Village [34]
• Avebury [35]
• Christ's House

Trivia

The final testimonial quote on the back of the paperback edition (published in March 2006) is: 'A very, very witty, charming book' - Russell Barnes, General Manager, Alton Towers

Some copies display the first word of the title as B**locks on the cover (front, back and spine). However the word remains uncensored inside.

External links

• Book's official website at penguin.co.uk

Far From the Sodding Crowd (Film)