There is, as a cover-quoted reviewer noticed, as much of Bryson in this book as of Britain and I have to say that as much as I enjoyed the 'Britain' element, I wasn't particularly enamoured with the 'Bryson' one. He starts with a recollection of his first arrival in Dover good 20 years before (this *IS* truly hilarious, had me actually laughing out loud, even at the adolescent humour, I have to admit) and then repeats the Calais-Dover journey and continues the tour (mostly by public transport) that takes in - amongst others - London's Wapping Dorset Coastal Path, Salisbury, Lincoln, Bradford, Port Sunlight, Inverness and Wick. 'Notes' is essentially an account of a journey that Bryson makes round Great Britain some time in the early 90's after deciding that he will leave UK and go back to the United States. I found a lot of his stuff condescending (the European book), boring (Walk in the Wood) or rather adolescent (flatulence based humour) but this was the first book of his that I ever read and it my mind remains his best one, at least as far as travel writing goes. This humorous account of a tour of Great Britain is OK as light entertainment but don't expect particularly beautiful prose nor deep insights.

For Bryson virgins, it's a good place to start if you wish to.

Summary: If you like Bryson as an author and are not familiar with this, you will almost certainly love it.

Amazon notes from a small island