By Dan Thompson
Margate’s not the worst place for a holiday in the UK – and if you don’t believe it, an author who has holidayed in places like Preston, Milton Keynes and Chelmsford is in town next week, talking about the book he has written about unlikely holiday destinations.
Ben Aitkens wrote Sh*tty Breaks after analysing tourism statistics, and identifying twelve of the least-visited cities in the UK and Ireland. The list includes ex-industrial cities like Preston and Bradford, Dunfermline in Scotland and Limerick in Ireland, and the British Overseas Territory Gibraltar.
He then visited all of them, talking to local people and visiting what attractions there were. He went skiing in Sunderland, walked an Alpaca in Bradford, ate jellied eels in Chelmsford and went skydiving in a shopping centre in Milton Keynes.
Everywhere he went, he asked locals where he should go while he was on holiday in their town – often being met with surprise, but always uncovering hidden delights as he followed people’s suggestions. He tried local delicacies too – finding the first KFC in the country in Preston and in Milton Keynes, the best baked potato ‘in his life’.
Ben has written five books before Sh*tty Breaks, including Times bestseller A Chip Shop In Poznan and The Gran Tour, which The Spectator called ‘both moving and hilarious’. He has written for The Guardian and The Times, and was Travel Journalist of the Year in 2024.
And now, in an event for The Margate Bookshop, he is coming to Thanet to talk about his journey. Ben will be at Fort Road Bar from 7-9pm on Thursday 14th May, in a free event.
He’ll be in conversation with local artist and writer Dan Thompson – himself a fan of overlooked places, and a keen champion for holidaying in Stoke-on-Trent, Coventry, and Worthing.
To book tickets visit themargatebookshop.com/events
i feel its fair to say , the whole of thanet would qualify for inclusion in this mans book
A whole series could be written about Blackwood.