Second paragraph of third chapter:

For nearly 500 years the postal service was an important part of our national infrastructure The cost of sending a letter was the same, regardless of whether it was sent to someone a few streets away or whether it went from the coast of Cornwall to the highlands of Scotland. This strengthened our sense of geographic identity because, in the eyes of the Royal Mail, we were all equal. Their postcode system unified the country.

This was an impulse purchase as a Christmas present to myself. I had a phase when I was about nine or ten of looking at the maps of England and tracing the paths of the Roman roads – perhaps a little envious that there aren’t any in Ireland. (Now I live within a brisk walk of several Gallo-Roman tumuli.)

Higgs does what I’ve always wanted to do, and frames a series of historical and cultural snapshots along the length of Watling Street, the Roman road that goes from Dover through Canterbury, London, and St Albans, passes near Bletchley Park and Northampton, and then through Wroxeter to Holyhead. It’s all interesting and some of it is glorious, for instance his tour of Northampton as portrayed in Alan Moore’s Jerusalem, guided by Alan Moore himself and one of Moore’s greatest fans. He comes at it from an unapologetically left, counter-cultural perspective, a welcome refresher that interest in your own country’s culture and history belongs to all parts of the political spectrum. Lots of nuggets here, especially commending the bits on London and Bletchley Park, but it’s all good. You can get it here.