Derek’s birth certificate says his dad was a cowman. And he’s proud of that. As a lad growing up in the back of the very beyond, he nurtured a love of the countryside and country ways. He’s nurtured this love in adulthood and it’s led to a vagabond pastime: a passion for slowly pedalling the byways of Britain. Over the years, the author’s tramps have taken him from Appledore to Teviothead and from Abersoch to Lowestoft. He’s been blue-fingered and he’s been baked; he’s been drenched and he’s been blown sideways. But he’s always taken pen and notebook with him to record his experiences for posterity.