Daniel Hartley

Daniel grew up in Shropshire, which he'll tell you is the most underrated county in England given half a chance. His father drove lorries for a living, which meant childhood weekends were spent in transport cafés and lay-bys from Ludlow to Lincolnshire — an unconventional education in the geography of ordinary Britain that he's never quite shaken off.

He spent most of his thirties working in logistics management, which sounds dull but meant he genuinely has been to Scunthorpe, Crewe, Telford and Grimsby more times than most travel writers would admit. Somewhere along the way he started writing down what he noticed: the good greasy spoon on the ring road, the Victorian market hall nobody photographs, the pub that's been the same since 1987 and is better for it.

Daniel writes about the parts of Britain that don't get the magazine spreads — the working towns, the unglamorous coastlines, the history that happened in places with awkward parking. He has strong opinions about black pudding, a weakness for second-hand bookshops, and a deep suspicion of anywhere that describes itself as "quintessentially British" on a chalk board outside.

He currently lives in Herefordshire with two dogs who have strong opinions about walking routes.