OL-Q&A: A Walk on the Weird Side with Dave Hamilton

If you enjoy the type of hike or a day out where you’re likely to encounter something a bit freaky along the way, then Dave Hamilton’s latest book ‘Weird Guide’ is going to be right up your street. Or should I say right up your ‘haunted path that regularly gets dive bombed by UFOs, that’s lined by talking trees and was once rampaged by Ewoks’? Needless to say, we here at Outdoor Licence loved this alternative travel guide so much that we have already compiled a tick list and tracked Dave down to find out more about his brilliant new book.

Following on from your incredibly popular Wild Ruins book you’ve just released the Weird Guide. Can you tell us how it came about and whether the book was as much fun to make as it is to read?

The book had been gestating for a long time. I first came up with the concept of a book filled with unusual sites in 2016, shortly after it became clear Wild Ruins was going to be a success but I didn’t quite have the right formula and I shelved the idea. Over the next ten years I kept traveling; I went to geological oddities, visited big artworks and impressive feats of engineering. I pitched ideas on all of these to publishers but nothing took. Then after pitching an entirely different book which also didn’t take, I remembered the original idea from 2016. So just before I left to get in my car, I suggested a book about weird and wonderful places. The book was to be a mix of all the sites I’d been visiting and more. He loved the idea and I began work on the book very quickly.  

Yes it was fun, I love my job and there are some real highs making it. There is something about heading out with a camera in hand trying to get that one shot. But the logistics of trying to get photos for 300 sites is phenomenal and in order to do it to budget a lot had to be done quickly, including visiting up to 8 or 9 sites in a single day. To make it even harder I am a single parent with a mostly full-time teen and a part time 9-year-old. This means traveling with the kids or waiting until a time where they are with the other parent. It was an adventure and I’d never regret it but it is harder than you think.

Though clearly very different, in some ways the ethos behind the book reminded me of alternative British tourist guide ‘Bollocks To Alton Towers’. Are you a fan of that book and how do you feel about more conventional beauty spots and attractions we have in the UK?

I came across that book during my research; it’s great I love the ethos. Another one on similar lines is Shitty Breaks which sings the praises of unsung towns. If they are done well, conventional sites are fine; Malham Cove is great and big enough for the crowds, and Stonehenge visitor centre is second to none, it’s just a shame you can no longer touch the stones. The trouble begins when too many are funnelled into an increasingly small selection of sites. This is bad news for the environment and it often causes problems for locals. No-one really needs to have ‘that picture’, they can always go somewhere else. There should be a little common sense and if you really want to go somewhere and you know it is going to be really busy then aim to arrive early or try to go off season.

Your intro to the book alludes to the British people (and landscape) as being decidedly eccentric, why do you think we are such an odd nation?

I don’t know exactly but a few things might be in play. We have a big mix of cultures both in the past with Romans, Normans and Vikings and in the present day, each would have brought their own eccentricity. We were also once a very rich country from the British Empire. For a privileged few there was the money to build eccentric structures like follies. Then there is the geology of Britain which is unlike anywhere else, ice-ages, ancient volcanos, continents colliding, coastal erosion etc, etc. Finally, I think because we are an island there has been a bit of cultural isolation. It is a bit like leaving a kid in their room on their own all day. Isolation breeds eccentricity as there are no nearby peers asking to reel it in.

Where’s the weirdest place in Britain would you say?

Forbidden Corner in Yorkshire without a doubt. It has to be seen to be believed.

Were you worried about revealing any particular gems for fear of them becoming too popular and overrun by tourists?

I tried to future proof it the best I could with this in mind. I say when places are difficult to park or could potentially block in locals by doing so and suggest places to walk from. I think the information is out there for all these sites. I’ve just highlighted them a little more.

There are over 1000 sites referenced in my three travel books, (Weird Guide, Wild Ruins and Wild Ruins BC) so I’d like to think that I’m spreading the love a bit, if one is busy go to one of the sites in one of the other books.

In a world full of AI slop, there’s something particularly refreshing about seeing all the genuine, analogue kookiness that’s on our doorsteps. What was the inspiration behind writing the guide and is there anything you’re hoping to achieve with its release?

One of the most common things I hear is that I didn’t know that was near me, be it a mankin graveyard, a ruined mansion, an unusual artwork or a shipwreck. I hope people pick up this book or some of my others and look at what else is on their doorstep.

Were any places just too weird to feature? What criteria did you have when deciding places to feature?

Not too weird but there were some sites that proved too dangerous. I wanted to include the Broomway, Britain’s most dangerous road. It’s tidal and the sea can rush in really quickly, it wasn’t meant to be!

The book includes the UFO landing site at Rendlesham, are you a believer?

If I saw one I might believe but I haven’t yet. Although it is flawed I am a firm believer in the Drake Equation; maybe there is life but they have wiped themselves out or are too far away to visit us!

Did you encounter any weird people or have any odd experiences whilst researching all these unusual locations?

I met a bloke on a causeway on the way to Grain Tower Battery, an abandoned Napoleonic Fort on a tidal island on the Kent coast.  He looked like something out of a Dickens Novel. He had black teeth, and eyes as sharp as a hungry crow. Dressed in army surplus clothing he looked from a different era. With a metal detector strapped to his back it was clear within moments that he had an encyclopaedic knowledge of ballistics. In his broad Kent accent, he gave me a potted history of British bombs, guns and missiles.  We parted ways after he handed me a bullet shot from an American plane that took practice shots at the fort in World War II.

Describe your ideal weird day out.

A good pub with cheap food and good crisps. A walk that takes in two or three weird sites, like a location from Dr Who or Star Wars and a good ruin.

What plans do you have next, will there be a second volume? Maybe some weird overseas wanderings?

That is top secret but lets just say it will be a few years before I make another book with as many sites in it!

Weird Guide:An atlas of 300 curious corners, wild wonders and sublime structures by David Hamilton is out now and available HERE. Whilst you can also check out Dave’s ace website HERE, watch his youtube channel HERE and give him a follow on insta HERE.

Other titles by Dave include: Where the Wild Things Grow, Wild Ruins, Wild Ruins BC, Self-Sufficientish Bible & Grow your food for free