My book's called Sh*tty Breaks - but it's really a love letter to Preston

Because the book, by boyband member-cum-travel writer Ben Aitken, is a celebration of the underdog.

Ben, who hails from Portsmouth, decided that he would pick 12 of the least visited cities in the UK and Ireland and see what they’re all about over the course of a weekend. And yes, Preston was amongst them.

Turning up with apparently no clues about the city (and bemoaning that nobody has ever told him to go before), it turns out he loves the place - and even had the best lunch of his life here, with talk of taking Aven’s version of the esteemed butter pie to bed.

Asked to sum up his abiding memory of Preston, he said: “Avenham Park, butter pie, Wallace & Gromit, and one hell of a bus station.”

Ben spent two nights in Preston “really trying to emulate a city break”, being “aritficially busy”. During his stay, he also played bingo, visited Rise in the Miller Arcade, went curling, sat with Wallace and Gromit outside the market, hired an ebike to go on the Guild Wheel, admired Winckley Square and got into a row in a nightclub. Talking about his schedule, he “loved the chaos of it”, being pushed out of his comfort zone - especially on the number 14 bus, wondering if he was going to end up in the Lake District.

Ben’s book is full of fascinating history and amusing anecdotes, all woven humourously in with his own experiences. So, did he do a lot of research before visiting?

“Absolutely none”, is his blunt reply. “I wanted to turn up ignorant - I like the magic of discovering things. I think it spoils travel if you turn up and know what to expect, with a tick box. So, I decided to chance my arm and as a writer, you can find out plenty after the fact.”

Ben said he loved finding out about suffragette Edith Rigby, who burnt down the cottage of a soap magnate from Bolton, before escaping to Ireland by bicycle, and about Richard Arkwright’s instrumental involvement in the start of the Industrial Revolution. Infact he commends Preston as having “epic history”.

But he also found joy in the people and the culure. Travelling by public transport to the likes of the Flower Bowl and Brockholes Nature Reserve, he did the old-fashioned thing and asked people for their recommendations, instead of relying on search engines. He said: “You really get a sense of the people and what they truly value, that way.”

And the name of the book? “I tried to get it changed, but the publishers weren’t having it”, said Ben, worried about the reaction. “It’s obviously a pun on city breaks, and alludes to the received wisdom that some places are just not as good as others. Many books take that approach. But actually the name works in the same way as the programme The Undateables. They’re not undateable at all - quite the opposite. It’s challenging and arguing with that preconception.”

Since the book was released on Thursday, Ben says it’s been “so far, so good” on the name issue. He said: “I was bracing myself for some descent and feedback, but I think it’s clear that it’s actually a geniune love letter to the places I’ve visited. I actually did have a really great time.”

When pushed to rank his favourite Sh*tty Break locations, Preston in third place, behind Sunderland and Bradford - and he say’s he’s up for a repeat visit. “People have been telling me that I’ve missed obvious places. In Preston I’ve been told that I should have gone to the Ferret and I should have gone to the Docks, and that Animate has now opened, but that just means that there’s a reason to go back.”

And indeed he will be back - Ben will be signing copies of his book at event at Waterstones in Preston with John 'Gilly' Gilmore on May 28, and an event at Ebb & Flo in Chorley on May 29.

Sh*tty Breaks is available now priced at £16.99.