The story of a journey between Cape Town and South Wales in 2008, following Barn Swallows on their northbound migration, leaving the Cape on February 1st and crossing the Severn Sea (aka the Bristol Channel) on April 22nd.

Features all sorts of tips, annecdotes and observations, including the best way to drive the Great East Road from Lusaka to Chiapata; why an empty beer truck is a better means of transport through Cameroon than a full one; how to have a good night out in Brazzaville and where to get a decent pint in Gibraltar, a place to stay in Zaragoza and a pie in Watchet.

'Travel writing at its very best - enthralling, passionate, hair-raising, quirky, hilarious, informative, occasionally mad and utterly, utterly brilliant' - The Financial Times

'Fizzingly entertaining...his prose has something of the swallow's flight: daring, sharp-edged, fast-moving, graceful, full of surprises. This is a great adventure, thrillingly realised, and one of its innumerable merits is that it reminds us how much more interesting humans are than any bird' - The Daily Telegraph