Excellent Essex by Gillian Darley – a long-overdue celebration

Beyond white vans and stilettos ... an original and beautifully written celebration of a much-maligned county

World’s first travel guide goes on display at British Museum

Rare first edition of 15th century book with illustrations of European and Middle Eastern cities is part of the Inspired by the East exhibition

Richard Ayoade on film-making, supporting Richard Gere and living with Ipswich inside him

The director, presenter, author and overachiever on a childhood wardrobe that said ‘youth is wasted on me’, Alex Turner, Alice Coltrane, Dinosaur Jr and Zazie Dans Le Metro

Footnotes by Peter Fiennes review – rambling with the greats

The author of Oak and Ash and Thorn roves Britain in the footsteps of famous writers

The Way to the Sea by Caroline Crampton review – the Thames, but no fond cliches

More mud and shipwrecks than prosecco and punting … a personal, enjoyable celebration of the Thames from source to sea

A tour of Dominica in search of Creole cooking and the spirit of Jean Rhys

On the taste and scent trail of the Caribbean island immortalised by the Celtic-Creole novelist

Top 10 books about walking in Britain

Travelling on foot is a national obsession that has inspired a whole tradition of great writing, from Laurie Lee to Iain Sinclair

‘They said Kim Jong-un could fire a gun at age three’

A new biography reveals another side to the North Korean dictator. The journalist who wrote it explores the reality behind the propaganda

Ice, fire and feuds: on the trail of Iceland’s sagas

The tales of heroes and feuding families in Iceland’s founding chronicles inspire this countrywide walking, hitchhiking and camping trip

WG Sebald’s The Rings of Saturn is our reading group book for June

This month, our European book will be a German author so important he’s earned his own adjective – and his take on the Suffolk coast

Afropean by Johny Pitts review – black Europe from the street up

A quest to find unity among African Europeans introduces a singular new voice and reveals an unseen continent

Johny Pitts: ‘I’m working towards a multiculturalism 2.0’

The journalist and author discusses how travelling through Europe challenged his own notions of identity

Outpost by Dan Richards review – welcome to the middle of nowhere

A traveller’s meditation on the appeal of remote places is clever and funny

Solo travel for women is about freedom, in every sense of the word

Solo travel is on the rise, especially among women, but Rosita Boland has always found it the most adventurous and rewarding way to see the world

Travel writer Colin Thubron receives outstanding contribution award

Veteran travel writer, praised for his vivid accounts of remote destinations, is honoured at Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards