I was born in a small mountain town in America and I came to England for two reasons. One was, I wanted to marry a Beatle. And the other was the literature. This list is a bit skewed towards the south of the country, because thats where I live now, and these are the places I can visit on a regular basis, which remind me of my favourite books.
1. WATERSHIP DOWN
I absolutely loved this book about rabbits as a child and it was a thrill to find out that Watership Down really exists in Hampshire, between Newbury and Basingstoke. You can trace the rabbit protagonists route on foot (passing by Andrew Lloyd Webbers house), and have a picnic under Bigwigs Tree. Magical.
2. KENSINGTON GARDENS
We usually think of Peter Pan living in Neverland, but in the original book, James Barrie put his fairy boy in Kensington Gardens, where he, and other fairies, emerged at night. Thats why theres a glorious statue of the Boy Who Never Grew Up in the park.
3. LYME REGIS, DORSET
The setting both for Persuasion, by Jane Austen, and The French Lieutenants Woman, by John Fowles. Therefore it is one of the most romantic places in existence, though haunted with melancholy and perhaps the scent of fish and chips.
4. STONEHENGE
In Tess of the DUrbervilles, Thomas Hardy calls it a vast erection. Enough said.
5. THE LONDON UNDERGROUND
Once you read Neil Gaimans Neverwhere, you will never feel the same about the boring old Underground again. Its the setting for a magical, dangerous alternative London.
6. KING'S CROSS STATION
Platform 9 ¾. Likewise Paddington Station: All Of.
7. WHITBY
Its here that Dracula landed his boat, with plans to take over all of England. Theres also a wonderfully quirky series of novels by Paul Magrs set here, about mystery-solving old ladies Brenda and Effie, who are more than a little gothic themselves.
8. SLOUGH
Yes I know, but Susan Coopers The Dark is Rising is set here, in the village of Dorney just outside of Slough, and it is one of the best childrens books ever written, and that is enough to make Slough magical.
9. WESTMINSTER BRIDGE
Westminster Bridge inspired Wordsworths poem, which is the most evocative of a quiet city that I have ever read. I might be a little bit pretentious, but I cant go over Westminster Bridge without murmuring, And all that mighty heart is lying still!.
10. 221B BAKER STREET
Im an enormous Sherlock Holmes fan and Ive visited Baker Street a million timeseven though when the stories were written, number 221 didnt exist. I recently went on a pilgrimage to find 187 North Gower Street, where BBCs Sherlock was filmed, and stood outside it snapping photos like a crazy fangirl.
And one more from out of England...
11. RUMFORD, MAINE, USA
The place I come from is tiny and obscure, but isnt that devoid of literary allusions, either. Richard Russos Pulitzer Prize winning novel Empire Falls was partly based on it; my favourite memoir of last year; and Stephen King set his fictional town Castle Rock just a few miles from there. We used to look for Cujo in the woods, which is pretty good training for a novelist, I reckon.
Julie Cohen's fourth novel, Where Love Lies is out 31 July.