On The Table Read Magazine, “the best arts and entertainment magazine UK“, Tom Bolton’s Atomic Albion: Journeys Around Britain’s Nuclear Power Stations is a brilliant, elegiac travelogue that explores these divisive monuments as cathedrals of science and temples of doom, perfectly timed amid the UK’s ambitious push to quadruple nuclear capacity by 2050.
Atomic Albion
In an era of renewed commitment to nuclear energy, Tom Bolton’s Atomic Albion: Journeys Around Britain’s Nuclear Power Stations (published by Strange Attractor Press/Peninsula Press) offers a captivating and thought-provoking exploration of the UK’s atomic heritage.
As the government pushes forward with ambitious plans to expand nuclear capacity — aiming for up to 24GW by 2050, potentially quadrupling current output to meet a quarter of the nation’s electricity needs — Bolton’s travelogue arrives at a pivotal moment.
Journalist and author Tom Bolton, known for his evocative books on London’s hidden rivers, lost neighbourhoods, and coastal landscapes, turns his gaze to the monumental structures that have quietly defined Britain’s remote corners.
During the Covid-restricted summer of 2021, when international travel was off-limits, Bolton embarked on a domestic odyssey to visit the UK’s 16 nuclear sites — from operational power stations to decommissioned relics and vast reprocessing facilities.
These include the haunting Sellafield in Cumbria, the austere beauty of Trawsfynydd in Wales, and the baffling Dounreay in northern Scotland.
Bolton’s narrative weaves together landscape, community, history, and the sheer awe — and dread — inspired by these colossal engineering feats.
He portrays nuclear sites as divisive landmarks: cathedrals of science to some, temples of doom to others.
From the shingle beaches of Dungeness to the marshes of Essex and the rugged coast of Anglesey, these structures have profoundly shaped local geographies, economies, and imaginations.
With only a handful of reactors still operational today, yet new builds like Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C on the horizon, Atomic Albion prompts reflection on nuclear power’s legacy and its contested future.
Tom Bolton
Tom Bolton, a South London-based writer with a PhD in architecture from UCL, brings a unique perspective shaped by his work on urban and coastal histories.
His previous titles include London’s Lost Rivers, Camden Town: Dreams of Another London, and Low Country: Brexit on the Essex Coast.
Atomic Albion stands as his most ambitious work yet — a richly illuminating tour of Britain’s atomic heartlands that is as elegiac as it is terrifying.
Find more from Tom Bolton now:
Apple Book: https://apple.co/3JZWaHo
Kindle: https://amzn.to/4ilOpIl
Paperback: https://amzn.to/3MpGmOE
Publishers: https://bit.ly/4oQAKf0
Website: www.tombolton.co.uk
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