The idea of a travelogue is nothing new in the realms of literature, but in recent years there has been a huge spark of interest in Ireland.

It kicked off with Tony Hawks and his best-selling "Round Ireland With A Fridge", the strange tale of one man, his fridge and the unwavering generosity of Irish motorists.

This was followed a few years later with "McCarthy's Bar", telling the tale of Pete McCarthy and his quest to visit every bar bearing his name in Ireland.

The latest travel book to sample this country's charm is by a young man from England by the name of Ian Middleton. While Hawks and McCarthy are both beyond middle age, Ian is of the younger generation, and it shows in his writing.

Ian is currently in Ireland promoting his new book "Hot Footing Around The Emerald Isle". It contains an interesting perspective on the Irish people from somebody who was never here before. Things we take for granted are actually uniquely Irish, but only the outsider can see it.

Ironically, Ian has garnered almost enough material for a second book from his promotional tour of the country, but rather than save it for publication he is keen to let his growing online community know of his adventures.

His website (www.ian-middleton.co.uk) contains stories from his current Irish tour as well as information on his Emerald Isle book and his first travel book "To the End of the World and Back" set in South America.

The 32 year old was smitten with Ireland when he first visited the place two years ago. In fact he liked it so much he set up a second home in Wexford and now spends a good few months of the year here rather than back home in England.

This love of Eire comes through in Ian's new book. He describes with a longing the scenery of Southern Ireland, but reserves some of his best, and funniest writing for the characters he meets along the way, like an American couple who offer him a lift.

"Nervous Don and his wife were on holiday from Maine. I call him Nervous Don because Don was his name and he was nervous as hell when it came to driving on these tiny country roads. "Don was so tense behind the wheel that I suspect you would be unable to pull a needle out of his arse with a four-wheel drive."

Without giving too much away the title of the book comes from the endless walking our hero/writer undertook, particularly in the capital city.

"By the end of the day my feet were screaming with agony. I thought it quite ironic, after all the walking I had done in my old boots, especially on the Beara Peninsula, that a little bit of walking around a city in new ones could have rendered me the image of an old man who'd had a slight accident in his underpants."

Admittedly the places Ian visits will come as no surprise to Irish people well versed in geography.

He doesn't discover a new island or start his own village, but at the time of writing it was all new to him, and perhaps us natives need to take a second look at where we live and not take it for granted.

"Hot Footing Around The Emerald Isle" is available from all good bookshops now.