Okay, it may become tediously parochial and middle class after a while but is it a place of supreme comfort. I mean, the novel itself starts with

In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.

Yes, you might be trapped in it.

Yes, you may be an unwitting pawn in a magical contest you know nothing about.

But the night circus! Who wouldn’t run away with this one? Especially with attractions like these:

• The Illusionist and the Fortune Teller.
• The Labyrinth.
• The Ice Garden and the Wishing Tree.
• The Carousel and the Cloud Maze.
• The Contortionist and the Acrobat Tent.
• The Clock and the Cat Tamers.
• The Bonfire and the Pool of Tears.
• The Statues and the Food.

You think, as you walk away from Le Cirque des Rêves and into the creeping dawn, that you felt more awake within the confines of the circus. You are no longer quite certain which side of the fence is the dream.

Scirland, Vystrana, Eriga, this series has a Victorian-esque climate to suit anyone from the frozen heights of the mountains to the tropical Green Hell to the oceans explored by the Basilisk.

And it has dragons.

And a wonderful draconic cover.

Oh, and also a powerful no-nonsense heroine.

Yes, obviously there was going to be a Discworld location in this list. Obviously.

Ankh-Morpork was tempting but Lancre was the setting of the first Discworld novel I read and the witches – irascible formidable Granny Weatherwax, irreverent Nanny Og – and the practicality of their magic chimed hugely.

Again, it was inevitable that a Gaiman novel would creep into this list.

And the underworld of London Below, where the station names are re-imagined as only Gaiman can, is populated by such a wonderful cast of eccentric characters! Door, The Marquis de Carabas, Hunter and Lamia, Mr Croup and Mr Vandemar.

“He…” Richard began. “The marquis. Well, you know, to be honest, he seems a little bit dodgy to me.”

Door stopped. The steps dead-ended in a rough brick wall. “Mm,” she agreed. “He’s a little bit dodgy in the same way that rats are a little bit covered in fur.”

The world of Bas-Lag and the city of New Crobuzon are not without their problems and their hardships – beside the racism and speciesism and poverty, it is haunted by mafia thugs and slake moths.

But this one of the most richly imagined, vibrant diverse communities I have come across populated by humans, kephri garuda, remade, cactacae, vodyanoi… It is fantastical steam-punk,

New Crobuzon, this towering edifice of architecture and history, this complexitude of money and slum, this profane steam-powered god…

New Crobuzon, crouching beneath The Ribs,

Leviathan shards of yellowing ivory thicker than the oldest trees exploded out of the ground, bursting away from each other, sweeping up in a curved ascent until, more than a hundred feet above the earth, looming now over the roofs of the surrounding houses, they curled sharply back towards each other. They climbed as high again till their points nearly touched, vast crooked fingers, a god-sized ivory mantrap.

An oceanic island world?

Steampunk styling?

The bodies of ancient Gods being harvested for parts to enhance technology?

Yes, yes, yes please!

It is a gorgeous place, and of course Guinness!

And Bloomsday.

And Guinness.

The world of Austen Friars in Wolf Hall seems wonderfully warm and full of what we might see today as found family.

Thomas Cromwell may have lost his wife and daughters to the plague, but his home is so open and welcoming to the young men and women he encounters!

Lagos may seem a little overwhelming, but the nation and it’s tribal cultural mix has always appealed hugely.

I mean, who wouldn’t want to visit the site of the Prince of the Undead?

In the daytime at least.

I’m not sure about living in the outback, but I am certainly curious about the vividness of the settings in Australia.

The Russia – Rus’ – of Arden’s novels is a wonderful place, on the cusp between modernity and ancient, Christian and pagan – and the existence of the traditional myths is a massive draw!

And in my Golden Years – which don’t feel too far away on some occasions! – to retire to Cooper’s Chase and the warm, complex, acerbic and no-nonsense residents of the retirement home might keep me on my toes.

And in the event of boredom, one can always solve a murder or two.

On a Thursday.