A former regional press journalist who went on to become a well-known author of travel books has died aged 78.

Geoffrey Moorhouse, described by The Times as “one of the best writers of our time,” started out on the then Bolton Evening News before joining the then Manchester Guardian aged 27.

Recalling his time in the regional press, he once said: “The BEN was important to me and gave me a push in the right direction.”

He went on to become the Guardian’s chief feature writer, combining journalism with book writing. He died last Thursday after suffering a stroke.

Many of his books were largely based on his travels. While still with the BEN in 1954, he went to New Zealand and the paper published a series of his observations.

He never forgot his roots and returned to Bolton in 1989 to speak at Bolton Festival’s Literary Dinner.

Mr Moorhouse was one of the first authors to use the phrase “North-South Divide” in a book entitled “The Other England” published in 1964.

In it, he claimed there was no divide as such but a “golden circle” of prosperity which only encompassed the Home Counties.

In 1973, he attemped to become the first man to cross the 3,600 miles of the Sahara Desert, from the Atlantic to the Nile, by camel.

Although he only managed 2,000 miles, the failed attempt produced another book, “The Fearful Void.”