'It was an empty landscape now with huge horizons in every direction, a compressed, steam-rollered desert where man had no place. We lacked the skills to carry out even the most basic fixes. If the van stopped working we were stuck. No one knew where we were and our last mobile signal had been 150 miles ago.'
Fifty-something and tired of arguing with John Humphrys over the day’s headlines, BBC...
There is so much to look forward to in the months ahead – to lengthening evenings, bike rides past fields of sunflowers or wild meadows of bluebells and poppies (just like the seventies Flake ad) and several months of fetes, vide greniers (car boot sales) and barbecues in friends’ gardens. And I cannot wait to get back to see if Andy Lawton has called… After reaching the heights...
There were five rules of Twitchhiker:
I can only accept offers of travel and accommodation from people on Twitter.
I can’t make any travel plans further than three days in advance.
I can only spend money on food, drink and anything that might fit in my suitcase.
If there is more than one offer, I choose which I take. If there is only one, have to take it within 48 hours.
If I am unable to...
For generations of Britons, Singapore was the international crossroads of the Empire, the ultimate colonial posting, the stimulus for writers such as Joseph Conrad, Somerset Maugham or Noel Coward. Can today’s hightech 24-hour city with its gleaming skyscrapers and high standard of living provide a similar kind of inspiration to a visitor?
John Malathronas penetrates the Oriental psyche and discovers...
Isn't an earthly paradise what everyone's dreams are made of? Should such a utopia exist, surely it would be amongst the mountains of the Himalayas, the writer James Hilton reasoned, and in 1933 he wrote about such a place, the hidden valley of his novel, Lost Horizon. He called it Shangri-La. Clinging to the vague hope that he'd be able to heave his backpack up the mountains, let alone discover his...
The right-hand point at Jeffreys Bay is one of the surfing world’s most exciting finds, and from the age of twelve it had been my life’s purpose to surf there. J-Bay, South Africa – the fantasy, the almost mythical waves every surfer dreams of riding once in their lifetime. But Tom wouldn’t go until he was ready. He would seek out surf-spots from the virgin reef-breaks of the Outer Orkneys to the temple...
A fascinating portrait of the new South Africa by the acclaimed author of Brazil: Life, Blood, Soul. From the stillness of the Karoo savanna to the warmth of the Indian Ocean, and from the exclusive white neighbourhoods of Pretoria to the destitution of the black townships in Cape Town, John Malathronas chronicles a journey in one of the most beautiful countries on Earth. Whether dancing the night...
The Kerr family say goodbye to their orange farm in Mallorca, and put it up for sale after three years of hard work. The Mallorcan experience comes to an end with a farewell fiesta for neighbours and friends, full of comic shenanigans but tinged with sadness. But now begins the return-to-Scotland adventure, and what a cultural shock is in store. Welcomed back by family, the Kerrs make plans to start...
Having battled and succumbed to the mañana pace of rural Mallorca, spring sees Peter Kerr and family relaxing into a supposedly simpler way of life, growing oranges on their little valley farm, Ca's Mayoral. However, even after the trials, tribulations and triumphs of their initiation, Spain has not yet finished with them. Embarrassing subtleties of the language, brushes with the local police, the...
Celebrating the 70th anniversary of this magical and well-loved classic. Following a plane crash, Conway, a British consul; his deputy; a missionary; and an American financier find themselves in the enigmatic snow-capped mountains of uncharted Tibet. Here they discover a seemingly perfect hidden community where they are welcomed with gracious hospitality. Intrigued by its mystery, the travellers set...
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