On today’s episode, I’m joined by sustainable luxury travel writer, and the Sustainability Editor of Condé Nast Traveller magazine, Juliet Kinsman. Juliet has been an authority in the travel world for over two decades, as a renowned hotel expert. She’s the former Editor-in-Chief of the boutique hotel guide, Mr & Mrs Smith, and went on to found Bouteco, a platform that helps design lovers find the best eco-conscious design-led hotels. And now she’s releasing a book, The Green Edit: Easy Tips ...
Sep 01, 2020•53 min
Today, I’m joined by Jacqui Gifford, the Editor-in-Chief of America’s biggest travel magazine, Travel & Leisure. With a circulation of almost two million and an online readership of nine million, the magazine has always inspired me with its incredible covers, breathtaking photography and moving features, and Jacqui will absolutely inspire you with this episode. Having lived all over the world, and specialising in travel and lifestyle content for two decades, she has so many wonderful destina...
Aug 25, 2020•52 min
Today, I’m joined by legendary ethologist and conservationist Dame Dr Jane Goodall, known best for her groundbreaking research of wild chimpanzees. When Jane moved from England to Gombe in Tanzania, at the age of just 26, virtually nothing was known about chimpanzees in the wild. Her findings, in particular observing them using tools to get food, changed our understanding of animal behaviour and the natural world, and propelled Jane to international fame. What makes this even more astounding is ...
Aug 18, 2020•48 min
Today, I’m joined by the sportsman, adventurer and double Olympic gold medallist, James Cracknell. We first got to know James as part of the coxless four rowing team, alongside Steve Redgrave, that won gold at the Sydney Olympics. Several world titles later, James went on to take part in countless feats of endurance, from becoming the highest ever placed Brit to run the Marathon des Sables, the hottest hardest race in the world, to rowing the Atlantic in a two man boat, and racing to the South P...
Aug 11, 2020•43 min
Today, I’m joined by Lyn Hughes, the co-founder and editor-in-chief of one of the UK's best-loved travel magazines, Wanderlust. In the early nineties Lyn and her late husband were bored on a flight to South America, so they schemed out their dream travel magazine on the back of a sick-bag. The idea stuck and, returning to the UK a few months later, they launched Wanderlust magazine from their spare bedroom, with Lyn as editor and her husband, Paul, as publisher. The magazine gradually grew throu...
Aug 04, 2020•38 min
This week, I’m joined by the food writer and TV presenter, Giles Coren. Giles has been a restaurant critic and columnist for The Times for 17 years and alongside chef Monica Galetti, he is the presenter of Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby, which sees him travel the globe, visiting some of the world’s most incredible hotels, rolling up his sleeves to work alongside their staff. As well as some fabulous hotels, stay tuned for some fab foodie recommendations too. I loved chatting to Giles - hi...
Jul 28, 2020•50 min
On today’s episode, I’m joined by the explorer and survivalist Ed Stafford. In 2010, Ed became the first person to walk the entire length of the Amazon River, a feat that took 860 days and put him on the map as one of our most prominent and exciting adventurers. From there here’s gone on to present and self film more massive challenges, like living in complete isolation on a desert island for 60 days without food, clothes or equipment, or being left for dead in various extreme environments aroun...
Jul 21, 2020•45 min
Sir Michael Palin - where do you start! He’s a legendary comedian, part of pop culture history as one of Monty Python. He’s a BAFTA-winning actor, a best-selling author, and one of our most loved travel documentarians and travel writers. His journeys across the world, beginning with Around the World in 80 Days, followed by Pole to Pole, Full Circle, Sahara, Himalaya, Brazil and more, were a key part of how many of us discovered the world growing up, through his eyes, and through his warmth and c...
Jul 14, 2020•56 min
Jeremy Jauncey is the founder and CEO of the world’s largest online travel community, Beautiful Destinations, which has a combined social following of over 25 million people. The jaw-dropping photos on Beautiful Destinations’s Instagram feed have provided me with endless travel inspiration and undoubtedly influenced some of my travel choices. And what was once a passion project has become a global business, with Beautiful Destinations offices based out of the US, UK and Asia. While it might look...
Jul 07, 2020•42 min
Bonjour! As quarantine-free travel is soon to be announced between France and England, here is a bonus episode celebrating Fabulous France to whet your appetite and inspire your future travel plans. As well as hearing from some of my favourite guests from the past two seasons, today’s show is introduced by Nicola Williams, France expert for The Telegraph and Lonely Planet. She shares her experience of living in France during lockdown and her top tips and hidden gems to visit across the country n...
Jul 01, 2020•43 min
It’s the start of Season 3, and who better to join me to celebrate than Ben Fogle? Ben is not only an award-winning broadcaster, fronting many of our most loved TV shows - he is also one of the UK’s most prolific adventurers. He has rowed across the Atlantic Ocean, swam from Alcatraz to San Francisco, run the Marathon Des Sables (a 6 day ultra marathon across the Sahara Desert), raced across the Antarctica to the South Pole and most recently climbed Mount Everest. He’s written nine best-selling ...
Jun 30, 2020•59 min
Surprise! I’m back with bonus episode number two, as we could all do with a bit of armchair travel right now. This week we’re uncovering the best ‘Hidden Gems’ from the past 23 episodes, from guests including Nadiya Hussain, Dan Snow and Levison Wood. Stay tuned for those secret spots that you want to keep to yourself because they’re that wonderful, but you also want to shout from the roof top because…they’re that wonderful! I hope they transport you to somewhere far, far away and provide some i...
Apr 14, 2020•24 min
Today we celebrate the Best of British, where a selection of guests from Season 1 & 2 will transport you to some of their favourite places in the British isles - all from the safety of your own home. From the Isles of Scilly to the Island of Rum; Shropshire, Yorkshire, Kent, London and much more, here’s a taster of some of the very best of what Britain has to offer. Destination recap: Rick Stein: Isles of Scilly; Padstow, Cornwall, England Poppy Delevingne: Daymer Bay, Cornwall, England Port...
Mar 31, 2020•27 min
Today, I’m joined by a legend of the travel world. Back in 1972, Tony Wheeler and his wife Maureen, decided to drive from London through Asia, and all the way to Australia on what was known as the Hippie Trail. Along the way, they realised there was a real shortage of information about the countries they were visiting, and so they decided to write a guidebook together. That was the now seminal Southeast Asia on a Shoestring, and from there, Lonely Planet was born. Lonely Planet went on to become...
Mar 24, 2020•42 min
Supermodel and actress Poppy Delevingne is making her podcast debut today on The Travel Diaries. Poppy - and her sister, Cara Delevingne - are two of fashion’s most recognisable names. Poppy has been the face of Louis Vuitton, Burberry, the muse for designer Matthew Williamson, and the brand ambassador of Chanel. But as you’ll hear in this episode, it was acting that was Poppy’s first love, and having starred in blockbusters like Kingsman and King Arthur, Poppy is now a series regular on Sky Atl...
Mar 17, 2020•51 min
Today, I’m joined by one of the world’s leading travel authors and journalists, Sophy Roberts. Formerly the editor-at-large of Conde Nast Traveller, and Departures Magazine, as well as a columnist at the Financial Times, Sophy’s focus now is primarily on remote parts of the world, reporting on fragile cultures, wildlife conservation and threats to eco-systems. I hope this episode grabs you and transports you to the wild and wonderful ends of our planet. It’s a long haul, feature length episode a...
Mar 10, 2020•52 min
Jo Malone's superhuman sense of smell took her from life on a council estate, leaving school with no qualifications, and catapulted her into becoming one of the world’s most successful businesswomen, creating two globals brands- first Jo Malone London, and now Jo Loves. Her name may conjure the smell of lime, basil and mandarin or the citrusy scent of pomelo - but what you might not know is how these scents are in many ways inspired by the travels that Jo has been on, and in this is episode she ...
Mar 03, 2020•52 min
Today, I’m joined by the travel writer and broadcaster, Simon Calder. He’s TV’s travel guru, and the travel editor at the Independent newspaper, where he’s known as “the man who pays his way” because he doesn’t accept any freebies from the travel trade - and in this episode, he gives some great tips for travelling on a budget. Simon’s got a great story because his first job was at Gatwick airport, cleaning planes and working on security, and the notion of simply travelling abroad while working t...
Feb 25, 2020•41 min
Today I’m joined by the historian and broadcaster, Dan Snow. You’re probably already a fan of his podcast, Dan Snow’s History Hit. Following in the footsteps of his journalist parents, Dan is now a mainstay on our TV screens, often presenting programmes linked to his love of history - and history and travel of course come hand in hand. I enjoyed this chat with Dan so much that it had to be a “long haul” feature length episode. As well as bringing to life so many far flung destinations (check out...
Feb 11, 2020•47 min
Today I’m joined by one of the most prolific magicians of all time - Dynamo. 250 million viewers around the world tuned in to watch his award-winning TV shows, as he levitated in front of the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro; and seemingly walked on water down London’s River Thames. 750,000 attended his last stadium tour, with famous fans from Jay Z and Snoop Dogg, to Gwyneth Paltrow and Ed Sheeran. And then, at the very peak of his success, he had to step away. As you’ll hear on thi...
Feb 04, 2020•34 min
Today I’m joined by the much loved chef, restauranteur and TV presenter, Tom Kerridge. Tom’s worked in food since he was 18 years old, but he rose to fame when his pub in Buckinghamshire, The Hand and Flowers, went on to become the only pub in Britain with two Michelin stars. I, like many, got to know and love him on the BBC’s Great British Menu show, where he was the first chef to cook at the banquet two years in a row and he’s since gone on to release several best selling cook books and many p...
Jan 28, 2020•43 min
BAFTA winner and Oscar nominee, Dev Patel, is one of Britain’s finest young actors. He first graced our screens in the seminal teen drama, Skins, before going on to make his movie debut in Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire, which picked up eight Oscars, including Best Picture. He’s gone on to star in many more critically acclaimed films, including The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, and Lion, for which he won a BAFTA, and received Oscar and Golden Globe nominations. Now, he’s taken the lead role in ...
Jan 21, 2020•18 min
Today I’m joined by international treasure and culinary royalty, Rick Stein. He’s graced our screens, and lined our bookshelves for over 25 years, cooking up cuisine from all over the world. Fish is his great love, served in his restaurant empire from Padstow, Cornwall to Sydney, Australia. Along with his travel diaries, we talk about the very surprising career path he originally pursued that had nothing to do with food; how the loss of his father led him on a real voyage of self discovery; and ...
Jan 14, 2020•35 min
On today’s season finale, I’m joined by one of the world’s greatest chefs, Raymond Blanc. Raymond had a very humble start to life in rural France and his journey to opening Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, the internationally-renowned Cotswolds country house hotel where he’s been the chef patron since it opened in 1984 is nothing short of extraordinary. For half of his life he’s held two Michelin stars - the only chef in the UK to have retained two stars for so long. And of course in time, with his s...
Oct 15, 2019•32 min•Season 1Ep. 13
Today I’m joined by one of the world’s most influential and multi-award winning travel writers, the global editor in chief of Condé Nast Traveller UK and US, Melinda Stevens. She’s a trend setter, taste maker and considered by many to be travel royalty. After beginning her writing career at Vogue Magazine, Melinda went on to become a columnist for the Sunday Times and Evening Standard, and the travel editor at Tatler, before taking the helm at Condé Nast Traveller. Reading Condé Nast Traveller -...
Oct 08, 2019•38 min•Season 1Ep. 12
Today, I’m joined by Gyles Brandreth. Summing up the life and career of Gyles is no easy feat. He’s a prolific broadcaster, actor, journalist, novelist, biographer and podcaster, and he was formerly an MP and Lord Commissioner of the Treasury. You'll have seen him on Celebrity Googlebox; Countdown's Dictionary Corner hundreds of times, as well as on numerous TV panel shows. He's even the President of the Association of British Scrabble Players! Through all these different jobs Gyles has travelle...
Oct 01, 2019•25 min•Season 1Ep. 11
Today I’m joined by James Lohan, the co-founder - and the Mr - of Mr & Mrs Smith, the much-loved boutique and luxury hotel booking service and travel club. It all began when James and his wife Tamara (aka Mrs Smith) decided to go about creating their own boutique hotel guidebook, travelling the UK to dine the best spots for a luxurious weekend break. The book was a huge success, and the business has since grown to include a popular online booking service, and its membership programme now has...
Sep 24, 2019•45 min•Season 1Ep. 10
Singer-songwriter Ella Eyre burst onto the music scene back in 2013 when she featured on the number one single, Waiting All Night, with Rudimental - which went on to win the BRIT award for best British single. She’s since toured the world, releasing hits like If I Go, Gravity, Came Here for Love and Just Got Paid and is now back with new material, most of which was written and recorded in Jamaica. We talk about her Maltese and Jamaican heritage, her obsession with Asian cuisine, the time she nea...
Sep 17, 2019•28 min•Season 1Ep. 9
Today I’m joined by Levison Wood, the British explorer, photographer, best selling author, and TV presenter. You probably know him from his incredible walking expeditions, which he’s documented on TV. He’s walked the length of the River Nile, through Central America from Mexico to Colombia, and the length of the Himalayas from Bhutan all the way to Afghanistan. We talk about the time he hitchhiked from Nottingham to India - and his adventures along the way; what it was like driving an ambulance ...
Sep 10, 2019•32 min•Season 1Ep. 8
Rachel Khoo is a cook, writer and TV presenter, who first rose to fame with her bestselling cookbook, The Little Paris Kitchen, a collection of recipes tested from her little Paris kitchen! The book was soon developed into her first TV series, and Rachel quickly became known by food lovers the world over, with several cookbooks and TV series that followed. Now, she lives in Stockholm with her Swedish husband and two children, and it’s this new beginning that’s served as the inspiration for her l...
Sep 03, 2019•34 min•Season 1Ep. 7
