Back by popular demand following his 2018 appearance, Michael Portillo returns to the Stanfords Travel Writers Festival. Since leaving politics we have watched him travel all around the world in his television documentaries. Championing the Bradshaw’s Handbook, Michael has looked in depth at the history of rail travel and how it opened up the world for people to travel. Hear him talk to Julia Wheeler about his vast travels and what he has learned along the way.
Read More Michael Portillo in Conversation: Stanfords Travel Writers Festival 2020
Dr Jon Copley: Exploring the Ocean Depths: Stanfords Travel Writers Festival 2020
The wellbeing of our oceans has never been more important. But to truly understand the vital role they play, we need to first understand how the oceans work, how we explore them and learn about the mysteries they hold, and what our effect is on them. Combining untold history of ocean exploration and personal account of what it’s like to be a ‘bathynaut’ diving in a mini-submarine, Jonathan Copley brings to light weird and wonderful deep-sea creatures and how the oceans and their future is connected to our everyday lives.
Read More Dr Jon Copley: Exploring the Ocean Depths: Stanfords Travel Writers Festival 2020
Ben Aitken: An Unlikely Year in Poland: Stanfords Travel Writers Festival 2020
In 2016 Ben Aitken moved to Poland to work in a fish and chip shop. He booked the cheapest flight he could find, to a place he had never heard of – Poznan. Between peeling potatoes and boning fish, Ben spent time on the road travelling the country and learning about its history. Talking to Julia Wheeler, Ben gives a bittersweet portrait of an unsung country, challenging stereotypes and revealing a diverse country, rightfully proud of its colourful identity.
Read More Ben Aitken: An Unlikely Year in Poland: Stanfords Travel Writers Festival 2020
Lucy Richards: Where to Go When: Stanfords Travel Writing Festival 2020
Dreaming of your next adventure? Whether you’re looking for festivals and culture, an unforgettable journey, natural wonders, rest and relaxation, or active adventures, Lucy Richards talks to Paul Blezard about the most amazing places in the world and the best time of year to visit them. Discover when to explore Costa Rica’s rainforests, journey into the clouds in Nepal, sail between Croatia’s cypress-clad islands, or gaze at the saw-toothed crags of Canada’s Rocky Mountains.
Read More Lucy Richards: Where to Go When: Stanfords Travel Writing Festival 2020
John Hudson: How to Survive: Stanfords Travel Writers Festival 2020
John Hudson talks to Paul Blezard about how strategies for life or death situations can help us excel in our everyday lives. Through gripping first-hand accounts of survival stories from across the extreme world you can develop the skills that allow you to make better decisions under pressure, which are as equally applicable to your interactions with colleagues or family, job interviews and public speaking, as to tackling Mount Everest.
Read More John Hudson: How to Survive: Stanfords Travel Writers Festival 2020
Sara Wheeler: Travels Through Russia: Stanfords Travel Writers Festival 2020
At a time of deteriorating relations between Russia and the West, Sara Wheeler talks to Julia Wheeler about a Russia not in the news – a Russia of humanity and daily struggles. Taking us across eight time zones, from rinsed north-western beetroot fields and far-eastern Arctic tundra to the cauldron of ethnic soup that is the Caucasus. She gives voice to the ‘ordinary’ people of Russia, and discovers how the writers of the Golden Age continue to represent their country today.
Read More Sara Wheeler: Travels Through Russia: Stanfords Travel Writers Festival 2020
Dom Joly: A Short Walk Across the Lebanon: Stanfords Travel Writers Festival 2020
Dom Joly talks to Julia Wheeler about his book The Hezbollah Hiking Club, in which he writes about hiking across Lebanon, from the Israeli border in the south, along the spine of the country’s mountain range, all the way to the Syrian border in the north. It is a big-hearted, witty and affectionate love letter to Lebanon and its rich history with a meditation on family and homeland at its heart. With Dom’s trademark humour, it is a paean to both the simple joys of friendship and to growing old disgracefully.
The Hezbollah Hiking Club by Dom Joly
Philip Parker: History of Maps in Britain: Stanfords Travel Writers Festival 2020
From Mappa Mundi to modern election maps, the United Kingdom has evolved rapidly, along with the ways in which it has been mapped. During this time, cartography has not only kept pace with these changes, but has often driven them. In his beautiful book, Philip Parker talks to Julia Wheeler about some of these maps that give a visual representation of the history of Britain.
History of Britain in Mapsby Philip Parker
Travelling with Children: Stanfords Travel Writers Festival 2020
The prospect of travelling with children can be daunting: long flights, unfamiliar food, the absence of the home comforts and helpful grandparents. But more parents are venturing away from all-inclusive resorts with kids’ club entertainment on tap in favour of immersive real-world experiences. In doing so they discover the joys that family travel can bring, and the connections that children can open up around the world. Adrian Phillips talks to the ESTWA award winning writer Dom Tulett and Susannah Cery, founder of online family travel community Our Tribe Travels, to share their experiences of travelling with their children and tips on how to make it work.
Kidding Around: Tales of Travel with Children
Matt Dickinson: The Death Zone: Stanfords Travel Writers Festival 2020
Matt Dickinson talks to Phoebe Smith about his first-hand experience of living through one of the most devastating storms ever to hit Mount Everest, a storm in which many lost their lives. Tackling issues at the very heart of mountaineering, Matt tells an extraordinary story of human triumph, folly and disaster.
The Death Zone by Matt Dickinson
