Travel writing

197 products

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    The Impossible Journey

     

    'Never less than entertaining . . . the book really comes alive' Mail on Sunday'A fascinating book . . . what it means to be human' Independent on Sunday203 countries. Over a decade of travel. Not a single aeroplane in sight. This is the story of one man's journey to be the first to visit every country in the world without flight . . .When Thor Pedersen set out on the adventure of a lifetime, he never dreamed of the people he'd meet and the places he could go. But embarking on this epic voyage took him to the brink of his sanity, wiped his funds and tested the relationships he held dear.Over the years he encountered grave danger in the form of drunken armed men as well as the high seas, with giant waves crashing in over the ship from all sides. He has slept on the street and dined in the homes of billionaires. He visited countries stricken with war-zones, and once had to take an 11,919 km detour, revisiting seven countries, traversing Baluchistan in Pakistan escorted by armed guards because he was denied a visa while in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Life becomes unnecessarily complicated without the luxury of flying.Yet after years of challenges and milestones, Thor achieves something no human has ever done. The Impossible Journey is a triumphant memoir as he invites the world to share in this once in a lifetime adventure, the lessons, stories and unique perspectives on humanity he learned along the way.

     

    £12.99

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    Lone Wolf

     

    SHORTLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTIONBBC Radio 4 Book of the WeekA Financial Times Book of the Year 2025A Times and Telegraph Best Book of the Summer 2026'AN EXCEPTIONAL BOOK.' Robert Macfarlane, author of Underland'A BOLD, BEAUTIFUL, CONFRONTING JOURNEY.' Isabella Tree, author of Wilding'LOVELY ... FULL OF INCIDENT, COLOUR AND NUGGETY FACTS.' Robbie Millen, The TimesFrom the winner of the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award comes an epic walk across the Alps in the footsteps of a wolf, throwing unique light on Europe's mountainous hinterlands at a moment of political and environmental change.In 2011, a young wolf named Slavc set out from Slovenia. Traced by GPS, he travelled a thousand miles through the Alps, arriving four months later on the Lessinian plateau, north of Verona. There had been no wolves in northern Italy for a century, but here he crossed paths with a female wolf on a walkabout of her own. A decade later and there are more than a hundred wolves back in the area, the result of their remarkable meeting.In Lone Wolf, Weymouth walks Slavc's path, examining the changes facing these wild corners of Europe. Here, the call to rewild meets the urge to preserve culture; nationalism and globalisation pull apart; climate change is radically changing lives; and migrants, too, are on the move.The result is a multifaceted account of a region caught in a moment of kaleidoscopic flux, from an award-winning writer with a uniquely perceptive eye for detail.

     

    £11.99

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    On Thin Ice

     

    'This almost insanely intrepid and dangerous trek in remotest Siberia is astonishing in itself. But it also brings invaluable experience of Russian reactions to the war against Ukraine. Altogether extraordinary' Colin Thubron, author of The Amur River In early 2022, Charlie Walker set out to hike 600 miles along the frozen rivers of Siberia. He hoped to cut through the myth of the gulag and the permafrost to understand who its people are and how they reckon with their haunted past, as well as what the future might hold for this remote corner of our world. But on 24 February, Russia invaded Ukraine, with devastating consequences. What had begun as an adventure swiftly descended into a paranoid nightmare, as Walker began to suspect he was being monitored by the Russian authorities. Shortly afterwards he was arrested and imprisoned. On Thin Ice juxtaposes the harsh beauty of a Siberian winter with a thriller-like series of events that exposes the dark heart of Putin's propaganda machine. It is both the extraordinary record of one man's walk through the most inhospitable place on earth and a powerful insight into a deeply troubled - and troubling - nation.

     

    £16.99

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    Truck It!

     

    The instant Sunday Times bestseller, now with a new bonus chapter.What do you do when you've lost everything? You bet it all on a mad idea.After a broken heart and a bankrupt business left him at rock bottom, Bobby Bolton made a drunken promise in a Wigan pub: he was going to drive to Australia in a converted truck with his dog, Red.He thought it would be a story of one man and his dog. How wrong he was.Just weeks into his journey, a chance encounter with a beautiful hiker named Marie changed everything. After only two dates, she bravely joined him on the adventure of a lifetime, and their epic love story began.But their new life on the road was forged in the face of constant danger: Bribing corrupt Russian police Surviving a mountain track collapse in Italy Being interrogated at a Taliban checkpoint Rescuing his new girlfriend from a 200-metre fall down a cliff face Action-packed, hilarious, and full of Northern charm, Truck It! is the inspirational true story of what happens when you leave it all behind and find love, adventure, and a reason to live again.Sunday Times bestseller at no 5, as of 29/07/2025.

     

    £10.99

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    In Nigeria

     

    ALSO AVAILABLE TO PREORDER NOW: MICHAEL PALIN IN THE PHILIPPINES - COMING SEPTEMBER 2026.---------The extraordinary new book from the bestselling author, a richly illustrated travel adventure across the African nation.Illustrated throughout with colour photographs taken on the trip, and brimming with wry humour and fascinating insights, this is a vivid and varied portrait of a complex country.---------With his eightieth birthday looming, it crossed Michael Palin's mind that now might be the time to hang up his boots, to lounge about at home, to take things easy. Then the opportunity to visit Africa's most populous nation arose. A few weeks later, he was at Lagos airport, camera crew in town.In the journal he kept during his trip he gives a vivid account of the towns and cities he visited, the landscapes he travelled through, and the people he met: from vibrant but chaotic Lagos, to seemingly deserted streets of Nigeria's hyper-modern capital, Abuja, to the polluted oil fields of the Niger Delta. Michael Palin is welcomed as an honoured guest by a powerful emir and harangued by a passerby in Benin City. He hears the testimony of a kidnap victim of the terrorist group Boko Haram and experiences the collective spiritual ecstasy of one of Nigeria's mega churches.And throughout his trip, he experiences at first hand the contradictions of a country that has so much natural wealth and human talent and yet simultaneously grapples with corruption, religious strife and deep inequality._______Praise for Michael Palin:'I cannot remember the last time I read a book so immediately absorbing and affecting.' Bill Bryson, bestselling author of A Short History of Nearly Everything'Stirring' Daily Telegraph'Everybody's talking about it . . . A brilliant book.' Chris Evans, BBC Radio 2'Tremendous' Guardian'I absolutely loved it: I had to read it at one sitting.' Lorraine Kelly, ITV Lorraine'Magisterial' The Times'[a] winning mix of genuine interest, good-humoured charm and that deceptively steely nose for humbug' Wanderlust' [An] absorbing and beautifully illustrated day-by-day account' Daily Mirror

     

    £20.00

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    Epic Hikes of Europe

     

    Lace up your hiking boots for the next in Lonely Planet's highly successful Epic series, this time exploring 50 of Europe's most rewarding and beautiful hikes. From the sun-kissed regions of Southern Europe, including Italy, Greece, Portugal and Spain, to North Europe's history-rich heartlands (including France, Germany, Belgium, Britain, Ireland and Scandinavia), we cover a huge variety of themes and experiences for every type of hiker. Epic Hikes of Europe features some classic routes to tick off: Ireland's Dingle Way, Speyside's Malt Whisky Trail, a battlefield hike through Belgium and Italy's stunning Sentiero degli Dei along the Amalfi Coast. Hikes are graded according to their challenge and practical info is provided so you can follow in the writers' footsteps. A vibrant illustrated cover continues this collectible series. Inspiring, full-page images, maps plus practical details Engaging first-person accounts from writers who have completed the hike A wide range of routes for every ability, from one-day walks to multi-day treks About Lonely Planet: Lonely Planet is a leading travel media company, providing both inspiring and trustworthy information for every kind of traveller since 1973. Over the past four decades, we've printed over 145 million guidebooks and phrasebooks for 120 languages, and grown a dedicated, passionate global community of travellers. You'll also find our content online, and in mobile apps, videos, 14 languages, armchair and lifestyle books, ebooks, and more, enabling you to explore every day. 'Lonely Planet guides are, quite simply, like no other.' - New York Times'Lonely Planet. It's on everyone's bookshelves; it's in every traveller's hands. It's on mobile phones. It's on the Internet. It's everywhere, and it's telling entire generations of people how to travel the world.' - Fairfax Media (Australia)

     

    £24.99

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    White Spider

     

    A classic of mountaineering literature, this is the story of the harrowing first ascent of the North Face of the Eiger, the most legendary and terrifying climb in history.Heinrich Harrer, author of 'Seven Years in Tibet' and one of the twentieth century's greatest mountaineers, was part of the team that finally conquered the Eiger's fearsome North Face in 1938. It was a landmark expedition that pitted the explorers against treacherous conditions and the limits of human endurance, and which many have since tried - and failed - to emulate.Armed with an intimate knowledge that comes only from first-hand experience of climbing the Eiger, Harrer gives a gripping account of physical daring and mental resilience. A new introduction by Joe Simpson, author of 'Touching the Void', confirms the lasting relevance of this true adventure classic.

     

    £10.99

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    Slow Trains Around Britain

     

    'Easy-going, discursive and digressive, even those to whom trains are a closed timetable will find this a charming travelogue.' - Stuart MaconieJoin travel writer and self-confessed 'train nut' Tom Chesshyre as he celebrates 200 years of passenger railways on a zigzagging tour around the UK - where trains (proudly) beganIn a small market town in the northeast of England in 1825, something momentous happened: ticket-bearing human beings started moving along wrought-iron tracks on a contraption with engine-powered wheels. The contraption was called a 'train'. What happened in Darlington, along a 26-mile line to Stockton, would kickstart the worldwide railway revolution. Today, 1.3 million miles of tracks crisscross the planet.To celebrate the 200th anniversary of this groundbreaking event, Tom Chesshyre embarks on a journey around the country that invented trains, taking in many heritage lines maintained by armies of enthusiasts. On a long, circular series of rides beginning and ending in Darlington, Chesshyre enjoys the scenery, seeks out the history, dodges delays (as best he can), reports on the current (often shambolic) state of British railways, and lets the rhythm of the clattering tracks reveal what it is about trains - especially wonderful old trains - that we love so much.

     

    £12.99

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    Wayfinding

     

    'Beautifully written and researched.' - Isabella Tree, author of WildingThe physical world is infinitely complex, yet most of us are able to find our way around it. We can walk through unfamiliar streets while maintaining a sense of direction, take shortcuts along paths we have never used and remember for many years places we have visited only once. These are remarkable achievements.In Wayfinding, Michael Bond explores how we do it: how our brains make the 'cognitive maps' that keep us orientated, even in places that we don't know. He considers how we relate to places, and asks how our understanding of the world around us affects our psychology and behaviour.The way we think about physical space has been crucial to our evolution: the ability to navigate over large distances in prehistoric times gave Homo sapiens an advantage over the rest of the human family. Children are instinctive explorers, developing a spatial understanding as they roam. And yet today few of us make use of the wayfaring skills that we inherited from our nomadic ancestors. Most of us have little idea what we may be losing.Bond seeks an answer to the question of why some of us are so much better at finding our way than others. He also tackles the controversial subject of sex differences in navigation, and finally tries to understand why being lost can be such a devastating psychological experience.For readers of writers as different as Robert Macfarlane and Oliver Sacks, Wayfinding is a book that can change our sense of ourselves.'A fascinating excursion into the very nature of exploration. Absorbing stuff.' - explorer Benedict Allen

     

    £11.99

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    How to Survive (Almost) Anything

     

    THE MODERN-DAY SURVIVAL BIBLE FROM EX-SPECIAL FORCES SOLDIER AND NUMBER ONE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OLLIE OLLERTONDo you know how to thrive, not just survive?Can you build a fire? Administer critical first aid?Could you stay alive out in the wilderness? Fend off a wild animal?What about societal collapse, extreme weather or urban warfare?In How to Survive (Almost) Anything, former Special Forces soldier Ollie Ollerton passes on all the specialist skills, knowledge and mindset learnt over the course of a life that has experienced some of the world's toughest conditions and most hostile situations: whether that's fending off a wild animal at 10 years-old, serving in the elite Special Forces, or mountaineering in the ice-capped Himalayas.This essential guide meticulously teaches you how to prepare your instincts, ready your mentality and hone your survival skills so that you have the tools and know-how to survive whatever comes next.

     

    £10.99

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    Wanderlust

     

    'Radical, humane, witty' Alain de Botton 'Magisterial' Will Self, Guardian Explore historical, political and philosophical paths traced by walkers in this profound and diverting modern classic. What does it mean to be out walking in the world, whether in a landscape or a metropolis, on a pilgrimage or a protest march? In this first general history of walking, Rebecca Solnit draws together numerous stories to create a new way of looking at one of humanity's most fundamental and expressive acts. Arguing that walking as history means walking for pleasure and for political, aesthetic, and social meaning, Solnit homes in on the walkers whose everyday and extreme acts have shaped our culture, from the philosophers of ancient Greece to the poets of the Romantic Age, from the perambulations of the Surrealists to the ascents of mountaineers. With profiles of some of the most significant walkers in history and fiction - from Wordsworth to Gary Snyder, from Rousseau to Argentina's Mother of the Plaza de Mayo, from Jane Austen's Elizabeth Bennet to Andre Breton's Nadja - Wanderlust takes us on an unforgettable journey and shows how walking can affect the body, the imagination, and the world around us. 'One of those rare, quirky, rather lovable books that makes you look anew at something so familiar ... Solnit winningly traces the shifting cultural significance of putting one foot in front of another' Daily Telegraph

     

    £10.99

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    Wild Peaks

     

    A journey through Britain's first National Park on its 75th anniversaryOn a spring day in 1932, 400 disgruntled ramblers embarked on a 'mass trespass' of Kinder Scout, a plateau in the Peak District in northern England. Their aim? To establish a right to roam across the rugged landscape, against the wishes of wealthy landowners.The hikers were seeking respite from the smoky industrial centres of Manchester and Sheffield - and eventually they got what they wanted. In 1951, the Peak District was established as Britain's first national park. Home to striking dragon-back ridges of rock, vast expanses of peat, farms and villages, cloughs and caverns, the Peak is much more than the 'howling wilderness' described by Daniel Defoe three centuries ago.With the 75th anniversary of the park's creation looming, how has this dramatic landscape fared since? Celebrated travel writer Tom Chesshyre hit the trails on a 363-mile ramble to find out - and to celebrate this symbolic home of hiking.Wild Peaks follows winding paths, pausing at old inns and mountain huts, and along the way meeting a rich cast of landowners, farmers, historians, mountaineers, publicans, rangers, right-to-roamers, homeless travellers, mountain rescue members, mystics, dreamers and fellow hikers.Don your cagoule, grab a compass, and join Tom as he explores how the land has changed, and how we have too.

     

    £20.00

  • A Road for All Seasons

    A Road for All Seasons

    A tumultuous period in British politics left writer Harry Bucknall questioning whether he really knew the place he called home. Propelled by a growing desire to better understand his island nation, Harry decided to undertake a pilgrimage of sorts; he embarked on a series of four walks across Britain that would mirror the changing seasons, covering a distance of nearly 1,600 miles. From fresh and heady spring through to the gloriously crisp winter months, Harry journeyed across Britain visiting cities, towns and vast swathes of the countryside from Mull to Sunderland and Aberystwyth to Lowestoft, meeting a host of diverse and charismatic characters along the way as he strove to uncover the beating heart of the nation.

    £25.00

  • Overnight

    Overnight

    There is something special about the night. For many, just the idea of it conjures thoughts of starlit skies, romance, of being tucked up in bed. For others, the night means fear, vulnerability and sleeplessness. At night things go bump, owls take wing and foxes prowl. This book is a celebration of all things nocturnal, a hymn to night-time wildlife, travel, dreams and art. Along the way, Dan Richards meets a fascinating array of people who labour while the rest of us sleep, and brings their work into the light. From night terrors to the glow of watching the dawn break on the summer solstice, this volume will change the way you think about the hours after dark.

    £10.99

  • Dream trips of the world

    Dream trips of the world

    Tick off the biggest bucket list trips with this definitive guide to 100 of the world's greatest travel adventures. From Norway's cosmic aurora borealis to Japan's dazzling temples and cities, this epic guide is bursting with trip planning tips, detailed itineraries, must-do experiences, and local insights to help bring your travel dreams to life.

    £32.99

  • Touching the void

    Touching the void

    Joe Simpson and his partner, Simon Yates, tackled the unclimbed West Face of the remote 21,000 ft Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes. In June 1985 they achieved the summit before disaster struck. In 'Touching the Void' they tell their story.

    £10.99

  • Letters From Everest

    Letters From Everest

    'An extraordinary treasure trove' Andrew MarrA unique collection of unpublished letters from the climbing legend George Mallory to his family, revealing his innermost thoughts about people, places and mountains.

    £10.99

  • Around the World in 50 Slopes

    Around the World in 50 Slopes

    Veteran ski journalist Patrick Thorne has unearthed the incredible stories behind 50 unique runs from the utterly unmissable to the totally unexpected. Discover the two different Alpine ski areas who claim to be Hannibal's route through the mountains with his elephants; the debate around what is really the world's steepest slope; how smugglers have used ski runs to escape custom patrol; and why hundreds of skiers dress as witches at Belalp in Switzerland every year. Features skiing from across Europe, North America and South America, as well as fascinating global ski destinations including China, Iran and even North Korea. Along the way we'll meet Franz Klammer, the greatest ski racer in history, as well as The Beatles, Count Dracula, St Patrick and James Bond.

    £16.99

  • Trelawny's Cornwall

    Trelawny's Cornwall

    It would be hard to think of a more thoroughly Cornish name than Petroc Trelawny. His first name is shared with one of Cornwall's most celebrated saints, his second is the name of its unofficial national anthem. But when a stranger challenges the Radio 3 presenter on his ancestry, he is inspired to return to the lands of his boyhood to rediscover the place where he grew up, and attempt to confirm if he still belongs there. Part history, part memoir, this is a deeply felt exploration of Cornwall - past, present and future. Petroc embarks on a slow journey that sees him visit old mine workings, ancient churches, sites where new technology was forged, and places where poets, musicians, architects and film makers have worked to shape Cornwall's cultural identity.

    £10.99

  • Michael Palin in Venezuela

    Michael Palin in Venezuela

    In February 2025, Michael Palin travelled to Venezuela to get a sense of what life is like in one of South America's most culturally rich, vibrant but also troubled nations. In the journal he kept during his trip he gives a vivid account of the towns and cities he visited, the landscapes he travelled through, and the people he met. Illustrated throughout with colour photographs taken on the trip, and permeated with his warmth and humour, this is a vivid and varied portrait of a complex country.

    £20.00

  • Travels With Agatha Christie

    Travels With Agatha Christie

    In 1922, a young Agatha Christie, still at the dawn of her literary career, received an incredible opportunity. Britain was preparing for a grand festival - the British Empire Exhibition - to be held in Wembley in 1924. But such an ambitious event needed planning, and Agatha and her husband, Archie, were asked to help. Would they like to travel to different parts of the Empire to assist in its preparation? Naturally, their answer was a resounding yes. Nearly a century later, the legendary Sir David Suchet and his wife Sheila were invited to retrace Agatha's remarkable journey. In 'Travels with Agatha Christie', Suchet - renowned for his iconic portrayal of Hercule Poirot - follows in Agatha's footsteps, visiting the diverse landscapes of South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii and Canada.

    £30.00

  • A Pub for All Seasons

    A Pub for All Seasons

    A celebration of the beauty and mysteries of the British pub, and how it changes through seasons, by award-winning beer writer Adrian Tierney-Jones

    £12.99

  • North Korea Journal

    North Korea Journal

    In May 2018, former Monty Python stalwart and intrepid globetrotter Michael Palin spent two weeks in the notoriously secretive Democratic People's Republic of Korea, a cut-off land without internet or phone signal, where the countryside has barely moved beyond a centuries-old peasant economy but where the cities have gleaming skyscrapers and luxurious underground train stations. His resulting documentary for Channel 5 was widely acclaimed. Now he shares his day-by-day diary of his visit, in which he describes not only what he saw - and his fleeting views of what the authorities didn't want him to see - but recounts the conversations he had with the country's inhabitants, talks candidly about his encounters with officialdom, and records his musings about a land wholly unlike any other he has ever visited - one that inspires fascination and fear in equal measure.

    £16.99

  • Empire Antarctica

    Empire Antarctica

    It is said to be one of our oldest stories: a young man goes to a far-off land in search of a mythical and wondrous beast. For years, Gavin Francis yearned to go to the remotest place on our planet, to see one of the strangest beasts alive. This is how he came to spend 14 months living alongside emperor penguins as the base-camp doctor at Halley.

    £12.99


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