Travel Advice
7 life-changing travel books to buy now
Dogs, philosophers and trains dominate the thoughts of Stanfords’ experts this month, as they pick out some life-changing reads
The World Within
by Guy Stagg
Stagg delves into the lives of the painter David Jones and the philosophers Simone Weil and Ludwig Wittgenstein. Each went on retreat at some point – to a Welsh island, a French abbey and an Austrian monastery, respectively – to find their work and lives forever changed. Their stories beg the question: what could any of us achieve with a creative break?
Small Earthquakes
by Shafik Meghji
From cowboys and pirates to nitrate kings and wool barons, regular Wanderlust contributor Meghji looks at the impact of Brits on the history of South America. In turn, he cunningly reveals how the continent has moulded Britain in many unexpected ways. Consider that the next time you bite into a Fray Bentos pie.
Follow My Lead
by Emily Gill
Travelling with your dog is one of the more unexpected trends to emerge from the Covid pandemic, when the UK experienced a boom in pet ownership. Since then, the number of hotels that advertise as ‘dog friendly’ is growing. And where travel trends lead, guidebooks surely follow. If you’ve ever wanted to find a pooch-friendly boat trip or hike, this is the book for you.
Shifting Sands
by Judith Scheele
Anthropologist Scheele has spent decades researching and living in the Sahara region – the world’s largest hot desert. She takes us from the Roman era to the modern day, looking at the religious, cultural and political forces that have shaped this area. In doing so, she unpicks a region as complex as it is fascinating, shining a light on the often detrimental impact that the West has had on this incredible land.
Free Ride
by Noraly Schoenmaker
Eschewing the grand tradition of travel memoirs about quitting your job after a crisis and then hitting the road, the author skips the usual fumbling romances for something purer: a newfound love of motorbikes. Across 32,000km, from India to the Netherlands – and many encounters in between – she gradually stitches her life back together, one journey at a time.
Lifelines
by Julian Hoffman
By swapping city life for the villages and mountains of Prespa, Greece, a British couple set out to reconnect with nature. From a face-to-snout meeting with a bear to chilling winters and a moving encounter with sheltering wrens, this paean to the simple pleasures of the changing seasons will inevitably make you want to follow their lead.
Final Destination
by Nige Tassell
On the 200th anniversary of the world’s first-ever passenger-carrying railway, Tassell sets out to ride Britain’s rail network to its furthest outposts, taking in ferry ports, lost resorts and a town reclaimed by the sea in this amusing, nostalgic ode to the more eccentric corners of Britain’s railways.
