Top of the world

He's known as the man who pays his own way, and Simon Calder has made a career out of delivering honest, unbiased advice to a travel-hungry public. In these cash-strapped times, his expertise in seeing the world on a shoestring is more in demand than ever.

Simon's first job was a cleaner for British Airways, and it was while he was employed at Gatwick Airport that he wrote his first book, the Hitchhiker's Manual: Britain. After retiring his BA uniform, Simon became travel editor for The Independent in 1994, and soon afterwards he began presenting for BBC2's Travel Show. In 2003 he became a regular presenter for the Holiday programme on BBC1, and in 2007 presented the last film in the final programme of the series, which had run for 37 years.

He now presents Simon Calder's Travel Clinic on London's news station, LBC 97.3, contributes regularly to BBC Breakfast News and GMTV, comments on travel issues for national and local BBC radio and TV stations, and is contributing editor for Condé Nast Traveller and High Life magazine.

As someone who's been all over the world on a budget but has called south London home for 21 years, Simon reveals to SW his 2009 travel plans for London, Britain and beyond.

What trips have you taken recently and what's coming up in your travel agenda?

I did some work on Thailand for Sky Travel recently, and I'm going back to Berlin, 20 years after the Wall. I'm looking forward to going back there because 20 years ago I was in the old East Berlin and nobody knew anything would change. And then within the year of course the whole place had opened up and become free again.

I'm spending more time in the UK now than previously because I pay for all my travel and I'm very, very conscious of Britain now offers relative to other places. I'll be getting up to Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, probably the Lake District later on in the year. London is the place to start because it is the hub of the rail network.

If I could only take one trip this year, where should I go?

The thing is, most places will be exactly the same or pretty much the same in five years' time. One place which definitely won't is Cuba, so it's one place I urge people to get to if they haven't been there before.

What's your favourite place in Britain - or do you keep it a secret?

Oh no, there's no point keeping anything a secret. I don't think - particularly living in south London - you can go wrong with Brighton and what's going on there. It's very, very lucky having an easily accessible place where you can enjoy a little indulgence very close to hand.

Are there any places in London that enable you to feel like a tourist in your own city?

I'm a tourist at all times. I enjoy being a tourist all the way from the South Bank through to the Horniman Museum in Forest Hill, and I even went camping one night at the campsite in Crystal Palace! It's a very good site, very well run.

What's your favourite London journey?

Anything that involves going over Waterloo Bridge has to be a good result doesn't it?

Do you have a motto as a traveller?

The best one was one I saw as a piece of graffiti in a youth hostel in Athens, which is: "Dream as though you will live forever, live as though you will die tomorrow".

Your job is to travel all over the planet. Surely the urge to move to some of the great places you've come across must be something of an occupational hazard. What keeps you here?

It's a wonderful place to live and work and bring up children. We're very lucky to be living in the world centre of cheap travel at a time when we have so many opportunities. Wherever you're going, London is usually the best place to start.

Simon Calder's Travel Clinic (LBC Radio) will be broadcast live from The Times presents Destinations: The Holiday & Travel Show at Earls Court on Sunday 8 February. For further information on Destinations (which runs 5-8 February) or to book tickets visit www.destinationsshow.com or ring 0871 230 7141 (calls charged at national rate; booking fee applies)

Top of the world

Members Comments

Add a Comment