You should have been there
206 episodes - English - Latest episode: 9 days ago - ★★★★★ - 6 ratingsSimon Calder, travel correspondent of The Independent and former BBC producer, Mick Webb, discuss the world of travel and delight in travellers' tales.
Homepage Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Episodes
WHEN A BREAKDOWN IMPROVES A JOURNEY
January 17, 2021 15:55 - 26 minutes - 24.3 MBThere's nothing quite like a mechanical breakdown to disrupt your travel plans. But sometimes it can make rather than break your holiday, as we hear from Steph Nelms and Alec Webb. Meanwhile the President of the AA, Edmund King gives some timely advice on how to avoid mechanical mayhem. Do send your travel tales to us via Twitter @youshould haveB1
BREAKING DOWN
January 17, 2021 15:55 - 26 minutes - 24.3 MBThere's nothing quite like a mechanical breakdown to disrupt a journey. Though sometimes it can make rather than break your holiday, as we hear from Steph Nelms and Alec Webb. Meanwhile the President of the AA, Edmund King gives some timely advice on how to avoid mechanical mayhem. Do send your travel tales to us via Twitter @youshould haveB1
THE BEST TRAVEL FILM
January 10, 2021 17:31 - 29 minutes - 27.1 MBTo help draw up a shortlist of worthy contenders, we are joined by Sarah Baxter, Charlotte Hindle, Alec Webb and Tony Wheeler. Would you believe that someone proposed The Sound of Music? Do send us your own suggestions to our new Twitter destination, @youshouldhavebe1
THE BEST EVER TRAVEL FILM
January 10, 2021 17:31 - 29 minutes - 27.1 MBTo help draw up a shortlist of worthy contenders, we are joined by Sarah Baxter, Charlotte Hindle, Alec Webb and Tony Wheeler. Would you believe that someone proposed The Sound of Music? Do send us your own suggestions to our new Twitter destination, @youshouldhavebe1
PROSPECTS FOR TRAVEL 2021
January 02, 2021 14:17 - 28 minutes - 25.6 MBWhat does this New Year have in store for tethered travellers? And If we are allowed to get away, how much of the travel industry will still be functioning? Our guest this week, having an educated guess at what might happen, is Tony Wheeler, co-founder of Lonely Planet guidebooks. Find out about Tony and his travels at www.tonywheeler.com.au
TRAVEL 2021
January 02, 2021 14:17 - 28 minutes - 25.6 MBWhat does this New Year have in store for tethered travellers? And If we are allowed to get away, how much of the travel industry will still be functioning? Our guest this week, having an educated guess at what might happen, is Tony Wheeler, co-founder of Lonely Planet guidebooks. Find out about Tony and his travels at www.tonywheeler.com.au
THE WORLD-BEATING CHRISTMAS TRAVEL QUIZ
December 21, 2020 16:05 - 43 minutes - 40.3 MBSImon goes head to head with Lyn Hughes, Editor in Chief of Wanderlust magazine, over ten mind-bending rounds. Can you outquiz them?
TRANS EUROPE EXPRESS
December 13, 2020 16:19 - 29 minutes - 26.9 MBWith acknowledgements to Kratftwerk, we preview the new European Rail Timetable in the expert company of Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries. Prepare for the light at the end of the tunnel with their top train tips. Find details of their publications at www.hiddeneurope.co.uk/
LONG DISTANCE WALKS
November 29, 2020 18:13 - 29 minutes - 27.2 MBWhere are the most enjoyable long walks and what's the best way to tackle them? Our guest this week is Sarah Baxter, travel writer, walker and author of " A History of the World in 500 Walks" . Her website is sarahbtravel.wordpress.com
TRAVEL BUGS
November 21, 2020 11:42 - 28 minutes - 25.9 MBWe discuss how to travel healthily with Sascha Heeney. She 's not only a nurse but also a travel guide with Lupine travel (lupinetravel.co.uk) which specialises in tours to some of the world's hardest to reach destinations. Altitude sickness, malaria, air pollution water, food, insurance, it's all here!
FIT FOR TRAVEL?
November 21, 2020 11:42 - 28 minutes - 25.9 MBWe discuss how to travel healthily with Sascha Heeney. She 's not only a nurse but also a travel guide with Lupine travel (lupinetravel.co.uk) which specialises in tours to some of the world's hardest to reach destinations. Altitude sickness, malaria, air pollution water, food, insurance, it's all here!
THE LOST ART OF NATURAL NAVIGATION
November 15, 2020 14:26 - 29 minutes - 26.8 MBDiscover how the humble stinging nettle can help you find your way to a village pub with our guest, Tristan Gooley. He's an expert in the lost and often fascinating art of navigating by the sun, stars, clouds, trees, even satellite dishes. Details of his ideas and his books are available on naturalnavigator.com
EVERY PHOTO TELLS A STORY?
November 08, 2020 18:29 - 29 minutes - 26.7 MBIt's not just what you photograph but the context in which you take it. Our guests today are travel writer and adventurer, Frances Linzee Gordon, and Mario Cavalli who is a film maker and photographer. Enjoy some of his work at https://mario-cavalli-images.squarespace.com/. And, https://mario-cavalli-images.squarespace.com/-jodhpur-the-blue-city-holi. See our photos at http://bit.ly/YouShouldHaveBeenThere
ARE YOU A TOURIST OR A TRAVELLER?
November 02, 2020 09:46 - 28 minutes - 26.5 MBHelped by travel writer and adventurer, Frances Linzee Gordon, we discuss the contentious distinction between the words "traveller" and "tourist". Would you ever find a true traveller in an all-inclusive resort? Or a tourist on a dodgy local bus?
STRANGE BREWS
October 26, 2020 16:14 - 27 minutes - 25.3 MBWe recall, or at least try to, some of the oddest drinks we've encountered during our travels and attempt to describe their flavours and their effects!
Q IS FOR QUARANTINE
October 19, 2020 17:28 - 27 minutes - 25.5 MBSimon and Mick are joined by travel journalist, Helen Coffey to ponder some of quarantine's big questions. Where was it first practised, how do you cope with being quarantined and hardest of all, what are the UK's current restrictions?
TIERS FOR SOUVENIRS
October 12, 2020 16:35 - 29 minutes - 26.6 MBSouvenirs come in all shapes and sizes and, of course, in various shades of naffness. We compare our own favourites and talk to Julia Ferguson, a Business Psychologist, about the value that we place on these symbols of abroad.
THE CYCLING REVOLUTION?
October 04, 2020 17:26 - 29 minutes - 26.6 MBSimon and MIck are joined by Anna Hughes, Director of FlightFree UK, co-author of Peaky Climbers and a champion of cycling. They share the pleasures (and pains) of cycling and wonder what could be done to make getting on your bike an easier experience in the UK.
THE MODERN-DAY PILGRIM
September 28, 2020 17:08 - 30 minutes - 27.6 MBWe hear from people who have walked the Camino de Santiago about the joy and pain they have experienced, and muse on the similarities between tourism and pilgrimages. Many thanks to Debra, Richard and Louise for their contributions
GETTING AWAY FROM IT ALL
September 20, 2020 18:12 - 27 minutes - 24.9 MBSimon and Mick compare notes about their respective attempts to enjoy some time off. But was it better to be scaling Holland's highest peak or to be walking through a road-free valley on the way to a pint of Sussex ale? Well, we'll let you decide!
YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN THREE
September 06, 2020 19:15 - 26 minutes - 23.8 MBA typing error leads Mick and Simon to wonder about the desirability of travelling in threes. When is three a better number of people than the standard two? The answer seems to be - when you're in a boat with a dog, when you're up a snowy mountain or when you're flying on a low-cost Spanish airline on Valentine's day!
EMBARRASSING TRAVEL MOMENTS
August 30, 2020 18:53 - 28 minutes - 26 MBTravelling and embarrassment seem to go hand in glove. Simon and Mick wonder whether it's an essential part of being a tourist and also, if we are often the authors of our own discomfort, not to mention that of our children. The tale of the false beards is a case in point. Thanks are due to Poppy and Daisy Calder for dishing the dirt on their dad!
RESPONSIBLE TRAVEL
August 24, 2020 17:39 - 28 minutes - 25.9 MBAre you a responsible traveller? See if you measure up to the standards proposed by some of the movement's new gurus, and enjoy the poetic pledge created by the Tourist Office of Finland. Thanks to Anna Hughes of Flight Free UK for her interview and to Aaron Burden@unsplash for his photo.
HIGH PLACES
August 18, 2020 17:27 - 30 minutes - 28.3 MBWhat is that makes us stretch every sinew to get to the top of things? Simon and Mick's favourite high places include the Blackpool Tower, Buenos Aires' Barolo Tower, Mount Aconcagua, also in Argentina, and The Cirque de Gavarnie in the French Pyrenees. Joining them are Silas Webb, who scaled Mount Kilimanjaro and Ed Douglas, whose book, "Himalaya, a human history" is published on the 27th August by Vintage-price £25. Thanks are also due to Christian Bjoerklund for letting us use his musical...
TRAVEL WIT AND WISDOM
August 11, 2020 17:11 - 28 minutes - 25.7 MBThe act of travelling from one place to another may seem a simple thing. But it has spawned a vast number of sayings and reflections. Simon and Mick discuss the wittiest, wisest, pithiest and most pathetic of them.
SURE WAS GLAD TO GET OUT OF THERE ALIVE
August 04, 2020 15:55 - 28 minutes - 25.7 MBMick and Simon relive some of the travel situations which they're only too pleased to have survived. Plus a visit to a pub in Southampton which is proud to carry the name of that ill-starred ship, The Titanic. Thanks to Martin and Michelle for their contributions and to www.fesliyanstudios.com, for the music.
THE NEW NORMAL
July 27, 2020 17:42 - 25 minutes - 23.7 MBWhat's in store for this summer's holidaymakers in the UK? What's open, what needs booking and when do you need to take your own toilet with you? Plus an insight into the mysteries of Romney Marshes and the challenge of cycling from London to Land's End. Thanks to Rob, Silas, Karen, Jan and Vanessa.
TAKING A CHANCE ON A FOREIGN HOLIDAY
July 20, 2020 17:05 - 28 minutes - 26.2 MBSimon unveils his five pillars of advice on how to avoid some of the nastier travel surprises that are emerging in the wake of the pandemic. We're grateful to f_ilippo @Freesound for the casino recording
TRAVELLING LIGHT
July 14, 2020 15:41 - 28 minutes - 26.3 MBReflections on the subject, a bit of advice on how to do it and a look back at what some eccentric travellers carried with them on their journeys. You can see the painting "Waiting for a train" @ https://www.nzmuseums.co.nz/collections/3243/objects/35106/waiting-for-the-train-willesden-junction
NEW FRONTIERS
July 06, 2020 16:17 - 28 minutes - 26 MBMick and Simon try to make sense of the bewildering advice about where we can and can't go on our holidays. They also ponder the new pop-up enclaves created by Coronavirus, adding to the historical oddities like Llívia, a small piece of Spain entirely surrounded by France.
CARRY ON CAMPING
June 29, 2020 17:50 - 28 minutes - 26.1 MBSimon and Mick discuss a tentative new dawn for camping, and swap tales of their own intense experiences under canvas. Music: Solstice by Scott Buckley
SLOW TRAVEL
June 22, 2020 19:05 - 30 minutes - 28.4 MBIs slow travel something we should all strive for, or is it just an exercise in marketing? Simon and Mick investigate, helped by Gina Waggott, Anna Hughes, Alec Webb, Nicky Gardner, Graham Hoyland and James Hill.
TRAVELLING SAFELY, WEIGHING UP RISKS
June 09, 2020 14:42 - 28 minutes - 26.1 MBMick and Simon discuss travel risks and how to manage them. Diseases, snakes and hippos all feature, along with selfies, local police and rip tides. For information about these, go to bit.ly/RipSafe. Thanks to Charlotte for her wise words.
GREAT EXPEDITIONS: BARNARD CASTLE AND BEYOND
June 01, 2020 17:26 - 30 minutes - 28.3 MBWhat makes a trip or a holiday into an expedition? Does it need a key objective, sponsorship or just some specialised kit? Simon and Mick talk machetes and mountain meals, as well as catching up on the latest Covid19 travel news
Brief Encounters
May 25, 2020 18:13 - 28 minutes - 26.5 MBThe search for the perfect, fleeting holiday experience takes in the Kentish North Downs, Kalingrad Oblast and Carnforth railway station. With the briefest of stops at Dublin airport and Newport Pagnell Motorway Services. The recording of the steam train leaving Moor Street station was made by Keith Burnett
Travel with social distancing
May 18, 2020 16:45 - 29 minutes - 26.9 MBWhat's the current guidance and what will await us, when and if we do get away? Simon unveils his five "tests " for prospective travellers while Mick continues his worldwide search for Gerald Bernstein. We'd like to thank Daisy and Poppy for their help. ...
The Bits Awards
May 11, 2020 19:01 - 31 minutes - 28.5 MBEnjoy the best bits from our first 20 podcasts. Among the categories: best travel moment, best lock down story and best breakfast.
The ideal travelling companion
May 04, 2020 09:58 - 29 minutes - 26.6 MBWho would you most like to travel with on a long trip? Someone who get things organised, can carry most of the kit, tells a good joke..........? Thanks to Charlotte and Alec for their contributions.
School Journeys
April 27, 2020 09:41 - 28 minutes - 25.9 MBWhat were your journeys to school like? Long, uneventful, exciting, dangerous.....? Enjoy the experiences of some of our listeners. We'd like to thank Steph, Camilla, Silas, Lynette, Carol, Daisy and Poppy for their contributions. And the website we mentioned is www.boredpanda.com/dangerous-journey-to-school
Poetry in motion
April 18, 2020 09:47 - 27 minutes - 24.8 MBTravel and journeys have inspired some great lines and uplifting verses. But, how many of our chosen poems do you know ?
The World's Top Travel Icon
April 13, 2020 12:09 - 27 minutes - 25.3 MBWhich famous site has come out top in our twitter poll? Will it be a wonder of nature or an attraction created by us humans? We also discuss Robert Louis Stevenson's book: Travels with a donkey in the Cévennes The musical fanfare, The Curtain Rises, was composed by Kevin Macleod (incompetcech.com)
Armchair Travel
April 06, 2020 17:45 - 30 minutes - 27.7 MBSimon and I exchange ways of keeping the flame of travel alive, without going anywhere. Expect entertaining books, silly games and a brief appearance from the president of The AA, Edmund King. The book "Journey round my room" is available, free, at gutenberg.org.
Travel beyond the pandemic
March 30, 2020 11:41 - 27 minutes - 25 MBTravel and tourism will be transformed. Will our attitudes have to change too?
Coronavirus versus the Travel Bug
March 22, 2020 17:58 - 27 minutes - 25.4 MBWe ponder the future direction of travel and suggest some ways of combatting cabin fever.
Faking it
March 09, 2020 10:51 - 29 minutes - 27.3 MBSimon and Mick make a few personal confessions and reveal some of travel's great fakes and fakers. They award the title of the greatest travel impostor to Georges Psalmanazar (not his real name), native of Formosa (well, not exactly) who hoodwinked London society in the eighteenth century.
BAYWATCH
February 20, 2020 10:24 - 30 minutes - 28.1 MBAll about the world's bays: the most beautiful, the saddest and those that have left their mark on history. Some, like Montenegro's Bay of Kotor even have their own islands.
Getting to know the Stans
February 17, 2020 17:51 - 34 minutes - 31.2 MBDiscover the five mysterious and intriguing countries of Central Asia with names that all end in ........ stan.
The Ups and Downs of a Travel Writer
February 04, 2020 10:40 - 28 minutes - 26.3 MBSimon Calder and Mick Webb share views on working as travel writers- the rewards, the challenges and how to do it well.
Travel in the 2020's
January 17, 2020 12:52 - 29 minutes - 27 MBThe Great Green Wall, electric planes, vacuum trains.... Simon Calder and Mick Webb look forward to the next decade of travel and what it might bring. Electronic music is from the track "Hallon" by Christian Bjoerklund on the album Skapmat.
Tales from the A23
January 14, 2020 17:33 - 30 minutes - 27.9 MBEvery road, like every picture, has a story to tell. The A23, on its route between London and Brighton, has seen some of the best and worst of travel. Mick Webb and Simon Calder uncover tales of highwaymen, princely misdemeanours and old crocks (cars not them). They are joined by Rachel Birch and Beverley Keech