On today’s episode I’m joined by one of British TV’s most famous faces, Richard Hammond. Stepping into the spotlight over twenty years ago, Richard became one third of the iconic trio to front the BBC's motoring show, Top Gear, alongside James May and Jeremy Clarkson.

The show went on to become the world's most watched factual TV programme - as proven by the Guiness book of records - at its peak 350 million viewers around the world were tuning in each week. The show saw the trio travel all over the world to take on epic motoring challenges, which they’ve since continued on The Grand Tour on Amazon Prime, where the three embark on car related challenges across the world.

Now when I say these shows have taken Richard all over the world, I’m not exaggerating: the filmography includes Norway, Canada, Botswana, Vietnam, Chile, Argentina, Namibia, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Israel, India, Madagascar, Mongolia - and that’s only half of them. Richard recounts some of these epic adventures on today’s episode, taking us from Canada to Botswana, to Bolivia, as well as to some much loved spots on British soil.

Destination Recap

• The Forest of Dean, England
• Biblins Campsite, Ross-on-Wye, England
• Coast to Coast walk across England
• Buttermere, Lake District, England
• North Magnetic Pole, Northern Canada 
• Botswana
• Mozambique
• Canadian Forest
• Cambodia + Vietnam road trip
• Mikadikadi Salt Flats, Botswana 
• Kubu Island, Botswana
• Bolivian rain forest
• South Pole

Richard Hammond's Workshop Season 2 will be available to stream exclusively on discovery+ from Monday 17th October

With thanks to…

Sonnwies, South Tyrol’s mountain family-only wellness hotel with its own organic farm. Head to sonnwies.com to find out more. 

If you’d like to hear more from the podcast don’t forget to hit subscribe or if you use apple podcasts to hit follow so that a new episode lands in your podcast app each week, and if you’re really enjoying it I’d be so grateful if you could leave a rating or review. 

If you want to be the first to find out who’s joining me on next week’s episode come and follow me on Instagram, I’m @hollyrubenstein and I’d love to hear from you. 

If you can’t wait til then remember there’s the first seven seasons to catch up on - that’s over 85 episodes to keep you busy there. And don’t forget that all the destinations mentioned by my guests are always included in the episode show notes and they’re also on my website, TheTravelDiariesPodcast.com 

Thanks so much for listening.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to this special bonus destination special episode of The Travel Diaries podcast, brought to you in partnership with Tourism Ireland.

Today, we are focussing specifically on one of my all time favourite destinations, the island of Ireland. With such a breadth of experiences and activities on offer in Ireland, it’s no wonder it’s such a popular destination to have been mentioned by my guests over the last seven seasons of the podcast and today I'm joined by one of Ireland's most loved exports, TV presenter, Angela Scanlon. She'll be drawing on her lifetime of affection for and travels in her home country, as we uncover her Irish Travel Diaries. So what will we discover? Let's get started and find out.

Destination Recap:

• Co. Cork 
• Newgrange, Co. Meath
• Hill of Tara, Co. Meath
• Newgrange Farm, Co. Meath
• Dublin
• Keem Bay, Co. Mayo
• Wild Atlantic Way
• Gweedore, Co. Donegal
• Glandore, Co. Cork
• Bellmullet, Co. Mayo
• Shraigh Beach, Belmullet, Co. Mayo
• Claggan Island, Co. Mayo
• Clare Island, Co. Mayo

If Angela’s Irish travel diaries have inspired you to book a trip to Ireland, you can discover more epic activities at ireland.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today, I'm joined by one of sports broadcasting’s most familiar faces, Gabby Logan. This summer alone we watched Gabby helm the Commonwealth Games, the European Championships, the Women’s Euros and the London Marathon, to name a few. She's been a trailblazer for women in sport, no doubt inspired by her own family sporting credentials as a former international gymnast herself, as well as being the daughter of a professional footballer and manager, and the wife of a rugby international. 

She’s also the host of the highly podcast The Midpoint, and a prolific writer, here today ahead of the launch of her new book, The First Half. 

Gabby has travelled all over the globe to cover the world’s greatest sporting events - as well as being a keen traveller in the few spare moments she has off. Today she takes us from Vermont and Vancouver to the islands of Kefalonia and St Barths, and much more.

Destination Recap:

• South of France
• Qatar
• Russia
• Long Island, New York, USA
• Highlands of Scotland
• Greece
• Greek Islands yacht tour - Kefalonia
• Vancouver, BC, Canada
• London, England
• Japan
• European ski holidays in the Alps
• Rome, Italy
• Eden Roc hotel, St Barths
• Twin Farms hotel, Vermont, USA
• Peru
• Badrutt's Palace, St Moritz, Switzerland
• Monaco
• India

Gabby Logan’s new book ‘The First Half’ is available from October 13 in hardback, eBook and audio and you can purchase it now from book stores and online retailers.

With thanks to…

Briggs & Riley - Take part in this week’s competition to win a Briggs & Riley Baseline Essential Carry-On Spinner (RRP £599), monogrammed with your initials & a set of Packing Cubes (£50) to make packing a breeze. To enter, follow @BriggsAndRiley and @HollyRubenstein on Instagram & tag two friends.

If you’d like to hear more from the podcast don’t forget to hit subscribe or if you use apple podcasts to hit follow so that a new episode lands in your podcast app each week, and if you’re really enjoying it I’d be so grateful if you could leave a rating or review. 

If you want to be the first to find out who’s joining me on next week’s episode come and follow me on Instagram, I’m @hollyrubenstein and I’d love to hear from you. 

If you can’t wait til then remember there’s the first seven seasons to catch up on - that’s over 85 episodes to keep you busy there. And don’t forget that all the destinations mentioned by my guests are always included in the episode show notes and they’re also on my website, TheTravelDiariesPodcast.com 

Thanks so much for listening.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today, I’m joined by podcasting royalty. He is the co-host of the mega-hit podcast Off Menu (one of my favourite podcasts) and Taskmaster the Podcast, too. He is a regular on our TV screens on shows like Mock the Week, Would I Lie to You; he's soon to be one of the new hosts of Pointless and he’s part of the esteemed judging panel on the Great British Menu. He is currently touring the UK with his critically acclaimed standup show, Electric. It is of course, Ed Gamble. 

From coastal California to a catastrophic cruise, romance in Japan and the beaches of Cyprus, Ed takes us on another wanderlust-inducing world tour, also picking his own dream Off menu-inspired menu from the different destinations he’s visited along the way.

So fasten your seatbelts …

Destination Recap:

• Cyprus
• New York, USA
• Newquay, Cornwall, England
• Comedy Cellar, New York, USA
• Las Vegas, Nevada
• The Buffet at Wynn Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
• California Road Trip, USA
• Ace Hotel Palm Springs, USA
• The Venetian, Las Vegas, USA
• The Madonna Inn, San Luis Obispo, California, USA
• Tokyo, Japan
• Kyoto, Japan
• Rutobo, Kyoto, Japan 
• Miyajima, Japan
• Nara Deer Park, Japan
• Milk Bar, New York, USA
• Fruit Market, Hull, England
• SY23 Restaurant, Aberystwyth, Wales
• The Little Chartroom, Edinburgh, Scotland 
• Deep South BBQ Tour, USA
• Mexico

A huge thank you to Ed Gamble. Ed is touring the country with his new stand-up show Electric. For tickets and further info, visit edgamble.co.uk

With thanks to ... DK Eyewitness - Find "Go Here Instead" online at dk.com or at your local bookshop.

If you’d like to hear more from the podcast don’t forget to hit subscribe or if you use apple podcasts to hit follow so that a new episode lands in your podcast app each week, and if you’re really enjoying it I’d be so grateful if you could leave a rating or review. 

If you want to be the first to find out who’s joining me on next week’s episode come and follow me on Instagram, I’m @hollyrubenstein and I’d love to hear from you. 

If you can’t wait til then remember there’s the first seven seasons to catch up on - that’s over 85 episodes to keep you busy there. And don’t forget that all the destinations mentioned by my guests are always included in the episode show notes and they’re also on my website, TheTravelDiariesPodcast.com 

Thanks so much for listening.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With over fifty restaurants, multiple Michelin stars and innumerable celebrity fans, Wolfgang Puck is one of the world’s most famous chefs and global restauranteurs. 

Born in Austria, he began cooking alongside his mother who was a chef, before starting his formal chef training at just 14 years old, quickly going on to cook at some of France's best restaurants. But, it wasn't an easy childhood, and Wolfgang is incredibly honest about the abusive relationship he had to endure with his step father at home, and how that has shaped who he is today, and where he still can’t bring himself to travel to as a result.

It was far away from Austria, in Los Angeles, California, where Wolfgang really made a name for himself, garnering the attention of the Hollywood elite, arguably becoming the world’s first ‘celebrity chef’ and spearheading a revolution of Californian cuisine with his flagship restaurant, Spago. For over thirty years he has also been the official caterer of the Oscars, lining the stomachs of every gong hungry nominee, and he was even awarded his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 

When you have global restaurant empire like Wolfgang you spend a lot of time travelling, and this episode takes us to some fabulous locations all over the world from Sardinia to Mexico, Capri to Japan.

Destination Recap:

• 45 Park Lane, London, England 
• Spago, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, USA
• Austria
• Colchester, Essex, England
• Villach, Austria
• Arlberg, Austria 
• Park City, Utah, USA
• L'Oustau de Baumanière, Provence, France 
• Sardinia
• Cala di Volpe, Sardinia 
• Bonifacio, Corsica
• Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
• Montage Los Cabos, Mexico 
• Rosewood Miramar Beach, Montecito, California, USA
• Capri, Italy 
• Quattro Passi Restaurant, Italy 
• Budapest, Hungary 
• Viva Mayr, Austria
• Japan
• Nile Cruise, Egypt 
• Uganda

If you’d like to experience Wolfgang’s cuisine, then you should check out the new outdoor dining terrace of CUT at 45 Park Lane hotel, part of the Dorchester Collection in London, which is open for lunch and dinner. 

With thanks to…

Citalia - Discover the real Italy with Citalia, the UK’s leading Italian holiday specialists. Let the Italy Experts craft the perfect holiday for you and experience Italy like a Citalian.

Thanks so much for listening.

If you want to be the first to find out who’s joining me on next week’s episode come and follow me on Instagram, I’m @hollyrubenstein and I’d love to hear from you. 

If you can’t wait til then, remember there’s the first seven seasons to catch up on - that’s over 85 episodes.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On today’s episode we’re joined by one of the UK’s most successful singer-songwriters. He’s collaborated with everyone from Kylie Minogue to Bob Dylan and Nile Rogers, and recently sold out Wembley Arena - we’re joined today by the utterly delightful and extremely talented Jack Savoretti.

Jack had a truly international upbringing, moving from London to Switzerland, and spending idyllic childhood summers in Portofino, Italy, where his father’s family hail from as well as on a remote Bahamian island - it’s a rather enviable childhood I have to say. 

It was a slow-burning rise to fame for Jack as a musician, who toured the UK for several years, all the while his fanbase grew and grew and it was his sixth album, Singing to Strangers, that finally hit the number one spot, and his most recent record, the sun-soaked and star-studded Europiana - which frankly couldn’t be a better talking point for the podcast, as it was inspired by his European upbringing and life - that was also a chart-topper too and it was really interesting to hear the story behind that.

This episode is a love letter to the Mediterranean as well as a few spots farther afield, but as the night’s draw in here in England, I hope this injects a bit of sunshine into your day.

Destination Recap:

• Liguria, Italy 
• Formentera, Spain
• Oxfordshire, England
• Lugano, Switzerland
• Ascona, Switzerland 
• Hotel Eden Roc, Ascona, Switzerland
• Portofino, Italy
• San Fruttuoso, Italy
• Pierre Island, Bahamas
• Abu Dhabi
• South America

Jack Savoretti’s latest single Dancing Through The Rain which is taken from Europiana Encore, a special extended edition of his chart topping album, Europiana, is out now.

If you’d like to hear more from the podcast don’t forget to hit subscribe or if you use apple podcasts to hit follow so that a new episode lands in your podcast app each week, and if you’re really enjoying it I’d be so grateful if you could leave a rating or review. 

If you want to be the first to find out who’s joining me on next week’s episode come and follow me on Instagram, I’m @hollyrubenstein and I’d love to hear from you. 

If you can’t wait til then remember there’s the first seven seasons to catch up on - that’s over 85 episodes to keep you busy there. And don’t forget that all the destinations mentioned by my guests are always included in the episode show notes and they’re also on my website, TheTravelDiariesPodcast.com 

Thanks so much for listening.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to Season 8 of The Travel Diaries! And who better to kick off the season than national treasures Si King and Dave Myers, a.k.a. the Hairy Bikers. My first duo on the pod, they’ve been entertaining Britain with their TV shows and books for over twenty years. Their unique blend of foodie expertise, humour and motorbike enthusiasm has earned them national treasure status. And part of their success has been their foodie travel shows, where they’ve biked incredible routes across the world, while experiencing local cuisines like their Asian Adventure, Mediterranean adventure, and US route 66 series to name just a few.

I spoke to Si and Dave a little while back now - as you might know, Dave is currently undergoing chemo for cancer, and he spoke to me the night before his next round which he'd travelled down to London for. So to say I was truly touched that they took the time to talk about to The Travel Diaries is an understatement. One thing is for sure, the two of them adore travel, and this episode takes us from Namibia to India, Argentina to Estonia and many places in between.

Destination Recap

• Bamburgh Beach, Newfoundland, England
• Isle of Man, England 
• Portugal
• Namibia
• Madurai, India
• Southern Italy
• Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Patagonia, Argentina 
• Valdes Peninsula, Argentina
• Grossglockner High Alpine Road, Austria
• Atlas Mountains, Morocco
• Mexico
• Ghats, India
• Japan
• Lithuania
• Riga, Latvia
• Talinn, Estonia 
• Finnish Archipelago
• Southern Turkey
• Macchu Pichu, Peru
• Nigeria
• Pan American Highway

Check out the Bikers’ podcast, Agony Uncles, wherever you get your podcasts.

With thanks to today’s sponsors…

Citalia - Discover the real Italy with Citalia, the UK’s leading Italian holiday specialists. Let the Italy Experts craft the perfect holiday for you and experience Italy like a Citalian.

Visit Estonia - If the Bikers’ Baltic adventures have given you the wanderlust, why not Visit Estonia? Head to VisitEstonia.com to find out more.

CV Villas - Browse the newly launched 2023 Collection and book your dream villa holiday at CVVillas.com

Athletic Greens - It’s time to reclaim your health and arm your immune system with convenient, daily nutrition! Athletic Greens is going to give you a FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. All you have to do is visit athleticgreens.com/TTD

If you want to be the first to find out who’s joining me on next week’s episode come and follow me on Instagram, I’m @hollyrubenstein and I’d love to hear from you. 

And don’t forget that all the destinations mentioned by my guests are always included in the episode show notes and they’re also on my website, TheTravelDiariesPodcast.com 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today, I’m joined by a legend of stage and screen. Britain’s naughtiest national treasure. It’s the award-winning actress, Miriam Margolyes.

Miriam’s movie roles have included the BAFTA award-winning Mrs Mingott in Martin Scorsese’s ‘The Age of Innocence’ and of course Professor Sprout in the Harry Potter films. She’s appeared in a host of hugely popular TV shows from Blackadder and Miss Marple to more recently the Real Exotic Marigold Hotel and Call the Midwife. And she’s also a prolific travel documentarian filming in and around Australia, the US and Scotland to name a few. As a lifelong lover of Charles Dickens, she presented the successful BBC documentary series Dickens’ America and toured the world with her acclaimed one woman show ‘Dicken’s Women’ in which she played 23 characters based on or inspired by characters in Dickens’s novels. 

Speaking to me from her Australian home, Miriam was so engaging and generous with her time both before, after and during the interview - so grab a cuppa, settle in and enjoy listening to the very widely travelled and very entertaining Miriam Margolyes. 

Destination Recap:

• Robertson, NSW, Australia
• Australia
• Tuscany, Italy
• Kingsgate, Kent Coast, England
• St Margaret’s Bay, Kent, England
• Glasgow, Scotland
• Isle of Harris, Scotland
• Cambridge, England 
• Norfolk, England
• Basel, Switzerland
• Zurich, Switzerland 
• Lindt Chocolate Shop, Zurich, Switzerland 
• Israel 
• Palestine
• The Rust Belt, USA
• India
• Italy
• Ireland 
• Indonesia
• Kerala, India
• Calcutta, India 
• Giglio, Italy
• Fordyce, Scotland 
• Rimini, Italy
• Africa

Miriam is heading to a British theatre near you next month, as part of her upcoming book tour, in honour of the paperback release of her fantastic memoir, This Much is True. Head online for tickets.

With thanks to…

Small Luxury Hotels of the World - Ease yourself into a holiday headspace and visit slh.com/travelcomfortzones to find out more.

DK Eyewitness - Get new editions of DK’s award-winning Eyewitness and Top 10 travel books and plan out adventures to the likes of Italy, Mexico, Spain or Costa Rica. Each guide is complete with updated listings, interest-led travel advice and the latest practical information. Find them all online or at your local bookshop.

Thank you so much for listening today. If you’re enjoying the podcast, then it would be wonderful if you could leave a rating or a review on your podcast app - it really makes a big difference because it helps other people to discover the podcast. 

And to hear future episodes as soon as they’re released don’t forget to hit subscribe or “follow” on your podcast app of choice.

To find out who’s joining me coming up, come and follow me on Instagram, I’m @hollyrubenstein - I’d love to hear from you. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s destination special we are heading to one of the world’s most popular travel destinations. We're off to the South East of Europe, to a country of thousands of islands dotted throughout the Aegean and Ionian Seas. The cradle of Western civilization, its capital, Athens, is home to ancient landmarks dating back to the 5th-century B.C. like the Acropolis and the Parthenon. A country of magical natural landscapes, turquoise seas and secret beaches, with the longest coastline in Europe and the most welcoming locals. It is of course, Glorious Greece. 

Unsurprisingly, Greece, and in particular the Greek Islands have been a hugely popular choice by my podcast guests over the last seven seasons and what I’ve especially enjoyed is really how many of them are hidden gems that I personally wasn’t hugely familiar with.

The first half of today’s episode is a tour around the islands featuring some of my favourite guests over the last few years, and then, afterwards, we’ll be joined by Greece travel expert, fellow podcaster and Greece resident, Heidi Fuller-Love who’ll be sharing her extensive expertise, tips, and recommendations for your next Greek holiday.

Destination Recap:

• Tom Kerridge - Agistri 
• Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall - Aegina
• Fiona Duncan - Koufonisia and Amorgos
• David Loftus - Paros
• Yotam Ottolenghi - Folegandros
• Raven Smith - Milos
• Jo Malone - Rhodes

Heidi Fuller-Love’s Destination Recap:

• Crete
• E4 trail, Crete
• Sitia Geopark, Crete
• Samaria Gorge, Crete
• Kato Zakros, Crete 
• Akoritiri, Santorini 
• MarBella Elix, Parga
• Nana Princess, Crete
• Agistri
• Aegina
• Thirassia 
• Thirassia Paradise Suites
• Alonissos
• Karpathos
• Epirus Mountains

For more information about Greece head to visitgreece.gr and follow @GreeceGrammable on Instagram.

With thanks to…

Small Luxury Hotels of the World - Ease yourself into a holiday headspace and visit slh.com/travelcomfortzones to find out more

Clinique UK - Discover Clinique at World Duty Free today. 

If you’re enjoying the podcast, then it would be wonderful if you could leave a rating or a review on your podcast app - it really makes a big difference because it helps other people to discover the podcast. 

And to hear future episodes as soon as they’re released don’t forget to hit subscribe or “follow” on your podcast app of choice.

To find out who’s joining me on next week’s episode, come and follow me on Instagram, I’m @hollyrubenstein - I’d love to hear from you. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s guest is Britain’s undisputed Queen of breakfast telly. A national treasure, who for the last 12 years has been the host of her self-titled show on ITV, Lorraine - it is, of course, Lorraine Kelly.

Lorraine became a journalist the hard way, working on local papers before working as a researcher on BBC Scotland, where bosses told her that, because of her Scottish accent, she’d never get a job in front of the camera. 

Oh how she proved them wrong. Joining TV-am she went on to report on some of the toughest stories of that era, from the Dunblane massacre to the Lockerbie bombings, with her characteristic compassion and empathy, before joining GMTV and the sofas of breakfast TV. 

What you might not know about Lorraine is that she is fanatical about travel. She has been practically everywhere, and is really intrepid in her travel choices. She takes us from the islands of the Outer Hebrides to the frozen landscape of Antarctica; from remote Botswana to the jungles of Uganda and much much more. 

Oh, and the occasional grumble in the background is her daughter Rosie’s sausage dog who also joined us for the chat.

There’s a lot to cover today. So, let’s fasten our seatbelts and get started.

Destination Recap:

• Glasgow, Scotland
• Paris. France
• Orkney, Scotland
• The Italian Chapel, Orkney, Scotland
• St Kilda, Scotland
• Singapore
• Marina Bay Sands hotel, Singapore
• Orchard Road shops, Singapore
• Sentosa Island, Singapore 
• Duxton Reserve, Singapore
• Antarctica
• Falkland Islands
• Alaska, USA
• Southern Africa
• Botswana
• Uganda
• Borneo
• Barra, Scotland
• Harris, Scotland
• Tunisia 
• Rajasthan, India
• Mongolia
• Siberia
• The Arctic

Listen to Lorraine’s podcast What If? wherever you get your podcasts.

With thanks to…

Clinique UK - Discover Clinique at World Duty Free today. 

The Kensington Hotel - For bookings and more information click here.

Small Luxury Hotels of the World - Ease yourself into a holiday headspace and visit slh.com/travelcomfortzones to find out more

Thank you so much for listening today. If you’re enjoying the podcast, then it would be wonderful if you could leave a rating or a review on your podcast app - it really makes a big difference because it helps other people to discover the podcast. 

And to hear future episodes as soon as they’re released don’t forget to hit subscribe or “follow” on your podcast app of choice.

To find out who’s joining me on next week’s episode, come and follow me on Instagram, I’m @hollyrubenstein - I’d love to hear from you. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.