After almost 50 years of independent travel and 140 countries under my belt, I have been lucky enough to see and do more than I had ever imagined while growing up as a small kid in rural Cambridgeshire.  

​

International tourism and air travel in the 60's and early 70's used to be the preserve of the better off, but the explosive growth of package tours and 'no frills' travel opened up the world to millions of people who traditionally took holidays in their own countries. This has not been without cost however with many city destinations and natural wonders suffering from what has been termed 'overtourism', prompting cities such as Venice, Barcelona and Amsterdam to actually start to limit tourist numbers rather than increase them.  In 1979, the year I started work at Heathrow, 28 million passengers passed through its terminals - in 2019, the last full year prior to covid it was 81 million. Prior to the pandemic, this explosive growth in tourism numbers .

Covid 19 and the current  global economic woes and the increased cost of leisure tourism will undoubtedly have an impact on tourist numbers and 2019 may indeed have been the year of 'peak tourism' - we will see. .

I'm grateful that between the age of 22 and 60 I travelled long haul extensively, and have already managed to visit the overwhelming majority of places I'd always wanted to visit, however in recent years, my travel horizon for most trips has been closer to home, in Continental Europe and the UK.  Long haul travel, hotels, restaurants are now much more expensive than they were 25 years ago, even accounting for inflation. International travel is now a pretty expensive business and I'm glad I got to see the majority of the world when it was much more affordable. 

I've already travelled extensively in the UK & Ireland, but there's still always new places in these islands to see. I really enjoy taking my car on month long 'roof down' trips to the Mediterranean and also plan at least a month's train travel through Continental Europe each year on a First Class 'senior' Inter Rail ticket, which represents fantastic value - all on train systems that put the UK's to shame. l.

​

The list below summarises the travel priorities for me in the coming years.  Some of them I won't get round to before I run out of life but its always good to have a list drawn up. If you have any other recommendations let me know!

​

NEW COUNTRIES:  (the final 15)

Armenia

Azerbaijan

Bhutan

Estonia

Georgia

Iran

Kyrgystan

Madagascar

Mali

Moldova

Mongolia

Mozambique

Papua New Guinea

Rwanda

Tibet

​

​

NEW PLACES & EXPERIENCES

Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

Concordia, and Zanskar.  Karakoram Range,  Pakistan

Angel Falls, Venezuela.

Cherry blossom in Japan.

Pantanal, Brazil

Forgotten Coast, Mozambique

Okovango Delta, Botswana

Fly fish the Rio Grande, Argentina

Yukon

DRIVES

Route 66 (in one go)

Coastal Route 15 Mexico.

The Ring Road, Iceland

ransfaragasan, Romania

Helsinki to Istanbul

Santander to Seville

TRAINS

Karachi to Peshawar, Pakistan

Glacier Express, Switzerland

​

WALKS

Haute Route, The Alps.

South Downs Way, UK

Hike the Via Ferrata, Cortina, Italy

Apolobamba Trek, Bolivia

Coast to Coast, UK

Offa’s Dyke and Pennine Way, UK

Hike some of the GR20 trail in Corsica

BOAT JOURNEYS

River Niger by boat, Mali

Steamboat the Amazon

Hurtigruten the Norwegian Fiords

​

BUILDINGS

Imam Mosque, Iran.

Potala Palace, Tibet

Persepolis, Iran

Nemrut Dagi, Turkey

Palazzo Ducale, Italy

Agrigento, Sicily.

Isla del Sol, Bolivia

Krak des Chevaliers, Syria

Grand Mosque in Djenne, Mali

​

FESTIVALS

Womad, UK

Haro Wine Festival, Spain

Montreux Jazz Festival

Kalymnos Easter Festival, Greece

Fete de Masques, Dogon, Mali

Orange Festival, Menton, France

Asti Palio, Italy

Salvador Carnival, Brazil

​

ARTS & CULTURE

Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg

Acts to see:  Kate Bush, Arcade Fire, Billy Bragg,

Whirling Dervish dance, Turkey

The Dogon people of Mali

The Mudmen of Goroka, Papua New Guinea