You should have been there

Mick Webb and Simon Calder

Simon Calder, travel correspondent of The Independent and former BBC producer, Mick Webb, discuss the world of travel and delight in travellers' tales.

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257 episodes
Updated July 5

Episodes257

Newest first

Sep 20, 2020 · 27 min
GETTING AWAY FROM IT ALL
Simon 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!
Sep 6, 2020 · 26 min
YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN THREE
A 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!
Aug 30, 2020 · 28 min
EMBARRASSING TRAVEL MOMENTS
Travelling 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!
Aug 24, 2020 · 28 min
RESPONSIBLE TRAVEL
Are 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.
Aug 18, 2020 · 30 min
HIGH PLACES
What 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 track, Hallon.
Aug 11, 2020 · 28 min
TRAVEL WIT AND WISDOM
The 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.
Aug 4, 2020 · 28 min
SURE WAS GLAD TO GET OUT OF THERE ALIVE
Mick 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.
Jul 27, 2020 · 25 min
THE NEW NORMAL
What'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.
Jul 20, 2020 · 28 min
TAKING A CHANCE ON A FOREIGN HOLIDAY
Simon 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
Jul 14, 2020 · 28 min
TRAVELLING LIGHT
Reflections 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
Jul 6, 2020 · 28 min
NEW FRONTIERS
Mick 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.
Jun 29, 2020 · 28 min
CARRY ON CAMPING
Simon and Mick discuss a tentative new dawn for camping, and swap tales of their own intense experiences under canvas. Music: Solstice by Scott Buckley
Jun 22, 2020 · 30 min
SLOW TRAVEL
Is 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.
Jun 9, 2020 · 28 min
TRAVELLING SAFELY, WEIGHING UP RISKS
Mick 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.
Jun 1, 2020 · 30 min
GREAT EXPEDITIONS: BARNARD CASTLE AND BEYOND
What 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
May 25, 2020 · 28 min
Brief Encounters
The 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
May 18, 2020 · 29 min
Travel with social distancing
What'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. You can read the article from the New England Journal of Medicine at : https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa031349
May 11, 2020 · 31 min
The Bits Awards
Enjoy the best bits from our first 20 podcasts. Among the categories: best travel moment, best lock down story and best breakfast.
May 4, 2020 · 29 min
The ideal travelling companion
Who 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.
Apr 27, 2020 · 28 min
School Journeys
What 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