You should have been there

All about the humble day trip and its many guises, featuring an interview with Rick Blyth from the extreme day trips website.

The oldest of the routes to Santiago de Compostela is becoming increasingly popular with adventurous modern pilgrims. Simon Calder and I tried out the challenging central section.

A remix of previous stories from listeners, reliving their formative journeys and taking us from the English Channel to the Limpopo River via 1992 St Petersburg. Thanks to Richard Goring for the photo of the Bristol Superfreighter, licensed for use under creative Commons.

Guest Simon Calder and I attempt to update Odysseus' challenges for travel in 2026, with the EES system and car hire firms as new versions of Cyclops and Circe the sorceress! The painting of Odysseus on Calypso's island is by Johann Heinrich Beck (ca 1820)

Professor of philosophy, Emily Thomas, is today's guest. Our discussion includes the importance of cannibalism for John Locke's theories, an eighteenth century pile-on involving Mary Wollstonecraft's life and Emily's thoughts on her recent trip to Malawi. The photo of Malawian rock art is shown courtesy of UNESCO

Dr Andrew Stevenson, senior lecturer in psychology at Manchester Metropolitan University discusses his book "The Psychology of Travel" published by Routledge. Types of traveller and different ways of travelling are on the agenda.

Discover declassified train carriages, how to walk in the shoes of others and enjoy a race across Europe to Leipzig. And Simon leaves the podcast.

Aided and abetted by listeners, we present some suggestions of how to navigate Paris, where to stay and what to see. The accordion music was provided by Accordion-music-clean.wav by eyenorth -- https://freesound.org/s/482213/ -- License: Attribution 4.0

We discuss football journeys, near and far, and hear from fans who have stretched the limits of credible travel to get to a match abroad.

We ask if this label really means anything, and continue to probe the EES database debacle and the axolotl conundrum. Plus, the latest in our search for the perfect guided tour.

On College Green in London's Westminster, surrounded by historic buildings, we talk to Frances Linzee Gordon about what it takes to become an elite, Blue Badge Guide, and the challenges that lie in wait when you begin working. Find a guide who suits you at britainsbestguides.org

Authentic dragons, astonishing temples, beguiling coastlines and great food. Find out whether one of the region's 11 countries floats your boat.

We mull over the concept of over-tourism, its causes and effects as well as some remedies. Why not try the place next door, for instance?

We shine a light on the world's many and varied straits- not just that one. Are they an underappreciated geographical feature?

We explore the delights- natural, culinary, architectural and cultural- of the colourful Mexican state of Oaxaca.

We plot a route across Mexico's mighty metropolis, taking in its many marvels

We consider the perils of venturing off venturing off the beaten track, talk to an adventure tour organiser facing up to current hazards in Venezuela, Iran and now Greenland, and we meet..... the axolotl.

Do you recognise this flag? It's one of the destinations that Simon found out about at the Adventure Travel Show in London. We discuss real travel adventures where the guide books run out as well as less challenging but still unusual places away from the crowds.

We assess the past year in travel and anticipate the next one, with thoughts on destinations and technology as well as the giving of some self-indulgent travel presents.

Amazing travel experiences in which the laws of time are challenged , castles like "pastry shops for the soul" and the glacial progress of the new European Exit/Entry System.

We chat about the Sagrada Familia, the National Monument of Scotland and confront the brave new world of "frictionless travel" as promised by facial recognition technology

We discuss Spain's wealth of dramatic castles- the best to visit, the best to stay in and the one where you'll find the best pastries

Simon reports on his recent journeys to Lebanon, Northern Cyprus and Moldova. Also, we discuss the timeless allure of castles.

We try to make sense of the new entry /exit system that will affect UK travellers to Europe's Schengen area: what is it? when will it start? what will it mean for travellers, apart from delays?

Join us for a brief but steep hike through the Pyrenees in the footsteps of exiles and refugees and the hoofprints of sheep, cows and isards.