I've never particularly liked travelling with large groups or being told where to go by somebody else. I prefer to find out for myself.

I've never particularly liked travelling with large groups or being told where to go by somebody else. I prefer to find out for myself.

I think some of the best modern writing comes now from travellers.

I am not a great cook, I am not a great artist, but I love art, and I love food, so I am the perfect traveller.

As I work in the afternoon on committing to paper some of my morning's thoughts, I find myself just about to close on the knotty question of whether or not I believe in God. In fact I am about to type, 'I do not believe in God', when the sky goes black as ink, there is a thunderclap and a huge crash of thunder and a downpour of epic proportions. I never do complete the sentence.

There are many ways of seeing the world. You can hang upside down from a meteor, volunteer to be the fourth stage of a three-stage rocket, or simply get in a balloon and keep going. But if it's sheer, unadulterated discomfort you're looking for, just stay on land.

I have been unusually blessed in that I've been allowed to pursue two strands of a career that both delight me and seem to please the public.