Suddenly, there were headlights coming straight towards us. They swayed erratically as they accelerated out of the exit lane. We were no more than 200 yards apart – and the gap between us was closing at a rate of 50 yards each second. Adrenalin pumped furiously; white knuckles glowed in the dark; we could feel…
As the last of the day’s light fades, I notice two sets of footprints in the sand. They are freshly made. Their stride is short, suggesting the slowest of walks along a beach recently made flat by a receding ocean. They have a symmetry, a unison, a connection. They have a story. In places they seem to converge; to merge.…
I can’t remember exactly when it happened, but I was definitely younger than ten years old when I realised that England is not a big country. At least some of my early childhood misconceptions on the subject can be traced back to the military style planning with which my father would prepare for each family…
Every journey is a quest of sorts but, as we leave the familiar behind, what are we looking for? Perhaps it is the enticing prospect of the unknown. Perhaps we are in search of the simple pleasures of immersing ourselves, however briefly, in another way of life. Perhaps we just want a break from the monotony…
I’m generally not the type of person who finds symbolism in the world around me. On the rare occasions I display even a vague awareness of my surroundings, I am more likely to infer the arbitrary workings of coincidence than I am to acknowledge the possibility of a deeper, allegoric significance. So it was that,…
We don’t go back to places. However much we may enjoy a particular destination, the number of places we have seen and the variety of experiences we have gained along the way are still far outnumbered by those yet to be encountered. It’s the traveler’s perennial dilemma. You travel thousands of miles, find your favorite…
It has been a few years since we decided not to have a real Christmas tree. Our decision was not a comment on the bizarre ritual of placing a dead tree in the middle of your home, but rather on the practicalities of the exercise. However much you may enjoy your first days in the…
Standing behind the reception desk of a hotel in south west Iceland, the clerk was being as polite as his utter bewilderment and exasperation would allow. He was wearing the expression of someone who has just suspected he is the victim of a prank. His haunted eyes scarcely blinked as they flitted around the room,…
I have always been fascinated by maps. As a child, I would spend hours paging through my first world atlas; a book with a glossy, light blue, hardback cover whose spine weakened with each enthusiastic read. Occasionally, with a pen in my unsteady young hand, I would trace the borders between countries whose names I…
There is a taxi driver in southern Argentina named Ernesto. We didn’t know each other until a few days ago and we will never meet again. We met when chance placed us in his taxi at El Calafate airport. On the drive into town he politely asked us to share the contents of his small…
Journeys And 