The Travel Diaries

Today's guest is truly beloved figure in British television - someone who many of us feel we already know so well - Monty Don.

For over two decades, Monty has been the heart and soul of BBC’s Gardeners’ World, inspiring millions to embrace the joys and therapeutic benefits of gardening. His connection to nature has taken him all over the globe, all in search of the profound ways that different cultures engage with the land.

Alongside Gardeners’ World, Monty has brought us stunning travel series like Around the World in 80 Gardens, Monty Don’s Italian Gardens, Adriatic Gardens and most recently, Spanish Gardens. This latest series, which is accompanied by a beautiful book, delves into the country’s breathtaking historic and contemporary landscapes, from Moorish-inspired patios to vibrant urban greens paces, revealing the depth and diversity of Spanish garden design.

It was also fascinating to hear about Monty’s journey to TV stardom, and how he had a completely different and hugely successful career in the fashion world, before, somewhat by chance, getting a new break into gardening and TV.

From the gardens that stole his heart to the wild landscapes that left a lasting impression, here are Monty's travel diaries.

Destination Recap:

• Leominster, Herefordshire, England
• The Black Mountains, Wales
• Hydra, Greece
• Budleigh Salterton, Devon, England
• Mevagissey, Cornwall
• Provence, France
• London, England
• Annapurna, Nepal
• Native Tree Fern Forests, New Zealand
• The Amazon Rainforest, Brazil
• Iran
• Chile
• Japan
• Summer Palace, Beijing, China
• Galicia, Spain
• Ninfa Gardens, Italy
• Wollerton Hall, Shropshire, England
• Finland through Eastern Europe to Trieste

Spanish Gardens by Monty Don and Derry Moore, BBC Books, £39.99 out now.

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With thanks to Skyscanner - The full travel trends 2025 report is available on Skyscanner app/site and of course you can always look for your 2025 trip whether it’s flights, hotels or car hire on Skyscanner too.

And to Airbnb - Your home could be worth more than you think. Find out how much at Airbnb.co.uk/host.

Thanks so much for listening today. If you'd like to hear more from the podcast don’t forget to hit subscribe, or if you use Apple Podcasts to press follow so that a new episode lands in your podcast app each week. If you want to be the first find out who is joining me on next week’s episode come and follow me on Instagram I’m @hollyrubenstein, and you’ll also find me on TikTok - I’d love to hear from you.

And if you can't want until then remember there’s the first 12 seasons to catch up on, that's over 125 episodes to keep you busy there. Don't forget that all the destinations mentioned by my guests are included in the episode show notes here on your podcast app, and listed on my website, thetraveldiariespodcast.com

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Today I’m joined by the much loved chef, restauranteur and TV presenter, Tom Kerridge.

Tom’s worked in food since he was 18 years old, but he rose to fame when his pub in Buckinghamshire, The Hand and Flowers, went on to become the only pub in Britain with two Michelin stars. I, like many, got to know and love him on the BBC’s Great British Menu show, where he was the first chef to cook at the banquet two years in a row and he’s since gone on to release several best selling cook books and many popular TV shows. More recently, he’s made headlines with his dramatic 12 stone weight loss. As well as chatting a bit about that, Tom takes us on a journey across the UK, Europe, Asia and the US with his travel diaries, and lots of foodie recommendations along the way.

This is what I call a “long haul” episode - you’re getting a bit more this week because Tom is so lovely and we just couldn’t stop chatting. I hope you’ll really enjoy it.

Destination recap:

• Isle of Wight, England
• Ostend, Belgium
• Agistri, Greece
• Crete, Greece
• Paphos, Cyprus
• Singapore
• Hong Kong
• New York, USA
• North Kent coast, England
• Whitstable, England
• The Good Shed, Canterbury, England
• The Fordwich Arms, Canterbury, England
• The Compasses Inn, Crundale
• The Sportsman, Seasalter
• Lapland
• India
• Japan

Tom’s new book, Lose Weight and Get Fit, is out now, and you can watch the accompanying BBC 2 series on Wednesday nights at 8.30pm.

Thank you so much for listening. If you haven’t yet left a 5 star rating, why not do so now! Your support is so greatly appreciated and most importantly, helps others to discover the podcast.

Come and find me on Instagram - I’m @hollyrubenstein - and to find out more about the podcast, visit TheTravelDiariesPodcast.com

This episode was produced by Holly Rubenstein

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Today’s guest is a broadcasting legend. Whether it’s the Olympic Games, Paralympics, horse racing, Crufts, Wimbledon or so much more, Clare Balding has risen to national treasure status. She’s also a best-selling author, radio presenter and podcaster, in case you didn’t think she was busy enough!

Covering so many major TV events has taken Clare around the world, and then some. Her travel diaries take us from Mauritius to Costa Rica, Italy to Iona. She tells us how she once won her weight in champagne as a horse jockey; as a dog lover like me she shares her favourite dog friendly spots in the UK; we hear her take on the future of Emma Raducanu, and about the time the Queen turned up at her house for breakfast. All that coming up on The Travel Diaries.

Destination Recap:

• Chamonix, France
• Aspen, Colorado, USA
• Mauritius
• Four Seasons Hotel, Mauritius
• Sydney, Australia
• Melbourne, Australia
• Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Australia
• New Zealand
• Costa Rica
• Hotel Punta Islita, Costa Rica
• Cuba
• Lewa, Kenya
• Galana, Kenya
• Tofauti charity
• Lucknam Park, Bath, England
• Whatley Manor, Wiltshire, England
• Holbeck Ghyll, Lake District, England
• Rosa Alpina, The Dolomites, Italy
• Puglia, Italy
• Umbria, Italy
• Iona, Scotland
• Northumberland, England
• Wigton, Scottish Borders, Dumfries and Galloway
• Elephant Corridor, Sri Lanka
• Banyan Tree Mayakoba, Mexico
• Baltic Sea Cruise
• Fjord Cruise
• Panama Canal Cruise
• The Amazon Cruise
• South Pacific Cruise
• Alaska, USA

A big thanks to Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London for hosting us for our interview. Book your winter or Christmas staycation and enjoy Magical Mandarin Moments of delight from £740 per night.

To book your dream villa holiday visit The Thinking Traveller. The Thinking Traveller's collection of luxury villas across Italy, The Greek Islands, Corsica and Mallorca are some of the best properties out there for a villa holiday and come in all sizes, whether you're travelling as a couple or for a big family reunion.

Freddie’s Flowers - Get your first two boxes half price, at just £12.50 each with the code TRAVEL50 at freddiesflowers.com

British Airways x Visit Florida - Book your trip with confidence at BA.com/Florida

To find out who’s joining me on next week’s episode, come and follow me on Instagram, I’m @hollyrubenstein - I’d love to hear from you.

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Welcome to this season's Family Travel Special. Having been thrust into the world of family travel a couple of years with the arrival of my daughter, I quickly realised that it’s an area that there could be a lot more helpful information about, it’s a huge market and I was scouring the internet for destinations and hotels that weren’t your typical all inclusive family resorts, and I really struggled. So I decided to integrate these into the travel diaries podcast lineup, to hopefully give you some travel inspiration, destination ideas, tips and tricks for travelling with children.

And today, I’m joined by a very special guest who knows a thing or two about that. Olivia Hammond and I first met in our antenatal bump and baby group in South West London, and we were very lucky, we had such a lovely group and we became friends. When her gorgeous boy, Beau, arrived in November 2022, Olivia began documenting her daily life and travels on TikTok and Instagram, and almost immediately her honest and relatable videos led her to become one of the uk’s leading content creators in her field, with videos amassing hundreds of millions of views. It has been an astonishingly fast ascent to mum-fluencer stardom, but it’s no surprise to me because I think everyone can relate to her videos, they’re so watchable.

So when thinking about who would be a good guest for this episode, Olivia was the obvious choice. She has been far more intrepid than me when it comes to travelling as a family. You’ll hear she flew to the other side of the world when Beau was just a month old, she’s flown with him countless times to Europe, the Caribbean, taken him travelling all around Sri Lanka and even camped with him at Glastonbury. And now, since we recorded this episode, beau has a beautiful little sister, called Lila, and Lila is about to embark on her first trip abroad, at only a few weeks old too.

I hope this episode shows you that whatever age or stage, travel is not off limits with a family.

Olivia's Destination Recap:

• Costa Rica
• Algarve, Portugal

Holly:

• Vila Vita Parc, Algarve, Portugal

Olivia

• Sigiriya, Sri Lanka
• Kandy, Sri Lanka
• Ella, Sri Lanka
• Udawalawa, Sri Lanka
• Hiriketiya, Sri Lanka
• Antonio’s, Algarve, Portugal
• Sr Frango’s, Algarve, Portugal
• Olhão, Algarve, Portugal
• Ilha do Farol, Algarve, Portugal
• Ilha Deserta, Algarve, Portugal
• Ilha Armona, Algarve, Portugal
• Fuerteventura, Spain
• Cape Town, South Africa
• Nicaragua

You can follow all of Olivia’s adventures on her Instagram which is Olivia_Hammond and her TikTok is OliviaClaireM.

Thanks so much for listening today. If you'd like to hear more from the podcast don’t forget to hit subscribe so that a new episode lands in your podcast app each week. If you want to be the first find out who is joining me on next week’s episode, follow me on Instagram, I’m @hollyrubenstein, and you’ll also find me on TikTok. If you can't want until then remember there’s the first 12 seasons to catch up on. Don't forget that all the destinations mentioned by my guests are listed on my website, thetraveldiariespodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today, I'm joined by one of the most famous and successful chefs in the world and in history - Heston Blumenthal.

It was an unforgettable travel experience that inspired Heston to become a chef. He’s entirely self taught, and was working other odd jobs all the way until his late twenties, when he bought a small pub in Bray in Berkshire. He called it The Fat Duck, and it went on to be award three Michelin stars and to be named The World’s Best Restaurant.

A food pioneer, he’s been dubbed the Willy Wonka of cuisine, fascinated by the science behind the cooking. He’s become the king of experimental cuisine which has led to world famous dishes like snail porridge, parsnip cereal, and bacon and eggs ice cream. Oh, and did you know it was Heston who invented one of my favourite things to eat - the triple cooked chip.

This is definitely an unusual episode. Yes we cover travel, it’s a fundamental part of Heston’s food, and it was so fun to hear about some of the weird and wonderful things he’s eaten on his travels - not all of them happy memories, I should add! But honestly, I really felt like I was speaking to a true genius in this chat, it’s hard to find another way to describe it, and so we also cover off the meaning of life and philosophy, quantum physics and scientific theory. He is determined to push himself and others to think beyond the confines of our small minds, when it comes to both food and life.

I really hope you enjoy it.

Destination Recap:

• Praa Sands, Cornwall, England
• Regent’s Snack Bar, Edgware Road, London, England
• Baumanière, Hôtel Restaurant, Les Baux-de-Provence, France
• Les Alpilles, France
• Monastery Epiphany, Les Baux-de-Provence, France
• Turkey
• Siberia, Russia
• Iceland
• Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
• Korea
• The Amazon
• Peru
• Indonesia
• Polynesia

Tune in to Heston’s own podcast, Heston’s Journey to the Centre of Food which is available on all podcast apps and is great fun, it’s a must for foodies.

Well, that’s a wrap for Season 4, thank you all for joining me along the way, wherever you are in the world. Thank you for spreading the word about the podcast, sharing your favourite episode on your social media, telling your friends, leaving lovely reviews and sending me the most amazing messages, it has been amazing, especially to feel so connected and part of our little travel diaries community, that you’ve all created, during a time where we often otherwise feel quite disconnected.

If you’ve enjoyed listening to the podcast, remember to press subscribe on your podcast app, it’s free, and you’ll then get notified when Season 5 begins in the summer.

In the meantime, do stay in touch, I’m @hollyrubenstein on Instagram and Twitter.

Remember there’s all four seasons to keep you going until then, from Rick Stein and Sir Ranulph Fiennes, to Jo Malone and Raymond Blanc.

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