Hi! I’m Graeme, and this site is where I collect together my travel writing and photography for trips beyond the UK. It’s part of Straylight, where you can find some of my other projects, although it’s the only regularly updated part these days.
I didn’t take my first flight until I was in my 20’s, but in the following decade I racked up a hundred – plus plenty of trains, boats, and a few pairs of hiking boots. I caught the travel bug properly as a grad student, when I discovered that conferences and collaborations offered both the opportunity and financial support to see the world, plus the benefit of local contacts to smooth the way. Postdoc life upped the budget, and got me into the miles and points game. The spoils of those kept me moving during a year of re-training, and by the time I was ready to leave academia, it was for the aviation industry, joining British Airways. On moving to Bristol I worked at the local airport before a stint in green energy, but have since returned to BA.
I don’t think there’s a right or wrong way to travel, but if you’re looking for first class luxury getaways on the one hand, or year-long authentically painful backpacking trips on the other, then my style probably isn’t for you. I’m not a connoisseur of fine food or drink, and have very little appreciation of the arts. But I enjoy finding unusual attractions or one-off events; believe the best way to explore a city is on foot; and have endless enthusiasm for both architecture and nature, which tend to dominate my photography. As the strap-line suggests, I’m also interested in the act of getting somewhere: whether by trying an unfamiliar airline or aircraft; chaining together several destinations; and / or taking the slow route by train. Hopefully one of my improbable itineraries can introduce you to somewhere or something new!
This version of the site has been in place since Spring of 2014, but the content is compiled from a range of much older sources, both online and off; in particular, I use it to catalogue and supplement my reports from the flyertalk forums. To make it easier to tell what might still be current, I backdate entries to when the visit in question occurred; this means that the archives may quietly grow with time… The categories feature groups posts into trips, by geographic region, and a few key themes; whilst I use tags for individual cities, airports, or particular brands. So there’s a few ways to explore.
What you won’t find are adverts, sponsored posts, referral links or tracking cookies – this blog is a hobby, not a side job, written mostly for my own enjoyment. Sadly due to overwhelming levels of spam you also won’t find the ability to comment here, although feel free to chip in over on Flyertalk or drop me an email.