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Simon Calder's Independent Travel Podcast

September 9th - When will we see our "beautiful British -built busses"?

Today's travel podcast is from the top of the 148 bus in west London. Four years after Boris Johnson promised to “level up across the country” with “beautiful, British-built buses that are cleaner, greener, quieter, safer and more frequent”, the new transport secretary, Louise Haigh, has vowed to start a "bus revolution". But will it work?


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  • October 4th - The best region to buy wine according to Jilly Goolden

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    Ahead of the weekend, where's best to be a wine tourist around the globe? I'm talking to the doyenne of wine experts, Jilly Goolden – who has great things to say about English wine, and visiting vineyards in Sussex and the Cotswolds. But don't offer her a glass of prosecco ...This podcast is free, like the Independent Travel newsletter. Get it delivered every Friday to your inbox.
  • October 3rd - How Finnair is dealing with the closed Russian airspace

    05:14|
    Finnair is an intriguing airline. The national carrier of Finland carved a Nordic niche offering great connections through its Helsinki hub between western Europe, including London Heathrow and Manchester, and east Asia – thanks to a fast track across Siberia. The closure of Russian airspace means it has had to rethink its strategy. I've been talking to Turkka Kuusisto, the new chief executive of Finnair.This podcast is free, like the Independent Travel newsletter. Get it delivered every Friday to your inbox.
  • October 2nd - Is it possible to have a sustainable cruise ship?

    09:10|
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  • October 1st - How you end up eating KFC in a hotel in a Mallorca

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  • September 30th - A blockbuster exhibition at the British Museum

    06:00|
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  • September 27th - There was a strange message on the Network Rail landing page

    05:13|
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    06:21|
    Anna Hughes, the distinguished director of FlightFree UK, has been telling me about how she believes a frequent-flyer levy could and should work to reduce the amount of flights we take.This podcast is free, like the Independent Travel newsletter. Get it delivered every Friday to your inbox.
  • September 25th - How far would you fly without any in-flight frills?

    06:55|
    Today's travel podcast: How far would you fly in no-frills (dis-) comfort? Natalie Wilson, travel writer for The Independent, says she would gladly go all the way to Australia if it saved her cash.
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    08:55|
    The all-knowing Rob Burgess, formidable founder of the Head for Points frequent-flyer website, explains the intricacies of business class flying within Europe; how you can sample long-haul comfort on a short-haul flight; and why you don't want to be further back than row 12 on a British Airways A320.This podcast is free, as is the Independent Travel weekly newsletter. Get up-to-date deals and news directly to your inbox by signing up here.