The Travel Diaries

Welcome to Season 9! It’s great to be back. Get ready to tantalise your taste buds and whet your appetite, because today we are joined by the master of all things delicious, Chef James Martin.James has been cooking up a storm on TV screens for over 20 years, and has written over 20 cookbooks as well, selling millions of copies worldwide.Born and raised in Yorkshire, James remains a Yorkshire lad through and through and still spends plenty of time in his home county, which he tells us about today. You’ll hear that James has had a huge passion for food since childhood, and he was just 22 when he gained his first Michelin star working as the head chef at the Hotel du Vin in Winchester. His down-to-earth personality and infectious enthusiasm quickly caught the attention of TV producers, and it was his regular appearances on "Ready Steady Cook" that really brought him to the public's attention.From there, he landed his own cooking show, BBC's "Saturday Kitchen,” which he hosted for over ten years, while opening restaurants in Manchester and at Chewton Glen hotel in Hampshire. Now he's the host of Saturday Morning with James Martin on ITV, alongside several foodie travel shows like "James Martin's French, Mediterranean and American Adventures” - so travel has been an incredibly important feature in his career so far. James' travel diaries today take us from the west coast of Scotland to the golden Caribbean sands of St Barths, from the quintessential British seaside of Blackpool to a culinary road trip through Wales, and much more. Whether you're a seasoned chef or a culinary novice, sit back, relax, as we kick off a big new season of the travel diaries with James Martin.Destination Recap:Holly’s travels -Lilycombe Farm, Somerset, EnglandThe Nook, Hillside Hangouts, Worcestershire, EnglandJames Martin -The Lygon Arms, Worcestershire, EnglandRobin Hood’s Bay, North Yorkshire, EnglandBlackpoolMalton, North Yorkshire, EnglandHotel de Plaisance, Vitrac, FranceChewton Glen, Hampshire, England West Coast of ScotlandSt Paul-de-Vence, FranceL'Isle sur la Sorgue, France Lake Annecy, FranceSt BarthsMonacoFood Road Trip in Wales: The Hardwick, Abergavenny, The Walnut Tree, Abergavenny and Ynyshir Restaurant and Rooms, MachynllethGreeceTurkeyJapanSpainIf you'd like to experience a taste of James' signature dishes, head to The Lygon Arms, and book a table at GRILL or TAVERN.With thanks to today’s sponsor -Kip Hideaways - The best of UK travel is just around the corner and with places already booking up fast now is the time to find and book a spring or summer break. Head to kiphideaways.com to find your perfect escape or give them a follow on Instagram @kiphideaways for the dreamiest U.K. travel inspiration. If you want to be the first find out who is joining me on next week’s episode, follow me on Instagram @hollyrubenstein, You’ll also find me on Twitter and TikTok. 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

Hello and welcome to the Season 8 finale of The Travel Diaries. You may have first got to know today’s guest as the bad boy of the reality TV show Made in Chelsea. Now married with three children to model Vogue Williams, who he met on the TV show, The Jump, he regularly tops the podcast charts as the co-host of the hilarious hit podcast, Spencer and Vogue, as well as entertaining listeners with his former Made in Chelsea co-star Jamie Laing, on the podcast, 6 Degrees from Jamie and Spencer. It is of course, Spencer Matthews.Spencer has led a truly international life - not many people can say they grew up in a hotel on a small Caribbean island, and it was so interesting to chat to him about life there and how it shaped who he is today. He’ll be talking about his relationships with his old Made in Chelsea co-stars. And we also talk about Spencer’s recent time in Nepal. Spencer’s older brother Michael tragically died climbing Mt Everest in 1999, and Spencer has collaborated with Disney to make a documentary film called Finding Michael about the journey to try and find his body which was never brought home. I think this is the first time he’s spoken at length about the documentary and I was really touched by his honesty about such a monumental experience to go through and what it meant to him and his family. In fact, Spencer has taken on a number of huge challenges that we talk about on today’s episode in memory of his brother, taking him from the Sahara Desert to Arctic Sweden. Alongside that, he takes us from the South of France and Morocco to New York City and Paris.Destination Recap:Caunton, Newark, EnglandParis, France La Colle-Sour-Loup, France La Colombe D’Or, France St Barths, Caribbean Eden Roc Hotel, St BarthsSahara DesertMt Everest, NepalNamche Bazar, NepalNew York, NY, USAPalais Namaskar, Marrakech, Morocco The Mark, NY, USAThe Bowery, NY, USAKatz Deli, NY, USAThe Select Burger, NY, USA4 Charles Prime Rib, NY, USAArctic SwedenJapanArgentinaBrazil If you'd like to hear more from Spencer and his wife Vogue, you can tune in to his hit podcast, Spencer and Vogue, a Global original here.And don’t forget to check out his low- and no-alcohol drinks brand Clean Co, here.If you’d like to hear more from the podcast don’t forget to hit subscribe or if you use Apple Podcasts to hit follow so that a new episode lands in your podcast app each week, and if you’re really enjoying it I’d be so grateful if you could leave a rating or review. If you want to be the first to find out who’s joining me on next week’s episode come and follow me on Instagram, I’m @hollyrubenstein and I’d love to hear from you. If you can’t wait til then remember there’s the first seven seasons to catch up on - that’s over 85 episodes to keep you busy there. And don’t forget that all the destinations mentioned by my guests are always included in the episode show notes and they’re also on my website, TheTravelDiariesPodcast.com Thanks so much for listening.

On today’s episode I’m joined by one of British TV’s most famous faces, Richard Hammond. Stepping into the spotlight over twenty years ago, Richard became one third of the iconic trio to front the BBC's motoring show, Top Gear, alongside James May and Jeremy Clarkson. The show went on to become the world's most watched factual TV programme - as proven by the Guiness book of records - at its peak 350 million viewers around the world were tuning in each week. The show saw the trio travel all over the world to take on epic motoring challenges, which they’ve since continued on The Grand Tour on Amazon Prime, where the three embark on car related challenges across the world. Now when I say these shows have taken Richard all over the world, I’m not exaggerating: the filmography includes Norway, Canada, Botswana, Vietnam, Chile, Argentina, Namibia, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Israel, India, Madagascar, Mongolia - and that’s only half of them. Richard recounts some of these epic adventures on today’s episode, taking us from Canada to Botswana, to Bolivia, as well as to some much loved spots on British soil.Destination RecapThe Forest of Dean, EnglandBiblins Campsite, Ross-on-Wye, EnglandCoast to Coast walk across EnglandButtermere, Lake District, EnglandNorth Magnetic Pole, Northern Canada BotswanaMozambiqueCanadian ForestCambodia + Vietnam road tripMikadikadi Salt Flats, Botswana Kubu Island, BotswanaBolivian rain forestSouth PoleRichard Hammond's Workshop Season 2 will be available to stream exclusively on discovery+ from Monday 17th OctoberWith thanks to…Sonnwies, South Tyrol’s mountain family-only wellness hotel with its own organic farm. Head to sonnwies.com to find out more. If you’d like to hear more from the podcast don’t forget to hit subscribe or if you use apple podcasts to hit follow so that a new episode lands in your podcast app each week, and if you’re really enjoying it I’d be so grateful if you could leave a rating or review. If you want to be the first to find out who’s joining me on next week’s episode come and follow me on Instagram, I’m @hollyrubenstein and I’d love to hear from you. If you can’t wait til then remember there’s the first seven seasons to catch up on - that’s over 85 episodes to keep you busy there. And don’t forget that all the destinations mentioned by my guests are always included in the episode show notes and they’re also on my website, TheTravelDiariesPodcast.com Thanks so much for listening.