A view of travel
and travelling

I love being in and exploring a new place, but I hate the process of travelling to get there, particularly by air. I just cannot see the romance of queuing with suitcases at airport check-in counters, having to almost undress at the security barriers, being thrown about in airport busses, finding how best to carry and stow photographic equipement and then being crushed into a seat - which has seemingly been specifically designed to provide physiotherapists with a steady stream of clients - for hours on end with the only distractions being airline “food”, endless “Mr Bean” videos and the snoring of an unknown, usually very large, neighbour in the next seat. I pass over the painful process of baggage recovery and finding your way out of the airport….

The only means of transport which I enjoy is travelling by ship, but that is in my DNA. Apart from the pleasure of the experience itself, whenever I am on or close to the sea, I renew my resources. This is because I was born in view of the sea into a family which had run one of the local steam ship companies for generations and I followed my Father’s footsteps into the Navy. While I was growing up, Summer family picnics were usually by rowing boat to a beach across the water and in the Winter I would watch the storms over the bay through our windows. Later, one of my greatest pleasures used to be standing completely alone on the forward end of the flight deck of an aircraft carrier as she steamed through the night, drinking in the experience. Now, whenever I need to think or recharge my batteries, I spend hours walking along beaches, especially in the winter.

However, for practical reasons, like many others, I have to accept that nowadays the only reasonable way to travel to most destinations is by air, putting up with the inconveniences involved but I can never pretend that I like it. Maybe I should admit that - apart from by sea - I dislike travel and travelling although I am an enthusiastic explorer of places.