Inspiring Travel Writing from Simon Heptinstall
Simon Heptinstall likes to move. In fact, sitting in his office writing things about travel, he often gets so bored that he whizzes round and round on his chair and, holding the camera steady, tries to take the perfect shot of himself in motion.
He lives in a Wiltshire village, where his productive attitude has led him to write a book about Devon, help to compile a coffee-table tome on luxury hotels, write lots of magazine and newspaper features and appear on a BBC game show as captain of a team of travel writers. Sadly, they lost to a team of scientists...
You can find out more about Simon and his writing on his blog: www.simonheptinstall.com
Articles by Simon Heptinstall
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Fair Isle
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Simon Heptinstall
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United Kingdom
As I took off from Shetland, heading south into the mist, I began to wonder whether Fair Isle is a real place… or somewhere invented by Marks and Spencers’ marketing department. After a 25-minute flight, I soon found it was real enough...
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Replica Attractions
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Simon Heptinstall
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United Kingdom
Tutankhamun's Tomb Opposite the chip shop in Dorchester High Street is one of the greatest treasures of the ancient world. The Tutankhamun Exhibition houses a full-sized re-creation of the 3,500-year-old burial chambers of the Egyptian pharaoh...
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The Romantic Road
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Simon Heptinstall
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United Kingdom
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Cotswolds
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Cheltenham
We hadn’t spoken for an hour. I was driving, gripping the steering wheel staring grimly ahead through the drizzle. She was sitting in the passenger seat pretending to be engrossed by the map on her lap, tapping her finger annoyingly on the...
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Pierre Gruneberg: I'd like to teach the world to swim
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Simon Heptinstall
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France
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Provence
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He's taught some of the most rich and famous to swim... and now Pierre Gruneberg was going to get his biggest test – persuading ME to go near the water. Europe's top instructor – whose list of successes includes Paul McCartney, Picasso...
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A Wedding on the Isle of Lewis
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Simon Heptinstall
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United Kingdom
From the comfort of my home 700 miles away, a stone chapel in the middle of a field in the Outer Hebrides seemed a memorably romantic place to get married. But when I found myself with a flower in my button-hole, shivering at the end of the long...
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Curling
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Simon Heptinstall
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United Kingdom
I couldn't help noticing the mysterious recurring circular motif repeating right across the carpet in the hotel reception. The strange pattern continued along the corridor to my room at the North West Castle Hotel. Why was a flying saucer featured...
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The three peaks challenge
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Simon Heptinstall
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United Kingdom
I was scared, exhausted and alone on top of Britain’s highest mountain in a 70mph blizzard. Deadly precipices lurked either side of the path, invisible through the minus-eight degree white-out. All I could see was footmarks in the snow. I...
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Belize and its Elusive Jaguars
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Simon Heptinstall
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Belize
The little plane buzzed down towards a clearing in the rainforest. From the air, I could see a wild green sea of jungle spreading towards a distant rim of hazy, gnarled mountains. It was my first glimpse of Belize’s Cockscomb Basin - an...
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Liege...on the Trail of Maigret
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Simon Heptinstall
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Belgium
With his trademark trilby, raincoat and pipe, Inspector Maigret was the Morse of the sixties. Millions followed the exploits of the unflappable Parisian policeman on fuzzy black and white TVs. For the over 40s, his name still ranks alongside Holmes...
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Sofia City Break
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Simon Heptinstall
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Bulgaria
“And here,” gestured the guide, “is the historic church of St. Petra.” Excuse me? I stared open-mouthed at the elevated concrete intersection of two of the Bulgarian capital’s biggest and busiest roads. “This...