TV Travellers Share Their Top Travel Experiences

IAN WRIGHT’S WORST DINNER ABROAD

"Cockroach was a hard one to swallow. They only got that because they couldn't find fried spiders. I don't know what's worse. I wouldn't want to bite into the abdomen of a big spider, like a tarantula, because that'd be gooey. At least the cockroach was crunchy, but it's just one of those dirty ones that's behind your fridge, and it's been lightly fried in a bit of oil and chill. Disgusting.

Or the other one is a Viking thing. They used to get shark meat,  bury it in the ground to go mouldy and rancid for a year, dig it back up, hang it in a shed for another year until it all dried out, then cut it into cubes and that would be their delicacy! That was so bad - just like a square of sulphur."



NICHOLAS CRANE’S THREE TRAVEL ESSENTIALS

"An Ordnance Survey map, a compass and an umbrella. You don't need to have lots of money - it isn't necessary to travel half way around the globe, by travel I mean pull on your walking boots and get on your bike. Look around your neighbourhood - geography happens 50 metres outside your front door, and it's fascinating to learn about it and see how it's affecting the lives of communities and how things can be changed for the better.

Every single world issue at the moment has a geographical root to it, so we do need a new generation of knowledgeable, expert and practising geographers and A-Level is where it all starts."



MARK BEAUMONT’S FAVOURITE PLACES

"There’s a shortlist of places that I can’t wait to go back to, probably with my family so I can spend a good amount of time there. I’m biased, but I haven’t found anywhere I’d rather live permanently than Scotland.

But Iran and Sudan would stand out as the two countries that are the most different to what I expected. We hear about these places being difficult – international sanctions and all that stuff – but once you get inside Iran and Sudan you just meet phenomenally welcoming and interesting people and a real depth of culture, so Iran and Sudan are places I’d love to go back to and explore more.

Are they the best places in the world? No, but they’re the ones that surprised me the most."



LEVISON WOOD’S GREATEST WILDLIFE ENCOUNTERS

"On the Nile, we walked through these national parks and came up close and personal with wildlife, like elephants, an enormous 20 foot python in Uganda, and we got charged by a hippo once.

Hippos are pretty lethal creatures, they kill about 40,000 people a year in Africa; they are very dangerous. And you have to be very careful, because they hide in these mud pits and then when you least expect it they come and charge you…and they can move as fast as a horse."

______________________________________________________________________________


Inspired to embark on your own adventure? Grab a subscription to Which? Travel today for the best advice on where in the world to start the trip of a lifetime...