My heated blanket has trapped me. Winter shadows tap at frosted window panes as 4 pm draws in. Simply put, it is dark and cold, and I can’t afford to leave the country for warmer climates.
The UK becomes particularly miserable once all the leaves have fallen. Students are tied home by assignments and dwindling loans, heating switched on for a luxurious yet expensive hour to stave off the frostbite. The antidote, however, comes in the form of high-quality travel writing.
An author who understands their craft, who has lived lives beyond a British winter, and who knows how to turn those experiences into a paperbound reality holds more power than any vitamin D supplement. Travel books, when well selected, tell a story of real human life, distant culture, distant sunshine, and lifetime achievements. Travel writing inspires the individual, providing a depth of life reflections that a TikTok could never replicate.
Is travel writing dying? Perhaps. Author Tim Hannigan wrote the novel The Travel Writing Tribe: Journeys in Search of a Genre (2021) in an attempt to define the genre’s future, which lies with the readers.
And yet, videos and TikToks can not recreate the extravagant details and beauty of classic travel writers such as Paul Theroux. They cannot rewrite classic travel literature, replacing the likes of Eric Newby, Bruce Chatwin and George Orwell. Yet despite these famous works, it does not all lie in the classics – there’s much more to the genre beyond the voices of old white men. Looking to the future of travel writing is where hope and humanity lies.
This year, I came across two particular stand-out books. Life Lessons From The Amazon (2021) by Pip Stewart transported me far from Scotland to the depths of the Amazon Rainforest. Stewart built a new world I didn’t know existed, a true insight into what lies beyond our personal horizons. The writing used refreshingly blunt honesty and realism in this groundbreaking adventure novel that ties to each life with individuality and optimism through the tale of a great adventure. Likewise, Around the World in 80 Trains (2019) by Monisha Rajesh afforded me a whole new perspective on our Western way of life. Rajesh illustrates sustainable travel and human connection with such a transforming skill in one of the most powerful, cleverly written, and humanised travel books of the century.
The heated blanket may trap your body, your bank account may have frozen alongside the weather, but the mental escapism of the travel book holds far more power than you might expect. Escapism does not lie just in fantasy – this genre is rooted in reality, human connection, and culture, whilst maintaining whimsy and substance.
Try something new and pick up a travel book this winter.
Featured Image Credit : Rae Archibald
Journalism student at the University of Stirling & BRAW Magazine editor 24/25 and 25/26 🙂
You can see my portfolio here: https://www.clippings.me/alicepollard
