Mike Gerrard
I'm a travel writer. That means two things: I travel, and I write. The writing I do at my home in East Anglia, but always with one eye on the next trip. When you've got wanderlust, you've got it for life. I've also written for Wanderlust, not to mention the travel pages of The Times of London, for American Express and for dozens of other publications mainly in the UK, the USA and Australia. A selection of my travel writing, Snakes Alive, has been published by Blue Sky Books on the Kindle. I did an interview about it on the Travel Writing 2.0 website.
I'm now much more into writing for the internet, where people these days get most of their travel information from. As well as writing on the UK and Ireland for Suite101, my wife and I also publish a website devoted to to one of America's most beautiful drives, the Pacific Coast Highway, another about Greece, Greece Travel Secrets, and the latest is Beyond London Travel. On all of them we've included advice on How to Build a Travel Website for yourself.
I've written or contributed to over forty guidebooks, some with my wife Donna Dailey, who's also a travel writer and photographer and is Feature Writer on the SW USA/Hawaii pages for Suite101. I've worked for many of the major guidebook publishers, including National Geographic, Insight, Dorling Kindersley, the AA, AAA, Thomas Cook, Michelin and New Holland.
Despite traveling worldwide I still love exploring the UK, where I was born, and Ireland, where two of my great-grandparents were born. I lived in London for many years, and now live north of Cambridge in East Anglia, when we're not dashing off for some Arizona sunshine to our place near Tucson.
I've written guides to the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales, and written a guide to Dublin. I've written about Glasgow, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Liverpool, Newcastle, Belfast, Cornwall, Hadrian's Wall, the whisky-makers on the Isle of Islay, Norfolk and Suffolk, Cambridge, beer-making in Burton and even Walsall, which doesn't feature in too many guidebooks.
I love them all, as for me travel is all about curiosity. It's about the tourist hotspots and it's getting off-the-beaten-track. It's about people, and it's about food and drink, so expect to see a lot of that in these pages. Traveling is also about sharing information, about asking someone who's been there: so, what was it like? I won't have all the answers, but I might know someone who does, or another reader of Suite101 might have the answer for you. Check out the Discussions, or email me, check my own website or my pages on the British Guild of Travel Writers' website. I'm also a member of Travelwriters UK and WPu.
Some of my recent books include:
Sole Author
Paris: Yesterday and Today (Publications International, 2010); Heritage Guide to the East Midlands (HHG 2009); CitySpots Guides to Amsterdam and Athens (Thomas Cook 2007 & 2006); Essential Spiral Athens, British Isles from the Air, Impressions of the Cotswolds, Focus on New England, Focus on Alaska (AA 2008, 2008, 2008, 2007, 2007); Paris by Metro (Navigator Guides/France Magazine, 2008); Globetrotter Guide to Corfu (New Holland 2005); National Geographic Traveler Guide to Greece (National Geographic 2009); 100 Years of Rugby (Ammonite Press, 2008).
Co-author with Donna Dailey
Top Ten Guide to Paris (Dorling Kindersley 2007); Spiral Crete, Spiral Corfu, Paris Revealed (AA 2006, 2007, 2008).
Contributor
Smart Guide to Amsterdam, US On the Road Guide (Insight Guides 2009); Official Travel Guide to 2007 Rugby World Cup (Purple Guides 2007); Key Guide to Ireland, Extreme Places, Key Guide to Western European Cities, Key Guide to Scotland (AA 2005, 2007, 2008); Europe Travelbook (AA/AAA 2007); Where to Go When: Great Britain and Ireland, Eyewitness Greek Islands/Athens and the Mainland (DK 2010, 2006).
Updater
Traveller Guides to Amsterdam, Crete, London, Mexico and Paris, and HotSpots Tunisia and Corfu (Thomas Cook all 2006/2007); Essential Spiral Amsterdam, Essential Spiral Crete, Explorer France, Amsterdam Pop-Out City Guide, Spiral Las Vegas (AA 2009, 2008, 2008, 2007, 2006); Globetrotter Guide to Tunisia (New Holland 2007). And with Donna Dailey: Travellers Guide to New York (Thomas Cook, 2007), Insight On the Road USA (Insight, 2009), CityPack Chicago (AA, 2010). And jointly with Donna Dailey: Travellers Guide to New York (Thomas Cook, 2007).
Awards
- Travelex Award for an article in Time Out about China
- British Guild of Travel Writers Award for a piece about a taxi tour of Belfast
- Two Awards for Excellence from the Outdoor Writers' Guild for articles about Ireland and Madeira
- A Benjamin Franklin Award for a guidebook to Paris
Latest Articles
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York Food and Drink Festival 2011
At York's Food and Drink Festival in September 2011 visitors and locals can enjoy the best food and drink not just from Yorkshire but from around the world.
Jun 28, 2011
- Mike Gerrard
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Cheap Youth Hostels in London, England
The YHA or Youth Hostels Association has six cheap hostels in good locations for exploring central London, including Kensington and Oxford Street.
May 8, 2011
- Mike Gerrard
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A Bouncer, a Brothel, a Missing Daughter, in a Tough Crime Novel
The mean streets of English cathedral city Worcester are the setting for Graven Image by Charlie Williams, a short punchy mystery with a killer ending.
May 2, 2011
- Mike Gerrard
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Not Safe by Danuta Reah is a Crime Mystery about a Refugee Murder
This dark story of the killing of an asylum seeker in the north of England is a tense and brutal tale about people lost on the fringes of British society.
May 2, 2011
- Mike Gerrard
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Frommer's Dublin Day by Day Guide with Maps and Self-Guided Tours
This new edition of the compact guidebook covers the best of Dublin with thematic tours, 33 maps, and hotel and other recommendations from budget to luxury.
Apr 28, 2011
- Mike Gerrard
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Bob Dylan's New York Explores Greenwich Village, Chelsea and More
June Skinner Sawyers writes the first book about the influence of New York City on the music legend, in the MusicPlace series from Roaring Forties Press.
Apr 27, 2011
- Mike Gerrard
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Ray Banks Writes a Tough Crime Tale from Scotland
California by Scottish author Ray Banks is in the 'tartan noir' tradition, a story of a hard man aiming to get from California in Falkirk to the USA.
Apr 23, 2011
- Mike Gerrard
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New Lonely Planet Scotland Guidebook with Edinburgh Map, 3D Plans
2011 edition of this Scottish guide has new features, fine photos, detailed listings, planning tools, 54 maps, and essays on history, arts, food, and more.
Mar 26, 2011
- Mike Gerrard
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Free Guided Tours of London with a Local London Greeter
In time for the Olympic Games, London emulates New York by offering tourists guided tours of London by people who live there, the London Greeters.
Mar 16, 2011
- Mike Gerrard
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First Inverness Whisky Festival in the Highlands of Scotland
Enjoy tasting the best Scotch whisky with food and music at this festival, whose guest distilleries include Talisker, Glenmorangie, Oban, and Tomatin.
Mar 7, 2011
- Mike Gerrard
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