Travel Lights

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It's time to get stuck into a new travel project! Join Stephen as he introduces the A Lap of Scotland: A man, a GoPro and a Dacia Duster. The idea was to record beautiful footage from S…

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Reflecting on his overland journey from Kazakhstan to Scotland, Stephen discusses both the high - and low - lights of the trip, as well as offering some advice about the practicalities.

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With the finish line in sight, Stephen enjoys a few hour among Amsterdam's cyclists and voyeurs, before a leisurely crossing of the North Sea brings him to a hipster coffee shop in Newc…

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A quiet evening on an efficient European train... is what Stephen thought he was getting when he booked the Nightjet service from Vienna to Amsterdam. It wasn't quite how it turned out.…

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Willkommen in Wien! Stephen arrives in the Austrian capital, home to great music, great films and great cakes. You might want to grab a nice slice of something rich and moist before you…

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The journey continues on and into beautiful Bucharest. Join Stephen for superlative architecture, unwarranted negativity towards railway station clientele, and, of course, a decent cup …

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Two trains, three capital cities. Hear Stephen's sketches of a sleepy overnight train ride from Bucharest to Budapest, a confused wander around the Hungarian capital, and then a short b…

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Coach travel may lack the appeal of journeying on the rails, but sometimes it's the only option. Stephen continues his journey from Kazakhstan to Scotland by taking an overnight bus bet…

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No train journey from Asia to Europe would be complete without a stop in Istanbul. Join Stephen as he sketches out the scammers, wanders the sights and hunts out a cup of government-app…

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Join Stephen for a delightful slice of slow travel on the world-famous Doğu Express. This popular railway highlight conveys him, a a pace far more leisurely than the 'Express' in its ti…

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Stephen's in the Eastern Anatolian city of Erzurum. Famous for it's castle, kebabs and, er, being the spot a long-distance cyclist was killed over a hundred years ago, the place may be …

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Leaving Tbilisi behind, join Stephen for days 9 and 10 of his overland-ish trip from Kazakhstan to Scotland. 

This episode features a train ride through Georgia up to the Black Sea resor…

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We're onto our third country of the trip: Georgia! With a night and a day to explore Tbilisi, join Stephen as he samples the wine and coffee the city has to offer, stumbles across some …

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Join Stephen on his way out of Baku and up to the border with Georgia. There are flags, wild dogs, a cellophane breakfast and a taxi driver war correspondent, not to mention a grim cros…

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It's day 7 and we're in Baku, the City of Winds. Braving the cold, Stephen and indefatigable guide, Kamil, explore the Azerbaijan's enigmatic capital.

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Stephen arrives in Aktau, an industrial city in far western Kazakhstan, and spends the day desperately searching for something to love about the place.

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Stopping off on his journey across Kazakhstan, Stephen finds himself in the ever-so-slightly mysterious city of Turkistan. An important Islamic pilgrimage site and increasingly importan…

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Join Stephen on an overnight sleeper train, leaving Almaty in the wee sma' hours and arriving in the Silk Road city of Turkistan the next afternoon, skirting Kyrgyzstan. With a suspicio…

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Welcome to the first part of the Eurasian rail adventure in whichI try to get from Almaty, Kazakhstan, to Edinburgh, Scotland, without flying. 

In this episode, hear about abseiling pizz…