Speaker asks "Do We Really Travel Anymore?"

Dan Kieran, author of The Idle Traveller: The Art of Slow Travel, will speak in Inverness, Stirling and Perth between the 11th and 13th of March

He will discuss the modern approach to travelling. Dan will ask if we really travel any more, or if we just arrive.  Besides extolling the virtues of ‘staycation’ holidaying. Dan argues that we need to bin the brochure, glide rather than fly, embrace disaster, be epic in our travel pursuits, and immerse ourselves in the life-changing experience of true journeying.

Dan Kieran "The Idle Traveller".

Dan avoids flying, preferring to travel slowly to his destination out of the belief that it helps us understand more about ourselves and the places we pass through and visit. 

These talks are part of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society’s Inspiring People talks programme.

Dan is Deputy Editor of The Idler, a bi-yearly British magazine. He is a writer, editor, and CEO and co-founder of the crowd-funding publishing platform Unbound. 

He is Editor of Idler Books' Crap Jobs, Crap Holidays (Crap Vacations in the United States), The book of Idle Pleasures, Co-editor of two volumes of Crap Towns, author of I Fought The Law, Planes, Trains and Automobiles and co-author of Three Men In A Float with Ian Vince.

Dan’s talk “The Idle Traveller” will take place at the following times and venues.

Inverness: Monday 11^th Feb at 7:30pm.

The Highland Council Chamber, Glenurquhart Road, Inverness, IV3 5NX.

Perth: Tuesday 12th Feb at 7:30pm. 

Perth Concert Hall, Mill St, Perth, PH1 5HZ.

Stirling: Wednesday 13th Feb at 7:30pm.

Albert Halls, Albert Place, Dumbarton Road, Stirling, FK8 2QL

Tickets are £8 for adults, (redeemable if buying membership) and free for students, under 18s and for RSGS members. Tickets are available on the day from the venue. For more information about any of our talks this season please visit www.rsgs.org/events/

Travel Writer Hilary Bradt Describes Her Pony Ride around West Ireland.

Hilary Bradt is a publisher, award-winning writer, lecturer and co-founder of Bradt Travel Guides. She’ll share the story of her long distance pony ride around West Ireland in Dumfries, Peebles, Ayr and Helensburgh on the 28th to 31st January 2013.
 
Since her pony-obsessed childhood, explorer-publisher Hilary Bradt had dreamed of tackling a long-distance ride. Short treks in Ethiopia and the Peruvian Andes proved to be mere dress rehearsals for the real thing – a thousand-mile journey on horseback, solo, through the west of Ireland in 1984.

Hilary Bradt MBE, is a travel writer and co-founder of Bradt Travel Guides.

Nearly three decades later, Hilary will retrace her steps, kindling the poignant memories of her relationship with Mollie, her Connemara pony.

Set against the vivid backdrop of rural Ireland, this is a witty and ultimately moving tale of the growing bond between horse and rider, the challenges they face and the people who shelter them during their colourful wanderings together.

These lectures are part of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society’s Inspiring People talks programme. The talk in Ayr has been kindly sponsored by Hillhouse Quarry Group.

Born in 1941, Hilary was brought up in Buckinghamshire and worked as an occupational therapist in the USA and South Africa before returning to Bucks in 1980 to concentrate on publishing and tour-leading. In 2008 she was awarded an MBE for services to the tourist industry and to charity, and in 2009 received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the British Guild of Travel Writers. She now lives in Devon.

Hilary built a great friendship with Mollie, her Connemara pony.

Hilary’s talks:

Dumfries: Monday 28th January, 7:30pm.

Easterbrook Hall, The Crichton, Bankend Road, Dumfries, DG1 4TA

Borders (Peebles): Tuesday 29th January, 7:30pm.

The Eastgate Theatre, Eastgate, Peebles, EH43 8AD.

Ayr: Wednesday 30th January, 7.30pm. 

Council Chambers, Ayr Town Hall, New Bridge Street, Ayr, KA7 1JX.

Helensburgh: Thursday 31st January, 7.30pm.

Victoria Halls, Sinclair Street, Helensburgh, G84 8TU

£8 for adults, (redeemable if buying membership) and free students, under 18s and for RSGS members. Tickets are available on the day from the venue. For more information about any of our talks this season please visit www.rsgs.org/events/