Simon Calder's Independent Travel Podcast

Today's travel podcast, in which my excellent travel desk colleagues – Annabel Grossman, Benjamin Parker and Natalie Wilson – quiz me about 30 years at The Independent.This podcast is free, as is the travel newsletter from The Independent. Sign up for it here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Good heavens! Today I'm looking skyward with astronomer extraordinary Dr John Mason, who reports on the total eclipse last month, and the biggest display of Northern Lights for decades, last weekend.This podcast is free, as is the travel newsletter from The Independent. Sign up for it here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One month to go before Euro 2024 kicks off in Munich, and two months before the final (England v Scotland?) in Berlin. Today I speak to Charles Wilson of CW Sports Travel.This podcast is free, as is the travel newsletter from The Independent. Sign up for it here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

South Western Railway is shortly to bring in ultra-fast wifi on trains between London and Hampshire. But almost everywhere else in the UK, connectivity on rail is lousy. Why is this, and what can be done about it?This podcast is free, as is the travel newsletter from The Independent. Sign up for it here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I explore the weekend closure of the M25 and its impact on travellers between Heathrow and Gatwick Airports. From Central London, I delve into the reasons behind the closure, the detours, and how to navigate the changes.This podcast is free, as is the travel newsletter from The Independent. Sign up for it here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're now at the end of the latest round of rail strikes by the train drivers’ union, Aslef, and so it's a good moment to look forward with some anticipation to the new rail options when the summer timetables come into effect on 2nd June.This podcast is free, as is the travel newsletter from The Independent. Sign up for it here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tens of thousands of airline passengers arriving at airports across the UK faced waits of several hours last night after another collapse of the eGates system that automatically check passports. The IT failure took over four hours to fix, during which time large queues built up.This podcast is free, as is the travel newsletter from The Independent. Sign up for it here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Once again I am at London Waterloo station reporting on another strike by members of the Aslef union. But as a third summer of strikes by train drivers belonging to Aslef begins, a glimmer of hope for an end to the conflict. Negotiations with rail firms could shortly resume after a year. Union boss Mick Whelan tells me a ‘relatively’ clean pay deal could end the dispute.This podcast is free, as is the travel newsletter from The Independent. Sign up for it here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thirty years ago Queen Elizabeth II and French president Francois Mitterand officially opened the Channel Tunnel between Folkestone in Kent and Calais in northern France. So how much has the link transformed travel – and what does the future hold? Unfortunately, it’s been a tale of broken promises so far in terms of direct services between the UK and Continental Europe. The only prospect of improvement: cutting costs and opening up to new budget operators.This podcast is free, as is The Independent's weekly travel newsletter. Sign up for all our newsletters here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I'm on the route of the (actually scheduled) Orient Express, 15 years after that legendary train last left Vienna to cross Germany into France overnight. My transport is an Austrian Railways Nightjet, destination Amsterdam and Hamburg. And I'm rather impressed ...This podcast is free, as is the travel newsletter from The Independent. Sign up for it here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.