Tom Chesshyre Books

Between soaring mountains, across arid deserts, parched plains and valleys of fruit orchards and olive groves, down glittering coastlines and along viaducts towering above plunging ravines... there is no better way to see Spain than by train. Rail enthusiast Tom Chesshyre, author of Slow Trains to Venice, Ticket to Ride and Tales from the Fast Trains, hits the tracks once again to take in the country through carriage windows on a series of clattering rides beyond the popular image of "holiday Spain" (although he stops by in Benidorm and Torremolinos too). From hidden spots in Catalonia, through the plains of Aragon and across the north coast to Santiago de Compostela, Chesshyre continues his journey via Madrid, the wilds of Extremadura, dusty mining towns, the cathedrals and palaces of Valencia and Granada, and finally to Seville, Andalusia's beguiling (and hot) capital. Encounters? Plenty. Mishaps? A lot. Happy Spanish days? All the way.

"Between soaring mountains, across arid deserts, parched plains and valleys of fruit orchards and olive groves, down glittering coastlines and along viaducts towering above plunging ravines there is no better way to see Spain than by train. Tom Chesshyre hits the tracks to take in the country through carriage windows on a series of clattering rides beyond the popular image of holiday Spain (although he stops by in Benidorm and Torremolinos too). From hidden spots in Catalonia, through the plains of Aragon and across the north coast to Santiago de Compostela, Chesshyre continues his journey via Madrid, the wilds of Extremadura, dusty mining towns, the cathedrals and palaces of Valencia and Granada, and finally to Seville, Andalusia s beguiling (and hot) capital. Encounters? Plenty. Mishaps? A lot. Happy Spanish days? All the way"--Publisher's description

Do you love trains? Do you love adventure? If so, join Tom Chesshyre on his meandering rail journey across Europe from London to Venice. Escaping the rat race for a few happy weeks, Chesshyre indulges in the freedom of the tracks. From France (dogged by rail worker strikes), through Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Poland, he travels as far east as Odessa by the Black Sea in Ukraine. With no set plans, simply a desire to let the trains lead the way, he heads back via Hungary, the Balkans and Austria. Along the way he enjoys many an encounter, befriending fellow travellers as well as a conductor or two. This is a love letter to Europe, written from the trackside.

If the pandemic has taught us one thing, it's that people love parks Wherever we are in the world, urban parks are places where we can find calm amid the chaos. With fondness and humour, travel writer Tom Chesshyre recalls 50 of his favourite urban parks from across the world, in a love letter to the green escapes that bring us joy in our cities.

Tom Chesshyre is on a mission: to visit a dozen destinations that he can't spell, can't pronounce and wouldn't have heard of if low-fare airlines didn't fly to them. Places like Szczecin, Poprad-Zakopane, Kaunas, Paderborn, Haugesund, Brno and Tampere. Squeezing into his no-frills seat, he enters a hidden world of ex-Solidarity leaders and ultra-cheap dentists in Pol∧ minus 50C ice-rooms in Slovakia; stag parties and Skype in Estonia. Along the way he learns about the 'New Europe', the collapse of the Iron Curtain, the expansion of the European union - plus the fun you can have on a 1p flight. But Tom also explores another highly topical question, and ventures into the headquarters of both Easyjet and Friends of the Earth as he ponders: should we even be flying at all? This is a funny and thought-provoking book on travel in the twenty-first century.

Experience the world by train Why do people love trains so much? Tom Chesshyre is on a mission to find the answer by experiencing the world through train travel - on both epic and everyday rail routes, aboard every type of ride, from steam locomotives to bullet trains, meeting a cast of memorable characters who share a passion for train travel. Join him on the rails and off the beaten track as he embarks on an exhilarating whistle-stop tour around the globe, from Sri Lanka to Iran via Crewe, Inverness, the Australian outback and beyond.

From Penrith to Ullswater, via Keswick, Cockermouth, Coniston, Grasmere and Windermere, plus many places in between, Tom Chesshyre puts on his walking boots and sets forth along the trails, drawn onwards by the dramatic scenery. This is the Lake District seen from its walking paths - with just a backpack, an open mind... and a spring in the step.

Die Freiheit auf Schienen genießen – dafür begibt sich der britische Autor Tom Chesshyre auf eine abenteuerliche Zugreise quer durch Europa: Von London über die Ukraine bis nach Venedig. Das eigentliche Reiseziel: Europa und seine Bewohner kennenlernen. Und herauszufinden, was sie in politisch und gesellschaftlich aufgewühlten Zeiten wie diesen verbindet. Tom Chesshyre reist ohne genauen Plan, eben dorthin, wohin die Schienen führen, und freundet sich unterwegs mit seinen Mitreisenden an – und natürlich mit dem ein oder anderen Schaffner. Ein persönlicher Reisebericht, der zeigt, was Europa zusammenhält. Und eine leidenschaftliche Einladung, sich mit dem nächsten Zug selbst auf den Weg zu machen. - Grenzenlos und bewusst: Mit dem Zug zu den Menschen Europas - Von London über die Ukraine nach Venedig - Mit klugen Einblicken in Politik, Gesellschaft und Tourismus »Die einzige Möglichkeit sicherzugehen, dass man einen Zug erreicht, ist, den davor zu verpassen.« (G.K. Chesterton)

»Fast gratis – aber auf keinen Fall umsonst!« Mallorca war gestern, Shoreditch, Paderborn und Haugesund sind heute! Tom Chesshyre hat getestet, was man dort, wo die Billig-Airlines landen, so alles erleben kann. Er ging zum Nacktbaden nach Finnland, feierte Junggesellenpartys in Estland, probierte Hot Horse Burger in Slowenien – und stellte fest: Abseits der gewohnten Wege wartet das wahre Abenteuer. Für Entdecker, Individualurlauber und Sofatouristen – der erste Reisebericht aus der europäischen Provinz.