✨ Welcome back to our series, TravMedia's Travel Writer of the Week! ✨
Each week, we'll be shining a spotlight on one of the incredibly talented, passionate, and inspiring Journalists or Editors from our amazing community.
This week, we'd like to shine the spotlight on freelance travel writer - Will Hide.
We hope you enjoy - happy reading !!
Where are you based?
London but I get up to Yorkshire, where I'm from originally, every month. I'm happiest in the countryside.
What outlets do you write for?
My main ones are the Times, Sunday Times and Daily Telegraph, with occasional appearances in the FT. I've just had a commission from Conde Nast Traveller this week.
Who is your audience?
To be honest, I have no idea. I was outside a museum in Central London recently and someone in the queue recognised me from my byline which was both flattering and a bit creepy.
What are your travel specialties?
I write about all sorts but my favourite thing is some soft adventure – hiking or skiing for example – with a lovely hotel and great food at the end of the day. I really enjoy urban exploring too, especially doing hotel round ups in a city. If I do "20 best budget hotels in Paris" I really do go round and see them all.
Are you in-house or freelance (or both)?
Freelance.
What are your professional pet peeves?
Well I preface this by saying I know everyone has a job to do and I'm nothing special but having my inbox clogged up with "hey did you see my email I sent two days ago about X"-type emails. (Yes, I did see it and I never got back because it's not something I'd ever write about.) Another thing is how these days SEO-grabbing headlines are tacked on to an article, which I can't control but drive readers nuts and the comment section goes ballistic. "The great French town you've never heard of" which turns out to be Lyon or Bordeaux etc. But I think I'm on a losing battle with that one. (I met someone recently who is successful on TikTok and Instagram, and they said they will quite often put in a deliberate mistake knowing it will create engagement, but that just left me rather sad.)
In your past professional life you were …
...a banker and absolutely loathed every single second. I don't know how I lasted 6 months, I then worked for Trailfinders travel agency in Earls Court and Bridge the World in Camden, which was much more me.
Where would you like to return to?
Buenos Aires for sure – I love Argentina. And Cape Town which I've been to more than 30 times. (I haven't been since before Covid but I just got a commission for South Africa so hope to be back soon.) Japan would definitely make the list as well. In 2000 I spent 3 weeks hiking in Pakistan and I'd really love to do that again before I get too creaky.
What's on your bucket list?
Tibet, Bolivia and northern Chile, Algeria, Tajikistan (for the hiking), a really remote safari in somewhere like Chad or Congo, and a snowy, winter rail trip across Turkey. Hiring a lakeside cottage in Finland to do nothing apart from eat, swim, sleep and read for a week. And every summer there's a music festival of brass bands in Serbia that I really want to go to. (That's the short list – I could go on!)
Where do you travel for fun?
If some weird law was enacted that you could only ever visit one foreign country again in your life, it would without hesitation be Italy.
Your funniest travel story is …
Twice I've had a case of mistaken identity which worked in my favour, and both happened years ago. Once I was upgraded to First Class coming back from Abu Dhabi because they thought I was the editor of the Times. And another time I was invited to the Sarajevo Film Festival by mistake, because I have a similar surname to a well-known newspaper movie critic. Of course I said yes. They were embarrassed when I got there and they found out, I wasn't - it was great!
What advice would you give your younger professional self?
Don't wait for your ship to come in, row out to meet it. ie Nothing happens in life if you just sit on your arse.
What nugget would you like to add that we haven't touched on?
Two years ago I trained to be a "Blue Badge" London tour guide - it's a really intensive 18-month course with 12 exams. but I really enjoy it, guiding (mostly Americans) around London. My main passion, though, will always be travel writing but it's increasingly difficult, financially, for anyone to be "just" a travel writer these days. More details at www.willhide.com.
How best should people contact you?
Whatsapp or email.
