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Lectures
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Freewheeling Journeys - Illustrated Travel Talks
Historian, two-wheeled long-distance traveller, broadcaster and Journalist. Paul Gillingham is many things and has enjoyed a varied career. But his talks offer an insight into his explorations of Chile, Argentina, Spain, Austria, Scotland and Ireland - all by bicycle.
More detail on his talks
Freewheeling in Chile and Argentina
Paul joins his two sons in Santiago, Chile and goes on to fulfil a
boyhood dream of visiting the faded glories of Valparaiso. He then proceeds to visit Patagonia, climb the Andes into Argentina and wine tastes in Mendoza before arriving in Buenos Aires.
Spain, South to North along Roman roads
Paul and his son Paul cycle 800 miles along the length of Spain following the Roman routes Via Augusta and Via de la Plata. They visit off-the-beaten-track villages and the great cities of Cadiz, Seville, Merida, Caceres and Salamanca, as well as the region of Galicia.
Sentimental journey to Vienna
Paul celebrates his first-ever journey abroad with his dad, to Freiburg and Strasbourg at the age of 12, and his first dance, on Weymouth pier, with his mum (to Strauss’s Blue Danube Waltz) by crossing France and following the route of the Danube to Vienna – by bike.
Freewheeling around Orkney and Shetland
Paul explores the byways of Orkney and Shetland and some of their islands by bike, dipping into their histories and quirkiness and enjoying the friendliness of their people.
The Wild Atlantic Way: Western Ireland from North to South
A solo cycle ride along the west coast of Ireland, north to south. Paul travels from Londonderry to Cork, taking in the islands of Aran and Achill, Ireland’s literary icons, the bizarre limestone landscape of the Burren and the beach that claimed ships of the Spanish Armada.
A Pilgrim's Progress: The Way of St James
Recovering from a serious health problem, Paul decides to make the trip by bike from France to Santiago di Compostela in Spain as a form of pilgrimage. It was a six-week, 1600-mile solo ride through France, over the Pyrenees and across the plains and mountains of Northern Spain to Santiago.
BIOGRAPHY AND BACKGROUND
Paul taught history in UK, Canada, Tanzania and Hong Kong before switching
to broadcast journalism during the 1970s.
He returned to the UK as a TV news presenter and went on to write and present features for BBC Radio 4, BBC World Service and Classic FM. He has written many articles on travel and a book, ‘At the Peak: A History of Hong Kong Between the Wars’ (1983).
The highlights of his career include: a spell in the Swedish Merchant Navy, a month in a Rwandan refugee camp during the genocide and interviewing, among many, the Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, Quentin Crisp, Little Richard and the sons of Martin Luther King and Benito Mussolini.