If you want to be a travel writer......

It's great heading into the unknown sometimes. It's one of the many things that makes travel writing such a lot of fun.

Now  the British Guild of Travel Writers and The Travel Bookshop in Blenheim Crescent, Notting Hill.  have come together in a Festival of Travel Writing from 9-18 September.  The speakers are all true professionals and know what they are talking about, so if you have always yearned to be a travel writer, they are the people who can give you some "horse's mouth" advice.

They can advise, too, on their speciality destinations . On the 18th September, many guidebook writers will be in the shop to help visitors planning holidays in their speciality areas. 

Saara Marchadour, Manager of The Travel Bookshop is pretty excited about the whole thing. She says that "it's not often that members of the public get the opportunity to meet professional travel writers, and the events are a must-see for anyone who loves travelling or wants to be a travel writer."

It set me wondering what advice I'd give to someone visiting London for the first time, though.   When you know a place REALLY well, you can suffer a bit too much from information overload.  You're so keen not to be corny that it's all too easy to forget to recommend the big tourist sights, and some of those are really, really good.

For instance, I was absolutely astounded when I visited the Tower of London with some American friends.  It was brilliant. There was so much to see, the Beefeaters were great, the history was overwhelming. I could hardly believe this wonderful place had been sitting there for years and I hadn't bothered to drop by.   I'd also recommend the Victoria & Albert Museum to anyone with the slightest interest in applied arts.  There's more than you can appreciate in a lifetime, and it's free.