William Sitwell is a writer, broadcaster and editor of Waitrose Kitchen magazine, whose first book A History of Food in 100 Recipes is published by Collins on 12 April.
Cheapflights: What do you always do when you travel – any routine procedures?
William Sitwell: Apart from praying for an upgrade and relishing the prospect of turning left I always eat and drink everything on offer in a plane and watch as much TV as I can. I try and travel as light as possible to avoid checking luggage, make use of MBW valet parking at Heathrow and only ever seem to shop at an airport. The first thing I try to do on arriving somewhere is go for a run. Wherever you are, if you’ve been for a run before breakfast you feel you’re ahead of the game, you’ve already seen some of the landscape and life before your first cup of coffee.
CF: What is your travel pet peeve?
WS: What’s a peeve? I do always take swimming trunks if that’s what you mean. Swimming – as well as a run, can help conquer jet lag, as well as getting completely sloshed on the first night.
CF: What is your favourite kind of trip (preferences, romantic, city, beach etc)?
WS: I dream of sandy beaches, shacks serving freshly grilled prawns and absolutely no internet connection.
CF: Best destination you have ever been to and why?
WS: Impossible to answer. I love Goa (see above), many Greek islands (for the people, the retsina and the sea), Cape Town for the food, white wine and landscape and Paris, because it’s Paris.
CF: Where in the world offers the best value for money?
WS: Plumpton. The small hamlet where I live in Northamptonshire. I make my own cider, grow vegetables, collect eggs from our hens, buy meat from the local farmers and groceries from Mr Mumford who comes to the door at 4pm every Saturday and always has a big bone for the dog. The dhal might be tasty and cheap in Goa but it costs a arm and leg to get there.
CF: Where would you pay to stay? Is there anywhere you think offers great value and a great deal?
WS: I’d frankly rather not pay to stay anywhere and I loathe the end of being in a hotel where you have to cough up for all the fluffy pillows, service and stuff that should have stayed in the mini bar.
CF: What is the best airport you have flown from and is there a tip to make this airport experience great?
WS: I love Terminal 5. Great architecture and shops. My advice is always get to an (nice) airport much earlier than you need to be, then there’s no stress and you can make merry pottering about.
CF: When you fly, is there a tip you can share to make the experience a great one?
WS: Keep getting up and stretching, drink plenty of water, moisturise and watch as much telly as is humanly possible. But I also love gazing out of the window wondering who and how people are living down below.
CF: If there was one travel nightmare trip, where would it be to and what would it involve?
WS: I nearly missed a flight to Jo’burg in South Africa for some crucial business. I had a Virgin chauffeur who just talked about himself all the way, got stuck in traffic, refused to then go any faster than the speed limit and got me to the airport as the flight was boarding. It has given me plane fever (a nervousness about missing flights) that’s still not quite out of my system. I can’t think of a nightmare destination. The worse the place the more interesting and funny it might be to write about.
