Martin Symington is a travel journalist and author. Born and brought up in Portugal, he has been based in Britain for most of his adult life. He travels all climes in search of original stories and has contributed to most of the UK’s national newspapers including the Times, Telegraph, Independent, Guardian, Observer, Mail, Express and Scotland on Sunday as well as magazines such as Sunday Times Travel and Wanderlust. His work has won numerous awards including the BGTW travel-writer of the year, the ATTA journalist of the year and the Kingley travel-press awards travel-feature-of-the-year.
Martin has also written several guidebooks. The most recent Sacred Britain: a guide to places that stir the soul was acclaimed as ‘a wonderful, timely guide’ (BBC Countryfile), ‘impeccably researched and beautifully written’ (Glasgow Herald) and ‘a fascinating take on travel in the British Isles’ (Sandi Toksvig). ‘Read the stories that Martin tells so well,’ urged Mark Tully. Martin is currently writing a book about the Alentejo region of southern Portugal.
Beyond writing, Martin has been a reporter for BBC Radio 4’s Breakaway and has contributed to Excess Baggage (BBC Radio 4) and the Travel Channel. He has tutored adult-education courses in travel writing at the University of Bath and lectures on background history, politics and culture aboard cruise ships. An incorrigible general-knowledge junkie, Martin has taken part in National Geographic Channel’s National Geo-Genius and BBC Radio 4’s Brain of Britain. He lives with his family in a sleepy Wiltshire village.
