About The Quirky Traveller
Hi, I’m Zoë Dawes; welcome to my quirky world … 
“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.” Marcel Proust
The Quirky Traveller Blog is a place to discover diverse articles on interesting places to see and unusual things to do in the UK and abroad. There’s a dash of history, art and literature for the culture vulture to enjoy plus a flavour of the local and exotic in food and gastronomy around the globe.
As well as my own musings on a wide variety of topics, guest writers contribute their own thoughts on an aspect of travel that appeals to them and hopefully many others …
QUIRKY Travel is about seeing life from a different angle, looking at things from all sides, finding the unusual, the interesting, the fascinating. It’s about quality combined with reality, it’s about being curious about everything and wanting to learn more about life.
Meeting new people, discovering fascinating cultures, eating unusual foods and seeing quirky customs have fuelled my fascination with the breadth and depth of experiences that travel gifts us.
Born in the seaside town of Southport, NW UK, I have lived and worked all over the world. Having originally trained and worked as an English teacher, I gave it all up to live in Greece, exploring the Mamma Mia life. Then I moved to the Far East, having great adventures whilst living in Hong Kong and Singapore. During those years I journeyed to many different countries, including Egypt, Turkey, South Africa, Nepal, America, Thailand, Borneo, the Philippines and Malaysia.
As a travel writer, more recently I’ve visited Rwanda, Germany, St Kitts, Finland, Norway, Switzerland, Italy, Ecuador, Canada, Sweden, Iceland, travelled around Spain and had a truly memorable trip to Australia to learn about Aboriginal Food and Culture and uplifting Uluru. Last year I finally fulfilled a life-long dream to visit India and see the Taj Mahal 🙂

Rowing boats on Grasmere in the Lake District
I now live on the Cumbria-Lancashire border, one of the most diverse and lovely parts of the world where I share my passion for life with my family and friends throughout the UK and beyond.
Travelator Media

Travelator Media
I’m a founder member of Travelator Media, an alliance of established online multimedia travel publishers with a large social media following who target the UK quality traveller. Our audience is the 40+ UK-based traveller with an above average annual household income. They are quality travellers seeking premium travel experiences.
Travel Writing, Blogging & Social Media
I write regularly for a variety of on-line travel websites including the Visit Britain Super Blog, Laterooms and Home & Away with guest post clients including Wandering Educators, Articles have been published in The Guardian, Psychologies Magazine, Lake District and Lancashire Life Magazine, The Cunarder and many others. In my travels I look for different ways of seeing familiar places and searching out the unusual, curious and inspiring.
Awards
* Britain’s Best Travel Blogger 2011 for an article about Long Meg stone circle in the Eden Valley, Cumbria.
* Cision Top 10 UK Travel Blogs 2014
* Caribbean Tourism Organization Journalism Award for Best Blog Feature 2014
* DFDS Best Culture and History Blogger 2015
Workshops, Talks & Seminars
Enthusiastic about sharing best practice in all aspects of travel writing, I give 1-1 coaching, workshops and seminars in Writing, Blogging, Social Media and Digital Communication. I’m also a business and leadership coach – more info on my coaching website www.zoedawes.com.
Speaking & Media
I give talks on my travels around the world, including at the Telegraph Travel Show and Sunday Times Destinations Travel Show. I also do radio chats, podcasts and write on a wide range of travel topics including:
- The Quirky Traveller Story
- A Food Odysset around the World
- A Taste of Greece with the Real Mamma Mia
- South East Asian Pot Pourri
- Social Media Travel Magic
- Quirky Travel Writing
The Quirky Traveller Video Channel
Subscribe to The Quirky Traveller Video Channel and keep up to date with my travels there including ‘Arctic Norway with Hurtigruten’
Do get in touch for more info:
t: 01524 735715 e: [email protected]
Hi Zoe
What a lovely website. It’s always fun to hear other peoples travel stories and wonder if you have any top tips for Nice in France and/or
South America? They are both on my list of places to visit before too long.
Good luck with the site
Hilary
Thanks so much for your comments Hilary – much appreciated. I last went to Nice 20yrs ago so not much help – but Christine W goes there regularly … And not yet been to Sth America! Twitter is always great for info like that. Cheers Zoe
Have been enjoying your tweets for awhile now and it’s good to read the whole where-you’ve-been background.
Lovely site! hey – got any tips for Cornwall in June? Went there in April, with stepson and family to their holiday cottage, and we’re invited back in the summer. We want to stay with them for a few days but then find a gite or B&B to do our own thing. Last went to Cornwall for a holiday on our own over 20 years ago! Any suggestions? I’ve looked at Alistair Sawday and he has some excellent places but just wondered if you had any personal recommendations, Zoe! Happy New Year!
Thanks for comments Suzie. My favourite part of Cornwall is round Fowey http://www.fowey.co.uk – magical little place (tho v popular in the summer, but then where isn’t in Cornwall?!) Lots of coves and beaches, Daphne Du Maurier country and The Eden Project just up the road. Don’t know any specific places to stay however – I also stay with friends down there … Happy New Year to you too 🙂
My apologies Deborah – only just got this comment; emails got lost in festive melee. Looking forward to connecting more on Twitter and hearing about your adventures in 2010 🙂
Hey Zoe,
Been following ur and must say that ‘quirky’ would have been the most befitting and honest name.. Do drop in a line if are in India…
Our little spunky group does some interesting stuff…
Hi Supriya – thanks for the comment. Just had a look at your website – it’s great! Thanks for the invite – I do so hope I get to India this year 🙂 The Sawdays book is a great resource for visitors – I loved it .. as you can see here.
//quirkytraveller.wordpress.com/2009/12/13/passage-to-indian-dreams
Looking forward to visiting India one day – will be the fulfilment of a lifelong ambition … and give me a shout if you come to the Adventure capital of England – Cumbria!
Hi Zoe
Really like your writing. Sends my mind back to 199O-91 Thailand . HongKong and Singapore ,oh and Uk. 95% sure it you . Sure looks like you ….
Think back Zo…..who am I ????
Hmmm – no idea!!! I came back from HK in 1990 … Who are you?!