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04/07/2009

Sandi Toksvig hears from Fleur Britten about couch surfing in Asia and talks to Benedict le Vay and Matthew Engel about the pleasures and problems of travelling by train in Britain.

Couch surfing is a recent travel phenomenon of the internet age. Travellers use a website to contact people all over the world who will put them up and give them an introduction to local life which the ordinary tourist would miss. Sandi Toksvig finds out from journalist Fleur Britten about her experiences couch surfing in Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan, and what it's like to play host to a complete stranger in her own home.

It is nearly 30 years since Jimmy Savile proclaimed, 'This is the Age of the Train', but is it still? Sandi talks to columnist Matthew Engel and guide writer Benedict le Vay about the pleasures of chugging along some of Britain's lesser-known branch lines, compared with the problems of inconvenient timetables and high prices.

Available now

30 minutes

Last on

Sat 4 Jul 2009 10:00

Broadcast

  • Sat 4 Jul 2009 10:00

Podcast