While a wonderful story can whisk you away to other lands at the turn of a page, a new series of trips inspired by literature are helping travellers plan real-life escapes inspired by their favourite books.
This month sees the launch of the world’s first Unesco trail in Scotland, designed to take visitors on a cultural journey across the country and linking 13 Unesco designated places, including World Heritage Sites and Creative Cities.
Start in Unesco City of Literature Edinburgh, birthplace of a string of authors such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Dame Muriel Spark, and source of inspiration for authors galore, including Iain Banks and JK Rowling.
Climb the 60-metre tall monument to Sir Walter Scott, visit the Scottish Storytelling Centre and step into the National Library of Scotland, before finding more ideas along the trail at visitscotland.com/unesco-trail, as well as on these literary escapes around the world.
Take a literature cruise
Marella Cruises has launched its first literature-themed itinerary on a 16-night Transatlantic Cruise, departing from Jamaica in 2022.
Setting sail from Montego Bay on April 19, the cruise features guest talks and interactive workshops with authors as it crosses the Atlantic from the Caribbean, stopping in Antigua, Madeira and Gibraltar along the way, before finishing in Dubrovnik.
The trip also includes writing workshops with crime novelist Barbara Nadel and poet Jacqueline Gabbitas, among others.
Priced from £1,644 all-inclusive on Marella Explorer 2. tui.co.uk/cruise
Step into a children’s classic
Theme your holiday around your children’s favourite book, with the Take me on a Story collection of itineraries from Black Tomato.
The range of five bespoke trips include a staycation in Oxfordshire playing croquet, enjoying a fabulously mad tea party and reliving the ‘golden afternoon’ which inspired Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
Or look overseas and hear the Call of the Wild in Alaska, be beguiled by a holiday themed around the Arabian Nights in Morocco, Journey to the Centre of the Earth in Iceland and even search for Treasure Island in the Caribbean’s British Virgin Islands.
The company can also create breaks focused on your own personal favourite tale.
Rates start from £3,500 per person for six nights in Morocco, excluding flights. blacktomato.com/story
Find the giants of the Deep South
If it’s American authors which fill your bookshelf, head to the states of the Deep South to walk in the footsteps of a string of literary greats.
Last year marked the 60th anniversary of To Kill a Mockingbird — with the novel also coming to the stage in London’s West End in March 2022 — and you can explore the inspiration for its setting in Monroeville, Alabama, which has links to Truman Capote as well.
In nearby Montgomery, the F Scott & Zelda Fitzgerald Museum occupies the couple’s former home, where they lived in 1931-32 and where Tender is the Night was partly written.
Or follow the Mississippi Writers Trail, passing places which inspired a series of classic works, learning more about authors including William Faulkner, Eudora Welty and Tennessee Williams from 12 markers along its route.
America As You Like It has a 14-night Literary Trail of the South holiday, from £1,794 per person, including flights. americaasyoulikeit.com
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