Our Story

A beat-up old car, a few dollars in the pocket and a sense of adventure. In 1972 that’s all Tony and Maureen Wheeler needed for the trip of a lifetime – across Europe and Asia overland to Australia. It took several months, and at the end – broke but inspired – they sat at their kitchen table writing and stapling together their first travel guide, Across Asia on the Cheap. Within a week they’d sold 1500 copies. Lonely Planet was born.

Today, Lonely Planet has offices in Franklin, London, Melbourne, Oakland, Dublin, Beijing and Delhi, with more than 600 staff and writers. We share Tony’s belief that ‘a great guidebook should do three things: inform, educate and amuse’.

OUR WRITERS

Oliver Berry

Curator, Southwest England, the Lake District & Cumbria

Oliver Berry is a writer and photographer from Cornwall. He has worked for Lonely Planet for more than a decade, covering destinations from Cornwall to the Cook Islands, and has worked on more than 30 guidebooks. He is also a regular contributor to many newspapers and magazines, including Lonely Planet Traveller. His writing has won several awards, including the Guardian Young Travel Writer of the Year and the TNT Magazine People’s Choice Award. His latest work is published at www.oliverberry.com.

Fionn Davenport

Manchester, Liverpool & the Northwest

Irish by birth and conviction, Fionn has spent the last two decades focusing on the country of his birth and his nearest neighbour, England, which he has written about extensively for Lonely Planet and others. In between writing gigs he’s lived in Paris and New York, where he was an editor, actor, bartender and whatever else paid the rent; for the last 15 years or so he’s also presented a series of radio programmes on Irish radio, most recently as host of Inside Culture on RTE Radio 1. Three years ago he moved to the northwest of England where he lives (and commutes from) with his partner Laura and their car Trevor.

Marc Di Duca

Canterbury & Southeast England

A travel author for over a decade, Marc has worked for Lonely Planet in Siberia, Slovakia, Bavaria, England, Ukraine, Austria, Poland, Croatia, Portugal, Madeira and on the Trans-Siberian Railway, as well as writing and updating tens of other guides for other publishers. When not on the road, Marc lives near Mariánské Láznĕ in the Czech Republic with his wife and two sons.

Belinda Dixon

Bath & Southwest England, Cambridge & East Anglia

Only happy when her feet are suitably sandy, Belinda has been (gleefully) researching and writing for Lonely Planet since 2006. It’s seen her marvelling at Stonehenge at sunrise, camping in Iceland, scrambling up Italian mountain paths, horse riding across Donegal’s golden sands, kayaking down Devon rivers, gazing at Verona’s frescoes and fossil hunting on Dorset’s Jurassic Coast. Belinda is also an adventure writer and expedition media leader – which has seen her scale snowy Scottish mountains, paddle the Yukon, surf and swim in England’s winter seas and sleep out under the stars. See her posts at https://belindadixon.com.

Damian Harper

London

With two degrees (one in modern and classical Chinese from SOAS), Damian has been writing for Lonely Planet for over two decades, contributing to titles as diverse as China, Beijing, Shanghai, Vietnam, Thailand, Ireland, London, Mallorca, Malaysia, Singapore & Brunei, Hong Kong and Great Britain. A seasoned guidebook writer, Damian has penned articles for numerous newspapers and magazines, including the Guardian and the Daily Telegraph, and currently makes Surrey, England, his home. He has other hobbies including playing the trumpet, collecting modern first editions, photography and Taekwondo. Follow Damian on Instagram (damian.harper).

Catherine Le Nevez

Newcastle & the Northeast, Birmingham & the Midlands

Catherine’s wanderlust kicked in when she roadtripped across Europe from her Parisian base aged four, and she’s been hitting the road at every opportunity since, travelling to around 60 countries and completing her Doctorate of Creative Arts in Writing, Masters in Professional Writing, and postgrad qualifications in Editing and Publishing along the way. Over the past dozen-plus years she’s written scores of Lonely Planet guides and articles covering Paris, France, Europe and far beyond. Her work has also appeared in numerous online and print publications. Topping Catherine’s list of travel tips is to travel without any expectations.

Lorna Parkes

Yorkshire

Londoner by birth, Melburnian by palate and ex-Lonely Planet staffer in both cities, Lorna has contributed to numerous Lonely Planet books and magazines. She’s discovered she writes best on planes, and is most content when researching food and booze. Wineries and the tropics (not at the same time!) are her go-to happy places, but Yorkshire will always be special to her. Follow her @Lorna_Explorer.

Greg Ward

Oxford & the Cotswolds

Since whetting his appetite for travel by following the hippy trail to India, and later living in northern Spain, Greg Ward has written guides to destinations all over the world. As well as covering the USA from the Southwest to Hawaii, he has ranged on recent assignments from Corsica to the Cotswolds, and Japan to Corfu. See his website, www.gregward.info, for his favourite photos and memories.

Contributing writers: Emilie Filou, Steve Fallon and Peter Dragicevich.

Published by Lonely Planet Global Limited

CRN 554153

10th edition – Apr 2019

ISBN 978 1 78868 523 8

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