The Ancient Traveller

Friday, 18 April 2025

The Meridian Passage of the Sun at Bergamo

At exactly Latitude 48° 42’ 11” North, Longitude 9° 39’ 16” East, you are in the portico of the Palazzo della Ragione (The Palace of Rea...

Sulzano Station — Sunday

There is birdsong and, I think, the chirp of cicadas. There is just one track and one platform at Sulzano railway station by Lake Iseo in ...

Thursday, 2 November 2023

Podgorica, Montenegro: The Smell Of Freedom

Cue Hotel, Podgorica (from the hotel website) It was unmistakable. As I stepped into the stylishly modern lobby of the Cue Hotel in Podgor...

Sunday, 22 October 2023

On the Origin of Holy Relics

Over the years, I have travelled with Adrienne to many countries in the Levant and the Balkans. I have been struck by the numbers of churc...

Thursday, 31 August 2023

Seeing the World for the First Time

Geocarta Nautica Universale (Color) Public Domain In 1523, in Spain , two men set about making a map of the world. They were well equipped...

Tuesday, 29 August 2023

Travelling with Ibn Battutah

Recently, my travelling companion has been the great Arab traveller and anecdotal historian, Ibn Battutah (IB). Not literally, he travelled ...

Tuesday, 16 May 2023

The Armoury at the Musei Reali Torino

Armoury Picture A visit to the Royal Palace Museum in Turin. I am unmoved by Baroque palaces. Every grand room leads into another. The roo...

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About Me

David Higham: I am David Higham, the ancient traveller. I am 80. My first time abroad was in a Royal Navy frigate in Zeebrugge to commemorate the raid of 1918. I vividly remember a bar near the docks that was entirely unsuitable for a 14-year-old. Let’s move swiftly on. On leaving school, I joined the Royal Navy and became a submariner. I was lucky to be in the Navy in the 60s and 70s. I saw a lot of the world: the Caribbean, the Mediterranean and the Far East. I also saw a great deal of the sea: the North Sea, the Indian Ocean, the South China Sea and enough of the Atlantic Ocean to last me a lifetime. It sounds more exotic than it was. You do not get to know people and places with that sort of travel. I left the Navy in my early 30s and became a lawyer. Travel went on hold for career and family. In my 60s, I returned to travel with my wife, Adrienne. I also travelled to Myanmar and Tanzania doing some voluntary teaching of young lawyers. I confess that we are more tourists than true travellers. I have, however, learned the trick of taking time out of an organised tour to explore independently. I enjoy writing about these experiences. I hope you enjoy them too. Let me know.

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