Routes

From glaring at a stranger on a bus only to realise the music was coming from her own bag, to travelling with a flask of homemade broth, Andi Oliver joins Jenni Falconer on The Quiet Coach to talk snacks, self-care and the art of staying comfortable on the move. She explains her strong feelings about loudspeaker phone calls in the quiet coach, and why she's perfected a proper travel food routine after one too many sandwiches on tour.

Andi also opens up about her love of tracksuits and layers, her go-to playlists ranging from Stevie Wonder to Rachmaninoff, and her habit of working through entire TV series and audiobooks on long journeys. There's talk of her stout-braised oxtail pie collaboration, her years filming Great British Menu, and a shared appreciation for finding snacks nobody else in the family likes.

Warm, funny and full of personality, this is a conversation about comfort, curiosity, and making the most of time spent travelling.

lner.co.uk/destinations/travel-inspiration/podcast/

From childhood summers in Cyprus to a life-changing three-month stay in Antigua at sixteen, chef and broadcaster Andi Oliver has spent her life following food, family and heritage across the globe. In this episode of Routes from LNER, Andi joins Jenni on the train to Edinburgh to talk about growing up between cultures, the touring years that shaped her twenties, and why travel has always been tied to her sense of home.
Andi reflects on the childhood that took her from Kent to an outdoor life in Limassol, and the trip to Antigua as a teenager that reconnected her with her Caribbean heritage and reshaped how she saw herself in the world. She shares stories of touring Europe by train in her late teens as part of the band Rip Rig + Panic, becoming a young mum at twenty, and the deep bond with her best friend Nana that began with a hospital visit and a shared cigarette.
There's plenty of talk about food too, plus the recent trip to Malawi with WaterAid that left a lasting impression on her. Andi also opens up about her dream of running a beach bar in Antigua, annual family holidays with her daughter, and why she believes everyone should travel alone at least once in their life.
lner.co.uk/destinations/travel-inspiration/podcast/

From packing three suitcases at once for a cruise, a band tour and a Portugal getaway, to letting his wife always face forward on trains, Chesney Hawkes joins Jenni Falconer on The Quiet Coach to talk travel, timing and the occasional case of mistaken identity. He explains why he always heads for the quiet coach, and why punctuality matters so much to him.
Chesney also shares the story of his mum's ringtone causing a scene in the middle of TK Maxx, and opens up about being a self-confessed stress-packer who somehow still manages to overpack shoes he never wears. In the "Snacks, Tracks & Hacks" segment, he reveals why hydration always comes first, how his wife keeps him stocked with healthy snacks, and why his train listening leans more towards political podcasts than his own back catalogue.
Plus, there's talk of his new album Living Arrows and a big local moment headlining The Long Walk Live in Windsor alongside Right Said Fred. Warm, funny and full of nostalgia, this is a conversation about staying grounded and never quite escaping The One and Only.
lner.co.uk/destinations/travel-inspiration/podcast/

From childhood summers on the beaches of the Algarve to chasing the Northern Lights on songwriting trips to Iceland, Chesney Hawkes has spent a lifetime shaped by movement, music and the road. In this episode of Routes from LNER, the singer joins Jenni on the train to Dundee to talk about growing up in a rock 'n' roll household, the whirlwind of pop stardom, and why travel has always fed his creativity.

Chesney reflects on a childhood surrounded by musicians, from learning piano on an instrument once owned by John Lennon to stepping over sleeping guests to get to the cereal cupboard. He shares memories of running wild as a "feral kid" during long family holidays in Portugal, and traces his journey from a first gig in a Brownie hut to starring alongside Roger Daltrey in Buddy's Song, the film that led to his breakout single "The One and Only" in 1991.

There's plenty of talk about travel too, from backpacking around the Seychelles and falling for the otherworldly landscapes of Iceland, to family trips to the Maldives and the Bahamas, and taking each of his three children on one-on-one holidays around Europe. Chesney also opens up about touring life, favourite haunts in Berlin and Munich, dropping his daughter off at St Andrews, and the renewed success of his latest album, Living Arrows, which has brought him back to Radio 2's A-list more than thirty years after his first hit.

lner.co.uk/destinations/travel-inspiration/podcast/

We’re back! Season 3 of Routes with LNER is arriving soon and we’ve saved you a seat.
Join Jenni Falconer for another season of incredible guests, who have the travel stories to prove that the journey really is everything.
Whether it’s a holiday that went hilariously wrong, a destination that completely changed how they see the world, or a journey they’ll never forget for all the right (and wrong) reasons, this season has it all.
So if you haven’t already, hit subscribe and make sure you don’t miss a single stop.
Routes from LNER. Season 3 arrives at your platform July 7th.
To find out more about our guests incredible journeys, head to lner.co.uk/routespodcast