United Kingdom
I'm a travel writer, journalist and broadcaster with a particular interest in the relationship between people, place and landscape. My work explores pilgrimage, walking, nature and cultural heritage, seeking out the stories that shape the places around us. Since becoming a freelance writer in 2003, I've contributed to publications including The Times and The Sunday Times, The Telegraph, The Guardian, The Observer, The Independent, Wanderlust and TIME, and I've broadcast on BBC Radio 4. I was runner-up in the Virgin Responsible Tourism Awards for Best in Responsible Tourism Writing in both 2011 and 2012.
My books, The Country of Larks: A Chiltern Journey (Bradt, 2019) and Between the Chalk and the Sea (Headline, 2023), weave together memoir, history and nature through journeys on foot; The Country of Larks was shortlisted for the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards in 2020. I'm also a contributor to the anthology Women, Walking (Batsford, 2026). I hold a PhD in Creative Writing and have taught place and travel writing at Cambridge and Bath Spa universities.
Whether I'm writing, teaching or leading conversations about travel, my aim is always the same: to encourage people to slow down, look closely and discover the stories that shape the places around them.
You can explore my latest writing projects in my Portfolio.
Gail Simmons is a contributor to this new anthology, a contemporary exploration of women setting foot outdoors now, and what that means. This groundbreaking collection brings together many of the most prominent and exciting voices of the last decade across poetry, fiction, essays and journalism.
A pretty harbour and a laid-back café culture lend St Peter Port on Guernsey a distinctly Gallic vibe. The difference? No long EES queues at the border
A three-day route from Cumbria through the Yorkshire Dales is a gorgeous section of the Coast to Coast path, with quaint villages, cosy pubs and welcoming teashops along the way
Chic hotels, hedgehog spotting and the chance to walk around the whole of Alderney in a day, make it an easy weekend break
The Tidal Trail traces a route around the largest of the Channel Islands, taking in its rich heritage via peaceful bays, medieval castles and dramatic cliff paths
An easy six-mile walk along paths, tracks and quiet lanes, with some soggy ground in wet weather
You don't need to hold religious beliefs to find great joy in walking Kent's recently rediscovered Old Way. Plus five other trails - from Cornwall to Northern Ireland
An antique map in Oxford's Bodleian Library reveals a faint red line linking Southampton and Canterbury—a long-forgotten route now known as the Old Way. Believed to have guided medieval pilgrims to the shrine of Thomas Becket, it inspires travel writer Gail Simmons to walk its 240 miles over four seasons. Blending history, anthropology, etymology and geology, her journey uncovers the stories, landscapes and traditions of this ancient path, revealing the enduring value of slow travel.
Crouching inside the entrance to Wayland's Smithy, a neolithic burial mound set high on the North Wessex Downs, I feel as if I've entered the portal to another
This article has an estimated read time of 14 minutes
Travelling on foot is a national obsession that has inspired a whole tradition of great writing, from Laurie Lee to Iain Sinclair
Both an atmospheric journey into the past and an ominous foretaste of the future, The Country of Larks finds Simmons retracing the footsteps of Robert Louis Stevenson as he walked from Buckinghamshire to Hertfordshire in 1874. Whilst she celebrates the nature and wildlife along the route, there is also the grim realisation that this scenic beauty is under imminent threat from the construction of HS2.