United Kingdom
Ex Atlas by Etihad Airways and British Airways' High Life.
Travel, arts and culture writer published in The Financial Times, The Sunday Times, Evening Standard, Independent, ICON El País, Sunday Times Travel Magazine, BA High Life, Vera by Virgin Atlantic.
Features
While Dubrovnik has become so overrun that it has unveiled plans to tax cruise ships, the beaches of Albania - less than a five-hour drive away - remain blissfully quiet. But perhaps not for long. The stigma around what was once the Balkans' most dangerous country is lifting and tourist numbers were up 20 per cent this year.
Loneliness is a modern epidemic - and something to which unmarried, social media-shaped twenty-somethings living in volatile rental properties seem particularly prone. In a recent YouGov poll, nearly a third of millennials reported "always" or "often" feel lonely, a figure far higher than older demographics.
Midnight on the third floor of a renovated shophouse in the heart of one of Asia's busiest cities. There's a deep rumbling sound as flickering black-and-white images are projected onto a screen: 25-year-old curator Abhijan Toto, with septum piercing and clear-rimmed glasses, is talking animatedly to a young group clutching cocktails in a whitewashed room.
The capital of northeast England, Newcastle is world famous for its brown ale (ask for "a bottle of dog" if you want to make friends), bridges over the River Tyne (there are seven of them if you're counting), and is the friendliest city in the country - just ask any local.
Think of a beachside city break and your mind probably springs to Barcelona, Lisbon or Nice. But Athens? The Greek capital has been curiously left out of the action due, in part, to last year's devastating forest fires, and a nationwide economic crisis that resulted in huge unemployment and three EU bailouts.
1 Try braai It's not so much a dish as a way of life: South Africans take their barbecued meat very seriously, and you haven't done it properly until you've bagged an invite to a Sunday backyard session with a local.
The metallic thwack of a basketball reverberates around an outdoor court like a drum roll. Sitting on the sidelines, around 60 school kids cluster in cliques, blasting rap music on a boombox, gulping fizzy drinks, unaware of who's about to arrive.
Katie Gatens goes sailing in Antigua to discover the new wave of Olympic hopefuls
Pedal-powered journeys in Cornwall, on the Rhine, in Albania and more. By Katie Gatens
Profile and interview with Paul Weller for Icon, the men's monthly style magazine from El País newspaper
We’ve picked the ripest events of all flavours, from music in Reykjavik and dance in Paris to the wine harvest in Rioja and truffles in Piedmont
Why? Tynemouth has got its groove back. Ten miles northeast of Newcastle (a 35-minute ride on the Metro), the gateway to the beaches of Northumberland fell from chic Victorian resort to washed-out seaside town. But these days? Tynemouth market has been revamped, there's a gourmet fish shack that has had the critics raving, and an arts hub is in the works.
With only a fraction of its 6,000 isles known to travellers, Greece is still one of the most under-explored places in Europe. Encountering a different side to the country, Katie Gatens discovers mythological graffiti, holistic healing and the ancient remains of wild dwarf elephants
The choice of reading can make or break your summer holiday. Here, novelists, fashion designers, musicians reveal what they're planning to pack.
To celebrate Magna Carta's 800th anniversary, and in the month of the general election, Katie Gatens asked influential thinkers to contribute one new rule that would improve Britain
Interview with 'Humans' star Gemma Chan
He was a mute teenager in Little Miss Sunshine and a villainous plantation worker in 12 Years a Slave. Then Paul Dano picked up a surfboard for his most challenging role yet as Brian Wilson, says Katie Gatens
When it comes to emerging talent, the London fashion scene is renowned, so who are the ones to watch? Katie Gatens asks some of the capital's leading talent to vote for the rising stars of the next generation.
Naoshima, Japan Docking into the port of Naoshima (accessible by ferry from Uno), you'll see the signature, speckled pumpkin by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. Rent an electric bike and glide over the hills around the island, taking in pit stops at museums and deserted beaches.
Interviews
The Club - a digital travel magazine for members of the British Airways Executive Club. Inspirational travel tips, ideas and hints on how to travel smarter, written by some of the world's best travel experts and celebrities
The globetrotting British photographer and Gold Executive Club Member reveals the highlights from a life in travel, from his fascination with the English seaside to his first encounter with New York. Just don’t call it a holiday...
Interviews with Secret Cinema founder Fabian Rigall and top Instagrammer Clerkenwell Boy about whether or not to take photos on holiday
Interview with Rough Trade founder Geoff Travis
The Club - a digital travel magazine for members of the British Airways Executive Club. Inspirational travel tips, ideas and hints on how to travel smarter, written by some of the world's best travel experts and celebrities
Where are you now? We were in Vegas last night - now we're on our way to Denver and we're driving through the mountains, the view is spectacular. I had my birthday in Vegas and we did a load of clichéd stuff like playing blackjack.
What was it like growing up on Eel Pie island? It was great fun. It's an island in London with a small population of about 80 people. There's a lot of nature and boat yards, so it was quite idyllic. Our first rehearsal room was a Portakabin, so we had a great time making music and getting up to mischief.
Find out what ticks the travel boxes of a survivalist who's spent a lifetime pushing the boundaries
The best place to escape the crowds The Cloisters - a museum in Washington Heights, out of the way of the hustle and bustle. Five European abbeys were disassembled and then reassembled in New York - the architecture is amazing and the gardens are so peaceful, not to mention the amazing five thousand medieval artworks that the museum holds.
A place to escape the crowds? There are some great gardens in the East Village - Bette Midler has been really active in promoting community gardens in the area. One of my favourites is 6BC Botanical Garden on East 6 th street and Avenue B.
Most unforgettable night? Well usually I'm in bed by 11.30, but one night we flew into Mexico City from Texas and ended up at this party where we drank a lot of tequila and met a jaguar. This guy had an actual wild cat and we ended up playing with it in the street.
This month the DJ is back with The Worldwide Mixtape, a carefully curated blend of music from all over the world
Reviews
SquarepusherSaturday 24th OctoberTroxy, LondonAdmittedly it’s been a bit of a wait for Squarepusher’s latest album, Damogen Furies - five years since his spin-off project Shobalea...
THE LOWDOWN: You may already be familiar with the small American steakhouse chain - the Manhattan flagship has had its silver screen close up, having been featured as the diabolical editor's favorite in The Devil Wears Prada and a Wall Street hangout in American Psycho. High praise, indeed.
Colourful summer dishes served in a garden with a view of London's sprawling skyline - what more could you want? Katie Gatens reports
THE LOWDOWN: When it comes to an enviable location, the Pulitzer Amsterdam has the best of both worlds - sitting pretty on the west side of Amsterdam, it's sandwiched between the up-and-coming Jordaan district and the more touristy spots in Centrum - meaning you can dip in and out of the chaos of Dam Square and the Red Light District, but escape to the quieter café-lined Noordermarkt to pick up Dutch cheese when you need a reprieve.
The lowdown: Perched on a hilltop above Rome, in a residential area of town next to the leafy Borghese gardens, Hotel Lord Byron is a discreet boutique hotel with an Art Deco theme. The location, a short taxi ride outside of the capital, means you're spared the dusty chaos of the hot city in the summer.
Connecting you with your favourite Clubs, Festivals, Gigs and more. A ticket is just the beginning.
Field Day 2016 11th-12th JuneVictoria Park, London Words by Katie Gatens "This is how the world will end" hollers a witchily feathered PJ Harvey during her headline set at the end of a muddy weekend in Victoria Park. For many of the crowd at the tenth Field Day festival it feels like she's right.
It's that time of year again - and for those of you who aren't up to speed with your photography awards, the Deutsche Borse Photography prize is an annual competition awarded to a photographer who has made the most significant contribution to the medium in the past year.
Global tribes
The largest rodeo in Canada is back. Katie Gatens meets the rising stars who are kicking it up at the Calgary Stampede
There's pimping your ride, and then there are the lengths these Japanese truck drivers go to.
Hundreds of millions of Chinese people will move from rural areas to cities over the next decade.
Plumes of smoke from cars burning rubber are rarely a thing of beauty, but in 'burnout' car racing competitions in
The global groups, trends and subcultures you may not know about. This month, Oklahoma's Okie Noodlers
Katie Gatens | Contributing Writer | Wednesday, 29 April 2015 The Debrief: Pret now do dinners. Is this a good thing or a bad thing for date night? We can't decide, so we reviewed it. Yes you heard correctly. Pret a Manger are introducing dinners.
Advertorial on Florida for BA High Life magazine
Wait a second! Do we hear that familiar chime of royal wedding bells? Prince George has barely been christened and we're already gearing up for the next royal event in the form of the potential nuptials of Harry and Cressida, who passed an important milestone by spending the weekend with Charles and Camilla (aka Cressida's future in-laws) at Sandringham estate.
Almost 20 years after the boy wizard first hit our shelves, Potter spin-offs are still going strong
Al mirar los retratos bordados, brillantes y precisos de Izziyana Suhaimi invertimos una cantidad de tiempo evidente para no perdernos detalle. Su colección titulada Friend s to keep you warm demuestra un gran talento, expuesto con amor, que se hace evidente en su uso de hilos coloridos y atrevidos, además de los diseños y patrones de sus dibujos.
Hay pocos animadores e ilustradores independientes tan conocidos hoy en día como Julia Pott. Seguro que ya debéis estar familiarizados con algunas de su obras, pues ha dirigido vídeos musicales para grupos como Bat for Lashes y The Decemberists y incluso tiene su propia línea de bolsas de tela, tarjetas de felicitación y paños de cocina.
With dozens of districts ripe for exploration, it’s hard to know where to begin in a megalopolis like Tokyo. Don’t worry — Katie Gatens has done the legwork for you
Katie Gatens tells you the newest and hottest places to head to if you have seven hours, 12 hours or 24 hours in London
We think... * September 2016 Looking for a romantic mini break, somewhere to take the kids or a delicious food tour? The Club's Katie Gatens recommends the right festive market for you 1 Children make Christmas fun, so as well as stalls for adults, at Tivoli Gardens ' market you'll find mechanical elves at work and meet Father Christmas himself.
With Great British Bake Off fresh off our screens we've had a sudden burst of culinary inspiration here at Grazia. And how better to celebrate new culinary resolutions than investing in the coolest kitchenware around? We've seen the great (and not so great) inventions new to the culinary scene and compiled a list of 10 inventions that will satisfy the inner chef-geek in you.