Amy McPherson

Freelance Travel Writer | Features, Advertorials

United Kingdom

I am a travel writer with a destionation focus on France and Italy, specialising in travel experiences with a focus on outdoor adventures, eco travel and nature based experiences. As a foodie, there's always a dash of gourmet travel as well!

Portfolio
France Today
03/06/2024
Hiking Europe’s Hardest Walking Trail

It is considered Europe’s toughest walking trail – the mythical, challenging GR20 route that slices through Corsica. Hike it and discover there is more to the island than gorgeous beaches.

France Today
10/08/2024
Lille for Beer Lovers

The city of Lille, in France’s Nord department, is a haven for beer enthusiasts and beyond ale-tasting, there is a wealth of activities for beer lovers to enjoy in this historic northern town.

Bicycling Australia
07/10/2024
Côte d'Opale: Riding France's Opal Coast - Bicycling Australia

London-based BA writer Amy McPherson hops over the channel to spend a week cycling Northern France. Many could agree, cycling along the French coastline would be a pretty epic journey that stretches all the way from the border of Belgium to the tip of Spain.

Bicycling Australia
08/11/2024
Tour de France Femmes - Stage By Stage And The Aussies To Watch - Bicycling Australia

The Paris Olympics are over and it's high time for more thrilling bike racing. In its third year in the current format, the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift starts tonight. Here Amy McPherson previews the epic August 12 to 18 race. After previous criticisms of the women's tour being 'too soft' and 'condescending', Race [...]

Bbc
The rebirth of Norway's cider tradition

There's a belief that some form of cider was made by Vikings in Norway, and today, its growing popularity has people convinced it's the country's national drink.

Escape.com.au
08/14/2023
From mountains to the sea: hiking in Sicily

Since the airing of White Lotus Season Two, everyone wants to go to Sicily right now. While many of the famous sites are crowded with people, this traveller takes to the mountains to find the authentic Sicilian experience.

Escape.com.au
06/08/2023
Warsaw: This city is Europe's new No.1 hotspot

April, 2003. I've just experienced the   excitement of what was then the   border-controlled German and   Polish railway crossing, where a   stern German policeman stamped my passport out and an equally stern Polish soldier stamped my   passport in.

Italy Travel and Life
05/10/2023
Discover Umbria on foot - Italy Travel and Life

Among the nature and hilltop villages of Italy's green heartland, Amy McPherson discovers that travelling slowly on foot means seeing and experiencing more... There is something very precious about the steps we take, knowing that thousands have taken the same steps before us, hundreds of years ago.

NZ Herald
05/16/2023
Tour de France: The best cycle routes for a holiday on two wheels

Cycling holidays La Velomaritime - World War II coast trails have taken the world by storm and in France La Velodyssee - Wild birds, historic towns and beaches , with its 26,115km national network of cycle routes, there is no better way to discover the country's nature, heritage, culture and cuisine, writes Amy McPherson.

Bbc
Kingston upon Thames: London's town of kings and queens

On an unassuming corner in Kingston upon Thames, an unassuming town on the River Thames, is a stone. It's no ordinary stone. Protected by a ring of blue iron rails designed to mimic a crown, with seven pillars representing the seven kings whose names are engraved at the base of the stone, this designated historical monument is, according to legend, England's very own Coronation Stone.

The Good Life France
01/03/2020
A walking holiday in the Dordogne Valley

Perhaps all journeys through the Dordogne Valley should start with stuffing yourself with punnets of freshly picked strawberries. At least, that's how I began my exploration of the Dordogne Valley's beautiful villages... I had arrived in Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne on the day of the town's Fete de la Fraise, the strawberry festival that celebrates, well, strawberries.

The Good Life France
Vercors: Active by Nature

Vercors: Active by Nature 66 | The Good Life France AMY McPHERSON finds beauty and adventure in unspoiled territory Before I went, I had no idea where Vercors was, but I did know it was famous for its outdoor activities.

The Good Life France
06/02/2019
A tasty tour of Paris

Travel writer Amy Mcpherson discovers where the locals go when it comes to eating out in Paris... "Don't go for a restaurant that lists onion soup in its menu," said Leo Goldstein of Eating Europe Tours when I asked him for his advice on how to choose a good place to eat in Paris.

Italy Travel and Life
07/19/2022
Wellness in the mountains - Italy Travel and Life

Amy McPherson discovers the healing power of nature in the mountains and ancient forests of Trentino It has just rained. Soft, dense and moist autumn leaves cushion our steps, and I have the urge to pounce beneath the leafy heaps like a cat, to dig my paws into the fluffy earth, to be covered head to toe in nature.

Bicycling Australia
02/15/2022
Belgium: The Cobbles Of Flanders + Coffee With Allan Peiper - Bicycling Australia

They are loved and feared by amateur and pro riders the world over, but remain one of the highlights of our sport - cobbled climbs. London-based Aussie Amy McPherson takes a trip to Belgium where she hits the cobbles and meets up with the legendary Allan Peiper. "A.a.r.r.e w.w.w..e.e.e t.t.t.t.t.h.e.r.e y..y.e.e.t?"

Italy Travel and Life
10/06/2019
The Amiata effect - Italy Travel and Life

Tuscany isn't all about sipping wine and watching the sun set, as Amy McPherson discovers on an e-bike tour around Monte Amiata, in the region's south Giant moss-covered boulders rise in vertical stacks, as if someone was attempting to build a replica of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

escape.com.au
11/26/2019
Wild Faroe Islands

Amy McPherson visits the wild side of Faroe Islands and finds herself surrounded by fascinating culture among dramatic landscapes.

Italy Travel and Life
02/08/2021
Standing at the crossroads in Gorizia - Italy Travel and Life

Gorizia is one of those border cities that doesn't feel quite one or the other. On the one hand, it is characteristically Italian: emotions are thrown around in the wild gestures of hands. Yet there is also a splash of Austro-Hungarian grandeur in the architecture, as well as a sense of the delicate, soft nature of Slovene culture.

Worldnomads
The Legends of Lithuania's Curonian Spit

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International traveller magazine
05/23/2019
6 unique and unexpected things you can do in London

Once you tick off London's iconic attractions there is a whole host of unexpected experiences to uncover. Big Ben and Westminster; the London Eye and Buckingham Palace; icons like red phone boxes and black cabs. All are among London's classic drawcards, yet the UK capital offers much more than what meets the eye.

Vacations & Travel
12/14/2018
Finnieston - where Glasgow comes alive | Vacations & Travel

On the rooftop bar of Radisson Red with a glass of gin and tonic in hand, I squint my eyes against a sunset that had inked the horizon in hues of purple, yellow and pink. I am looking outwards away from Glasgow city centre and I liked what I see.

Escape.com.au
05/24/2018
Turn left, not right: the trick that lets you see Croatia at its best

On screen, Dubrovnik is legendary. It is all kings, queens and warriors, swords and arrows and magical spells. I imagined this medieval walled city to be full of courtiers in costume at every turn and knights in armour galloping past the city gate with peasants with pitch forks cheering from the sidelines, shouting “down with the mythical beast!” I let this illusion run wild with me. After all, I am not the only one in Dubrovnik thinking of dungeons and dragons.

Provincial Living magazine
03/04/2018
Degustation in Dijon

I eat my way through Dijon and discover the city isn't just about the mustard

Bbc
02/26/2018
The mysterious origins of Finland's true name

Ice hockey is not usually my thing. However, while at a bar in central Helsinki watching Finland play Canada, I was absorbed by the atmosphere. Ice hockey is one of the most popular sports in the northern European country, and the Finns had high hopes for their team.

Vacations & Travel Magazine
10/12/2017
Five reasons you'll love Austria's Bregenzerwald - Vacations & Travel Magazine

There is truly something very special about this charming Austrian valley I am face down on the massage table at Romantik Hotel das Schiff in Hittisau, a village in Austria's Vorarlberg region, allowing Johannes' soft hands to rub herbal oil over my back and shoulders. The setting is picture perfect.

Vacations & Travel Magazine
10/04/2017
Lugano: The sunny side of Switzerland - Vacations & Travel Magazine

Lugano, Switzerland It wasn't so much the opportunity to experience the new Gotthard Tunnel that attracted me to take the train between Lucerne and Lugano in the first place. In all honesty, there wasn't much to see except for our reflections staring back at us on the window.

Bbc
10/02/2017
The town that gave Russia its name

One hundred years ago, revolution flung Russia from the imperialist era into the communist era - from centuries of tsars to red Soviet stars. In St Petersburg, extravagant palaces recall the lavish lifestyles of the Russian emperors, while in Moscow, austere skyscrapers are reminders of the stark existence under dictatorial rule.

Bbc
08/07/2017
Why people think Germans aren't funny

Tears of laughter trickled down my face and I clapped so hard my hands turned red. But I was surprised at my reaction, for I was being hilariously entertained by a German comedian at Quatsch Comedy Club in Berlin, in a situation that could be considered oxymoronic by many.

Vacations & Travel Magazine
06/15/2017
Zurich West: Not your usual bankers' quarter - Vacations & Travel Magazine

There is a certain impression visitors have of Zurich. It is the financial capital of Switzerland with an image where high fashion meets the delicate engineering of Swiss watches, of smartly dressed bankers who parade the cobbled streets lined with chic and expensive boutiques sipping on espresso and talking multinational currencies.

International Traveller
05/01/2017
Majesty in Moscow

A review of Hotel National in Moscow

Going Places - Malaysia Airlines
03/01/2017
London by Foot

Discover London by foot. Learn the secrets and hidden gems that make the past and present of this city.

Voyeur - Virgin Australia
02/01/2017
Moscow

Travel feature published in Virgin Voyeur. On the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution, travel through Moscow and experience a new social revolution sweeping through the country.