Graham Hughes

Graham was born in Glasgow but spent a large part of his childhood living in the Solomon Islands in the Pacific before his family returned home and settled in York. It is his memories of living in the rainforest, snorkelling above pristine coral reefs and playing on the beach with the local kids that have inspired his love of travel.

Graham attended St Andrews University (the choice of royalty) and spent 16 years as a police officer before realising his dream and making the change to work in travel.

Two of Graham's favourite aspects of travel are the opportunity to see different animals and trying new foods. He was recently able to indulge both these passions when visiting Finland where there was the opportunity to spend time with huskies and reindeer and learn how they are vital to life in Finnish Lapland. Whilst staying in Finland, Graham was able to sample many delicious local dishes including the fish he caught himself while ice fishing.

Graham has also been lucky enough to explore the superb island of Madeira with Artisan Travel. Here, he experienced walking the winding levadas, spotting pilot whales, sampling the namesake dessert wine, and trying some of the local delicacies.

Recently Graham also travelled to Alaska and made the most of being in one of the world's last real wilderness areas. He was fortunate enough to see humpback whales feeding at Icy Strait Point, sea otters nursing their young and brown bears in their natural habitat. However, he is desperate to return to see grizzlies too.