David Else

After hitchhiking through Europe for a couple of years, David Else kept heading south and first reached Egypt in 1983, writing his first guidebook shortly afterwards. It was a small homespun affair, but the bug had bitten hard. Since then David has travelled, trekked, worked and written all over Africa - from Cairo to Cape Town, from Sudan to Senegal, via most of the bits in between.

David's other travels have taken him to India, Mexico, the USA, Australia, the Arctic and much of Europe - and he's also got about a bit in Britain, his own backyard, where trips by car or train are matched by journeys on foot and by bike.

David has written or cowritten about 25 guidebooks for Lonely Planet, including the West Africa and Southern Africa multicountry guides, plus Gambia & Senegal, Malawi, Zambia, Trekking in East Africa, and the legendary backpacker bible Africa on a Shoestring. He has also written guides for other publishers, on places such as Zanzibar and Kenya, and contributed to numerous compilation titles, ranging from the Which Holiday? guide published by the UK Consumers Association, to African Safari published by Insight and the Discovery Channel.

When not tramping the globe, David turns his attention closer to home. With a team of co-authors he has written several editions of Lonely Planet's detailed guides to Britain and England. David has also contributed to Lonely Planet's British Phrasebook. And he still manages to get his boots dirty by researching and writing Lonely Planet's Walking in Britain.

As well as guidebooks, David contributes articles to travel magazines and national newspapers, on anything from Skegness to the Sahara, and has also worked as a tour leader for travel companies and specialist mountain trekking operators. David is regularly interviewed by TV and radio stations on travel topics and also speaks publicly at travel fairs, bookshops and media events.

David is originally from London, but he slowly trekked north via homes in Bristol, Wales and Derbyshire. He currently lives on the edge of the Peak District National Park in Yorkshire, northern England. With such a wonderful playground on the doorstep, it's perhaps not surprising that David is an active hill walker, rock climber, touring cyclist and mountain biker.

For those interested in domestic matters: David is married with a baby daughter, who already finds herself tramping over mountains - in a backpack carried by her dad - whenever the sun shines.

David's favourite place: 'I love wild open landscapes, so I'm torn between the deserts of Morocco and the Highlands of Scotland.'

Best travel tip: 'Never carry more than you absolutely need in your backpack, whether hiking up a mountain or going round the world.'

Books Authored

* Walking in Britain Guide

* England Travel Guide

* Great Britain Travel Guide

* Europe on a Shoestring Travel Guide