What to listen to while travelling home for Christmas

Travelling for the holidays and looking for something to distract the kids or pass the time? We’ve got you covered with a few audio ideas.

Do you have a long car journey coming up? A flight or train ride as you head home to see family for Christmas?

I got you. There’s nothing worse than clambering into the car, or settling into your seat on the train, looking at your phone with wide eyes and a blank mind having no idea how to spend the next few hours. I have a seven hour trip ahead and our household is already prepping our playlists and downloading our podcasts and audio books to make sure we’re ready a thousand times over.

So please, let me give you some ideas.

Audio books and plays

I reckon I should be paid commission by authors given the amount of time I spend banging on about my favourite audio books and performances.

There are some that really elevate the experience of reading a book, transporting you fully into a whole new world. Here are some of my favourites.

Dark Matter by Michelle Paver, read by Jeremy Northam

I will fight a million battles to prove that this is one of the best audio books out there, and on top of that, Christmas is the BEST time for a good ghost story. An Arctic expedition, a ghostly apparition, and bad things starting to happen in the perpetual darkness of the polar night. An excellent book made completely gripping and unable-to-stop-listening-able by Northam, whose narration made me literally gasp out loud on a bus during a particularly frightening passage.

All I can say is, prepare to be utterly terrified.

Dickens’ Women, by Miriam Margolyes

You don’t have to be a Charles Dickens fanatic to completely fall in love with this performance.

National Treasure Miriam Margolyes performs different delicious, heartbreaking and often grotesque characters from Dickens’ novels – all women – along with her own commentary of her life long love of the author, as well as his faults and foibles. She performs this in front of a live audience, so you get that immersive feeling of actually being there, and it is, in every way, truly joyous.

Dr Gideon Fell, The Complete BBC Radio Drama Collection, John Dickson Carr

I don’t know what it is about BBC Radio Dramas. I think it’s that it always makes me imagine the days where people would sit around the wireless of an evening, perhaps with a roaring fire – there’s something so nostalgic about it all (nostalgic in feeling only… I’m not actually old enough to remember those days.)

There are some absolutely sublime BBC Radio Dramas to check out, but one of my favourites is the complete collection of Dr Gideon Fell. The books were started in the Golden Age of Crime Fiction and if you love trying to solve your favourite Agatha Christie’s then you will adore this. Fast, fun and packed with great characters, you won’t regret seeking this out for your winter journey.

The Monster Collection, narrated by: Richard Armitage, Dan Stevens, Greg Wise, Rachel Atkins

Yes, you read that right. What a cast.

This collection contains three classic Gothic horror – Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Bram Stoker’s Dracula. This will keep you on the edge of your seat for even the longest of journeys. There’s something about a bloody brilliant actor narrating a bloody brilliant book that makes it, well, bloody brilliant.

I have nothing else to add about these novels, and why they’re so good…certainly nothing that hasn’t been said over the past 100 years or so.

Podcasts

If you’re not already a podcast person, what have you been doing?

If you are – I have a few recommendations below, but also, share the love with your non-podcasty friends and tell them about your favourites… it’s never too late to get started.

Jackie The Ripper

I listened to this recently while painting some walls in the house, and honestly, I did about three extra rooms that I didn’t need to do because I did not want to stop listening.

It’s the story of Jack the Ripper, but it takes place in modern day AND Jack is a woman, targeting men. It’s satirical, funny, scary, fast paced, infuriating and just an utterly remarkable piece of work. Please do yourself a favour and check this out – ALTHOUGH – this almost certainly is not suitable for children… so do check trigger warnings and content advice before embarking on this journey.

My Dad Wrote a Porno

This is another one that definitely IS NOT suitable for young children. In fact, I would definitely put this in the solo travel box and it could be an uncomfortable car journey with this blaring in the background.

That being said… it is jaw-achingly, stomach-clutchingly funny. It’s considered the benchmark of all podcast comedy, and it has earned that badge through and through. Basically, Jamie’s dad writes a porno book, and he reads it out chapter by chapter to his two friends, James and Alice.

That’s it. That’s all you need to know. You have been warned.

British Scandal

I’m not picking any of the dark, true crime podcasts. I know that millions are fans – but it can be a bit bleak for the Christmas ride home, so I hope you don’t mind me avoiding.

However, this one is not full ‘true crime’ but follows the same story format, deep diving into scandals that shaped the UK, and the world. From the Phone Hacking Scandal to the crash of Barings Bank, from Canoe Man to Lord Lucan, this series is often funny, terrifying and jaw-dropping. How much do you really know about these scandals?

Desert Island Discs

Am I really going to be the person to tell you about Desert Island Discs? Why don’t you already know about it?

Fine – I’ll be brief. Desert Island Discs has been running since January 1942. There have been more than 3,000 guests over the years, so really – how far could you be travelling that you will exhaust this back catalogue?

The guests – ranging from former Prime Minsters and business titans to globally renowned Hollywood stars, singers and comedians – choose eight audio recordings that they would take to be stranded on a desert island. Explaining their choices in in depth and intimate interviews in a phenomenal format, there’s a reason it has lasted this long. Scroll through and pick your favourite people and get listening.

Music

Nope. I’m not here to tell you what your music taste is – you will absolutely know by now.

There’s a joke in the book Good Omens that says that any CD in a car will, over time, just turn into Queen’s Greatest Hits – so maybe now is the time to search through your glove compartment to see what CD’s are still mulling around before they turn. Or you could create The Eras Tour, and find Taylor Swift’s set list, create a playlist and enjoy every single second screaming out the lyrics to a three hour performance. It depends how much you want your trip to turn into a loud and emotional sing along.

We would love to hear your recommendations – and more importantly, your friends and family will want to hear your recommendations, and the things you have loved this year.

Whatever you’re doing, and wherever you’re travelling …

Merry Christmas.