About James Stringer
James Stringer is the founder of Self Guided Travel, an independent travel publishing platform exploring trails, landscapes and wild places.
Self Guided Travel began while James was exploring the GR5 through the French Alps, spending several weeks following the route from Nice towards Briançon and documenting the landscapes and places connected by the trail. The journey passed through Mercantour National Park and Queyras Regional Natural Park before reaching Briançon and its UNESCO World Heritage fortifications, with further time spent exploring the Chamonix and Mont Blanc area.
Further travels took him to the Basque Country, where he followed and documented sections of the Wine and Fish Route. These journeys built on earlier independent travel through Slovenia, the Greek islands, the Swiss Alps and southern Germany.
The experience of travelling slowly through these landscapes helped shape the approach behind Self Guided Travel: understanding not only a route, but the landscapes, villages, historic places and wild spaces it connects.
Alongside his work as a writer and photographer, James has worked as a creative director, developing brands, digital platforms and publishing systems. He returned to Self Guided Travel to build the platform around the material gathered through his travels and create a structure through which that work could continue to grow.
James is now concentrating much of his fieldwork on the East of England, documenting its routes and landscapes in greater detail. This includes the Peddars Way, Norfolk Coast Path, Suffolk Coast Path, Dedham Vale and the River Stour, alongside the villages, nature reserves, historic sites and places encountered along the way.
His work combines research, writing and photography with time spent on the ground. Guides provide practical information for planning a visit or walk, Articles explore individual subjects in greater depth, and Journals record observations and experiences from the places he visits.
The project will gradually extend into other regions of Britain and its islands, continuing to build a first-hand record of routes, landscapes and places that can be explored independently and on foot.
Self Guided Travel is independently owned, published and developed by James.