We'd like to go overland to Kathmandu.

We went to two branches, and they both said exactly the same film.

But he said, sorry, we don't do that.

We are travel agents.

I thought, well, if that isn't travel, I don't know what is.

Hello and welcome to today's independent travel podcast with me, Simon Corder.

It's Monday the 5th of May.

And that is the voice of Sir Mike Gulley the former

S-A-S officer who set up in 1970 a company called Trail Finders which has blossomed ever since

and 55 years on he is still in charge of. He's been telling me about the whole history of

Trailfinders and I found the interview so interesting that I am going to run it across the

week, a chapter at a time, so that you can get a full understanding of the firm and its role in travel for many millions of us.

Yes, we then went to Thomas Cook and said, had a bit of a charmed existence.

I suppose I won't say look for trouble, but I've looked for excitement and found quite a bit, yes.

Talk is through the times in the army, in the SAS, and the operations that you're involved with.

Well, I mean, whatever was going, you have to realise that you're going the army, it's not your job to start wars.

In fact, I was always on the view there's far too many wars.

Why can't people compromise?

I'm neither ties for that. They've been

invaded but never occupied. I picked up five campaign medals. So, I mean, the SS, there's a great

place to pick them up because we were often sent on four-month operations. And then we'd come

back to the UK for six or eight weeks and off on the next one.

...