The Man in Seat Sixty-One is a travel website written and maintained by Mark Smith. The website focuses almost exclusively on train-based travel, with occasional ferry recommendations. The site has won several awards, including 'Best Travel Website' in the Guardian & Observer Travel Awards in 2008.[1] The Man in Seat Sixty-One provides information on the best routes, fares and times for journeys from the UK to most of Europe, and for rail travel within most countries in the rest of the world.[2]
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The site is a personal project run by Mark Smith, a manager who has worked for several railway companies and train stations.[3] The site is called Seat 61 after his preferred seat in First Class on the Eurostar.[3] He began the site as a hobby in 2001,[2] after frustration with the difficulty he perceived in finding how to book rail tickets within Europe.[2] In September 2007 he gave up his job working for the London Department of Transport to run the website full time.[4]
The site now receives more than 1,000,000 visitors a month and Smith has released a book, also titled The Man in Seat Sixty-One offering advice based on his travels.[2] Nearly all of the information compiled in the site is based on his own travels and experiences, and it includes in-depth guides on booking rail tickets within Europe, as well as information on booking rail travel to and within other areas of the world.[2][3] The success of the site has led to Smith being interviewed for various travel media, including BBC Radio 4's Traveller's Tree,[5] The Sunday Telegraph,[2] The Sunday Times[6] and The Guardian.[4]
Smith advocates minimal aircraft transport as part of travel, citing the increased environmental friendliness of train travel, as well as the ability to view scenery, such as the Austrian Alps, up close whilst travelling.[2]
It was recently announced that Guerilla Films is planning a TV series based off the website. A taster episode featuring actor Kenneth Cranham was recently released covering the journey from London to St Petersburg by rail upto Waterloo, Belgium .[7]
The Man in Seat Sixty-One has won several awards, including: