Podcasts, TV shows and books to get you on the road again

Three men explore India, central China and the south of Italy, Spain and France on three adventures – and with three very different purposes

”Most people don’t do that kind of thing with no explanation,” laughs Rupert Grey’s daughter at the start of Romantic Road (from September, romanticroadmov.com). She’s talking about her parents’ scheme to drive their 1936 Rolls Royce 6,500km north from Mumbai and then across India to Bengal, with the documentary providing a street-eye view of some the country’s little-visited rural areas.the eccentric ‘toff’ Grey somehow manages not to turn himself into a post-colonial horror; the Grey’s openness to the locals, drawn to the historic motor swerving in and out of traffic, makes the couple an engaging focal point – with Rupert even getting roped into appearing as the bad guy in a local movie – while the Rolls is as temperamental as any ego-driven star.

However, pitfalls are avoided in Write Around The World (BBC iplayer), Richard E Grant’s journey of European regions celebrated (or otherwise) in famous literature. What could easily be a hammy book-reading tour through southern Italy, Andalusia in Spain and in southern France is given verve by Grant’s mischievous charm and genuine interest in the places he’s exploring, providing visual and historic context for the stories – such as the dividing tunnel from the Italian novelist Elena Ferrante’s Naples – while diving into the local culinary specialities.

Ray Mears finds himself travelling further afield in Wild China (ITV Hub). He heads out into the likes of Sichuan Province, the Tibetan plateau and the Li River in search of China’s unusual flora and fauna; while there he experiences elephants, giant pandas and brown bears, and even has an encounter with a pair of snow leopards stretching across the rocks. He also gets to see China’s conservation schemes in action, providing an insight on how these projects work to aid locals and the endangered wildlife that trouble them, to ensure they co-exist safely. No explanation needed.

Road trip (from top) Romantic Road sees London lawyer Rupert Grey and his wife Jan interact with locals as they cross India in a battered Rolls Royce en route to a human rights festival in Bangladesh; Richard E Grant explores parts of Europe that inspired authors such as Robert Harris