Helen Coffey
@LenniCoffey
Followers
11,207
Following
815
Media
585
Statuses
7,551
Senior features writer for @IndyLife / @Independent . Ex-travel editor. #flightfree travel book Zero Altitude out now with @flint_books . Repped by @northbanktalent
London
Joined October 2011
Don't wanna be here?
Send us removal request.
Explore trending content on Musk Viewer
الهلال
• 520052 Tweets
Diddy
• 508565 Tweets
Alito
• 381551 Tweets
Cassie
• 299762 Tweets
Thomas
• 232385 Tweets
Gabigol
• 196152 Tweets
Flamengo
• 179741 Tweets
Peter
• 163074 Tweets
Corinthians
• 155353 Tweets
Gabriel
• 115775 Tweets
Uribe
• 114582 Tweets
Barron
• 87039 Tweets
رونالدو
• 57359 Tweets
デザフェス
• 46937 Tweets
#Kyrgyzstan
• 29880 Tweets
Paul Skenes
• 21116 Tweets
جيسوس
• 18646 Tweets
كريستيانو
• 18161 Tweets
كاس الملك
• 17303 Tweets
Afganistán
• 16376 Tweets
البليهي
• 14769 Tweets
سافيتش
• 14633 Tweets
الشوط الاول
• 13304 Tweets
Southampton
• 13170 Tweets
ムビナナ
• 11639 Tweets
the boy is mine
• 10755 Tweets
Dabney Coleman
• 10341 Tweets
الشوط الثاني
• 10311 Tweets
Pinned Tweet
So, am dusting off the old professional news klaxon to say: 📢 As of tomorrow, I'm changing desks at The
@Independent
after seven years on travel. My new role is senior features writer on the lifestyle team. Hello!
38
13
413
Fellow journalists: have you ever been on a mediocre date that the other person thought was amazing because "the conversation really flowed" - and you're like, yeah babe, that's because I inadvertently slipped into work mode and kept up a constant stream of insightful questions??
451
475
13K
Being alive in 2022 is wild because you sit at your little desk merrily ticking things off your to do list and then you see a headline like this and burst into tears but have to go right back to pretending things are totally normal
72
838
3K
I feel like every millennial's secret pension plan is just "maybe I will become accidentally rich in the next 30 years without really knowing how and everything will be FINE"
I spoke to millennials who are running out of time to save enough - or anything at all - for retirement, and fear they may have to work until they die
20
38
199
41
146
2K
In light of
#coleenvsrebekah
, can we please, PLEASE give this nation what it deserves and get a rerun of all Footballers' Wives episodes back on TV?
20
163
1K
Oh good, I see we've reached the point in the tweet's lifecycle where unrelated men are becoming angry about it for no reason.
28
11
1K
So, I'm excited/slightly nervous to announce that the
@Independent
's travel coverage will be a little bit different going forward - we're going to be trying to carve a new path, one that puts sustainability front and centre. Here's why:
107
129
968
Girlies where are we buying normal clothes from at the mo? Ducked into And Other Stories and everything was lime green satin and cost £85...
95
9
753
Still wild to me that as a journalist you can find something interesting, get in touch with people who are literally world-leading experts in that thing, and they will just... tell you all about it? Biggest privilege ever, when you think about it
10
34
501
I know I'm late to the party on this, but travelling without flying is real, proper adventure. It feels nothing short of miraculous that I have reached another continent over land and sea in under 72 hours. What you lose in convenience you gain in pure, unbridled exhilaration.
30
34
481
Absolutely living for the responses to this. What's the answer? We only date other journalists?!
25
2
459
A particularly bittersweet 🚨personal news🚨 update: bitter, because my absolute favourite, the legendary
@Cathman
, is leaving us for pastures new; sweet, because I get to step into her (very big) shoes as the
@Independent
's new travel editor, which is pretty much the dream job.
90
9
462
I'm just a girl
standing in front of a PR
asking them to stop using the word 'spooktacular'
16
19
426
...and time to mute. It was fun while it lasted - love and luck to you all in your future dating endeavors!
10
1
363
I'm sorry, but if you give me a feature to edit in which anyone "explained", "exclaimed", "highlighted", "remarked" or (ew) "giggled", I WILL change it to "said" and this is the editing hill I will die on
39
17
339
🚨New column alert🚨: every fortnight I'll be writing about something that's actually good news in the sustainable travel sphere! Called Travel Positive, it will celebrate the destinations, trips, brands and tourism initiatives doing things better...
17
32
308
Really excited to be launching our new series on
@IndyTravel
, Home Towns. Part travel guide, part love letter, it's all about paying homage to the places we grew up. First up: me on how I finally stopped hating Hemel Hempstead -
49
16
244
Oh my life, ACTUAL COPIES OF MY ACTUAL BOOK JUST ARRIVED THIS IS NOT A DRILL
!!!!!
27
9
244
Wrote something personal for the first time in a while, eep. The 34-year itch: what to do when you're at a different life stage to everyone else you know...
51
16
237
I'm about to do something I haven't done in a decade - take a full two-week holiday. Actual holiday. No work assignments, no hotel reviews, no guides, no PR schmoozing... Nothing. Only fellow travel journos will understand how truly momentous this is.
30
3
230
Friends. It's happening. Am about to embark on my first international trip for more than a year (flight-free, naturally). Today: London-Marseille via Paris on the train. Tomorrow: Marseille-Tangier on a 40-hour ferry to spend eight days in Morocco. ARRGGHHH
29
2
231
An announcement... My first book, Zero Altitude, is out May 2022 & available to pre-order NOW! Part flight-free travel memoir, part climate change investigation, it digs into why we need to rethink our toxic relationship with flying. PLEASE BUY IT LOVELIES
32
29
228
Travel writers - I am open for pitches for destination-led green/sustainable travel features! Ideally you'd be based there, but will also accept pitches if you know the destination really well. Email pitches to helen.coffey
@independent
.co.uk rather than messaging on Twitter 1/2
28
51
225
Tourist boards, take note: if you're going to send journos a promotional item, go big or go home.
10/10
@GoVilnius
, no notes
15
4
205
LOVE THESE TWO. So often Christianity is badly misrepresented. This time, the truth of it, the joy of it, the pure excitement and good news of it all were put across so beautifully - and the whole world was watching. V proud of my Church right now.
“It just blew the place open!” - Watch
@PB_Curry
and
@JustinWelby
speak about today’s
#RoyalWedding
sermon and service
#HarryAndMeghan
:
95
1K
3K
5
37
199
So... I DID IT!!! People weren't kidding about the atmosphere, I feel as high as if I'd taken something not entirely legal. Thanks everyone for all your support, it was genuinely one of the most incredible experiences of my life. Excuse me, just going to have a little cry now.
26
2
198
When you travel flight-free, you get used to paying more to get places - so it's all the sweeter when you actually end up saving money on a journey. Just booked a return ferry to Guernsey this summer for £80. Flights for the same dates? £230.
GUYS I FINALLY BEAT THE SYSTEM
7
10
191
My first flight-free piece for
@Independent
- why I, a travel journalist, have given up flying for 2020
#20pledges
8
29
183
The most personal piece I've written for a while - why church is what I've missed most during lockdown
22
53
181
Well, 2022 is a MOOD. So far this year I have:
- Fallen in love
- Published my first book
- And now... purchased a house!!!!
19
0
179
Am going through a slightly tough time at the moment and stayed at my big sister's last night - woke up to find she had made me (35) a packed lunch for work, complete with name sticker. Anyway, sisters are the greatest gift the world has ever known and we don't deserve them
10
0
172
Unbelievable scenes! John Humphrys is going flight-free AND the Mail is publishing an article about it. Really feels like
#flightfree2020
is picking up some serious momentum...
@FlightFree2020
10
64
164
If you want to see cultural difference in action, watch Love Is Blind Brazil. Everyone is outrageously sexy, passionate and sincere. The men openly weep and hug each other; the women write love poetry; every couple that meets looks like they want to eat each other whole
3
25
162
My friend sent me this spread of runners and riders in The Times and it's just... completely gross?? I'm not Penny Mordaunt's biggest fan but the fact they've decided it was OK to run a picture of her (and only her) in swimwear is SO DEPRESSING
19
27
164
She's finally here!!!
📢 ZERO ALTITUDE IS OUT TODAY 📢
I would be over the moon* if you bought it
(*not literally, space flights are still flights people)
21
15
146
All aboard the
@CalSleeper
! My first trip out of England in 2021 is about to commence. Next stop, Fort William, yessss
19
2
150
After a few people asked me how I made friends after moving to a new town where I didn't know anyone, I of course wrote a piece about it!
#everythingiscopy
TL;DR: you've got to swallow your pride, get out there and make yourself vulnerable...
11
8
149
Six months ago I moved to Folkestone knowing exactly one person. Last night, I celebrated my birthday with 13 new amazing friends. Change can be scary, but it can also be bloody brilliant.
7
0
145
Wrote this on why I became the first travel editor of a national UK publication to swear off flying:
7
22
137
He did it! Our very own
@SimonCalder
won Outstanding Contribution award at the
#travmediaawards
!
6
4
133
Introducing... drum roll please...
@Independent
's new deputy travel editor! Can't wait for Ben to join our small but perfectly formed team at the end of the month 👏👏👏
📣 Some professional news…
Thrilled to share that at the end of the month I’m joining
@Independent
as Deputy Travel Editor.
Can’t wait to get stuck in alongside the brilliant
@LenniCoffey
and
@SimonCalder
.
67
17
559
7
1
131
I can't believe it - I'm at St Pancras waiting to board the Eurostar to leave the country for the first time in 2020! I'm also staring down the barrel of 24 hours on trains because
#flightfree2020
. Pray for me.
18
2
128
Exciting news -
@Independent
has launched a shiny new Climate section with all the latest news, views and a bevy of sustainable lifestyle features (including lots of great travel pieces)! Follow
@indy_climate
and have a gander over at
15
24
127
What's that? Oh yeah, just casually hopping on the ferry to Spain to live out a lifelong dream of walking part of the Camino pilgrimage trail (!!!!!)
13
2
126
Never let anyone ever tell you travel journalism isn't glamorous. I'm about to spend the next 48 hours - two nights, two days - travelling on coaches to southern Spain. RARRGGGHHH LET'S DO THIS
@FlixBus
!!!
16
1
119
Now that I've fully recovered from NYE, I'm happy to say I'll be taking the
@FlightFreeUK
pledge again for 2023 - my fourth year running! Bring on another 12 months of delicious exploring via train, ferry, bike and my own two legs...
11
4
122
Travel journalists/writers: we're putting together our round-up of the best destinations to visit in 2022 (God willing)... Anyone got any suggestions for places you're hoping to visit next year that you'd be happy for us to include?
135
13
117
Got an offer accepted on a house and received my book proofs all within the last half hour, this afternoon is being the tiniest bit *extra*
8
1
118
I dunno man, there's something about being able to see the sea out the window that makes life 80% less terrible
8
0
116
Conde Nast Traveller has released its list of the UK's "best" airports as voted by readers - and apparently Luton came in second place. I must therefore conclude that not one of the respondents has ever been to Luton Airport.
23
2
114
Incredibly proud that
@IndyTravel
has had one hell of an evening at
@travelmediawrds
- our very own
@SimonCalder
won best breaking news coverage and best broadcast programme, and
@MikeMacEacheran
and
@sianannalewis
scooped awards for features published by
@Independent
. Get in!
2
5
113
Beyond excited that
@IndyTravel
team are finalists for FOUR awards at this year's
@TravMedia_UK
#travmediaawards
: Best national newspaper travel section,
@SimonCalder
up for best exclusive and best broadcast programme, and I'm up for sustainability writer of the year. GET IN!!!
12
2
111
Home again, home again, two countries and five cities later. A quick reflection on travel atm: is it laden with paperwork? Yes. Does it come with underlying anxieties? Yes. Is it more expensive? Yes. But is it worth it? ABSOLUTELY. Broke and knackered but brimming over with JOYYY
4
2
109
I'm in Munich for two hours before my sleeper train to Croatia, so of course I followed
@seatsixtyone
's advice and came to Augustiner-Keller for kaiserspatzel und Radler. Excellent decision.
5
10
107
Feeling a little chuffed that
@StPancrasInt
, my nearest station, has been crowned the best in Europe. Whoop whoop!
2
12
104
Last night I did my first ever open mic, singing my songs in front of people for the first time. It was totally terrifying but exhilarating. I know I sound a bit like an inspirational fridge magnet here, but: do the things that scare you a little bit. They're the most worthwhile.
10
4
108
Went for a little early evening walk last night and I know I'm biased but I do think I live in the best place in England
11
1
107
I know we're not supposed to play favourites but I bloody love
@Eurostar
. Incredible, sustainable food. A mid-afternoon G&T so strong I'm floating on a river of feelings... And it's the lowest carbon option going! Yaaaasssss!! All hail the under-sea train!!!
7
4
106
Stoked to discover
@IndyTravel
is a finalist for the National Newspaper Travel Section of the Year in the 2022
@TravMedia_UK
awards. All down to the most outrageously talented team out there -
@LucyInTheSky22
and
@SimonCalder
, I'm looking at you guys...
#TravMediaAwards
7
4
107
I... I just filed the full first version of my book. I don't know whether to laugh, cry, throw up or have a massive drink. Possibly e) all of the above
13
0
105
I'm sure lots of ppl know this already but I didn't previously so thought I'd share - the incredible high-speed train gets you from Barcelona to Paris in just 6.5hrs. Which means you can get from Barcelona to London the same day. Which is objectively very awesome.
#flightfree
5
6
103
@Independent
I already know we're going to make mistakes. We're going to get it wrong. But that's OK. We don't have to be perfect when it comes to tackling the climate crisis - but we do have to try.
10
3
100
Also, let me tell you, Moroccan men know how to give a compliment. Today I was told my face shone bright with goodness "like the skin of the moon", and I came *this* close to spending £300 on a rug as a result.
7
0
97
So I have lived an entire year without bedroom curtains because I am not a capable human and today my uncle came to Folkestone and put some up and it may seem small but I am genuinely feeling completely overwhelmed and tearful with gratitude
11
0
95
THIS IS NOT A DRILL - MY BOOK WAS A QUESTION ON TODAY'S EPISODE OF THE CHASE!!!!
17
0
95
Suddenly realised that I am now the person at a party who will talk *at* people about how unfair it is that kerosene isn't taxed for air travel and start aggressively spouting stats about aviation emissions. And who doesn't love that person??
9
8
89
Rarely have I been more excited to board a mode of transport. I am on the
@CalSleeper
; soon I shall go to sleep, and when I wake I'll be whizzing through the mother flippin Scottish Highlands !!! (and yes, that is a prosecco in my hand)
#flightfree2020
6
4
88
Is there anything finer than getting mildly pickled while travelling solo with no one to judge you? Just giggled at a cocktail stick rolling off the table. Good Times.
4
0
87
SHE'S STILL ALIVE, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!!! Long live coach travel. Now to have the most intense shower of my life...
Never let anyone ever tell you travel journalism isn't glamorous. I'm about to spend the next 48 hours - two nights, two days - travelling on coaches to southern Spain. RARRGGGHHH LET'S DO THIS
@FlixBus
!!!
16
1
119
4
0
86
I wrote about eating my way around Valencia - far and away the most liveable city I've visited in recent years. Itching to go back already...
8
8
85
Damn I miss travel. Got me thinking about what we love most about it. I'll go first - 1) the food, 2) getting to feel like a different person with a different life for a few days, 3) the food.
20
0
82
This was of course compounded by seeing that our PM cba to go to COP and then sweating profusely on my way to the station while wearing a light jacket. In almost November. ARRRGGGHHHHH
1
2
82
*NEW TRAVEL SERIES ALERT!* Welcome to microguides - inspired by the slow travel movement, they encourage you to relax your pace and take a deep dive into one particular neighbourhood in a well-loved city. First up, an ode to my beloved King's Cross 'hood:
4
6
81
She's only about to get the new
@BrittanyFerries
Salamanca ship to Bilbao!!!
(Real talk, the excitement is OFF THE CHARTS)
9
0
82
Trying to buy a house is pure madness. You're just like, sure, happy to pay out the most money I have ever spent in my entire life for this place I looked round for 10 minutes, cheers
12
1
78
OM actual G. We just wrote/updated approx 20 articles in the 2hrs since Grant Shapps made his travel announcement. Am exhausted but so proud of our small but mighty
@IndyTravel
team:
@SimonCalder
,
@MsWhitehead100
and
@Cathman
(who was off today but did much of the prep)
4
2
80
The sleeper train from Rijeka to Munich gets in at 6.10am. Couldn't check into hotel. Nothing was open. So I found myself a lake 20 minutes from the city centre and went for a morning dip as the sun rose! Would highly recommend.
2
2
79
Have only just realised that when I say I love travelling, what I mean is I love eating
4
2
78
So lush to celebrate
@IndyTravel
win in the 2020
@travelmediawrds
for best consumer travel section online. (I don't know why I look so terrified to be holding our award - maybe it's the excitement of meeting human people after a year indoors...)
@Independent
9
2
78
Not to sound like *that* girl, but I went and meditated outside on a park bench for 20mins before starting my day working from home and it really did help. The birds are still singing - it's the most hope-filled sound in the world. Can thoroughly recommend if you are able.
5
7
75
Hello
@ThreeUK
. Every time I come to the Warren - a lovely Folkestone spot that is *very much* in the United Kingdom - I get a message saying welcome to France and you charge me two quid for using my data. Any potential solutions for this? Like consulting some kind of world map?
10
2
74
Do I know any travel writers who are insomniacs or struggle with sleep? For a commission - email me at Helen.coffey
@independent
.co.uk
22
30
74
I think for me the epitome of civilised travel will always be drinking a tiny bottle of rosé on the
@Eurostar
while travelling UNDER THE OCEAN
4
2
73
Speaking on behalf of all journalists, please can PRs not send "hilarious" April Fools' press releases this year? Life is stressful enough right now without getting tricked into publishing a BS story about some brand. Please and thank you
6
6
72
Was hoping to start the year as I mean to go on with a New Year's Day dip - but turns out the sea is full of sewage. Happy 2023 y'all!
7
4
21
Barring key workers and those who are ill, I feel like people broadly fall into two camps during lockdown: a) those who are surprised by how enjoyable they're finding the peace, solitude and slower pace of life; and b) those with young children
8
5
70
Zero Altitude comes out A WEEK TODAY!!!!!
(Am I freaking out about this, you ask? Ahahaha OF COURSE I AM)
4
7
71
Wowza, the response to our new Home Towns series has been off the scale! So glad the concept is connecting with people. If you've pitched me for it, please be patient - I've been somewhat inundated with several hundred pitches in the last 24 hours, so it may take me some time...
13
0
71
It's been a long week but I'M ON THE SKI TRAIN NEXT STOP THE ALPS WAAAHHHHH
5
0
70
The worst thing about writing for a living isn't the crappy pay - it's the constant vacillation between thinking you are *extremely* gifted and thinking you are the least talented piece of human garbage that has ever existed
7
1
71
I impromptu booked an airbnb in Hastings to work from for the week so I could overcome the January blues (and escape my bedroom), and so I started the day with a swim in the sea. I'm not saying it cures all ills... but I guess I'm not *not* saying that either 😍
3
0
70
I feel like anyone who calls it "Freedom Day" has never experienced any kind of real oppression
3
2
68
I recently changed job and had a 'life rise' rather than a pay rise. Should we prioritise happiness at work over £££? I asked the experts:
10
5
69
So, having finally managed to move to Folkestone, I of course wrote about it!
#everythingiscopy
.
The great escape: How writing a travel feature convinced me to swap city for seaside
13
1
68
Anyone else anxious about getting back to "normal" because they've found it easier to achieve work-life balance/invest time in activities they love/spend time with family/practice self-care during lockdown? What positive changes would you want to keep going forward?
#journorequest
33
5
69