Jogging Round Majorca

In the 1920s, Gordon West and his wife decided they wanted to go somewhere unexplored and unspoiled, right off the beaten tourist route.They settled on the little-known island of Majorca.Travelling via Paris and Barcelona, they finally boarded the small white steamboat which was to take them to the idyllic Bay of Palma, and there they began their exploration of the enchanting island, sometimes in hair-raising motor rides round steep cliffs and on unmade roads, sometimes by mule, and more often on foot.They lodged in simple hotels, small houses, and once in a monastery, and everywhere they observed the rich pageantry of a people whose customs, gentle manners, and generous hospitality made Majorca a unique and fascinating place.

Gordon West was born in 1896. He studied at the London School of Economics and served in the Royal Navy in the First World War. After the war he began a career in Journalism, at one time working as Editor of Publications for the Liberal Party. He also toured the United States with two presidential candidates in 1928 - Alfred E. Smith and Herbert Hoover - in order to study the progress of American elections for Lloyd George. In the 1920s he was Foreign Correspondent for the Westminster Gazette and during the years of the Second World War he was Foreign Editor of the Daily Sketch.It was in the late 1920s that Gordon West and Mary, his wife, decided to explore the little-known island of Majorca, which was the inspiration for Jogging Round Majorca.