Ben Ross

Ben Ross is Head of Travel at The Independent. He has worked for the paper for over a decade, and began reporting on travel in 2001. Before joining the travel desk full time, he ran The Independent's special projects department. He started his journalistic career at the BBC working for its commercial arm, BBC Worldwide.

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Big wheel: Henry Ford’s Model T was built in Detroit and helped make the city a symbol of US wealth

Ben Ross: Will bankrupt Detroit lure tourists back one day?

20 July 2013 06:30 PM

I arrived in Detroit ready to roll, ready to rock. At last I was in Henry Ford's Motor City, where he conceived the Model T, the vehicle that made modern America. Finally, I was in the place where Motown was born, where Berry Gordy built a musical dynasty: Diana Ross and the Supremes, Smokey Robinson, the Jackson 5. For me, Detroit was iconic, a symbol of America in its mid-20th-century pomp.

Canvas opinion: the tents overlook the valley below

Room service: Mahali Mzuri, Kenya

29 June 2013 12:00 AM

Virgin territory in East Africa

‘You’ve had your fun, says humdrum reality, now get back home’

Ben Ross: To leave, or not to leave? That is the question on changeover day

08 June 2013 06:00 PM

Something to Declare

Regal bearing: Unlike her subjects, the Queen doesn't need a passport

Ben Ross: Her Majesty knows that her passports are precious things

18 May 2013 07:00 PM

Something to Declare

Sometimes sky-high prices are worth it - but only in context

11 April 2013 11:29 AM

When you have little or no opportunity to shop around, it's easy to get ripped-off

Room Service: coastal Belize

30 March 2013 12:00 AM

Turtle Inn, Placencia

Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família, Barcelona, Spain

With another month of snow forecast, you probably want a holiday. And quite right too - but where?

27 March 2013 02:47 PM

Almost everybody seems depressed by the constant chill weather. But our Head of Travel has a handy guide for how to beat the gloom in Spring. Try Barcelona!

Julie Hagerty and Robert Hays in the 1980 spoof air disaster comedy Airplane

Ben Ross: No need to fear – Captain Allright is here

03 March 2013 12:00 AM

Something to Declare

A spotted history of Belize

15 February 2013 12:00 PM

Jaguars lurk near a luxurious forest retreat. Brilliant birds fill the sky above. But which species will Ben Ross add to his Life List?

Michael Palin: 'I'm just curious about the world'

09 November 2012 07:00 AM

With Michael Palin back on our TV screens, he reveals why he still loves travel – and how he’s learnt to be himself on camera

More by Ben Ross
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War and peace: history revisited in the cities of Southern Belgium - a travel guide in association with the Belgian Tourist Office.

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Day In a Page

Special report: How my father's face turned up in Robert Capa's lost suitcase

Special report: How my father's face turned up in Robert Capa's lost suitcase

The great war photographer was not one person but two. Their pictures of Spain's civil war, lost for decades, tell a heroic tale
The unmade speech: An alternative draft of history

The unmade speech: An alternative draft of history

Someone, somewhere has to write speeches for world leaders to deliver in the event of disaster. They offer a chilling hint at what could have been
Funny business: Meet the women running comedy

Funny business: Meet the women running comedy

Think comedy’s a man's world? You must be stuck in the 1980s, says Holly Williams
Wilko Johnson: 'You have to live for the minute you're in'

Wilko Johnson: 'You have to live for the minute you're in'

The Dr Feelgood guitarist talks frankly about his terminal illness
Lure of the jingle: Entrepreneurs are giving vintage ice-cream vans a new lease of life

Lure of the jingle

Entrepreneurs are giving vintage ice-cream vans a new lease of life
Who stole the people's own culture?

DJ Taylor: Who stole the people's own culture?

True popular art drives up from the streets, but the commercial world wastes no time in cashing in
Guest List: The IoS Literary Editor suggests some books for your summer holiday

Guest List: IoS Literary Editor suggests some books for your summer holiday

Before you stuff your luggage with this year's Man Booker longlist titles, the case for some varied poolside reading alternatives
What if Edward Snowden had stayed to fight his corner?

Rupert Cornwell: What if Edward Snowden had stayed to fight his corner?

The CIA whistleblower struck a blow for us all, but his 1970s predecessor showed how to win
'A man walks into a bar': Comedian Seann Walsh on the dangers of mixing alcohol and stand-up

Comedian Seann Walsh on alcohol and stand-up

Comedy and booze go together, says Walsh. The trouble is stopping at just the one. So when do the hangovers stop being funny?
From Edinburgh to Hollywood (via the Home Counties): 10 comedic talents blowing up big

Edinburgh to Hollywood: 10 comedic talents blowing up big

Hugh Montgomery profiles the faces to watch, from the sitcom star to the surrealist
'Hello. I have cancer': When comedian Tig Notaro discovered she had a tumour she decided the show must go on

Comedian Tig Notaro: 'Hello. I have cancer'

When Notaro discovered she had a tumour she decided the show must go on
They think it's all ova: Bill Granger's Asia-influenced egg recipes

Bill Granger's Asia-influenced egg recipes

Our chef made his name cooking eggs, but he’s never stopped looking for new ways to serve them
The world wakes up to golf's female big hitters

The world wakes up to golf's female big hitters

With its own Tiger Woods - South Korea's Inbee Park - the women's game has a growing audience
10 athletes ready to take the world by storm in Moscow next week

10 athletes ready to take the world by storm in Moscow next week

Here are the potential stars of the World Championships which begin on Saturday
The Last Word: Luis Suarez and Gareth Bale's art of manipulation

The Last Word: Luis Suarez and Gareth Bale's art of manipulation

Briefings are off the record leading to transfer speculation which is merely a means to an end