Travel – Heritage & Travel Storytelling Project by Melanie Gabbi

by on September 7, 2025 with No Comments

 

Is a part of the Sofa To A Soul Led Life Series

What is Changing Spaces: Through the Lens?

Changing Spaces is a vlogging/vlogimentary travel and storytelling project exploring heritage, identity, freedom, and modern midlife journeys — through the lens of psychology, spirituality, history and lived experience.

Born from the desire to get out there and reconstruct my life through my passions, what inspires me and deeper reflections that have been in the background for several decades. It combines many of the approaches I use to reach people to help inspire them to take steps to create a life they’l love too

Part travel series, part reflective journal, this project weaves together:

  • Heritage Journeys – returning to places that shaped family history, like the Isle of Bute, where my mother was born and Glasgow where she married and Manchester where she eventually settled .

  • Freedom Journeys – campervan adventures, open roads, and the resilience of finding joy in simplicity.

  • Abundance Journeys – from heritage hotels to cultural landmarks, exploring spaces of beauty, architecture, and hospitality.

  • And Stories on the Road- From personal stories to reflections of those experiences The series

🎥 The Series

Launching in September 2025, the first season of Changing Spaces: Through the Lens will follow a journey from London → Cambridge → York → Glasgow → Isle of Bute → Edinburgh, and everywhere in-between . I will be exploring:

  • Heritage -Legacy -power – education, politics, and class

  • The impact of the past on the self, on family and how we evolve

  • Spiritual and cultural resonances I experience on my travels

  • Hospitality as heritage — the role of hotels in shaping memory, comfort, and belonging

  • Simple pleasure through sharing the journey with my friend and also being in the campervan

🤝 Collaboration Opportunities

Hotels, heritage sites, and cultural institutions are invited to partner with me on this project. Partnerships may include:

  • Featured video segments on YouTube & social media

  • Reflective blog & podcast mentions

  • Inclusion in storytelling that highlights your role in heritage, travel, and modern midlife exploration

As someone who worked in the hotel and catering industry (Trusthouse Forte) before a career  in mental health adn wellbeing (Local authority and NHS, I deeply value the role hotels play in creating experiences of freedom, comfort, and connection.

📺 Where You Can Find My Work

🌟 Why This Matters

This series is being created as part of my personal legacy — both for my granddaughter and for a growing audience of midlife men and women seeking inspiration to live with more freedom, connection, and joy.

Changing Spaces: Through the Lens isn’t just about travel.
It’s about identity, heritage, and the stories that shape us all.