What are you working on right now?
Last year I celebrated my 40th anniversary in the industry and I seem to be busier than ever. In May, I'll be playing at the Jazz Café in London to mark the paperback launch of my autobiography, The Hurdy Gurdy Man, and I'll be supported by my daughter Astrella Celeste who is also the first signing on my label Donovan Discs. And through our charity, Drukpa, my wife and I are working closely with Tibetan Buddhists to promote humanitarian projects and meditation in schools throughout the world. So, little by little, I'm sowing seeds.

Where would you rather be?
Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Germany.

What's so special about it?
It's a wonderfully preserved 13th-century walled town with cobblestone streets. In 1972, it provided David Puttnam with the perfect backdrop for a movie called The Pied Piper. I was lucky enough to play the piper, so being there evokes fond memories of those times.

What would you do there?
I'll be touring and doing festivals there this summer, but when I have time off I'll visit the woodcarving shops. Rothenburg has an illustrious carving heritage and when my children were young we'd buy marionettes and create our own plays. I'd also try to catch a show at the Puppet Theatre by the Castle Gate.

Where would you stay?
Somewhere like the Burg-Hotel (burghotel.rothenburg.de), whichis actually built into the city walls.

Who would you take with you?
My wife and muse, Linda, and my two grandchildren.

What's the one place you'd like to see before you die?
Antarctica - just to know that it's not melting any more.

Donovan will be appearing at London's Jazz Café on May 8/19 (jazzcafe.co.uk). The Hurdy Gurdy Man is published by Arrow on May 4. Interview by Maia Adams