Exploring the world, one place at a time
It was billed as 'two days' relaxed paddling in the Norwegian fjords', but as I came to discover during the course of the weekend, my idea of relaxed paddling was somewhat different... I'd been kayaking a few times before, had enjoyed it and kept pace with those around me, even when things didn't quite go... Continue Reading →
Southerndown and Ogmore-by-Sea are two of my favourite places to go on the south Wales coast. But despite being less than half an hour's walk away from each other, for some inexplicable reason, I've never walked the Wales Coast Path between the two. So I decided the Easter bank holiday weekend would be the perfect... Continue Reading →
On Monday, the Brecon Beacons National Park announced it will only go by it's Welsh name, Bannau Brycheiniog, from now on. So it seems timely to introduce you to the second of the castles I visited in the park over the Easter bank holiday weekend: Bronllys Castle. Bronllys Castle was founded in the late 11th... Continue Reading →
Work has been insanely busy the last few months, so the last thing I wanted to do over the Easter bank holiday weekend was sit in front of a screen. So on Good Friday, I set off on a drive to the Welsh county of Powys to visit a couple of castles: Tretower and Bronllys.... Continue Reading →
When I read in my guidebook that Daphne du Maurier had been inspired to write Don't Look Now on a trip to Torcello, I was intrigued and keen to find out more about the place that had inspired the sinister short story. Settled in the 5th century, the island of Torcello was for centuries the... Continue Reading →
While in Venice, I was keen to go beyond the confines of the city and explore some of the islands in the Venetian lagoon. So on our second day in Venice, we set off through Cannaregio's deserted streets to Fondamente Nuove (stumbling upon this petrol station for boats, below, along the way) to catch the... Continue Reading →
No trip to Venice would be complete without a visit to its most famous square, the Piazza San Marco, and the iconic sites that surround it, the Basilica di San Marco, the Palazzo Ducale and the Campanile. So after cruising down the Grand Canal, we disembarked at San Marco, where we stopped to take some... Continue Reading →
We started our first full day in Venice by exploring the canals near our hotel in the Cannaregio district, snaking our way over the bridges and along the deserted canals, while soaking up the area's eerie stillness. As we got closer to the Rialto district and the Grand Canal (below), the city, unsurprisingly, became increasingly... Continue Reading →
It seems hard to believe now, but at the end of January 2020 I was in Venice, little knowing it was the last time I'd go abroad for a very long time. I'd been umming and ahhing about visiting Venice for years – on the one hand keen to see the famous lagoon city, on... Continue Reading →
When I heard Hay Castle was opening its doors to the public for the first time in its history last May, it went straight to the top of my 'must visit' list. So while planning my annual new year's pilgrimmage to Hay-on-Wye to stock up on books, I made sure to add a private tour... Continue Reading →
Little Old World 