We’d exhausted ourselves on our Rothiemurchus walk but we didn’t sleep well afterwards. Perhaps it was the light, for the sun sets late and rises early during summer in the Cairngorms. So neither of us had the energy for anything too exhausting, despite a much better weather forecast. After another ample breakfast and a gossip with…
Category: Europe
Scotland in the spring: A walk around the Rothiemurchus estate
Aviemore proved a disappointment but a walk around the Rothiemurchus estate restored us on a grey day in the Cairngorms. Fortified by a delicious breakfast of porridge and a fry-up, we left the four West Midlanders talking politics in the hotel restaurant to plan our itinerary on a day that threatened both rain and shine….
Scotland in the spring: Rain at Brodie Castle
The number one challenge of holidaying in the UK is the weather but the Cairngorms in Scotland had been good to us on our first visit. Would we be lucky a second time? Stepping off our dinky British Airways Embraer 170 at Aberdeen, to the soundtrack of helicopters heading for the oil rigs, the drizzle was…
Summer in the mountains: Kitzbuhel, Austria
Kitzbühel means the Hahnenkamm – the most exciting and terrifying of men’s downhill ski races on the planet. Every January, the World Cup race is beamed around the world from this charming village in the Austrian Tyrol. And I catch all the edge-of-the-seat action on Ski Sunday. But I’ve never skied at the famous resort….
Istanbul: A day in Yildiz Park and Ortakoi, and sailing on the Bosphorus
Istanbul is a city of Imperial Ottoman splendour with its fair share of handsome mansions, among them the waterfront Dolmabahce Palace. But when we arrived for a visit on the tram at nearby Kabatas, disappointment lurked in the form of a long, long and slow-moving queue at the palace ticket office. Pained by sunburn and…
A day out in the village of Fiesole, Tuscany
Florence on a busy day can be bonkers, but we managed to escape the crowds and the stress with a day trip to Fiesole in the nearby Tuscan hills. About 9km from the city, it takes hardly any time to get there on the number 7 bus from the Piazza San Marco. The only aggro we…
In the heart of Tuscany – the city of Florence
It was inevitable that we’d end up in Italy’s most tourist-tastic region one day. Our excuse for the trip to Tuscany was a friend’s wedding in the historic city of Pisa, but Florence was also on our list of must-see places. It turned out to be a city of crowds. Monumental crowds. It positively swarmed…
A short break in the historic French city of Angers
Give me a good history book and a glass of wine and I’ll be a happy man. She-Wolves by Helen Castor turned out to be a particularly good read, the story of three of England’s great medieval queens and their various battles to make a mark in a male-dominated world. But it also introduced me…
A week on the beach in Maspalomas, Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria represents tourism on steroids to some but the sunshine, the sandy beaches and the great nightlife have drawn me to the island three times over the years for a lazy winter break, away from the drabness of a British winter. Having been based in a giant and distinctly average hotel in Playa del…
Skiing in Selva, high up in Italy’s Val Gardena
I’d been away from the ski slopes for many years despite my love of the mountains in winter. But with Graham ready to give the sport a go, we booked a week in the Italian Dolomites for a week of the white stuff. Selva lies at the head of the beautiful Val Gardena in northern…
Discovering the historic village of Locronan in Brittany
A spontaneous decision can sometimes turn up a gem, as we proved with the gorgeous village of Locronan in Brittany. We were driving back from visiting Great Uncle Ray’s grave in Milizac on a gloomy June day when we decided to turn off the main road into the picturesque hills. And there it was, a…
In search of the Northern Lights in Levi, Finland – part two
Levi in northern Finland had kept us busy with winter sports and spas but what about the Northern Lights? Would we ever get to see them or would nature conspire against us? I didn’t hold out too much hope because while the Aurora Borealis have been drawing travellers to northern latitudes for years, many have…
In search of the Northern Lights in Levi, Finland – part one
I’d always dreamt about seeing The Northern Lights, one of nature’s greatest planetary light shows, but the web is full of stories of people who’ve made the trip north to witness them only to be frustrated by cloud cover and dull skies. For the truth is the Aurora Borealis don’t perform to order or appear every…
An Easter city break in Stockholm, Sweden
Easter isn’t the best time to visit Stockholm. The trees are bare and it can be drab and chilly, but the weather couldn’t dampen our enthusiasm for the Swedish capital. I actually had very few preconceptions about it. I knew it as a city of water, islands and ludicrously priced alcohol. I knew it as home to…
Walking in the hills at Braemar, Scotland
With our much-discussed British weather being so hopelessly unreliable, it’s easy to make an excuse and head abroad on holiday. But on our visit to Braemar and Ballater in Scotland we found the sun and fell in love with Royal Deeside. Braemar was stop number two, nestled in a landscape so spectacular I defy anyone…