Travelling allsorts

In post-apocalyptic, post-Brexit Britain, we gave our passports a rest until we ventured out for a long weekend in Normandy during the record-breaking hot spell in England in 2022. As one of us has medication to suppress immunity, we made sure to keep our distance from, well, everyone - in the hotel, restaurants and on the ferry. This apprehension dampened our relaxation somewhat but all went well and we were (are) fine.  Trying to return to life as we knew it... We braved a whole week in the Lake District last month, renting a house in Braithwaite, near Keswick. As with most people now, we don't really think about catching covid on an everyday basis. Braithwaite is a small, sleepy village with an excellent pub, only 50 yards staggering distance to our temporary residence!  Keswick is a lively holiday hub with plenty to do for all ages, as long as the weather's good. If it's not, you can wander around the pencil museum :) It sounds boring but it's actually quite interes

2020. What a horrible year for everybody. We didn't go anywhere and haven't planned where we're not going in the near future! Time to catch up with the places we've been in the past. This blog has covered various places in Scotland, Wales and England (see the list on the right); a few in France plus Belgium, Italy, Spain, Portugal - and their islands. Long-haul destinations included are the Caribbean, USA, South Africa, Mauritius, Hong Kong and more.  Our next few posts are likely to be UK-based , although there are several here already. See you on the other side of lockdown!

Our first trip to Barbados was in September 1979! We stayed in a self-catering apartment at the Silver Sands Hotel for 3 weeks at the tail end of the hurricane season - and it was fantastic! We recently returned for a couple of weeks self-catering in an apartment near Hastings and, guess what - it was fantastic! The essence of Barbados hasn't changed. It remains totally laid back yet modern. Everyone has smartphones and multiple TV channels but the traffic has increased by about 1000% and some of the vehicles wouldn't pass an MOT, even with a hefty bribe. Very few roads have unbroken surfaces, there are meaningless signposts and the road maps are not exactly accurate. Advice: just chill. The west coast area is mostly navigable but don't expect an easy journey inland or towards the east coast. After realising that we'd driven through the same village a couple of times, we gave up. We failed to find Eddy Grant's place but succeeded in finding the underground

Not far from where we stayed a few years ago, we rented an apartment in a country manor house just outside Grange over Sands, across the bay from Morecambe.  The weather was changeable, of course - rain on some days, warm sunshine on others. However, it was a lovely few days' break, thoroughly recommended. In addition to coastal walks, "things to do" included: Cartmel horse-racing, Lakeland Motor Museum and a Safari-Zoo where we saw hippos and capybaras (see photographs).  Cartmel Horse Racing    Lakeland Motor Museum more of a transport museum as it has bicycles and 'flying machines' too! It's an amazing collection; the photographs below show a 60's Aquacar, exhibits from the Monte Carlo Rally, a Mini and various attempts to produce even smaller cars. There are also exhibits of life from 50+ years ago, including shop window displays, arcade games (mechanical rather than electronic) and a café/milk bar. These are just some of the photographs from the doz

We've been to Wales before so, obviously, we packed for wet weather. Our plan: visit Portmeirion and Snowdonia and a few relatives who we've not seen for years. Of course, plans are for breaking so we abandoned them and wandered around Anglesey and the North Wales coast. We walked through a woodland where there was a hide for watching red squirrels; we visited Holyhead where there was a small maritime museum; we ran out of time to visit the nearby gardens and manor. Our favourite visit was to Beaumaris Castle (A UNESCO World Heritage Site) details on gov.wales/cadw . Red Squirrel The ‘new’ bridge to Anglesey leads to the famous little village of Llanfair­pwllgwyngyll­gogery­chwyrn­drobwll­llan­tysilio­gogo­goch but we preferred to use the beautiful original Menai bridge. And, as it was our anniversary while we were on Anglesey, we ate at a very nice restaurant, Harry’s Bistro  at Henlly’s Golf Course.Also, there was a family gathering, organised within 48 hours, just for

I've discovered a fantastic house on the west coast of Scotland, sort-of near Inverness. Just looking at the photographs on the website and reading about the facilities in the area made me want to holiday there! Additionally (though not necessarily for me) there are rugged activities, such as mountaineering and kayaking. The dining options look great but it's the house itself that is the draw. It's in a fabulous location overlooking a sea-loch and walking distance to the village & pub. There must be opportunities to see glorious sunsets and the Northern Lights. Inside the house is top quality. It's spacious with high quality finishing and furnishing - and there's even a steam room. It has four double bedrooms so the not-inexpensive costs of hiring for a week can be shared between four couples. Let's face it, if you want cheap, you can find loads of place to 'slum' it! I shall try to find some suitable friends to share this wonderful house in the