Quirky Traveller's Tales

If you’ve been to Iceland you’ll understand the singer Björk.  Born and raised in Reykjavik, she epitomises this country’s quirky, eclectic energy.  Visitors on holiday can get a brief glimpse of Iceland’s natural attractions and history by doing The Golden Circle, including Gulfoss (Golden Waterfall), the geothermal filed of Haukadalur where Strokkur geyser erupts very [...]

In the fifth of the ‘Challenge Zoë’ activities for The Kendal Courier  I had an extremely indulgent pampering session at local Bellissimo Beauty Salon.  Here’s a version of the original article that appeared in the magazine. Now you may be wondering quite how such an ‘adventure’ could possibly come under the title ‘Challenge Zoë’.  Well, let’s just say I find it very difficult [...]

Italy has its iconic, must-see sites that are sure to feature on many peoples’ bucket lists. St Mark’s Square and the canals of Venice, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Rome’s Trevi Fountain and the Vatican, the rolling hills of Tuscany… I could go on. However, all these breathtaking icons of Italian tourism have literally hundreds [...]

On St George’s Day, April 23rd, I spent a magical time photographing Lake District daffodils, exploring an evocative old house that Wordsworth used to live in and discovering that sheep may safely graze in Dora’s Field. Spring is the perfect time of year to visit one of Britain’s favourite destinations. Here’s what I did over [...]

With his hands clutching his long, flowing coat tightly around him, Sir William Hillary (1771-1841) stands high above Douglas Harbour, ready to face everything the weather can throw at him.  As founder of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution he was well aware of the changeable  meteorological temperament of his home, the Isle of Man.  The [...]

Ernest Hemingway wrote, “Nobody ever lives their life all the way up except bull-fighters.” In the same spirit, I believe that as life goes by so fast there are only a few moments that you really live to the max. Walking the Camino de Santiago, as opposed to bullfighting which is not for me, was [...]