“Daddy, it’s alive, it’s breathing smoke!” The little boy shrieked with delight as the huge black engine chuffed under the bridge into the station. There was something supremely elemental about it as the steam hissed noisily, fire roared and smuts flicked over the admiring passengers. I was on the Keighley and...

David Hockney looking at a picture of fellow Yorkshireman Alan Bennett – photo Salts Mill You may have heard of, or even been to see, the new David Hockney exhibition at Tate Britain in London. One of this country’s most loved and respected artists, Hockney was born in Bradford in 1937,...

Surfer on Whitby Cliffs Striding along the cliff top, the surfer added a somewhat incongruous element to this view of Whitby by the North Sea on the Yorkshire coast. I was here on a walking holiday with HF Holidays, and enjoying the great weather before going to Larpool Hall, where...

Myriad stalls line both sides of Skipton High Street on Market Day, selling everything from home made jam, via chunky knits to Greek olives.  Whatever the weather the stallholders always seem to have a smile and a cheery greeting.  On both sides of the road, substantial, but not imposing, Victorian...

Morecambe Bay on the west coast of Lancashire is a treasure trove of unsung sights that delight all the senses. I’ve lived here over 20 years and am still discovering new places to visit. It’s less-known than its neighbours the Lake District World Heritage Site and Yorkshire, so you’re able...

The pepper pot loomed overhead, a shaft of February sunlight lighting up its whitewashed walls. Across the Furness Peninsula, Morecambe Bay glittered enticingly and the quaint little town of Ulverston bustled away below the hill. I sat on a bench letting a sliver of warmth seep in as one man...

Bajan Breakfast Banana Bread, Smoky Mexican Bean Soup, Ah Yeung’s Sweet and Sour Fish, Tian Provencal, Cypriot Pastitsio, Alabama Peach Crisp, Nanny’s Fresh Orange Layer Cake … the list of delicious recipes from home and abroad sets my taste buds tingling. I’m enveloped in the foodie delights of Lavender and...