Dolphin Fresco from Knossos – photo Armagnac “To the Greeks, Crete seems the most authentically Greek of all the islands, because of the length of its history and its relative remoteness from the ancient centres of war and diplomacy.” So wrote Grecophile Lawrence Durell, renowned author and brother of naturalist...

Britain is spring is truly breathtaking. The whole country seems to explode into floral colour, there’s more daylight and the weather is not nearly as dreary as it was in winter. I love both springtime and autumn in the UK, though Britain in winter also holds its own special appeal....

‘Oh what a beautiful morning …’ came singing into my mind as I gazed out across Windermere, England’s longest lake, towards the stupendous Lakeland Fells. I was standing on the balcony in my suite at the Winander Club, latest addition to luxury accommodation at Low Wood Bay Resort and Spa...

Sandstone gives the Red Fort, Agra its colloquial name but the real colour of this historic complex comes from the people who visit. Indians dress up in their best clothes for an outing to one of the finest Mughal forts in India. The fort was the site of a battle...

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...

Valentine’s Day is one of the most popular days of the year to propose and here in the UK we have so many gorgeous places to do just that. British weather in February can be a rather miserable but if you’ve found the right person, then it doesn’t matter whether...

In the bleak mid-winter, frosty winds are definitely moaning, earth’s hard as iron and my pipes froze last week. Yes, it’s wintertime in North West England and summer seems a long way off. So here’s a photo of the quirky divi-divi tree on beautiful Eagle Beach on the Aruba in...