If you were brought up on the charming little books of Beatrix Potter, you’ll understand my delight in seeing her original drawings at the National Trust Beatrix Potter Gallery.  It’s in the disarmingly pretty village of Hawkshead, slap bang in the middle of the Lake District World Heritage site. On display this year...

Where can you experience what it was like to be imprisoned in the Victorian era? See intriguing contemporary art and discover some of Wales’ finest craftsmanship? Find a fine example of Carrera Marble sculpture? View the only Prime Ministerial Library in the UK? In North East Wales. Here are five...

“Oh this is great! I’ve not felt so liberated since I was a teenager and used to cycle for miles round here. Just look at that view.” Good friend Liz Mcgillivary, retired PR specialist, and I were standing at the top of Birkrigg Common looking out over a misty Morecambe...

Love medieval castles? Then you’ll be in seventh heaven in North East Wales. There’s a castle round every corner, testimony to the region’s strategic significance in the power battle between the English and Welsh. I’ve been going to North Wales since childhood and am familiar with the big boys – ie Conwy...

Pembrokeshire Coast – Stackpole And the winner is … jaw-droppingly gorgeous Pembrokeshire. It possesses a glorious, beach-strewn coastline; the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path has been ranked by National Geographic as one of the great hiking paths of the world. It also won BBC Countryfile Holiday Destination of the Year 2018. Medieval castles...

The smell of freshly-baked bread mingles with the enticing aroma of chocolate, almonds, coffee and fresh flowers. I’m sitting by the window in the Three Hares Café in the little town of Sedbergh, just 10 minutes off the M6 in Cumbria. I’m on the first stop on a day following...

The sound of seabirds calling echoed across the scrubby grass towards Fleetwood and Blackpool. A pale sun glimmered round the drifting clouds, casting a pewter glow across Morecambe Bay, A dog barked with delight as it dashed across the rocks to splash into the shallow water. I was parked at...