Known as the ‘Land of a Thousand Hills‘, Rwanda is quite simply one of the most beautiful countries I have visited. Its landscape is captivating, its lush, green hills rolling endlessly across the country, its lakes flooding out across fertile plains, its rivers flowing powerfully through the land and its...

The ‘Great Men’ of Casa degli Omenoni Tucked away in a little backstreet near Il Duomo, Milan’s famous Cathedral, is Clubino, an exclusive gentlemen’s club. Historically it is better known,  appropriately, as the Casa degli Omenoni – the House of the Great Men (rebuilt 1565-67). Adorning its facade are eight enormous...

Spring daffodils in the Lake District Daffodils herald the entry of spring to the Lake District. They’re everywhere, from the little ones on the shores of Ullswater that Wordsworth made famous, to the big, blowsy chaps that trumpet merrily in the breeze along hedgerows, beside fields, in town and village. Then along...

Enjoying Menorca This photo was taken by my brother, who lives on Menorca in 2007, during a very happy holiday with my son. Every year from when Alex was four months old we went out to stay with Graeme on this lovely Mediterranean island. We stayed in Es Castell, outside...

Nocturnal Rainbow on Coniston “If a picture paints a thousand words Then why can’t I paint you?” David Gates, BREAD Those were the words that came into my head as I tried to photo over 200 coloured LED lanterns slowly drifting across Coniston Water in the springtime dusk. Looming over the...

  “We’d like to work with local bloggers but I’m not sure how to find them.” “I don’t know if we’d get value from our local bloggers” “I’d prefer to work with a blogger from London/America/Mars – anywhere other than someone I know …” OK, I’m paraphrasing that last one...

‘The Jumblies’ illustrated by Ian Beck When my son was young, like many parents, I used to read to him at bedtime. Such a special point in the day, when we could snuggle up together, him all warm and cosy after a bath. He loved stories but also poems 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,...

It looked a lot bigger than I had imagined. It also looked a lot prettier, covered in views of Canada’s splendid scenery. “Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. Once you get on the road, you’ll soon forget its size and be enjoying yourself behind the wheel.” I was at the Cruise Canada pick-up centre...

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,...

In this article in the World Travel Blogger series, photographer Angus Matheson describes The North Coast 500, a memorable road trip he did with his wife in the Highlands of Scotland. North Coast 500 – the greatest motoring adventure in the British Isles North Coast 500 In 2015 the North Coast...

The Toy Train to Shimla As we clattered along the narrow track, the mountains gradually emerged like shy ballerinas peeking out from behind a curtain of lush green foliage. Glimpsed intermittently at first, the foothills of the mightiest mountain range on earth rose amidst tiny hamlets and towering pine trees....

“No offence, but I want to be THERE, not here.” This was the response from Amber, a participant in one of my recent ‘Introduction to Travel Writing’ Workshops. The group had been given a table covered in travel magazines and I was asking them what had made them choose the one...

In our latest ‘World Travel Blogger‘ article, Canadian writer Cindy Baker shares her favourite things to do the beautiful city of Lisbon, capital of Portugal. The clatter of old trams, the smell of sardines on the grill, the haunting melancholy of fado music. In Lisbon, these traditions combine with a...

Barry McCann explains the history of a northern tradition that dates back centuries and illustrates it with some of photos from this year’s celebrations. Mayor of Preston in Guild Hall Procession There is a saying in Lancashire that goes “Once every Preston Guild” which is probably unfamiliar to anyone outside the county....