In the last few years I’ve discovered that I really like cold, dark places in the winter.  I love a bit of winter sun too, but I had not gone down the mainstream tourist route for several winters pre-2020. Remote winter locations take on a magic all of their own – and seeing streams of car headlights reflected in puddles bordering on lakes, in pitch black darkness approaching 11am in the morning, is a cool kind of weird.  And it is probably weird to the majority – at least based on the number of people on my flight to the

Ah, Venice.  118 little islands making up this unique, iconic city in northeastern Italy.  It is one of those must-see places on many travel lists.   Finally, this Easter, I got to tick it off mine. This was always planned to be a little Easter weekend trip.  “Don’t go at Easter!” many written guides exclaim, presumably referring to the big crowds.  I didn’t think I’d be punishing myself – far from it – with a cheeky 48 hours from Maundy Thursday morning to Easter Saturday evening.  This is how it went.   My flight of choice was British Airways Club Europe. 

Scotland’s largest city of Glasgow, on the banks of the Clyde, was a great place to be in for the day.  The view out of the aircraft window showed the extent of the beautiful wintry landscape which got better and better the further and further north I went. One of the great thing was the difference in the conditions between just before landing and in the city centre, as seen in the photos below.  Cold – yes, but wintry – not really. Travelling was enjoyable too, with a particular mention for the Upperdeck Lounge at Glasgow Airport which was spacious,

Since 2012 when the Titanic Belfast experience opened I have wanted to see it and finally I got the chance to take a look, combining it with a quick look around the city which I hadn’t done for a long time.   The exhibition, which you could call an ‘experience’, is really worth taking a look if you are in any way interested in the whole story, from the history of shipbuilding in the city right through to the aftermath of the disaster and its legacy in terms of safety at sea.  It’s very tastefully and expertly done, with an

I like microstates.  The European ones are in beautiful locations, there’s always some notable things you won’t find elsewhere, each one is there because of some interesting history and there’s always a really curious mix of people drawn to them, for various reasons (which may or may not be tax related). Liechtenstein – a double-landlocked nation – is one of those places and, combined with a visit to Zurich, makes for an interesting couple of days.   A quick travel tip at this point: if you’re based in London or the counties to the south and east of it, consider

The clue is in the name… this is a unique place on “The Borders” between France and Spain.  Although only part of this urban sprawl is Els Limits; the other part is Le Perthus.  These two towns are joined at the hip, that hip being the border which runs through part of the main street.  The photo headlining this post gives a clear illustration of that: the postbox is in Spain and the parking meter is in France. The Treaty of The Pyrenees decided on the exact border between the two countries through the mountain range, which included this particular