Caravanning in Dorset at Hoburne Bashley I have many happy childhood memories of going on caravan holidays with my family. Squashed in the back of my parent’s car with my three siblings, squabbling all the way but with great excitement in the air as we were going on our summer holidays. So when I was […]
Staycation at the Lamb in Hindon, Wiltshire
The Lamb at Hindon – a Country Hotel and Pub for the perfect staycation With the beautiful weather we are having this year it’s a great time to stay in England, make the most of home attractions and enjoy our beautiful countryside. What better than a staycation at a traditional hotel and pub. Given the […]
Summer Staycation, Twickenham at The Alexander Pope Hotel and Pub
The Alexander Pope Hotel, Twickenham A staycation seemed a wonderful idea on the hottest day of the year in London, especially to leafy Twickenham in the South West of London on the banks of the Thames. The journey was under an hour but since the aircon in my car wasn’t working, we arrived very hot […]
Four top summer activities in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc
Amazing summer activities in Chamonix The town of Chamonix-Mont-Blanc nestles in the valley below Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps at 4,810m. It is the perfect place to visit if, like me, you love the mountains. In winter, of course, it is a popular ski resort. But you shouldn’t discount the idea of […]
Mary Arden’s Farm, the Tudor Kitchen and the Art of Chocolate.
The Tudor Kitchen at Mary Arden’s Farm and some Twenty-First Century Chocolate Making in Shakespeare’s England: Quintessentially English countryside and villages around Stratford-upon-Avon seems, in my fanciful eyes, remarkably unchanged since Tudor times. The narrow lanes lined with hedges, timber-framed houses, castles and manor houses in themselves are enough to take any visitor a step back history. […]
Mayflower Pilgrims in Lincolnshire – Gainsborough and Boston
Separatists and Secrets – the Mayflower and the roots of American Heritage: 2020 marks the 400th Anniversary of the sailing of the Mayflower with its 102 passengers to a new life in America. We are travelling England exploring the Mayflower heritage in a series of features and this trip takes us to Lincolnshire. The City of […]
Mini Cruise Day Two – Royal Caribbean Independence of the Seas
Royal Caribbean Independence of the Seas Mini Cruise Day two of our mini cruise onboard Independence of the Seas started with clear blue skies and no sign of land as we sailed somewhere between England and France. That meant plenty of time for us to check out what the refurbished ship has to offer. After […]
Exploring Tay Country, Scotland – Feasting, Whisky and a Royal Visit
Crowning Scotland’s Kings and More – Perthshire: Despite my Scottish heritage, I’ve never spent much time exploring the East Coast to the north of Edinburgh. The MacLeans come from the Western Isles, specifically from Mull and so on family trips we generally turned left at Edinburgh or Stirling and head to Oban for the ferry. […]
Mayflower Heritage in Dartmouth
The Mayflower and Speedwell in Dartmouth Although the annual Thanksgiving Dinner marks the survival of the early European settlers in New England, the less remarked upon, but nonetheless remarkable story, is of the initial obstacles they encountered even before setting sail across the perilous Atlantic Ocean. This is set to change with a series of […]
Royal Caribbean Independence of the Seas – Day One
Mini Cruise on the Royal Caribbean Independence of the Seas – Day 1 When we were given the opportunity to go on a mini cruise to review the newly-refitted Independence of the Seas, one of Royal Caribbean’s Freedom Class liners, we jumped at the chance. Spending just one night on board the Independence of the […]