Located midway between Liverpool and Manchester, the Lancashire city of St. Helens (pop. 103,000, metro 177,000) is a perfect base that you can use to launch off and explore the entire Northwest. Whether you want to explore the big city or take in s
A phenomenon that helps keep the cold winter festive on the Thames are the various cool pop-ups - restaurants, bars, galleries, shops, quirky experiences - always coming along to keep us entertained. Spring brought us all kinds of chocolatey treats
London's world famous New Year's Eve fireworks were spectacular. The moment Big Ben struck midnight, 12,000 fireworks were set off from the London Eye on the south bank of the Thames to create a breathtaking display of gold, silver and coloured showe
恭喜發財! (That's kung hei fat choy to you.) As hundreds of millions ring in the Year of the Monkey for Chinese New Year (aka Lunar New Year), I'm reminded of one of the Chinese diaspora's great gifts to travelers across the planet: funky Chinatowns wher
In a recent online survey of the world’s most expensive cities for travellers,London came in at number 7. But of course there’s no way you can let that keep you away from this magnificent metropolis on the Thames. Over the years I’ve done travel to t
It's no secret that today in a world full of stress and bustle many parents are constantly switching between family, household chores, and work. In this situation, a family trip to England in a hire car will be a real breath of fresh air. It
After six months into the coronavirus lockdown experience, it was natural to want to leave our house in Stockbridge, Hampshire and travel a little - preferably to the coast, which is never far away in England. In fact, just 20 miles to the south l
Read more…
“There are no unsacred places; there are only sacred places and desecrated places.”
― U.S. novelist, poet, essayist, environmental activist, & cultural critic Wendell Berry
If you’re a "seeker," who travels in part to
Read more…Autumn's cool and crisp in London, lovely for both outdoor rambling and indoor activities. One great feature of the city that offers both and pleases almost everyone. Covered, uncovered, on streets or converted Victorian buildings, London marketsare
Done the London tours? Check. Tower of London? Check. Churchill’s bunker? Check. British museums? Check. Day trip to Stonehenge? Check. Everything to be seen on a visit to London. So what now?
Pay attention to the boat traffic on the Thames as i
When it comes to hiking, admittedly I am an addict. Give me mountains to climb, lake shores to wonder, ridges to scramble across - anything that involves a pair of walking boots, a backpack and stunning views and I’m a happy gal. Living in the UK,
Welcome to February! Since 1970, it's also been Black History Month in the USA, and since 1995 in Canada, as well (whereas it's observed in October in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the Netherlands). And though the reason for the African diaspo
Read more…For visitors bringing their pets on holiday with them, it can be difficult to plan the journey. From finding the best pet-friendly places to stay to making sure you don’t have to leave your pup at home while you enjoy yourself. And a num
Read more…
In early November I embarked on the one hour EasyJet flight from London Gatwick to Edinburgh to make my first visit to Scotland, and finally live the dream of my first sojourn to the Whiskey Trail, and taste the amber "nectar of the God's," in its n
Samson and Goliath, the huge gantry cranes of Belfast’s Harland and Wolff shipyard, still dominate the city skyline though the incessant din of heavy shipbuilding is now but a memory. The company, which once employed more than 10,000 skilled craftsm
Read more…
Going to the pub is one of the pleasures of a visit to the English seaside, and at this time of year the pub comes into its own. Whether you have been for a bracing walk along the seafront with a fierce souwesterly hurling seaspray across your path,
The longest day of the year is today upon us again, and summer-solstice festivals and celebrations break out in numerous countries across the globe. Perhaps no observance has a cooler backdrop and context, however, than the one in Europe's most leg
Located at the very top of the United Kingdom, Scotland is home to some truly remarkable treasures. Whether you want to explore the picturesque capital city of Edinburgh, or you’d prefer to get outdoors and discover more of the Scottish Highlands’ l
Read more…
Relatively small and sparsely populated (400 square kilometers/150 square miles, pop. around 20,000) the Llyn Peninsula of northwest Wales is bucolic, a center of Welsh language and traditional identity, and also one of this country's most sought-a
Read more…
More than 100 million years ago, the area now occupied by the North Antrim coast was covered by a warm sea. Over countless millennia, the shells and bones of dead sea creatures piled up on the ocean floor to form sediments that slowly hardened into
