8 fabulous reasons to love Slovenia
Like a Europe in miniature, Slovenia packs enough culture, natural beauty, outdoor activity options and relaxation opportunities into its 20,000 square kilometres to keep the most ambitious traveller occupied. Here are my top reasons to feel the love for Slovenia.
The Breathtaking Beauty of Bolivia’s Eduardo Avaroa National Reserve
Bolivia is often overlooked in favour of its more accessible neighbours Peru and Chile, but to bypass it is to miss out on one of the most captivating countries on Earth. With Amazonian jungle, Andean plains, colonial cities and the incredible Salar de Uyuni salt...
A Sustainable Road Trip in El Baix Empordà, Costa Brava
In the Catalan region of El Baix Empordà, history, nature and culture combine at every turn. So if you’ve been invited to try out a new state-of-the-art sustainable car on a mini road trip, this is the perfect destination to explore…
The Rare Ecosystem and Alien Landscapes of Paracas National Reserve in Peru
With the gold and russet dunes folding into each other in the distance, I stepped straight out onto the arid Martian landscape. Or so it seemed. If it wasn’t for the bold blue of our earthly sky, I could have sworn I’d just set foot on our neighbouring planet. That,...
The Curious Case of the Opitsaht Cows of Vancouver Island
To be fair, the cows themselves don’t rouse all that much curiosity. I am, after all, talking regular mooing livestock commonly found roaming in herds across green fields or dusty plains. It’s where you find this particular little group of cattle, and what brought...
Edvard Grieg’s Troldhaugen – in the home of Norway’s musical king
Click on this link, close your eyes and listen for a couple of minutes. What does the music make you think of? Even if you already recognise composer Edvard Grieg’s classic ‘Morning Mood’ masterpiece, there is no doubt this is one of those musical works of genius...
10 best festival season moments and musings
Festival season is upon us! Whether you’re a music fan, a foodie or a stargazer, there’s a festival experience to suit everyone – here’s a variety of festival moments and musings to whet your appetite…
Within the walls of Arequipa’s Monasterio de Santa Catalina
In the shadows of Arequipa’s Santa Catalina Convent, tales of devotion and colonial wealth lie waiting to be told. Read on to discover the history behind the orange, blue and raspberry walls of Peru’s most unusual sacred building…
The Castle Garden of Malmö – an urban oasis
Less than 10 minutes’ walk from Malmö’s Central Train Station and even closer to the city’s famous Lilla Torg medieval square, lies a little enclave of ecological heaven which is easy to miss if you don’t know it’s there. The Castle Garden, or Slottsträdgården, is an...
Lilla Torg – medieval Malmö’s little square, in pictures
[easy-image-collage id=3326] ‘If you’re short on time, you’ve got to visit Lilla Torg first’, my fellow hotel guest advised, without hesitation, ‘it’s a beautiful little medieval square less than 15 minutes from here’. And I was indeed short on time. I had just...
How to Enjoy Discovering Wine on a Wine Tasting Discovery Day
I’ve never won anything in my life. Unless you count the work Christmas raffle, where everybody gets something, but that ‘something’ is usually the last of those awful soap samples gifted by a client 7 months previously. So, when a friend tagged me on a Facebook...
Tea Gardens & Tolstoy, at Tuckton in Dorset
Along the river Stour estuary in Dorset, it’s not unusual to see a flurry of activity at any given time. It could be a synchronicity of oars from Christchurch Rowing Club on a Saturday morning, or a chorus of quacks and cackles from a medley of local wildfowl at...
Before the Incas – Chan Chan and the Chimú Kingdom of Peru
Before the Incas, the Moon-worshipping Chimú people ruled the coastal deserts of northern Peru, Read on to learn more about their culture, as we explore the ruins of their spectacular capital city of Chan Chan.
Back to the future: 10 places I have to revisit…and why!
As is customary for most people at this time of year, including travel writers, thoughts turn to the year to come and travel wish lists are drawn up. 12 months ago saw me being oh-so-ambitious about my travel plans, only to have most of them scuppered for one reason...
