Another South Coast weekend away that isn’t Brighton or Eastbourne… There’s much more to Hastings than the battle that didn’t even happen there – that was six miles away. A pretty little Old Town full of distinctive shops, a fishing fleet of small boats hauled up on the shingle, Britain’s steepest cliff lift, a bracing… Continue reading
Browsing Category Travel
Following Jane Austen through the Peak Park – to Mr Darcy’s country seat
Jane Austen’s most popular novel, and, many might argue, the most perfect novel in the English language, Pride and Prejudice, was first published 200 years ago, on January 28th, 1813. I wrote the following, after a recent visit to Derbyshire. ———— We are in deepest Derbyshire, climbing a steep rutted track lined with ancient trees. A dunnock… Continue reading →
Edinburgh’s Caledonian joins elite list of restored hotels from railways’ glory days
Are we entering a new age of the great railway hotel? The Renaissance St Pancras, in London, which opened in 2011, set a very high standard. And another restored hotel in the capital, the new Andaz Liverpool Street, is another impressive reminder of the days when all the major train companies kept a hotel of… Continue reading →
Could a zero-energy city in the desert become Middle East’s big new tourist attraction
As a journalist, I have been involved in travel for many years, writing about destinations and countries and experiences, and reading what other people have to say. Leisure travel is supposed to be about rewarding, restful, restorative experiences. It can also be instructional and informative and, in the words of the cliche, mind broadening. The… Continue reading →
Masdar – future city in the desert reaches its zero-energy present
This is a revised version of an article I wrote in 2008. A number of the features described have already been built. ———- Imagine a new city about the size of Exeter where they will not use a drop of oil, an ounce of fossil fuel, or produce a breath of carbon dioxide to change the… Continue reading →
Amsterdam – popular demand for poster city on the canals
I’ve just been to Amsterdam for the opening of the Andaz Amsterdam Prinsengracht. 2013 is another big year, with the reopening of the Rijksmuseum after 10 years of renovation. And the New York Times placed the city sixth on its list of “The 46 Places to Go in 2013”. * Amsterdam, the refined, easy-going and eco-friendly… Continue reading →