So is this the BP, the “beyond petroleum” moment? Whoever is right and wrong here, a British company that employs more Americans than Britons, drilling to a lax US regulatory regime, being attacked by a US president who began his term inspiring high hopes in anybody concerned with the health of the planet, but who… Continue reading
Hot foot into the realm of Glyndwr
One fine morning I set off to chase the last Welsh ruler round his realm.
Owain Glyndwr hasn’t been seen in these parts for 600 years, but his mark is still on the landscape – in old castles he roughed up during his 14-year defiance of Henry IV.
As a marching man, Glyndwr would have been proud to know he now has a whole footpath – more precisely a national trail – named after him. This royal route, subtitled ‘fit for a prince’, opened in 2002, linking places significant to his story.
Continue reading →On yer bike to Calais
Just 25 miles from England the instruction ‘on yer bike’ – or local equivalent – is a form of welcome rather than a variation on ‘get lost’. Cycling in France is an invitation to adventure, and it starts at the portals of the Channel Tunnel. The Nord Pas-de-Calais tourist people have stared wistfully – and… Continue reading →
Tourism Tor hold in wide open county out west
There is more to Somerset than the annual mud fest at Glastonbury. Take the majestic heights of Exmoor, the Quantocks and the Blackdown Hills. Add in the enigma of the Somerset Levels, and the drama of Cheddar and Ebbor Gorges. Top it off with a string of seaside resorts, the tiny cathedral city of Wells, and all that cheese and cider.
Continue reading →Driving an electric Mini – the verdict
photo credit: zenity79 Electric cars — and the first mass-market models are due on our roads in February 2011 — could be the first big step towards a clean transport revolution, or a conscience salver for the green minded rich who keep the Audi six series for longer trips, as well as lots of lesser steps… Continue reading →
Chalk up and walk in the Chilterns
The Government – in fact all three major parties – are committed to building HS2, the high speed rail link from London to Birmingham, then Scotland – through the Chilterns. I spent a day there – arriving and departing, I must admit, by (slower) train.
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