Irongate Wharf, the exact spot where Patrick Leigh Fermor left England in the Stadthouder Willem, as he recounted in A Time of Gifts 90 years ago this month, on the ebbing afternoon of Saturday, December 9th, 1933, a young man of 19, shrugging off a hangover, with a backpack borrowed from a friend, walked under… Continue reading
Browsing Category Travel
The Mastersingers’ Market – Nuremburg distils the Christmas spirit
The Nuremberg Christmas Market opened on December 1st 2023 and runs until 2pm on Christmas Eve. **** On a late afternoon of nipping chill, in a city square in the heart of Europe, I found the antidote to brash, glitzy, overblown, commercial Christmas. As the daylight ebbed, a cheerful glow pulsed up from the… Continue reading →
On the trail of Dr Who – an ‘adventure in time and space’ around South Wales
The first episode of Doctor Who was broadcast on 23 November 1963. Radio Times announced “a new Saturday-afternoon television series of adventures in time and space”. Three of the original features are still with us – the ominous theme tune by Ron Grainer, arranged by Delia Derbyshire in the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. The Tardis, a 1960s police box…. Continue reading →
The Thames Path – silvery walk across southern England
The Thames Path – 180 mile of wonderful walk, billiard table-flat, easy underfoot, and so full of history. I walked it for my book ‘A Walk Along the Thames Path‘. This is an extract. —————————————————————— The Thames must be the shortest great river in the world. At 250 miles it doesn’t even make a list… Continue reading →
The great (rail) way west – to Pembrokeshire
Update – May 23rd, 2023. The holiday express is back. In 2020 through trains from Paddington to Tenby and Pembrokeshire were suspended. They were not re-introduced in 2021 or 2022, breaking a link which has endured with only a few gaps since the days of Queen Victoria. But this year, 2023, they are back. You can board a… Continue reading →
Why does National Trust back damaging Stonehenge tunnel plan?
Suppose you had a problem on or around your property. A leaking roof, an awkward neighbour, a noisy road. And someone with clout, the council perhaps, came along and said it had a scheme – at no cost to you – to make life better. Considerably better. After checking that the few obvious snags… Continue reading →