Update – February 12th, 2018. Letter to the Guardian today. You highlight (Stonehenge tunnel: plans for £1.6bn scheme published, 8 February) Highways England’s misguided belief that the scheme will restore a sense of beauty and tranquillity to the ancient landscape around Stonehenge. Despite the small changes made to the scheme, it will still cause irrevocable damage to a… Continue reading
Daniel Day-Lewis seen filming in Whitby, jet-black town of Dracula
Daniel Day-Lewis has been seen (early 2017) in Whitby, where he is believed to be making his first film since Lincoln in 2012.It seem, too, that he has been reunited with There Will Be Blood director Paul Thomas Anderson. Some insiders think the film will be set in the London (or New York) fashion world of the 1950s…. Continue reading →
Ironbridge – the journey to fire and fury, and back again
The industrial age, the time of metal and machines and global manufacturing, began 250 years ago in a deep and tranquil river valley in Shropshire. The fire, smoke and din are long gone, but the world-leading legacy survives on the banks of the Severn. It was a time for making heavy and powerful things, but… Continue reading →
The Garden Route – the majestic drive at the foot of Africa
At the foot of South Africa is a spectacular 150 mile journey through the narrow band of land between the Indian Ocean and the mountains. Travellers are seduced by a floral paradise, sands that are wide and white, the double majesty of elephants on land and whales close to the shore, a world record bungee… Continue reading →
How to enjoy the gilded Algarve, without golf clubs
A shorter version of this article appeared in the Mail on Sunday, January 8th, 2017. Were we the only tourists on the Algarve who didn’t play golf? It certainly felt like that at Faro airport as we searched for our suitcases on the arrivals hall carousel under a mound of bulky bags of clubs. Many… Continue reading →
Stoke-on-Trent’s tourism evolution
Stoke-on-Trent is buoyed up by the Emma Bridgewater factor, helping its advance as a busy and interesting short break destination. Pottery Until recently Stoke on Trent was associated with one main thing, pottery. And it still an essential visit to pay, to the places where they make the things that underpin our daily lives – teacups and dinner… Continue reading →