When do tourism destinations achieve the industry’s equivalent of a football club’s promotion to the Premier League? The simple answer could be, looking at this from a UK perspective, is when British Airways starts flying there. It’s been a remarkable transformation for the holiday industry of South West Turkey. I first went there in 1987…. Continue reading
Norwich – England’s taste of medieval Europe
Norwich is one of our finest medieval cities, with a pluperfect cathedral, a Norman castle, a maze of historic shopping streets of distinction and miles of riverside walks. Now it’s been named the first English UNESCO City of Literature. Yet many of us miss this hidden gem, out there in East Anglia. There is something in the… Continue reading →
Fine electric bus, but Milton Keynes cannot match Europe’s public transport
The latest easyJet magazine extols Milton Keynes. It is certainly a city of energy and achievement, and it deserves to be recognised as a pleasant place to live and work, just 30 minutes by fast train to London, even if it doesn’t have many interesting conventional tourism features. It is in a good central position… Continue reading →
Tidal lagoon in Swansea could power 100,000 homes
This blog was first published in the spring of 2013. Swansea has its second chance to lead the world. Will it take it? 206 years ago the city launched the world’s first passenger railway. This week (April 8, 2013) a consortium announced a £10m “investment offering” to fund its proposal to build a “tidal lagoon”… Continue reading →
Is Swansea’s tidal lagoon the new pinup renewable scheme?
It was the pinup renewable energy project of the early 2000s, a barrage across the mighty Severn estuary. Second highest tides in the world, providing enough clean, green power to provide 5% of the UK’s energy needs. And a new 11 mile (15 km) road and rail link between England and Wales as well. The… Continue reading →
How tech helps old York turn new
York is an elite destination, and it knows it. Not content with welcoming people just the once or twice, it’s out to make a long-term relationship with its visitors. It doesn’t matter where you start from. York’s central location makes it one of the most easily reached cities in Britain, with trains running in from… Continue reading →