England

I’m lucky enough to have explored a fair chunk of my home country, staying in everything from luxury hotels to eco campsites. I’ve also had the chance to go on a lot of different kinds of holidays all over the world, including hitting the open road on more than a few occasions. But while living […]

Fancy spending a few days staying in your own private lakeside retreat, surrounded by stunning nature, with quaint and historic honey-hued village pubs on your doorstep? If the answer is yes, then holidaying in log cabins, Cotswolds style could be the mini-break for you. Renting a rustic but luxurious log house of your own is […]

A weekend break to Blackpool probably isn’t the first thing that pops into your head when you think of a stylish staycation, but I found that by combining a visit to the stunning Lancashire countryside with a side trip to the kitsch and cheesy seaside town that’s famous for ballroom dancing and bright lights, you […]

One of the reasons London is such an endlessly exciting city is because it is forever evolving. And along with other parts of the English capital, the London Bridge area of the city is changing at a pretty fast pace. As a native Londoner I still remember the area around London Bridge before The Shard […]

London is a city of over 8 million people, so as a native Londoner I’ve come up with 8 things every tourist in London needs to know. They should help you fit in, do as the locals do and get more out of your trip to the best city on earth. If I’d just got […]

I can personally vouch for benefits of holidaying in Cornwall in the depth of winter; I once boarded a train at London’s Paddington Station in the snow – and arrived a few hours later in St. Austell, to the sight of sunshine and daffodils, at the Lost Gardens of Heligan. Cornwall as a summer destination […]

The last thing you’d expect to stumble upon while driving through the remote English county of Devon, is a slice of Ontario, but that’s just what you’ll find at Wolford Chapel. This small chapel and its grounds, tucked away off an unassuming British B road, is technically part of Canada, and flies the Canadian flag […]

Like a lot of travellers I know, I’m obsessed with shopping for cool souvenirs to bring home from my trips overseas, and even if I’m just popping over to one of my favourite European countries for the weekend (as you do) I have a good idea what I want to bring back. But as well […]

It really has been a summer of legend here in the UK, but I’m finally ready to admit that the British heatwave is over, that no, I probably didn’t need to buy that extra fan after all, and that there is life (and travel) beyond the UK in the glorious sunshine. Considering I’m a travel […]

As a native Londoner I’m pretty passionate about the place where I (mis)spent my youth: Camden Town. So when I hear tourists saying they don’t like London (crazy, but it happens!) I feel duty bound to share some ideas about places to go in the capital which might make them change their mind – and […]

Do you love getting into the outdoors, cooking on an open fire and sleeping under the stars? If you’d asked me that very question just a few years ago I would have answered firmly in the negative; as I didn’t understand just how amazing a camping break can be. These days my feelings about camping […]

If you’re looking for staycation ideas here in the UK you’re probably picturing yourself enjoying a leisurely weekend away in a quintessentially English market town, perhaps one blessed with some gorgeous scenery and top notch local sightseeing. You know the kind of weekend I mean: strolling through cobbled streets eating pub lunches, spying half-timbered buildings […]

I blog about lots of travel experiences here, like delicious foodie weekends away in the UK or chilled out sunny holidays in the Balearics, but one thing I’ve never really talked about online is actually one of the single most defining travel experiences of my life: falling in love with camping while living in British […]

One of the things I banged on about endlessly while based on the West Coast of Canada was the sheer variety of travel experiences on offer back in the UK – especially the variety of cities we can visit, often within a couple of hours drive of our homes. Canada is epic, obviously, but those […]

The Cotswolds is a stunning section of rural English countryside spread across the counties of Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire, and covering perhaps the prettiest 800 square miles of Southwestern England. If you draw a circle around the tourist-friendly hubs of Oxford, Stratford-upon-Avon, Bristol and Bath  – and the Welsh borders  – the Area […]

The last time I wrote about going on a retreat, I started by talking about crying in a yoga class on a beach in Mexico. At the risk of making it seem like all retreats – be they yoga or artist retreats – involve crying, I’m going to start this review of a UK artist […]

London is incredibly multicultural, meaning it’s packed with cool and curious cross-cultural ideas on every corner. But Egyptian influences in the city are not always immediately obvious – unless you know where to look – so you may wonder if it’s possible to enjoy an entire Egyptian itinerary while out and about in the British […]

If you’ve got early morning flight, are landing late, or just want to stay somewhere fun and functional without too much fuss, then you need to know about YotelAir hotels. Yotel, invented by the same people who started the conveyor belt sushi chain YO! Sushi, have taken another Japanese idea – the concept of making […]

As well as writing about travel on this very website, I’m the travel editor of a print magazine published in Thanet, a part of England that’s close to my heart. I often find myself bragging about what I consider to be the best corner of my own country to the people I meet when travelling […]

I recently moved to Farnham, Surrey, a pretty market town less than an hour’s train ride from London. Since the move I’ve been to Egypt, Italy, Menorca, the list goes on, but I’ve not made enough time to explore the area in which I actually live, until now. I decided to get out my trusty […]

I just couldn’t concentrate on anything or anywhere but London this weekend, for obvious reasons. So I decided to write my own little post of defiance, to give the tiniest of glimpses, from own my personal perspective, on why London’s AMAZING multicultural energy won’t change no matter how many times we are the focus of attack by those […]

Winter had well and truly arrived in the south of England on the day I went for a snowy walk at Surrey’s Winkworth Arboretum. This 149 acre woodland, set around a lake and boathouse, has around 1000 different species of trees, shrub, plants and flowers, with textbook idyllic views of the surrounding Surrey countryside…

I went to Devon for a weekend of cream teas and beach walks. But ever one for adventure when I discovered that the UK’s best flight simulator is right here on the south coast, I set aside a couple of hours to try it out. This is the story of learning to fly a 737 in […]

Weekend Shortcuts are posts written to help you put together a perfect weekend away without tearing your hair out during the research phase. This weekend shortcut covers everything you need to know for a food-filled 2- day break in Devon, a truly delightful part of South West England that’s simultaneously easily accessible yet somehow feels unhurried and […]

Munch on mince pies made with flour dating back to the Domesday Book I travelled to Devon this December to discover the festive history behind the first Christmas card ever designed. But while in the southerly English county, famous for its beautiful beaches and picture postcard villages, I discovered the area has another incredible – […]

Christmas crackers, the Queen’s speech, mince pies, Boxing Day, Christmas pudding – England has plenty of festive traditions which are regarded with complete puzzlement by the rest of the world. England also has an even bigger Christmas claim to fame – one that is somewhat of a secret. The first Christmas card was invented right here, conceived and designed in the English county of Devon. […]

I’ve been looking forward to writing about my short break safari at Kent’s Port Lympne Reserve ever since I got home. But every time I sit down to tell you about the experience, I end up getting distracted by all my photos of the cute baby rhino, ickle giraffe and all the other animals they have roaming around […]

A romantic weekend away for Valentine’s Day – sounds like a great idea in principle, right? But as anyone who has tried to book even a simple night away with their partner already knows, the process of finding the perfect hotel for romance isn’t all hearts and flowers. You’re searching for seclusion and sophistication in […]

At the start of winter I usually struggle with the idea of weekends away to colder European countries – ever clinging onto that last bit of winter sun. But that all changes come Christmas when I’m a sucker for short breaks to snowy cities and can’t wait to hit the European Christmas markets to stock […]

Most people think of Mayfair and imagine upscale hotels, the beautiful boutiques of Dover Street Market and the high-end establishments of Shepherd Market but take it from a local girl, whether you’re more of a Professor Higgins or an Eliza Doolittle you can still find your fun in Mayfair…

I’ve got a different kind of seven step program for you in this post; one that won’t help break your addictions to travel, shopping and good food but which will show you where to find your fix of the luxurious Monte Carlo lifestyle without leaving London. Here I share my 7 favourite places in the […]

When we think of a big city like London we automatically think of the headline attractions that make it famous – and we tend to assume that a trip to the big smoke has to cost the earth. For me moving away from London highlighted the fact that the best things in life, and in […]

Some years I’ve travelled farther afield, some years I explored a little closer to home, but every year I consider myself a traveller. That’s because wherever I go, I’m always looking for change and adventure. This year I changed where ‘home’ was – instead of London, England it was Vancouver, Canada – meaning adventure has […]

In my previous post I got all nostalgic about summer and highlighted 7 spectacular spots from my summer months in British Columbia – but even though I’m happily embracing Autumn (complete with at least 7 pairs of boots to assist me) I’m still singing the praises of some of last season’s most special memories. Here […]

I often evangelise about the saving grace of apartment rental as opposed to hotel stays for a certain type of trip. Usually I’m preaching to the converted but some people would need a miracle of water-to-wine proportions before they’d give up 24-hour room service, the breakfast buffet and a decent concierge (though perhaps not the in-room […]

These days there’s far more to the King’s Cross than Eurostar and Champagne Bars of the station complex, so dip your toe into the coolest canalside area in London with this list of 10 things to do in King’s Cross – try them out one by one or join them all up to make a […]

After nearly four years in the making, and at nearly twice as high of any other London viewpoint, The Shard allows you to see the greatest city on earth in all its 360-degree glory. Here’s my report on The View From The Shard – plus I’ll show you the secret viewpoint that paying visitors will […]

*Update May 2019: Check out the latest post on things to do near The Shard* Imagine a building so tall the view from the window is like looking out of an aircraft. Imagine standing on a floor so high that helicopters are below you. And imagine 40 miles of London views, from the Olympic to Wembley […]

Buckingham Palace’s Queen’s gallery unveils more artistic treasures this week with the opening of The Northern Renaissance: Dürer to Holbein exhibition, a collection of Northern European art which includes the painting that defines the world’s image of Henry VIII, plus a painting freshly unveiled after a two-year-long conservation project and a collection of prints by the art world’s original […]

It’s hard to capture the brilliance, exhilaration and atmosphere of London 2012 in words. So here are my favourite London 2012 pictures – 10 images of London’s Olympics all taken with my own camera or iphone and all making me brim with pride at the amazing show London is putting on…

Want to feel virtuous and enjoy walks in the outdoors one minute – then devour entire home-made lemon cakes from a quaint tea room the next? Here’s my guide to the perfect New Forest weekend break…

London has more global cuisine than anyone could hope to eat in a lifetime including a bewildering array of around 450 Japanese restaurants, but how can you find the most authentic Japanese restaurants in the capital if you don’t know your sushi from your sashimi? In this guest post Japanophile and Japan Journeys expert James […]

‘The saddest thing I can imagine is to get used to luxury’ said Charlie Chaplin. Well you get used to luxury pretty quickly on a visit to Buckingham Palace. Get ideas above your station with a visit to the Palace’s Summer Opening and Diamonds A Jubilee Celebration Exhibition…(read on for my tips on getting the most out of […]

Bognor Regis. The name may conjur up images of faded seaside grandeur and have connotations of titter-worthyness, sticks of rock, Butlins holiday camps and end-of-the-pier shows, but let’s face it this place is up there in Britain’s collective consciousness, so if you’ve got a spare sunny day off here in Blighty the surprisingly photogenic seaside town is well […]

You probably already know that Leonardo da Vinci was one of the greatest artists to have ever lived, but the Italian inventor also made some startling discoveries about the human body which were light years ahead of their time – and subsequently lost to the world for nearly 400 years.  The Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham […]

A shiny new and exciting modern art gallery surrounded on all sides by signs and graffiti deploring its very existence? Who knew a gallery could cause such a furore? See what all the fuss is about and take in the East Sussex sea air with a visit to Hastings’ Jerwood Gallery. I’m going to do something I […]

Soho’s Secret Tea Room Update: November 2018 This review of Soho’s Secret Tea Room is one of the oldest posts on this site, but looking through the latest reviews from 2018 the experience I had at this Tea Room above the Coach & Horses is absolutely consistent with the way it is today, so I […]