The unmistakable chords of Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor provided an atmospheric backdrop to my first visit to Notre Dame. That was many years ago now, and I still don’t know how we managed to time our visit … Continue reading What a Magnificent Organ!
When I was small, I was sometimes taken to visit my grandparents’ cousins’ farm at Swan Bottom in Buckinghamshire. On the way I always looked out for the figurehead of Admiral Lord Howe at The Lee. An incongruous place for … Continue reading Figureheads
You could say that we had a whale of a time when we returned to Hull for a weekend in June. Which would give us something in common with Herman Melville, the author of Moby Dick. Hull is a great … Continue reading Back to Hull
“Look! It’s just like Kazakhstan!” This is probably not the most common reaction to the sight of the statue of Liverpool’s most famous foursome at the Pierhead. The woman I was addressing certainly looked a bit startled. (I thought the … Continue reading Back in the USSR?
As lockdown gradually lifted in the spring of 2021, opportunities for Covid-secure travel began to open. Open being the operative word here. Whilst visiting indoor attractions was still not possible, visiting outdoor heritage sites provided an antidote to cabin fever. … Continue reading Castles in Wales
After ten days in Scotland, it was time to make our way back down south. Events having brought a certain historic market town in county Durham to our attention, we decided we had to pay a visit to Barnard Castle. … Continue reading A sight for sore eyes
By the time we reached Peebles we were used to the normal hotel Covid routine: no daily room service, masks to be worn in communal areas, a one-way system around the building and table service breakfast. Peebles Hydro being … Continue reading Travels in the Time of Covid – Part 3
“Can I have your name and number, please?” The customer looked confused. “Sorry, what number?” “Your phone number. You know, for track and trace” the waitress replied, patiently. “Oh yes, of course. Do you know that I have been away … Continue reading Travels in the Time of Covid – Part 2
Covid has changed the face of travel. This weekend I have experienced the new reality of hotel stays for the first time. We are in Stratford upon Avon, somewhere we stay once or twice a year, and in a hotel, … Continue reading Travel in the Time of Covid – Part 1
Who could resist a visit to the ancestral home of John Buchan’s hero of The Thirty-Nine Steps, Richard Hannay? Not us, anyway. Sorbie Tower, near Wigtown is another sixteenth-century tower house, like the Castle of Park where we were staying. … Continue reading Another Castle in Scotland
Travels with me aren't 