The first rule of hiring a car is to familiarise yourself with the controls before driving off. The second rule of hiring a car is that if you ignore the first rule, at least make sure you familiarise yourself with … Continue reading What’s the Story in Tobermory?
To check in at Southampton airport for the Aurigny flight to Alderney, you ring bell for service. A genial man with a grey beard and a hi-vi jacket will appear and check you in. Then the computer doesn’t work. After … Continue reading Alderney Adventure
Cholet’s main claims to fame are as the scene of a battle during the Vendée revolt of 1793 and as former centre for the manufacture of textiles, and handkerchiefs in particular. But this small town in Western France also has … Continue reading A Delicious Time in Cholet
“Someone gave us a snake last week, but a cayman ate it,” Felix shrugged. He did not seem unduly concerned about the fate of the unfortunate reptile. His interest was in conserving flora, not fauna. The lake in the centre … Continue reading In Search of a Garden
“I would have got away with it if it hadn’t been for those pesky time-travelling racoons!” Not a sentence one uses every day, but in this case it fitted the situation perfectly. I was exploring Kitakyushu, on Japan’s southernmost island, … Continue reading In Search of Bungo
Ten years ago I visited Venezuela and took a trip to the Orinoco Delta – probably one of the most remote places I have been, though in some ways it seemed strangely familiar. We waited nervously on the jetty at … Continue reading Just Like Norfolk?
We arrived at Yaroslavksy station in the evening to catch the Trans-Siberian train that was taking us to Tomsk. We thought it would be more fun to mix with the locals so had booked berths in a compartment for four. … Continue reading By Train to the Oxford of Siberia
I realised that I might have made a mistake when the first thing our guide for the week wanted to know was whether our travel insurance covered helicopter evacuation. It had seemed like a good idea when I saw the … Continue reading Braving Bulgaria
Travels with me aren't 