If you read my last post, about my day in Þórsmörk in 2012, you might have an inkling what this post is going to be about. A couple of years ago I joined a Facebook group which gives help and advice for people planning trips to Iceland and one thing they’re utterly obsessed with is … More Don’t tell the Facebook group but this is the best footwear for summer in Iceland
All the way back in 2012, I spent a beautiful sunny fortnight in Reykjavík, because if you fall in love in winter, you have to go back to make sure you like it in summer as well, and I did. It was, I later learned, an uncharacteristically hot and sunny summer of the kind you … More I spent a day in Þórsmörk proving my tour guide wrong
An ancient blog post from 2017 started with this line: A week and a half ago, I was told by a friend of mine – under the influence of a whole bottle plus two glasses of wine – that because I’m not afraid of going out and going travelling on my own, I am “the … More Travel and the accidental “ultimate feminist”
Welcome to the first of a new series, hopefully monthly, covering all the tools you should have in your travel toolkit. I don’t mean literal tools – no penknives or hammers to be taken away at security here! – but your skills and abilities toolkit to be able to make the most of your travels. … More Travel Toolkit: my latest first aid course
I don’t very often get to write about food! I know for some people, the food is half the point of travelling but it’s not something that’s ever worked for me because I have ARFID and food is an aspect of travel I generally just have to survive. But Catherine and Esther are normal people … More Everything we ate in Málaga
I like cathedrals. Sometimes I’ll like an ordinary church too but cathedrals were built to induce wonder and I’ll fall for it every time. So when I was reading about the must-dos in Málaga, the cathedral jumped out at me immediately. It’s nicknamed La Manquita, the One-Armed Lady, because technically it’s still unfinished. It’s supposed … More The One-Armed Lady of Málaga: a too-quick visit to the cathedral
It’s true! You can now buy my first book, A Polar Night’s Tale and you can do it right here! Please do, then come back and I’ll finish telling you all about it! BUY A POLAR NIGHT’S TALE IN PAPERBACK HERE AND AS AN EBOOK HERE!! Alright, that’s done. So, the story of A Polar … More It’s publication day! Welcome A Polar Night’s Tale to the world!
The third of Málaga’s ancient treasures is the Gibralfaro castle, a series of fortifications on the hill of the same name which cuts the city in two and offers 360° views of city, Mediterranean and mountains alike. The Gibralfaro started life somewhere around 700BC as Phoenician fortifications but what you see today was really started … More The Gibralfaro: Málaga’s truly ancient fortress
I’ve already said that almost everything about Málaga surprised me, that it wasn’t the the city full of sunburned drunken British hen parties that I expected. It’s actually one of the oldest cities in Europe – it started life around 2700 years ago as a Phoenician outpost on a trading route between Phoenicia, which is … More All about the Alcazaba of Málaga (in which I am an idiot)
“You don’t seem like the sort of person who goes to Malaga,” Barn Owl said at Brownies the night before the trip. I knew I wasn’t the sort of person who goes to Málaga. Sun, sea, sand, drunken hen and stag parties, sunburned Brits demanding fried breakfasts after a night staggering around town with a … More Málaga, we were wrong about you: notes from the Costa del Sol
I Am A Polar Bear 