Another throwback, or another gap filled in my past travels. I’ve written reams on the Blue Lagoon by now but I’ve never done my first visit. It was 2011, it was December and it was my first trip to Iceland. I’d like to say the Blue Lagoon was the first thing I booked – it … More My first day at the Blue Lagoon
As we really get into winter, I’m starting a three-part mini series on my first trip to Iceland, back in 2011, the one that had me sitting in a hotel breakfast buffet, starting to plan to move to Iceland. Spoiler: that never happened but it might as well have done for the amount of time … More My first (winter) Golden Circle
The other day, I wrote the post about the 10 things I always pack, which includes my prescription polarised sunglasses and now I’m going to expand on that with all the other prescription eyewear that exists that I didn’t know about until my 20s or 30s. About a year and a half ago, a post … More Prescription eyewear for travel that you might not know about
Because late August into… well, halfway into October, really, was incredibly busy, I began to fantasise about taking a weekend away from it all. Glamping with a hot tub, maybe. A cottage in the countryside. Somewhere cosy where I could have long lazy mornings, do some writing, not think about work or Guiding. But glamping … More A Halloween weekend in Purbeck
While I’m catching up on old trips, it seemed a good time to talk a bit about my October 2012 trip to Iceland. I don’t tend to go to Iceland in autumn; summer is infinitely better for camping my way around and winter is infinitely better for magical winter wonderland scenery and autumn in Iceland … More Iceland’s Golden Circle in autumn colours
I should have more to say about Tromsø itself but as I don’t, not really, I’m going to jump straight from How I spent 2 days in Trondheim in 2011 to seeing the Midnight Sun. Tromsø is a very pleasant city; it’s got a relatively spectacularly huge bridge linking the city on the island to … More I saw the Midnight Sun in Tromsø
I went to Norway for the first time in 2011 and to make the most of it, I had a couple of days in Trondheim before flying up to Tromsø for a couple of days. That pre-dates this blog but for the sake of completion, for the sake of filling in gaps in my Norway … More How I spent two days in Trondheim in 2011
Ok, full disclosure: I have never and probably will never master the art of packing light but I’m beginning to get the hang of what I need to take without staring wildly round the house like I’ve never been outside before. There are a few things that always, but always come with me. These are … More The 8 things I never travel without
It’s been a while since I’ve seen the Northern Lights. To be honest, I don’t have a great track record. I was in Iceland in December 2024 and February 2023 but on one trip, it was too cloudy and I was too tired and I expected the hunt to be cancelled, and on the other, … More Tromsø seems to be a good place to see the Northern Lights
One thing that I “pack” whenever I go away is a watch. I don’t actually pack it, obviously, I strap it to my wrist, because it’s always but always useful to be able to know what the time is. I know watches are a lot less popular than they used to be, but I’ve worn … More My favourite travel watch is my 12-year-old self’s dream