I can’t believe it’s already been a month since I started The Picnic Blanket Book and told you all the secrets of my special-recipe rocky road. So here’s the April installment, my other favourite bake, if bake is the word. This is a food that travels well (I took a bag of it on the… More The Picnic Blanket Book: my flapjack recipe
We’re up to the 7th chapter of The A-Z of Iceland and finally I’m mentioning the ice! For Iceland does have ice, even in the heights of summer, in the form of several glaciers. Today, Iceland is about 11% glaciers. When Flóki Vilgerðarson named the country, fed up to the back teeth with ice and… More The A-Z of Iceland: G for glaciers
I’ve wanted to start a series on travel books for a really long time and this is the one I needed to start it on. A few years ago Mick Conefrey wrote The Adventurer’s Handbook. I haven’t read it but I assume it’s along similar lines – small tastes of stories about travellers, adventurers and… More Travel Library: How to Climb Mont Blanc in a Skirt by Mick Conefrey
On Friday I went off to Norden at some ungodly hour in the morning to grab a parking space before it filled up with rail enthusiasts. Where’s Norden? It’s the park and ride at the northern terminus of the Swanage Railway. The Swanage line was closed due to cuts in 1972 and by 1979 had… More A day out on the most famous steam train in the world
In today’s A-Z of Iceland, we’re off to the spa. F is for Fontana. Considering its position on the edge of the Golden Circle and the fact that it’s used by tour companies on their “Northern Lights and…” nights and also the fact that it’s amazing, Laugarvatn Fontana is surprisingly little-known. It’s the smallest of… More The A-Z of Iceland: F for Fontana
One of the big things in my life is Girlguiding. I’ve been a volunteer for eleven and a half years now. Well, no, I’ve been an adult leader for eleven and a half years now. I was an occasional unit helper while I was away at university and I was a Young Leader for a… More Inspiring kids: introduction to fencing
Ever since I first saw the Hurtigruten, Norway’s “Express Route” ferries-slash-cruise ships in Trondheim in May 2011, I wanted to travel on them. However, boats and emetophobia don’t go all that well together and I put it off for a few years until very suddenly, in December 2015, I suddenly saw a way to do… More The Hurtigruten: The most beautiful ferry/cruise ever
I didn’t do much research before going off to Malta. It came up pretty suddenly – I only booked the flights about ten days before I went and there was quite a lot going on in early January so I didn’t do a lot of research which meant that a few things caught me by… More Things that surprised me about Malta
In today’s edition of The A-Z of Iceland, I’m going to shine a little light on a lesser-known area of Iceland: the Eastfjords. Tourists flock to the south-west of Iceland. A lot of them cover the south coast, between Hveragerði and Jökulsárlón, the glacial lagoon. A reasonable number are drawn to the north, to Akureyri… More The A-Z of Iceland: E for Eastfjords
Welcome to the first page of The Picnic Blanket Book, my virtual cookbook of my favourite recipes! Disclaimer: I’m not a foodie. You can’t comprehend how very much I’m not a foodie unless you know me in real life. It’s beyond laughable that I’m starting a food series, let alone calling it a cookbook. Cookbook… More The Picnic Blanket Book: Juliet’s Rocky Road