By and large, I’m a solo traveller and I think it’s time I started emphasising that a bit more.
Back in the days when I could solo travel, I gravitated towards Iceland, Scandinavia and the Arctic, with occasional visits to places like the Baltic states and eastern Europe but you’ll find plenty of Paris and Switzerland and western Europe here too. Actually, my non-Wessex UK travels are here as well, so come with me to Scotland, London and a few other places around my own country.
If you don’t know, I’m something of an enthusiast of ecclesiastical architecture. Well, I’m a fan of Norman and Gothic. St Paul’s leaves me cold and while I appreciated its Gothic grandeur, Truro Cathedral was disappointing in that it was brick and only a little over a century old. So I stopped by three churches… More Three churches in Helsinki
Here we are with another catching-up post from last summer’s trip to Helsinki and today I’m taking you with me on the blue-tinted SkyWheel. Every capital worth its title has a big wheel and Helsinki is no exception. I seem to remember making that note right back in 2014, when I had an evening in… More Helsinki’s SkyWheel – because every capital needs a big wheel
My parents have a habit, when they go to a new place, of going to the zoo. I’ve been known to do it too. For the record, Perm Zoo is terrible, one of those old-fashioned “all the animals are in concrete cages” zoos. Tallinn Zoo, a few years ago, clearly meant well but needed a… More Korkeasaari, the zoo on an island
It dawned on me that although I thought I’d finished with my trip to Helsinki back in May (give or take the videos; they’ll be making an appearance in some format or other in 2024!), I actually hadn’t, by a long way. I’ve still got plenty to say and first up is Suomenlinna, a tourist… More Why you should spend an evening on Suomenlinna
It seems I’ve never posted my film photos from Iceland this summer and now seems like a good time because I’ve just started with a brand new film camera – it’s an elderly SLR so it’s got settings and learning what all of them do is going to be my project for 2024. I say “brand… More Iceland on film
I’m back to Iceland this week! Two whole weeks off on the videos and I’m back! I’m back with a video an hour and a quarter long chronicling my trip to Iceland over this summer. Umm… if you’re watching my videos as and when I’m putting them out (and if you’re not, why not??), you’ll have… More New video: Iceland in summer
I know, 12 Days of Christmas and I’m off on a summer holiday in Corfu. These December posts are supposed to be wintery, if not actually Christmassy Well, back in September, when everyone was posting photos of their kids on the doorstep with large markings on their clothes showing what school they attend, I went… More My first holiday
Welcome to something of a sneak peek at a new series for 2024, in which I look at everywhere I’ve been and fill in the gaps, the places and experiences I just haven’t written about for various reasons. There are at least five stories missing from Helsinki back in May so those are definitely coming… More Nauthólsvík: Iceland’s warm geothermal beach
Right now, the Blue Lagoon is closed because massive tectonic activity only a couple of miles away is threatening an eruption that could pour lava into its blue waters within minutes of breaking through. Initially, it was just for seven days, and due to reopen on Thursday. Bearing in mind the beyond-massive activity on Friday… More Which is the best geothermal lagoon to visit in Iceland while the Blue Lagoon is closed?
I think this is finally the last “what I did in Iceland this summer” post. It’s actually the first thing I did – first after I’d driven three hours to Þingvellir, camped on a chilly cloudy night and dealt with tyres with low pressure. I’d detoured off the Ring Road because I liked the idea… More A morning at Guðlaug Baths