Tuesday We knew that our intention was to take two side trips from Athens to nearby islands, and decided that in order to maximise city-country contrast, we should take the
October 2020: Athens (Part 2): Acropolis & Museum
Monday The transition from weekend to new week brought a move from ‘settling in’ to serious sightseeing. Top of the list were the city’s most popular attractions: the Acropolis and
October 2020: Athens (Part 1): Settling In
Saturday With our original plans for 2020 in tatters and multiple replacements having suffered a similar fate, Bruce and I tried one more time by arranging to spend a week
September 2020: Biggar & Lanark
Biggar The small South Lanarkshire town of Biggar (population 2,300) is less than 30 miles from Edinburgh city centre. That’s just a one-hour bus ride, half of which is spent
September 2020: Two Galleries and a Georgian House
That’s what I managed to clock up over just two days in September, albeit two days that were separated by a weekend. Scottish National Gallery (Friday 11-Sep) The Scottish National
July-October 2020: Edinburgh Lockdown Easing (Phase 3)
As we have already seen, Phase 3 of lockdown easing brought the reopening of indoor hospitality from 15 July, which facilitated various day trips, quickly leading to a North of
September 2020: London
Our base Our London base for this visit was relatively unusual: the Holiday Inn Express, Limehouse. It certainly didn’t represent IHG at its finest: the neighbourhood was slightly dodgy, it
September 2020: Potsdam
Situated less than 30km southwest of Zoo Station in Berlin and lying on the River Havel, Potsdam (population ~180,000) is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg.
September 2020: Berlin (Part 2)
Tempelhof Airport Tempelhof was Berlin’s first major airport, operating between 1923 (making it a similar vintage to Croydon Airport) and 2008. The former airport’s main claim to fame is the
September 2020: Berlin (Part 1)
Ku’damm / Zoo area May as well start with where we were based! We were delighted to spend our four-night stay at the brand-new Hampton by Hilton Berlin City West,
September 2020: Return to the Skies
You might well think that my successful North of England jaunt would have satsfied my travel addiction for a few weeks to come, but you’d be wrong. With a successful
August 2020: The Lake District
My Northern England road trip ended with a pass through some of my favourite spots in the Lake District, breaking my own rule that it’s normally best not to visit
August 2020: Lancaster
The relatively small, but venerable city of Lancaster (population 52,000) is situated in northwest England. The name is derived from ‘Castle on the (River) Lune’, an explanation that imparts a
August 2020: The town made famous by the Covid-19 crisis
Background I suppose I must have come across the name Barnard Castle prior to the year 2020: I know for a fact that I have driven the A66 several times,
August 2020: North Yorkshire (Alphabetical) Neighbours
By the beginning of August, I realised that it had been over four months since I last spent a night away from home. Day trips are all very well, but
August 2020: A Quick Look around Haddington
The small market town of Haddington lies 17 miles east of Edinburgh, just off the A1 and near the geographical centre of the East Lothian council area. It is the
August 2020: An Hour in North Queensferry
I found myself at a loose end one Saturday afternoon and decided to jump on a train to North Queensferry, a mere 15-minute ride from my home station of Haymarket.
July 2020: Day Trip to Peebles
The attractive small town of Peebles (approximate population 8,500) stands on the River Tweed and lies just over 20 miles south of Edinburgh, in the Scottish Borders council area. Until