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
Category: UK
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
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
July 2020: Day Trip to North Berwick
Within a week of my first post-lockdown venture to Glasgow, I made a day trip by train to the attractive East Lothian seaside town of North Berwick. It’s a very
June/July 2020: Edinburgh Lockdown Easing (Phase 2)
Transition to Phase 2 of ‘lockdown easing’ was announced on 18 June and marked a period when the Covid-19 transmission rate in Scotland was confidently under control. The changes, which
May/June 2020: Edinburgh Lockdown Easing (Phase 1)
Scotland entered Phase 1 of ‘lockdown easing’ on Thursday 28 May 2020. This introduced a variety of measures, such as the ability to use outdoor spaces for relaxation, the reopening
May 2020: Edinburgh in Lockdown (Part 3)
My final set of photos showing Edinburgh city centre in full lockdown covers the period 20-27 May. Scotland entered the first phase of ‘lockdown easing’ on Thursday 28 May, as
May 2020: Edinburgh in Lockdown (Part 2)
This post shows aspects of Edinburgh city centre in full lockdown during the first half of May. The absence of people and traffic from normally busy streets is quite remarkable.
April 2020: Edinburgh in Lockdown (Part 1)
This post is the first in a series that will show my home city of Edinburgh during the period of Covid-19 lockdown and subsequent ‘easing’. I took all these photos
March 2020: Three Cities: 3. Norwich
Arrival I travelled from London to Norwich on a Greater Anglia express train, using a heavily discounted ‘Advance First’ ticket. It was one of the company’s brand new, Swiss-built Stadler