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
July 2020: Back on Track
As Scotland began a staged transition into Lockdown Easing (Phase 3) from the middle of July, my first travel priority was to venture outside my own local area of Edinburgh
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
March 2020: Three Cities: 2. London
I arrived in London from Amsterdam, unusually, and a little later than planned (thanks to issues with the GWR service from Bristol), met up with Bruce at our base for
March 2020: Three Cities: 1. Amsterdam
Towards the end of 2019, KLM pointed out to me that my small, but usable, stash of Flying Blue miles would soon be expiring, and that I needed to fly
Leap-Year London (2020)
Barely a few days after my previous visit to London, I found myself flying south once more, this time on the Saturday itself – the last day of a leap-year
February 2020: London
As I have written previously, albeit not here, London is not necessarily my favourite place in the world, but it is easily my most visited destination outside my native Scotland.
Japan in Winter (2020): Diary Epilogue
While the main part of the trip was over at this point, it would take another four days for me to make my fairly leisurely way back to Edinburgh. Saturday
Japan in Winter (2020): Day 6: Last full day in Sapporo
Today, like Thursday before it, was neatly subdivided into three sections. After sampling a McDonalds breakfast (which, if anything, was marginally better than the previous day’s Starbucks experience), we set
Japan in Winter (2020): Day 5: Getting to know Sapporo
Morning … Today started with breakfast at a local Starbucks – the coffee was nice enough, but the food wasn’t so great. After a brief return to the room to
Japan in Winter (2020): Day 4: Onwards to Sapporo
Morning relocation Today began with another fabulous, private-dining breakfast – just as good as the previous day’s, but tinged with a feeling of regret that we were about to leave
Japan in Winter (2020): Day 3: Heaven and ‘Hell’
Breakfast & Hotel Tour A member of staff arrived at 7:30 to begin setting up for our 8am breakfast. Just like dinner the previous evening, but on a smaller scale,
Japan in Winter (2020): Day 2: To Takinoya Ryokan
Transfer to Noboribetsu Onsen Following our inclusive hotel breakfast, we checked out and took the bus to Memanbetsu Airport. This visit brought home what a small airport this is, although