It was like watching a scene from one of those wonderful David Attenborough wildlife documentaries. The 20-strong group of common seals were resting on a mud flat in the middle of Loch Fleet, a tidal basin in north-east Scotland. Suddenly, they all took the plunge, swimming with the tide as it began to ebb towards…
The sun was beating down on the wide stretch of pristine, white sands. The still, turquoise waters looked so inviting that I just couldn’t resist the urge to strip off and take the plunge. Then reality struck. This may have been a kind of paradise – but it certainly wasn’t a tropical one. This wasn’t…
The sign warned that we climbed the wobbly wooden staircase to the top of the medieval tower at our own risk. But the hint of danger only served to fire our imagination and with every step we were entering deeper into the realms of King Arthur and Robin Hood. After safely negotiating the staircase, we…
You know you’re staying somewhere classy when even rock gods are turned away for having the wrong attire. Led Zeppelin star Robert Plant suffered this indignity at the hands of Joan Reen, general manager and erstwhile owner of Ynyshir Hall in west Wales. Joan recalled the story to my wife and I during a wonderful…
There was a time when people starved to death in the dungeons of medieval castles. But there’s no fear of that ever happening again at Dalhousie Castle, a magnificent 13th century fortress near Edinburgh. In 1972, the castle was converted into a romantic hotel and its stone, barrell-vaulted dungeon is now a restaurant with two…
Eyebrows were raised when I told friends I would be holidaying in Ibiza for two weeks. “Will you be partying?” they asked, referring to the island’s legendary superclubs such as Pacha, Space and Amnesia. At first, I was flattered that they believed that, at 37, I still had the stamina to bust some shapes (is…
The website says it’s the most photographed place in the world. Can you guess what it is? The Eiffel Tower, perhaps? Or what about Buckingham Palace, the Great Wall Of China, the Colosseum, Disneyworld in Florida or Egypt’s pyramids? In fact, you may be surprised to learn that it’s Keukenhof Gardens. And its boast is…
The hills are alive with the sound of music! Cool cats will be performing in the shadow of the Brecon Beacons when the HSBC Brecon Jazz Festival takes place from August 7-10. The stellar line-up includes Courtney Pine, Joan Armatrading, Cerys Matthews, Neil Cowley and Jools Holland with his guest vocalists Marc Almond and Ruby…
There’s a romantic castle in Bavaria which prides itself on being the main inspiration for Sleeping Beauty’s Castle in Disneyland, California. The fantastical turrets of the hilltop Neuschwanstein Castle, begun by King Ludwig II in 1869, has made it the most photographed building in Germany. But what inspired the castle that inspired Sleeping Beauty’s Castle?…
Beautiful Bath is justifiably famous for its Roman and Georgian heritage. The Royal Crescent, The Circus and Pulteney Bridge are among the architectural treasures which have made the entire city centre a World Heritage Site. But my visit on a mid-March weekend wasn’t about sightseeing. I was there to take part in the annual Bath…
Holidaying Hack 