With kisses goodbye and a ‘‘be good for nanny and grandad” we set off for our first night away from our two-year-old daughter. Anticipating a little parental anxiety, we’d booked a hotel not a million miles away from our Droitwich Spa home. In fact, it was only 10 miles away. Yet the peaceful Brockencote Hall,…
In Pitlochry the locals call the police if their garden gnome has blown over in the wind. Residents also alert the local constabulary if their washing machine breaks down and if the X Factor phone line is constantly engaged. That’s because even the tiniest of problems seem like emergencies when you live somewhere that’s virtually…
The picture-postcard Perthshire village of Kenmore has more than one claim to fame. Tiny in size but big on history, it boasts the oldest inn in Scotland and the oldest tree in Europe and has welcomed both Queen Victoria and the poet Robert Burns. It’s an idyllic, 18th century model village that’s almost an island,…
It’s ten years since Prince William met his future wife while they were both studying at St Andrews University. Being a romantic sort, I’m sure the heir to the throne will want to celebrate the milestone by whisking Catherine off for a quiet break back where their courtship began. And I’ve found just the place…
Avid readers of these travel pages may recall that my boating holidays are never without incident. There was the time when traffic backed up after someone (me) couldn’t work out how to raise the barriers at the Shirley drawbridge on the Stratford Canal. Then there was the time, near the famous Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, when we…
You know the scene, it’s Friday afternoon and friends at work start asking what you’ve got planned for the weekend. ‘’I’m off to Basingstoke,’’ I excitedly revealed. Eyebrows were raised. Basingstoke? Really? Why? Was I visiting relatives? Did I have a wedding to attend? Had I simply lost my marbles? The north Hampshire town, I…
Ascending the Langdale Pikes in the Lake District we suddenly realised that we’d have to ford a stream if we were to reach the top. The family walking ahead of us, including a girl of about seven, managed to negotiate the fast-flowing waters, so it couldn’t be that difficult, we thought. But when we reached…
Beep, beep. ”Who’s that beeping?’’ asked my mum as dawn broke on the first morning of our boating break. Beeep, beeep. ‘’There they go again,’’ said the 70-year-old, who was putting on her face in her tiny bedroom, curtains drawn. Beeeep, beeeep. ”I don’t know who they’re beeping at,’’ my mum shouted to my wife,…
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…
Holidaying Hack 