Love Travelling Blog

Travel diaries providing inspiration for planning the perfect trip

United Kingdom

  • Leith Water

    Leith and rugby at Murrayfield 

    After a good night’s sleep and a hearty breakfast, we bought day tickets for Lothian’s trams and buses costing £4 each and after taking a look in the beautiful Jenner’s department store, we caught a bus along to Leith.  There was a small market taking place so we glanced round the stalls and sampled some…

  • Edinburgh Christmas decorations

    Edinburgh Christmas 

    Our final morning in lovely Edinburgh and the time has sped by so quickly. we’ve had so much fun.  After checking out of our hotel, the Queen Street Travelodge, we left our luggage to collect later in the day and went off to a nearby pub for breakfast. A little later on, we returned to…

  • Ice rink outside London's National History Museum

    A late autumn visit to London

    A cold morning at home so before leaving the house I donned my winter coat and woollen scarf for my journey to London.  I find long distance train travel relaxing and, once on board, I settled down to reading ‘Mr. Gandy’s Grand Tour’ by Alan Titchmarsh and happily spent the journey with my book, some…

  • Tower Bridge, London at night

    A walk along the Thames Path 

    Leaving our hotel in Clapham Junction we walked the few steps across to the railway station in order to board a service to Putney in south west London, just 10 minutes away.  We then enjoyed a hearty breakfast on the high street before wandering round the shops and making our way towards the river. Strolling…

  • Historic Buildings, Kingston Upon Thames

    Scenic Walk from Kingston-upon-Thames to Richmond: Riverside Views, Parks & Historic Sights

    A 20 minute rail journey from Clapham Junction lies the south west London town of Kingston-upon-Thames and our starting point for today. The large town has some attractive Tudor buildings and a small market selling fruit and vegetables takes place in the central market square at weekends.   The town has a good range of shops including…

  • Former Naval College, Greenwich, London

    Top Attractions to Visit in Greenwich and Along the Thames

    We woke to clear blue skies and sunshine but needed to wrap up warm on this November morning.  After checking out of our Travelodge, we left our luggage and made our way to Greenwich taking the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) from Canary Wharf.  Please remember if using the DLR that there are no ticket barriers…

  • Burley in Wharfedale church in autumn

    How to Enjoy an Autumn Stroll Around Burley-in-Wharfedale

    Burley-in-Wharfedale is a village situated in the beautiful Wharfedale valley in West Yorkshire.  It’s located eleven miles north west of Leeds and two miles from the market town of Otley.  I arrived by train as Northern run regular services on the Wharfedale Line from both Leeds and Bradford, the journey taking around 25 minutes. The…

  • Start line at Ilkley Cycle Races

    Ilkley Street Circuit Cycling Evening Review: What to Expect and Highlights

    An evening of town centre cycle racing first took place in Ilkley in 2014 as part of a festival of cycling prior to the Tour de France cycle race passing through the town.  The evening was a such a huge success it was decided to make it an annual event in the town. There are…

  • Beningbrough Hall, York

    Guide to a Day at Beningbrough Hall, York: History and Gardens

    This year Beningbrough is celebrating its 300th anniversary, it’s an 18th century Italian styled country house and we thought it might be a good opportunity to visit.  Located 8 miles north of York just outside the village of Beningbrough we found ample parking on the day of our visit. The inspiration for Beningbrough Hall originated…

  • The Red Arrows at Bournemouth Air Festival

    Bournemouth Air Festival Review: Highlights, Tips, and What to Expect

    The Bournemouth Air Festival takes place in August each year featuring air displays over four days.  There is no admittance charge to the festival and thousands of plane lovers flock to this Dorset resort on the south coast of England to watch the extravaganza, so this year we decided to join them and take a…

  • Big Ben, London

    London travel guide: St James’s Park and the Mall

    This morning I took a Virgin East Coast train to London arriving into Kings Cross at 1.00 pm, from where I hopped on the Piccadilly Line for the short journey to Piccadilly Circus as I’d arranged to meet my older son in the Virgin Lounge.  I was first to arrive which gave me a few…

  • Leadenhall Market, London

    Exploring the Woolwich Foot Tunnel and Walking the Thames Path in London

    This morning we took the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) to Woolwich Arsenal where we enjoyed breakfast in the ‘Great Harry’ pub which was in the main square.  Woolwich is a historic naval and military town situated three miles to the east of Greenwich. Leaving the pub we walked towards the river passing the historic site…

  • Temple Gardens, London

    A Visit to the Bank of England Museum and a Walk Through the Inner Temple, London

    After our lunch break at the Royal Exchange we only had a few steps to walk to the next place on our itinerary – the Bank of England Museum.  It’s a little known museum with free entry and is only open Monday to Friday from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm.  The Bank of England, affectionately referred…

  • Tower Bridge, London

    A Walk Along London’s South Bank and a Visit to Portobello Road Market

    We started the day with a cooked breakfast near Tower Bridge followed by a walk along the south bank of the Thames Path as far as London Bridge, taking a few minutes to walk around the attractive Hay’s Galleria.  Originally a warehouse and enclosed dock this listed building was converted in the 1980’s to offices,…

  • South Quay Footbridge, Canary Wharf, London

    A Visit to Greenwich and the Cutty Sark in London

    Checking out of our hotel near London City Airport we headed to Greenwich where we enjoyed a hearty breakfast in the Gate Clock pub.  Around the corner from here is the 19th century Cutty Sark, the world’s only surviving tea clipper. The sailing ship has been raised over three metres so that visitors can walk…

  • Cow and Calf rocks, Ilkley moor

    A Scenic Walk on Ilkley Moor, West Yorkshire

    It was decided that we would spend a day in Ilkley, a prosperous small town set in the beautiful Wharfe Valley of West Yorkshire.  The town is located between Skipton and Harrogate and there is a rail link to Leeds. From the railway station, we walked up Wells Road to the famous Ilkley Moor which…

  • Centre Court at the Aegon Ilkley Tennis Tournament

    Ilkley Tennis Club: Aegon Ilkley Trophy

    What could epitomise a British Summer more than grass court tennis, Pimms and strawberries!  The Aegon Ilkley Trophy has returned to the attractive small town of Ilkley, set in the heart of the beautiful Wharfedale countryside yet easily accessible from Leeds by car or train.  It’s being held for the second year at the Ilkley…

  • Lincoln Cathedral

    Lincoln Visitor Guide: Must-See Sights and Activities

    Lincolnshire has been up to now a county we have just passed through along the motorway, but finally we decided to stop for a few hours and take a look. We left the car in the lower part of the town close to the Brayford Waterfront, a natural harbour on the River Witham now transformed…

  • Steam train on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway

    Riding the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway: A Heritage Experience

    Continue reading A Steam Train to Haworth

  • Canal boats in Skipton

    Exploring Skipton, the Gateway to the Dales

    For a family day out, we decided to visit Skipton in North Yorkshire.  Skipton is a market town located 27 miles north west of Leeds, and is on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park with some of the country’s most dramatic scenery on its doorstep.  Along the high street, a market takes place four…

  • Flowers on Montpellier Hill, Harrogate

    Harrogate and its Turkish Baths

    For my friend’s birthday treat, I arranged a day out to Harrogate, North Yorkshire and a visit to its Turkish Baths.  The town is located 10 miles from Leeds/Bradford Airport and is easily accessible by train or car from York, Leeds or Skipton.  Harrogate features elegant architecture, large Georgian hotels and beautiful parks.  It is…

  • The London Eye illuminated at night

    A weekend in London

    Although I live in the north of England I’ve been fortunate to spend countless weekends in London over the years.  There’s always something happening and I never tire of a visit to the capital.   Hopefully on this four day visit I can introduce some lesser known attractions in addition to the city’s famous sights.…

  • Skygarden, London

    Sky Garden, London

    A bright sunny morning, so we started the day with a tube ride to London Bridge, walking across the bridge to Monument and a stroll along the north bank of the Thames. Our reason for starting the day there was to take a ride to the top of the ‘Walkie Talkie’ building, Officially known as ’20…

  • Tower Bridge at night in London

    Walking along the Thames at Richmond

    We decided to try breakfast in the hotel and were pleasantly surprised to find the Travelodge offerings to be much better than we were expecting.  So, feeling nourished, we boarded a main line train from Vauxhall to Richmond, approximately 20 minutes away.  As mentioned previously,  it’s possible to use Oyster cards on shorter main line…

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