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Travel diaries providing inspiration for planning the perfect trip

Travel

  • Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh

    Explore the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh – Scotland’s Premier Botanical Attraction

    All good things have to come to an end and before we knew it, we had reached the final day of our Scottish holiday.  Our train home wasn’t until 6.30 p.m. though so we had the entire day to explore Edinburgh. After checking out of the lovely Altido Vita aparthotel and leaving our luggage to…

  • The harbour, North Berwick

    How to Spend a Perfect Day in North Berwick: Top Things to Do and See

    Edinburgh is undoubtedly a beautiful city with so many interesting things to see and do but it’s also the perfect base from which to explore more of Scotland.  After days out by train earlier in the week to both Stirling and Glasgow we then decided to visit the picturesque seaside town of North Berwick which…

  • Tron Theatre, Glasgow

    How to Spend a Day in Glasgow from Edinburgh: A Perfect Day Trip Itinerary

    After enjoying a day in Stirling the previous day, we turned our attention to Glasgow, Scotland’s largest city sitting on the banks of the River Clyde.  We bought off peak day returns at £13.70 each and the journey from Edinburgh Waverley Station to Glasgow Queen Street took just 1 hour and 20 minutes. The station…

  • Stirling

    How to Spend a Day in Stirling from Edinburgh: Best Day Trip Itinerary

    We decided to spend the day in Stirling and booked anytime day return tickets from Edinburgh Waverley at £16.90 per person.  Stirling lies 37 miles north west of Edinburgh and is often referred to as the gateway to the Scottish Highlands.  The journey time was only 45 minutes and it seemed no time at all…

  • St Andrews Links

    How to Spend a Day in St. Andrews from Edinburgh: A Scenic Day Trip Guide

    From our base at the Altido Vita aparthotel in the Fountainbridge district of Edinburgh it was just a ten minute walk downhill to Haymarket station for our train to St. Andrews (Leuchars station).  We’d pre-booked our tickets (£18.50 standard off peak day return) for the one hour journey and as we were sitting on the right…

  • Victoria Street, Edinburgh

    How to Spend a Day in Leith and Cramond: Hidden Gems Near Edinburgh

    We began the day with a walk around some of the buildings of the University of Edinburgh starting at the Old College quad located on South Bridge.  It was an overcast morning but the sight of the historic buildings housing the School of Law and the Talbot Rice Gallery surrounding the quad lifted our spirits.…

  • Princes Gardens, Edinburgh

    How to Explore Edinburgh Old Town on Foot: History, Sights & Tips

    It had been more than a year since my last visit to Edinburgh and I couldn’t wait to return to one of my favourite cities.  We travelled north on board an LNER train which whisks passengers from London in just four and a quarter hours.  If you plan to travel by train try to book…

  • Altido Vita, Edinburgh

    Altido at Vita, Edinburgh Review

    Location: Located in Fountainbridge, Edinburgh overlooking the Union Canal is the modern and well appointed Altido Vita aparthotel.  Just a 10 minute walk from Princes Street and a short walk from Edinburgh Castle and the Royal Mile it’s in a perfect location to explore the city.  Both Haymarket and Waverley railway stations are accessible on…

  • Pig judging, Great Yorkshire Show

    The Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate: What to Expect at England’s Premier Agricultural Event

    After the disappointment of last year’s show having to be cancelled due to the pandemic I was excited to be returning to Harrogate this summer.  The Great Yorkshire Show is one of the largest agricultural shows in the country and a wonderful showcase of rural life. Organising an event of this size to make it COVID…

  • Your Apartment, Bristol, Frederick Place

    Your Apartment Bristol Review

    Review: Your Apartment, 3 Frederick Place, Clifton, Bristol Location The accommodation is managed by Your Apartment and located on Frederick Place in the desirable Clifton neighbourhood of Bristol.  This suburb is within easy walking distance of the city centre and features leafy streets, stunning architecture and rows of pastel coloured Georgian terraces. Arrival and check-in…

  • SS Great Britain

    Exploring Bristol Harbourside: SS Great Britain & M Shed – A Historic Day Out

    After spending the previous day exploring Clifton Village, we turned our attention to Bristol’s vibrant harbourside with a visit to Bristol’s No.1 attraction the SS Great Britain (standard admission £16.50 including unlimited return visits for a year).  Launched by Prince Albert in July 1843, she was at that time the largest passenger ship in the…

  • Bristol Observatory

    A Day at Clifton Observatory & Clifton Village: A Perfect Bristol Day Out

    After sleeping soundly, we headed out of the lovely apartment in Clifton where we were spending the weekend to explore the local neighbourhood.  It’s an affluent suburb of beautiful Georgian townhouses, close to the centre yet far enough away to have its own charm. Bristol Zoo Gardens was our first planned attraction of the day, just…

  • Colourful houses in Bristol harbour

    A Perfect Day at Bristol Harbour: Walking Tour Highlight

    We’d planned a return visit to the city of Bristol, this time in midsummer making it a complete contrast to our festive break in the city a little over three years ago.  Summer it might have been, but with the weather forecast predicting heavy rain all weekend we had come prepared.  Bristol is located in…

  • Wallbridge, Stroud

    How to Spend a Memorable Day in Stroud, Gloucestershire

    We decided to spend a day in the small market town of Stroud nestled in the south west Cotswolds, ten miles south of Gloucester.  The town had piqued our interest as it had recently been named by the Sunday Times as the best place to live in Britain so we were interested to find out…

  • The Long Gardens, Cheltenham

    How to Explore Cheltenham by E-Bike: A Complete Guide

    After spending the previous day visiting Sudeley Castle and nearby Winchcombe we moved our focus onto the Regency spa town of Cheltenham where we were staying.  After breakfast we headed over to The Bicycle Hub  located at Cheltenham Spa railway station where we’d arranged the hire of e-bikes so that we could take the Regency…

  • Sudeley Castle

    Exploring Sudeley Castle & Winchcombe: The Ultimate Day Trip Guid

    We planned a weekend based in the Regency spa town of Cheltenham and on the way there spent an afternoon at Sudeley Castle nestled in the Cotswold hills.  It is located just outside Winchcombe and only eight miles from Cheltenham.  The castle and gardens are open daily from 10.00 – 5.00 p.m. until the end…

  • World of Wedgwood Stoke-on-Trent

    The Stoke-on-Trent Ceramics Trail: Explore Britain’s Potteries Heritage

    Back in 1910 the six towns that came together to form Stoke were known collectively as The Potteries and comprise Hanley, Tunstall, Burslem, Longton, Fenton and Stoke.  Although one might expect Stoke to be the actual city centre, it is usually regarded as Hanley.  The Ceramic Trail is based around these towns which are located…

  • Newcastle Quayside

    How to Spend a Perfect Day in Newcastle

    To complete our weekend break in Durham we decided to spend our final day in Newcastle.  Trains run frequently between the two cities taking just 15 minutes, with standard off-peak adult returns £7.90. As it was a Sunday we were able to travel on any service so we arrived into Newcastle station bright and early…

  • Durham Cathedral

    Durham Cathedral and University: Exploring Two of England’s Treasures

    Sunshine streamed through the windows as we drew back the curtains and it looked as if the previous day’s beautiful weather was continuing.  We started the day with a walk through Durham’s Market Place where stalls had been set up for the weekly Saturday market.  Being unable to resist a browse through the stalls, we…

  • Durham on the River Wear

    How to Spend a Perfect Weekend in Durham

    Durham is a small city nestled on the banks of the River Wear in the north east of England.  It’s famous for its Norman cathedral, 11th century castle and world renowned university, with this part of the city designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  In his book ‘Notes from a small island’ Bill Bryson called…

  • Blackpool Tower

    12 Unmissable Things to Do in Blackpool for First-Time Visitors

    Getting there: By car:  Blackpool has a motorway link direct to the centre of the resort – take the M6 to Junction 32 and the M55 will lead you there. By train: The town has 3 railway stations, Blackpool North, Blackpool South and Blackpool Pleasure Beach.  With direct services from London Euston, Birmingham, Glasgow and…

  • New Islington, Manchester

    A scenic canal walk in Manchester: Etihad Stadium to Piccadilly

    For our final morning in Manchester we planned a canal side walk that would be new to us.  Making good use of our weekend tram ticket, we caught a service to the Etihad Campus taking less than ten minutes on the Ashton Line.  The Etihad stadium is home to Manchester City football club and was…

  • MediaCityUK Manchester

    Explore Manchester’s Museums and Salford Quays Waterfront

    After the previous day’s torrential rain, we opened the curtains to a dull but thankfully dry morning.  After going out for breakfast our first planned activity was a visit to the People’s History Museum in Spinningfields.  We’d booked a timed entry for 11.00 a.m, and arrived promptly to look around this, the national museum of…

  • Wolfson Reading Room Manchester Central Library

    What to Do in Manchester on a Rainy Day: The Ultimate Guide

    It was a dreary, damp morning as we made our way to the station for our weekend in Manchester.  Conditions were no better on our arrival and as there seemed little likelihood of the rain easing we decided to spend as much of the day as possible indoors. We were more than happy to be…

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