Travel
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St. Annes-on-Sea & Poulton-le-Fylde
After a good night’s sleep we enjoyed the Ibis buffet breakfast which was included in our room rate. The breakfast room features a seaside theme with imitation sticks of Blackpool rock adorning it’s walls. The restaurant overlooks the sea so we were able to watch the trams pass along the promenade whilst we were sipping…
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A weekend in Birmingham
Meeting my son for a weekend away in the U.K. has usually resulted in trips to London or Edinburgh so for a change we decided to explore Britain’s second city, Birmingham. Strangely, Birmingham isn’t a city I am familiar with, in fact I’ve only ever visited three times and then only to attend courses and…
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Exploring Birmingham
After a leisurely breakfast we were ready for a morning of sightseeing in Birmingham’s city centre. Our first stop was to the Great Western Arcade, an elegant Victorian shopping arcade built in 1876 over the Great Western Railway line. The arcade has two entrances, one on Temple Row and the other on Colmore Row, the…
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The Black Country Living Museum
The weather forecast seemed reasonable so we decided to spend the day at the Black Country Living Museum in Dudley, West Midlands, ten miles west of Birmingham. Although the museum’s postal address is Dudley, the nearest railway station is Tipton. We bought return rail tickets costing approximately £5 each for the 20 minute journey from…
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The Birmingham Back to Backs
After checking out of our hotel and leaving our luggage to collect later, we set ourselves up for the day with cooked breakfasts in a nearby pub and then made our way to Hurst Street where we had booked a tour of the Birmingham Back to Backs terraced houses which are now operated as a museum…
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Lovely Lyme Regis
It was a sunny day, so we prepared a picnic and drove along the south coast to Lyme Regis which is located on the West Dorset/ East Devon border. Being a popular seaside town finding a parking place wasn’t easy. Just outside town there were signposts for Park and Ride but ignoring these, we pressed…
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A walk along the Rochdale Canal in Central Manchester
One sunny afternoon in Manchester, instead of shopping we decided to take a 7 km canal side walk through the heart of the city. The Rochdale canal runs from the Bridgewater canal at the Castlefield basin across the Pennines to join the Calder and Hebble Navigation at Sowerby Bridge in West Yorkshire, a distance of…
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London City Break
I never tire of a few days in London so recently I managed to fit in a short break to the capital. Travelling by train took just under three hours from my home in the north of England enabling me to arrive into the city around lunchtime. My first stop was at Piccadilly, a short…
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Exploring London’s East End
Buffet style breakfast is included in the room rate at Ibis Styles hotels and there was a good selection of both hot and cold dishes to set us up for the day in its brightly coloured restaurant. Setting off, I walked the short distance to Prince Regent DLR station and made my way via Canning…
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Exploring Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
After eating breakfast in our hotel the Ibis Styles located in the Docklands we took the DLR the short distance to Stratford to visit Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park which was the venue for the Summer 2012 Olympic Games. On leaving the station we took the escalator up to ‘The Street’ which is an outdoor part…
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A day in Winchester
Having read that Winchester was taking part in the National Heritage Open Days with over 70 events taking place over four days, we decided to spend a day in this Hampshire city to view a selection of its historic sights. Approaching the city from the M3 motorway, we followed signs to the St. Catherine’s Park…
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Tervesaari Island, Helsinki – A Perfect Spot for a Scenic Walk
With Finland celebrating its centenary this year and the country being a firm favourite of ours, it seemed only natural that we should make a return visit this summer. On arriving into Helsinki airport late the previous evening, we spent our first day enjoying a walk around the market square which is always a beautiful…
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Helsinki Travel Guide: National Library of Finland and Bank of Finland Museum
Dominating Senate Square is Helsinki Cathedral, built in the neo-classical style this landmark building was completed in 1852 and its tall green dome can be seen from many parts of the city. Senate Square was designed by Carl Ludvig Engel in 1852 and the cathedral was his masterpiece, majestically dominating the surrounding buildings. The large…
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A Day in Tallinn from Helsinki
We often visit Estonia’s capital Tallinn whilst we are staying in Helsinki as it makes for a pleasant day out or overnight stay. Several ferry companies ply the route taking between 90 minutes on the fast ferry to two and a half hours on the larger, more comfortable car ferries. This summer we spotted an…
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A Walk Through Helsinki’s Arabia District: Where Art Meets Innovation
Just north of the centre of Helsinki and at the terminus of the No. 6 and 8 trams lies the Arabia district where we found much of interest to occupy us for several hours. Starting off by the tram terminus is the Iittala and Arabia design centre and outlet store where we were able to…
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Exploring Kamppi and Herttoniemi, Helsinki
A MasterChef type outdoor cooking competition was taking place in Narinkkatori square just outside Helsinki’s Kamppi shopping centre so we decided to join lots of other inquisitive people and take a look at what was happening. The event was hosted by Lidl and was the national finals of their Grillimaisteri barbecue competition. It was interesting…
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Viewing the Tall Ships Race in Kotka, Finland
Having previously enjoyed seeing the Tall Ships in Helsinki in 2013 we were keen to catch up with them again, this time in Kotka. Located on the south coast of Finland, Kotka’s city centre is situated on Kotkansaari island. Getting from Helsinki was very easy, we booked with Onnibus who have regular daily services between the…
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Espoo Travel Guide: Exploring Leppävaara and the Glims Farmstead Museum
Leppävaara is located in Espoo and is easily accessible by both bus and train from Helsinki. Adjacent to the rail and bus station is a modern, attractive shopping centre called Sello which has a wide selection of shops and cafes. As it was such a warm, sunny day we decided to take a stroll over…
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Visiting Pihlajasaari Island: How to Reach Helsinki’s Summer Paradise by Ferry
It was a sunny morning so we packed up a picnic and decided to take one of the small ferries to the outlying island of Pihlajasaari. It’s a former villa island and is now a popular outdoor recreation area which is located 3 km offshore from the centre of Helsinki. There are piers in two…
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Visiting Turku, Finland to see the Tall Ships Race
A second chance to admire the Tall Ships this summer as they sailed from Kotka to Turku in south west Finland. Getting there was easy, travelling by Onnibus once again and by booking the tickets early it didn’t cost very much. The journey time from Helsinki to Turku was approximately two hours but with comfortable…
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A Day in Espoo: From Haukilahti Beaches to Matinkylä Shopping & Dining
Haukilahti is a small coastal town in Espoo located between Westend and Matinkylä. It’s just a 20 minute journey from central Helsinki and is a lovely place to visit on a sunny day. We decided to take a walk along the waterfront walkway/ cycle path which is known as Espoon Rantaraitti and is clearly signposted…
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How to Spend a Day in Espoo – Visit Villa Elfvik and Laguuni Water Park
Villa Elfvik is located in Espoo close to the centre of Helsinki and it was from there that we started our countryside walk. It’s an art nouveau villa on the edge of the Laajalahti Nature Reserve, inside we found exhibitions relating to the diverse nature of Espoo as well as a children’s adventure area ‘Badger’s…
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Visiting the Museum of Journalism, Helsinki
Our plan today was to explore Helsinki’s Boulevard which starts from Erottaja in central Helsinki. Strolling along this elegant avenue we admired the beautiful buildings, many of which are now high class shops, cafes, restaurants and galleries. We passed The Old Church and its garden which always seems a popular venue for young people to…
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Exploring Järvenpää and Lake Tuusula – A Perfect Day in Finnish Countryside
A day I had been looking forward to, meeting up with my Finnish blogging friend Suvi, author of the lovely blog Destination Everywhere whom I first met on my visit to Finland last year. This time we planned a day out together exploring Lake Tuusula in Järvenpää, about a 30 minute drive from Helsinki. Suvi…
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