Travel
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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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Kingston Lacy Guide: What to See and Do at Dorset’s Historic Mansion
Kingston Lacy is an elegant country mansion set in attractive formal gardens and extensive parkland. The former home of the Bankes family, Sir John bought the estate in the 1630’s, Sir Ralph then built the house in the 1660’s and it was then updated and transformed by William in the 1830’s until 1981 when Ralph…
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How to Spend a Day in Bournemouth – The Perfect Seaside Itinerary
What better way to spend a hot, sunny day than at the seaside. Bournemouth is one of England’s premier seaside resorts being located on Dorset’s south coast. Leaving our car on the East Cliff we walked down the steep incline towards the pier. Overlooking the English Channel we stepped into the gardens of the Russell Cotes…
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Amsterdam City Break – Day 1
We needed to be up at 03.15 a.m. for our early morning flight to Amsterdam from Leeds Bradford Airport. Deciding to drive, we left our car at the Sentinel long stay car park, managing to find a discount code to reduce the price slightly. Our flight with the Dutch national carrier KLM on an Embraer…
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Keukenhof Gardens and the Charming Town of Edam
Breakfast was not included in the room rate and at €15 per person we thought quite expensive, especially as it’s actually taken in the building opposite. Instead, we decided to nip out to the Spar supermarket a couple of minutes walk away and buy some croissants, ham, eggs and yoghurt ourselves as our studio had…
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Haarlem and Zaanse Schans Windmills – Day Trip Travel Guide
Our morning was going to start with a short train journey to Haarlem but noticing the train terminated less than ten minutes later at the seaside town of Zandvoort, we thought we’d head there first before returning down the line to visit Haarlem. Unusually for us, we hadn’t researched Zandvoort, otherwise I doubt we would…
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A Day Trip from Amsterdam – Discover Marken and Volendam
Our plan for the morning was to take the train into Amsterdam Central and then travel from there by bus to the village of Marken. Buses run half hourly (No.315) and depart from behind the railway station, this journey being included in the regional travel ticket. It was a pleasant ride out to Marken, the…
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Visiting Ripley Castle and Village: Travel Guide for a Perfect Day Out
My friend suggested a drive out into the Yorkshire countryside and a visit to Ripley Castle. Ripley is situated 3 miles north of Harrogate. It is also the preferred starting point of a 53 mile circular walking trail known as ‘The Nidderdale Way’ which passes through some delightful Yorkshire beauty spots including Brimham Rocks. We…
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How to spend a day in Sheffield
It’s been at least 15 years since I last visited Sheffield so it was time to return to see how the city centre has changed. We travelled by train arriving into Sheffield station late morning. The concourse seemed bright and airy leading out onto Sheaf Square, a pedestrianised plaza featuring a cascading water wall and…
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Bratislava City Break – Day 1
On noticing that Ryanair had introduced weekly flights to Bratislava from Leeds Bradford Airport we were tempted into a weekend break in the Slovakian capital. Dragging ourselves out of bed at 3.15 am to reach the airport in time for our early 6.45 am departure wasn’t great but the upside was that we would be…
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Bratislava to Vienna by Train: Everything You Need to Know for a Perfect Visit
Waking at 7.00 a.m. to the sounds of our alarm, we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast in the Holiday Inn’s light and airy restaurant before setting out. Our plan, to spend a full day sightseeing in Vienna. I’ve not been to Vienna before, in fact I’ve only ever visited Austria once and that was many years…
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Day Trip from Bratislava to Trnava: Travel Tips, Attractions & Itinerary
Whilst waiting at the tram stop on our way back to the hotel the previous evening I noticed a sign indicating weekend transport service disruption because of the Bratislava Marathon so back in the hotel we researched its route to find a good spot to watch it from. As luck would have it, the race…
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What to See in Bratislava: Must-Visit Landmarks and Hidden Gems
The final day of our city break in Bratislava, and one on which we planned to slow the pace somewhat. Allowing ourselves a much deserved lie in, we enjoyed a leisurely, late breakfast before checking out of our hotel at 11.00 a.m. This huge, out of town hotel catering mostly for business travellers and conference…
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RHS Harlow Carr Garden in Harrogate – What to See and Do
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Harlow Carr Garden is one of four public gardens run by the RHS and is located one and a half miles from the centre of Harrogate, North Yorkshire. We arrived by car, with ample free parking available. On a previous visit we walked from the town centre which is a lovely…
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Goddards York – the home of chocolate
Located by the side of York racecourse stands a home with a chocolate heritage. The house is the former home of Noel Goddard Terry, the grandson of Sir Joseph Terry the founder of the famous chocolate factory Terry’s of York. How many of you have had the pleasure of tapping open a Terry’s Chocolate Orange,…
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The start of our Asian adventure
I’m fortunate to be off on my travels again, this time to Hong Kong and Taiwan. Hopefully a good balance with a week in a firm favourite of Hong Kong followed by our first ever visit to the beautiful island of Taiwan. We’re planning on seeking out some new places to visit in Hong Kong…
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Arriving in Hong Kong
Hong Kong’s Chek Lap Kok airport is both large and well organised, meaning that reclaiming our luggage and heading out to the bus terminal to catch the City Flyer A11 service to North Point only took a matter of minutes. Rather than taking the Airport Express train from where we would have had to change…
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How to Ride the Peak Tram and Explore the Mid-Levels Escalators in Hong Kong
Despite the 8 hour time difference we slept until our alarm went off at 7.00 a.m. We couldn’t see across the harbour from our window as it was so misty but were hopeful that it would soon clear. Breakfast followed in the hotel’s restaurant – a good selection of fruit, yoghurts, pastries and hot dishes to…
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