Travel
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voco Winchester Hotel and Spa Review
Hotel Review The former Holiday Inn Winchester was rebranded to voco Winchester Hotel & Spa in October 2024 following a complete refurbishment programme which took 8 months and a cost of £2 million. Voco Hotels is IHG’s fastest-growing premium brand and as we hadn’t stayed in one previously we looked forward to the opportunity of being invited to review a stay.…
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Travel Guide: The Atherton Tablelands, North Queensland
The Atherton Tablelands The Atherton Tablelands is a picturesque plateau in tropical North Queensland within an hour’s drive of Cairns. From beautiful waterfalls to crater lakes, rainforests and attractive small country towns, the region has much to offer for a two or three night stay. The Waterfalls Circuit Millaa Millaa Falls Located on Theresa Creek…
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Your Ultimate Guide to Hot Air Balloon Flights in the Atherton Tablelands
Taking a flight in a hot air balloon has long been on my ‘must do’ wish list and during our recent holiday in tropical North Queensland, my dream finally came true. We’d arranged this once in a life time experience with Hot Air Balloon Cairns and were extremely excited at the prospect of soaring high…
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A day on the Outer Barrier Reef with Quicksilver Cruises
One of the main reasons for planning a trip to Far North Queensland is to visit the Great Barrier Reef. Spanning over 2,300 km down Australia’s eastern coastline it offers an abundance of coastal experiences unlike anywhere else in the world. Quicksilver Cruises are the largest operator out of Port Douglas taking up to 440…
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Exploring Mossman Gorge and Port Douglas
After a leisurely breakfast on our Port Douglas balcony we jumped into the car for the short drive to Mossman Gorge. This is one of the most easily accessible parts of the Daintree Rainforest to reach, being just over 20 minutes from our base in Port Douglas and a little over an hour’s drive from…
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A day out on the Kuranda Skyrail and Scenic Railway
Kuranda is a mountain village nestled within the lush rainforests of Tropical North Queensland. Although it is possible to travel there by car from Port Douglas we preferred the more exciting option of taking the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway and returning on the Kuranda Scenic Railway. With return tickets passengers can choose to travel on the…
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Top Things to Do in Port Douglas and the Daintree River Region
Part One: Travelling from Sydney to Cairns The previous evening we’d driven to the seaside resort of Cronulla so that we could be fairly close to Sydney airport for our late morning flight. Our final night in New South Wales couldn’t have been better as our accommodation there had a balcony overlooking Cronulla beach. We’d…
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Top Things to Do in the Blue Mountains, NSW: A Complete Visitor’s Guide
Located just 100 km’s from Sydney but world’s apart from city life, the World Heritage listed Blue Mountains is noted for its stunning mountain views, vibrant forests, thundering waterfalls, charming small towns and quaint villages. If you are planning a holiday to Sydney I strongly recommend including a side trip to this beautiful part of…
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A guide to visiting Scenic World in the Blue Mountains
Scenic World is a nature themed attraction that really lives up to its name as it is located amid a lush rainforest within the World Heritage listed Blue Mountains in New South Wales. Established in 1945 when a local entrepreneur called Harry Hammond had the vision to transform a former coal mine into one of…
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Exploring the Central Coast and Hawkesbury River, NSW
The Entrance We opted to spend the night at The Entrance, an oddly named seaside resort tucked between the Pacific Ocean and the tranquil waters of Tuggerah Lake. The town lies a 95 minute drive north of Sydney. Why is it called The Entrance you may very well ask? Well, the answer is that the…
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Travel Guide: Newcastle, New South Wales
Newcastle is Australia’s second oldest city and is located just a two hour drive north of Sydney. With heritage buildings, top class museums and a stunning coastline it’s a great place to spend time in whilst visiting the Hunter Valley. Newcastle Beach Located in the centre of town, Newcastle Beach is very popular both with…
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Travel Guide: Port Stephens, New South Wales
Port Stephens is located an easy two and a half hour drive north of Sydney covering an area that’s even larger than Sydney Harbour. It’s surrounded by natural beauty, wildlife reserves, pristine beaches and the largest moving sand dunes in the Southern Hemisphere. For visitors preferring to use public transport, there are regular trains between Sydney and…
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A Day in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales
The Hunter Valley is one of Australia’s renowned wine regions and is also home to the beautiful Hunter Valley Gardens. The region is located around a two hour drive from Sydney and getting around by car is definitely easiest as although many of the wineries and the gardens are centred around Pokolbin, they are not…
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Top Things to Do in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, NSW
Having spent the last five days exploring Sydney it was time to move on so we collected a hire car from the airport, loaded our luggage on board and set off for the next part of our Australian adventure. Our plan for the day was to visit Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. Located approximately one hour…
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A tour of Government House and a ferry to Cockatoo Island, Sydney
New South Wales Government House, Sydney Government House was built in 1845 and resembles a small castle and is the official home of the Governor of the State of New South Wales, Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC KC, 39th Governor of New South Wales and Mr Dennis Wilson. Her Excellency is the 28th Governor…
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Sydney Itinerary: Opera House Tour and a Day in The Rocks
The Sydney Opera House is one of Australia’s most iconic buildings and is located on the headland of Bennelong Point. If you’re curious about its history and what it looks like inside then consider taking a one hour tour as we did. We started off the day with the 9.45 a.m. guided tour, standard admission…
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Exploring Darling Harbour, Sydney
Darling Harbour is a popular waterside location that’s close to the centre of Sydney so after enjoying breakfast on the balcony of our suite at the Quest, St. Leonards we boarded a train to the Town Hall station which was nearby. Australian National Maritime Museum We started our day with a visit to the Australian…
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Exploring Circular Quay: Sydney’s Best Walks, Ferries, Views, and Landmarks
Arriving in Sydney After enjoying a fabulous three day stopover in Singapore we boarded a late night Singapore Airlines flight down to Sydney, arriving at 11.00 a.m. local time. It had been many years since our last visit to Sydney and we were very excited to return. Passing through the e-gates was even quicker than…
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The Jewel Changi Airport Facilities Guide: Attractions, Dining & Shopping
The Jewel is a huge shopping mall and entertainment complex located landside at Singapore’s Changi airport. There’s much more to it than that though as it is home to the world’s tallest indoor waterfall that is known as the Rain Vortex. This stunning waterfall is surrounded by lush tropical gardens with terraced seating. Getting there:…
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Singapore Botanic Gardens and National Gallery
We were up bright and early so enjoyed a leisurely breakfast in the semi-outdoor setting of the hotel’s restaurant. With a wide selection of both Western and Asian dishes to set us up for the day and our favourite cappuccinos it was the perfect start. Our plan for the morning was to visit the Singapore Botanic…
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Arriving in Singapore
Singapore is one of my favourite destinations for a stopover, on this occasion to break up the lengthy journey to Australia from the United Kingdom. We flew with Singapore Airlines from London Heathrow, receiving attentive service, good food and comfortable seats in our economy class cabin on the 12 hour 25 minute journey. We landed…
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Moxy Manchester City Centre Review
Hotel Review Moxy Manchester City is part of the Marriott family of hotels offering a fun vibe combined with affordable luxury. The previous year I’d had the pleasure of staying at Moxy The Hague so I was interested to find out how Moxy Manchester compared. Location: Moxy Manchester opened in early 2022 and is located…
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Four Counties Ring – Part 4 Completing the Circle
On entering the Staffordshire and Worcestershire canal at Autherley Junction the character of the waterway changes once again. First, Pendeford Rockin, a narrow cutting with passing places through a rocky outcrop, then meandering with evenly spaced locks. We found this section of the canal to be very attractive with its many arched bridges. Slightly further on we came across…
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The Four Counties Ring – Part 3: Cheshire, Shropshire and the West Midlands
Continuing our canal boat holiday around the Four Counties Ring from Nantwich, the Shropshire Union mainline canal journeys south leaving Cheshire after Audlem and then follows the Shropshire/Staffordshire border to the outskirts of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands. The Shropshire Union Canal (affectionately referred to as the Shroppie) was completed in 1835 and played a…
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