Why I made the shortlist for the French Travel Media Awards
March 2, 2018It was close but no cigar. My story about a tour of the French Riviera [pictured above], first published in the Daily Telegraph, was shortlisted this week at the French Travel Media awards. The article describes a trip in the footsteps of film stars and the Euro glitterati. It was… Read more
Two terrific reasons for a half-term day out in Liverpool
February 9, 2018I owe Gary Oldman a beer. I’d tried pitching a story before about Western Approaches, the secret wartime bunker under an office block in Liverpool. It didn’t work out. But with Darkest Hour cleaning up at cinemas and Mr Oldman tipped for an Oscar on March 4, Winston Churchill is… Read more
101 good reasons why whisky is the drink right now
January 19, 2018Forget your Ginuary. My first assignment of a new year took me to the Lake District, the traditional domain of Romantic Poets and Gore-Tex botherers, for a wee dram. The Lakes Distillery [pictured above] is to release this summer the first 101 bottles of the Lakes Single Malt, a limited edition… Read more
Hanging out with the ‘latte papas’ in Gothenburg, West Sweden
December 16, 2017My feature about a family-travel trip to West Sweden is in the new issue of Family Traveller magazine — just out [see image at foot of post]. It proved to be the girls’ favourite trip so far but, for me, it also proved to be a thought- provoking one. We spent… Read more
Oslo street food article for Guardian Travel
December 8, 2017Forget hygge. The original Nordic lifestyle trend was all about the ultimate comfort food: hotdogs. The Syverkiosken [pictured above] is an Oslo landmark. The low-fi, 12 m sq kiosk located near to Alexander Kiellands Plass, has been serving hotdogs every day since 1979. With prices starting from 20 Krone (£1.90),… Read more
Oslo, Norway, and Portmeirion, Wales, travel writing for LoveExploring
November 12, 2017Two more published articles — to add to a busy autumn for commissions. Both articles were for the online travel site, LoveExploring.com. The first looked at Portmeirion, North Wales, which marked the 50th anniversary of the cult TV series, The Prisoner, in September. Here’s a sample: The programme epitomised the… Read more
Half term travel articles around Cheshire and Wales
November 5, 2017Another half-term holiday then. This year, swamped by a sudden upsurge in freelance work, we stayed close to home with commissions for articles around Cheshire and Wales. First up was a trip to the Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre, Cheshire [pictured], for a story in The Guardian. Read the whole story,… Read more
Big Heritage Chester article for Tortoise Magazine
November 4, 2017The next issue of Tortoise magazine is out soon. I’ve written an article for Chester’s new independent publication about Big Heritage, the not-for-profit organisation installing heritage attractions in historic buildings. It’s based around an interview with Managing Director Dean Paton, who I met at Sick To Death [pictured above], the… Read more
Spotlight: a profile interview for amble magazine
November 4, 2017I’m normally the one who asks the questions. But, this week, I did an interview with amble, the new online magazine for Chester. It’s strange talking about myself when I’m used to being the interviewer, not the interviewee. It’s for a profile piece about the creative community around Chester. So… Read more