Vote for Chester: Britain’s 15 best high streets for Christmas shopping
November 26, 2022Feeling festive? My nomination for Chester made it into Britain’s 15 best high streets for Christmas shopping via Telegrpah Travel. Read my guide to the city for your next Christmas-shopping weekend break. Here’s a taster of the text: Chester was voted the most beautiful city in the world earlier this… Read more
Tick off your bucket list travels with my new guides to Liverpool and Snowdonia
November 25, 2022Bucket List Travels has now gone live and I’m one of their travel experts. My writer profile is here. The travel site, which curates content for bucket list experiences by local experts, has launched with guides from Sydney to Straford-upon-Avon. I’ve drawn on my local-knowledge expertise as a travel… Read more
How to celebrate 125 years of Bram Stoker’s Gothic novel, Dracula, at Whitby Abbey
October 9, 2022A trip to Whitby to get into the Halloween spirit. My visit was part of a wider itinerary to explore the Yorkshire Coast Route, a new route intended to showcase the off-season charms of the Yorkshire seaside. The route spans 240 miles, taking in the North Yorks Moors National Park and… Read more
How to step behind the scenes at Jodrell Bank science centre, Cheshire
June 11, 2022Sir Bernard Lovell became the father of modern cosmology long before Professor Brian Cox started pondering the wonders of the universe. I went to walk in Lovell’s footsteps recently at the Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre [pictured above], the observatory and science park in rural Cheshire. Last weekend saw the opening… Read more
Why you should raise a glass to English Wine Week in Herefordshire
June 7, 2022I’m inspecting neat, newly flowering rows on a sun-dappled day in the English countryside. But I’m not strolling in the gardens of a stately home. Instead, I’ve come to a vineyard in the rural heartland of Herefordshire to witness an unlikely trend: the rise of quality English wines. No, really.… Read more
How to spend a Roman-heritage weekend in Hadrian’s Wall country
May 2, 2022My latest assignment took me to the wide-open spaces of Northumberland. I was there researching a feature for Discover Britain magazine about events to celebrate the 1900 years since the Romans started building Hadrian’s Wall [pictured above]. The Wall, built over seven years from 122AD, comprised a series of a gates… Read more
Why the hidden-treasure town of Nantwich should be your next staycation
April 19, 2022Spring finds me driving the rural backroads of south Cheshire. I’m here on assignment for Telegraph Travel, writing a postcard from Cheshire as part of a series of articles by writers around the UK. Each one is about an under-the-radar destinations for UK staycations with a sprinkle of celebratory stardust.… Read more
How to mark St David’s Day in Wales for food lovers and walking fans
March 2, 2022St. David’s Day in Wales this week and I’ve got two articles out to mark Wales’ patron-saint day. The first is a piece about foodie breaks for spring and my contribution focused on the local flavours and fairytale architecture at Portmeirion [pictured above], North Wales, one of my favourite places… Read more
How to discover hidden Manchester on an alternative city tour
February 13, 2022I’m always on the look out for an alternative city walking tour. It’s a great way to see a city in a new light and gives me with inspiration to help design my own themed tours of my home city of Chester. I was introduced recently to Hayley Flynn, whose Skyliner… Read more