How to celebrate St Dwynwen’s Day in Anglesey, North Wales
January 25, 2021Today marks St Dwynwen’s Day, the Welsh equivalent of Valentine’s Day. The love action is focused on Llanddwyn Island [pictured above], a remote headland off the tip of Anglesey, where Dwynwen founded her spiritual Shangri-La in the 5th century. It’s a place to celebrate new-found love and soothe the soul… Read more
How to take a walk in the footsteps of the Northern Saints
January 14, 2021* This post was written pre lockdown * One name keeps coming up in County Durham: Cuthbert. “St Cuthbert is woven into the landscape of the Northeast. There were times when the pilgrims couldn’t get to his shrine as it was so crowded.” Charlie Allen, Canon Chancellor of Durham Cathedral, is… Read more
Why a virtual tour of Manchester is the best way to celebrate Corrie at 60
December 9, 2020A British institution reaches the age to collect its bus pass today. It’s not a person but a TV series, one that has reflected the changing fortunes of Manchester from gritty, post-industrial monochrome to modern cultural colossus. It has celebrated ordinary lives lived large, survived countless traumas and even launched… Read more
The North Wales town expecting an unexpected I’m A Celebrity tourism boom
November 17, 2020Never mind Jordan North’s happy place. The only place to be right now is a small market in North Wales with a Grade I-listed castle. The reason? Gwrych Castle on the edge of Abergele is hosting the ITV series I’m A Celebrity following a Covid-enforced relocation from the Australian jungle.… Read more
Why a Halloween trip to the Peak District is the ultimate dark-tourism break
November 1, 2020A Halloween story. It is based around an autumnal visit to the Peak District village of Eyam, otherwise known as ‘the plague village’. But my visit on a sunny September day proved prescient not just for a spooky Halloween story slot in Telegraph Travel, but also as a reminder of… Read more
How to spend a weekend on the Herefordshire Cider Circuit
October 23, 2020National Apple Day had cider fans celebrating this week. I joined in the spirit of the autumnal event with a short UK break in Herefordshire, following a newly launched Cider Circuit [pictured above] of orchards and producers. It was great to be on assignment and having a change of scene in… Read more
Imagine: what’s happening in Liverpool to mark John Lennon’s 80th birthday
October 8, 2020This week would have been John Lennon’s 80th birthday. His home city of Liverpool is marking the anniversary with a series of events and exhibitions this week and beyond in memory of its favourite son. Beatles tourism is hugely important to the city, generating £82m and created nearly 2,500 jobs,… Read more
Why my op-ed travel feature seemed to touch a nerve with dog owners
September 29, 2020It has recorded 191 comments by the time I write this. Some supportive, some hostile. Many are knee-jerk reactions and include some venting of personal bias. But I’ve enjoyed reading them all. After all, it’s great as a writer to have a dialogue with readers — even if they are… Read more
Why my postcard from Llandudno has a taste of seaside nostalgia
August 21, 2020It was a weekend of seaside nostalgia. We took a trip to Llandudno last weekend to write a postcard from the North Walian resort for Telegraph Travel. But it was also something of a personal journey. I used to go to Llandudno on family holidays as a child — that’s… Read more