England’s stunningly honey-stoned Cotswolds bask in their reputation for combining muddy walks with roaring fires and great food at the end of the day.

And while these are great things to do in the Cotswolds, they aren’t the only things.

When it comes to the top attractions in the Cotswolds, you’ll often be guided to the world of Jane Austen and the UNESCO World Heritage Roman Baths in Bath. 

And with good reason. Bath remains one of my favourite places to visit in England and, well, the idea of Mr Darcy continues to swoop and swoon around the world.

But that’s not what many who live in England think of the Cotswolds, even if it may be technically true.

If any two words have come to symbolize the full weight of international justice and global condemnation they are The Hague.

War crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity hang in the balance here, as the world’s brightest lawyers look evil in the eye beneath the tree blossom and tiered brick gables of canalside houses in this part of the Netherlands.

Or so I thought. But like pretty much everything else in life, it’s a little more complicated for that.

If travel teaches you anything, it is this: that one man’s hangover-inducing, paint-stripping, memory-erasing spirit shot is another man’s artisanal specialty. Take tequila…

France manages to make almost everything look chic and sexy and awash with romance. From the peeling paint of countryside farmhouses to the sweet sugar of macarons, the bright lights of dazzling Paris to the snow-powdered wooden chalets that speckle around the ski resorts, it seems there are plenty of reasons why more people travel to […]

Tendrils of smoke curl and float past scarlet pillars. Fingers fold white paper into prayers. Heads bow, hands wash in water, and the soft, sonorous chime of a gong, flecked with gold, reverberates through the crowd.

This is the Asakusa Shrine, or Sanja-Sama (the shrine of the three gods,) in the heart of pulsing Tokyo. And right around the corner, I found worship of a different kind.

Heads bowed, sirens blazing, flickering lights in fuchsia and fluorescence.

This is the whir and buzz, the whizz and blaze of Pachinko: a Japanese pinball arcade where silence is forbidden and tranquillity long since forgotten.

Marsh’s Library, Dublin As a child, I dreamed one day of owning, or perhaps just prowling around, an overtowering library. Shelves would reach beyond my eyes, with creaky ladders required to reach the top. Sunlight would shimmer through dust and romance, and science and wild adventure would swim between the thick, creamy pages where black […]

Where are the best places to visit in Africa? The Best Places to Visit in Africa Beyond Cape Town and The Big Five When it comes to talking about travel in Africa, many people still think about this:   Possibly this: Or maybe even this: Africa Beyond Safaris And while there’s no doubt that catching […]

Indulge in this Cotswolds weekend itinerary to enjoy one of England’s richest treats: cosy honeyed villages and sweeping stately homes, gentle landscapes to muddy your boots on and literary links to add culture to the great food and great spa treatments all rolled into one.

  What is home? My weekend foraging for firewood while glamping in beautiful West Wales has me musing on a topic that returns to me again and again over the years. Just what is home? And is it up to us to define it? The Emotional Meaning of Home This week, I was supposed to […]

In a city of a thousand hotels, or more, there are a few hotels in London that I return to time and again. The One Aldwych is one such place, all glossy and stylish near Covent Garden with its gold-leaf cocktails and history credits of cool.

It’s probably fair to say that I am one of the world’s worst sleepers. A dog barks outside, I’m awake. A baby cries, I’m up for the rest of the night.

It was Pablo Picasso who said “art washes out the dust from everyday life.”

But it was Florida who turned that from a laundry chore into bathing in an iridescent sea.

Here’s a beautiful art route through Florida…

Northeast Wales has no shortage of unusual things to do and while it often attracts outdoor adventure types or canal boat cruisers, it’s also perfect for a three day trip or long weekend. Armed with a car, sturdy shoes and an empty stomach, you can combine art, history and some beautiful walks and still be back in London in time for tea.

Sometimes I dream that I am falling. Apparently, everyone does. But more often than that…

Flight delays and cancellations happen to us all. Travel far enough, often enough or just plain unlucky enough and eventually it will happen to you.

So, what now?

Well, just as there’s not much point crying over spilled milk or middle seats on a long haul flight, so it doesn’t pay to lose your cool at the airport.

I stand on the sand, wondering whether or not to take off my shoes.

It’s early, very early, and the sand is wet, packed and hard, little rivulets of early morning water joining hands to spirit themselves off to the sea: a marine demonstration of children returning to school from the playground.

I love to discover new things. New words, new traditions, new flavours.

And a Brettljause in a Buschenschank Steiermark hit that holy trinity of newness in Austria.

First, the words, all buoyant and brilliant with their German love for capital letters bish, bash, bosh in the centre of a sentence. No strict one capital letter diet for them!

Oh no.

The Tivoli Lisbon (or to give it its proper name, the Tivoli Avenida Liberdade Lisboa) sweeps you off your feet into stylish five star luxury with an authentic heart of gold. I’ve yet to see somewhere that so effortlessly combined top end glamour with an unreserved affection for young

Forget dear old Mickey. Florida’s Gulf Coast offers wildlife of a different kind. Gentle sea giant manatees and wild dolphins skitting through sparkling surf. Scorching pink flamingoes and American Bald Eagles. Mile after mile of soft white sand bordered by mangroves and painted lifeguard huts. Just pull up and go for a swim, no organisation required.

Unusual Things to do in North Wales When it comes to looking for unusual things to do in North Wales, the fastest way to find something special is to step away from the west and stay east instead. Snowdon, in all its peaky glory and romantic, snowy name, pulls in the crowds so fast that

The condition known as “flying with toddler” can present with a constellation of symptoms such as fear, anxiety, dread and an impending sense of doom. And that’s just for the other passengers, never mind the parents!

Well, never fear, I am here!

Costa Navarino Resorts in Greece Five Star Luxury with a TwistCosta Navarino ticks all the usual boxes when it comes to luxury resorts in Greece: nice beach, clean pools, swish bar. But it surprised me like no other with its range of cultural events: olive oil tasting, philosophy walks and a dedicated exhibition centre

It’s an inauspicious start. No map. No SatNav. No cash – my very last dihram cleared out by the unexpected fuel charge.

No internet access to check the route. No signal on my iPhone. Just a pen, a scrap of paper and a hastily scribbled map, uneven streaks of biro connecting Moroccan towns that appeared on a picture in the hotel lobby.

A gorgeous collection of unusual things to do in Rome I’m not sure who runs the official ledger of world’s most visited city and catalogue of iconic sights but when I do track them down, I’m betting that Rome is high on the list. The Colosseum. The Pantheon. Spanish Steps. Trevi Fountain. And that’s before we start talking about […]

Image Credit- PONANT© Antarctica or The Arctic? Perhaps it’s because of this year’s heatwave but I’ve been thinking about the cold a lot lately. In particular, Antarctica. There’s one phrase in particular that the heat seems to be melting into my brain. “You haven’t been to Antarctica?” from a travel journalist friend of mine. “You should go!” Her

Tried and tested gifts for travellersGifts for him and gifts for her Gifts for travellers just got a whole lot better with the introduction of the versatile and hassle-free Hotelgift card scheme.  In fact, even calling it a scheme makes it sound more complicated than it is. Truth is, it’s simple, sweet and brilliant and it’s […]

Bajan Recipes Taught In Barbados I love these Bajan recipes that I picked up while on the island. It’s been a little while since I travelled to Barbados but the joy of recipes means that a taste of Caribbean sunshine is just one meal away (and if I squint into this summer’s heatwave, I can […]

Scheveningen Beach. SHAVE-an-ingen Beach. Sherve-nin-ninnin-ninininininin-en Beach. This Dutch spot may have a difficult name but its beauty shines with simplicity. Sand. Dunes. Walking paths, a harbour. Just 15 minutes from the workings of The Hague and you’re there. And via a picturesque tram ride, no less, peppered with important looking embassies and the great Dutch […]

The Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota Florida: thousands of tropical plants, art, research and history Does it make sense to start talking about Florida through its flowers? Or is it too trite a cliche? The modern state of Florida, all 66 000 square miles of it, has an inextricable link with flowers. The name, […]

Kakadu. The sound is soft yet distinctive, like a bird call that rolls and unfolds across the willows and the reeds, the waters, the low and smoky air, to reach me on the scrunched and scorched soil. On the earth that is itself Kakadu.

The word…