“Solo in Seville” – Part Five 18 minute read Previously in Part Four of “Solo in Seville” – Things feeling different, unexpected changes in weather, changes in plans because of said changes in weather, quiet time reflecting, coffee, there’s always coffee, buying an umbrella from a smiley man, damn that umbrella was easy to find,…
Solo in Seville – Part Four
“Solo in Seville” – Part Four 12 minute read Previously in Part Three of “Solo in Seville” – The safe walk of death, adventures with Sylvester Stallone, a lesson about olives, the potential for weather-induced disappointment, concentrated wind, though not of the farty-type, flashbacks to Iceland, fun facts about rabbits, almost making a new friend,…
Solo in Seville – Part Three
“Solo in Seville” – Part Three 16 minute read Previously in Part Two of “Solo in Seville” – Giant wooden mushrooms, first day wobbles, getting shafted by security but not as badly shafted as somebody else, cue a reflective moment, a glamorous lady on a plane, and a snake on the plane (without Samuel L…
Solo in Seville – Part Two
“Solo in Seville” – Part Two 12 minute read Previously in Part One of “Solo in Seville” – Talking about the ending of a relationship, observing the differences between travelling solo and travelling as a couple, reflecting on life, both the celebrations and the potential for regret, plan B becoming the new plan A, and,…
Solo in Seville – Part One
“Solo in Seville” – Part One 11 minute read The truth about my trip to Seville is that I needed to escape life for a little while. It’s taken me 45 minutes to write that sentence, because up until now I’ve been sat staring at a blank screen, ruminating on how best to start this…
Lud’s Church and The Roaches, England
Lud’s Church and The Roaches, England 4 minute read I woke up this morning feeling the need for adventure. And with the rise of the sun that came pouring through my bedroom window, I was up and out of the house. The drive took me a little over an hour, and even during this early…
Trinkets From My Travels
“Trinkets From My Travels” 4 minute read Since moving house a couple of years ago, I’d been using one of my spare bedrooms as a storeroom. We’ve all done it haven’t we; where the task of unpacking everything can feel so huge that we end up taking out only the essentials. Everything else ends up…
For The Love of Horror (and Facing Your Fears) – Manchester 2021
“For The Love of Horror (and Facing Your Fears) – Manchester 2021” 13 minute read I didn’t want to get out of bed. It was 5am on a cold, wet, Saturday morning. My alarm had sounded, the snooze button had been pressed, and I immediately pulled the duvet back over my head. Despite having waited…
House of Holes, Derby (X-Rated)
“House of Holes, Derby (X-Rated)” 13 minute read To ‘putt my ball into a hole’ always felt like an innocent expression until I visited the House of Holes Because Derby’s brand new indoor crazy-golf venue takes a long-standing traditional vibe and flips it right on its arse, offering a unique and not to mention X-Rated experience to…
“Nordic Exposure” An Icelandic Adventure – Part Four
“Nordic Exposure” An Icelandic Adventure – Part Four 17 minute read Previously in Part Three of “Nordic Exposure” An Icelandic Adventure – waking up to find my headache still wasn’t gone, smelly eggy showers, happy birthday banners and a muffin with a candle, being an hour early for the bus, being early was my…
“Nordic Exposure” An Icelandic Adventure – Part Three
“Nordic Exposure” An Icelandic Adventure – Part Three 9 minute read Previously in Part Two of “Nordic Exposure” An Icelandic Adventure – being in Game of Thrones (sort of, but not really), tectonic plates and a late sunrise, exploding hot springs, punishment for crampon-related cockiness, selfish people who make buses late, toilets that accept…
“Nordic Exposure” An Icelandic Adventure – Part Two
“Nordic Exposure” An Icelandic Adventure – Part Two 14 minute read Previously in Part One of “Nordic Exposure” An Icelandic Adventure – wearing lots of clothes like Joey and asking if I could beeee wearing any more clothes, meeting the Clean Air Appreciation Society (sort of), being on the moon (sort of), Iceland’s super-friendly…
“Nordic Exposure” An Icelandic Adventure – Part One
“Nordic Exposure” An Icelandic Adventure – Part One 10 minute read If somebody had told me a year ago that I’d spend my 40th birthday freezing my nuts off, I wouldn’t have believed a word of it. I thought I’d be on a scorching hot beach, discovering temple ruins in the tropics, or possibly…
The Dead Rabbit at Claridge’s, London
“The Dead Rabbit at Claridge’s, London” 3 minute read Nights like this don’t come along very often. And from the first moment I heard The Dead Rabbit was coming over to England, I just knew it was a night that I’d want to be a part of. I’ll be absolutely honest with you;…
“Four Nights in Florence (with a slice of Pisa)” Part Five
“Four Nights in Florence (with a slice of Pisa)” Part Five 13 minute read Previously in Part Four of “Four Nights in Florence (with a slice of Pisa)” – the definition of genius, feeling totally underwhelmed by the Uffizi, nipple tweaking and dance routines, catching random train under completely spontaneous circumstances, wandering, visiting the leaning tower,…
“Four Nights in Florence (with a slice of Pisa)” Part Four
“Four Nights in Florence (with a slice of Pisa)” Part Four 13 minute read Previously in Part Three of “Four Nights in Florence (with a slice of Pisa)” – the lip swelling subsided (victory), climbing the duomo, having a wooooow moment, climbing up the rest of the duomo, spreading the act of small acts of…
“Four Nights in Florence (with a slice of Pisa)” Part Three
“Four Nights in Florence (with a slice of Pisa)” Part Three 12 minute read Previously in Part Two of “Four Nights in Florence (with a slice of Pisa)” – A train journey continued, being responsible for a Japanese lady, worrying about said responsibility, meeting my responsibility (hurrah), seeing the duomo for the first time,…
“Four Nights in Florence (with a slice of Pisa)” Part Two
“Four Nights in Florence (with a slice of Pisa)” Part Two 13 minute read Previously in Part One of “Four Nights in Florence (with a slice of Pisa)” – An intro featuring a cannibal, being nervous, getting to the airport, meeting a stern check in lady, meeting an over-sized bag attendant (seriously), flying, arriving,…
“Four Nights in Florence (with a slice of Pisa)” Part One
“Four Nights in Florence (with a slice of Pisa)” Part One 12 minute read It all began with a cannibalistic serial killer. And yes, I really am that odd. Because for most people when they think of Florence, Italy; the first image that may come to mind is the vibrant roof of the Duomo…
Zipworld Velocity at Bethesda, Wales
“Zipworld Velocity at Bethesda, Wales” 15 minute read As much as I love to travel alone and have solo adventures, sometimes I wish for nothing more than to share these experiences with my friends. And every so often that’s exactly what I do. Earlier this summer I was perusing through my Facebook news feed…
Lumsdale Falls, Nr Tansley, Matlock, England
Lumsdale Falls, Nr Tansley, Matlock, England 17 minute read I like waterfalls. Actually, scratch that statement. I LOVE waterfalls! And so when the name of Lumsdale Falls was first brought to my attention, I’ll admit that I got just a wee bit excited. This place isn’t found on all maps, there are no road…
Croyde Bay, North Devon, England
Croyde Bay, North Devon, England 5 minute read Amusement arcades and slot machines, kiss-me-quick hats and donkey rides, sticks of rock and candy floss. These are the immediate images that come to mind whenever I think of a typical English seaside town, and as a result, I really despise typical English seaside towns. There’s…
Castleton and Mam Tor, Peak District, England
“Castleton and Mam Tor, Peak District, England” 10 minute read One Sunday morning, just a couple of weeks ago, I woke up with the overwhelming desire to climb up a big hill. And so that’s exactly what I did. I’m still not quite sure where that sudden need came from; maybe it was a…
“The Thailand Travel Diary” Part Five
“The Thailand Travel Diary” Part Five 20 minute read Previously in Part Four of “The Thailand Travel Diary” – Leaving Koh Tao, a weird sweaty wide-eyed nerd on a bus, avoiding the weird sweaty wide-eyed nerd in a service station, scaring and confusing the locals, arriving back in Bangkok, having faith restored by a taxi driver,…
“The Thailand Travel Diary” Part Four
“The Thailand Travel Diary” Part Four 21 minute read Previously in Part Three of “The Thailand Travel Diary” – Felt relaxed, swam to the rock, thought I’d drown, didn’t drown, felt good, woohoo, reflected with metaphors, Christmas karaoke, meeting two German girls, drank whisky, enjoyed the beach with the two German girls, laughed uncontrollably on…
“The Thailand Travel Diary” Part Three
“The Thailand Travel Diary” Part Three 17 minute read Previously in Part Two of “The Thailand Travel Diary” – Left Bangkok early in the morning, observed monks, reflective thoughts, a sickness-inducing catamaran ordeal, arrived at paradise, felt bad, then felt good, more reflective thoughts, hit the beach, communicated with a dog, watched a half-naked sun…
“The Thailand Travel Diary” Part Two
“The Thailand Travel Diary” Part Two 18 minute read Previously in Part One of “The Thailand Travel Diary” – Went to London, met a weirdo and two Israeli prostitutes, eavesdropped on a thought-provoking phonecall, gave bananas to a homeless man, felt confused, met Iva, had a moment, stopped feeling confused, found a quiet part of…
“The Thailand Travel Diary” Part One
“The Thailand Travel Diary” Part One 22 minute read I have a love affair with Thailand which has become almost unconditional. Even though my desire is to venture all over the world and to discover new places, new ways of living, new ways of thinking, and to find all the little gems, quirks, and even the…
“Lossul Begins” – Whitby and Robin Hood’s Bay
“Lossul Begins” – Whitby and Robin Hood’s Bay, England – June 2015 20 minute read I didn’t know if I could make it. My knees were in agony, and as my body lay slumped against the cold hard steps of the guesthouse, just a few feet away from the front door, it may as…