Heidelberg – Elegant and Sweet – travel review
Heidelberg is picture perfect, well preserved and a working town. There are alleys, boutiques, cafés, restaurants, stunning churches, statues and history at every turn, but...
Fontenay Abbey – travel review
Late spring in Burgundy. The banks of the canal were festooned with the colours of wild flowers: the blue of cornflowers, the blood red of...
Sake – a Japanese History – travel review
We in the West are becoming more familiar with Sake. There are now many more Japanese restaurants in our cities and all of them will...
Caxton Bar at St Ermin’s
This is undoubtedly one of the most noteworthy hotels in London. St Ermin’s welcomes guests with iconic architecture and unique ambiance (read more about the...
The George and Dragon Hotel Stay
Oh, the joy of the British countryside! Perhaps a picturesque village with rustic charm; could there be an historic coaching inn? Yes, indeed, and quite...
Kasteel de Haar
It’s true – one hardly expects to find castles in The Netherlands! But they do exist and there are many of them, along with stately...
Middachten Castle – It’s a Family Affair
Middachten Castle or Kasteel Middachten in Dutch, is a significant and beautiful manor house, located on the Middachten estate, De Steeg, Netherlands. The building we...
Loevestein Castle – Historic Netherlands
This is said to be the most famous castle in the Netherlands. That will come as a surprise to most tourists, who will likely not...
Gilbey’s for an Eton Stay
Dear tourist, please take a step away from London on your next vacation. Eton awaits and it’s a gem of a destination. Don’t worry about...
Holdsworth House Halifax – stay
This is a jewel of a hotel, and there can surely be no better time to visit Holdsworth House Hotel than during those weeks just...
The House Stay on The Beaverbrook Estate – hotel review
We are blessed, in the Home Counties and Greater London, with a wealth of fine hotels. There are boutique hotels, glitzy city hotels, former ancestral...
Calamity and Courage – review
Calamity and Courage – A Heroine of the Raj is another in my collection of fascinating books about India and all things Indian that I...
Swan Upping – travel review
Swan Upping is an annual ceremonial event and an activity that has endured since the 12th century. The mute swans on part of the River...
Rennes – living with history – travel review
History is everywhere in Rennes but it’s actually considered by thoroughly modern folks to be one of the most liveable cities in France. That’s a...
Bayeux – A stitch in time – travel review
It’s inevitable that the first thing people think of when you mention Bayeux is the tapestry. Though it’s not actually a tapestry but a very...
Waddesdon Bequest – arts review
The British Museum in London is famed the world over for its displays of artefacts and curios. Granted, there are some that feel many of...
Strawberry Hill House – Former grandeur restored – travel review
Strawberry Hill. Even the name conjures visions of pastoral idylls, perhaps a water-colour of mature trees with the promise of a gently-flowing river just over...
The Three Faces of Richard – travel review
You couldn’t make it up! A story that, on the face of it, sounds quite improbable. The King in the Car Park … indeed a...
Norcia – Umbria, Italy – travel review
Anyone with a molecule of romance in their hearts will have considered a vacation in Italy. Any lover of good food and wine would have...
Gardens of Delight – Indian Gardens Through the Ages – review
We British tend to think that we invented gardens and the concept of those spaces as areas of leisure. English gardens are mimicked the world...