Slovenia
24 hours in Piran
As first-time visitors to Piran, what immediately struck us was how it felt more Italian than the towns we’d passed through/stayed in during our travels around Slovenia. […]
Europe
Hiking
Levada walking on Madeira
Our introduction to walking on Madeira came as a punch-in-the-gut shock. We knew some routes on the Floating Garden of the Atlantic had become extremely popular at certain times of the year, but not the São Lourenço Peninsula. […]
Galicia
Food along the Camino de Santiago
The first thing anyone needs to know about the food along the Camino de Santiago is, what that food consists of could vary depending on which route a pilgrim follows. There are numerous routes, starting in Spain, France, and Portugal. For the sake of keeping this simple and not overly lengthy, I’m concentrating purely on dishes with a robust link to Galicia. […]
Lisbon
How to avoid a bad Lisbon experience
If experienced travellers can make mistakes when it comes to visiting popular cities, so can the average traveller. With than in mind, I’ve put together these tips on how to avoid a bad Lisbon experience. […]
Great Britain
Are we making a fuss about heatwaves in Britain?
Twenty-five years ago, I would have greeted news of heatwaves in Britain with a ‘YAY! About time we got some hot weather.’ But nearly twenty years of living on Tenerife and in Portugal completely changed […]
Hiking
Walking in Peneda-Gerês National Park
The first thing I have to say is that, over the course of four years exploring and helping create Slow Travel holidays across the country, walking in Peneda-Gerês National Park gave us the best experiences […]
Spain
Writing about the real Tenerife
It’s sixteen years since we set up our first website to share what we were discovering about the real Tenerife. The website was an afterthought, designed to accompany a driving guide to some of our […]
As we walked out
A Week’s Walking on Jersey
What a cracker of an intro to walking on Jersey – coastal paths, huge views, green lanes (roads where walkers, cyclists, and horse riders take precedence over cars), sweeping bays with golden sand beaches, potato fields, seafood shacks on the beach. […]
Alentejo
Eight of the most beautiful towns in Portugal
Marvão comes in at first position as it dominated our view for four months. Perched on a rock overlooking the golden Alentejo plains, this walled, Moorish town near the border with Spain is as stunning up close as it is from a distance. […]
Cornwall
In a Pandemic, Does Customer Service Still Matter?
We felt as if we’d just dined in a motorway service station, albeit one with good food. We would not be dining here again and would probably give them a mediocre rating on TripAdvisor. […]
As we walked out
Walking the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal
The towpath becomes less manicured where nature has snatched back land lost to relatively small-scale industrialisation. Ferns crowd the chocolate-coloured water; there are more ducks and moorhen than boats; many of the old bridges spanning the canal are overgrown to the point of being impossible to cross; and the leafy forest canopy closes in above… […]
Hiking
10 reasons why snowy destinations are for non-skiers
Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve written quite a bit about snow breaks for non-skiers. By now I should be weary of trying to describe wintry scenes using numerous different words, wishing I was […]
As we walked out
Absolute beginners walking Pen y Fan
While we weren’t exactly rookies when we first climbed Pen y Fan in the Brecon Beacons, neither were we hardened hikers. We made some basic mistakes. For a start, we underestimated the British weather. Foolhardy […]
Great Britain
Abuse in the hospitality sector is a two-way street
At the end of summer, newspapers in Britain carried many reports of abuse in the hospitality sector; of workers nearing breakdown point due to being overworked and suffering stress due to unsympathetic customers who were […]
Galicia
Walking the Camino de Santiago during a pandemic
Some people walk the Camino for spiritual reasons. Some seek adventure, camaraderie, and possibly even life-changing experiences. Others do it simply because it is there. We did it because it was work … and because […]