501 Places

Our desire to travel is often driven by a wish to escape. Whether it’s from the weather, the job or just the stresses and pressures of everyday life, we all hope that our holiday will give us an emotional boost, and allow us to leave our worries behind, whether we are away for a week, [...]

When we told friends and family we were going to Beirut, we got a mix of concern, raised eyebrows and that look of “why? are you actually paying to go there?” Some probably eyed up our modest belongings and wondered if any would come their way when we were officially declared gone for good. Beirut [...]

I really enjoyed reading Ben Bachelder‘s recent blog post about hitchhiking, and it soon sent me down along Memory Lane. It sad that hitching is so rare these days, and I remember when I enjoyed the pleasures of standing at the side of the road, not knowing who I was about to meet. There were [...]

I am quite reticent of photographing local people on our travels. I don’t know why, but my shyness means that while many others have stacks of pictures of women and children in colourful costumes and toothless men smiling broadly for the camera, my albums only have a small number of these shots. Occasionally though, we [...]

I guess my passion for travel was started at a very early age – and I cannot offer thanks to anyone for helping me with my first solo voyage. Apologies in fact, may be more appropriate, to my parents for worrying them beyond despair, and to the Nottinghamshire Police Constabulary for wasting their time. (For [...]

There are few places as grim as Puerto Natales out of season (ok, not including Blackpool or Skegness out of season… no, think of it, at any time of the year). Bitterly cold, a blustery wind coming of the icy waters, and heavy rain that tries to turn to snow but doesn’t quite do it. [...]

I read yet another post today on the subject of travellers’ snobbery. It got me thinking about the age-old traveller vs tourist debate. Which am I? And does it matter? There are many debates online on this topic (and indeed I have overheard them in many cafes, airports and stations around the world). Almost everyone [...]

I have to admit to not knowing where Aleppo was a few years back. I had seen it on an airport departure board and wondered which part of the world those passengers would be flying to. So I was delighted when I started to research our trip to Syria to see that it is the [...]

How do you get around a major city? Do you choose the overground or the subterranean option? In so many places we instinctively dive into the nearest underground tunnel only to emerge half an hour later in a different part of town. After all, if we only have a day to explore a city, surely [...]

We have been hosting our good friends from California this week. They were with us for three full days, and asked if we could show them Scotland and Wales. “No problem” I said. And then I thought about it, and wondered how the hell it would be possible! Having safely dropped our friends at the [...]