501 Places

Over the weekend we had the chance to explore two cities in the south east of England that have a fair amount in common. Both are a short train ride from London; both have enough olde worlde buildings to be regularly used as a filming location for period dramas; and of particular relevance to this [...]

As so often happens, the comments section of my recent post looking at what inspires us to choose our travel destinations has proved to be more interesting than my original entry. Both Maxine Sheppard and Pam Mandel highlighted the role that the history of a place can play in enticing us to visit; I was reminded [...]

Many British people view the exchanges in the House of Commons as something of an embarrassing pantomime. That 650 grown men and women should holler at one another every week like overgrown schoolchildren is bad enough; that those 650 happen to be the people we have elected to serve as our representatives in government is [...]

“England is burning and you’re risking life and limb if you step out on the streets”. That’s what you may be led to believe if you listen to the media coverage of this week’s riots. I had several messages via Facebook and Twitter this week checking if we are ok and advising me to stay [...]

Have you ever stood and watched people fixed in a spiritual trance (however you define one) and wondered just who it is who is missing something? Is it they who are feeling something magical about the place you’re visiting, a mysterious power, an energy; and you just haven’t got what it takes to feel it [...]

Imagine receiving a notice to say that you must leave your family home within the next month in order to ‘help the national war effort’. Few would have begrudged the cause in the autumn of 1943, but for the villages of Tyneham in Dorset this would still have been a letter that they hoped they [...]

The Henry Moore exhibition at Hatfield House opens on April 23rd and will run throughout the summer months. It is the largest exhibition of Moore’s distinctive work ever shown in a private house. I was involved in organising a preview event for the exhibition recently and as a result was invited to attend. A great [...]

I have a soft spot for London. I enjoy living a 20 minute train ride away from the city and being able to venture in for a wander through the streets, for a meal or to see one of the daily events that takes place somewhere in its vast sprawl. But it wasn’t always like [...]

Making the most of a glorious sunny day, we got off the tube at Hammersmith and started walking towards the river with no fixed plans in mind. A few hours later we had arrived at St Pancras Station, feet aching but having seen a wonderful cross-section of London life across many of its different neighbourhoods. [...]

There are tours of London for just about everyone. You can take the open top bus, you can sail along the river, or even cross it in the yellow Duck tour bus. Think of any theme vaguely connected to London and the chances are that you can do a related walking tour. So when I [...]