501 Places

London has developed a world famous reputation for the quality of its museums; and just as importantly for the fact that they are free. In fact throughout the UK you’ll find that most of the state-managed museums and galleries offer free admission to their visitors. This is a huge benefit to visitors who come to [...]

Britain holds 60 million people on its relatively small landmass. For many visitors therefore it comes as something of a surprise that there are so many empty spaces in our country. Even the South East, where the population density is at its greatest, has many great parks and open spaces. We may not be home [...]

Another crazy idea to cross off the list? It certainly was, and we took the opportunity last Wednesday and headed into London. It was a sunny day but cool; perfect for covering 15 miles along the city’s streets. We set off intent on visiting each street of the famous board game, and photographing our evidence [...]

One of our favourite walks in New York was to wander down from our apartment on the Upper East Side and along Madison Avenue towards Midtown. If you’re after some serious people watching, Madison Avenue in the 60s (between 60th and 69th Streets) takes some beating. On these blocks you’ll find many of the top [...]

“Phew, what a scorcher!” This clichéd headline is almost guaranteed to appear in a tabloid sometime during a British summer; usually on the first day that the thermometer hits 25c. Coupled with a picture of bikini-clad middle aged women eating ice cream by the beach, the story will describe how our country is experiencing the [...]

I’ve already written about the excitement of flying into Barra. To many people, simply choosing a destination for the sake of the flight there might seem a bit pointless. So what is there to do once you arrive on this tiny Hebridean island? Well, the good news is that the isle of Barra and its [...]

As one of life’s hopeless dreamers there are places, experiences and events that have long been on my wish list. Anyone who has a similar list will know that the list will never be empty. Each year another couple of places may be ticked off the list, while another dozen are added to the end, [...]

There’s something unique about life on a small island. You get a sense of community that is elusive to the places where most of us live. I’ve noticed this on our many visits to the remote corners of Scotland, and experienced this most of all on our recent trip to Barra, a tiny island at [...]

Turquiose waters, stunning secluded beaches, the ocean dotted with tiny picturesque islands and a warm friendly welcome from the locals. Where am I describing? The first thoughts when we hear these words are probably of the Caribbean, or of some beautiful resorts in Thailand or the South Pacific. Well, for those in the UK who [...]

Canterbury was the first city taken by William the Conqueror in 1066, and it fell without a struggle. Almost a thousand years later it is the first port of call for many French daytrippers and weekend tourists, much like Boulogne is for the English (although with the pound as weak as it is these days, [...]