501 Places

This is not the first post on the thorny topic of tipping on 501 Places. Previous posts have addressed the variations in the practice of tipping across the world, or have looked at the many national quirks in tipping etiquette and how they inevitably leave a visitor confused and often embarrassed. But in a week [...]

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. [...]

As a hectic week draws to a close I thought it worth reflecting on the recent St Albans blog trip. For those who missed my previous post on the subject, I invited five of Europe’s finest travel bloggers to stay in my home town of St Albans before and during World Travel Market. The event [...]

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 [...]

This weekend St Albans will play host to five of Europe’s prominent travel bloggers. I’m very much looking forward to welcoming four old friends and one that I’ve yet to meet in real life to my home city. I’ve had a lot of fun organising this event and I’ve stressed to those attending that this [...]

Many places lay claim to the much hyped label ‘Eighth Wonder of the World’. A recent entrant to this list of aspiring wonders is the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandi, better known as the Neasden Temple. This unglamorous corner of London is better known to millions as home to two giant symbols of worship of a [...]

I think I know London pretty well these days. I’m in the city most weeks, and a couple of times a month we take a long walk through different neighbourhoods and see what we can find: blue plaques depicting famous residents of the past, surprising remnants of wars or fires that have shaped the city [...]

Last night I co-hosted the weekly Travellers’ Night In (TNI) event on Twitter. It’s basically a couple of hours of chatter with several hundred people around 10 timed questions on a particular theme. This week it was all about the UK. While the audience is international it is fair to say that the majority of [...]