Took a quick look around Dunedin again the other day.  Haven’t been there for a while. One of the good things about Dunedin is that it doesn’t change too much. Sort of like a comfortable old sweater. If Dunedin has anything to give the nation it is the heritage of its beautiful … [Read more...]

Visiting Auckland or Sydney over the next couple of months?  You simply must go to the Pop-Up Globe. It’s one of the world’s two full-scale temporary working replicas of Globe 2, the theatre that for three decades was the home of many of Shakespeare’s plays and the company he wrote those plays … [Read more...]

If you have been to Britain before and therefore seen all the biggie London sightseeing options - you know,  The Tower, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Tower Bridge, St Pauls etc. etc. - or if you just enjoy something a little different in your sightseeing diet, here's a collection of lesser known but … [Read more...]

As I said in an earlier post: How can anyone possibly pick the "X best places to visit in the UK?  There are so many to choose from. So here, in no particular order, are 10 more "best places" to add to your UK road trip. There are, of course, dozens more places and things that you'd love to … [Read more...]

From time to time I get asked “What are the best places to visit in the UK?". How can anyone possibly answer that? A) It depends on what interests you have and B) There are so many other things to see and do and experience it’s hard to tease out the pick of them. In any event any "best … [Read more...]

I'm no expert on the best UK gardens. I love to visit them, but I really don't have the skill-set to tell a great British garden from merely a very good one. I am, however, a very good information miner so I decided to hunt out the opinions of experts on the best of British gardens. The only … [Read more...]

British castles are a major tourist attraction these days, but in the prime of their time they were built to impose power, to intimidate, to let the locals know who was in charge. And York Castle,  dominating the city's skyline, was a pre-eminent example of that mindset. Also known as … [Read more...]

Scotland is a beautiful landscape just made for self drive touring.  That’s why, in my road trip planner, I’ll give you several touring routes reaching from the Borders to the Highlands, taking in some of the country’s most historic sites and scenes. Find out more here. In a blog post on the … [Read more...]

You don't have to have the income of an Arab sheik to stay at a good London hotel. Of course, it does depend a bit on your definition of "good".  For me - because for me it's just a place to grab some sleep - all I want is have a clean room with a comfy bed and a hot shower. I don't need room … [Read more...]