It wasn’t intentional, but over our Christmas roadtrip, we seemed to visit quite a few cathedrals. Not for spiritual reasons, you understand. We love a cathedral for its architecture and gloriously over the top rich interiors. First stop was one we know very well – Durham Cathedral. Having grown up near here, it’s a place […]
Although it’s been a while since I lived in the North East, we do still get to experience it when we visit family. It’s become a bit of a tradition that we do a bracing post-Christmas walk, usually on the coast, and this year was no exception. On the day after Boxing Day, we headed […]
It turns out Christmas Eve was just about the most perfect time to visit Salts Mill, in Saltaire, on our way up to the North East for our festive break. Now a Unesco World Heritage Site, like the very beautiful Port Sunlight on The Wirral, Saltaire was an industrial village, purpose-built in 1851, by philanthropic […]
When we drive back to England, we tend to do a much needed stopover in the south-east after the ferry crossing from Calais. This year, we plumped for The Falstaff in Canterbury, which, according to its website – …has been a focus for hospitality in Canterbury for over 600 years. A traditional 15th century coaching […]
Split by the River Esk, Whitby is one of my favourite spots on the Yorkshire coast. I always seem to have visited in the winter months, and although I am sure spring and summer are glorious (mostly!) – my impression of Whitby is of brooding and dramatic skies, and waves crashing in from the North […]
Although we know most of the north of England fairly well, we weren’t aware of Brimham Rocks. How did we not know about them? Found on Brimham Moor in North Yorkshire, England the rocks began taking their shape roughly 320 million years ago, when water, grit, and sand washed down from Scotland and Norway to […]
Not too long ago, when we still lived in Didsbury, we often thought about having time away in London, but never got round to it, because, well – London was just too far away from Manchester. The traffic would be awful. We’d end up sitting on the M6 or the M25. It was over-priced and […]
Our Christmas travels took us all over England, as we visited family and friends. It was a very different Christmas holiday this year, as we were constantly on the go, moving from one place to another. Eventually that takes its toll and so we decided to call time, and be settled, and be somewhere for […]
Having lived in Didsbury for a very long time, we know a lot about Eleven Didsbury Park and its sister hotel, Didsbury House. We’ve stayed at Didsbury House previously and have attended weddings there, and it really, really does have the wow factor. On this trip, we were also attending a wedding in Didsbury and […]
We decided that after crossing the Channel, a long drive to Manchester, on a Thursday evening, might just be too big an ask and so decided to stay for the night on the south east coast. I’d read an article about Folkestone and how the arts scene is flourishing and more independent shops and restaurants […]
West Didsbury has become a real Manchester hot-spot, and if you’re visiting the region, you’d do well to get to know some of the mainly independent eateries along Burton Road, Lapwing Lane and not forgetting Nell Lane. Before a recent relocation to slightly sunnier climes, we lived in West Didsbury for nearly twenty years and […]
Previous years have seen us getting away from West Didsbury and largely exploring Italy, Spain and Greece, with some nice city breaks in between. This year – summer 2017 – has seen us doing a very different kind of a holiday. Firstly, it was a very strange feeling booking outward flights TO Manchester from Pula […]