Category: Travel

Food at the Hay Festival

I’m always a bit unsure of what to expect of the food at festivals as it can go one of two ways. Either it’s all poor quality, overpriced burgers and chips or it’s an amazing selection of food from around the world, often healthy, always good quality and served in generous sized portions.

As I hadn’t been to the Hay Festival before I didn’t know which way it would swing and so came prepared with plenty of dehydrated pasta and noodles that I could quickly whip up in the van.

It turned out I needn’t have worried as the food at the Hay Festival was blummin’ lovely. I took all my pasta and noodles home with me again.

So in case you’re thinking about going to Hay next year and you’re wondering what the food will be like, I’ve collated some of my photos of the things I ate. Scroll down to find out more about the food at the Hay Festival.

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The Hay Festival Survival Guide

I had a lot of questions before I went to the Hay Festival for the first time and you probably will too. So I’ve written a Hay Festival Survival Guide to answer them.

I’ve just returned from a fabulous week at the Hay Festival. It was my first time there and I really don’t know why it took me so long to actually get there. As it was my first time I wasn’t too sure of what to expect and so in case you’re planning to go next year I thought I’d write this Hay Festival survival guide whilst everything is still fresh in my mind.

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Exploring Caithness

Caithness in the far north east corner of mainland Britain is full of ancient brochs, cairns and castles and gorgeous beaches. But hardly any people or traffic.

Caithness is the county that covers the far north east of Scotland. You might think it’s so far away that there won’t be much to do and see there apart from getting your picture taken at the John O’Groats sign, but you’d be wrong. You could really dedicate an entire holiday just to exploring Caithness and still not see everything. Even though I’ve travelled round it several times I still have plenty of reasons to go back and I know I won’t run out of things to do any time soon.

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Exploring Thurso – Scotland’s most northerly town

Quirky gravestones, an old well and a nuclear power station control room are all good reasons for stopping off and exploring Thurso, Scotland’s most northerly town.

Thurso, in case you don’t know, is mainland Britain’s most northerly town. It sits right at the top of Scotland looking out across the sea to the Orkney Isles.

The north coast of Scotland is absolutely stunning and has so much to see and do, you might be tempted to just pass right by Thurso. I wouldn’t blame you for taking one look at that gorgeous coastline and thinking ‘town? – meh! – I can see towns any time, why would I waste my time visiting one now?’

I take your point, but before you make the decision have a read of this post as I think you might find it worth your while stopping off for a few hours.

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Exploring Mey – Scotland’s Homeliest Castle

The Queen Mother turned a derelict castle on the far north coast of Scotland into a beautiful home. I went to explore and found a place I never wanted to leave.

Who doesn’t love exploring an old castle? Whether it’s clambering around ruins or wandering through stately rooms decked out for the 1800s there’s just something about a castle that will pique most people’s interest.

The best kind of castle though, at least to me, is one I really could imagine living in. And to help facilitate my imagination it’s best if the castle actually looks like a home I’d want to live in; the sort where I really have to restrain myself from pulling a book off the shelves, flopping on the sofa, putting my feet up and pouring myself a coffee from the silver pot (there’s always a silver pot).

The Castle of Mey is just such a castle.

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How to Spend a Day in Corona, Queens

On my recent trip to New York I wanted to explore more than just Manhattan. So I spent a day in Corona, Queens. I found great Mexican food and got to see bears and the most ostentatious bathroom ever.

One of the reasons I chose to spend ten days in New York rather than just a week, was because I wanted to give myself chance to get the feel for the city. I knew I wanted to do all the big touristy stuff, but I also wanted to have time to sit in coffee shops and wander round back streets and generally pretend I was a New Yorker. 

Okay, so I knew that ten days was never going to do much more than lift the hatch on New York, but at least the hatch would be lifted. 

Ten days also meant I had time to get out of Manhattan. Technically I was out of Manhattan every day as I deliberately chose to stay in Brooklyn, but I also wanted to spend a day exploring somewhere that wasn’t Manhattan. I looked at ways of getting out to the Hamptons or upstate to the Catskills or even to some of the towns along the Hudson, as they all seemed the sorts of places New Yorkers would go when they wanted to get out of town. But none of them really worked for a day trip without a car. 

Step forward Corona, Queens. Yeah, I hadn’t heard of it either. Corona, that is. Of course I’ve heard of Queens. 

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25 Ways to Pretend to be a New Yorker

On my recent trip to New York I wanted to be more than a just a tourist. I wanted to get insider insights and feel like I could be a New Yorker. This is what I learnt.

The anthropologist in me is never content with just visiting a place and being a tourist. I like to feel I’m getting under the skin and finding out what it’s like to be a local there. This was even more important to me than usual when I made my first visit to New York in October. It’s a place I’ve dreamed about visiting for years decades. It’s a place I’ve seriously thought about spending a year in just so I can get to know it. It’s why it’s on my ‘60 things to do before I’m 60‘ list. 

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Exploring Wick

Wick in Scotland’s far north east has an interesting history that can be discovered on an easy to follow heritage walk. I spent a day exploring Wick and this is what I found.

I’ve always bypassed Wick when I’ve travelled up and down to the far north of Scotland. No particular reason other than that it’s a way off the main A9 route and I’ve always had other places I’ve wanted to visit. This time I was determined to stick to the coastal road and visit some of the places which have found fame since some clever marketing person coined the idea of the North Coast 500 route a few years ago. I’m looking at you Whaligoe Steps.

As I was going to be driving right through Wick it would have been too much of a missed opportunity not to stop and explore for a few hours.

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Exploring the Best of Rotterdam’s Architecture

Rotterdam deserves several days, but even if you only have one day you can still get a feel for the city and appreciate its regeneration. Here’s how to explore the best of Rotterdam’s architecture in one day.

Earlier this year I attended a travel blogging conference in Rotterdam and squeezed in an extra day which I spent exploring the best of Rotterdam’s architecture.

I hadn’t realised this was the theme for my day until afterwards when I was looking over everything I’d done that day. That everything seemed to be about architecture really sums up Rotterdam.

Rotterdam has struggled with second-city syndrome for years. Not only does it have to compete with Amsterdam (which would be stiff competition in any country), but it also has to compete which much smaller, but very much better known places like Delft. Continue reading “Exploring the Best of Rotterdam’s Architecture”

9 Things You Need to Know Before Using the New York Subway

My first forays on the New York subway made my head spin. As a seasoned traveller I didn’t think this was possible! As the New York subway has quirks you won’t find anywhere else I’ve made it easy for you by letting you in on 9 things you need to know about using the New York subway so you can be prepared before your first trip.

The New York subway is great. It runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week and there are stations everywhere. And it’s cheap – only $2.75 for a ride that could take you from one end of Manhattan to the far reaches of Queens or Brooklyn. There are no zones to worry about, it’s a one-size fits all system.

So using the subway to get around New York should be dead easy right? And it is. Sort of. So long as you take account of its quirks and allow yourself a bit of time to get your head round it without beating yourself up when you find yourself in completely the wrong part of Manhattan. Continue reading “9 Things You Need to Know Before Using the New York Subway”