Category: Travel
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Our honeymoon in Mauritius (part 2)
After spending a few days in Réunion, the second part of our honeymoon saw us staying in Mauritius.
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Our honeymoon in Mauritius and Réunion (part 1)
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In September, Alex and I had our “big” honeymoon, in Mauritius and Réunion. It was a holiday that perfectly balanced adventure and chill.
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Crawick Multiverse
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At the weekend, we visited Crawick Multiverse, a land art installation in Dumfries and Galloway designed by Charles Jencks.
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Good morning. This is the view from our room for the next few days
Good morning. This is the view from our room for the next few days. 🏝️🌅👩❤️👨
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We cracked the Crystal Maze in Manchester
My expectations were already high. But they were surpassed. Let me emphasise this: The Crystal Maze Experience was way better than I expected. Which was already very good.
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Bruges and Flanders — our final few days in Belgium
Having spent a couple of days in Brussels, our time in Belgium was fast coming to an end. So on our road trip, we began to make our way back towards the west. We had two days to visit two areas.
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After the Belgian Grand Prix — Days out in Spa and Brussels
After our weekend at the Belgian Grand Prix last year, Alex and I stayed on for a few more days to explore other parts of Belgium.
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Belgian Grand Prix race day — Trip to Belgium part 3
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This year’s Belgian Grand Prix may have been a damp squib, but we still had a great time on race day.
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Trip to Belgium part 2 — Belgian Grand Prix qualifying day, and F1 Vision reviewed
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The on-track action ramped up on Saturday, with the the first races of the weekend — and F1 qualifying. But the handheld F1 Vision device could have done with some improvements.
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Our first grand prix experience — Trip to Belgium part 1 — Arrival and Friday practice
Even though both Gordon and I have been avid Formula 1 fans since we were kids, we have never made it to a grand prix. That changed when we went with Alex on a road trip to see the Belgian Grand Prix.
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The Commons: The past is 100% part of our future
The Commons: The past is 100% part of our future A reassuring update from Flickr, following the announcement that free accounts will have their photos deleted. They have now confirmed that photos uploaded under Creative Commons licenses will not be deleted. Since (I think) I uploaded everything under Creative Commons, this means my photos are […]
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So it happened — Flickr has got rid of almost-unlimited storage
This week, Flickr announced that free accounts will be limited to only 1,000 photos. It’s another warning that we can’t rely on externally-run content silos.
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UK’s worst-selling map: The empty landscape charted by OS440
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UK’s worst-selling map: The empty landscape charted by OS440 The story of Glen Cassley and Glen Oykel, the country’s least-popular Ordnance Survey map. On my visit last week, Dave Robertson and I strolled through these wonders that were only intermittently blighted by rain or midges. We met only one set of fellow walkers – who […]
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I smashed my expectations at Pedal for Scotland 2018
Yesterday was Pedal for Scotland, the annual cycle from Glasgow to Edinburgh. It’s the second time I have taken part, my first being last year. But I was concerned that I wouldn’t be prepared enough for the 45 mile cycle.
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Letterboxing in Lundy — how not to get bored on a tiny island
This time last year, Alex and I went on holiday to Lundy. The island was best known to me as one of those mysterious locations of the shipping forecast. Somewhere between the Irish Sea and Fastnet, wherever that is.
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Don’t look down
Don’t look down. At the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead.
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Day out at Yorkshire Sculpture Park
We really enjoy visiting Yorkshire Sculpture Park. It’s a fabulous space, both outdoor and indoor. It’s large enough that you can’t comfortably see all of it in one visit, meaning every time you go you see something new.
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The psychological tricks TfL uses to make London’s tube feel faster
The psychological tricks TfL uses to make London’s tube feel faster A great piece of the little experiments TfL is carrying out in an attempt to improve the efficiency of the London Underground. But it’s striking that the consensus of most of the experts in this piece seems to be that real improvements wouldn’t be […]
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Flashback: How Yahoo killed Flickr and lost the internet
Flashback: How Yahoo killed Flickr and lost the internet This page was published in 2013 as a flashback to an article seemingly written in 2012. It underlines just how slow and painful a death Flickr had. Reading this six years on is a fascinating reminder of just what could have been. By 2012, Flickr was […]
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The amazing psychology of Japanese train stations
The amazing psychology of Japanese train stations How Japan uses behavioural science (nudge theory) to keep its railways flowing efficiently. Tokyo is home to the world’s busiest train stations, with the capital’s rail operators handling a combined 13 billion passenger trips annually. Ridership of that volume requires a deft blend of engineering, planning, and psychology. […]
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Tonight I rode 32 miles
I am aiming to cycle twice a week. But I don’t have the time to ride twice this week. Perhaps this is one reason why I decided to make today’s a big one by my standards.
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The decline of Flickr shows how the web has lost its open spirit
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Share is a word we hear a lot these days. “Share to Facebook” really means, “Lock away in Facebook”. But sharing on Flickr really meant sharing — with the world.
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Happy new year 2018 — reflections and resolutions
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2017 is a year that showed that I have a lot to be grateful for. But even though I don’t normally set new year’s resolutions, I am setting myself three broad goals for 2018.
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Voyage to Iceland
My second visit to Iceland made up for what I missed the first time round. But it left me still wanting more.
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Highlights from our holiday to New York
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In March, Alex and I took a trip to New York. It was such a brilliant holiday that it has taken me 9 months to write about it all.
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Why I wouldn’t reduce the length of my commute
We often think of commuting as wasteful and inconvenient. But is it entirely negative?
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A summer of cycling for Pedal for Scotland
This year I took part in Pedal for Scotland, an annual charity cycle from Glasgow to Edinburgh. I had never cycled anything like that distance before.
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Alex and I are now engaged!
On Saturday 4 November, we had been together for 2 million minutes. So I whisked Alex off for a mystery trip to the north east of Scotland.
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Get out of my office: how to switch to ‘walking meetings’
Get out of my office: how to switch to ‘walking meetings’ Move more. Get up and walk about. And I don’t just mean in the office. Go out for a walk, get some fresh air for a meeting.
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North Coast 500 – days 9 and 10 – Dunnet Head, Castle of Mey, Duncansby Stacks and the journey home
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The odd thing about John O’Groats is that you would imagine it being like the edge of the world the way people talk about it. But once you get there, it doesn’t feel like the edge of anything.
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North Coast 500 – day 8 – Durness to John O’Groats
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We covered the whole northern coast of Scotland in one day.
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North Coast 500 – day 7 – Stoer, Drumbeg and Durness
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On a glorious day we saw a beautiful lighthouse, walked to a natural wonder and stayed at a campsite with the most incredible view.
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North Coast 500 – day 6 – Corrieshalloch Gorge, Knockan Crag and Lochinver Larder
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The next stage of our journey took us to the North West Highlands Geopark, where the landscape was at its most dramatic.
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North Coast 500 – day 5 – Applecross peninsula, the beach at Redpoint and Badrallach
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This day’s drive was a long one. In total, we spent over four and a half hours driving. But we just had time to stop off at a legendary beach before heading to the wonderful Badrallach campsite.
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North Coast 500 – days 3 and 4 – Applecross, Eilean Donan castle and Plockton
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We continued our North Coast 500 by heading west. But we were a little disappointed by one of the area’s main attractions.
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North Coast 500 – days 1 and 2 – Rogart and Helmsdale
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Part 1 of a series of posts about the North Coast 500, a road trip that takes you on a circular route around the north coast of the Highlands of Scotland.
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The once in a lifetime trip to the 24 Hours of Le Mans that became the first of many
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How my brother and I caught the bug at the world’s most legendary motor race.
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History and high tension: a long weekend in Berlin
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This month Alex and I took a long weekend break in Berlin. Despite almost getting caught up in something nasty, we had a brilliant time.
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Trip to Tiree
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Our trip to Tiree was my first visit to a Hebridean island. The beautiful and quiet island reluctantly revealed its secrets over the course of the week.
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Jupiter Artland: an incredible sculpture park near Edinburgh
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Jupiter Artland, which reopens for the summer this weekend, is arguably one of the area’s greatest cultural assets.
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Italy adventures part 2: Venice
Highlights from the most unique city I have ever visited.
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Italy adventures part 1: Rome
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Alex and I took a trip to Italy for new year. Among our highlights from Rome were a visit to the Vatican City and new year’s eve at the Colosseum.
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Walking for the sake of it
You don’t need to have a purpose to walk. The physical and mental health benefits are manifest. My daily walk is as important to me as brushing my teeth.
