Hi, I'm Alex, a travel writer based in London, I love writing about travel as much as traveling itself. I’m a scrappy researcher, and a hoarder of info, whether it's trivial or mind-blowing. I get a lot of joy doing justice to worthwhile places, and I’m always excited to share the stories behind them.
I have a real affection for Tarragona in Catalonia, from the golden sandy beaches to the mountains. I love Hamburg and its harbour and many waterways, especially in spring. And I'll always be drawn to the rolling countryside in the south of England, especially Wiltshire. I'll go anywhere with a great art museum, and ruins, ancient or medieval.
Some people know Cirencester as the Capital of the Cotswolds, but in Roman times the town had a much loftier status. At that time Corinium Dobunnorum was the second largest …
The city of Derby was a market town in the 18th century, but grew sharply in the Industrial Revolution through its cotton and silk spinning trade. Derby was one of …
A working town in South Cheshire, Crewe was just a hamlet until the railway came through in the mid-19th century. The Grand Junction Railway chose this spot for its locomotive …
Once a small village in the Windsor Forest, Bracknell answered England’s need for extra housing after the Second World War and was developed as a “New Town”. After a few …
Always a textile town, Blackburn became the “weaving capital of the world” during the Industrial Revolution when the Leeds and Liverpool Canal unloaded a constant stream of raw cotton. Textile …
With a granite-built townscape that exudes respectability, Bodmin owes its appearance to Cornwall’s tin-mining boom in the 19th century. This was also Cornwall’s county town until the late-19th century, and …
In Medieval times this Cambridgeshire town was on the Isle of Ely, a patch of high ground amid miles of watery fenland. Slowly the impassable landscape was conquered using ditches …
The seat of the second-oldest diocese in England, Rochester is at an ancient crossing on the River Medway, fortified by a sturdy Medieval castle that has survived in amazing condition. …
If you have to choose one borough that epitomises the real London in the 21st century, Hackney may be as close as it gets. Vibrant and culturally diverse, Hackney in …
The neat and well-to-do town of Lewes is embedded in a gap in the South Down in East Sussex. Lewes’ Medieval streets are set off beautifully by the neighbouring green …