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.
On the western moors of the Peak District, Macclesfield is a market town that became the world’s largest producer of finished silk in the 19th century. In 1832 there were 71 silk mills in Macclesfield, and one has been preserved along with its jacquard looms as part of the Silk Museum. Macclesfield has a pretty …
On Dorset’s Isle of Purbeck, Swanage is a seaside town that will have people of all ages under its spell. Here you’re at the eastern gateway to the Jurassic Coast, a UNESCO World Heritage Site on the Dorset and Devon coasts, inspiring wonder for its limestone formations and fossils. You can venture off to stunning …
Blessed with one of the few west-facing beaches on England’s east coast, Hunstanton is a picture perfect Victorian seaside resort built from nothing in the middle of the 19th century. The sand and pebble beaches in Hunstanton face the Wash, an immense estuary where four rivers enter the North Sea. This is a crucial coastal …
In the 1950s Grimsby was the largest fishing port in the world. This came after more than a century of constant expansion, leaving the town’s docks with giant monuments like the Victoria Mill and the Grimsby Dock Tower. It’s sobering to think that thousands of men have lost their lives on fishing expeditions from this …
A town with industry in its veins, Bolton began producing textiles when Flemish weavers brought the trade with them in the 1300s. In the 18th century two local men, Richard Arkwright and Samuel Crompton, discovered ways to lift yarn production to unimagined levels. The cotton industry departed Bolton in the 20th century, but the town …
The North of England’s most powerful baronial family, the Dukes of Northumberland (Percy) have ruled the land around Alnwick for more than seven centuries. Their descendants still reside at the magnificent ancestral home, Alnwick Castle, which was a shooting location for the Harry Potter movies and is bursting with priceless art. The castle’s garden has …
Where Kent’s North Downs tumble into the English Channel, Folkestone is a seaside town that reached its zenith in the Edwardian period just before the First World War. With masses of Victorian architecture, beautiful waterfront parks and a revitalised harbour, Folkestone has plenty to love. The history of the place is exciting too. France is …
Up there with the UK’s best towns for quality of life, Grantham in southwest Lincolnshire is most famous for producing a colossal historical figure. Sir Isaac Newton was born not far away in a tiny hamlet, and was a pupil at Grantham’s King’s School. There’s a solemn statue for this physicist in front of the …
In the 19th and early 20th century Dorset’s county town was intertwined with the life of Thomas Hardy, one of England’s greatest writers. His two houses are both looked after by the National Trust, while the town itself is fictionalised in his work as Casterbridge. The Dorset County Museum has lots of Hardy memorabilia, and …
The Second World War left the UK in desperate need of new housing, and this need gave rise to the 29 settlements known as New Towns. Stevenage in north Hertfordshire was designated the very first of these in 1946, and was laid out with a pedestrianised town centre that had never been seen on these …