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.
The county town of Essex sits at the confluence of the Rivers Can and Chelmer. Being 30 miles from the centre of London, Chelmsford has a population of commuters working in London’s City and Docklands, but has also been a big regional employer since Guglielmo Marconi established his Wireless Telegraph Company here. For heritage, Hylands …
A historic market town, Ludlow is crowned by a Medieval castle once home to Tudor monarchs. The town is on high ground on the east bank of the River Teme, and along with its castle has one of the loveliest parish churches in England. In Medieval times Ludlow was on the Welsh Marches, and much …
Not far north of Leicester, Loughborough is a university town in the Charnwood Forest. Loughborough University has ballooned in the last few decades, to the point where one in four residents in Loughborough is a student. The town has an international reputation for its bells. The John Taylor & Co Bell Foundry is the last …
In the 19th century the fishing village of Cleethorpes on the Humber Estuary was transformed into a bathing resort for holidaymakers coming by train from Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. Lots of the things that attracted Victorian tourists to Cleethorpes remain today, like the big beach, pier, boating lake, promenade and string of well-kept seafront gardens. On …
Up to the 1980s coalmining was the backbone of this city in West Yorkshire. The landscape had been mined since the 15th century, around the time Wakefield witnessed a decisive battle during the Wars of the Roses. The open cast collieries that used to scar the countryside have been flooded and turned into nature reserves …
Comfortably inside the London’s M25, Watford is a market town that developed during the Industrial Revolution and was absorbed by the capital in the 20th century. The town is on the banks of the River Colne and is as green as it gets, with sweeping parks like Cassiobury, once the site of a Tudor palace. …
An experiment in urban planning in the 1960s and 70s, Milton Keynes is a new town on a grid pattern of boulevards. That alone makes it a fascinating place, as Milton Keynes looks like no other town in the country, with a high-rise central business district, profusion of modern buildings and regimented layout. Much older …
A mining town until the 1980s, Chesterfield’s industrial sites have been regenerated and the town is almost unrecognisable from just a generation ago. The Medieval alleys and courtyards in the old centre are commanded by the postcard landmark, the crooked spire of the Parish Church. At Chesterfield you’re on the east flank of the Peak …
In the Black Country, Wolverhampton is a former industrial town now dominated by the service sector. Manufacturing is still part of the local economy, but the days of coal pits and metal works are in the distant past. Collieries have become parks, while the art and mansions owned by industrialists have been passed over to …
A neat and prosperous market town, Taunton has a newly regenerated and pedestrian-friendly town centre with Perpendicular Gothic churches and Georgian townhouses. Taunton Castle houses the Museum of Somerset, a trip through the history of the county with Roman mosaics and coins, while Vivary Park has lush flowerbeds and carefree outdoor fun for kids in …