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.
England’s first seaside resort first pulled in holidaymakers in the 17th century after a curative spring was discovered in the cliffs in the south of the town. Up to that time Scarborough had been a fishing port in the shadow of fearsome castle built by Henry II, and hosted the Scarborough Fair, a six-week market …
The gorgeous harbour town of Weymouth was one of England’s first modern resorts. King George III chose it as his summer holiday destination, and came down 14 times between 1789 and 1805. Weymouth has one of the sunniest climates in the country and one of its best beaches, tracked by an esplanade with a long …
A proper maritime town, Whitby was fuelled for hundreds of years by its fishing, shipbuilding and whaling trades. In the 18th century Britain’s greatest explorer Captain James Cook served his apprenticeship in the cosy old quarter east of the harbour. That natural harbour is in a mighty crack between cliffs, and because the harbour entrance …
England’s ecclesiastical capital, Canterbury is a city with two universities, lots of preserved Medieval architecture and the oldest operating school in the world. For hundreds of years Canterbury has been dominated by the Bell Harry Tower of the UNESCO World Heritage cathedral, which is still the tallest landmark in the city. It was in the …
Glasgow, Scotland’s second largest city after Edinburgh, long had a reputation as just an industrial sprawl, but recent years have seen it open up to tourism and reinvent itself completely. Nowadays, the city has a lot to offer visitors, but there’s plenty to see outside of Glasgow too, making it the perfect base to explore …
One of the largest settlements in the UK without city status, Reading is a university town 20 minutes west of London. And despite being in the capital’s orbit, Reading is an economic powerbase of its own, with companies in the insurance and IT sectors. The town is on the Thames, at the very end of …
On the English Riviera in Devon, Torquay has had a lofty reputation since it came into fashion with high society at the start of the 1800s. The resort is at the north end of Tor Bay, amid sharp hills and cliffs made up of red breccia and sandstone. There are enticing beaches under these cliffs …
On a limestone escarpment to the north of the River Witham, Lincoln is a Medieval city built over a Roman fort. That escarpment drops sharply to the river, and to get to get from the railway station to the historic cathedral quarter you have to battle up the aptly named Steep Hill. Once you make …
A beautiful city with a tumultuous history, even Derry’s name is a bone of contention. The official name is Londonderry, but for obvious reasons Derry was always preferred by the city’s Republican communities, and is used more often today. One flashpoint in Derry’s past was the Siege of 1689 by the Jacobites against the Williamites, …
Established as “Aquae Sulis” by the Romans in the 1st century, the city of Bath is named for its thermal mineral springs, percolating through limestone from a depth of 4,800 metres. The site of the Roman bathing complex is today a world-class museum peering into life in the city 2,000 years ago. Bath came into …