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.
Travelling from the south to the north of Staffordshire you get the sense that you’re leaving the Midlands and arriving in the North of England. The landscapes change from dairy pastures to the untamed sandstone moors of the Peak District. Staffordshire’s two cities, Stoke and Lichfield couldn’t be more different: Stoke is earthy and industrial, …
As England’s largest county, North Yorkshire has a dizzying array of towns and natural environments, from barely-charted cave systems to sweeping sandy beaches, and from stately spa towns to remote upland hamlets. To say there’s something for everyone in North Yorkshire doesn’t begin to sum it up. Still, anybody coming to this neck of the …
A metropolitan county in the far northeast of England, Tyne and Wear is named for the rivers that run through its two main cities, Newcastle and Sunderland. Coal mining and ship-building were ways of life in this region for centuries, but in recent decades Newcastle and Sunderland have found new identities for high-tech manufacturing, research …
In the East Midlands, Nottinghamshire has one of England’s most-visited cities and a multitude of towns and villages where history and legend are sometimes hard to distinguish. In the west of the county agricultural and industrial landscapes blend together, in a region where the novelist D.H. Lawrence grew up and based many of his most …
One of the Home Counties, Hertfordshire borders London to the north and its recent history is anchored in its proximity to the capital. “New Towns” like Stevenage and pioneering Garden Cities like Welwyn and Letchworth popped up in the 20th century, all to give people the joint advantages of the city and countryside. But what …
In England’s west country, Devon is a holiday favourite with sensational contrasts and variety. In the south are the gentle resorts of the English Riviera, the fossil-riddled cliffs of the Jurassic Coast and long estuaries with beautiful waterside towns. Inland are the ancient wildernesses of Dartmoor and Exmoor, places of legend and folklore, where wild …
Known to many as the “Stockbroker Belt” for its many high-income residents, Surrey has been a fancy sort of place for much longer. After the Battle of Hastings in 1066 William the Conqueror gifted large tracts of what is now Surrey to his closest companions. In Runnymede the Magna Carta was sealed in 1215, while …
In the far southeast of England, you could say there are two Kents. There’s the soft rural Kent of posh towns, National Trust houses and quaint villages, and then coastal Kent, fortified to defend the entranceway to England but also adapted for seaside fun in the 19th century. In rural Kent, the county lives up …
East of London and with a continuous suburb that clings to the north side of the Thames Estuary, Essex is a county that has got a bad rap in the past. But journey north and east and the countryside becomes ever more picturesque and the towns gain more personality. Dedham for instance has the romantic …
In northwest England, Lancashire is where you break free from the conurbations into beautiful countryside. The landscapes can vary between green arable farms and pasture near the coast, and the wild and romantic moors and fells of the West Pennines and Forest of Bowland. There’s great variety in the kind of towns you can call …