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 birthplace of the Victorian writer George Eliot, Nuneaton is the largest town in Warwickshire and only a brief drive from Birmingham, Coventry and Leicester. Eliot was born on the Arbury Estate, which opens for public tours on Bank Holiday weekends, and appears in detail in Scenes from Clerical Life. There’s a superb exhibition for …
Resting in a meander on the River Wansbeck, Morpeth is a historic market town that grew up around two Medieval castles built to defend the crossing. Morpeth will be right up your street if you like towns with a bit of personality and healthy local businesses like the independent food shops, boutiques, cafes and design …
In the rolling chalk hills of the North Wessex Downs, Marlborough is a picture perfect town on the historic road from London to Bath. Marlborough’s High Street along this old road is broader than almost any in the country, and blends centuries old listed buildings, shops to pique your curiosity, as well as lots of …
A base for outings and walks in the New Forest, the village of Lyndhurst is home to the national park’s Heritage Centre and the Forestry Commission. As the largest swathe of common land in the UK, the New Forest has few fences along its roads. This enables the park’s famous ponies to go where they …
In 1898 the social reformer Ebenezer Howard published his book, To-morrow: A Peaceful Path to Reform, outlining many principles of towns that we take for granted today, like the allocation of parks, a green belt and zoning to keep industry away from residential areas. Howard’s ideas were ridiculed by many, but championed by members of …
Next to the Malvern Hills on the east side of Herefordshire, Ledbury is a lovable market town with lots of black and white timber-framed houses. This is an ancient borough that was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, and founded as long ago as the 7th century. Your first port of call has to …
On the high west bank of the River Lune, Kirkby Lonsdale is a dinky market town graced with one of England’s greatest views. Ruskin’s View, as it’s known, was painted by J. M. W. Turner in 1822 and later eulogised by John Ruskin, a cultural giant of Victorian Britain. The view is part of a …
In the north of Hertfordshire at the foothills of the Chilterns, Hitchin is a cute market town with a Medieval layout. Market Place, where corn was traded for centuries, is very pretty, as are the old cobblestone streets that radiate from it. For fans of historic architecture Hitchin has its fair share of half-timbered houses …
Leicestershire’s second-largest town is halfway between the cities of Leicester and Coventry, close to the site of the Battle of Bosworth Field (1485). From the 1600s to the 20th century Hinckley was renowned for its stockings, first made in framework knitters’ cottages and then in large factories still standing around the town. One group of …
Hertfordshire’s county seat is a small but well-preserved market town at an ancient crossing on the River Lea. The English church’s first general Synod happened in this place in 673, when the date for Easter was decided on. Not long after, the Anglo-Saxons identified Hertford as a strategic site at the confluence of four rivers, …