Ian is an award winning travel writer and blogger. His travels took him all around the world but his passion lies in Africa. His blog Encircle Africa tells how he traveled the continent Solo and by public transport. With over 30 countries visited he can truly be considered an expert on all things travel and meeting other cultures.
His writing can be found on websites and magazines including Adventure Travel, Southeast Asia Backpacker, Sidetracked, Environment Journal, The Crazy Tourist and The Island Review. He is a member of the British Guild of Travel Writers and Travel Writers UK.
The city of LaGrange is located in Troup County, southwest of Atlanta, and just a short distance from the state border with Alabama. The city is named after a country estate outside of Paris, France. It was incorporated in 1828, making it one of the region’s earliest European-American settlements. LaGrange quickly became wealthy off the …
Located in Georgia’s Cobb County, the city of Kennesaw forms a part of the greater Atlanta region. First settled by European-Americans in the 1830s, Kennesaw was known as Big Shanty until 1887, since it developed from a shanty town for railroad workers. The city played a significant role in the American Civil War, and having …
A suburb of Atlanta, Lawrenceville is located in Gwinnett County, roughly 20 miles northeast of the Georgia state capital’s downtown district. The second-oldest city in the metropolitan Atlanta area, Lawrenceville was founded in 1821. Its earliest origins can still be easily found in the buildings around town square in the downtown area. Lawrenceville relied on …
Milton is a city in Georgia’s Fulton Country. It was created in 2006, and forms part of Atlanta’s extensive northern suburbs. Milton has a semi-rural location, putting it close to major attractions in both city and country. Assuredly wealthy, Milton has one of the highest standards of living in the state. It is also ranked …
Gainesville lies in northern Georgia’s Hall County, roughly 55 miles northeast of Atlanta. The ‘poultry capital of the world’ was founded by European-American settlers in the early 1800s as a mule camp, and has been known as Gainesville since 1821. It is named after a general in the War of 1812 against Great Britain. Gainesville …
The city of Alpharetta is a northern suburb of Atlanta, in Georgia’s Fulton County. Its name hints at the fact it was one of the first permanent US settlements in the region. Dating back to the early 1830s, Alpharetta began life as a trading post. It became a chartered city in 1858, but remained largely …
Situated in northern Georgia’s Fulton County, John’s Creek is a suburb of Atlanta. It lies to the northeast of the state capital, roughly 25 miles away. Ranked as one of the best cities to live in by USA Today, the history of Johns Creek as a city (rather than a tributary of the Chattahoochee River) …
The Georgia city of Brookhaven is a suburb of Atlanta, a little northeast of the state capital. Although it was incorporated as a city no earlier than 2012, European settlement began in 1810 on former native American land, and has structures dating back to 1830. The area’s farmland slowly became more and more residential, with …
Smyrna lies just a mile northwest of Atlanta’s city limits and 15 mile from downtown Atlanta. Even so, the city is proud of its welcoming ‘small town’ atmosphere. This area of northern Georgia was first settled by white Americans in 1832, but didn’t become known by the name of Smyrna until 40 years later. The …
Welcoming Albany is located in southwest Georgia, 187 miles south of the state capital of Atlanta. Part of the American ‘Black Belt’ of richly fertile soils, it is surrounded by agricultural land that once made cotton plantations common. Founded in 1836 after the removal of Creek native Americans, it became an important port on the …