Why visit Lundy Island? Because it’s remote, rugged, and full of natural charm. I’d always wanted to go, and my visit this September didn’t disappoint. Soaring cliffs, unperturbed wildlife, and a sense of stepping back in time were just some of its many highlights. That and enforced escape from my phone thanks to a near-total lack of Wi-Fi. Reaching the three-mile-long rocky outcrop was an adventure in itself. First launched in 1958, the MS  Oldenburg  has been ferrying passe

“This ship has character.”    Star Clipper That’s how one of my fellow passengers onboard Star Clipper summed up our week-long adventure and I couldn’t agree more.   It explains why so many people watched our port arrivals and departures from the shoreline and why a Star Clipper cruise feels very different to the many others on offer.   With four masts, sixteen sails, polished brass, mahogany rails and teak decks, our ship oozed all the grandeur of a bygone age – whilst also

When a friend asked me if I’d like to go to Puglia, I hesitated. Not because I didn’t want to spend time with her (quite the reverse), nor because I had something else planned (other than work of course). No. I procrastinated for all of thirty seconds because I hadn’t got a clue where Puglia was.   It turns out that it’s a region in the far south of Italy – essentially the heel to the country’s boot. Julie travels there a lot as a tour manager for Great Rail Journeys. On this

Article written in 2017 The smile that welcomed me onboard the Aer Lingus flight from Newquay to Cork spread from ear to ear and seemed effortlessly genuine. We all know that boarding a plane can be a grim affair these days, with all the associated hassle of strict security, crowded lounges and seemingly endless hours of waiting. Thankfully that’s not the case in Cornwall’s only airport. I turned up just one hour before departure, checked my suitcase in (the joys of a 20k bag

Choosing a holiday to suit a woman of 25, who just wants to relax in the sun, and her rather more mature mother who loves walking and sightseeing was never going to be easy. In fact, as Rosanna and I pulled our suitcases through the crowded pedestrianised streets of Dubrovnik in search of our ship, I was beginning to wonder whether, as that mother, I should have even tried. We were both irritable – me because I’d failed to get us off the bus from the airport at the right stop

There we were on an eight foot high platform with waves coming at us from either side.  Mum and Dad, both 80, gripped the engine housing whilst I hung onto the outer rails.  There were no seats – just a roof to keep the worst of the rain off (unless it’s horizontal), a driver (who used to be a sign writer and now has one of the most unusual jobs going) and, somewhere below the raging surf, enormous great wheels. As a mode of transport, the Burgh Island sea tractor takes some