Responsible Tourism – Ethical Traveller

Blown away at Galley Head Lighthouse, Ireland

Sometimes the best things are on our doorstep and we just don’t even notice them. That’s what struck me when staying at the Galley Head Lighthouse in Cork recently. So many people I met who lived in the area said something along the lines of “Oh, I have always meant to stay there, but you know what it’s like when something is on your doorstep. You never get around to it”. It’s hard to miss Galley Head lighthouse, however, its beautiful beam a familiar sight for many as it illuminates Clonakilty’s coast. Read more about one of the finest places to stay on the Wild Atlantic Way, and perfect for a walking holiday in West Cork.

Wilderness Scotland – wild and awake to its country’s future

It’s ten years since I canoed the Great Glen Canoe Trail with leading Scottish adventure company, Wilderness Scotland, one of the most exhilarating journeys I have been on in the last decade. At the time, this adventure company was already a leading light in sustainable tourism, boasting a minimal carbon footprint and wholeheartedly supporting local communities. Ten years on, I`m taking another journey with them to see if their eco-lights are still shining. From the minute they pick us up from the Caledonian Sleeper at Inverness station in a Tesla, I realise that they are still firing on all carbon-free cyclinders.

One of the best Croatia travel books you will find

If you are planning a trip to Croatia, Serbia or Bosnia and Herzegovina, this poignant memoir, My family and Other Enemies, by Mary Novakovich (published by Bradt Guides), about travels to her native lands in Lika, Croatia, is a must read. I have just put it down, watery eyed and feeling just a teeny fraction of the loss that Mary must feel every time she has to part company with this incredible piece of the world.

Travelling to Cornwall by sleeper train

Catherine marks a milestone by taking the sleeper train to Penzance, Cornwall, and wipes the sleep out her eyes at Jubilee Lido, followed by a blissful weekend based at Chapel House boutique hotel.

And suddenly there it was. The empty nest. Given that there is no Hallmark card to mark this maternal milestone when our children finally take flight, I decided to mark it myself by taking a trip I had planned to do years ago, but never managed to get together. Taking the sleeper train to Cornwall, do some hiking and Hepworth, swimming and spacing out and, basically having a weekend all to myself.

It was September, of course, that time of year when so many young ones head off into the world, and so the Great Western Railway (GWR) Night Riviera had cabins free, and my name all over one of them.