One of the most fantastic ways to become a responsible traveller is to go off the beaten track. For example, you can benefit so many people economically by checking out Dublin’s International Theatre Festival instead of Edinburgh’s (and you are more likely to get a ticket too!). Go hiking in France’s Mercantour National Park instead of the Pyrenees National Park. Or head for the Isle of Wight’s superb surf instead of the burgeoning surf parks of Cornwall. In Ireland, discover the limestone karst wonders of The Burren, County Clare, instead of heading straight for the Giant’s [...]
I have always had a bit of an inferiority complex when it comes to the French. I lived there for almost three years as a student, and looked on in awe at the women with their perfect skin, toned muscles, and their ‘born to wear tight jeans’ bottoms, I tried very hard to keep up but I didn’t ski, couldn’t talk philosophy and didn’t know an aperitif from a digestif. Years later they still manage to seduce me, which is [...]