If you’re heading towards Azerbaijan, then there are several places to visit on the way to the border. The first is the city of Telavi.  Telavi is unusual because it has four c… Read More

Stalin’s original Georgian name was Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili. The Russian equivalent of this is Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili. During his years as a revolutionary, he adopt… Read More

Vardzia is one of Georgia’s most significant sites.  First though, if you’re coming from the Akhaltsikhe direction, stop at Khertvisi Fortress, dramatically sited on a cl… Read More

On the way to Akhaltsikhe, I headed through the forested gorges of the Borjomi Nature Reserve to Borjomi Spa, where I visited the Borjomi Mineral Water Park or Ekaterina Park. Just outside t… Read More

Batumi is Georgia’s attractive summer capital that sits on the shores of the Black Sea. It attracts visitors from both Turkey and Russia, though the Russians you may meet are probably… Read More

Close to Kutaisi are two important religious sights, Bagrati Cathedral and the UNESCO-listed monastery complex at Gelati. Bagrati Cathedral is on the outskirts of Kutaisi and was commissi… Read More

“My, my,” said Knowles to himself, “I thought my place was a time capsule, but it’s got nothing on this.”    He looked at the matching Staffor… Read More

Kutaisi is the ancient capital of the Kingdom of Colchis. For many years, when the Arabs occupied Tbilisi, Kutaisi was the capital of Georgia. Its golden age was the period between the reign… Read More

Mystical and atmospheric sites from County Fermanagh to Cornwall Read More

Mtskheta was the ancient capital of Kartli (also known as the Kingdom of Iberia or Iveria), the East Georgian Kingdom from the 3rd century BC to the 5th century AD. The church authorities pr… Read More

Knowles screwed up his face with doubt and rubbed his chin. Barnes nodded. “Well, that’s a theory,” said Knowles,”but, she must have been drunk or blind. Strong to… Read More

Tbilisi is the capital of Georgia, known as Tiflis in Russian. Tbilisi has a lively dining, nightlife, and social scene, a far cry from the days of the Soviet era. The capital’s beauty… Read More

This year’s hiking events cover everything from vineyard strolls to foraging safaris and coastal routes with spectacular views Read More

From blossom trails to bluebell woods, and foraging to farm stays, here are some of the finest seasonal getaways Read More

From Noravank, I headed up the Selim Pass towards Lake Sevan. This road is probably at its best in the springtime when the wildflowers bloom in the alpine meadows. This was formerly part of… Read More

“Good morning, Sergeant Barnes,” said Knowles, “you are even more pleased with yourself than normal, what’s causing the broad smile?” “Good morning, si… Read More

Any visit to Armenia has to include a trip to Echmiadzin (or Etchmiadzin), which is the seat of the Armenian Church. This was the place where Gregory the Illuminator saw a beam of light fall… Read More

Looking like a mini-Parthenon, the temple at Garni is the only Graeco-Roman type structure in the whole of Armenia. The temple is on a triangle of land thrusting out above the Azat River. Th… Read More

In 2005, the Armenian alphabet celebrated its 1600th birthday. In commemoration, 39 large, carved Armenian letters were placed near the last resting place of the man who created the alphabet… Read More

“I heard my name mentioned, sir,” said Smythe, putting her phone down. “You organised Mahoney, Linda?” asked Knowles. “Indeed, sir, he likes flowers appar… Read More

St Paul exerted a more significant influence on the spread of Christianity throughout the world than any other figure in history. He established the first Christian churches in Europe and As… Read More

Ancient Erebuni fortress sits high on a hill overlooking modern Yerevan. King Argishti I of Urartu built this site in 782BC to house a garrison of 6,600 soldiers, the first settlement on thi… Read More

South-west Wales is a naturalist’s playground, and early spring is the perfect time to explore its coastal paths, wild flowers and treasured birdlife Read More

The northern part of Yerevan has some outstanding sights, which visitors should not miss. The first place is called the Matenadaran, displaying Armenian manuscripts of varying degrees of ant… Read More

Chapter 1 – Scoresby Police Station – Monday 8:15 am “Good morning, Linda,” said Detective Inspector Colin Knowles as he strolled into the office. Knowles was happ… Read More

After the establishment of Soviet rule in Armenia and especially during the reign of Stalin, talk of the Armenian-Turkish conflict was proscribed. Any talk about the Armenian Genocide or wes… Read More

The region between the Cairngorms and the Moray Firth is rightly famous for its whisky, but that is just one of its many charms Read More

In Yerevan, the statues made me think and provided warnings about what can happen in life. Although understated, all the statues in Yerevan have a story to tell. The first sculpture I notice… Read More

Cosimo de’ Medici sent out monks from Florence to scour Europe’s monasteries for forgotten writings of the ancients. In 1460, one of these monks Leonardo of Pistoia brought back… Read More

This excerpt is from the book entitled 40 Strange Groups. Little is known about them, hence the shortness of the book and the low price. ================= Less Initialisms in Middle En… Read More

This excerpt is from the book entitled 40 Strange Groups. Little is known about them, hence the shortness of the book and the low price. This society argues the toss about questions that… Read More

This excerpt is from the book entitled 40 Strange Groups. Little is known about them, hence the shortness of the book and the low price. This famous club, also known as the 4Cs, meets onc… Read More

This excerpt is from the book entitled 40 Strange Groups. Little is known about them, hence the shortness of the book and the low price. This is a club where the emphasis is on the word d… Read More

This excerpt is from the book entitled 40 Strange Groups. Little is known about them, hence the shortness of the book and the low price. This group based in Melbourne in Australia meets o… Read More

From the wilds of Exmoor to the blustery beaches of Northumberland, these characterful pubs offer walks on the doorstep, a pint by the fire, dinner and a bed for the night Read More

This excerpt is from the book entitled 40 Strange Groups. Little is known about them, hence the shortness of the book and the low price. The Marathon Snooker Club believes that the unheal… Read More

The full title of this magnificent building is the Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae. The temple is undergoing extensive renovations, so much so that it’s completely enclosed in a m… Read More

Nemea is roughly halfway between Corinth and Nafplio. The name is famous as it was here that Hercules carried out the first of his twelve labours, namely the slaying of the Nemean Lion that… Read More

Extending south between the Messinian and Laconian Gulfs, the Mani Peninsula ends at Cape Matapan, the southernmost point of continental Greece. There was a naval battle off Matapan between… Read More

Out of all the sites I visited and all the ones listed in this book, I liked Messini  the best, probably because the layout of the site is open and there’s been enough reconstruct… Read More

Adventures exploring 10 of Europe’s finest cities Read More

Olympia is the place to explain the legend regarding how The Peloponnese got its name, or more correctly, who the Peloponnese is named after and why. The reason for this lies in the archaeol… Read More

Another wonderful book from Georges Simenon about Chief Superintendent Jules Maigret and a death in Paris. A vagrant with impeccable grooming is found dead in an abandoned house and there ar… Read More

Tripoli or Tripolis is the capital of Arcadia and the hub of the road system in the central part of The Peloponnese. There are no ancient sites in the city itself as it was burned by The Tur… Read More

About 11 miles north of the village of Pylos is the Anaktora Nestoros, or the Palace of King Nestor of Pylos, a wise old king who commanded a large fleet of ships at the Siege of Troy. After… Read More

Apparently, like 1984 and Animal Farm, Darkness at Noon is a powerful work of 20th-Century literature that explores the moral danger inherent in a system that is willing to enforce its belie… Read More

Nafplio or Nafplion or Nauplio is the capital of the Argolis region of Greece. From 1829 until 1834 it was the provisional capital of the newly independent country of Greece. The first Gover… Read More

Edogawa Rampo is the pseudonym of the Japanese novelist Taro Hirai and is a transliteration of Edgar Allen Poe’s name. That’s what it says on the back cover of the book and yet i… Read More

A short book containing three stories telling of deadly premonitions, the interception of dreams, and spectres bearing warnings. The stories are called ‘To Be Read at Dusk’, … Read More

The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Other Verses from the Red Book was published on 22nd November 1962. In the first part of The Lord of the Rings, Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin are crossi… Read More

Shingle beach, drained farmland or a bare plain under huge skies; flat spaces distort distance Read More

This is not my favourite book by Eric Ambler, but it’s still really good. The format is different with the plot being driven via transcribed dictation tape, transcribed tape intervi… Read More

I’m not sure if you write reviews on Google for places you’ve visited both at home and abroad, but it would appear the AI algorithm used to check the content has some very strang… Read More

A retired teacher has had her pension payments stopped four times because her pension provider repeatedly refuses to accept that she is not dead. Once again, I had to check that today was… Read More

This is a lovely book full of wonderful tales and outstanding photographs. I’ve been to most of the areas covered in this travel book and these stories brought back many happy memor… Read More

This is the oldest city in Greece with excavations revealing activity dating back 5,000 years to roughly 3000 BC. As you might expect, there’s a legend attached to Argos and it involve… Read More

This is probably the busiest archaeological site on the Peloponnese due to the number of day trippers that arrive here from Athens. Therefore, you might want to get to the site as early as y… Read More

This site is justly famous for its magnificent theatre. However, there’s also an interesting museum and a full archaeological site to explore, including a stadium and a sanctuary. What… Read More

From antiquity in Spain to modern art in Denmark, via three Erics in Morecambe, these travellers reveal the places that left them feeling inspired Read More

I think there’s a view that Greece has been an independent country since the time of ancient Athens, Sparta, and Thebes two thousand five hundred years ago. This is most certainly n… Read More

These easy meal hacks will boost your energy levels and sharpen your mind Read More

Point Omega is Don DeLillo’s fifteenth novel. At the end of a period working for government war planners, Richard Elster retreats to the desert, where he is joined by Jim Finley, a… Read More

Extract from Travel Tales from Exotic Places Antigua boasts of its 365 beaches, one for each day of the year, so I could understand the pained look on the taxi driver’s fa… Read More

As Sir David realises he’s helped unearth a new pliosaur, the years fall away until the 97-year-old is a schoolboy fossil hunter once more. Talk about truly exciting television Read More

Dorset hillside chalk figure was originally a muster station for West Saxon armies fending off Vikings, experts suggest in this article Read More

Extract from Travel Tales from Exotic Places Laying on the verandah of my hotel the crash of the Atlantic Ocean waves is constant. The view both ways along the coastline shows w… Read More

Malta’s first art biennale, Copenhagen’s repurposed Carlsberg district, the first Arctic Circle capital of culture … this year promises a feast of cultural activity Read More

Top attractions from cycling, canoeing and surfing to fashion, culture and art – plus an aerial adventure on top of the Principality Stadium Read More

Jessica Daley is an absolute star. She rushed to the rescue after the Curve theatre in Leicester put out a call for someone who knew the role Read More

Yes, you read that right here’s a mouse tidying up a photographer’s workbench in his shed in Builth Wells, Wales. I wonder what the mouse’s hourly rate is? Let’s h… Read More

Extract from Travel Tales from Exotic Places Kingstown is the capital of the small Caribbean nation of St Vincent and the Grenadines. It’s quite a shabby place that appear… Read More

George Orwell wrote an essay on the author Charles Dickens. This essay is partly a review of the books of Charles Dickens but is mostly about the man who was Charles Dickens the author an… Read More

A walk threading through the city follows in the footsteps of the Yorkist king vanquished in 1485, whose remains were found – beneath a car park – in 2012 Read More

From a farmer’s market in Clitheroe to freshly-landed fish in Porthleven, these lesser-known spots for gastronomes offer a perfect flavour-filled break Read More

This move aims to reduce pressure of thousands of daily visitors to Italian city and protect residents Read More

The 2024 Paris Olympics aim to be most sustainable ever. But can the plans to be pro-pedestrian, pro-bike, pro-tree and anti-car succeed? This article should help you decide Read More

Luckily there’s a library next door that allows cats to use the facilities, though I’m not sure whether the library realises this yet. I can even use their photocopier to produce… Read More

Hello, my name is Freddie. I am a cat. I live in a house with another cat called Gemma and two humans, John, and Mary. I am about 3 years old though I can’t remember how old I am… Read More

Some thoughts from magazines I’ve read these past few days. These are from The New Statesman written by Andrew Marr. The original Cloud of Unknowing, written by a priest in the… Read More

A loose connection admittedly but I had cause to read the lyrics of the song ‘Vienna’ by Billy Joel and there’s some great advice in the song and not just for travellers… Read More

Quintuple plusgood. What else can you say? I think this is the third time I’ve read this book and it never ceases to amaze. Orwell completed the first draft of this book at Barnhill… Read More

What’s new in the European train timetables unveiled this month (December 2023) Read More

This is a lovely review of my book called Travels through History : The Balkans on Amazon. Ideal book to read before and after country visit. I didn’t visit all the countries in… Read More

A two-day adventure by rail offers iron age hill forts, Offa’s Dyke and a local straight out of The Archers Read More

Mrs and Mr Drachen have a daughter called Wendy. Wendy is a five-foot high dragon who wears gloves to cover her claws. She has rather rounded shoulders as her wings have evolved into wha… Read More

Industrial heritage in a place I used to live Read More

These wonderful train journeys are described here Read More

This is a charming seaside town about 30 minutes by train from Edinburgh Read More

This volcano has just erupted in south-western Iceland. Here are some pictures Read More

Amorgos is a lovely, quiet island in The Cyclades. There aren’t too many of your fellow travellers here as most people get off the ferry at Santorini or stay on the ferry until Nax… Read More

Mrs and Mr Drachen have a daughter called Wendy. Wendy is a five-foot high dragon who wears gloves to cover her claws. She has rather rounded shoulders as her wings have evolved into wha… Read More

Eric Ambler is the Agatha Christie of thriller writers – there’s never been a better one and this story proves the point as any one of the guests at the Reserve pension on the Fr… Read More

I think Karen Armstrong is the best writer in the world. This book is utterly amazing. It’s a biography of The Bible first published in 2007. It is difficult to take in all that&rsq… Read More

What can I say about this book? It’s about a new way of thinking about the future as it examines catastrophes and the human response to them. The book examines different kinds of ca… Read More

This book comprises eight short stories, seven taking place in western Ireland, and one on the coast of Texas. All of them are wonderful and well written, with in the background an Irelan… Read More

Julia Ebner is a very brave person. She was working at a think tank – the Institute for Strategic Dialogue – that monitors radical groups but realised that in order to fully u… Read More

This is a superb book and should be required reading for all. I haven’t read Affluenza the book that preceded this one, but I definitely will now. Selfish capitalism is neo-liber… Read More

The word geometry might conjure up images or circles, squares, cylinders, and cubes, but many phenomena in nature and science are anything but regular or smooth. Think coastlines, mountain r… Read More

This is a superb short story with historical characters as the two main people in the story, indeed the only two characters who are given names. The historical story concerns many other p… Read More

The full title of this book is “A Brief History of The Hundred Years War”. As you can see from the title, the war lasted 116 years but towards the end the English were a defea… Read More