27 years ago, my wife Nicky and our 3 children enjoyed a fantastic family holiday on the Algarve, on the southern coast of Portugal. Fast forward all those years and she and I were fortunate enough to be offered our first return opportunity, with a 15 night, mid-October stay, in a villa belonging to friends.Continue reading “The Allure of the Algarve”
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“You Shall Tell Your Sons” A city tour of Budapest, the ‘Polished Diamond of the Danube’.
In early August 2025, after a gap of 4 months I was fortunate enough to hit the Eastern European capital city trail once more, with an impromptu visit to Budapest, the capital of Hungary. Wow! What a city. What a trip. We only visited for 72 hours, but were fortunate enough to pack so muchContinue reading ““You Shall Tell Your Sons” A city tour of Budapest, the ‘Polished Diamond of the Danube’. “
‘Polished Poznan’ – Our 4 night city break to Central Poland’s secret jewel.
Why Poznan? A fair question and one I remember asking myself, in the immediate aftermath of booking our flights back in March 2025 for a 4 night visit in early May. Truth be told, I think the answer lies in a combination of reasons: cheap flights, easy travel from Leeds Bradford airport (just 35 minutesContinue reading “‘Polished Poznan’ – Our 4 night city break to Central Poland’s secret jewel.”
What is one word that describes you? Niche! 😂
Welcome to Bucharest: the ‘City of Joy’ and where East meets West.
A travel blog after a 6 night visit in early March 2025 On our first day in Bucharest we were asked to describe our first impressions of the city in just 1 word. At the time I remember trying quite unsuccessfully to think of a single word to describe such an ‘up and coming’ city.Continue reading “Welcome to Bucharest: the ‘City of Joy’ and where East meets West.”
‘Beautiful Bratislava’ a 5 night stay in the Bohemian capital of Slovakia
A quiz question for you: which 2 capital cities are the closest in proximity? (You should disregard Rome and the Vatican City as the latter is not in a country) Answer: Vienna and Bratislava. It was purely on the basis of that quiz question and the fact that it features prominently on Ryanair’s winter destinationsContinue reading “‘Beautiful Bratislava’ a 5 night stay in the Bohemian capital of Slovakia”
Tip’s First Trip …….. and First Dip
My seemingly uneventful afternoon in mid November had started with Tip’s first trip out. It was to end with one soggy doggy and his dog sitter literally ‘in the dog house!’ Up to this moment I had never realised that dog sitting was so complicated or difficult. I had always presumed that dog walking wasContinue reading “Tip’s First Trip …….. and First Dip”
Man’s Best Friend
We have a brand new resident in our new home in North Yorkshire. In late October, ‘Tip’ came to live with us. Tip is an 8 week old, border collie puppy. For this particular ‘dog-sceptic’ it has amazed me just how much I have bonded with him already. As my daughter said earlier today, “ItContinue reading “Man’s Best Friend”
When the wheels fell off: a hot 27km walk to Stump Cross Caverns and back
It is now 8 weeks since I tried to track down the Northern Lights in our new neighbourhood in North Yorkshire. Part of the fun of that particular search was the ‘near miss’ of course. Whilst those pesky lights failed to show up on that occasion, I had reassured myself that they will one dayContinue reading “When the wheels fell off: a hot 27km walk to Stump Cross Caverns and back”
A 7km night walk in The Yorkshire Dales to try to find the Northern Lights and truly appreciate our ‘Northern Delights’
Last Sunday afternoon (25 April 2021) an amber Aurora alert pinged up on my phone. For the uninitiated an amber alert is very good news. It means that the famous Aurora Borealis, better known to many of us as the Northern Lights, could be visible to the eye in Scotland and the north of England.Continue reading “A 7km night walk in The Yorkshire Dales to try to find the Northern Lights and truly appreciate our ‘Northern Delights’”
Martin Moorman 