We continue our occasional series on famous sea captains with the one who influenced me most: Captain Archibald Haddock. Tonnerre de Brest! When asked where my esprit d’aventure comes from, I recount how my grandmother shared stories of her travels …
August 13, 2022 My eldest Katie and her beau Aron had the coolest wedding on the hottest day of the year. After two years of lockdown and many delays, everyone was in a festive mood and ready to party. For …
Position: 39°06’48″N 8°22’14″E No matter how many nautical miles you’ve got under your keel, or how many oceans you’ve crossed, you still have to find your sea legs when you reboard your ship. Every sailor gets queasy at some point. …
Hiker Nearing the end of our 12-mile hike around the Brecon Beacons three years ago we approached the brow of a hill before descending towards the car. A brackish pond to our left fed a small stream picturesquely cascading down …
Position: 37°48’27″N 1°47’15″E Three days out of Sardinia, 75 miles from any shore, the weather finally turned nasty. It was dark, an hour from first light. For the previous three hours the weather had hung off in the distance. Miles …
Position: 51°31’0″N 0°02’32″W Back in the early 1980s, when I lived in London, each neighbourhood still had the distinctive feel of villages. There were greens surrounded by shops and a church. Local pubs were full of locals who had lived …
Position: 57°58’53″N 3°56’41″W The Sutherlands seem like a bloodthirsty lot. Or at least they were. At the turn of the 19th century they were also the wealthiest landowners in Britain. Eclipsing even Queen Victoria. One of the better-known Scottish clans, …
Position: 57°26’54″N 6°35’22″W The invention of the North Coast 500 (NC500) led to an inundation of tourists in the Scottish Highlands. Tourists in the sense of literally touring with a self-driven vehicle while pausing and snapping photos every 10 minutes …
Position: 57°28’39″N 4°06’01″W Criss-crossing Scotland on our way up to and back from the Orkneys gave us a good feel for my ancestorial homeland. My last major trip to the UK’s north was back in 1977 during a year that …
