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Showing posts with the label guides

Fes And A Scuffle

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Onward to Fes... And A Scuffle ! I'm sitting here, at this moment, drinking tea..... a nice cup of tea ! I'm English  and its what we do! On a fateful morning, many moons ago, we decide that we had to move on. And it was over a cup of sweet tea that we made our plans. We'd already spent several days languishing in Ouezzane....the people were wonderful and we'd been enjoying the food immensely... but our feet were itching and wanderlust was driving us onwards.  Our next destination was to be the medieval fortress city of Fes. You may ask why ? My simple answer is because its there and we wanted to see the place that gave its name to what is, a rather odd hat with a tassle. So off we went. The public bus was once again our main means of transport. Hiking across the mountains was not an option in those days. There was too much risk attached to it. Hitchhiking was 'improbable' because of the lack of roads with vehicles on them. So once again it was to be a beaten up

A Skateboard Shock And A Goat

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A Skateboard Shock And A Goat Leaving Ceuta on the north coast of Morocco and well into our 3rd month on the road, we had decided to carry on South. Rumours had reached us of a virtual border war between Algeria and Morocco and it was felt by us that prudence was the better part of valour. Our original intent was to go west but south it was to be. We were headed to a place called Ouezzane and this meant crossing the mountains. Once again filling our canteens with clean water and after devouring our muesli, a staple of ours so far, that was coming to an end now, we headed towards a tatty and really forlorn bus station in the middle of the town. After some hasty negotiations we had discovered that the next bus headed out was actually headed in our direction....and it was leaving. We ran, shouted and waved, all of which helped attract the attention of the driver, who looked at us with incredulity...remember.. this was before the days of mass tourism to Morocco, and we must've been qui

Into North Africa

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Into North Africa. Dunes, Camels and Tea Waving goodbye to Spain and catching a glimpse of the great island fortress of Gibraltar, We embarked on the ferry trip to Ceuta.  I know that some of you have never heard of it and yet you probably have heard of the political wrangling between the EU and Britain over the territory of Gibraltar.......... what those bodies never talk about is that Ceuta is a Spanish territory on the mainland of North Africa, in what would otherwise be Morrocco..... I think there's a moral there somewhere. We arrived safely and disembarked into rather a shabby port town. I had never seen real poverty before, but over the next few weeks that would change. Ceuta was the first clue of what was to come. We walked and walked. Again it was another scorching hot day, but the sea breeze felt good and following it we found ourselves on a vast stretch of beach. We headed East following a line of immense dunes and of course the waves on our other side, roaring as they cr

Traveling Companions !

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Traveling Companions ! After Leaving the North Coast of Spain, our simple plan was to head south, and using our 'Afrique' placard,  hitchhike into North Africa.... sounds simple doesn't it ? It was a hot and very uncomfortable day for two Brits, who enjoy cold wet weather, but we found ourselves on the outskirts of Burgos. In those days a military town, and home to large numbers of conscripted soldiers...... so what?, you may say... It was demobbing day ! Thousands of young men in uniforms were heading home after their term of conscription, and the roads were full of hitchhikers....   we realised that we... two Brits in 'civies' and sporting Union Flags on their packs stood no chance of getting a lift. Here we were in the midday sun (with only cheap vino Tinto in our water carafes), facing a very long wait indeed. It was decided that we should head over to the adjacent fields and pitch our tents, garnering a little shade and getting us away from the horde of soldier

A Little Bit 'Tipsy'

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A Little Bit 'Tipsy' And A Bowl Of Muesli After arriving in France, Le Havre to be exact, Jamie and I headed towards a major road intersection and put out our thumbs, as well as our 'Afrique' sign.  It was a hot day and it was lucky that we had filled up our water on the ferry crossing, because it was to be a long wait...... it may have had something to do with our Union flag rucksacks ! I really don't understand the animosity between France and the UK. Anyway, we'd just finished our muesli lunch (great dried food for when you're on the road), and a car pulled up. He was headed towards Brittany and offered us a lift. This was to be my first excursion to Brittany ( I live here at the moment), and it was to be a good one. We drove for hours, and its always a long trip when there are two languages being spoken and neither party can really understand the other. However, we eventually arrived on the SW coast, near to Quimper, a city I've grown to love. Our dr

Saxon Shore Forts

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Saxon Shore Forts If you’ve ever toured around the coast of England, you may well have discovered one or two, strange Roman oddities, called Saxon Shore Forts. Indeed, you may even have come across one or two along the coast of Northern Europe. Portchester Fortress During the middle of the 3rd century, Rome deemed it necessary to set up a separate strategic command, in order to control and protect trade through the English Channel. As the Empire proceeded to collapse, the shore forts created along England’s coasts were separated and out under its own command known as, ‘The Count of the Saxon Shore’. Just the name, should give you a clue as to why these formidable fortresses were built. Being coastal, they were essentially military ports AND garrisons. However, as we have very few mentions of these places from Roman sources, their use is somewhat clouded. Were they fortresses which protected against Saxon incursion or were they built on territories already settled by t

Observing

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Observing . Walking around Carnac yesterday, filming some video for my ‘stones’ tour, we came across some beautiful places. In amongst the grasses, and the stones, was a tree trunk... just an ordinary tree trunk.. I’ve walked past It before and ignored it, but my wife, Toni, yelled out and asked me to stop walking as she took this gorgeous photo...   I’ll never walk past that tree again. She captured the moment and I was able to understand my surroundings a little more thanks to her photo. Travel is a career for me, and sometimes I feel like I’m becoming jaded or tired of it. The constant packing and unpacking, always having to look ahead and motivate others to enjoy and understand what it is they are looking at, can be exhausting. Yes, there is always the reward of seeing their eyes light up ( I’m an ‘eyes’ person), as they realise or learn something new...  but sometimes, I just want to be in the moment myself.  The second photo, was one such moment. I had been busy, filming

Walking Amongst The Stones

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Walking Amongst The Standing Stones Of Brittany in Western France Sorry for not blogging anything yesterday, but I was on a mission to create a short video.... nearly an hour long,... a video tour of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Carnac, in Western France. I set out early, as it’s an hours drive from here, and beating the traffic, I arrived at the exhibition centre in Carnac at about 9.00am. Not knowing anything about virtual tours or videoing for Facebook and YouTube, I had to learn on the spot.  Trust me when I say that it was a big learning curve. As I loved to do, I extolled the virtues of standing stones, gave some background and history about them and began piecing together what little we know about them. The first video, there will be three, will air on Saturday morning and will be available through my Facebook feeds, so tune in to watch. However, I must first of all put out my disclaimers....   the audio isn’t good.... it’s OK,.. just not studio quality.

Touring The South West of England

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Touring The South West of England In March 2021, I shall be leading my own tour through this beautiful region of England. With the use of small minibuses, I’m going to take an intrepid band of travelers into some of the remotest parts of England. I was born in the north west corner of Devonshire and later into my youth moved to Bath and Bristol. My family come from Plymouth in Southern Devon, and Barnstaple to the north. I have friends in Cornwall, Dorset and Hampshire.....    and love this area ! I start my tours in Clifton in Bristol, the largest city in the area. It has great transportation links to London and also an airport that receives flights from the US. I’ve chosen Bristol as a starting point because of transportation but also because, historically, it’s always been tied to the America’s through trade and fishing. We know the John Cabot was fishing in the waters of North America, and trading with Native American communities at the same time as Columbus was ‘discov

English Landscape Gardens

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English Landscape Gardens. Because I’ve created a new Cotswolds small group tour, that will include a couple of very special gardens, I thought that I should write a little piece on England’s gardens....landscape gardens in particular. Over the years, I’ve been fortunate enough to visit some great gardens scattered all over  the British Isles, and I have to say that the Brits are justifiably proud of this aspect of their culture. The predecessors of the landscape garden in England were the great parks created by people such as Sir John Vanbrugh (1664–1726) and Nicholas Hawksmoor at Castle Howard (1699–1712), Blenheim Palace (1705–1722), and the Claremont Landscape Garden at Claremont House (1715–1727). These parks featured vast lawns, woods, and pieces of architecture, such as the classical mausoleum designed by Hawksmoor at Castle Howard. At the center of the composition was the house, behind which were formal and symmetrical gardens in the style of the garden à la f

The Roman And Georgian City Of Bath

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The Roman and Georgian City of Bath Why is Bath such a popular destination for tourists today ? What is so intriguing about this small city that sits amongst 7 hills in the heart of Somerset, in England.? As a boy, I grew up in and around Bath. It was a dirty city. It’s buildings were caked in coal tar and the 1960s style shopping centre was terribly ugly and rundown...even by the 1970s! However, I enjoyed Bath because as a rugby player, I was recruited into the ranks of the most powerful rugby club in the world at the time, Bath Rugby Football Club... a huge honour for a young 16 year old. And as a teen I was able to enjoy the wonders of Baths nightlife. It’s subterranean pubs and clubs were a huge draw to the youth of the area as it still is today. In the 1980s a programme of architectural ‘cleansing’ was put into place, and plans to tear down the 1960s shopping centre and to start cleaning every stone surface in the city, were put into place. Slowly the city, began to at

Scotland Is A Part Of The United Kingdom !

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Scotland Is A Part Of The United Kingdom ! ....it really is ! But how did this come to pass ? First of all, let’s not forget that James 6th of Scotland became James 1st of England.... yes, a Scottish King became king of England which led to the Stewart dynasty ruling for decades. Scotland was a land inhabited by warring families and wracked by political intrigue. However it certainly wasn’t any different than any other kingdom in Europe. It certainly became a whole lot more powerful, with one of its own families in the throne at Westminster. So, how did Scotland become a part of what we now call the United Kingdom and Great Britain.? There are probably many different reasons but I’m going to focus on the race for overseas territories, and the fact that even though James came to power in England, the two realms were never properly unified under him. In 1603, James VI, King of Scots inherited the thrones of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Ireland in the Unio

My North Wales- Snowdonia Tour

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My North Wales- Snowdonia Tour Wales is a land that continually surprises me. I’ve been heading up there with my small group tours for several years, and I always eagerly anticipate it. The land and seascape is rugged, it’s unforgiving, and yet it’s welcoming. I have developed a 10 day tour that is based in one boutique style hotel in a splendid Victorian seaside town called Llandudno. It’s a perfect base for striking out into the mountains or reaching into the heart of Anglesey. The whole tour came about after a discussion on a hilltop with local legend, tv personality, author and farmer, Gareth Wyn Jones ( he’s also a friend of mine).i wanted to do a regular bus tour of Wales, but also spend time with him and his family, absorbing his culture, lifestyle and Welshness. He wanted to show off his farm, his knowledge and his generosity to more curious people. The discussion turned into a lengthy Welsh whiskey ‘session’, and the tour idea had taken route. Welsh history,