Dear All Greetings again! This is my second blog entry for my time on the Isle of Man, and it will relate my adventures on my second full day on the island. It was another wonderful day, rather tiring, but with some amazing views and experiences. After a wonderful night’s sleep of ten hours, I enjoyed a self-catered breakfast of porridge, pain-au-chocolat, yoghurt and orange juice. I was planning to make the 30-minute journey again on foot to St John’s for my first bus for the day, when upon leaving the annex I happened upon my accommodation hostess. She offered me a lift to the bus stop on her way to work, which was greatly appreciated, and it was just lovely to get to know her a bit more and express my feelings about the cosiness ... read more

Dear All Greetings from Sheffield! I have returned after a really wonderful month travelling around Scotland, England’s northern neighbour. Whilst recent travel restrictions have not been easy to deal with for a travelling soul like myself, I would like to thank Scotland for offering me the opportunity to get out there, explore, and scratch that travelling itch I’ve been unable to scratch for quite some time now. It has shown me its glorious nature, stunning landscapes, wonderful wildlife and welcoming people, and I feel now I have gotten to know Scotland just that little bit better than I had done before. Before I ended my journey, however, I had one final port-of-call to make, and that was to wonderful Glasgow. While I still think Inverness is my favourite Scottish city, I just loved Glasgow as soon ... read more

Dear All Greetings from Loch Ness! Yay!! This is probably Scotland’s most famous lake, and also one of the most famous lakes in the world. This is actually my second time here, as it was also in Inverness a couple of days ago. I believe I mentioned in my first blog entry for this trip, that 20 years ago, I made one of my first backpacking trips to this part of the world for three nights, to get a feel for this business of travelling – and I liked it so much, I’ve pretty much spent the rest of my life doing it! These last few days have very much brought back memories for me, some very good memories of my first taste of travelling freedom, and this beautiful part of the world. I loved Inverness ... read more

Dear All Greetings from Carrbridge, a small village in the northern parts of the Caingorms National Park, quiet, with a population of just over 700 people – 708 to be exact. Gosh, this is remote. Having just arrived from the touristy town of Ballater, a seeming metropolis in comparison, it has taken a bit of time to wind down a gear and adjust to village life – a place where everyone seems to know everyone, and as a visitor you really stand out. Perhaps this is what I need for a short while, just to take the pace down a gear or two, but if I’m honest I’m glad I’m just staying here three nights. I was actually planning to stay in tourist central, nearby Aviemore, during this part of my trip. But booking my accommodation ... read more

Dear All Greetings from Aberdeen! This is my second stop on my Scotland trip this summer, and like Edinburgh, I have used it as a base not just to explore the city, but also some of the wider surrounds. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in Aberdeen, and this city is just right up my street – it is a big city with good amenities, is off-the-beaten tourist track, and has a fascinating background as an oil-production centre of Europe, and thus cosmopolitan enough to be welcoming. It is also unique in its granite-based nature of the city buildings, giving the urban landscape a stone-grey and imposing texture – the granite stones actually glisten in the sunlight, which is really quite cool! I arrived here on Saturday late afternoon, after having gotten two trains here from ... read more