Alan Atkinson

Readingfcboi

Alan Atkinson

I'm a passionate traveller and very content when exploring different places. I love to experience new cultures, as well as getting the opportunity to meet interesting people from all over the world. My life changed somewhat in 2019 when I became a daddy and my priority has changed but my desire to travel very much remains.

I have a fascination with Latin America; this is because of the beautiful scenery, fantastic wildlife, different types of cultures and history. I even learnt some Spanish to help when exploring these countries.

TravelBlog has allowed me to share my stories with friends, family and fellow bloggers. I am always happy to hear from like-minded people and willing to share or talk about my experiences. If you're ever in England and visiting the Hampshire area, do give me a shout and perhaps I can be your tour guide.

I've visited 44 countries/territories:
Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Dominica, France, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Macao, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Morocco, Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles, Northern Ireland, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Scotland, Sint Maarten (Dutch part), Spain, Tunisia, Turkey, United States, Vatican City State, Wales

Feel free to like my Facebook photography page

Check out my article on travel blogging The Tourist Checklist

Clamping Experience

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Shropshire » Marshbrook April 7th 2023

Stokesay Castle

Readingfcboi

I had brought Fiona an experience voucher for Valentine's Day and she decided to use it for us to go away together for a couple of nights in a luxury pod in a remote and rural area of Shropshire. Her voucher only initially covered a basic camping pod for 2 nights but we paid extra to upgrade it to the luxurious pod that she really wanted. I could have easily done the basic pod, but you literally only have a light and electricity, and with Fiona being pregnant too, it made sense to have the luxury pod. With childcare arranged and the children dropped off, we are free to head northwest towards the county of Shropshire. It is nice to be going back to Shropshire, as this was our first getaway together, although we will be ... read more

Irish Wedding

Europe » Ireland » County Tipperary » Carrick-on-Suir September 9th 2022

Irish cooked breakfast

Readingfcboi

Fiona's family are from Ireland. We received an invite from Fiona's cousin to attend her wedding. Fiona really wants to go, so we organise to stay with her uncle for a few days and decide to travel to Ireland with Fiona's mother (Anne), who also lives in England. We drive to Fiona's mum's house where I leave my car and we move our luggage into her car. I am designated driver of Anne's car since she doesn't like driving on motorways. Our drive is over 3 hours as we take the roads from Southeast England to Pembrokshire Dock in Wales to catch the ferry over to Ireland. The weather conditions are awful with strong winds and rain. I am not looking forward to the choppy sea, but it will be in the middle of the night ... read more

Shakespeare Country

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Warwickshire » Alcester May 6th 2022

Anne Hathaway's Cottage

Readingfcboi

A birthday experience gift voucher from last year meant we could book accommodation and spend a couple of nights away. The options where we can stay are limited but a pub with standard B&B rooms caught our attention in Alcester, Warwickshire and we discover that the local area has links to William Shakespeare. The trip is only an hour and half drive from where we live and seemed a good fit. After our drive up to Warwickshire, we first head to our accommodation to check-in, driving through Alcester high street, which has a mixture of shops and buildings with Medieval, Tudor, Georgian and Victorian architecture influence. This market town originates back to the Roman time and has a wealth of history. Our accommodation is quite basic but adequate. The bed, however, is hard and feels like ... read more

Blue Sapphire Ring

Europe » United Kingdom » England » East Sussex » Saint Leonards April 18th 2022

Beautiful ring

Readingfcboi

We were still on a budget but I wanted us to have a family holiday. After the short anniversary stay in East Sussex a few months ago, I suggested that we go back, as this is a part of England I have rarely seen. We got a fantastic price on a Haven family caravan for 4 nights, I think this was due to our Easter half term week in Hampshire differing to this region (East Sussex) and so the week was deemed off-peak because the week prior was about 300 pounds more. The reason we went for a Havan caravan was for the kids, as there is a lot on-site entertainment for them. The night before our trip and I keep being sick. I have a surprise planned for tomorrow and I am not nervous/worried about ... read more

Meerkat Encounter

Europe » United Kingdom » England » East Sussex » Ticehurst December 28th 2021

Christmas At Dale Hill Hotel

Readingfcboi

It is our anniversary, Fiona and I have been together for 5 years. I wanted to take Fiona to European city for a long weekend, but with the Covid spike and further government restrictions, this was going to make things a bit more tricky; plus Jovie's nursery fees seem to be eating away quickly at my savings, so we decide to do something low-key and go away for the night. Fiona had brought me the previous Christmas a gift voucher to meet Meerkats and locations around the UK where limited offering this experience and so I decide to find a hotel near one of the locations that will allow me to use my free-night stay that I had accumulated with Hotels.com. I find this hotel called Dale Hill Hotel & Golf Club in a small village ... read more

A few days in sunny Cornwall

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Cornwall » Bodmin August 22nd 2021

Mrs Whippy kinda day

Readingfcboi

With spending a lot of money on home improvements we had decided no holidays for this year but, after a year since our last break, I felt I needed a few days away somewhere. Fiona's two older children were away with their dad meaning that we could find a reasonable B&B room somewhere for just the three of us. I suggest a few days in Cornwall, so that I could meet with my childhood friend, Sally. My friend would have possibly been able to host us, but she felt her home was unsafe for my 2-year-old daughter, Jovie, given she was having some renovation work done to her property. My friend lives in Bodmin, which is in the middle of the county of Cornwall and not such a demand for the hospitality industry as most people ... read more

Pandemic Vacation

Europe » United Kingdom » Wales » Conwy » Llandudno August 2nd 2020

Sunflowers

Readingfcboi

I had been coping well during the Covid pandemic but, after 5 months of being stuck at home with only being able to pop out for essential or exercise activities, I was starting to get fed up. The lockdown restrictions had started to ease, and the hospitality industry had starting to open back up albeit with extreme restrictions. My stepdaughter, Sienna, eagerly wanted to visit her friend in North Wales and stay with her for a while, so I suggested that I drive her and the rest of us go and stay in a B&B nearby, as even with strong restrictions, a change of scenery is much needed. We decide to stop off at the Sunflower Maze, not too far from Liverpool, as we head up. Fiona had seen a celebrity visit there on social media ... read more

A Luxury 5-Star Anniversay Stay

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Somerset » Bath January 11th 2020

Mcdonald Bath Spa Hotel

Readingfcboi

I wanted our 3-year anniversary to be special and after hearing some good reviews about a 5-star hotel in Bath I decided to look it up and discovered through my hotel bookings I could save almost a 100 hundred a night on a room. We had originally decided to go away on our actually anniversary at the end of last year but had to cancel the booking on the day due to Fiona's older two kids having a stomach bug and subsequently we were able to rebook 2 weeks later. The reason I wanted to go to bath was because I had seen this hotel called Mcdonald Bath Spa where some of my work colleagues had stay recently and thought we could also go to the Thermae Bath Spa but unfortunately learn it is closed when ... read more

Jovie's First Holiday

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Cornwall » Looe July 27th 2019

Our 8-seater carrier car

Readingfcboi

We've been longing to go abroad and do that beach holiday somewhere in Europe but decide with having a 5-month-old it will be easier to stay closer to home. We want a beach holiday in England and so decide Cornwall to be the best place to visit, as we are pretty sure we'd manage a beach day or two even if it rains the whole time, as Cornwall is known for its mild climate and stunning beaches. It's the start of the school summer holidays and so accommodation prices triple and Cornwall is an expensive place to visit at this time of year. We also have the dilemma of my small Volkswagen Golf trying to fit the five of us with all the baby stuff, so we reserve a 7-seater people carrier. We manage to reserve ... read more

The Old Capital of England

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Hampshire » Winchester April 23rd 2019

Miguel embracing the rain

Readingfcboi

Miguel's last day but luckily his flight isn't until early evening, so we we have time to visit nearby Winchester. This city used to be the old capital of England before eventually London gaining the title, which later became the capital of the United Kingdom. The city of Winchester has a lot of history, dating back to the Iron Age around 150BC. The city structure changed a lot when under Roman rule and this saw expansion; however, the city's stature came when Alfred 'The Great' became ruler of the West Saxons as he and his brother defeated the Danish Vikings at the Battle of Ashdown and he became King of Wessex and established Winchester as his capital. I've written about Winchester previously in the Hosting Stefano blog, if you would like to read more about Winchester's ... read more

Joined	December 29th 2012	Trips	6
Last Login	March 27th 2024	Followers	16
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Alan Atkinson

Readingfcboi

Alan Atkinson

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