Travel

Patrick Richardson - Reports from Beyond

16 Oct 2008

TRAVEL BOOK The best travel writing is much more than just writing about travel, something this hugely experienced journeyman doesn’t seem to realise despite a lifetime of wanderlust. This glossy coffee table effort is subtitled ‘A Journey Through…

Air apparent

2 Oct 2008

I am so stupid. I’m shuffling forward on a bench in a King Air plane above Hollister, California. Only now, at 15,000 feet, after a quarter of an hour of shivery anticipation, and a mere stride from an open door to the sky, do I realise the implications…

Summer wine

2 Oct 2008

‘Authentic Fado tonight!’ the waiter announced, as I peeped inside his restaurant on my first night in the city. I was pulled in and fed with espedatas, huge fish kebabs, just off the chargrill, while serenaded gravely by folk ballads. ‘The Fado songs…

Gavin Francis

Trekking round the back door of Europe

14 Aug 2008

Edinburgh-based GP-turned-adventurer and travel writer Gavin Francis’ next book – charting an epic motorcycle schlep from Orkney to Sydney – will finish on an ironic endnote. Having survived the mean streets of Beirut and New Delhi on its journey, his…

Norway

31 Jul 2008

Given that Norway is one of the few places in Europe more expensive, and with worse weather than Scotland, it’s not one of the most obvious destinations for a summer holiday. But for those who appreciate quirky historic towns, dramatic scenery and a…

Streets of glory - Edinburgh Rat Race

17 Jul 2008

Edinburgh will be reclaimed by hundreds of scurrying creatures this month. Claire Sawers meets the people behind the Rat Race

Nice and easy does it - Côte d’Azur

17 Jul 2008

Richard Moore braves the glamour and the husband hunters of the Côte d’Azur and discovers a wealth of treasures

5 Travel Books

17 Jul 2008

Ellie Nielsen Our Own Piece of Paris Subtitled ‘How We Fell in Love with the City of Light’, this follows one woman’s quest to find an apartment that oozes Parisian chic. Atlantic. Kapka Kassabova Street Without a Name Subtitled ‘Childhood and Other…

Three places nearby the Côte d’Azur

17 Jul 2008

Cannes Although most famous for the illustrious film festival that swamps the city in actor-types every May, Cannes' reputation for glamour is evident throughout the year. The main streets are packed with expensive boutiques, but most of the town's…

Three to try: adventure sports

17 Jul 2008

Transgression Park Head to the top of Edinburgh’s Ocean Terminal for a spin on your BMX, skateboard or inline skates. Not yet a consummate professional? Lessons and equipment hire are available for all three ‘freesports’. There is also a designated…

Munich

19 Jun 2008

Beer. It might as well be the first word here, since there’s no getting away from it in Munich, even outwith the world-renowned annual piss-up of Oktoberfest. Löwenbräu, Hofbräu, Augustiner, Paulaner, Hacker-Pschorr, Spaten, Fraziskaner – you name them…

Fears eased over Festival performer visa crisis

8 May 2008

Fears that thousands of performers at the Edinburgh Festival would be prevented from entering the UK due to new immigration legislation have been eased with the introduction of a new type of visa. The Home Office has announced that visiting…

Airline announces direct flight from JFK to Edinburgh

8 May 2008

Delta Airline has launched a new direct service from New York JFK to Edinburgh, with its inaugural flight taking to the skies last week. Tourist agency VisitScotland said the move would help raise Scotland's profile as a holiday destination.

Barcelona

10 Apr 2008

Everywhere you look in Barcelona, you see Ronaldinho. Reproductions of the FC Barca hero fill the shelves of each tourist tat-peddling stall and storefront, even in the shadow of Antoni Gaudi’s mighty Sagrada Familia cathedral, which emphasises the…

City Beaches

10 Apr 2008

The busy beach and Old Port at Barceloneta (head to the bottom of La Rambla and keep walking past Roy Lichtenstein’s ‘Barcelona Head’) is one more reason to fall for Barcelona, although it’s not the only city where visitors can find sand and surf within…

Scottish Surfing

10 Apr 2008

Even when the surf’s up in Scotland, chances are the temperatures won’t be. But with advancements in wetsuits over the past few years, it’s now possible to surf the Scottish coastline year-round. Fuelled I suspect by seeing one too many photos of…

Three others to try: Beach sports

10 Apr 2008

Body boarding If kids can catch waves by standing in the water with a polystyrene board and waiting, so can the most clumsy of adults. This is an ideal introduction to surfing, as body boards are smaller, lighter and cheaper than surf boards. Coast to…

Belfast

27 Mar 2008

St George’s Market on a Saturday morning. High, tented ceilings filling up with barbeque smoke; cheerful art graduates selling hand-printed T-shirts side by side with grumpy, knowledgeable fishmongers and cheese merchants; stalls offering gourmet olive…

Bargain breaks

27 Mar 2008

Flying visit Gallant little Belgium tends to get overlooked by weekend-breakin’ types which is good news for you, as Ryanair are currently offering flights from Glasgow Prestwick to Brussels from £2.99 one way. It only takes 35 minutes, too. Brussels…

Shopping in London

13 Mar 2008

Something cool For a one-stop shop of new designers Sunday Upmarket (Liverpool Street, sundayupmarket.co.uk ) has 140 stalls of accessories, fashion and interiors. Keep an eye out for Maria Helena Spector’s jewellery made from silver, lava and…

Shopping trips

13 Mar 2008

Blow the budget For every traveller who sees haggling as an integral part of any good holiday there are many more who would happily swaddle their first born in giftwrap and hand them to the next passer-by if it meant they never had to play the…

Isle of Harris

28 Feb 2008

To someone who, as a child, often prayed for the kind of harsh weather that kept the rest of the world at bay and provided an excellent excuse for ‘coorieing in’ and contemplation, the idea of staying on an island on the Outer Hebrides during the winter…

Safari Holidays

28 Feb 2008

Blow the budget With many safaris costing well over £2000 per person, it’s understandable that they are often viewed as a once in a lifetime trip rather than any old holiday. But you don’t necessarily have to re-mortgage your home to get up close to…

Ferry pilot scheme launched

26 Feb 2008

A new island ferry pilot scheme was launched by the Scottish Executive today at a press conference on the Isle of Lewis. Speaking at the ferry terminal in Stornoway, transport minister Stewart Stevenson said, “For years, our remote and fragile…

Zurich

14 Feb 2008

On my first visit to Zurich, my Swiss boyfriend dragged me along to the city’s annual Street Parade. I went along expecting a paler version of Berlin’s famous Love Parade and was bowled over by some 800,000 people partying frantically through the city…