I find myself – as I quite often do – in the little Spanish village of Els Poblets, near Denia, roughly half way between Alicante and Valencia. This was our base when attending the Grand Prix at Valencia a few years ago, and a frequent holiday destination for us. When walking through the village, we…
The village of Heather is a pleasant place in North West Leicestershire, and dates back to the Doomsday Book on 1086, when it was recorded as Hadre, or The Heathland. These days, you might know it for its pubs and live music – very good considering a population of just under 1000 – or at…
For those not familiar with it, Chasewater is a reservoir in Staffordshire dating back to 1797, in the Cannock Chase area, and, as well as being home to water skiing and all sorts of aquatic activities, is also the location of the Chasewater Railway, a two mile heritage railway service, formerly used to transport coal.…
I wrote last year about the 2013 Heart of the Forest Festival in the village of Measham, Leicestershire, right in the middle of the National Forest, hence the name, that included motorbike stunts, wild west shows, and all sorts of exciting things. Today saw the Heart of the Forest Festival 2014, and as normal, I…
I’ve written about my trip to Macau at the end of May, and although it might not seem it from my posts so far, I did actually have time to do some sightseeing that did not include fast cars. We were staying near – although, in a place like Macau, everything is quite near –…
I mentioned recently that one of the things the Macau is famous for is Formula Three, and on my recent trip there, I went to visit the Macau Grand Prix museum. The Macau Grand Prix, as you might be aware, is a street race with various categories of motorbike and car racing, and is held…
I went to Hong Kong & Macau for the bank holiday weekend, with my friend Steve – of the Vampires of Prague story – which meant that I was expecting at least a few random occurrences. On Sunday, we found ourselves in Macau, which is of course famous for the Macau Grand Prix, to the…
Last weekend saw the 2014 Moira Canal Festival, which celebrates and raises money for the restoration of the Ashby Canal, on the Derbyshire / Leicestershire border. I wrote about last year’s festival, which was a great show, and included a fly by from a Mark IX Spitfire. The 2014 event saw two air shows, one…
When you ask most people to tell you about Burnley, Lancashire, they might mention the town’s industrial past, its football team, or some of its many famous residents. What they are less likely to mention is the impressive green spaces and architecture of the town. Among these are Towneley Park and Towneley Hall, an impressive…
We found ourselves in North Yorkshire this weekend visiting some friends, and took the opportunity to return to Skipton, and to visit Skipton Castle. It was a relatively easy choice as, as well as being an interesting historical site which is easy to get to and has plenty to see, is suitable for both a…
I took a trip recently to the UK’s largest permanent Scalextric set, the Phoenix Scalextric Track near Studley in Warwickshire. For those not familiar with Scalextric, it is a remote control car racing system that is an institution in the UK. It first appeared at the Harrogate Toy Fair in 1957, and since then, has been…
Have you ever wondered how many planes are flying over your head at any given time? There are probably more than you think, and the development of social media and a series of apps that help track them have been enlightening for the aviation geeks among us. If you are in Europe, or in the…