Arch Gallery Bridge Number 493 to be precise. Just one of the 988 bridges (well, each culvert and earthwork seems to count as a bridge) on the narrow gauge railway running from Kalka to the British Raj’s old summer capital of Shimla, 2,075m above sea level and 350 kilometres from Delhi – a world away. […]
Jodhpur, the famous blue city in the Thar Desert of Rajasthan; although I think it was probably a bit bluer twenty or more years ago – before new development and lax controls allowed people to replace old with new and blue with brown. Anyway, imagine my surprise when out early one morning looking for blue […]
Here is the seaside of my youth, Scarborough was the big glamorous town, a few miles up the coast from where Granny lived. The Lido, opened in 1915, was originally filled naturally by fresh sea water; in 2003 it was filled for the last time – filled-in with sand and rubble. Central government starves local […]
When I told people I was going to spend a week on the Leeds Liverpool Canal most of them looked at me gone-out; this was pretty much the reaction I expected, as it was my initial reaction when the trip was first mooted – sitting one sunny afternoon outside a country pub, obviously. But if […]
A mate of mine was racing his Caterham 7 at Goodwood, not the frenetic Revival or Festival of Speed but a club meet. A sprint, so only one car on the track at a time. What a great day out, no crowds, no queue for the burger van and easy access to the garages and […]
In 1988 I travelled from Bangkok to Nong Khai, on the banks of the Mekong River in Northern Thailand, on the strength of a rumour that the river crossing border to Laos and its capital Vientiane would open; we sat there for three lazy days and nothing happened. More than thirty years later and 25 […]
Out for the day around Brick Lane; doing a bit of teaching. These kids are good, so just the odd tip and a bit of banter is the order of the day. Still, not much time to myself and my eyes mostly on other things – but you need to show as well as tell, […]
Only thirty or so years ago but even then, in 1986, the fishing village of Tai O – on a far corner of Lantau Island – was a far cry from the burgeoning glass and concrete city centre of Hong Kong; just a few miles and a ferry or two away. I don’t know to […]
After many visits (documented on this website) to Ile de Re, just off La Rochelle on France’s Atlantic coast, I’ve finally ventured an hour south to Ile de Re’s big sister, Ile d’Oleron. Advised to do so by an acquaintance, a little research uncovered a bigger island, less well developed and characterised by multi-coloured wooden […]
It’s full-throttle, as the man says – the cars have gone to bed but the children haven’t. Saturday night, no rain, and Razorlight on the main stage… Who Needs Love?