It was no surprise to read that the recent doubling of Air Passenger Duty on short haul flights from the UK has had little effect on travel plans.  Research by the Prudential reports that 75% of respondents will not change their travel plans due to the increase in APD.  However 11% are commited to flying [...]

I read this article about wildlife on your doorstep, trying to make watching wildlife more accessible to all. I was happy to see that my home town of Berwick upon Tweed was mentioned in the article. It was mainly in the context of spotting salmon as they return home from Iceland to the River Tweed. [...]

I read an article today asking why UK citizens are not happier as we are experiencing record levels of prosperity, low levels of crime, less poverty and better prospects in health, education, technology and employments than ever before. Apparently in 1957 52% of the population claimed to be very happy, this has now fallen to [...]

An orca whale has been spotted hunting seals in the Forth estuary around the bridges. I was in South Queensferry today but unfortunately did not manage to sight the whale. Evidently the best views have been caught by maintainence workers on the rail bridge. Speaking of seals we see the seal pup most days lying [...]

I am happy to see that the National Geographic agrees with me about recommending visiting less well known destinations in Europe. However I would suggest getting a bit more off the beaten track than they mention.   For example instead of subsituting Glasgow for London, I would recommend Dundee or Stirling in Scotland.

We went fo Sunday lunch at the Contented Sole pub in Eyemouth today. It is one of favourite haunts for Sunday lunch and as it’s in Scotland I will be guaranteed a smoke free environment.  Lunch was followed by a walk along the coastal path north towards Coldingham.  I have to say that Eyemouth is [...]

I have to admit that Europe a la Carte blog does have a bit of a bias towards Scotland. I am Scottish and have lived in Scotland for most of the my life. I now live in the north east of England, 3 miles from the Scottish border. I call the area in which I [...]

Thomson are to introduce manned portable travel kiosks in shopping centres from March. They are hoping that they can drum our more business by being visible to spontaneous purchasers and some passersby who may not have internet access at home or work. They do not envisage increasing sales of package holidays, more last minute breaks [...]

The UK based Silverjet the world’s first 100% carbon neutral airline has started flights from London to New York. The ticket price includes a compulsory contribution to “Carbon Points”. The customer can then choose a project to which they wish to donate their points. If the customer does not indicate a preference for a specific [...]

When I read this article saying that only the elite will travel long haul witin 30 years. I had a sense of deja vu.  This is exactly how it was when I was younger.  There have been a couple of decades where flying cheaply for leisure several times a year has become the norm for [...]