Exploring Brixton in South London

Our son Simon recommended that I visited Brixton when I was in London in March 2013. After a morning exploring Clapham, I headed to Brixton. On exiting Brixton tube station I wasn’t sure which way to head. I turned left and soon came upon the street market in Electric Avenue.

Exploring Brixton in South London

Market in Electric Avenue

Further along that street, I saw the entrace to Brixton Village, which is an indoor market consisting of several arcades. It was an extremely cold day,  so I was glad to be in a covered area.

Exploring Brixton in South London

Restaurant tables in Brixton Village

Exploring Brixton in South London

Entrance to the Reliance Arcade in Brixton Village

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Exploring Brixton in South London

Pinterest Helps You Plan Your Travel

It’s such a cliche, but as a travel blogger I find that a picture really is worth a thousand words. I  love Pinterest because it’s a quick and easy way to organise and share photos online. All you have to do in open a Pinterest account and then create boards onto which to pin photos.

Click here to join Pinterest.

Pinterest Helps You Plan Your Travel

Pinterest can inspire you to visit a particular destination and then help you plan your trip. When you click on a photo that you’ve pinned you’ll be taken to the original source. To make it easy to find that resource again, any time that you see some useful tips online for accommodation, restaurants, transport or attractions in that destination. pin a photo from the article to the relevant board. I’m going to Santander in northern Spain later this month, so I started a Santander board on Pinterest.

If you see any photos on Europe a la Carte that you’d like like to pin onto your boards, you just need to hover over the photo for the pin it botton to appear.
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Pinterest Helps You Plan Your Travel

Swans by Bank of River Tweed; Today’s Walk 8 May 2013

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday in Northumberland we had cloudless blue skies (which you can verify in my photo of Edlingham Church), accompanied by warm sunshine. Today it was a cool, breezy, grey day with rain in the early afternoon. The rain stopped around 4pm, so we went for a walk along the River Tweed. Although it was a couple of hours after high tide, the river water was still quite high. There were lots of swans, adults and almost mature cygnets, feeding and preening close to the river bank.

Swans by Bank of River Tweed; Todays Walk 8 May 2013

The swans around Berwick upon Tweed are quite tame and used to being fed. When they spotted us standing by the river, they approached in the (vain) hope of some morsels.

Swans by Bank of River Tweed; Todays Walk 8 May 2013

Swans by Bank of River Tweed; Todays Walk 8 May 2013

Great Customer Service from Expedia

Great Customer Service from ExpediaSoon after I booked the flights for our Santander trip, I started searching for a hotel. My initial booking was with Expedia. Although I had to pay the full amount immediately, this was fully refundable until one week before our arrival. This gave me the opportunity to keep my eyes open for a better deal, with the security that I had accommodation arranged.

I paid Expedia using my Barclaycard World Mastercard, which gives me 1% cashback. Expedia doesn’t charge an additional fee for paying by credit card. However, I was aware that if I cancelled the Expedia booking after a few weeks, I’d be out of pocket for at least a month.  The payment made at the time of booking would have appeared on my credit card statement before the refund arrived and I’d have to pay for a new hotel booking upfront.

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Great Customer Service from Expedia

Festival of the Heavy Horse 2013

We attended the Festival of the Heavy Horse in Millfield, Northumberland in early May 2013. Adult tickets cost £5, kids £2.50. There was plenty of free parking in an adjacent field with stewards to direct you to an empty space. It was fortunate that there had been a long dry spelll before the event and that the weather was good on the day.

Festival of the Heavy Horse 2013

In full regalia

Festival of the Heavy Horse 2013

Me with two of the horses

Festival of the Heavy Horse 2013

Cross between Thoroughbred (racehorse) & Clydesdale in the ring
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Festival of the Heavy Horse 2013

Review of Travelodge London Bank

I booked a room at Travelodge London Bank for four nights in March 2013. The total cost was £146, on the non-refundable Saver rate, booked 5 months in advance. £36.50 a night is a really good price for Zone 1 ensuite double room in a London hotel. The hotel is a two minute walk from either Cannon St or Bank stations. There’s an M&S Food at Cannon St station and a Tesco Express about five minutes walk away. Many of the restaurants and cafes nearby are closed at the weekend.

Review of Travelodge London Bank

Travelodge sign in St Swithin’s Lane

I arrived at the hotel around 12.30 but  check-in wasn’t until 15.00. As Travelodge don’t offer luggage storage facilities and I wanted to make the most of the daylight hours, I paid the £10 early check-in charge, enabling me to deposit my suitcase in my room and get out and about. I was allocated a double room on the first floor, directly above the hotel entrance overlooking the cobbled courtyard, shared with a restaurant. I was a bit concerned that my room might be noisy if people from the restuarant and hotel came out into the courtyard for a cigarette, or if the restaurant’s rubbish bins were wheeled out early in the morning. But I wasn’t disturbed by any exterior noise.

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Review of Travelodge London Bank

10 Things to Do in Liverpool

Liverpool has come a very long way from being basically an industrial port city and is now a place full of cultural attractions of all kinds – although its most famous exports and probably the reasons most people visit are both the Beatles and the Liverpool Football Club. But there’s plenty of art, music and also an impressive maritime history to explore. This post offers travel tips on what to do in Liverpool.

The Beatles Story

For me the first thought that pops into my mind when someone talks of Liverpool is the Beatles, every time. The Beatles Story is much more than just a Beatles museum – it’s a hands-on (ears-on?!) experience and it’s now spread across two sites after lots of expansion in recent years.

10 Things to Do in Liverpool

The Beatles Story
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10 Things to Do in Liverpool