From the steam train terminus at Seespitz we boarded a rather luxurious ferry run by the Achenseeschifffahrt. A pleasant 25 minutes, if a pricy way of reaching Pertisau (11 euros). We could have taken a bus if we'd managed to find out where the stop was! Achensee in September Monday 1 September (cont.) I had…
Anne and I have just returned from three and a half weeks travelling through France, Austria and Italy. Having spent four weeks Interrailing last year I wasn't sure I would enjoy it as much as last time. But it was wonderful! We had a first-class pass for seven travel days, bought in the sale for…
Owing to a family issue we decided to postpone our second Interrail trip to Europe from June to September. So we're off tomorrow morning. Trains - and the odd Flixbus Itinerary as follows: Eurostar (London to Paris) Strasbourg (1 night) Innsbruck (1 night) Pertisau am Achensee (3 nights) Venice (3 nights) Monopoli (6 nights) Bari…
I read this week that "drivers over 70 face eye tests every three years”. Why “over 70?”, I ask, as a grumpy 70-year-old who has just had to renew his licence. As arbitrary numbers go it's no worse than 65 or 75, but what's the reasoning? The RAC will have a view (supporting its members,…
It was 20 years ago yesterday. I took my usual route to the British Library where I had worked since 1997: Herne Hill to King’s Cross Thameslink, a station that no longer exists - or, rather, trains no longer stop there since St Pancras International opened in 2007. I emerged on Pentonville Road and immediately…
We were visiting friends on the South Coast when they said “Would you like to see the church at Old Romney?”. I’m always up for viewing a church. Saint Clement’s, Old Romney Derek Jarman is buried in the churchyard of Saint Clement’s but the interior of this ancient church is worth seeing. There is a…
Following on from last summer's epic rail trip (France, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia and Italy) we've decided to have give it another go while health and finances allow. A different route (apart from a repeat visit to Zermatt) but broadly similar: cities, mountains and a comparatively long lay-up at the seaside halfway through. Mind…
It’s 10 years since I retired from the British Library. A decade indeed! In mid February I reached my 70th birthday: generally known as a milestone, and it certainly feels like it. Hard not to refer to my age when meeting ex-colleagues, as I did last week, one of whom I had not seen since…
Anne and I awoke to another beautiful day in Kandy, Sri Lanka's cultural capital. At last we were over the jetlag and in good form. Saturday 15 February We began with a relaxing stroll round Peradeniya Royal Botanic Gardens, amongst the best planted and most attractive I have ever seen, with an orchid collection, thousands…
Following four very relaxing days at Sea Rock Villa (Induruwa, near Bentota), we took another 90-minute taxi ride to Veyangoda to join our Exodus group for a two-week long tour of the island. In reality, the south-western third of the island, as the monsoon swings according to the season from one side to the other,…
The Wight Stuff 