Essex is not renowned for tourism, but head to the far NW corner of the county and you will come across the attractive market town of Saffron Walden. Nearby is Audley End, a fine Jacobean house with landscaped gardens. Together they provide much of interest for anyone wishing to take a relaxed short break in an unspoiled part of rural England. The town was originally called Walden, […]
The final stage of my tour covered the western part of Sicily including the vineyards and salt production areas around Marsala, the hilltop town of Erice and the Segesta archaeological site. The road journey from the Central Region and Agrigento to Marsala on the West Coast looked to be straightforward – about 85 miles heading north-west along the main […]
Travelling inland along quiet roads after my exploration of Mt Etna and East Coast, my next stop was Piazza Armerina, almost in the centre of Sicily, and the Villa del Casale with its extensive and beautiful collection of mosaics. The scenic, hilly countryside in the central area of Sicily is dotted with villages and towns, many […]
Travelling down the East Coast from Messina towards Mt Etna (after my exploration of Palermo and North Coast), I came to Taormina, considered by many to be Sicily’s most picturesque town and hence a tourist hotspot. In my case arriving by car, I first had to negotiate, without any clear instructions, the system of parking […]
I think we can accept AA Gill, the Sunday Times TV and restaurant critic, into our Senior citizens community in that he reaches the age of 60 next year and also in that this book is very much the writings of somebody looking back on life and bringing out interesting observations from near and far. ‘Is Further Away’ contains 30 […]
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Australian National Botanic Gardens – Top Ten Garden
To include the flora of a whole continent in less than 100 acres would be quite some feat, but that is exactly what the Australian National Botanic Gardens in Canberra does very successfully. The Gardens are sited impressively on the lower slopes of Black Mountain with great views back over Lake Burley Griffin and the […]