Favaritx Lighthouse on Menorca’s north east coastline
We Brits still visit Spain by the plane load for our summer holidays, despite the ever broadening geographical horizons demanded by today’s more adventurous and savvy tourist. That said, we are quite set in our ways when it comes to choosing our Hispanic destinations, and particularly so when it […]

The beach on Walney Island, looking out to the west
I’d been wanting to visit Piel Island for at least two years, ever since I’d glimpsed the stark, imposing ruin of its castle from the shores of nearby Walney. I remember going on about a two hour wild goose chase at the time, frantically trying to […]

The Torchwood team - washed, and ready for action (BBC 2008)
WARNING! Plot spoilers abound in the below article. Oh well, I did warn you…
I thought the first series of Torchwood was sensational, but with series two, the BBC have taken adult British sci-fi to a level which surely leads the rest of the world.
Creator Russell […]

The beautiful Eilean Donan Castle
I’m not sure I could get through a year without my annual pilgrimage to the western Highlands of Scotland. What started out as a trip to find my grandfather’s final resting place on the Isle of Skye some twelve years ago - a journey made regularly with my beloved Uncle Heccy […]

Vilnius Cathedral links the Old Town with bustling Gedimino Prospekt
Tell people you’re going to Lithuania and, almost without exception, your announcement will be met with a furrowed brow while they try to think exactly where it is. As part of the former USSR, the country only achieved independence in 1991 after several years’ struggle, so […]

Vlad Ţepeş, the Wallachian prince at the heart of Bram Stoker’s Dracula
How my fascination with Vlad Ţepeş began
I have been a keen horror film buff since I was a kid, and this is something else I can attribute to my dad. He gave me a 1958 collectors’ first edition of Forrest J Ackerman’s classic Famous […]

Sadistic Tyrant or Noble Prince - Vlad Tepes was indeed a great warrior
Below: The old medieval town of Sighisoara in Transylvania
We started out early the next morning and, as luck would have it, fetched up at Sighisoara on market day. On these days, outlying villagers come in horse drawn carriages to sell their produce, cheese […]

A more familiar image of Vlad Tepes featured in this woodcut
On the trail of Vlad Ţepeş
I flew to Bucharest with Tarom Airlines of Romania, a comfortable enough service even if they did still allow people to smoke on board. I’d arranged transport and an English speaking guide to collect me at the airport and take […]

Auschwitz death camp today, eerily preserved

As you enter the notorious concentration camp at Auschwitz, you cannot help but be sickened by the legend wrought in the ironwork of the main gates. “Arbeit macht frei” - which translates as “Work makes you free” could not have been further from the real truth, unless the ruthless engineers […]

Castle Bran - Dracula’s Castle - high up in the Carpathian mountains
A few years ago I made the decision to visit a place which had fascinated me since childhood - Transylvania, the land beyond the forest. When I announced this is where I was bound for my summer holiday, strangers thought me eccentric and friends […]