The summer of 2026 has been dominated by heatwave after heatwave. Whilst it was still pretty hot in the far north, our trip to Sheen in Staffordshire did provide a bit of temperature relief. At one point I even had to wear a jumper!

Sheen bunkhouse is in a converted …

It was a blisteringly hot day in Essex and ten valiant knights set out on a quest to find dragons. The first challenge was the one to find a parking space as we were competing with the Bures music festival, but it did mean that we set off accompanied by …

Our June weekend in Eastbourne was the sort that convinces you that you may have somehow wandered into southern Europe rather than southern England. Our arrival on Friday night was greeted with a beautiful sunset and extended twilight as we were only just over 24 hours away from the longest …

It was late evening and the sun was setting: a golden ball sinking into the green fields above Port Isaac. As the shadows lengthened the fishing boats rocked against the old granite quay, their ropes creaking like tired bones. Slowly, the weary band wound their way up the hill to …

This year’s Easter trip to the Lakes had an added sparkle when Dave and Ali, after 33 years testing the waters, took the plunge and got married. Keeping it quiet until after the fact, the first the group knew about it was a message from Dave inviting them for …

We arrived in Streatley-on-Thames on Friday night. Some of the group had got there earlier, in time for dinner at one of the local pubs and we were just walking down to meet them for night cap when we met them coming the other way with tales of noisy live …

This was the first time we’d been to Palace Farm for a few years, and it was a splendid reminder of why we love visiting here so much. Doddington is situated amongst the rolling green hills of Kent with a very nice pub just a short way down the …

Winter trips can be a tricky beast to manage. With the sun setting at what seems like mid-afternoon, it can be hours between the end of a walk and a nice, hot dinner. So here we are at Ilam Hall in the Peak District, enjoying improbably good weather, but even …

Ian moved house. Not very far, but enough to warrant a housewarming & a group trip to Norwich. Our last visit to Norwich was 25 years ago when they still had a youth hostel, but this time we had to rough it in the Travelodge at Acle.

Friday night saw most …

Our September trip was to the 1912 Centre in Harwich. The 1912 bit relates to when the building was first built. Following a devastating fire it was decided that Harwich old town needed a dedicated fire station. Ironically it was built on a lot vacated due to fire. Up to …