Like loads of other parents I’ve got an empty nest again. My son has been home from university all summer, give or take the odd trip to a festival, a Deliveroo job (none of us ever realised how hilly Bournemouth was before) and some eye-wateringly intense bike training. But now he’s back at university and the house feels very quiet. The bikes have gone, the slack line has been dismantled ...keep reading
The drive to Swansea, where my son’s a student, is long and winding and laboriously slow, largely because the first part of the journey involves driving uphill and down dale at a snail’s pace through the Dorset countryside. But to make the journey more bearable I’ve taken to stopping halfway in the gorgeous honey-stoned city of Bath, with its elegant Georgian crescents, magnificent abbey and chic shops. If I’ve got ...keep reading
Ross McGinnes is a man after my own heart. He is so aerated by restaurants that serve their culinary creations on wooden boards that he’s decided to fight back. Just three weeks after launching his @WeWantPlates Twitter account he already has 20,500 followers. I’ve been puzzled by the trend for ages. Even my favourite restaurants and cafes – like Bill’s, The Pig and Le Petit Prince – do it and ...keep reading
I speak to my son on the phone several times a week but one day I looked at the calendar and realised that it was a whole two months since I’d seen him. That was it. I checked that he was free for the evening, booked into Morgans Hotel in Swansea (I may be an intrepid reporter but I’m not intrepid enough to stay in a student house inhabited by seven ...keep reading
The Hive Beach Café at Burton Bradstock has one of the most stunning locations in Dorset. Right on the edge of Chesil Bank, it has sensational views of Lyme Bay and the famous Jurassic coastline. Best of all, it’s the most perfect place for lunch I’ve discovered since we moved here. Delicious food, friendly staff and speedy service – I couldn’t fault it. We’d planned to visit the café last ...keep reading
Up until recently I’d never set foot on the stunning Gower peninsula. I just about knew it was in South Wales but I’d have been hard pressed to say precisely where. But after lots of recent visits the Gower has become one of my favourite places in the UK. It only stretches for 19 miles but the coastline is wild and windswept and the beaches are completely unspoiled. Incidentally, I ...keep reading