On a city break to Copenhagen, Liz Ratcliffe discovers hygge might be the real secret to Danish happiness. I decided to book a city break for my partner’s birthday and wanted to go somewhere that neither of us had been to before. A Copenhagen city...
Read onLiz Ratcliffe takes her first trip to Lanzarote. Won over by the island’s geothermal charms she’s already thinking of going back. I wasn’t sure what sort of week I was going to spend in Lanzarote. I had heard the sayings: ‘Lanzarote –...
Read onOne time Spanish resident, Lorraine Worsley-Carter spends a weekend exploring Bilbao. Northern Spain has been on our exploration list for a while, so a couple of days in Bilbao seemed a good place to start. Having lived in south east Spain and...
Read onAfter 30 years away, Liz Ratcliffe returns to her home city of Liverpool to find it as vibrant, fabulous and iconic as ever. Having just moved back to the north west, I decided it was time to reacquaint myself with what people have been telling me...
Read onWhen I booked a weekend in Milan for my husband’s Christmas present, I neglected to notice that the said booking would mean we would not be in the UK for International Women’s Day 2019. I am delighted to say that, as well as experiencing a fabulous...
Read onSnow-capped mountains, futuristic trains and the sweet smell of cherry blossom (sakura). Lorraine Worsley-Carter visits Japan in Springtime. If I would have visited a fortune teller when I was younger and been told that I would travel halfway around...
Read onGalleries across County Durham are hosting a year-long centenary focus on one of the North East’s most celebrated artists, Norman Cornish. Norman Cornish’s depiction of mining life in north east England captured the working heart of pitmen and their...
Read onA visit to a fishery has never been on my bucket list, if you’ll excuse the pun; I am more of a city girl and, what’s more, I have a severe fish allergy. Having said that, live fishes are not my problem – just the cooked ones! I know there are many...
Read onLorraine Worsley-Carter takes a once-in-a-lifetime trip on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express. As a railway man’s daughter, train travel has always been a big part of my life, as has my love of all things Art Deco. So, to be treated to a trip, nay...
Read onLorraine Worsley-Carter welcomes 2019, with a break in the beautiful medieval city of Carcassonne, south west France. The earliest traces of Carcassonne go back to the 6th Century B.C. Carcassonne stands on both sides of the River Aude. It is the...
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