Sorrento is at the far end of the Mornington Peninsula, one of the two arms that almost enclose Victoria’s Port Phillip Bay.
They were having one of their street markets and, though the weather looked ominous, I decided to risk it and go down for a look.
On my first morning in Chichester, I was up before breakfast. I wanted to walk the old city wall, running directly behind my hotel and encircling the heart of the city.
The Romans invaded Britain in 43AD. In around 44AD, they built a fort on the site of Chichester, as being a good source of water from River Lavant and close to a harbour for the bringing of supplies from France.
A few days ago, mild temperatures and sunshine were forecast. I took the opportunity to head into the Royal Botanic Gardens for some much needed exercise and sun. I had never properly explored them before, sticking mainly to the edges along St. Kilda Road, or climbing the hill to the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, an outdoor entertainment venue that’s hosted hundreds of performers over the years. The Bowl sits in a valley surrounded by hills.
Continue reading “Springtime in Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens”
I had decided that after my week in Cornwall I would head back to London via Canterbury. Penzance to Canterbury by train is a seven hour trip so I wanted to break it up somewhere along the way. I chose Chichester, mainly because of its famous theatre.
It was my fault, even after all the trains and buses I’d used in the last fortnight, that I still thought I would get on a train at Penzance and get off, relaxed and rested, at Chichester. Actually it took over six hours and three different trains.
I had to decide what to do with my third and last day in Penzance before heading back east. I’d heard about the Minack Theatre, set into the side of a cliff looking out over the ocean. Having a love of live theatre, I just had to check it out.
I was told by all the brochures that a lovely spot to go just out of Penzance was a village called Mousehole. So I decided to catch the bus there, rather than a train to St. Ives, an unfortunate decision because, though Mousehole was cute, I’d just spent three days in Port Isaac, so a fishing village wasn’t new to me. I ended up running out of time to see St. Ives, which I’m now devastated about.
One of the main reasons I stayed in Penzance while in Cornwall last year, was to walk the causeway across Mount’s Bay to St. Michael’s Mount. I’d seen photo after photo of it, rising from the water like a fairytale castle from a story book.
Back in England last September, I dragged myself away from Cornwall’s lovely Port Isaac and headed down to Penzance, thinking it would be a good spot from which to explore various places on my list: St. Michael’s Mount, Poldark’s mines, the Minack Theatre and St. Ives.
My travel memoir, Is This the Road to Stratford?, has now been published with Amazon for three months. Time to celebrate! For 5 days, from Thursday 15th June till Monday 19th June, I am offering the Ebook for nothing – zilch – FREE.
In 2011, I landed in Manchester. In a malevolent rental car, baffled by indecipherable road signs and huge roundabouts, I journeyed from Yorkshire through Derbyshire, Warwickshire and Oxfordshire, to London.
Continue reading “Free Book Offer: Is This the Road to Stratford?”
Having spent months earlier in the year editing and publishing my travel memoir, Is this the Road to Stratford?, I needed a serious dose of nature to get me back in balance. My computer and I don’t get on well if we spend to much time together in our little room. Continue reading “Healesville Sanctuary, Yarra Valley, Victoria”
Planning to the Nth 