Travel

Haven Hotel, Sandbanks – Great Views

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Ellie & I went on a climbing trip last weekend with a friend of ours, Gilles. Well, I went with a friend of ours, and my wife tagged along. It was because of her, that I picked the Haven Hotel, Sandbanks, for her and me to stay at. (Our friend stayed at an Air B&B nearby.) The lady wished for some distractions and a bigger town. She was not eager on bunk beds in a hostel at our climbing location, the Isle of Portland, an hour’s drive away. 1920s BEACH RESORT GRANDEUR To make up for the fact that I was going to do ‘my thing’ this weekend, I booked the only affordable four-star hotel available. It was built in 1926 and retains its rustic, heavy art deco grandeur both inside and outside. There are elements of the Victorian era designs and furniture of its two predecessor buildings and a […]

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Two Nights at the Famous Swan Hotel, Wells

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Ellie & I recently stayed at the four-star Swan Hotel, in Wells, Somerset. I was doing some caving with a buddy of mine in the Mendips. My wife decided to join me for some above-ground sightseeing, so we needed a place to stay. This hotel is where constable Nicholas Angel stays in the 2007 film Hot Fuzz with Simon Pegg. THE SWAN HOTEL, WELLS – PERFECT LOCATION The location could not be any better. From the rooms located at the front of the building, you have views of the magnificent front of Wells Cathedral. The market square, the Bishop’s Palace, and High Street with plenty of traditional pubs and quirky shops, are all just a minute’s walk away. PARKING THE CAR WAS A CHALLENGE Service was very helpful and friendly from the moment we arrived. After a lengthy car ride from London in at least partially difficult icy conditions, driving […]

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Cotswold House Hotel & Spa Cottage Stay, Chipping Campden

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Through our blog, Ellie & I had previously done various collaborations with the company that owns Cotswold House, Chipping Campden. When we recently booked ourselves in again, this time as paying customers, we got upgraded from a basic double room to a luxury cottage. (The pictures in this post are not aligned with the text.) BASIC DOUBLE ROOMS VS. COTTAGE STAY AT COTSWOLD HOUSE, CHIPPING CAMPDEN The basic double rooms are usually between £100 and £235 per night. On quite another level, the luxurious cottages, called ‘suites’ at Cotswold House Hotel & Spa, start from £375 and go up to about £550. Unless you manage to get your hands on one of the discounts or cash rewards (usually 10 to 20%) advertised every now and then on their website.     1st & 3rd pic: front of CHH&S, middle: our cottage BEST PRICE MATCH AT COTSWOLD HOUSE, CHIPPING CAMPDEN Very […]

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Fisherman’s Trail – Four Days of Hiking in Beautiful Southern Portugal

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A month ago, my buddy Pete from The Man Who Hiked The World, was invited by Ricardo Estêvão from Vicentina Travel to check out their self-guided, four-day Fisherman’s Trail package. CHIPPING IN After Pete’s plus-one had had to bail out from the Fisherman’s Trail on very short notice, Pete asked roughly two dozen friends of his if they wanted to join him instead. Fortunately, they all had to decline because of conflicting commitments. This meant that I got a chance to join him on the trip. Throughout the trip it was one of our running gags that I had been so far down the list. Of course, I made sure that Pete got a good run for his money, too, banter-wise. Pete and I have only known each other for a short while. We met on an organised group hiking weekend in the Peak District with GO London end of […]

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One Month in Papua New Guinea (1998)

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The year was 1998, and – originally from Germany – I had just taken part in a one-year master program in international relations and development at UQ in Brizzie, ready to get some work experience under my belt. The Contract One of my fellow students at uni was the head of the trade union congress of Papua New Guinea. He got me in touch with one of the development NGOs in Port Moresby, PNG’s capital. That NGO happened to support his organisation. I applied and got a one-month job as a paid consultant. Over the next few weeks I had spoken with the local head of the NGO a few times over the phone. Nonetheless, I was still quite nervous when I arrived in Port Moresby. I had done my research, but there was not much to be found on the internet about Papua New Guinea back then.   I […]

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