How to photograph the northern lights

I’ve been fortunate enough to see the northern lights in the night sky of Manitoba several times. Each time, watching the lights swirling and dancing in the darkness felt like a near spiritual experience. If you know what you’re doing, it’s possible to simultaneously view and photograph the northern lights

Durham Miners’ Gala

“I think it’s a celebration of working class life in the north East. The pits have gone but it hasn’t broken the spirit of people or the communities. It’s now become a great festival, a carnival. Some people come for the fun fair, some people come for the speeches, some people come for the bands, some people come for the banners, some people come for the laughs. It brings people together,” said Kevin Maguire, associate editor of the Daily Mirror, talking after the 2016 Durham Miners’ Gala.

Top things to do in Maribor, Slovenia

“If you produce a lot of white wine you also have to drink it. That’s why Mariborians are happy,” jokes Tomaž, my guide during a walking tour of Maribor. The city is set within the Štajerska Slovenia wine region and a vast wine cellar is hidden below streets in its centre.

Top things to do in Alnwick, Northumberland

Beautifully landscaped, The Alnwick Garden was created by the Duchess of Northumberland. Highlights include a cascading fountain, a vast treehouse and the world’s largest orchard of Japanese Taihaku — flowering cherry trees. Typically, the cherry trees in Alnwick blossom in late-April or early-May.

16 things to do in Sedbergh, Cumbria

Sedbergh is England’s official book town and a lovely spot to visit if you enjoy walking and cycling. On the western edge of Yorkshire Dales National Park, the attractive small town is well-placed as a base for visiting the nearby Lake District. Kendal is 11 miles away and Windermere is 19 miles from Sedbergh.

Places to visit in Newcastle upon Tyne

There's lots to see and do in Newcastle. The ‘new castle’ which lends its name to the city is centuries old: it dates from the reign of King Henry II, 840 years ago. You can climb its steep, honey-coloured stone steps to visit the great hall before watching a video that explains the role of the fortress through the ages.

Canadian lumberjack Darren Hudson interview

“I come from a family of five generations of loggers,” says Darren before explaining that meant working in the bush, bringing logs to the sawmill and processing them. “I’m carrying on the legacy…in the form on promoting it for tourism, team building and allowing people who wouldn’t normally have the chance to get a taste of what it’s like to be a lumberjack and do it for a day with their friends.”