“We always have our steak for two on, which we’re proud of — either a chateaubriand or roasted rib with chips and a bearnaise. It might sound a bit boring for a signature dish but it’s something we have on all the time. It’s rooted in that pub ethos of steak and chips. But it’s the best steak you can get, with everything well prepared,” said Guy Manning of the Red Lion Freehouse.
Continue reading
Bowes, in Upper Teesdale, has a surprisingly rich history for a quiet English village. One of Bowes' claims to fame is that it provided author Charles Dickens with inspiration for aspects of his novel Nicholas Nickleby.
Continue reading
Matthew Stewart is a collector with a difference. Instead of setting aside a hobby room in his house, his passion takes him out into the Scottish countryside; Stewart is a Munro bagger.
Continue reading
"A visit to the Isle of Portland is certainly well worth it. It’s a chance to find out more about Portland stone and where it’s used. It’s used in buildings like Buckingham Palace, the Bank of England and in Whitehall. Those principal buildings around London, including St Paul’s Cathedral, are all made with Portland stone," says Geoff Moore.
Continue reading
Perhaps George Stephenson, the engineer who’s best remembered for his pioneering work on steam locomotives and for overseeing the construction of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, would deem it a tad foolhardy that I’ve walked 10 miles from Gateshead to take a look inside the cottage where he was born?
Continue reading
Bumbling about in Brighton is always fun. To find out where to go and what to do there I turned to Jools Stone, a freelance travel, music and arts writer, for the lowdown about his home town.
Continue reading
Edinburgh is a great place to explore over a weekend. Attractions such as the castle, Scottish National Gallery and Arthur’s Seat make it a destination that warrants returning to time and again.
Continue reading
“Living legend” is too easily applied when describing sportspeople. Muhammad Ali is one of the few individuals on this planet who really do warrant such an epithet.
Continue reading
St Mary’s Inn is a gastropub that offers B&B accommodation in the former administrative building of St Mary’s Hospital, a couple of miles from Morpeth in Northumberland. In its heyday up to 2,000 patients were treated at the hospital, an asylum that closed in 1996.
Continue reading
Newark-upon-Trent lies on the United Kingdom’s East Coast line, meaning it’s accessible for visits by rail. Yet for years it’s also proven a surprisingly easy place for me to zip through without stepping down from the train.
Continue reading