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UK and beyond

August - October 2019
A trip to discover the wonders of Northern Ireland, retrace our history in Scotland and bask in the sun in Greece. Oh, walking in Portugal too. Read more
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  • Around the World with JanUK and beyond
    1
    11
    Day 6

    The Emerald Isle

    August 18, 2019 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Now I know why Ireland is called the Emerald Isle. The green is so luminous it hurts your eyes. The scenery is simply stunning from rolling hills of green dotted with sheep to the rugged coastline of basalt and limestone that is the Causeway Coast.

    It's obvious why this area is so popular as a film location. The scenery looks and feels ancient. There are beautiful little cottages and majestic castles dotted across the countryside.

    We've been so lucky to have been blessed with beauitful weather. Mind you, we've had four seasons in one hour, not one day!

     We've just spent 5 days in Bushmills staying in an old mill which was just beautiful perched on the edge of a river so that we had the sound of water to lull us to sleep. Now we're in Donegal and about to head up to Derry to explore it's history.    Read more

  • Around the World with JanUK and beyond
    12
    Day 15

    Bonnie Scotland

    August 27, 2019 in Scotland ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    We’re now in Scotland and after beautiful weather with a bit of rain we’re having our first rainy day on Iona. We’ve stayed in some beautiful places – on the edge of a deer park in Queensferry with an amazing view of the Firth of Forth and a cute little hotel in Friars Wynd in Stirling.

    The sense of history here is amazing – everywhere you go there’s information about historical events from our school days or things that were completely new to me, like the break in the Scottish Church to form the Free Church of Scotland.

    Iona however is something completely different, Along with Australia, it has some of the oldest geology on the planet, 2.8 billion years or thereabouts. We’re staying in a lovely old hotel with its own organic garden which provides the vegetables and salads that we’re eating.

    St Columba came here from Ireland at the beginning of the 7th century so people come here to see where he landed at St Columba’s Bay. It’s a beautiful place to walk and enjoy the lovely white sandy beaches.

    The weather in Ireland and Scotland has been much better than I imagined and not nearly as cold as we expected. You’ll hear from me again when we get to Greece where we expect it to be sunny and warm!    Read more

  • Around the World with JanUK and beyond
    Day 19

    It's all just Greek to me

    August 31, 2019 in Greece ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    I'm sitting here in Santorini perched on a private terrace on a cliff overlooking the ocean, but more on that next time.....

    We spent the last week on Crete in two very different locations, both amazing. Chania, the main town in the Western part of the Island has a wonderful Old Town. With a beautiful harbour setting and narrow twisting alleyways and steps reminiscent of Morocco, it's a delightful place to stroll. Oh,, and the food is pretty good as well - fresh seafood and gigantic Greek salads.

    From Chania we drove up into the hills to Milia which was something completely different. Our accommodation felt like a cozy cave with our own private space out the front surrounded by high cliffs and stunning trees. Milia was once an old village which has been rescued and is now an eco resort of a kind you won't find anywhere else.

    All the buildings are made of stone and the food is organic with ingredients grown on the property. They have pigs, sheep and goats as well as two gorgeous dogs who decided to come with us on our early morning walk.

    The temperature is much cooler up there with lovely breezes whistling through chestnut trees. We had beautiful weather and were sad to leave. Now we're on Santorini so look out for my next edition when we head to Folegandros in a couple of days.    Read more

  • Around the World with JanUK and beyond
    Day 19

    It's all just Greek to me

    August 31, 2019 in Greece ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    I'm sitting here in Santorini perched on a private terrace on a cliff overlooking the ocean, but more on that next time.....

    We spent the last week on Crete in two very different locations, both amazing. Chania, the main town in the Western part of the Island has a wonderful Old Town. With a beautiful harbour setting and narrow twisting alleyways and steps reminiscent of Morocco, it's a delightful place to stroll. Oh,, and the food is pretty good as well - fresh seafood and gigantic Greek salads.

    From Chania we drove up into the hills to Milia which was something completely different. Our accommodation felt like a cozy cave with our own private space out the front surrounded by high cliffs and stunning trees. Milia was once an old village which has been rescued and is now an eco resort of a kind you won't find anywhere else.

    All the buildings are made of stone and the food is organic with ingredients grown on the property. They have pigs, sheep and goats as well as two gorgeous dogs who decided to come with us on our early morning walk.

    The temperature is much cooler up there with lovely breezes whistling through chestnut trees. We had beautiful weather and were sad to leave. Now we're on Santorini so look out for my next edition when we head to Folegandros in a couple of days.    Read more

  • Around the World with JanUK and beyond
    1
    Day 20

    It's all just Greek to me

    September 1, 2019 in Greece ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    I'm sitting here in Santorini perched on a private terrace on a cliff overlooking the ocean, but more on that next time.....

    We spent the last week on Crete in two very different locations, both amazing. Chania, the main town in the Western part of the Island has a wonderful Old Town. With a beautiful harbour setting and narrow twisting alleyways and steps reminiscent of Morocco, it's a delightful place to stroll. Oh,, and the food is pretty good as well - fresh seafood and gigantic Greek salads.

    From Chania we drove up into the hills to Milia which was something completely different. Our accommodation felt like a cozy cave with our own private space out the front surrounded by high cliffs and stunning trees. Milia was once an old village which has been rescued and is now an eco resort of a kind you won't find anywhere else.

    All the buildings are made of stone and the food is organic with ingredients grown on the property. They have pigs, sheep and goats as well as two gorgeous dogs who decided to come with us on our early morning walk.

    The temperature is much cooler up there with lovely breezes whistling through chestnut trees. We had beautiful weather and were sad to leave. Now we're on Santorini so look out for my next update when we head to Folegandros in a couple of days.    Read more

  • Around the World with JanUK and beyond
    Day 26

    It's all just Greek to me

    September 7, 2019 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    I'm sitting here in Santorini perched on a private terrace on a cliff overlooking the ocean, but more on that next time.....

    We spent the last week on Crete in two very different locations, both amazing. Chania, the main town in the Western part of the Island has a wonderful Old Town. With a beautiful harbour setting and narrow twisting alleyways and steps reminiscent of Morocco, it's a delightful place to stroll. Oh,, and the food is pretty good as well - fresh seafood and gigantic Greek salads.

    From Chania we drove up into the hills to Milia which was something completely different. Our accommodation felt like a cozy cave with our own private space out the front surrounded by high cliffs and stunning trees. Milia was once an old village which has been rescued and is now an eco resort of a kind you won't find anywhere else.

    All the buildings are made of stone and the food is organic with ingredients grown on the property. They have pigs, sheep and goats as well as two gorgeous dogs who decided to come with us on our early morning walk.

    The temperature is much cooler up there with lovely breezes whistling through chestnut trees. We had beautiful weather and were sad to leave. Now we're on Santorini so look out for my next edition when we head to Folegandros in a couple of days.    Read more

  • Around the World with JanUK and beyond
    11
    Day 31

    Farewell Folegandros

    September 12, 2019 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    How do you say goodbye to paradise? The Autumn winds are starting to blow up from the sea and the temperatures are getting a little cooler here now. By the end of September, all the tourists on Foligandros will have gone home and the shops will be closed.

    The island of Santorini and the town of Oia where we were staying on the edge of the caldera represent the sophisticated Greek Island. It's stunningly beautiful, especially at sunset and a bit polished. Having said that it doesn't take away from it's charm. It's still very much Greece so the food is amazing and things move at a slower pace.

    Folegandros on the other hand is how all these small islands would have been 30 years ago. It's small, half the price of Santorini and the locals still sit in the evenings watching the passing parade of tourists and wondering what we're all doing here.

    The island is quieter and less sophisticated which is it's charm. Food is cheaper and everything pretty much closes in the afternoon for a couple of hours. It's also stunning as the cliffs surrounding the main town Chora, fall dramatically in a series of terraces down to the sea.

    Our little villa has a view over the town and up to the whitewashed church above us. It's a lovely place and we're a little sad to be heading back to the hustle and bustle of London before the next phase of the trip, Portugal.    Read more

  • Around the World with JanUK and beyond
    1
    Day 46

    A Pilgrim's Progress

    September 27, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Well, we have 3 days to go and it's been quite an experience. I don't think I had any idea what I was getting myself into.

    We set off in high spirits on a grey foggy day from the outskirts of Porto, barely able to see the Atlantic Ocean pounding only a few metres away. Porto was beautiful but very crowded with tourists.

    For the last 9 days we've really not seen too many pilgrims on the road but now that we've reached the confluence of the Spanish Camino there are a more of us. I expect that as we enter Santiago there will be hundreds.

    We've only had two wet days so far - the first was drowned rat territory - we staggered into the hotel dripping wet. Today was drizzle for most of the morning but it was easy walking mostly through forest.

    We've navigated major roads, walked through medieval villages, traversed eucalyptus and pine forests and followed stone walls hundreds of years old.

    My feet hurt, my shoes are wet and I'm glad that we're nearly there. It's been quite an experience and we've met so many amazing people from around the world. I must be crazy to do something like this and pay for privilege. But you all know me. I love a challenge. I'm just glad we have a hot shower and warm bed at the end of every day (oh, and the food is pretty good too)!    Read more

  • Around the World with JanUK and beyond
    1
    Day 51

    The Final Curtain

    October 2, 2019 in England ⋅ 🌙 7 °C

    Well, it’s done. I’m back in London on my way home. We walked 280km in the end not including sightseeing or the occasional detour when we couldn’t understand the instructions – some things were lost in translation, literally!

    Was it worth it? Absolutely! Would I do something like this again? Not a chance! We met some amazing characters from all over the world. We suffered sore feet (thankfully only one blister on the last day) got very very wet on one day and pretty wet on a couple of others.

    We had fog, rain, drizzle and sunshine. We walked through trellises of grapevines and saw the biggest pumpkins I’ve ever seen in my life. There were beautiful forests and ancient monuments and more and more pilgrims as we got closer to Santiago.

    I couldn’t begin to describe how it felt to walk into the cathedral square on the last day of the walk. It was a lovely sunny afternoon and the place was full of people who had walked or cycled from France, Portugal and the centre of Spain. Some travelled a hundred kilometres while others did eight hundred or more and everyone had a smile on their face even if they limped into the square.

    It’s been an amazing trip and I’m glad I did it. Buon Camino!    Read more

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