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Unloxit 2026
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Unloxit 2026

Travel and photo experiences of 2026 Read more
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  • Trip start
    January 1, 2026
    BlogarithmsUnloxit 2026Traveler

    China, the Americas....and Peckham

    January 1 in England ⋅ ☁️ 4 °C

    New Year's Day in London is a great time for blowing away the cobwebs of 2025, with its annual parade. Last year was a washout but today the weather is bright (albeit cold) with an ideal chance to travel virtually. It's worth starting a couple of hours before the parade starts, to watch the performers getting ready, making up and so on. I start near Hyde Park Corner and avoiding the crush of the main parade, take it up near the Houses of Parliament.

    There's a fleet of ancient vehicles, followed by a motley crew and then dancers from China, Ecuador, Bolivia, Poland and the USA. By now they must have got back to their day jobs but it's great to see them having their day of fun.    Read more

  • BlogarithmsUnloxit 2026Traveler

    Anyone for Venice?

    February 9 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    Yes please---it's a unique city that that lends its name to other places---Venice of the north (Bruges and, er, Birmingham), Little Venice in London, and even Venezuela. For the ten days I'm there in February, I see it in all weathers and times of the day. The multitude of churches, especially the Renaissance ones, are best appreciated when the sun shines
    But the Grand Canal is exceptional, rain or shine.

    People often say that Venice is crowded, which it is around the hotspots like San Marco, but two or three streets away from them, lie oases of quietness and peace. And this being the run-up to Lent, people are gearing up for Carnival........    Read more

  • BlogarithmsUnloxit 2026Traveler

    Wet in Venice

    February 10 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    I'm not here for the weather, that's for sure! This is the view from the window of my hotel room, which I've chosen not for its historical location but guaranteed comfort and easy access from the airport. But I soon get to know the excellent vaporetto (water bus) service, which glides around the waterways at 65 euros (about £60) for a seven-day pass. It's fascinating to see that commercial business from on-line deliveries to rubbish collection, can't be conducted by lorry or van, but by boat. The city still suffers from floods but less so since the large barrier was completed a few years ago and to help with maintenance costs, there's a daily tourist tax.

    The first couple of days are spent ignoring the hotspots but exploring the quiet backwaters. Venice is divided into "sestiere" (comparable to boroughs), the nearest of which is Dorsoduro. One of its churches, San Nicolo, featured in the 1973 film "Don't Look Now" in which the Donald Sutherland character, an artwork restorer, has an accident and nearly falls off the scaffolding. These days it's more peaceful, although photography of the beautiful paintings inside is not allowed. Another impressive district is Cannaregio, site of the former ghetto (which gave its name to similar places around the world) with metal plaques commemorating those who were transported to the death camps in the 1940s.

    Although the Rialto itself is beloved of selfie-takers, even within a few streets of it, quiet corners abound. Not all the residents are pleased, however....    Read more

  • BlogarithmsUnloxit 2026Traveler

    Some Venetians, Scots, Argentines and Peruvians

    February 13 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    After 3 days of bypassing the Carnival, it's impossible for me to ignore it any more. Venice's Carnival is like no other; the city's geography precludes the usual parades and processions, so revellers do their own thing---many of them probably visitors. The original Carnival reached its height in the 18th century, hence the profusion of period costumes, but was dormant until the 1970s. As you can see, they don't have to look Venetian; there's a group evidently from Scotland, another team dancing to tango, and a lady sporting the flag of Peru. Carne vale, indeed!Read more

  • BlogarithmsUnloxit 2026Traveler

    Never forget Venice

    February 16 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    While the carnival activity in historic Venice is unique, thanks to the excellent official website, I find out about more conventional displays in the environs. The island of Burano (not to be confused with the glass-blowing island of Murano) is a half-hour vaporetto ride from the Castello district. Even the houses seem to have joined in the carnival spirit. A couple of days later, in a typical Venice fog, I travel to the Lido for the beginning of the parade before bad light stops play. Finally, a short train ride to Mestre on the mainland leads to its carnival. It's a no-nonsense, unfussed place, totally the flip side of Venice, and could do with some lightening up---which it duly gets.

    After 10 days in Venice, the carnival is over but it's been a thoroughly satisfying visit.    Read more

  • BlogarithmsUnloxit 2026Traveler

    Valencia revisited

    March 31 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    The second break of the year takes Russell, Alan and me back to Valencia, which we visited 4 years ago. Some things have changed; there are now only three of us and some haven't: our friend who lives an hour's Metro journey to the south is very hospitable. The socialising puts paid to much sightseeing but we get to see Valencia's coastal area, which is spaciously laid out and at the very beginning of April, still off season. And while we're there, we manage to get a taste of both Germany and Bolivia!

    Things warm up when we're on the move north-west, on a train journey involving a change at Madrid and on to Salamanca. It saves trouble to book the tickets through an agency because like over here, the railways are run by more than one company. It's an energetic walk from the station to our hotel but we're in for some luck. If we had taken a taxi, we would have missed the wonderful Holy Week procession. Salamanca itself is an elegant, historic city, full of architectural quirks. The Plaza Mayor is one of the finest in the country.    Read more

  • BlogarithmsUnloxit 2026Traveler

    Argentina and Belgium in Spain

    April 7 in Spain ⋅ 🌬 16 °C

    It's a straightforward train line to our next stop. Avila is another wonderful city surrounded by intact city walls. Our first and second port of call is the Buenos Aires; curiously, the beers are more in the earlier evening than later on. Could this be unhappy hour? Walking the back streets, we find an authentic Belgian bar; the strengths of the beers mean they must be treated with respect! And lastly, Easter has dawned and the banners in the old market square are being taken down.

    In a straight line, we head for Madrid. It's not known for medieval sights but some of the later monuments are hugely impressive. The statues rest in a pantheon of 19th century historic heroes, and we see an Italianate university tower and an Arabic-style house of culture. Pride of place in history goes to the Plaza Mayor, even grander than its counterpart in Salamanca. Escaping the bustle, we spend our final afternoon in the Parque Retiro, almost on our doorstep and furnished with grandiose monuments of its own.

    Time to leave after an excellent 10-day stay but not before sampling one of the many self-styled Irish bars in the country!    Read more

  • BlogarithmsUnloxit 2026Traveler

    North-west by north-east

    Apr 14–20 in England ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    Now for two short breaks in the north. The Chester trip is an annual reunion with up to 20 friends who are ex-work colleagues (I never worked or "turned up" with them but have come to know them well). Chester needs no introduction as an ancient city founded by the Romans, and the first image is taken from the walls which encircle the whole city. It's also famous for half-timbered buildings and in this case, a virtual face from a massage parlour peering out from a window. No visit to Chester would be complete without seeing the Cathedral cloisters, but the stained glass from the next image can only be from licensed premises!

    I'm back in London only a couple of days before the second northern break, to Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The oriental menu includes some exotic Vietnamese dishes, while the soju is from Korea, a clear, quite potent drink flavoured with fruit juices. The excellent Gaucho, part of a countrywide chain, makes one want to cry for Argentina. It's good to be there on a Monday, when the lunch set menu lasts most of the day!

    Newcastle, famous for its five bridges, has its own Cathedral and here's a view of a monumental brass. The Victorian and Edwardian architecture is impressive as well. Sadly the Central Arcade is mostly closed for shopping, reflecting the struggle that retailers are having with operating costs, but the covered Grainger Market is soldiering on with some wonderful shop fonts and probably the oldest M & S you would hope to see.    Read more

  • BlogarithmsUnloxit 2026Traveler
    1111

    Through streets broad and narrow

    May 13 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    A 3-day city break in Dublin with Alan and Russell is just the ticket! We're staying at a nice hotel just north of the city centre and the Georgian architecture, especially in Mountjoy Square, is fabulous. A bit like Bloomsbury in London but more so.

    Since I last came to Dublin in 1996, it has become busier, more cosmopolitan and more sophisticated. This monument to Daniel O'Connell in the street of the same name is a great example of 19th century pomp and circumstance. Brown Thomas is the Harrods of Dublin, while the cast-iron arcade is the last word in elegance. There are more statues in the nearby St. Stephen's Green, although the monument to Robert Emmet looks a bit forlorn.

    Not forgetting the pubs, of course! Here are some examples of classic Dublin bars, quite unlike the "Oirish" joints you might find from Tallinn to Tenerife. We don't actually go inside, but McSorley's (beer mat in the first image) where we have a Beamish and/or Guinness, fits the bill. The small seaside resort of Bray, about a dozen miles south of Dublin, could hardly be different. Unfortunately the weather isn't great but the rain holds off to allow us a walk along the promenade.

    3 days in Dublin are of course nowhere near enough.    Read more

  • BlogarithmsUnloxit 2026Traveler
    1

    More canals than Venice!

    May 25 in England ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    Strange to some people but true. The network around the West Midlands covers 100 miles of navigable canals and could hardly be different to La Serenissima. While some of my fellow navigators continued after I dropped out in 2021, when there was a vacancy I came out of retirement. We are down to five people, with just one boat, and set to enjoy 7 days of uniquely fine weather. So warm in fact (up to 31C) that there's a warning to drink plenty of water.

    We pick up the boat at Stourport, which was and still is, an important junction between the River Severn and the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal. It's picturesque and peaceful, as you can see. But after a couple of days we head towards Wolverhampton, where the scenery changes dramatically but the industrial wasteland has its own character. The term Black Country for this region is now used with some pride as it was Britain's engine room for heavy industry, powered by coal.

    And then there are the pubs. The itinerary has been carefully chosen so that we can have an afternoon break and more beer tasting after we have tied up for the evening. The Great Western in Wolverhampton and the Vine (a.k.a. the Bull and Bladder) in Brierley Hill, are old favourites from previous trips.

    After completing a loop on one of the Dudley canals, we are back on the bucolic S & W Canal. There's some local culture at the Weaver, canalside in Kidderminster, then we're tied up at base in Stourport. Quite a bit of work operating the locks but nobody gets hurt---not even me after falling down on the towpath one evening! A total of 56.5 miles, 88 locks and 46 hours. A very satisfying week.    Read more

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