What is a Numbers Station

There is a famous quote from a spokesperson in what was at the time the Department…

Spango Valley

Just south of Greenock, in Inverclyde, western Scotland, is a derelict business park called Spango Valley,…

The Russian Woodpecker

On my visit to Chernobyl and Pripyat, one of the places I was taken to was…

Visiting Pripyat

Whenever anyone thinks of visiting Chernobyl, what they think of often isn’t the power plant itself.…

Chernobyl City and the Exclusion Zone

The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station was the scene of an explosion in April 1986. It was…

How to Visit Chernobyl

At the time of writing this blog post, Chernobyl has been off-limits to visitors for a…

Dyspraxia as an Adult

Dyspraxia, one of those conditions that is little-known and generally quite maligned. It’s a word I…

Mental Health and Self-Care Outside

I issued an episode of my podcast “Travel tales from beyond the Brochure” where I spoke…

Observations on the UK Housing Market

My friend Laura and I decided to move to Glasgow. As a pair of financially solvent…

The F*cket (Anti-Bucket) List, or Places To Die Before I Go

Everyone has a ‘Bucket List’, a tick-off sheet which itemises all the things you’d like to…

I Was Born In Year Zero: The Killing Fields

I was born in Year Zero. To be absolutely precise, I was born a few months…

Perth & Fremantle: 1st & 2nd Impressions

I went to Perth and Fremantle in my ‘year of travelling’, when I took a career…