​A day out on Beinn a Chrulaiste at the south entrance to Glencoe ​Sometimes it's worth stepping away from the best-known spots in an area to get a rare glimpse of the landscape from a different place. On a recent visit to Glencoe, I climbed a little-known mountain just to the south of the Devil's Staircase, the infamous route along which work...

​When I visited Gloucester I was surprised to find a dock so far inland let alone a lightship! ​Visiting Gloucester was one of those 'follow your nose' days for me as I had a day to kill after attending a friend's wedding at the nearby Elmore Court. I'd popped into one of the many restaurants in the docks the night before the wedding and quickly fe...

​ Frightened by war and weary of Covid, I went in search of another world. I found it in the Scottish Highlands. ​I was a 3-hour drive from my TV in Prestwick where the world seemed dominated by war, Covid and political indiscretion. In the silence and beauty of the Cromarty Firth in the Scottish Highlands at sunrise, I might as well have been...

​ I found out recently that the classic route isn't the only way to reach Everest Base Camp in Nepal. I've just been the hard way! When I took the picture above... I was the other end of a long flight, too far away to go home. I was sharing this room with a stranger who became a good friend. Anticipating a trek which I hoped would become an adventu...

​We were treated to spectacular views across Loch Quoich to the mountains of Knoydart throughout our ascent of Sgurr a Mhaoraich but even those could not compare to what unfolded before us the moment we set foot on the summit. ​One of the challenges for a Munro Bagger - someone who climbs Scotland's mountains over 3,000ft - is that the more mo...

​ With fresh strawberries infused into their gin, Puerto de Indias released the concept of flavoured gin to the world in 2013. ​The main thing I've learnt about Pink Gin is that it is many things to many people. Where it comes from depends on what you think it is in the first place. There's the mix of Angostura Bitters and Gin emitting a pink tinge...