One of Portland's many, many food trucks.

Is Portland, Oregon, really full of hipsters?

Spend a few days in Portland, and you soon realise the craft brewing, coffee roasting and urban winemaking are about passion rather than a desire to be hip. Portland’s hipster reputation In the couple of decades, Portland has burst from basically not having a reputation…
Backpacks.

11 things not to pack for a round-the-world trip

If planning a big adventure, you’re going to have to put a bit of thought into the packing. Here’s what you shouldn’t take. Round the world trip packing mistakes There are several big differences between a round the world adventure and a fortnight’s package holiday…
Lindisfarne Priory, Northumberland.

Seals, saints and stars in Northumberland

A journey around Northumberland takes in fledgling guillemots in the Farne Islands, the cradle of Christianity in England on Lindisfarne and stargazing at Kielder Observatory The dogs of Low Newton By Sea There’s no timid tippy-toeing for the gung-ho Jack Russell. It bounds into the…
A sand timer in the sand.

Which five countries have you spent most time in?

Try to work out which five countries you’ve spent most time in. It may be trickier than you think… A surprisingly difficult question The other day, I was posed what I thought was an easy question: “Which five countries have you spent the most time…
The Goethe's statue in Berlin's Tiergarten.

A guide to West Berlin for first time visitors

The cool factor of Berlin isn’t solely in the east – pockets of West Berlin are well worth visiting too. What makes West Berlin unique? After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the ‘eastern’ side formerly occupied by the communist German Democratic Republic was ripe…