Hostelling: Is it for you?

I spent my lunch break today trying to find relatively cheap accommodation in Iceland for the first leg of the Grand Tour. Outside Reykjavik, hostels seem to be few and far between and also much more expensive than other places I've been.

It got me thinking, though, about hostelling in general and whether everyone's cut out for it. So here's my list of clues that hostelling might be a good choice for you.

1. Sharing a room isn't a bother

Sharing a dorm with half a dozen or more complete strangers is the norm in hostels. OK, so you could pay a few quid more and get a private room, but that's not really the point of hostels, is it? If you're fussy about personal space or freaked out by sharing with strangers then you might want to stick with hotels.

If you're not, well done! First hurdle overcome.

2. Patience is a virtue when needing a shower

Let's face it, queuing for a bathroom is no one's idea of fun, but it's a fact of life in hostels. If you absolutely must have a shower every day, try to get in there outside of "rush hour". If you're like me, you can cope with a shower every other day with a good wash in between. Cuts down on the queuing.

If you can't bear the thought of sharing a bathroom, bag a private room but you'll have to pay more. If you're with a group, best get a hotel.

3. Cooking is fun

Hostels are self catering. Obviously. And I'm guessing that if you're staying in a hostel, you're trying to keep costs down, which means few meals out. Which means cooking for yourself. So, you'd best like cooking or at least be able to cook something other than beans on toast.

As with bathrooms, try to hit the kitchen outside of peak hours, especially if it's small. I stayed in a hostel in New Zealand that had such a tiny kitchen for the size of the place that I didn't actually eat the one night I was there because I couldn't get anywhere near the cooker. Don't make the same mistake. Scope the place online if you can before you book.

4. Noise? What noise?

When hostelling, you just have to accept that sometimes you're going to have roommates who clatter in at 3am and wake everyone up. Sometimes it might even be you. If you can't cope with the occasional disturbance, you might want to reconsider. You could try investing in some earplugs if you still intend to stay in hostels but don't want to get woken up.

5. Respect

Perhaps the most important thing when staying in hostels (and life in general). You're never going to cope if you don't respect your fellow guests. So yes, one of your roommates rolled in drunk and woke everyone up. Shit happens. Kitchen too busy? Don't snark at the people using it - it's not necessarily their fault. Maybe nip out for a takeaway instead? Queue for the shower several miles long? Screw it. Grab some deodorant, have a quick wash at the sink and get out there - chances are, no one will notice if it's just one day.

Just because a hostel is cheaper, doesn't mean you can't have an amazing experience there. Take the lovely Malin Beg Hostel for instance.

This was the cheapest night of my trip to Ireland. It's stuck out on a headland in Donegal, miles from anywhere. And it's beautiful. So far out we had this beach nearly to ourselves.

So give it a go. Hostelling is an experience. If you don't enjoy it, so be it. But I think you'd be surprised what you get out of it. Maybe hostelling is for you after all.

 What tips would you give to someone considering hostelling for the first time? Please share in the comments below.

Unusual Museums: Medical History in London

On a recent trip to London my sister and I decided to find a few of London's more unusual museums. We covered the ones below in a day and they provide a really fascinating insight into the history of medicine and healthcare.

1. The Museum of the Order of St John

St John's Gate

This is the Order of St John possibly best known for providing the St John Ambulance. Tucked away north of Smithfield Market, the museum is housed in the gatehouse and attached buildings of the old Priory Church of St John. It charts the history of the Order from their origins in the Middle East during the Crusades through to their present day charity work across the world. It's not a big place but well worth a visit, not just for the history of the Order but for the history of medicine which goes along with it.

Entry: Free
Get there: St John's Lane, Clerkenwell. Nearest Tube is Barbican.

2. The Old Operating Theatre & Herb Garret

The Doctor will see you now...

Tucked away behind massive doors this is a real little gem. Access through the narrow spiral staircase of the old church bell tower means it's not suitable for disabled persons (unfortunately), but if you can make it up the stairs it's well worth the trip. The museum is in the attic space of an old church, formerly attached to St Thomas' Hospital. The attic used to house the herb garret of the hospital, a place where the apothecary could mix up medicines for the hospital patients. It's now full of cabinets of weird medical instruments, pickled organs and other somewhat gruesome things. Fascinating but perhaps not for the weak stomached? Attached to this is the Old Operating Theatre itself. Possibly the oldest purpose built operating theatre in Europe. Make sure to catch a talk there if you have time.

Entry: £6.50
Get there: 9a St Thomas' St, London. Nearest Tube is London Bridge (right round the corner).

3. The Hunterian Museum

If you're not over-fond of preserved things in jars, this is probably not the museum for you, but for anyone with an interest in the history of medicine and pathology, it's brilliant. Parts of the collection date back a few centuries, to the beginnings of medicine as we understand it today and despite the fact that much of the museum is taken up by the aforementioned things in jars, you can get quite a lot out of it. If you feel you need some fresh air afterwards, the lovely park of Lincoln's Inn Fields is quite literally just across the road.

Entry: Free
Get there: Royal College of Surgeons, Lincoln's Inn Fields. Nearest Tube is Holborn.

4. The Science Museum

They might not be as popular as the space and engineering galleries, the Science Museum's human biology galleries should be visited. If you've got small children they're especially good - there's lots of interactive games and such to keep little ones engaged. Plenty of information about genetics and medical technology, plus, if I recall correctly, a whole bunch of glass eyes which creep me out no end.

Entry: Free
Get there: Exhibition Road, South Kensington. Nearest Tube is South Kensington. 

So there you have it: 4 museums you can cover in a day in London, at least three of which I'd count as unusual. Would you suggest another for the list? Why not leave a comment and let me know about an unusual museum near you?

London: Highlights in a Day

So you're only in London for a day and you want to see as much as you can without running around. What should you see and do? I spent a day traipsing round London with my sister doing the following and we reckon these are some of the best bits of the city. We did this route in reverse on a Sunday, skipping the Natural History Museum because of the massive queue at 10am (opening time). Even missing that out, we were done by just gone 3pm.

Before we start, you're going to need comfortable shoes and you won't want to be carrying a heavy bag around with you. There's a fair bit of walking involved.

Start your day with a history and culture fix at the British Museum (nearest Tube Station: Russell Square or Holborn). It is entirely possible to spend the whole day in here (this is a recurring theme with London museums) so we've picked out some highlights for you. Start off by popping up to level 1 and seeing the Lewis Chessmen and the Sutton Hoo treasures. Beautifully crafted, they are. Then head down through the early Britain and Persian galleries and turn left into the Egyptian galleries. It's always busy in here, but if mummies are your thing, it's worth it. After that, head down the East Stairs, cross the courtyard and aim for room 21 where you can see fragments of the tomb of Mausolos, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Follow the galleries through here to see some amazing pieces of Assyrian sculpture. This is the sort of stuff a certain terrorist group are currently blowing up in the Middle East, so make the most of it. More suggestions for the British Museum can be found in THIS POST.

Treasure from the Sutton Hoo burial

Once you've got your fill of history, take a walk south to Covent Garden. This takes about 15 minutes. Or you could take the shorter walk to Holborn Tube Station and hop on the Piccadilly Line to Covent Garden Station. Have a wander round the little shops and check out the street entertainment - it's normally pretty good round here.

In a kilt. Up a ladder. With knives. Covent Garden entertainment.

Move on from Covent Garden towards Trafalgar Square, another 10 minute walk. Or take the Tube (various options) to Charing Cross. Trafalgar Square's great for people watching, so make sure to spend a few minutes enjoying the view and then pop into the National Portrait Gallery, just round the corner from the National Gallery which fronts onto the Square.

Portraiture isn't really my thing, but the Tudor and Stuart galleries are pretty interesting and probably the only thing I'd personally take in. From there, move on to the National Gallery. Plenty of amazing artwork to go at in here. The majority of the collection is on level 2 - just go straight up the stairs as you come through the main entrance at Trafalgar Square. Take in Van Gogh, Suerat and Monet (rooms 43-45), Caneletto (room 38), Turner's beautiful seascapes (my favourites, in room 34) and Rembrandt (rooms 23-4).

You might be getting a bit peckish by now. There's plenty of cafes around the Square, but I would suggest if it's a reasonable day, grab something to go and sit by the fountains to eat. Again, great for people watching.

From there, hop on the Tube from Charing Cross to Westminster (via Embankment). At Westminster, take a stroll onto the bridge to get those classic shots of Big Ben and the London Eye and then head north past the Houses of Parliament to see Westminster Abbey. It currently costs £20 to get into the Abbey, a price I'm not quite willing to pay, but do have a look inside if you can - I hear it's beautiful.

Carry on walking up Birdcage Walk. This will take you up alongside St James' Park and up to Buckingham Palace. It is always busy round here, but especially so at the Changing of the Guards. Take those selfies (or whatever it is people do at Buckingham Palace) and then head across the roundabout to take the road up past Green Park. If you're a bit lost, look for signs for Hyde Park Corner. At the top of the hill is the huge Wellington Arch.

If all that sounds like too much walking - it's about 30 minutes altogether - and you're not too bothered about Buckingham Palace, hop back on the Tube at Westminster and take the District or Circle lines to South Kensington. If you've done the walking, take the Piccadilly from Hyde Park Corner to South Kensington.

During the holidays and weekends, this must be one of the busiest stations on the Tube network and it's because some of London's most popular museums are accessed from it. We're suggesting the Victoria & Albert Museum as your first stop here, purely because the Natural History Museum is best left till late in the day.

So, head up the subway from the station and head into the V&A. Again, you could spend most of the day in here, so we've picked out some highlights. First, the costume gallery (room 40), to the right hand side if you enter through the Exhibition Road doors - a great view of how fashions have changed over the last few hundred years. This will lead you into the Asian galleries. We'll come back to this in a bit, but first head straight across into room 48a to see the amazing Raphael Cartoons - these are full size template drawings to be copied as tapestries. They're in amazing condition given their age. Once you've admired these, head back into the Asian galleries, making sure to check out the Islamic Middle East section (room 42) and from there go onto the Cast Courts (rooms 46a and 46b). These are full of various replicas, including a plaster copy of Trajan's Column.

History and art fix filled? Tired? Why not take a break in the V&A's awesome cafe. It gets busy, but if you've got time, it's worth it for the joy of eating in this room.

Awesome, right?

Anyway, head now up Exhibition Road away from the station. A 10 minute walk will bring you to the top where you need to turn left. You should see the Royal Albert Hall. Cross the road to get a better view of it and of the Albert Memorial which stands opposite. There's nothing to do here, just a nice view and we've tried to bring you to the Natural History Museum as late as possible.

On which note, we now need to head back down Exhibition Road, towards South Kensington Station. The Natural History Museum is on your right near the end of the road. Take the Exhibition Road entrance into the Earth Galleries. Take the escalator all the way up to the top floor and have a wander around the Volcanoes & Earthquakes area. Have a go on the Kobe earthquake simulator - great fun for kids (and adults, let's be honest).

Into the bowels of the Earth...

Head back down to the ground floor and take a walk through the Green Zone. You should end up in a corridor full of fossil marine reptiles - one of my favourite parts of the museum. If you want to see the Natural History Museum's famous dinosaurs, now is the time. Cross the main entrance hall and enter the Dinosaur Gallery on your left. If it's late on in the day you should be able to enjoy the gallery at your own speed. If you've timed it wrong, you'll just get swept along in an irritable crowd.

The final suggestion I'd make for the Natural History Museum is the Darwin Centre. This is always quieter than the rest of the museum, but if you get creeped out by things floating in jars, it might not be for you. You've been warned.

That completes our suggestions for seeing London's highlights in a day. Obviously, these are just our ideas of what constitutes the highlights and I'd love to hear what others would include. Aside from the Tube, all the places included here are free entry. The Tube will be cheaper if you buy either a travelcard or get an Oyster Card. You'll also find getting on the Tube easier if you move down to the end of the platforms - the end carriages are quieter.

So, what do you think? What are your London highlights?

London: Ways to spend a day

I'm in London at the moment. It's lovely (discounting the Tube, which is hellish as always). I'm here with my sister and we're finding some interesting ways to spend the day. I thought I'd share a few with you.

1. Seek out new museums

Well, not so much new as less-visited. The Natural History Museum, National Gallery and British Museum are wonderful and we'll probably end up there at some point during this trip, but for the most part we're trying to find more unusual places. Things like the Old Operating Theatre at London Bridge and the Fan Museum at Greenwich. You can easily spend a whole day strolling around a few of these little gems.

2. People watching

London is amazing for people watching. Just find yourself a good vantage point and enjoy the view. Trafalgar Square is good (mostly for watching other tourists) along with Leicester Square. If you don't fancy sitting outside and want a bit more comfort, you can go and find yourself a window seat in a cafe and just watch the world go by.

3. Explore the Tube

Grab yourself a day pass (or an Oyster Card) and go. OK, so it's a little bit geeky, but there's some interesting little stations dotted around the Tube network. You could try hopping off at the next station down from the one you planned and then explore that area instead. Might find a cool new cafe or shop or a little piece of London history.

4. Explore on foot

Alternatively, skip the Tube entirely. Try to get between the places you'd planned on your own two feet. You'll see more of the city and you might just come across something new. That's how I came across Lincoln's Inn Fields earlier in the year, although I was sort of looking for the Hunterian Museum as well. Nice little park to stop and sit a while.

5. See the highlights

OK, so everyone’s going to have different highlights, but if you pick just a few you can easily get round the best bits in a day. This is probably easier for those who’ve visited London before and know what they want to see, but I’d recommend a couple of specific galleries from the museums, a stroll through one of the parks and a trip to Trafalgar Square for the people watching.

There’ll be a post in the next week or so of my pick of London’s highlights, but if you’ve got your own and you think others should know about them, why not leave a note in the comments?

Why I Won't Be Scared

I'm going to London tomorrow. Enjoying a super long weekend with my sister. We're going to search out some little museums and poke around in little nooks of the city.

In the wake of the awful attacks on Paris recently, several colleagues have questioned why I'm still going. Won't I feel unsafe? Aren't I scared that something bad will happen?

To which my answer is no. I won't. For the following reasons.

1. What are the chances?

By all means, the threat of a terrorist attack on London is high. But it is a threat only. And if something does happen, how likely is it that I personally will be involved? There's several million people in London at any one time. The chances of any single person being caught up in a terrorist attack is very low. The figures I can find are for folks from the US, but basically I'm many hundreds of times more likely to be killed in a car crash than I am in an act of terrorism. Yeah.

2. I am careful

I'm not a suspicious person, but I'm not stupid enough that I wouldn't know a dangerous situation if I saw it. I'm much more concerned about general crime (pickpocketing and the like) than I am about terrorists in London.

3. I will not be scared

The whole point of terrorism is to instill terror in people. To make them feel unsafe in their own territory. To turn them against their fellow citizens (and refugees, but that's for another day). I refuse to be scared by these people. It would feel like giving in. That's what they want and I refuse.

So yes, I am going to London tomorrow. I will be my usual careful self and have to suppress anxiety on the Tube, but I will enjoy myself and I will make the most of my time off.

The terrorists can go fuck themselves.

Lincolnshire's Wild Side: 5 Great Nature Reserves

Ambling around the countryside is one of my favourite things to do of a weekend afternoon. And in a county the size of Lincolnshire, there's plenty of places to go. Why not combine a gentle ramble with a bit of wildlife spotting and check out some of my favourite Lincolnshire nature reserves?

1. Far Ings National Nature Reserve, Barton-upon-Humber

Many moons ago, I used to volunteer at this excellent reserve on the south bank of the Humber Estuary. It's a beautiful place, with extensive reedbeds and scrubby woodland. You can spot waders of all kinds and if you're very lucky, you might hear the bitterns booming.

2. Alkborough Flats Nature Reserve, Alkborough

Just along the river from Far Ings (above), is this relatively new reserve near the little village of Alkborough. The old sea defences have been breached here to create new wetlands, with tidal pools positively brimming with birds. As with Far Ings, the site is great for spotting waders although it's worth keeping an eye out for Marsh Harriers too - you can also see these beautiful raptors at the Blacktoft Sands RSPB reserve across the other side of the River Trent.

3. Donna Nook National Nature Reserve

The biggest draw at Donna Nook is the grey seal colony, one of the largest in the UK. During the breeding season (November through January), it can get quite busy and access is restricted, but it's worth it to see the newborn pups - possibly the closest you'll get to such a large wild animal. In the off-season, there's great walking through the dunes and along the beach towards Saltfleet to the south and Grainthorpe to the north. Just watch out for the RAF bombing range.

4. Snipe Dales Country Park & Nature Reserve, Hagworthingham

A beautiful park in the heart of the Lincolnshire Wolds - partly forested while the rest is heathland. There are a few ponds where you can spot dragonflies and their ilk, while a stroll through the trees listening to birds singing (or yelling at you) is a great way to spend a few hours.

5. Tetney Blow Wells Nature Reserve, Tetney

A relatively small reserve, quiet and tucked out of the way, Tetney Blow Wells is lovely. The blow wells themselves are pools formed by springs and the rest of the site has woodland and reedbeds. For the history buffs, the area used to be home to a watercress farm and there are still a few bits of old pipe and whatnot laying around. It can get boggy in places, so make sure to stick to the path.

Honourable Mention: Saltfleetby-Theddlethorpe Dunes National Nature Reserve

Adjoining the Donna Nook reserve, this is perfect for a wander during the former's off-season. You can walk quite a long way along the beach, but make sure to check the tides before you do so - it comes in quick along this coast and you wouldn't want to have to call the coastguard.

So that's 5 of my favourite nature reserves in Lincolnshire. Perfect for whiling away a weekend afternoon. What beautiful wild spaces are there near you? Are there any hidden green spaces right in your back yard? Why not share in the comments.

Destination Daydreams: South Africa

I will admit that my travel plans for the South African leg of the Grand Tour are quite... limited. The main reason for including it is to revisit the International Primate Rescue (IPR) sanctuary just north of Pretoria. I first went there a couple of years ago with my mum and I'd love to go back.

The Thinker

IPR take in rescued primates from all over the place, mostly from the exotic pet trade in South Africa, but others from further afield. Two weeks volunteering there was an amazing experience, which is why I'm planning on going back. Two weeks of feeding, cleaning and generally making sure the lives of the monkeys are better than their pasts sounds like a pretty good thing to me.

Good perch?

But there are other things I'd like to do in South Africa. A return to Kruger National Park for a safari trip is top of the list. I went for a 3 day trip while I was at IPR last time and it still ranks as one of the most amazing things I've done. Driving along dusty roads just after dawn and finding a crash of rhinos asleep in the middle of the road was... mind blowing, I think. We easily spent 15 minutes just sitting and watching them until they disappeared into the bush. The way such large animals can melt away like that will always impress me.

I'd really like to see big cats in the wild though and that means both having a fair amount of luck and also spending a bit longer in the park. I believe there's African Wild Dogs within the bounds of Kruger as well, which would make my life, let alone my trip. I love African Wild Dogs. Did you know they have a hunt success rate of about 80%? Compared to the much-lauded lions at 20%, this is pretty damn impressive. You'd struggle to find a much more effective and efficient hunter.

Aside from those two things which are my absolute musts for South Africa, there's also a whole host of fossil sites with lots of early human stuff going on. I think I'd want to take a group tour for things like that though. Both for ease of getting around and also for the safety aspect.

One last thing I'm seriously considering for this leg of the Grand Tour is another volunteer placement, this time in Cape Town. There's a seabird and penguin rehabilitation centre in the city which offers 6 week placements and I think it would be wonderful. It'd look quite nice on my CV too, for when I finally start looking at getting a job in the area my degree was aimed at. But mostly, I just think it would be an interesting experience. I've never worked hands on with birds before. New skills ahoy!

Those are the things I'm most interested in doing. I'm sure there's others though. What would you recommend for South Africa? Are there any hidden gems I absolutely must check out? Leave a comment and let me know.

Travel Inspirations: Playing Cards

Yes, I count playing cards as a travel inspiration. If you're anything like me, one of the things you always forget to pack is a deck of cards for those rare moments when you've run out of sights to see and exciting things to do.

In my family, we sort of almost gave up trying to remember after a while and just bought the cards once we reached our destination. You know the type - cheap things you pick up in the tat/souvenir shops with pretty pictures of the country on them.

Got a few packs now. New Zealand, Ireland, South African Wildlife plus some older ones from Andorra and Canada. The Canadian ones don't have pictures. They have interesting facts about each state/province/territory instead. Great for people like me who love random facts.

But how on earth can I count them as travel inspiration? Most people seem to get that from glossy adverts and those cloyingly inspiring photos so popular on Instagram... so why cards?

Because reasons. The first being that to get the cards in the first place you have to travel. Slightly counter-intuitive. Think of it this way though. You go on holiday, buy a pack of country-photo cards. Maybe there's something in that pack you hadn't heard of? Maybe there's some sort of interesting local custom that's worth checking out.

Take my New Zealand deck for example, which rather boldly claims to be the "best souvenir from New Zealand". It's not. My pounamu necklace ranks much higher. But anyway, there's places in those cards I hadn't heard of before I got there. Places like Tekapo on South Island, with its little church by the lake and the gorgeous scenery around Wanaka. Tekapo was a bit out of reach given our itinerary, but we ended up driving through Wanaka. Admittedly, we had to to get from the West Coast to Queenstown, but hey.

I suppose they act a bit like a tick list. Here, says the card deck, you should see these places. And off you pop to go and see as many of them as you can.

Reason the second is that they're incentive to go back, in part because of that tick list feeling. I didn't get to Milford Sound in New Zealand because a snow storm closed the road, but I have a gorgeous picture of the Sound and nearby Mitre Peak to tell me "COME BACK! WE'RE WAITING!"

The third and final reason is that these cards inevitably catch the landscape at its best. My photography skills are improving but basic and travelling when I have, the weather's not always great. Take the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland for example. It pissed down the entire day when we went there and while I quite like the photos I took, the images on the playing cards I picked up are so much better. Sometimes I wonder if I should just stick them all to my doors with my postcards...

Where do you find your travel inspiration? Any unusual sources?

The Grand Tour: Convincing People I'm Not Crazy

I'm going travelling for a year. Did you know?

I'm assuming if you've been paying vague attention to the blog that, yes, you probably did have an idea. Friends, colleagues and relatives though... that's another matter.

I went out for a meal with some folks from work a while back and the reactions to me going away though positive were usually followed by the inevitable.

"Are you going on your own?"

Why yes, yes I am going on my own? Why so surprised? Plenty of people go travelling on their own and the angry feminist bit of my brain (most of it) wonders whether my colleagues would have bothered to ask if I was male.

Anyway, here's why I'm not crazy to go off travelling on my own for a year.

1. I'm not an idiot.

I may have an immature streak but I have enough common sense not to go wandering off in the dark through places I don't know.

2. I do my research.

Following on from the above, I do my research before I travel. That doesn't mean my plans won't change when I reach a destination, but I'd hope I know enough about the area to not get into trouble.

3. I speak English...

OK, so I'm relying on the fact that many people all over the world speak English, but I'm hoping this means I'll not have too much difficulty making myself understood.

4. And I'm learning some other languages.

The major non-English-speaking areas I'm visiting are Peru and Chile, so I'm making the effort to learn at least basic conversational Spanish. I'm also brushing up on my existing French and German for when I get to Europe and am considering learning a few words of Khmer for Cambodia.

5. I track everything.

Basically, I am my father's daughter. Dad's an accountant and I've got into the habit of keeping track of everything I spend while away so that I know if I'm going to have cash problems. Hasn't happened yet. Likelihood is that I'm not going to end up stranded in the middle of Australia having blown my budget.

6. I'm a fairly friendly person.

I'd like to think I'm the type of person who people wouldn't mind pointing towards the bus station. Because I'm bound to get lost at some point.

7. I've done this before.

On a much smaller scale and in a slightly different context, but I went out to Australia to study for a year, on my own, not knowing anyone when I got there. It was amazing.

See, I'll be fine. But I'm going to leave this here for concerned friends/relatives/colleagues just in case. The thing is, I keep being told by others that they could never do something like this. And I wonder whether it's a lack of motivation (job, family, house tying them down) or if they're genuinely scared of going away on their own.

I'm not brave. There's plenty of things scare the bejesus out of me, but travel isn't one of them. Travel is an adventure. Not something to be scared of.

Have you gone travelling alone? What would you say to convince people you weren't crazy?

Halloween: 5 After Dark Experiences

Well, I've missed Halloween by a week, but I though I'd share with you some of the spooky places I've been. Because I'm told everyone loves Halloween. I don't really do spooky or Halloween so the 5 things I've included here are more... embracing the dark than aiming for scares.

1. The Tower of London

Or any other castle for that matter. OK, I'll admit that most of the Tower isn't spooky. In fact, it's pretty damn fascinating. But there's little areas where it just makes you shiver. I'm no great believer in the paranormal, but you can understand why, when so many people were executed at the Tower it might make you feel a little uneasy.

I'm sort of tempted to have a wander around Tower Hill in the dark the next time I'm in London...

2. York after dark

The city of York with its hundreds of years of history and maze of narrow streets lends itself to ghost stories. I took a ghost tour there years ago with school and while the tour itself wasn't really up there in the scary stakes, wandering around the city at night could get quite creepy. Traipsing through the little snickelways where the buildings in places nearly meet overhead was especially cool.

For sheer bloody history, head up to Clifford's Tower, the largest remaining segment of the old York Castle. Here in the Middle Ages the city's persecuted Jewish community holed themselves up to find protection from an angry mob. The tower, then the keep of the castle, came under siege and eventually the families inside committed suicide and set the tower on fire rather than fall into the hands of the mob. A rather black mark on English history...

3. Waitomo Glow Worm Caves

Not so much spooky as surreal, the Waitomo Caves in New Zealand are famous for their amazing glow worms. There are a series of caves at the site, all of which have their own unique appeal. In Ruakuri Cave all the lights get turned out and you can walk conga-style through the dark with just the pale blue lights of the glow worms to show you where the walls are, while in the main Waitomo Cave you go on a boat ride along the Waitomo River, lit from all sides by so many glow worms it feels like you're outside under stars. An amazing experience and one I would highly recommend.

4. Starlight Kayaking, West Cork

Picture this. A wide calm bay bounded by hills. You're in a kayak floating along, barely paddling. Just ahead your guide shows the way, with you trying to keep sight of the flashing light on his kayak. And over head a sky full of stars.

Yeah, starlight kayaking's a pretty magical experience. On our trip in West Cork every stroke of the paddle set off sparks of bioluminescence in the water. So pretty that our boat kept stopping because my friend Claire was too busy playing with the bioluminescence to paddle.

No worries though because the whole trip was so laid back it didn't matter if we went slowly. Although for scare value, hearing Jim the guide call out "Watch out for the boat" and a second later see a huge half-sunken boat loom out of the darkness a few feet away has to be up there with the best.

5. Camping in the Outback

OK, so it wasn't quite camping. The tents were more like canvas rooms - pretty permanent structures just with canvas walls. Brilliant and maybe a bit more secure than a tent. Didn't stop the friend I was travelling with from waking me up in the middle of the night to tell me there was a dingo trying to get into our tent-room. I'd heard something as I woke up and assumed it was just the noise of one of our sleeping bags. No big deal - I figured he'd just been half-asleep and his imagination had run away with him. But he was insistent. Again, not a problem - there was a catch on the door. And then he goes "but, Zoe, I need the loo". So I had to persuade him there was no dingo and that he'd be fine. Go to the loo and if you're not back in ten minutes I'll go and get the guide.

Suffice to say he managed to get back to the tent-room in one piece. Although... he had seen a snake outside the toilet block. Oh dear.

So there's my 5 things to see and do for an amazing after dark experience - or Halloween if you're that way inclined. Have you had a spooky experience while travelling? Done any amazing things after dark? Why not share them here.

Travel Guides: Essential or Dead Weight?

I love a good travel guide. Packed full of useful information for any trip I might fancy making. But in an age where all the information you could possibly need is available with one click on the internet, are they really essential or are they just dead weight?

Well, let's go through the cons first. You have to pay for them and if you like to buy them new, you can end up forking out quite a bit - anything in the range of £20 for the weightier ones like my Lonely Planet guide to Australia. Ugh.

Of course, you could hop on over the internet and find almost the same info for free - there's so many tourist information sites nowadays you're spoilt for choice. Plus with the vast array of review sites (TripAdvisor, I'm looking at you), do you really need the recommendations of a few travel authors?

Then there's the weight. If you want that information with you when you travel, lugging even one book about can be a pain. I took my guide with me to New Zealand and I hardly even looked at it the entire time we were there, so was it really worth having that extra weight in my bag?

And finally, there's the range. You can only fit so much information into a book so obviously the authors are going to pick and choose what goes in and what doesn't. Maybe there's an amazing out of the way hidden gem that didn't make the cut for some reason. Just relying on the guides, you'd miss out.

But what about their plus points? Well, the first is that they're written by people who (generally) know what they're looking for. These are people who have travelled all over and know how to ferret out those slightly out of the way places that you'd otherwise miss. Sure, you'll find loads of others on the web, but the guides can be a good starting point.

The second and possibly my favourite part about them is the inspiration factor. Just as a good novel can transport you to other worlds, so can the best travel guides. You can explore a country from your armchair. Plus you might get new ideas as to where you want to go. When I started looking at Cambodia I was only really interested in going to Angkor Wat and a quick internet search for things to do in Cambodia will agree that Angkor Wat is the number one. But my travel guide for the country pointed me in the direction of the east of the country with its rivers and forest and now I'm thinking of extending my trip to take those in too.

Basically, no, travel guides aren't essential and if you insist on taking them away with you, you'll probably find them to be dead weight. But as a starting point for your plans or even if you're just interested in a country they're an invaluable resource. I wouldn't be without my collection and it's still growing.

What do you think? Is it really worth spending money on a book that won't even give you half the information the internet can?

Snapshots: Barton

I took a trip up to Barton with my dad recently to walk along the Humber bank. It's a lovely walk - very peaceful with some great views and what with it being autumn the colours were amazing. Here's a few of my favourite photos.

Did you know? The Humber Bridge used to be the longest single-span suspension bridge in the world.

Getting lost in the reeds at Far Ings Nature Reserve.

Not many birds on the lakes though...

Cement works looking oddly pretty over at South Ferriby.

And finally, here's a light-boat.

Destination Daydreams: New Zealand

New Zealand. Land of... well, land of what? I'm planning to spend 6 weeks there (if not more) on the Grand Tour, so what should I be going to see?

Some things are obvious. I've visited the Land of the Long White Cloud (ha! knew it had another name) before and there's some experiences I had then that I'm all up for repeating. Things such as whale watching from Kaikoura - got to see if I can improve on the 5 sperm whales I saw last time.

Taking a trip to the Shire (a.k.a. the Hobbiton set near Matamata) is another must. Yes, I know it's the height of touristic ridiculousness, but it was so much fun. Plus the cider's pretty good.

Cider in the Green Dragon? Yes please!

Driving down Ninety Mile Beach in a coach was also pretty cool, so that's something I want to do again along with going up to Cape Reinga where the seas meet.

Oh, and the Waitomo Glow Worm Caves, them too.

OK, that's enough of things that I want to re-visit. What about things that I missed last time? This includes the fabled beauty of Milford Sound, which I missed out on because a snow storm closed the only road. To see that would be amazing - the fjord and the waterfalls and maybe some dolphins? I'll settle for just getting there, to be honest.

I'd also like to visit Stewart Island, New Zealand's third island. Looks like it's still pretty wild like the South Island - maybe a nice place to unwind for a few days?

You know what used to live on Stewart Island? Kakapo. Possibly my favourite bird in the world, purely because they're so ridiculous. I'd love to see a kakapo. Weird and green and flightless. For some reason they remind me of rabbits. I think it's the way they hop...

Anyhoo, other things I want to do in New Zealand. I'd like to do the northernmost section of State Highway 6. When I last visited we drove almost the entire length of SH6, just missing out the bit right around the north west of the South Island, so it's something of a personal goal to finish it off. Plus, it's beautiful up there - temperate rainforest and storm battered coasts. What more could you want?

Ooh, I could go kayaking again in Abel Tasman National Park... fun times. This time I won't fall in the sea.

A few other general things - I need to see more of the North Island. We missed a lot of the east and west out by driving straight up the middle from Wellington to Auckland and those coasts look amazing. Mount Taranaki, Napier, Gisborne. All look like beautiful places to check out.

But how am I going to do it? New Zealand is deceptively huge and I a) don't drive and b) am working on a limited budget. So how to travel from one end of the country to the other? Buses, obviously. InterCity and NakedBus both offer multi-trip passes and I think this is how I'm going to do it. Plus, they both offer cheap fares on some routes if you book far enough in advance, so that's another option.

It'll be easy.

On top of this, I'm still wondering whether to extend my stay in New Zealand by getting a working holiday visa, which to save repeating myself you can read more about HERE.

Who knows, maybe that planned 6 week stay will turn into 6 months.

And in my wildest daydreams, maybe I'll just move to New Zealand permanently...

What would you recommend doing in New Zealand? Bungee jumping? Black water rafting? Wine tasting? Is there anything you'd avoid? Like the aforementioned bungee jumping...

Tech for Travel

Oh look. Another one of those posts where I try to be helpful and end up prattling about something else entirely. Let's try to keep this one on track, shall we?

Tech for travel. I'm trying to decide what I should take with me on the Grand Tour. I'd like to keep up with the blogging. And take plenty of photos. And keep in touch with friends/family.

So what do I actually need?

Well, my camera is a given. Sure, it's a bit bulky, but the inbuilt camera in my phone is appalling and I want photos that are actually in focus.

Speaking of phones, should I keep my existing phone (an old model Sony Xperia) or find something different? The current phone does everything I need it to - I can connect to WiFi and it still calls and texts fine. Plus, it's unlocked, so there's nothing to stop me from picking up local SIM cards to cut down on all those roaming charges and such like.

OK, so the phone's staying. But if my phone can connect to WiFi and do all the keeping in touch things, what about a laptop? My laptop is pretty small but still weighs a kilo or two. Probably more like two and a bit... Given that I'm attempting to cut down on the weight of my luggage, can I really afford to be jamming a laptop in there as well?

Probably not, but I do want to keep up with blogging. Which means I need something to type on. If my laptop's out the window for being too heavy/bulky, how about a tablet? Now, that sounds more reasonable. Thing is, I don't own a tablet. Never have. What should I be looking for?

WiFi obviously (pretty sure most tablets come with that...), a sensible interface and easy typing. Yeah, that last one's not going to happen. I discovered a while back I don't like typing on screens. So I'm going to need a keyboard too. Let's see - I've heard good things about the Google Nexus tablets, including this review over at Too Many Adapters. They're small, relatively lightweight (about 300g) and have all the features I'd need. Plus, I'm sure I can find a little keyboard for it and even then it'd weigh less than my laptop.

Problem solved.

Final problem - music. I sort of need my music collection to keep me vaguely sane (not entirely true - I need it to get to sleep). So, do I take my iPod with me, another bit of tech and more weight or do I load it all onto my phone? Phone has very little memory, but I wouldn't be too worried about losing it - it's old and battered and probably worth nothing. I could get another one if needs be. My iPod though, despite being a replacement and a bit knocked around, would cost more to replace. It does however have a lot more memory than my phone and can hold my entire collection.

Ugh. Choices. I think I'll stick with the iPod. Obviously I'm bound to end up somewhere and absolutely need to listen to something I forgot to load onto my phone. Obviously.

What tech do you take travelling? I know e-readers are popular - is it worth taking one when you can get similar functionality on a tablet?

Harrogate: 5 Things to See in an Afternoon

Harrogate's a lovely little town, full of beautiful old buildings and sprawling green parks. I took a trip over there with my sister recently and here's my 5 things to check out in an afternoon (or day, your choice).

1. Cafe Culture

I say cafe culture... there's a real pavement cafe vibe around the town centre, especially around the Montpellier Quarter. Jewel in the crown of these little gems is, for me at least, Bettys Tea Room. Bettys is locally famous and having visited their York tea room several times it made sense to check out the Harrogate original.

I wasn't disappointed. Great menu with a selection of snacks and light bites in the Cafe Bar and even more selection in the more traditional Tea Room. Just be prepared to queue - Bettys is insanely popular and if you're in a hurry, opt for the Cafe Bar which is less busy.

2. Green Spaces

Harrogate seems to be full of parks. It's such a green place. The biggest of these is the Stray, an enormous stretch of parkland to the south of the town centre. For more history, head north of the centre to Valley Gardens, which is home to a number of springs from which the town got the "medicinal" waters which turned it into a thriving spa resort.

3. Shopping

I'm not really into shopping, but there are a whole load of lovely little shops in the town, along with the high street brands. I'd recommend just wandering around the centre, especially around the Montpellier Quarter. Not much else to say on that - I'm really not big on shopping.

4. Royal Pump Room Museum

This is a lovely little museum housed in, as the name suggests, the old Royal Pump Room. I'd expected this to be mostly about Harrogate's spa history, but there's a whole assortment of little exhibits including some lovely little pieces from Egypt.

It's definitely worth taking the little tour to see the old well heads. The guide will give you lots more information about the history of the town and you get to go down below modern ground level to see where the old spa wells were. Be aware - they may smell strongly of rotten eggs.

Investigating the free spring water...

5. Architecture

OK, so it's not something you can visit as such, but it really is worth taking the time to admire the architecture. I don't know a thing about this, but I really love the old buildings in the town. It's probably just one of those nostalgia type things - take out the cars and and the electricity and you can almost imagine being in the town at the height of its glory years.

So there's my 5 things to see in Harrogate. What would you recommend? Have I missed a hidden gem you think people should know about?

The Joy of Postcards

In an age of Facebook, Twitter and, well, any other social network, where you can get instant updates from friends and family, there's still a certain joy about getting post. Actual, proper, hold-it-in-your-hand post.

In fact, maybe it's even more special now what with all that instant gratification from social networks and the internet in general.

It's part of the reason I love postcards so much. So posting photos all over the web is great with the "look where I am right now!", but a postcard seems somewhat more personal. It was picked out specially for some reason - beautiful view, humour, an odd reminder of home...

I still send postcards. OK, so writing them can be difficult, but it's lovely just to wander round the tourist shops in search of something a friend or relative might appreciate. I'll admit, I pick postcards mostly because I like the views on them and think I should be sending an image of what I'm seeing. But that's just me.

While I was living in Australia, my mum used to send me postcards from the UK. I will never forget the brief moment of shock when I opened the envelope and a picture of eyeballs fell out. She'd been to the Science Museum and thought the glass eyes were funny.

I still have that postcard. It reminds me both of Australia and of home. In fact, I've got loads of them - they're all stuck on my wardrobe doors. One for postcards and mementos from Australia:

Another of postcards I've picked up - mostly from London and the Travel Photographer of the Year exhibition, with a few of Wales and Lincoln thrown in:

And another entirely of postcards I got in Ireland:

That latter two are all postcards I've bought myself. My photography skills are improving but these cards have views on them I could never capture. Besides, they remind me of the joy of travelling and of trips I've taken and some I've yet to make.

See, here lies another great joy of postcards: they let you into a world that you might never have seen or maybe never will. Take the ones I picked up at the Travel Photographer of the Year exhibition - there's one in there of the Great Mosque at Djenne. I've known of the mosque for years and I'd love to see it in person, but I'm just not brave enough to travel alone to Mali to see it. But that postcard... well, maybe it says that someday I'll pluck up the courage and go.

You know how people end postcards with "wish you were here"? That's why they're brilliant. Because you wish you were there. I wish I was seeing the Great Mosque at Djenne. I wish I was staring up at the Northern Lights or watching a polar bear hunt in the Arctic. But for now, I'm not.

I can still dream, though.

Makes it sound like I only buy postcards for myself. I don't. Well, not quite. I like sending them too. As I mentioned above, it's sometimes hard to know what to write - I sent one to a friend's little boy from Ireland. Trying to work out what to write on a postcard to a baby was not easy. I think I mentioned leprechauns and fairies... The one I wrote to my sister was better - her's simply said "Smile like Harry Potter's here!". It was from the Cliffs of Moher. She got it.

What do you think? Are postcards outdated? When you can update instantly on the web, is there really any need for a little piece of card with a nice picture and some scribbled words? Or is there still that simple joy of getting a message from a loved one in the post?

Packing Lists and why you should use them

Everyone loves the check in queue, right? Stumping along, shoving your bag along in front of you while the person at the front blithers about rearranging their belongings because their checked bag is too heavy and they don't want to pay the extra charge.

Or that delightful moment when you've been on a long flight, arrive at your accomodation, go to take a shower to wash out all the grotty-long-distance-travel feeling and discover you've left your shower gel at home...

Or unpacking at the end of the trip and finding no less than 3 unworn shirts and a pair of trousers in the bottom of your suitcase...

Post check-in: worry about missed packing or take selfies with dwarves? Hmm...

Let's face it, we've all done stupid things when packing. There's a small chance you're going to need that snorkel in the middle of the Sahara, after all. And maybe you'll get invited out for dinner somewhere posh, so you're bound to need that nice dress. Just in case. But, oops, you've forgotten to pack your deodorant, so maybe you won't be getting invited out after all.

Thing is, such mishaps are easy enough to avoid. Make yourself a packing list and stick to it. Only pack what you need. That means out with the tens of shirts and just-in-case extra jeans. Do you really need to take that huge bottle of shampoo? It'll only leak in your bag (oh, it will).

So, what should you include? Well, that rather depends on how long you're going for and how often you feel you need a change of clothes. And underwear - don't worry. When I went to Ireland I took enough for 5 days and then washed whenever needed. Believe me, hand-washing is not hard and that little bit of weight you cut down in your bag can be used to bring back more souvenirs. Much nicer than bringing back icky week old underwear.

Hand-washing sand coated socks? No worries.

On the clothes front, you can take minimal items and not feel like you're wearing the same thing everyday. Just make sure you take things you can mix and match. Use your common sense - pick a colour palette and stick to it.

Shoes are the other big weight eater. Obviously it depends where you're going, but you can probably cope with 2 pairs of shoes. I take a pair of walking boots and then a pair of nicer shoes to wear out and about or round hostels. The walking boots always get worn on the flight (even around Dubai Airport where my feet were really not loving being encased in cosy, heat retaining boots in 40 degree heat...) and then the other pair, always much lighter, go in the bag.

Finally, toiletries. You're going for, what? A week, two weeks? Are you really going to get through that entire bottle of shampoo? Oh, you are? OK. If you really feel you need the entire bottle, buy it when you get there, that way you avoid taking lots of big, heavy bottles which may or may not leak in your luggage. If you're not going to use it all, consider taking travel sized bottles.

By which I mean invest in some little bottles (you can get them from chemists and the like) and put your own stuff in them. Don't bother buying the actual travel sized toiletries - they're seriously bad value.

I am helpfully veering off the topic of what to put on your packing list and into the realm of the One Bag Challenge. Let's get back on it, shall we?

So, what should be on your list?

Clothes, obviously, but be aware that anywhere you go in the world will have somewhere you can wash them so don't worry about taking enough for the entire trip unless it's only a couple of days. Enough for 4-5 days is probably a good guide.

Toiletries. Bit of a given, that one, but as I mentioned above - if you can deal with the smaller bottles, do it.

Electricals. By which I mean your phone, music player, tablet, laptop - anything of that ilk. And make sure to include the chargers and any adapters you might need on the list.

Oddments. I always end up with things that don't fit into any major category. Things like a towel (I have a microfibre travel one that rolls up really small), first aid kit (just a little one) and my swimming gear.

Before you even start packing, write a list of everything that's essential. Make a promise that you'll only pack what you need.

If you're careful enough with your packing list, you might be able to cut your packing down significantly. Maybe, you could even cut it down enough to consider the One Bag Challenge. Even if you don't, you'll be saving yourself from lugging around loads of things you don't need (I'm looking at you, travel guides...) and those annoying moments of "damn, I've forgotten to pack...".

Brilliant things. So simple. I have a couple of standard ones - one for short trips and another for longer holidays. I might need to adapt them for the Grand Tour, but I'm off to a good start.

Destination Daydreams: Iceland

Iceland is the first planned stop on my Grand Tour next year. I've already visited once but only really saw Reykjavik and the classic "Golden Circle" of Geysir, Gullfoss and Thingvellir National Park. So, given that I've set aside 2 weeks for the whole country, what should I go and see?

Well, first up I'd like to see more of Reykjavik. I covered a few of the museums when I visited before but it'd be nice to see more of it. Visiting in summer probably has its advantages in that I won't be worrying about slipping over on the ice all the time.

On that note, I'd like to do the Golden Circle again and see how much it changes between the seasons. Gullfoss, the waterfall, was frozen over when I saw it, so it'd be pretty cool to see it in full flow.

Jokulsarlon is another place I really want to visit. I wanted to see it when I visited before but it being the middle of winter made getting there a bit of a problem. The Grand Tour kicks off next summer, so I won't be having that problem this time. I can get a bus out there and then spend some time gawping over the pretties. Just imagine: a lake full of icebergs. Going to be awesome and I can get there from Reykjavik on the bus. Even better.

In fact, I can get pretty much all the way round the country on the bus. In the same sort of area as Jokulsarlon is Vatnajokull National Park, containing Iceland's biggest ice sheet. That also sounds awesome, especially given that there's a few rather large volcanoes underneath it. Fun times.

From there, there's a number of places I could stop and chill out for a few days along the south and east coasts but the next place I really want to go is Husavik on the north east coast, supposedly one of the best places on the island to go whale watching. After the disappointment of no whales on our whale watch in Ireland, I really want to see whales again and Husavik looks like a good bet.

Not far from Husavik is Akureyri, Iceland's second biggest settlement, which looks like a quaint little place to spend a day or two exploring. There's also Myvatn not too far away which has all sorts of scrummy geothermal things to see (and bathe in if the whim takes me).

From there... well, there's not a whole lot that I've picked out on the way back between Akureyri and Reykjavik unless I can find a way to get out to Snaefellsnes, a peninsula on the west coast which supposedly has some of the island's best bird watching. Can't resist a bit of bird watching.

And then back to Reykjavik. Tempted to take a trip to the Blue Lagoon on my way to the airport given how pleasantly I was surprised when I went there in January. I'm not really a spa sort of person but bobbing about in lovely warm water with the stars overhead was amazing.

Well, I think that covers the main things. All the touristy highlights. I'm giving myself 2 weeks and I think that's enough time to cover what I want to see. Always open to detours though - what would you recommend as Iceland's top sights?

Language Barriers: Tête, épaules, genoux et pieds

I'm about half an hour away from finishing the second block of my Spanish course. Hurray! It's taken me rather longer than I intended, mostly because my attention span is appalling.

On the plus side, it does seem to be sinking in and I'm fairly confident I can understand the basics. Question is, do I carry on into block 3 or do I take a break?

Nah. Let's go with neither of the above. I'm going to give Spanish a break for a bit (read... a month or two?) and refresh my French instead. Yeah, sounds like a plan.

I learned French when I was little, so how hard can it be to catch up on the basics? I can introduce myself, say I don't understand and I know way too many silly things like animals and colours.

Oh, and I can sing Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes. Which I mentioned to my teacher at primary school when we were learning French and then she asked me to teach it to the class. I think I refused...

So I figure I'll do the first block of French lessons (1-40 on Coffee Break French) and then I'll go back to Spanish.

I'm hoping I might get to use the French relatively soon, since I'm trying to talk a friend into going abroad for the first time. We're currently torn between Paris (so she doesn't have to get on a plane) and Krakow.

Oooh, I wonder if I can find some Polish lessons. Anyone know of any good resources I should dig out?

Short post is short.

Lincoln: 5 Things to See in an Afternoon

I took a Saturday afternoon trip to Lincoln a while back and it got me thinking. What would I recommend to a first time visitor to Lincoln? So, here's my list of 5 things you can see in Lincoln in an afternoon. Or a day if you don't walk ridiculously quick like I do!

1. The Collection

The Collection is a free museum just off Lincoln's famous Steep Hill. It houses a permanent collection of artefacts from the city's long history from the Stone Age through to almost the present day. In addition, it often hosts special exhibitions which are worth checking out - recent ones have included Lincolnshire's Great Exhibition displaying objects from important Lincolnshire moments and associated with more well known residents such as Sir John Franklin and Matthew Flinders.

If you're short on time, I'd suggest checking out the special exhibition if there is one and then these highlights from the Collection itself. The ancient dugout canoe from Fiskerton:

The Roman Mosaic found when they were building the lift shaft.

This beautiful piece of Viking metalwork.

A facsimile copy of the famous Lutrell Psalter.

And this awesome plesiosaur fossil, which I think is the specimen described HERE. 

2. Mediaeval Bishop's Palace

Tucked away to one side of the towering cathedral, the remains of the Bishop's Palace are a quiet retreat from the busy streets outside its walls. You can wander round it in about half an hour (I know, I've done it), but it's worth taking your time. Information boards are few and far between, so you should consider picking up the audio guide as well.

Basically, just wander round and enjoy the quiet for a while.

3. Lincoln Castle

The Castle is probably the most popular attraction in the city, but it's still worth a visit. The grounds are free to enter, but I'd at least take a walk around the walls - there's some amazing views out across the city and surrounding countryside from up there.

The absolute must-see at the Castle though, if you've any interest in history at all, is the Magna Carta Vault. The Castle is home to one of just four surviving copies of this historic important document and the Vault, opened in 2015, is its new home. So go and pore over the tiny writing and don't miss the two short films either.

4. The Guildhall

Lincoln's stunning Guildhall is still used for full council meetings and houses a great collection of objects, including an assortment of ceremonial swords, trophies and weird little oddments. Guided tours run on Fridays and Saturdays and are a great way to find out more not just about the Guildhall but also about the city's history.

You can find the Guildhall on the High Street - just look out for the big stone arch (the Stonebow) over the road. There's a big old door to one side and on tour days there should be a sign outside.

5. Steep Hill

Along the High Street you can find plenty of your typical, well, high street stores. But take a walk up the hill and you can find a whole host of little independent stores. This is the area called Steep Hill. It is, in fact, a steep hill.

There's an excellent tea shop (as in a shop that sells tea, not a cafe),  some cool little cafes but my favourite has to be Goodies Sweet Shop. This is tucked into the narrow lane that joins Steep Hill to the High Street and is a brilliant little old-fashioned place.

If you want to avoid the really steep section (identified by the lovely green hand rail and a bench to rest on at the top), you can cut away from the hill onto a couple of lanes that will bring you out either side of the steep bit.

Honourable Mention: The Cathedral

I haven't been into Lincoln Cathedral for years, so I can't comment on what the tours are like nowadays. If you just want to pop in and have a look around though, I recommend looking for the following: the Lincoln Imp, remnants of the paint which used to cover most of the stonework and the little statues that got their heads shot off by Roundheads during the Civil War. If you can get someone to tell you what's wrong with the statues, even better.

What are your favourite places in Lincoln? Are there any hidden gems to seek out?