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On the road to Madrid Beginning in the rain – a very British departure There is something very British about beginning an adventure in the rain. Mine started in the Lake District, the clouds hanging low, the wind nudging drizzle against the windows. I was sitting at my desk, about to drive to Madrid. The satnav promised 1342 miles. My ageing Audi Q5, part-electric, part-guilty conscience, was already humming on the driveway. Why I refused to fly People asked why I did not fly. Two and a half hours from Manchester to[...]

London Wetland Centre, Barnes Rain was forecast. The forecasters were wrong. London offered full sunshine instead, although it also offered a 100% strike on the Underground, which made getting anywhere in the capital a struggle. I solved the problem in the only way left - by scooter. Not the sleek, electric kind that city commuters zip about on, but the old, push-me-pull-you sort that children usually abandon in the garage. Somehow, I did not fall off - alright, just the once at a traffic light on the Fulham Road - and I earned[...]

Hortillonages, Amiens Tranquillity in Amiens It is difficult to define tranquillity, something I have been searching for a while, until you arrive at Les Hortillonages. At that moment, barely metres from the busy roads around the French city of Amiens, tranquillity is simple to find. Les Hortillonages are quiet and friendly, green and cool, even on a hot summer’s day. The other visitors who joined me, each of them French, were clearly similarly affected. Les Hortillonages have an influence that only firsthand experience can provide. Today, more than 1000 owners share the[...]