Stella

Travel 2025 – Cunard Queen Anne – Day 7 (At Sea, Heading South)

Thursday 2nd October, 2025 – Tromsø to Narvik The day started well enough with another glorious sunrise over the Norwegian Sea. We’d apparently left Tromsø bang on time at 02:00 and were well on our way towards Narvik by the time I’d finished my morning run, and had room service breakfast. Today I was going…

Travel 2025 – Cunard Queen Anne – Day 6 (Tromsø, Norway)

Wednesday 1st October, 2025 – Tromsø Arrival time in Tromsø was scheduled for 10:00 so we had plenty of time for a leisurely breakfast and to watch from our balcony to see if the shuttle buses were in place to take us into the centre or not (and once they were, to see if the…

Travel 2025 – Cunard Queen Anne – Day 5 (At Sea, Crossing the Arctic Circle)

Tuesday 30th September, 2025 – Ålesund to Tromsø On our second stint at sea we would be crossing the Artic Circle which is the furthest north I’ve been so far, and although you may think it’s just an arbitrary line on a map, it isn’t. In fact, “the Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude for…

Travel 2025 – Cunard Queen Anne – Day 4 (Ålesund, Norway)

Monday 29th September, 2025 – Ålesund Cunard’s guide to the ports we’d be stopping in said that: “The cruise port in Ålesund is conveniently situated at the heart of the city, with a local Hop On Hop Off bus stop and pick-up point for the city train within walking distance. Many of the top sights…

Travel 2025 – Cunard Queen Anne – Days 1, 2 and 3 (Southampton and at Sea)

Friday 26th – Sunday 28th September, 2025 – Southampton to Ålesund Despite not being wholly convinced by the whole “let’s go on a cruise” hype, we found ourselves handing over our car to the parking people at Southampton, dropping our luggage off with the baggage handlers, and embarking on Cunard‘s newest ship, Queen Anne, ready…

Travel 2025 – France – Day 1 to Day 4 (London to Epernay, Epernay to Lyon, Lyon to St. Remy de Provence)

And so to France. It all started a little before Christmas with a conversation with our friend A. Recently widowed, and keen to find her feet travelling again, she said she missed the south of France, where we had spent quite a lot of time together back when I worked for various companies in Sophia-Antipolis…

My North Coast 500 Itinerary

North Coast 500 Plan Day 1 Drive from Northamptonshire to Nunnington for dinner at The PloughDistance: 174.4 miles,Time: 3 hours 16 minutes AccommodationHall View Guest Suite, 1 Graham Hall Cottages, Nunnington, YO62 5UY, Tel: +447932769143 DinnerThe Plough, Wombleton Day 2Drive from Nunnington to TebayDistance:93.0 milesTime: 1 hour 52 minutes AccommodationWestmorland Hotel, Tebay Services, Orton, Penrith,…

Travel 2024 – North Coast 500 – Day 14/Day 15 (Shieldaig to Hawnby, Hawnby to Home)

Friday 11th/Saturday 12th October, 2024 – Sheildaig, Aviemore, Hawnby, Home Distance driven: 429.0 miles/177.0 milesTime at the wheel: 7 hours 38 minutes/3 hours 15 minutesHeiland coos spotted: 0 (but then we hardly expected to) And so we left Scotland and completed the leg of the NC500 to Inverness, skimming by the edge of the city….

Travel 2024 – North Coast 500 – Day 13 (Gairloch to Shieldaig)

Thursday 10th October, 2024 – Gairloch, Kinlochewe, Lochcarron, Strome Ferry, Applecross, Sheildaig Distance driven: 110.0 milesTime at the wheel: 3 hours 43 minutesHeiland coos spotted: 0 After the storms that rolled through overnight, the temperature had dropped significantly and there was snow visible on the higher ground. The weather was still wildly variable, with sudden…

Travel 2024 – North Coast 500 – Day 12 (Around Gairloch)

Wednesday 9th October, 2024 – Gairloch, Inverewe, Badachro Distance driven: 36.0 milesTime at the wheel: 1 hour 14 minutesHeiland coos spotted: 0 After the previous day, Wednesday started out looking like it would be an easy day without much in the way of driving. The initial plan was to go a few miles in one…