Western Europe Archives - Page 12 of 266 - A Luxury Travel Blog : A Luxury Travel Blog

An active family holiday in Scotland: Day 9

By Paul Johnson on Sep 09, 2021 in Europe, Family Travel, Going Out, Leisure Travel, Regions, Restaurants, Speciality Travel, United Kingdom, Western Europe

Today was our final day with Go West Sailing. We set off fairly promptly today and had breakfast on the move as we had around 10 naturical miles to cover – from Port Bannatyne to Largs – and then we needed to re-fuel and unload our belongings, etc. all prior to lunch. We had to

An active family holiday in Scotland: Day 8

By Paul Johnson on Sep 08, 2021 in Europe, Family Travel, Leisure Travel, Regions, Speciality Travel, United Kingdom, Western Europe

Portavadie is much more than just a marina. It’s a luxury resort with a variety of accommodation options from luxury apartments and lodges to guest bedrooms, couples hideaways and motorhome facilities. It’s also home to a restaurant, bar and shop, as well as spa and leisure facilities. We took the opportunity to use the gym

An active family holiday in Scotland: Day 7

By Paul Johnson on Sep 07, 2021 in Europe, Family Travel, Leisure Travel, Regions, Speciality Travel, United Kingdom, Western Europe

We practiced on the moorings at Otter Ferry today – both hooking on to them and safely leaving them. We had arrived in darkness the previous night and anchored just a short disstance away from them. Whilst we were fine with what we had done, the moorings would have given added peace of mind (particularly

An active family holiday in Scotland: Day 6

By Paul Johnson on Sep 06, 2021 in Europe, Family Travel, Leisure Travel, Regions, Speciality Travel, United Kingdom, Western Europe

We did a bit of pontoon practise with Go West Sailing this morning – practising our ‘spring starts’ where the stern stays close to the pontoon, as well as practising coming into a pontoon – before heading out to sea, when something immediately caught our eye. We motored out to what looked like dolphins or

An active family holiday in Scotland: Day 5

By Paul Johnson on Sep 05, 2021 in Europe, Family Travel, Leisure Travel, Regions, Speciality Travel, United Kingdom, Western Europe

Last Summer our eldest son did his RYA Day Skipper qualification (which you can do once you turn 16) with Go West Sailing and our plan this year had been for him to do the next step up – his RYA Coastal Skipper. You do need to quite a bit of study for this but,

Short stay: Wynford, Ambleside, Lake District, UK

By Michael Edwards on Sep 05, 2021 in Accommodation, Europe, Regions, United Kingdom, Vacation Rentals, Western Europe

With six double bedrooms, comfortably able to accommodate a dozen guests, this is the ultimate self-catering house. Stylish contemporary decoration, with Orla Kiely fabrics, makes this spacious house a luxurious place for grand reunions of family and friends. Though, in such a large house, it is always possible to find a quiet corner for a

An active family holiday in Scotland: Day 4

By Paul Johnson on Sep 04, 2021 in Europe, Family Travel, Leisure Travel, Regions, Speciality Travel, United Kingdom, Western Europe

Our plan was to travel to Largs today, for the next stage of our Scottish Summer adventure: a sailing holiday, much like we did last year. But before we took the two-hour drive north, we went for one last mountain bike ride at Glentrool. Some of the routes at Glentrool are short enough for us

An active family holiday in Scotland: Day 3

By Paul Johnson on Sep 03, 2021 in Europe, Family Travel, Leisure Travel, Regions, Speciality Travel, United Kingdom, Western Europe

In the morning, we let the dog stretch his legs and took him for a short stroll just out of the campsite. Turning left out of the site, we by chance stumbled upon the Glentrool Kindness Path where the local villagers had taken it upon themselves to decoarate stones along a 200m or so stretch

Once-in-a-lifetime travel experiences from around the world

By Paul Johnson on Sep 03, 2021 in Africa, Antarctic, Asia, Australia, Austria, Canada, Europe, Finland, Germany, Japan, Louisiana, Middle East, Netherlands, North America, Oceania, Polar Regions, Regions, Tanzania, Turkey, USA, Western Europe

Red, Amber, Green. The travel traffic light system is now firmly etched into the minds of would-be travellers. Whilst the confusion continues, tour operator Trafalgar has issued The Gold List – a curation of worldly travel experiences that you never knew existed. USA: Meet a member of Johnny Cash’s family during New Orleans Jazz Festival

An active family holiday in Scotland: Day 2

By Paul Johnson on Sep 02, 2021 in Europe, Family Travel, Leisure Travel, Regions, Speciality Travel, United Kingdom, Western Europe

After a good night’s sleep, we took the opportunity to go for a quick dip in the sea (brrr!!) whilst the boys went paddleboarding. Once the initial shock had passed, it was actually surprisingly pleasant. In recent years the water quality hadn’t been rated so highly in parts of southern Scotland but, thanks to efforts

An active family holiday in Scotland: Day 1

By Paul Johnson on Sep 01, 2021 in Europe, Family Travel, Regions, Speciality Travel, United Kingdom, Western Europe

With the pandemic still dragging on, our Summer holiday plans were never looking likely to go beyond our own shores. Not that we minded at all – we actually love exploring the UK! And having upgraded our modest campervan to a slightly more spacious (but equally modest) motorhome the previous year, it made sense to

UNESCO World Heritage Site hosts over 1,000 supercars and hypercars

By Paul Johnson on Aug 31, 2021 in Europe, Events, Regions, Road Travel, Speciality Travel, Travel Miscellany, United Kingdom, Western Europe

Blenheim Palace will throw open its gates this week to give car enthusiasts a rare chance to marvel at more than 1,000 super and hypercars. And Sunday promises fun for all the family when the lawns of the UNESCO World Heritage Site play host to an astonishing collection of vehicles for Salon Privé Classic &

Top 10 things to do in the Canary Islands this Autumn

By Paul Johnson on Aug 31, 2021 in Europe, Leisure Travel, Regions, Spain, Speciality Travel, Western Europe

The Canary Islands are known for being the sunshine centre of Europe, offering mild temperatures of 22 degrees centigrade, nine to ten hours of daily sunshine and a variety of stunning natural attractions. If you are planning a trip to the Canary Islands, take a look at the target destinations and top 10 recommended things

The 5 best ski resorts in Switzerland

By Wanhua Qiao on Aug 25, 2021 in Europe, Leisure Travel, Regions, Speciality Travel, Switzerland, Western Europe

Switzerland is an Alpine nation prized for its incredible scenery, majestic powdery slopes, and best ski resorts where you can encounter glorious snow and wintery charm. The Swiss Alps form up more than half of the nation’s region, with hundreds of ski resorts dotting the remote areas. We’ve picked only the Swiss ski resorts that

Top 5 culinary delights in Scotland

By Dorothy Welsh on Aug 21, 2021 in Europe, Food and Drink, Going Out, Regions, Restaurants, Travel Miscellany, United Kingdom, Western Europe

Good food is part and parcel of any holiday experience. Some people enjoy local produce such as herbs and ingredients which give a dish this distinctive taste different from the cuisine in one’s own home country. Others are intrigued by novel ways of food preparation and might try something new like unfamiliar side dishes or

Grand first impressions at luxury hotels in Mallorca

By Gail Hewitt on Aug 19, 2021 in Accommodation, Europe, Hotels, Regions, Spain, Western Europe

They say that first impressions are lasting impressions. The drive (or walk) up to the hotel or into the main entrance gives an expectation of what guests can anticipate to experience when exploring the hotel further after checking in. Here are some of our favourite ‘first impressions’ at luxury hotels on the Spanish Balearic Island

Category: Western Europe