Letter from London: cycling capital of the world?

“I believe that the cyclised city is the civilised city”, declares ebullient Boris Johnson. Love him or hate him, London’s mayor is – not so quietly –revolutionising cycling in the capital.

Explore Shandong

Heading to China in the year of the Dragon? Seek out Shangdong – steeped as it is in myth and supernatural allure

Passenger Focus

From the website

“We are the independent passenger watchdog. Our mission is to get the best deal for passengers.

We are an independent public body set up by the Government to protect the interests of passengers.”

A Day in…Chester

Despite having visited, and lived in, many wonderful cities in Europe, if you were to ask me what my favourite city was, I would always say Chester. It has everything: over 2000 years of history, beautiful architecture representing over a thousand years of building, countryside appeal and (for those who want it!) a world-famous racecourse and ample shopping!

Where the Experts Holiday: Mirjam Stibbe of Barcelona-Enabled

Mirjam Stibbe started Barcelona-Enabled in 2010. In Spain like many countries, she says, there are initiatives that promote accessible travel. What she noticed was there was no bridge between travellers and the services Barcelona offered. Suppliers were the same, the needs of disabled visitors was overlooked.

And the Snow Falls…And Falls

For the last week or so, there has been snowfall over much of the eastern side of the UK. It has been unrelenting in places with stories of the lowest temperatures since records began and the usual heroic tales of the ability of people to get to work. For the traveller, this has been trying and much is made of the fact that other countries are prepared so why aren’t we? Is this fair criticism?
By tomorrow morning Gatwick will have been closed for 3 days. Why should this happen to one of the most important airports in the world let alone this country?

The Great Wales

A Welsh village is hoping to woo cash rich Chinese tourists by building a £50 million purpose built holiday resort, where signs will be in Mandarin and staff will be familiar with Chinese customs.