Mount Royale Hotel York (image provided by Booking.com) Rolling our suitcases past the ivy-clad exterior of the Mount Royale Hotel, our expectations were high; nothing this picturesque on the outside could fail on the inside surely. We often find that, when planning a city break, choosing a hotel to suit…
Are Airports Really Able to Inspire Writers? Many great writers have often been quoted as saying that they gain inspiration from the most unlikely of settings, whether that be cafes, beautiful landscapes or perhaps hectic airport concourses. Inspiration can come in many forms, frequently when you are least expecting it….
Dorset is probably one of the best places to visit in England, especially during the summer months, after all it has nearly 100 miles of the finest beaches of anywhere in the UK. However, what happens to tourism in the winter months, when the sun is no longer shining, and…
Literature Festivals: Why You Should Go As an often over-zealous bookworm I have been known to seek out these events where upon I can go and track down my favourite authors. It is an opportunity for me to rub shoulders with other geeky types who have namely one thing in…
Lake Léman, better known as Lake Geneva, is one of the largest lakes in Western Europe and has been a focus for many well-known authors, including both Lord Byron and Mary Shelley. Why Lake Léman? You may believe that the largest lake in Switzerland has always been called Lake Geneva…
Bloomsbury in London has, for centuries, been a mecca for influential writers from across the world looking for both inspiration and a social life that would lead to success for their work. “It is not the walls that make the city, but the people who live within them.” (George VI)…
Often referred to as ‘The Valley of a Thousand Châteaux’, the Loire Valley has an abundance of stately French castles in need of exploration. However, with so many to choose from deciding which ones to visit first can be a daunting prospect. People will normally opt to go for the…
Located on the banks of the Loire River, Nantes in France is a perfect city to visit both winter and summer. Over the last 20 years, it has grown into a dynamic and inventive city, full of culture, festivals and regeneration projects. From restoring old buildings to transforming factories into…
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in a world completely dedicated to imagination? Les Machines de L’Ile in Nantes is one such place. As soon as you wander over the bridge from the historical side of the city, you are transported into a creative display…
Nantes is a city of new experiences, innovative and eccentricity. You only have to wander onto Ȋle de Nantes, see the wacky inventions on the banks of the Loire Valley, to understand that this is a city of unconventional, quirky developments. The brashness of modernism displayed is at complete odds…