Our 2025 Remember - Part 2, From July
Who doesn’t like Naples? It must be one of the most exciting and vibrant cities in Europe.
We set sail at night for Capri. There cannot be many more romantic embarkations than taking a boat from Naples to that magical island.
Unfortunately we were hit by a freak rainstorm while there, but it did not spoil our enjoyment of the place.
Then we were off to Sicily for a circumnavigation of the entire island.
I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed a voyage quite as much - check out Sea Cloud here for this year’s itinerary.
The journey ended in Malta where we spent a day sightseeing…
Then it was home to the West Country for some vintage cider tasting. And we’re talkikng VERY old ciders…
And to explore the secret sunken lanes of the South West UK.
We also visited numerous seaside locations of the more untrodden and unvisited kind…
BBQ season lasted months in the UK thanks to the good weather.
There was a memorable stroll along England’s new coast path from Portishead to Clevedon.
And a cycle-ride around the lovely Exe Trail.
Followed by a voyage across the Somerset Levels.
Late summer brought some mushroom foraging…
And then it was off to the wonderful Malsters in South Devon…
Followed by a visit to the Royal George at Tintern…
Next up was a fabulous stay at Boringdon Hall on the edge of Dartmoor near Plymouth…
And then we were off to the Dordogne to stay in four truly wonderful hotels.
After that we popped down to Cornwall to stay at the Basset Arms, a really good newly refurbished pub in Portreath.
And then there was a journey with the British Guild of Travel Writers to discover the lesser known parts of the Algarve.
While there we stumbled upon a magical chestnut festival held each autumn in a lovely little town in the mountains.
There were many other visits towards the latter half of last year but one notable one for me was the trip we made to stay at St Austell Brewery’s excellent newly refurbished Royal Castle in Dartmouth.
And also a stay at another St Austell Brewery property - one that’s also been through a big refurbishment - the Pedn Olva at St Ives…
And all was rounded off by a trip to the National Trust’s Dunster Castle to see Father Christmas.
This has been the briefest of round-ups of one travel writer’s year. I’ve left out loads of places I visited and things I saw as well as the wonderful meals I was able to enjoy. But hopefully there’ll be a great deal of all of that this coming year.
