United Kingdom
Feature writer who loves telling the stories behind different and diverse people, places and communities.
My work has covered travel, tourism and heritage, family life as well as nature, environment and wellbeing. Published in local and national UK magazines and newspapers as well as US titles.
Based in Gloucestershire, UK. Please get in touch.
Lifestyle
Health and wellbeing article on the power of discovering your local lido and wild swimming. Including my local, Sandford Park, in Cheltenham, one of the UK's largest lidos and a beautiful 1930s style oasis. Article in wellbeing title - 'In the Moment' magazine
Before you arrive, you have to leave. If your destination with a young family is a new home on the other side of the world for three years, leaving takes a lot of effort – both emotional and practical. A personal and practical look at moving overseas.
Whether you want to run around a real life castle or bring the Tudors alive for a school project, discover the best places to travel back in time. From the Roman cities of Gloucester and Cirencester to the Tudor battlefields of Tewkesbury, history always makes a great family day out.Activity round-up article for Families Gloucestershire.
Moving back to England after three years abroad, the packing boxes were starting to build up in the back garden. I think the generous term for this photo is unstructured play. The boys piled up the larger boxes. I unlocked the shed, its eclectic contents revealed once again. Article in The Guardian's family section.
Public transportation represents the glamour of travel when you're 4. You get to ride with the rest of the grownups, have a ticket to hold and have a 360 degree view of the whole thing. Lifestyle column in US magazine on my bus travel experiences with children.
Travel
Orcas Island in Washington state is one of 400 islands making up the San Juan Islands archipelago, and one of only four to offer accommodation. A mesmerising one-hour ferry ride takes you to Orcas, weaving through the other islands from the mainland at Anacortes - a 1.5-hour drive from Seattle. Family travel feature in Guardian Travel
Although best known for its stunning 18th-century Regency architecture, Cheltenham’s horse racing heritage dates back to 1815. The present festival started in 1902. For reading rather than racing, the Cheltenham Literature Festival, celebrated a mere 60 years in 2009 (albeit as the world’s oldest literature festival). Cheltenham truly has a festival for everyone. Travel article looking at Cheltenham's history and festival life
"Gloucester Cathedral is looking for a Senior Stonemason. 39 hours a week. Reporting to the Master Mason." No, not a 13th-century job opportunity, but an online advert. Finding the best craftsmen for England's great cathedrals is still as important as it was 10 centuries ago. Travel article featuring Gloucester Cathedral and Woodchester Mansion.
Tuesday was market day in Leeds for many centuries. The market started on the bridge before expanding north onto Bridge Gate. Today, Leeds is Britain’s third-largest city, and Bridge Gate, now “Briggate,” is still there, a busy shopping area surrounded by lavish Victorian architecture. Travel article on the heritage and retail therapy opportunities in Leeds (my hometown).
The large band of chalk bedrock across southern Britain offers the perfect terrain for creating such white horses and other creatures. Most roam the hills of Sussex, Wiltshire, and Dorset, with a few outside the main corral farther north. From honoring King George to artistic expression here's everything you need to know about Britain's incredible white chalk horses and walkers or warriors. Travel article on Southern England's white horses and where to see them.