Discovering Savonlinna and Lake Saimaa Finland’s Lake District
Mark Bibby Jackson travels to Finland’s Lake District to visit Lake Saimaa and the Savonlinna Opera Festival It is on our return journey that Captain Mikael allows me to take…
Exploring Green Graz Austria
Mark Bibby Jackson visits Graz Austria, a green city with a visionary view for our future. It was on a visit to Iași in Romania a few years ago that…
Road Trip through Ayrshire, Dumfries and Galloway
Mark Bibby Jackson takes a road trip through Ayrshire, Dumfries and Galloway on the trail of Rabbie Burns and meets a couple of US Presidents along the way. “Auld Ayr…
A Walk through Pittsburgh : a Surprising, Green City
The previous few days had challenged my pre-formed opinion of the Rust Belt. Buffalo and Cleveland were both interesting and lively cities with plenty of architectural gems and lots of…
Discovering Art in Cleveland Ohio
Mark Bibby Jackson continues his visit to Cleveland Ohio discovering the creative side and the art in the city. My trip to Cleveland coincides with the 32nd annual Parade the…
Cleveland Ohio : A Musical City with an Industrial Heart
Mark Bibby Jackson visits Cleveland Ohio an industrial city with its roots most definitely in music. Serendipity. I’ve said it before, but it is one of the most wonderful aspects…
Beautiful Buffalo : Silo City, Martin House and the Death of a President
Mark Bibby Jackson goes on an architectural journey through Buffalo visiting Silo City, Martin House, the City Hall and Theodore Roosevelt Inauguration Site. It is a line I am going…
Gainsborough’s House, Sudbury Suffolk
It has been a motto of mine to expect little and to be pleasantly surprised at the outcome. Gainsborough’s House in Sudbury Suffolk proved an excellent case in point. Driving…
A Tour of Brutalist Architecture in Washington DC
World class cities are like good friends, it doesn’t matter how long it has been since you last met, there is an instant familiarity. Also, just like really good friends…
Saint Lucia : a Community United in Music
Mark Bibby Jackson visits the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia, and discovers the secret behind its popularity as a holiday destination. There are times when I feel most fortunate to…
Learning How to Adapt to Climate Change in the Netherlands
The more you travel the more you realise we have to learn – especially from other nations. The Netherlands is a case in point. Climate change is going to have…
Congham Hall Hotel and Spa Review
There are hotels you go to for their destination and hotels that become destinations in themselves, Congham Hall Norfolk is both. Set in glorious countryside just outside of the Sandringham…
Creating New Heritage in Newcastle and Gateshead
Mark Bibby Jackson visits some of the industrial heritage in Newcastle given new life. One of my particular likes when travelling is to see how industrial buildings can be transformed…
Tracey Emin, Sex and Afternoon Tea at the Walpole Bay Hotel
“This is the room where Tracey Emin says she had her best sex,” Jane Bishop informs me as she as she hands me the key to room 302 at the…
Isle of Thanet Kent : a Creative Isle
Learning a new skill, such as art, while on holiday has become a trend in recent years but for some people art classes can be transformative. As I enter Hold Creative…
Viva Brean : Traditional British Holiday in Somerset
Mark Bibby Jackson travels to Brean in Somerset to experience a traditional British holiday. One of the consequences of Covid was the growth of domestic UK staycations. In recent months…
Three Castles and a Cafeteria – the Heritage of Cumbria
Mark Bibby Jackson leaves Lake Ullswater to visit three castles of Cumbria – Brougham Castle, Lowther Castle and Hutton-in-the-Forest, as well as Rheged. “The river used to mark the border…
A Trip to Glenridding, Ullswater in the Lake District
Mark Bibby Jackson takes a hike and a boak trip around Ullswater Lake in the Lake District We could not have wished for a more beautiful drive up to the…
Reliving Hanoi on a Vietnam Food Tour in Berlin
“Cảm ơn anh,” Anna says to me at the end of our brief conversation in Vietnamese, most of which has been translated by my Vietnam food tour guide Paul Tran…
NHOW Berlin : Striking the Right Note
If you are looking for a funky hotel in Berlin then NHOW Berlin is the one for you. How many hotels do you come across with their own recording studios…
Happa: Simple, Affordable and Excellent Vegan Food in Berlin
Happa is so understated and unassuming you could easily walk past the low waste, plant-based restaurant without realising it. There is no large sign declaring the restaurant’s healthy and virtuous…
Reinventing Berlin : Humboldt Forum, UFA Fabric and Tempelhof
“From here you can see the whole history of Berlin,” Sönke Schneidewind tells me from the terrace at the top of the Stiftung Humboldt Forum. To my left I can…
Things to Do in Chemnitz: the European Capital of Culture 2025
Chemnitz will be one of the European Capitals of Culture alongside Nova Gorica in Slovenia in 2025. Nestled in the heart of Saxony, Germany, Chemnitz is twinned with Manchester and…
Chemnitz European Capital of Culture : Industry and Architecture
In 2025, Chemnitz will be one of the European Capitals of Culture alongside Nova Gorica in Slovenia. At first this might seem a strange choice. The Saxon city has a…
