My last long term visit to India was in February-March 2012 for my wedding. Since then, Ashwina and I have travelled to Scotland, Dunwich Heath, Cornwall and Paris. To make a trip to India I really need a perfect timing of decent air fares, long holidays and good weather. Post Christmas 2013 gave us this opportunity. So, we booked our tickets on British Airways, which is pretty much the main airline I use to travel and made our way to Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 on a stormy Friday after a Christmas characterised by strong winds and a small storm. I usually prefer the day flights vs. the red eye because…
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Cornwall – Pentargon
After a disappointing visit to Bude, Ashwina and I decided that we would stick to Boscastle and explore Penally Hill. During our previous trips around the area, we had noticed the coastal pathway that takes you to Pentargon waterfall. I checked out the details of the same on the South West Coast Path. This is a circular path that climbs to the very top of Penally Hill and then around the coast to Pentargon cliff where you can get a glimpse of the waterfall. We woke up late and had a quick breakfast. Got ready and went down for a late lunch to Harbour Light. I was so impressed by the…
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Cornwall – Bude
We had planned to visit Bude, which is further North, along the coast. We took the 595 Western Greyhound from Boscastle to Bude, which is about 30 minutes away. The journey is mainly through fields with the last portion along the Bude coastline which is as spectacular as most of the coast here in North Cornwall. The bus dropped us off at the Strand in Bude and at that point our misadventure began. Bude has 3 beaches and the place is known for surfing. Other than that it also attracts hikers who travel the South West Coastal Path back to Boscastle. We didn’t have plans to do either. And, then…
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Cornwall – Wadebridge and the Camel Trail
Having spent a good portion of the week in Boscastle and the surrounding areas, Ashwina and I set out to visit the famous Camel Trail. Straight from Wikipedia: The Camel Trail is a disused and resurfaced railway line in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, that provides a recreational route for walkers, cyclists and horse riders. We had initially planned to cycle down the trail from Padstow to Wadebridge. However, the 595 Western Greyhound from Boscastle terminates at Wadebridge. So, instead of travelling the extra distance, we decided to get off at Wadebridge. The actual distance from Boscastle to Wadebridge can be covered in about 30 minutes by road. However the bus…
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Cornwall – Boscastle Harbour
Ashwina and I had originally planned to check out the Bodmin and Wenford steam railway. But we ended up waking up late and couldn’t get the 11.50am bus out of the harbour. Once you get out of London or other main cities, then public transport services are not that efficient. If you miss one bus, the next one is an hour or two away. We decided to just explore the area. Since it was almost lunch time, we went down to the local cafe, where I had a simply amazing Cornish burger which easily beats some really good burgers that I have eaten in London at prices you will never…
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Cornwall – Boscastle and Tintagel
Our last holiday was in February when Ashwina and I visited Dunwich Heath to celebrate our wedding anniversary. Since we haven’t taken a vacation since then, we planned a week in Cornwall in the first week of September. This was much needed for us to recharge our batteries. And as usual Ashwina made the necessary arrangements for our trip. We booked a cab to Paddington station in London where we caught the Great Western train to Bodmin Parkway, which is the closest station to where we were staying in Boscastle. The journey is nearly 4 hours with views of the countryside that would be be familiar to anyone who leaves…
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Kew Gardens and Kew Palace
The bank holiday weekends in May are always welcome since it means an extra Monday of holidays and a relatively shorter week, even for an investment banker! Ashwina and I decided to visit Kew Gardens and Kew Palace early May. This was one of the many places we had in mind given our Historic Royal Palaces membership. We were joined by Vincent and Indrita. Kew Gardens is located about a short walk from Kew Gardens Underground station which is the second last station on the District Line and good hours journey from where I stay in London. There are four gates where you can enter from and the Victoria Gate…
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Tales from the Countryside
I grew up reading Enid Blyton‘s series of books especially Famous Five and Secret Seven. And, one thing that is common to them all was the country side. During my trip to Edinburgh and the Isle of Skye, I got a taste of the Scottish countryside and it was befitting that we visited the English countryside as well. A few of my regular readers might recall that I married Ashwina last February and to celebrate our anniversary, I took the week off from work. Ashwina came up with the brilliant suggestion of taking a trip to Dunwich Heath which is located in Saxmundham which lies on the east coast of…
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A Trip to Paris
In spite of being in London for nearly 3 years now, I applied for a Schengen visa a few months back. To open the visa you’re required to visit the country your applying from and what better place to visit than France and isn’t Paris the romantic capital of the world! So, Ashwina and me planned a three day trip to visit Paris the week before Christmas. Paris is a little over two hours from London with the Eurostar and it is a comfortable trip from St. Pancras International to Gare du Nord. We stayed at Hotel Le Petit Paris, which is just close to the Panthéon. We reached there…
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Scotland calling: Isle of Skye
I wrote about my trip to Edinburgh with Ashwina as well as the one day tour to the Scottish borders. Edinburgh is a beautiful city, but the beauty of the Isle of Skye blew our minds away! We had booked the Timberbush 3 day tour to the Isle of Skye and the Highlands. Timberbush has an excellent rating on TripAdvisor, and we’ve even read some great reviews of our guide for the tour, Gail Williams. We started off from Edinburgh on a Thursday morning in September what seemed to be a relatively clear day. However, this would soon change as we left Edinburgh.We first made our way to Glasgow to…
