Travels Through History

The Macedonians build a fountain and upset the Greeks. Villages on the road to Lake Ohrid fly Albanian flags instead of Macedonian ones. Kosovan taxi drivers believe fundamentalists are being sponsored in their country by former foes. Dubrovnik is so popular a one-way system is now in operation on the city walls. In Sarajevo, the place the First World War started is not easy to find, but evidence of more recent atrocities is. Memories are long in The Balkans, contrasts and contradictions are all around. History is always in your face, reminding you nothing stays the same for long in this most fascinating corner of Europe.

Armenia is full of monasteries, fortresses, and people who are passionate about their past. The traveler is always aware of the importance of religion and history in this little-visited country, whose only open borders are with Georgia and Iran. The borders with Turkey and Azerbaijan are closed due to past differences. In the UK, visits to Leicester, Derby, Manchester, Bristol, and Cardiff are described. The first factory in the UK, a recently buried King, and stunning new buildings by the sea are given equal prominence.

The south-eastern part of France has an abundance of historical interest. From the Roman theatres of Arles and Orange to the Cathar castles in the foothills of The Pyrenees there is much to see and remember. There are mysteries too. Why would the Roman Catholic Church create a crusade against the Cathar 'heretics' when these people were following such a devout life? How did the Romans build the Pont du Gard so quickly as part of a 40-mile water channel to provide water to Nimes? What did Bérenger Saunière discover in Rennes-le-Chateau that made him so wealthy? Added to the history and the mystery are a host of natural wonders, beautiful scenery, and familiar names appearing in unfamiliar places.

A series of essays about visits to the murals of West Belfast, the award-winning Titanic Centre, The World Heritage Site of the Giant's Causeway, the seven little-visited stone circles at Beaghmore, and the dramatically situated Dunluce Castle perched high on the cliffs in Antrim in Northern Ireland. There are further stories about the island of Lewis and Harris, Edinburgh, Dryburgh Abbey, and Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland. On Lewis and Harris, I visited the Callanish Stone Circles, the Arnol Blackhouse, and the Dun Carloway broch all of them redolent with history from different eras. In Edinburgh, I walked along the Royal Mile and was astounded at the plants in the Botanical Gardens. I also describe the tranquil Dryburgh Abbey, where Sir Walter Scott is buried, and Rosslyn Chapel, whose many secrets are buried deep in its lavishly decorated interior.

A travelogue through nine Greek Islands - Rhodes, Symi, Patmos, Samos, Syros, Paros, Tinos, Mykonos, and Delos. The range of history is huge ranging from The Phoenicians to The Ottomans and from The Romans to The Germans in WWII.

This is a short travelogue about travelling in the North-East of England and all the history a visitor can see in a very time. Places vary from the large city of Newcastle with its iconic bridges across the River Tyne to smaller gems such as Durham with its magnificent Norman cathedral. Tourists can find Roman ruins in abundance and large, modern sculptures along with lovely market towns, small villages with a Brigadoon feel to them, and vast swathes of open countryside that hasn't changed since The Romans looked northwards from Hadrian's Wall.

This is a short travel guide for independent travellers to Poland and the Baltic countries of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. In particular, this guide covers the Polish cities of Gdansk, Wroclaw, Poznan, and Torun and describes the history and the sights that can be seen there. These places were chosen as the most interesting based on the guidebooks the author had read. When visiting Gdansk, Poznan, and Wroclaw it's difficult to believe that these cities were largely destroyed during WWII by both sides in turn. The author describes the sights that can be seen in Lithuania including the unique places called the Grutas Park with its collection of Communist statues and the Hill of Crosses with its millions of religious symbols. He also visits Riga and Tallinn as well as the Rundale Palace in Latvia.

This book is a travelogue about the cities of northern Spain. I travelled to Pamplona, Burgos, San Sebastian, Valladolid, Segovia, Leon, Gijon, Oviedo, Santiago de Compostela, Pontevedra, A Coruna, and Vigo on board the fast, modern trains of the Spanish railways. I describe the history of these places along with the sights seen plus some food and drink options available to all. The cities range from the familiar such as Pamplona with its bull running and Leon with its world-famous cathedral to those not so well-known cities such as Pontevedra with its pedestrianised centre and A Coruna where I saw the world's oldest lighthouse. There are extra stories about two pilgrimages of my own - to see the modern architecture of Santiago Calatrava in Valencia and to watch Lionel Messi play football in Barcelona.