Tag / Travel

by Gareth

Childcare fun!

This last week, I’ve been down in Bristol for a few days… to do a bit of child-minding! I’d offered to Ali to help out if she needed someone to look after her kids anytime during the school summer holidays, and it turned out that there were a couple of days towards the end of August where she had to work but couldn’t get them into a holiday club, so I took up the challenge of keeping them entertained!

I took a coach from Manchester on Monday morning – often I’ve taken the train down to Bristol, but it’s not that cheap, and it saved me a fair bit taking the coach option, and even with some bad traffic on the M6, I only arrived 10 minutes late.

We all just chilled out on the evening, but the next day, I headed off with the kids to the seaside! It was a bit drizzly as we walked to the station, but we were all in t-shirts without coats with the expectation that the weather would be better later on! Luckily it was, and we arrived in Weston-Super-Mare with blue skies and bright sunshine!

The kids at Weston-Super-Mare’s Grand Pier.

The walk from the station to the seafront (with the help of Google Maps on my phone!) was pretty straightforward, and we went onto the beach right away, so I could buy myself a coffee, and the kids could do a bit of digging in the sand! Then it was over to the Grand Pier, where I bought us a big bag of fresh donuts for us all to attack during the day, and got the kids wristbands so they could go on all the rides at the end of the pier.

They got through a lot of 2ps!

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by Gareth

Barcelona

Last week I had a few days on a city break in Barcelona. I booked it just before Christmas – I was looking online at various city breaks, and saw that the price of hotels were much cheaper at the beginning of January than any other time, so I went for it! It’s a place I’ve been keen to visit… I’ve been there once before for work back in 2018 (for less than 24 hours!), but didn’t really see any of the city because we were filming in the marina on the evening, and then we left on a road-trip early the next morning.

Anyway, I flew out from Manchester early last Sunday, and after taking the metro from the airport, was in central Barcelona for just after noon!

Arc de Triomf.

I was staying in the Born district of the city, right next to the Arc de Triomf and Ciutadella Park, so that was the first touristy landmark I got to see on my way to my hotel. I was staying at the Catalonia Born, which is a 4-star hotel in a really good location for getting around the city. It was really nice, and luckily they let me check in a couple of hours early so I could dump my bags and go exploring on the afternoon.

I walked down past the Arc de Triomf and had a quick look around the park, and then decided to take a bit of a tour around the city on the metro, taking in a few of the touristy areas I wouldn’t have a chance to visit during the rest of my week. The underground system in Barcelona is really good, and gets you pretty close to where-ever you want to go. I’d bought a 4 day ticket which allowed me to use all public transport, so it was so easy to get around.

Casa Batlló.

As well as checking out some more general areas, I went and had a look at a couple of the famous buildings designed by Antoni Gaudí – Casa Milà and Casa Batlló. I didn’t have time to go into either of them, but they looked pretty cool from the outside, especially Casa Batlló.

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by Gareth

Scotland

This year’s collection of Edinburgh Fringe shows.

Just got back from spending a week in Scotland, firstly in Edinburgh and then in Aviemore again. I headed up by train to my third Edinburgh Fringe last Monday morning, and was quite shocked that all the travelling went pretty smoothly! I got into Edinburgh just after half one, and walked down to Gag Reflex’s office (which was further out this year) where I hung out there until I was able to head back to the student halls I was staying in, just on the edge of The Meadows, less than 10 minutes walk from George Square.

George Square Gardens.

I was there from the Monday to Thursday, and saw 18 shows in all, which isn’t too bad considering I was only there for 3 days and 3 evenings. In fact, on the Wednesday I managed to cram in 7 shows which was quite a feat! All the ones I saw this year were good, with my favourites probably being Ben Hart, Colin Cloud, Ed Byrne and John Robins.

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by Gareth

Back in Ireland

Dingle Bay.

Just been over in Ireland for the last week and a half with my mum, sister, and my niece and nephew. It’d been 5 years since we’d last been and again we stayed with Mai and PJ in County Kerry, and for the first time I actually flew there rather than driving and taking the ferry. To be honest – it wasn’t that much quicker, since once landed I had to wait a bit at the airport before getting a coach from Shannon to Listowel, which also took quite a while. PJ picked me up in Listowel at about 3.30pm, so it basically took me ten and a half hours door to door!

The others weren’t going to be arriving until later that night, but their flight was delayed by a couple of hours, so didn’t get to Shannon until after midnight, which meant they had stresses with the car hire since they were supposed to close at ten o’clock, just after their original arrival time. I didn’t bother waiting up for them all, so slept through their arrival at the house and saw them in the morning!

We didn’t do anything that next day – everyone was far too tired! But on the next day, Friday, I went with Vikky and the kids to Ballybunion, and took a walk across the beach. The kids bought waffles from one of the beach shops, but it was so windy as they tried to eat them, and Chloe struggled to keep her hair out of the Nutella topping!

Mai and PJ experience VR.

In the evening, Brandon had brought his VR goggles with him, which let to much hilarity as both Mai and PJ tried it out! The graphics in the games and settings are still quite basic, but it’s crazy how quickly your brain accepts them, and it feels like you’re part of that world.

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by Gareth

A week away in Spain

Me in Suances.

Just been on a really great holiday in northern Spain during the Easter break. I’d mentioned to Ali after after Scotland that if she ever needed a hand with the kids on a trip in the future (and also to cut costs!) to give me a shout… well a few weeks ago, she called me to say she’d been offered the use of a holiday apartment by a Spanish friend of hers, in the small coastal town of Suances, just over half an hour west of the city of Santander, and wondered if I wanted to tag along with them.

We flew out from Birmingham airport on the Bank Holiday Monday, so I went to stay at my mum’s over the weekend, and then took the train to the airport from there. I’d not flown by Ryan Air before, so was expecting the worst, but to be honest it was fine! Whilst on the plane, Ali realised that she’d left her money and cards at home – they were in her coat that she decided not to bring at the last minute! She had Apple Pay on her phone, so she was able to pay for some things, but our first issue was that the car had been hired in her name, and was booked using her credit card, and the car hire company couldn’t give us a car without having the physical card! We were able to add me onto the hire (which we’d avoided beforehand to save money) and then make me the main driver so I could use my card instead.

Anyway, we eventually left Santander airport and got to Suances late afternoon, and after meeting a lady in a car park to collect some keys(!) arrived at the apartment. It was really nice, and a decent size – and since the weather was pretty sunny, we walked down to the beach early evening. Ali and the kids  went in the sea for a bit, whilst I decided to stay dry and enjoy the sunny evening sitting on the sand!

Ali and the kids in Suances.

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by Gareth

Half term adventures

I had some fun adventures last month, coinciding with February’s half term holidays, in Scotland, Bristol and at home!

It started on the 9th February when I took a train up to Glasgow… well, as usual, that didn’t go entirely to plan! As I was on the train to get my connection from Manchester to Glasgow, I discovered that the Glasgow train had been kind of cancelled, in that all the stops prior to Lancaster had been scrapped because of a lack of drivers. I managed to get on another train that was heading north, and by some miracle got myself to Lancaster ahead of the time that my original train was leaving there, so I did eventually get on my actual train!

So I checked into my hotel in Glasgow city centre late afternoon, and then met up with Steve to grab some food ahead of our trip to the Highlands the next day!

Steve & Tanya picked me up on the Friday morning and we made the long trek up to Inverness where we were meeting up with Ali and her kids who were flying up from Bristol. We’d arranged it so me and Ali would hire a car between us, and split the cost of that and accommodation/trips so that it wouldn’t be too expensive! We’d booked a family room in a Travelodge in Inverness, so I had a camp-bed set up in the corner, whilst the others had use of a double and single bed. It wasn’t the biggest room, so was a bit ‘cosy’, and it was a bit of a new experience for me to be holidaying with kids and all the extra clutter they bring! Also we discovered that the bathroom door didn’t close properly, so I had to wedge it shut with my trainers when using it!

Tea in Inverness with Ali, Tanya, Steve, me, and the kids.

To take a break from the room, we nipped down to the marina to take a look around before returning for an early tea at the pub across from our hotel. That’s another thing when holidaying with kids – meal times are different!

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by Gareth

Cairngorms without snow!

To wrap up a very busy August, I spent the bank holiday weekend up in the Cairngorms, taking in the annual ‘Thunder in The Glens’ event. It was being held near to where I stayed with Steve, Tanya and Alison back in February, and this time we all stayed just north of Aviemore at the Macdonald Lochanhully Resort in Carrbridge.

I took the train up to Glasgow on the Thursday afternoon, and of course that wasn’t a smooth journey. As I was on the the train from Stockport to Manchester, I discovered that my next train – the one to Glasgow –  had been cancelled, so I had to get on a train to Preston where I could then get the next one to Glasgow, arriving in just after 8pm – only two and a half hours later than planned!

First thing Friday morning, me and Steve set off ahead of the others (who had to work), taking a scenic route past Loch Lomond and up to Fort William where we planned to grab a quick lunch, but both ended up having a roast dinner in hotel restaurant!

Neptune’s Staircase in Fort William.

After lunch we visited Neptune’s Staircase, which is a staircase lock made up of 8 locks on the Caledonian Canal, and looks pretty impressive. You can also see Ben Nevis from here, but I could only see half of it as the top was covered in clouds!

We got to our lodge at about six o’clock, and waited for Tanya and Alison to arrive, and then just chilled out for the rest of the evening.

The next morning, we went for a walk in Speybridge, near to where all those taking part in Thunder In The Glens would be arriving later. We went down to the River Spey where Liza did a bit of paddling whilst retrieving tennis balls Steve was throwing for her, and then we took a stroll through the Anagach Woods. It was a really sunny day, and the woodland looked beautiful, and I even got to see a red deer, although a blurry photo of it was my only proof to the others!

Tanya, Steve and Alison.

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by Gareth

Weekend in the Cairngorms

Last weekend I spent a few days up in Scotland, way up north in the Cairngorms. Steve Black had mentioned a while back that he and Tanya were heading up there this month and invited me along… so I thought ‘what the heck!’

It was a bit of a trek up there – I was making the journey up to Glasgow by train on the Thursday morning to meet up with Steve at lunchtime, and then he was to drive the rest of the way up to where we’d be staying just south of Aviemore. However, as the date got closer, there was news of three major storms hitting the UK – Dudley, Eunice and Franklin – which meant travel was a bit of a nightmare! All the train companies were basically telling people not to travel north on the Wednesday evening until after about 9am on the Thursday, and not at all on the Friday! I managed to get the train from Stockport just after nine to meet up with my connecting train at Preston (which was running), and for a time, all went to plan.

However, when we got to Carlisle, we didn’t move for a while, and then were eventually told that a train had recently fallen onto the overhead cables – the train before us had just managed to get past it, but our train was basically cancelled from that point onwards!

No trains past Carlisle.

So I then had to stand in a queue to wait 3 hours for coaches to turn up to take the ever-growing group of people to Glasgow! I was the last to get on my particular coach, which meant I had no choice of where to sit, and of course that meant I had to sit next to a guy who was so large that he basically took up half of my seat as well as his own, so I was having to perch on the edge of it! Not ideal for a two hour journey, and not helped by the fact the guy was chain-drinking bottles of lager!

I was supposed to meet Steve at 1pm, but I eventually got into Glasgow at five o’clock. I found Steve parked nearby and we started the 125 mile journey up to Kincraig in the Highlands. When we got there, we unloaded our bags before going into Aviemore for a much needed meal at the Cairngorms Hotel. Weather-wise, it was pretty cold and icy, but there was no sign yet of the snow that had been forecast.

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by Gareth

Holiday in Ireland

A couple of weeks ago I was on holiday in Ireland again, meeting up with mum and my niece and nephew. They’d already been there for a few days, and I set off really early on a Sunday morning to make a 9am sailing from Holyhead to Dublin, followed by a 3½ hour drive across the country to Mai & PJ’s house just outside Listowel.

The following morning – we took my mum’s hire car back to Shannon airport, with me following behind, so we could then carry on in just the one car.

We carried on northwards for a bit, before making a brief stop in County Clare’s main town, Ennis, and then carried on to the north west of the county, finally arriving at the Cliffs of Moher.

Cliffs of Moher.

They’re really stunning, and you can really sense the power of the sea crashing onto the rock a couple of hundred metres below. It was really windy, and it had been quite drizzly all morning, but it did dry up for us whilst there. It was a pretty strenuous walk up a load of steps to an old round tower overlooking the sea, and we carried on walking along the cliff top until we got to a little hut selling ice lollies (which of course we partook in!).

It was crazy seeing the amount of people who’d left the path to position themselves really precariously on the cliff edge to take a selfie – I’m not sure any photo, no matter how stunning, is worth potential death!

Afterwards we went into the visitor centre, which seems to be a giant cave inside the hill, and there were quite a few interactive things which Brandon & Chloe could have a go at. Even mum decided to try out the greenscreen selfie area, although the camera they use is really low quality and the keying wasn’t that great!

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by Gareth

Orlando, New York and Aruba!

It was my sister’s wedding last month, and she’d decided to have a beach wedding in Aruba, so I decided that since I’d be travelling across the Atlantic, I’d also add a short USA holiday to it as well!

So I flew out to Orlando on the 6th October, leaving Manchester at lunchtime, arriving at 4.30pm local time. The queue through passport control was crazy – it took 2¼ hours to get through it, and then once my passport had been checked, I was then picked to have my suitcase examined! I eventually checked into my hotel – the ‘Holiday Inn & Suites Across From Universal Orlando’ – and it really was ‘across’, being just a 15 minute walk to the main entrance to the Universal theme parks!

After a long day of travelling, I went to bed pretty much straight away, and then woke up ridiculously early because of jet-lag! So annoying!

Anyway, I got myself breakfast from a nearby McDonalds, and then arrived at the theme park around 10.30am.

I entered the Islands of Adventure park and hit the rides straight away! I stayed there until about 2 o’clock, and after a bit of lunch, took the Hogwart’s Express from Hogsmeade to King’s Cross over in the the Universal Studios park. Generally, it was busier than when I visited in 2014, and the queues were longer, but I imagine no-where near as busy as it is in peak season!

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by Gareth

Ireland holiday

Last week I got back from a week’s holiday in Ireland, staying at Mai & PJ’s house in County Kerry. I took an overnight ferry from Holyhead, so it took a couple of hours to drive there, arriving in plenty of time for a 2.30am sailing. Because of knowing how hard it is to get to sleep from my trip last year, I booked a cabin, arrived in Dublin just before 6am, having had a few hours of decent sleep.

My mum, Vikky and the kids were flying over from the midlands, and they weren’t due until the evening, so I decided to do a bit of a tour on my way to the west coast to make the most of my day.

So, after leaving Dublin, I drove south down the coast, and stopped briefly at Wicklow, but as it was only just after 7am, everywhere was still closed!

Wicklow.

From there, I was back on the road and carried on down to Waterford, about 80 miles away. Basically, it was a place name I recognised because it’s famous for its crystal, and that’s the only reason I ended up there! I had a bit of a walk round – the weather had gone a bit drizzly, so didn’t stay there for loads of time. I had a stroll along the harbour area, and also around a bit of the town. I was starting to get a bit wet, so went back to the car, and hit the road again.

Cork.

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by Gareth

Filming on the Causeway Coast

I’ve got a couple of mates who are in the middle of a long-term art project called ‘The Edges of These Isles‘, where they’re looking at the differences in how an artist and a photographer capture the same location – and back in August 2014, me and James filmed them visiting Lindisfarne, and you can see that video here.

Well, we’re looking to produce a short film to tell the story of the whole of Tom and Simon’s project as they travel the UK, using some video stuff they’ve shot, along with footage that we’re able to get at certain points.

So we found out they were going to be travelling to Northern Ireland to visit the Causeway coast, so it was organised for me to go with them to film what they got up to! I had to travel really light, because the best flight Simon could find only had a really small bag size for hand luggage, with a weight allowance of 10kg, which would include both my clothes and all the kit I needed! Small items could be stuck in my pockets, but unfortunately I wouldn’t able to take any kind of camera support, or the Canon 70-200mm lens since it’s pretty heavy!

Tom and Simon.

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by Gareth

Malta with Annie Mac!

Me, Annie Mac and James.

The last week has been a really busy one, producing a video trailer for next year’s Lost & Found festival in Malta, hosted by Radio 1’s Annie Mac. The job came in pretty last minute, and with very little time for planning, last weekend me and James were on a plane leaving Manchester at 6.30am, heading to Malta! We met up at the airport in Malta with Oli from The Warehouse Project, and Wilf who’s a Manchester-based promoter who I think runs and produces a lot of the stuff for the festival.

Oli and Will were staying in a hotel in Sliema, whereas we carried on in the taxi for about another 40 minutes to Bugibba, where we checked into the Topaz Hotel. What with it being early afternoon, it was now incredibly hot, and since we had to wait for our room, we ended up sitting in the shade by the pool, eating ice lollies for lunch!
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by Gareth

Back in Ireland after 35 years!

I think the last time I was in the Republic of Ireland was 1980, so my memories of our two visits to visit family over there are pretty hazy – but there are some bits that I can still recall even though I was so young!

So, a couple of weeks ago, I was back in Ireland for a holiday with my mum, sister, Brandon & Chloe (who all arrived a week before I did) – all staying at my mum’s cousin’s house!

I took an overnight ferry to Dublin from Liverpool, setting sail at 3am, and the facilities were really basic. I sailed with P&O, and I quickly realise they were really catering for the freight industry, but also take regular passengers too. I tried to get a bit of sleep sitting in a pretty uncomfortable chair, and I finally got off the ferry into Dublin Port at about 11am.

It took about 3½ hours to drive over to Listowel in County Kerry, and after arriving at Mai & PJ’s house, I went with mum, Vikky and the kids to the beach!

The nearest seaside town is Ballybunion, which is about 20 minutes away from the house, and I do have some memories of going there as a kid. Even thought it was later in the afternoon, it was nice and sunny, so we spent a couple hours on the beach.

Brandon, Chloe & mum on Ballybunion beach.

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by Gareth

Day in Northern Ireland

This week, I was over in Northern Ireland for work – I’d never been to the north before… I went to County Kerry on the west coast of Ireland a couple of times as a kid, but that was about 35 years ago!

We needed to shoot a customer testimonial for a client, and it needed to be done at a showroom in Belfast, so I went over there with Andy Fidler on Thursday.

Because we were flying, we weren’t able to take much kit with us – I needed 2 cameras for the interview, but we didn’t have any economical way of taking a couple of tripods with us, so I had to try and find somewhere to hire from. Obviously, in Manchester it’s pretty easy to find a hire company for pro kit, but I really couldn’t find anywhere in Belfast that we could use! I eventually found I could hire a couple of tripods from Calumet, but they weren’t quite what we were after since they didn’t have proper video heads, but they would have to do! Oh, and annoyingly, the bank decided to cancel my work debit card the day before (fraudulent activity supposedly!), so I had to hire both a car and the kit (along with deposits!) on my own card!

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