In The Press

Before launching this site I had already written several pieces about Essex for the national press, but here you will also find travel pieces on a variety of destinations departing from Stansted or Southend airports.

THE INDEPENDENT: HOW TO DISCOVER MINDFULNESS ON THE ULTIMATE SCANDINAVIAN WELLNESS CRUISE

Forget all-you-can-eat buffets and wallowing on deck – a new breed of cruise is all about taking care of yourself, says Jo Fernandez

If you’re seeking an active and mindful break, a cruise isn’t normally the first port of call. The opportunities for overindulgence are infinite – and how mindful can you really be among 3,000 passengers? But Seabourn is attempting to change all that as the first cruise line to offer a fleet-wide healthy lifestyle programme, Mindful Living, created by alternative health “guru” Dr Andrew Weil.

Lisbon fly from Stansted airport Essex

THE INDEPENDENT: 48 HOURS IN LISBON

This is a dynamic time for Lisbon, with a seemingly unstoppable wave of new hotels, restaurants, and museums opening between the rambling old quarters and the waterfront that runs along the river Tagus to the Atlantic.  

EVENING STANDARD - OSEA ISLAND, BLACKWATER ESTUARY

I have lived in Essex “proper” for about six years and grew up near Colchester, yet only recently heard of Osea Island. Neither have friends who are born and bred in the county, which gives it a mysterious air. Osea is, in fact, a private island in a marshy landscape in the River Blackwater near Maldon.

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Evening Standard - The Pier, HARWICH 

Whoever said to travel is better than to arrive was sorely mistaken (actually, I think this is one of those misquotes — to travel “hopefully” is the missing word here and it is attributed to Robert Louis Stevenson). A recent trip to Harwich saw me stuck on the A12 for three hours..

 
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Evening standard - LIFEHOUSE SPA, THORPE-LE-SOKEN

In a pretty corner of Essex, just five minutes from the seaside town of Frinton, a new spa called Lifehouse has quietly opened in good time for those looking forward to shedding some holiday weight. Set in 135 acres of park and woodland..

More articles:

48 Hours in Lisbon - published in the Independent, July 2017

Six of Britain's Best Spas for relaxing breaks - published in the Express, January 2016

Portrait of the Artist: Constable's Essex Idyll - published in the Evening Standard, September 2014

Schloss Elmau, Munich - hotel review - published in the Evening Standard, January 2107