5 amazing places you can visit in the British Isles without a passport

As travel has started to open up, many people are suddenly realising that their passports have expired (I've experienced this first hand with my children's passports) and with the virus having a big impact on the Passport Office, passports are now taking up to 10 weeks, almost three months, to get back and at times even longer and with 1-week appointments being like gold dust, many families are realising they may not be able to get away this summer.  However, there are some pretty incredible places within the British Isles that you can travel to without a passport as part of the Common Travel Area which includes England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, as well as a few other smaller islands. As an adult however you will need a photographic ID such as a driver's licence or an expired passport can be used up to a maximum of 5yrs after expiry, there are also one or two "approved" ID cards such as Citizen Card although I've not ......

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Staycations and Safer Travel - 5 perfect UK weekender breaks

In collaboration with Hotels.com, but all views are my own Like everyone else right now all I want to do is pack my bags and head off on a European road trip or book a flight to a far-flung destination! The past 18months have felt incredibly long, with ongoing restriction which has affected all of our lives in one way or another, periods of being unable to work or see family members, most of all doing our part to help keep ourselves and others safe and while things definitely feel like they are moving in the right direction, we still live with the possibility of sudden changes to travel windows which make booking a break overseas more complicated than ever before.   I have seen people on the news get stranded in countries that have suddenly gone into lockdown or have put the UK (or visa versa) on to the amber or red list meaning more tests and quarantining before being able to head home. While these additional risks may be worth it for some, for others who cannot take more tim......

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5 Short-Haul Exotic European Destinations

When it comes to exotic destinations we often thinks of places like Thailand, Costa Rica or far-flung Caribbean islands but you really don't have to hop onto a long haul flight to find those white sands and crystal blue seas as there are plenty of short haul exotic destinations right here in Europe, making them a great for a mini-escape when you have had frankly enough of the unpredictable British weather. This list could easily be doubled what I am going to share but I thought I would put together a mix of places I have either been to or want to visit and certainly capture that exotic far-flung feeling. 1. Isles of Scilly Less than a 10-minute flight from Lands End and you are instantly transported to somewhere so unique and special you will wonder why you have never visited before. We spent a week exploring the Isles of Scilly in 2016 and have been dreaming of going back ever since. Every morning we woke up to the most beautiful views and would take barefoot strolls on ......

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3 of my favourite Fairytale destinations

The view from St Martins, Isles of Scilly Between John and I we have been lucky enough to travel to some fantastic places, from Africa to America, Europe, isolated islands to cities and it can be hard to pin point exactly our favourite places and it's often the lesser know and more unusual ones that surprise us the most. Netflights got in touch to ask me what was my favourite fairytale destination and not in the Disney sense but rather real castles up on hills and breathtaking views that have your eyes doing a double take. The thing is I couldn't just pin point on destination so I thought I would share my favourite 3 that captured my heart, mind and soul as well as being inspiring in itself. 1. St Martins, Isles of Scilly I thought I would first start of with a place that is not actually that far but often overlooked and that is the Isles of Scilly, an archipelago located off the tip of the Cornish coast and not the easiest of places to get to but certainly a spec......

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Slow down at Karma, St Martins

With these short days and dark nights my mind certainly wanders to memories of the fantastic adventures we had over 2016, especially that of our trip to the Isles of Scilly. It was on my bucket list of 40 things to do before I'm 40 and it was a wonderful as I thought it would be, in fact if your looking for a place to really slow down, relax and disconnect from the rest of the world this is the place! During our trip we spent the first few days on St Martins and then two nights on St Mary's, both equally wonderful but both with a completely different feel. St Martins certainly captures that slow lived feeling where everything is laid back, wifi is slow at best (which is perfect if you want to get away from it all) the island is practically traffic free apart from one or two vehicles and much time is spent relaxing and looking out across the sea and crystal waters. During our time on St Martins, we stayed at the fantastic and luxurious Karma Hotel which is p......

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Why you need to visit St Martins on the Isles of Scilly

Are you looking to explore a place that is truly special, somewhere that is so close yet so far and detached from manic city life, a real haven in which to slow down, switch off and relax. Somewhere where children can run around, free and wild and without the fair of busy roads or technology overload and a place where nature is just a few feet away at all times. Than the island of St Martins in the Isles of Scilly is a must for your bucket list this year, in fact I encourage everyone to visit this beautiful archipelago off the Cornish coast at least once in their lives. St Martins is less than 1 square mile and has a population of around 130 but believe me there is still plenty to do here.  On the ferry from St Mary's to St Martin's  Admittedly it's not the easiest place to get too at times, you may have read my post about  travelling to the Isles of Scilly  but it's isolated position is what makes it the most exotic staycation you will ever have ......

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Journeying to the Isles of Scilly

If you read my blog you will probably remember we spent an amazing week in the Isles of Scilly near the end of summer, I shared some snippets with you as well as ticking it off my 40 things to do before 40 post. So why so long to share what we got up to in more depth? Well to cut a long story short I had some major issues with my laptop this year, the hard drive failed twice and a virus pretty much made my external hard drive as useful as a brick so after many panic attacks I have finally managed to retrieve nearly all the images and videos *cue dancing in the kitchen*. What a better time to share this amazing trip when it's starting to feel cold and your dreaming of your future adventures, making plans for next year and looking for some inspiration, well I can tell you that the Isles of Scilly is by far the most exotic destination we have ever been to in the British Isles and I hope you enjoy me series of posts about this unique place. I'm going to start at the beginn......

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