A Land of Lava: my feature for MMM on touring the #Auvergne in a #campervan, climbing volcanoes, stopping in tiny villages, discovering castles, museums, traffic-free riverside cycle routes, local wine, cheese, and so much more. #camping #motorhome #roadTrip #travel #France

A special moment. Advance copies of This Is Not My Land: 30 years on a small Cotswolds farm have arrived. The first time I get to touch this new book with its silky smooth cover. Publishing in early January. #authors #naturewriting #Cotswolds @travwriters.bsky.social @bradtguides.bsky.social

National Tree Week begins tomorrow, celebrating the start of the winter tree planting season. So I salute the tree planters of yesteryear on our #Oxfordshire #Cotswolds farm, who planted such that we can enjoy their toil: the mighty ash/oak #trees, giant hawthorns, & English elm. #nationaltreeweek

The Salon de l'Agriculture, held every February in #Paris, is like a whistle-stop tour around #France (and the world) without leaving the show site; a festival of French #food, drink and #farming that attracts thousands of visitors. My feature in the December issue of France Today magazine, out now.

Utilising a bottle of local gin from Cotswolds Distillery combined with sloes from historic #hedgerows on our #Oxfordshire #Cotswolds farm to make sloe gin. It will hopefully be ready early in the new year, just in time when This Is Not My Land: 30 years on a small Cotswolds farm is published.

It's mostly the front cover of books that are promoted, rarely the back so here is the full, magnificent wrap for This Is Not My Land: 30 years on a small Cotswolds farm, to be published in Jan2026. Can't wait to share it with you. #naturefriendlyfarming #farming #slowtravel @travwriters.bsky.social

Land of the Midnight Sun. Feature on my epic #solofemaletravel #camping road trip through #Denmark, #Sweden, #Finland & #Norway to reach Nordkapp, and my return route exploring Norwegian Scenic Routes. In the latest issue of Practical Motorhome, out now. #campervan #roadtrip @travwriters.bsky.social

The autumnal beauty of one centuries-old hay meadow & designated wildlife site on our farm, soon to receive winter sheep for conservation grazing. But I despair. Dog poo is seriously harmful to livestock. If you can't be a responsible dog owner, please don't be a dog owner at all.

The beautiful moated manor house of Baddesley Clinton, home to one family for 500 years. I'd forgotten just how charming it is, including a stroll around its orchard, restored vegetable garden and autumnal estate walks. A lovely day out in #Warwickshire. #NationalTrust #England #daysout

What a night, watching roller #hockey in #France, and, no less, 12-times French champions SCRA Saint Omer as they took on - and gave a masterclass to - Roubaix. Fab to watch. Fun, fast and full of skill. And only 40 minutes from Calais. #SaintOmer #NousSommesLeSCRA @travwriters.bsky.social

Always a tough one, writing about #chocolate! Going behind the brand of Valrhona, beloved by chocolatiers and pâtissiers around the world, with headquarters and a vast visitor centre plus cookery school in Tain L'Hermitage. Feature for Taste of France magazine. #Drome #France

Always enjoy visiting #Plymouth. One of the UK's city gems that's so worth discovering. I guess it will be a while before I visit again, but I can't wait to return, and the magnificent countryside surrounding it. #visitplymouth #ocean #oceancity #Devon

A full crate of Bramley apples heading off from our #Oxfordshire #Cotswolds farm to a local farm shop six miles away, ready to be turned into apple cider vinegar. Such is the harvest this year, this lot came from only one tree. #naturefriendlyfarming #orchards #apples #harvest

Following the Route du Cidre through the Pays d'Auge in #Normandy, stopping at #cider, perry, pommeau, calvados and apple juice producers. Visiting #farms and #orchards, coming away with a supply of fine-tasting drinks. Feature in autumn issue of Taste of France, out now. #apples #pears #farming

Good to see a shelf full of @bradtguides.bsky.social books on the Wyre Forest Books stand at the Motorhome & Caravan Show in Birmingham NEC. Including Camping Road Trips UK (BGTW Travel Guide Book of the Year 2023), Camping Road Trips France & Germany, and Slow Travel The Cotswolds. #camping

Checking out the vast array of camping, caravanning and motorhome kit for outdoor adventures at the Motorhome & Caravan Show @ NEC Birmingham. Campervans, motorhomes, touring caravans, trailer tents, tents, ebikes, camping & outdoor gear. Always end up dreaming of the next adventure! #camping

There are autumn colours in our hedgerows, and summer in our meadows with meadow buttercups, red clover, black knapweed and field scabious in flower on our #Oxfordshire #Cotswolds farm. In our riverside meadow, devil's bit scabious too. #naturefriendlyfarming #meadow

Tempted by #autumn #harvest treats, visiting #orchards, #vineyards, farm shops and #food halls on a food and drink tour around #Canterbury and its environs. Feature on the Garden of England for the October issue of Camping & Caravanning magazine, out now. #Kent #visitkent #camping

Finding out about the delicious Nougat de Montélimar at Arnaud Soubeyran in Montélimar, with a visit to see the sweet manufacturer's own almond orchards and beehives. Feature in the Autumn issue of Taste of France magazine, out now. #almonds #nougat #orchards #France

Arrived home to our #Oxfordshire #Cotswolds farm to find apples in the orchard being devoured by a green woodpecker. Apparently it has been gorging itself on the fruit for days, but seems very particular to one variety of apple - a Laxton's Fortune. #wildlifefriendlyfarming

A revisit to the attractive little town of Harlingen, with the benefit of both inland canals and the coast (with ferries to some of the Wadden islands). One of The #Netherland's beauties, and a lovely place for #slowtravel. Every 4yrs it holds the Tall Ships Race, next in 2026.

Always awestruck whenever I travel the road along the 32km-long Afsluitdijk that makes up part of the A7 in The #Netherlands. What a feat of engineering separating Ijsselmeer. Now with a new cycle/footpath along the Wadden Sea side. #camping #campervan #roadtrip #cycling #touring

I've come to the end of the German Fairytale Route from Hanau to Bremen. The middle section, with gentle scenery and wonderful towns like Alsfeld, Bad Wildungen, Fritzlar, Melsungen and Bad Oeynhausen, I consider my favourite. #camping #campervan #roadtrip #Germany #fairytales

After the cosiness of towns filled with half-timbered buildings, the Hanseatic city of #Bremen comes as quite a culture shock at the end of the German Fairytale Route. Fab place for #campervans & #motorhomes to stop, 20-minutes walk from city centre, though. #camping #roadtrip #Germany

The German Fairytale Route follows the beautiful River Weser to Nienburg in Lower Saxony, a riverside town that celebrates 1000 years in 2025. My penultimate stop on this impressive, themed #touring route through #Germany, discovering lesser-known places. #camping #campervan #roadTrip

On the final leg of the German Fairytale Route from Hanau to Bremen discovering places linked to #fairytales, the Grimm Brothers, and storytellers. The latest stop: Hameln, an attractive city where even those crossing the road follow the pied piper. #camping #campervan #roadtrip #Germany

What a place to stay, a riverside campsite overlooking the half-timbered houses of Hann.Münden, a historic town at the confluence of 3 rivers, the Fulda, Werra & Weser. One of the beauties of the German Fairytale Route from Hanau to Bremen. #camping #campervan #roadtrip #Germany

A surreal place to stop overnight in my campervan. The unique, outstanding Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund marks the border between the former East & West Germany, with 550m of original 'Iron Curtain' left in situ. Chilling reminders of the Cold War. #history #camping #roadTrip

Fascinating visit to Grimmwelt Kassel (Grimm World), shining a spotlight not only on the Grimm Brothers contribution to folk tale collection but their unique legacy to language and literature with their detailed research for a new German dictionary. #GermanFairytaleRoute #Kassel #Germany

Remarkable Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe in #Kassel, the largest hillside park in Europe & a UNESCO World Heritage Site. With Hercules at the top (in cloud) and Schloss Wilhelmshöhe at the bottom, connected by extensive water features. A must-visit on the #GermanFairytaleRoute #roadtrip

The tiny village of Bergfreiheit tucked in the Kellerwald mountains is reputedly the background to the #fairytale of Snow White. The former mining village was founded by a young count; his sister, Margaretha von Waldeck, reputedly 'Snow White'. A small museum tells the tale. #GermanFairytaleRoute

The city of Marburg is where the Grimm brothers went to university and began documenting #fairytales from oral traditions. That aside, its charm lies in its historic old town centre, its hilltop schloss and river. A lovely stop on the German Fairytale Route. #Hesse #Germany #camping #roadtrip

The fabulous looking Junker-Hansen Tower in Neustadt looks sufficiently fairytale-like for Rapunzel to let her hair down (except it's not; that's elsewhere along the German Fairytale Route. This tower, though, is the largest preserved half-timbered circular building in the world! #Germany

12yrs ago, I pulled off the autobahn looking for a lunch stop en route to Poland on a #camping #roadtrip and stumbled across Alsfeld. A town out of a fairytale, I stayed longer than lunch! I've returned for longer still, as the town is on the German Fairytale Route from Hanau to Bremen. #Germany

On the German Fairytale Route. Pretty Steinau an der Straße is where the Grimm family lived when the brothers were young boys. The home is now Brüder Grimm Haus, a museum dedicated to their lives & folk story collection. Equally interesting was the work of artist brother Ludwig. #Germany #roadtrip

The national monument to the Brothers Grimm is in the market place in Hanau. It's the beginning of the German Fairytale Route. I'm going back, metaphorically, to my childhood for a few days as I discover the places behind many classic #fairytales. #Germany #camping #roadtrip @travwriters.bsky.social

There's a definite vibe that I'm in the #Netherlands, staying on a small farm #campsite exclusively for #campervans & #motorhomes in Gelderland. A grid of lush green, flat, irrigated fields, cows, windmills, classic houses, and a cracking sunset. #camping #roadTrip

Cabins are a bit of a luxury on a day crossing when there are good lounge bars to sit, but I've got myself a very comfy bed after an ultra-early morning alarm clock, a decent hot shower, space to work quietly & a free minibar. On board Stena Line Harwich to Hook of Holland. #slowtravel

Great evening listening to @herdyshepherd.bsky.social tell the story behind his latest book The Place of Tides, spending time on a remote Norwegian island with nesting eider ducks. I've got my signed copy; perfect timing for a long read on a 6hr ferry across the North Sea. #slowtravel #Norway

The #Hawthorn berries are extraordinary in colour & number this year on our #Oxfordshire #Cotswolds farm. Hedgerow crab apples, too. Blue, long-tailed & great tits plus chiffchaffs having a ball working the hedgerows. #naturefriendlyfarming #naturewriting

Route 16 of award-winning Camping Road Trips UK (30 adventures with your #campervan, #motorhome or #tent) visits #Anglesey for a tour of the pretty island and its dramatic coast. With so many things to do along the way including #walking the coast path. #camping #roadTrip #touring

Pretty late-summer peacock and green-veined white spotted while walking the meadows of our #Oxfordshire #Cotswolds farm today. Swallows and skylarks overhead, too, on a gorgeous day checking over the fields and their recovery after an exceptionally dry summer. #Butterflies #naturefriendlyfarming

Route29 of Camping Road Trips France & Germany takes a diagonal tour from Germany's southeast linking 4 areas of natural beauty: Lusen National Park, Hirschwald, Fränkische Schweiz & Bavarian Rhön Nature Parks. Forest walks, rock formations & more. #camping #roadtrip #travelbooks

Not the finest weather for a stroll around a garden but the six rose gardens at the headquarters of the famous David Austin Roses impress nonetheless, not least because it's free to visit. Includes the National Collection of English Roses. And a delicious lunch, too. #gardens #rosegarden #Shropshire

It's #backbritishfarmingday so no better day to highlight what my forthcoming book,This Is Not My Land, is about: 30 years walking & working our #Oxfordshire #Cotswolds #farm with a focus on #naturefriendlyfarming. #Slowtravel in microcosmic form. www.bradtguides.com/product/brad...

I've received my copy of the first ever issue of Mountains magazine, with a lovely, personalised welcome letter. Congratulations @aplantogo.bsky.social on a great achievement getting a new magazine published. Looking forward to reading it. @mountains-magazine.com @travwriters.bsky.social

What a privilege to wander around the private #gardens of Matthew Rice watercolour artist in the #Oxfordshire #Cotswolds, courtesy of the National Garden Scheme. A beautifully unpretentious space full of creative vibes. Thank you for the opportunity.

A fun trip down memory lane joining the British Women Pilots' Association celebrate its 70th ann. at Blackbushe Airport. Cake cutting in an aircraft hangar. My favourite quote of the day from one female pilot: "I flew to London yesterday from the US." "Alone?" "No, with 300 passengers behind me."

I've been rooting through the family albums, and found pics #caravanning in the early #1980s. Yes, that's me washing up outside (the caravan had a foot-pedal pump in the floor for water), and yes, I burnt the toast. And a hired #motorhome with 'style'! #caravan #camping #travel

The sheer unadulterated beauty of #nature. Late summer shines through these devil's bit scabious, a species on the Vascular Plant Red List of England, on our #Oxfordshire #Cotswolds farm. With a small copper butterfly 'blooming', too. #naturefriendlyfarming #farm #farmwalk