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Conversant Traveller - Adventure by day, Luxury by night Adventure by day, Luxury by night
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Peter Cole

Hi, I'm Peter, and you'll usually find me hiding behind the camera whilst her ladyship steals the limelight. I have a bit of a thing for wildlife and the great outdoors, and used to be an adventure activity instructor here in the Lake District. These days I concentrate on the blog photography and gear reviews, and generally leave the trip organisation to Heather. As long as it involves orangutans and steers clear of raw fish dishes then I'm happy. I once got my head stuck through the railings of Buckingham Palace and have vowed never to ride a camel again.

Man standing by car outside an airport terminal
Conversations, England, UK

PremiAir – Manchester’s Luxury Airport Lounge

I like cake and I like carrots (I have fond childhood memories of eating freshly dug up carrots from dad’s veggie patch) yet put…

Aerial view of banana shaped beach with rainforest to the left and ocean to the right
Sao Tome & Principe

What they don’t tell you about São Tomé and Príncipe

We chose São Tomé and Príncipe (STP) as a destination purely by flicking through the pages of the ‘Lonely Planet Guide to the World’…

Conversations, Tenerife

Is travel insurance worth it?

Travel insurance. One of those ‘must haves’ that you pay for hoping that you’ll never have to actually use it. You trawl through the…

Bracelet with coordinates on perched on a purple flower
Gear & Giveaways, Guatemala

Travel Co-ordinates Bracelets – Giveaway with Life Less Ordinary

It’s been a little while since we’ve done a giveaway, so to celebrate our six year blogging anniversary, we’re delighted to be partnering with…

lake district glamping pod on a farm will hills in the background
England, Rural Luxe

Lake District Glamping – hot tubs, pods & yurts

Glamping in the Lake District is one of life’s greatest pleasures. You get to enjoy the great outdoors, live a rural lifestyle and explore…

Sao Tome & Principe

São Tomé and Príncipe Holiday – things to do, where to stay

We’re about to head off on a São Tomé and Príncipe holiday, an adventure to tropical islands off the coast of west Africa, visited…

Hiking the Pico Viejo route 12 trail on Mount Teide in Tenerife
Conversations, Tenerife

Tenerife didn’t steal our hearts, just our passports!

“They’re gone!” Two simple words, said in a fraction of a second. Two words that caused me so much pain. Okay, possibly not the…

Tipping in Morocco
Morocco

Tipping in Morocco – how much to tip who, and when

Tipping in Morocco is a headache, as it is all over the world for those of us who don’t come from a tipping culture….

Tagines in the Marrakech souks - how to navigate
Morocco

Marrakech souks: Top Tips for Navigating Your Way Around

Marrakech. A heaving, bustling, vibrant city where the honeycomb alleys of the old walled medina have changed little since the 11th century. We didn’t…

Scams in Marrakech - how to avoid them
Morocco

Top 10 Scams in Marrakech, and how to avoid them

Wherever you go on holiday, there will always be someone willing to scam you. Whether it’s traffic officers in South Africa trying to fine…

Columbia clothing review - Mens Alpine Traverse Jacket
Gear & Giveaways

A Summer Columbia Sportswear review and giveaway

We think it’s safe to say that the typically short British summer has finally arrived. For a change the Lake District (have we mentioned…

Vrsic Pass drive, Triglav National Park, Slovenia
Conversations

Top tips for planning a road trip

One of our most precious commodities when travelling is our independence. Readers of Conversant Traveller will know that Heather doesn’t like being told what…

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Next up on AWESOME ORKENY: 📍 Dounby Click Mill Next up on AWESOME ORKENY: 📍 Dounby Click Mill Sometimes the best places are the ones you stumble across unexpectedly. We're travelling a bit more spontaneously at the moment, rather than sticking to a rigid and overly-researched itinerary. It's quite freeing, but you never know what you might have missed just around the corner. Luckily this little gem popped up as we were driving along a minor road across the island. Definitely one of the best finds of the trip. It's a well-preserved water mill dating back to the 1800s. We loved the turf roof and the sense that it was just sitting there in the middle of the moorland, miles from anywhere. Inside, we found some of the original equipment, such as grinding stones and the wooden paddle wheel. It's just like it would have been all those years ago. Utterly charming! 🚗 You can park by the side of the road and then follow a footpath across a field to reach the mill. There are signs, which is how we discovered it! #orkney #orkneys #VisitOrkney #orkneyislands #scotland #visitscotland #LoveOrkney #ScotlandIsCalling #dounbyorkney #dounbyclickmill #clickmill
More on AWESOME ORKNEY: 📍Marwick Head The she More on AWESOME ORKNEY: 📍Marwick Head The sheer cliffs and pounding waves around Marwick Head made this one of our favourite places in Orkney. This is some of the best coastal scenery on the island, and a great place for a windswept sea stroll. If you're here in summer, the cliffs will be full of nesting birds, including puffins. We were too late in the year for the birds, but this meant golden Autumn sunshine and hardly another soul up on the paths. It's also worth heading up to the Kitchener Memorial which is just along from Marwick Head. It commemorates the lives of Lord Kitchener and the crew of HMS Hampshire, which sunk in 1916 after hitting a mine left by a German submarine. You might recognise Lord Kitchener's face from those iconic World War I "Your Country Needs You" posters. 🚗 We parked in the Kitchener Memorial car park (it's free) and took in this towering monument during our walk. Highly recommend this route as you'll hike through fields and see the Orkney countryside as well as enjoy the cliff tops. Just watch your ankles on the paths, there are rabbit holes everywhere, thanks to the lack of predators on the island! #orkney #orkneys #VisitOrkney #orkneyislands #scotland #visitscotland #LoveOrkney #ScotlandIsCalling #marwickhead #marwickheadwalk #marwickheadmemorial
Next on our AWESOME ORKNEY adventures: 📍 Skara Next on our AWESOME ORKNEY adventures: 📍 Skara Brae If you've only heard of one place in the Orkneys, it's probably Skara Brae. This well-preserved prehistoric village has long been the cover star of tourism campaigns and history magazines. I've wanted to visit for years and was pretty excited to be finally setting foot on this revered site. It didn't matter that it was raining. Yet I came away feeling slightly underwhelmed. And I think that one’s on me. I’d not done my research before we arrived, and discovered the village was far smaller than I’d expected. In fact, it felt tiny. We’d got our timings wrong too and ended up walking around the site sandwiched between two coach loads of visitors, so it felt quite busy, even for a drizzly Autumn afternoon. The ruins also felt a little too manicured, with a well-laid one-way path and immaculate grass surrounding the dwellings. I think I just prefer things a bit more rough and ready with a touch of the wild to bring the history to life. Having said that, it’s still a fascinating place to visit and an absolute must if you’re visiting Orkney. There’s a replica house that you can enter, to get a sense of what life would have been like for the village inhabitants. And the settlement itself is at a lower level than the footpath, so you can see right down into the houses. The location itself is stunning too. Skara Brae perches on the shoreline, overlooking a gorgeous white sand beach beside the Bay of Skaill. Make sure you leave time in your schedule to visit the beach, it’s one of the best we saw on the island. 🚗 There is an entry fee for Skara Brae, but it includes an audio presentation and a visit to the nearby historic manor known as Skaill House. There’s parking and a visitor centre here too. #orkney #orkneys #VisitOrkney #orkneyislands #scotland #visitscotland #LoveOrkney #ScotlandIsCalling #skarabra #skarabraeorkney
First up on our AWESOME ORKNEY sites: 📍 The Ri First up on our AWESOME ORKNEY sites: 📍 The Ring of Brodgar We're not usually ones for standing stones. They're everywhere, and often quite disappointing. But when in Rome and all that... Orkney's answer to Stone Henge was actually far more impressive than we expected. Perhaps it was because the sun decided to show its face just as we arrived, and the soft Autumn glow lit up the stones as they nestled in the heather. The circle is one of the biggest we've seen, with 36 stones standing like sentinels overlooking Loch Harray. No-one really knows the purpose of the stones. Some say it's a spiritual site dedicated to the sun god whilst others believe it's got something to do with the moon. Personally, I think a bit of mystery just adds to the enchantment. Access to the circle itself is currently prohibited to allow for vegetation regeneration. Frankly, this was a positive, as it meant the stones weren't swarming with the tour bus hordes (this is one of the attractions where ALL the coaches stop). There's a footpath along the top of the ditch that runs around the stones - perfect for taking photos and admiring the stones from a few feet away. 🚗 The site is free to enter and there's ample parking (unless you arrive at the same time as the coaches!) just across the road. #orkney #orkneys #VisitOrkney #orkneyislands #scotland #visitscotland #LoveOrkney #ScotlandIsCalling #ringofbrodgar #standingstones
So, our 2023 hasn’t quite turned out the way we’d planned. Right now, we should have been gearing up for an epic few weeks in Central America, exploring colonial towns, hiking the coast and sweating in jungles while searching for sloths. But life had other ideas and served me up a dose of some random pesky illness which is yet to be diagnosed. It’s been an ‘interesting’ summer to be sure, full of tests, scans and a whole host of unpleasantness that has so far failed to come up with any answers. As we play the waiting game to see how this thing pans out, we’ve had to rein in our immediate travel plans. Which is why we’ve swapped Nicaragua and Costa Rica for the Orkney Isles! I thought I’d be in a right grump the whole trip, wishing I was exploring volcanoes and rainforests instead of battling driving rain and wind along muddy coastal paths. But you know what…Orkney is blooming BRILLIANT!!!! It was our first trip up there, and weather aside, it exceeded all our expectations. The historic sites were world-class, the food was amazing, and the coastal scenery is every bit as stunning as down on the Scottish mainland. Sure, if you’re not into old stuff and hiking you might struggle, but honestly, we were blown away by our experience. I’ll be sharing what we got up to over the next couple of weeks, but for now, here’s a stunner from the Brough of Birsay – a tiny tidal islet off Orkney’s northwest coast. #orkney #orkneys #VisitOrkney #orkneyislands #scotland #visitscotland #LoveOrkney #ScotlandIsCalling #broughofbirsay #birsay #lighthousesofinstagram
The beauty of the Palacio de Viana in Cordoba just The beauty of the Palacio de Viana in Cordoba just keeps on coming... #cordoba #visitcordoba #lovecordoba #spain #cordobaspain #visitspain #spaintravel #espana #andalucia #visitandalucia #viveandalucia #worldofwanderlust #beautifuldestinations #luxuryworldtraveler #travelstoke #instaspain #natgeoyourshot #NGTUK #cordobapatios #patiosofcordoba #palaciodeviana #palaciovianacordoba
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