Travel Lightbulb

The legendary Tour de France cycling race has kicked off, coinciding with a heightened interest in cycling worldwide. In recent months, changing consumer habits have driven much higher demand for bicycles, so much so that it has provoked a scarcity of supply in many countries. Many people who rediscovered the fun of cycling in lockdown are now passionate about the sport, and I've been taking a look at some of the bucket list bike rides that could take that interest to another level.  Credit: Visit Isle of Wight For those not wanting to travel too far from home, the 'Round the Island' route on the Isle of Wight is a possibility. It's home to over 322km of traffic-free cycle routes through some of the most scenic countryside in the UK. The cycling route offers 113km of trails, and Lonely Planet rated the Isle of Wight as one of the best places in the world to explore by mountain bike.  Further afield in Columbia, cycling is more than a sport - it's a way of life, and ...

 July in Portugal is normally a time when the temperatures rise and the number of tourists increases, but this year the high season painted quite a different picture. Global travel has been hugely affected by Covid-19, and the traditional tourism sector in the Algarve has been suffering the effects of a lack of British tourists. More than 15 percent of the visitors that head to Portugal are from the UK, and when I first arrived in the country I couldn't believe how quiet it was for that time of year.  I normally spend a couple of months in the Algarve each summer - arriving as May draws to a close, and leaving at the end of July. By the end of my stay I usually notice an upturn in traffic; the need for restaurant reservations, and slightly busier beaches -  not so this summer. While there has been a small increase in travellers from other countries (mainly Spain), it seems the Portuguese had decided on so-called staycations and at this moment in time, they make up the maj...

 I think it's safe to say 2020 has been a pretty rotten year. Many have sadly lost loved ones; hundreds of thousands of people across the world have suffered the awful effects of Covid-19, and all of us have had to endure some form of lockdown. Now that it is being eased, how comfortable are you with returning to some sort of normality, and when will you feel confident enough for travel to be part of that new normal?  When the pandemic hit the UK back in March, I was supposed to be heading off to Portugal but my flights were cancelled just before lockdown. As I tried to make the most of the time at home, I realised how I'd have much preferred to have been locked down in Portugal! I'm lucky enough to have a little bolt-hole over there, so could easily have whiled away the time on my deck looking out to sea, instead of sitting in my garden in the North West of England. I was also due to fly to Barbados in May and obviously that holiday was also cancelled (refund in your own t...

You may well know that Portugal is one of my favourite places in the world. Not being able to visit my own little sunny hideaway for many months felt very odd, but clearly it was the sensible thing to do during the height of the pandemic. As soon as I felt safe enough to travel to Portugal I had no hesitation in booking my flight. As I write, there have been 15 deaths overall in the Algarve since Covid-19 began, and that made my decision a relatively easy one given the way things seem to be playing out in the UK. The one thing I knew was definitely going to be strange was the flight out here, and I thought it was worth sharing my experiences for anyone else thinking of travelling in the coming weeks and months. I took an early morning flight on easyJet, and on arrival at Manchester airport I couldn't believe there wasn't one other car there. For July, normally the height of the holiday season, it was quite a remarkable sight.  I popped my mask on (mandatory from the moment you ...