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Edinburgh’s tourist taxing prospect

25th August 202425th August 2024 funtime65

She’s a constant during the International Festival, the Morningside woman who will complain about the disruption the visitors are causing to her daily life… so she’ll probably welcome Edinburgh’s tourist taxing prospect.

Only will the flat 5% charge per night of the accommodation cost.

Capped at seven consecutive nights for hotels, short-term lets, hostels and B&Bs work.

City of Edinburgh Council aims to have a final plan agreed by January, after which an 18-month implementation period is expected to begin.

But will the estimated £10m windfall to the local authorities be injected.

Into public services, city maintenance, affordable housing and preserving the capital’s cultural heritage?

And will it address the tourism sujet du jour… overtourism?

Act Responsible

Well our friends at Responsible Travel have done some of the heavy lifting for us (the way we like it).

And bullet-pointed what will really make the change.

Can I be trusted on a bike? In Amsterdam

Identifying the type of tourist that suits a destination best rather than trying to attract everyone
Effective visitor management, such as with pre-booked tickets, timed entry and seasonal pricing
Control of visitor numbers by reducing cruise ship and flight arrivals, cutting back on destination marketing, and tightening restrictions on the number of hotel rooms and Airbnb rentals
Diversifying tourism in the wider area, to take the strain of over-popular destinations. Critically, this must not simply be a case of moving the problem elsewhere.

Now obviously some of these apply more than others with the cruise market not as pressing in Edinburgh as in other cities who have gone the tourist tax path.

Like Barcelona and Venice, Amsterdam and New York.

On the bill

Apart, of course, from the slightly gnawing feeling when you get an extra on your bill.

Rather than have it included in the overall price we come to expect the tourist tax on our travels.

When we aren’t being looked after by our friendly travel providers, that is.

So, we’ll be happy to give it a go in our home city which maybe it’s nostalgia kicking in but does seem busier.

Than the first time we lived in these parts 25 odd years ago.

International welcome: And when the Swiss were in Edinburgh

What has come on the scene since then and also applies in our new stomping ground 15 miles east of the Scottish capital.

In the best place to live in Britain, North Berwick is the Airbnb.

With Home Sweet Home estimating that there are between 6,000-10,000 rental properties in the city.

Using online services such as Airbnb to let flats and apartments.

House proud

Now with so much going wrong in Scotland and the greater island the public is yet to turn its attentions to overtourism to protest about.

But now that we’ve got the hang of this protesting lark, and remember that Scots used to have a history of this, it’s worth considering.

That the overtourism protests on the continent are mainly targeted against the properties taken out of public access.

Denying locals, and particularly the young, the chance to get on the housing market.

And having spent a decade Edinburgh

Deals, Europe, Music, UK

Our Swift guide to Taylor tourism

7th June 20248th June 2024 funtime65

And because there is literally (as Zen G would say) nobody bigger in the world right now, and for the weekend that’s in it with the circus coming to my adopted home city of Edinburgh, we give you our Swift guide to Taylor tourism.

Taylor has graced us by choosing our little city to kick off her Eras Tour in Britain.

And because it is as we are constantly reminded Taylor’s world and she lets us live in it we obviously set aside only the best hotel in Edinburgh for her.

That being the Caledonian Hotel at the top of Princes Street, with unrivalled views of Edinburgh Castle, and easy motorcade access to her concerts at Murrayfield in the West End.

Now, of course, it might be a Cruel Summer (yes, I looked it up) for those who are wanting to see The Great Lady in concert.

With the cheapest tickets, probably to see just a speck of her (but then, hey, worth it!) are £86.90.

While Edinburgh hotels are charging anything up to triple the price of their normal stay in Auld Reekie while Taylor is in town.

Caledonian means everything to me

Fly the Flags: At the Caledonian, but where’s Taylor?

There is, of course, no room at the inn at the Caledonian for this weekend, but if you come back next weekend…

You can book a two-bedroom suite with a view for £2,836.

A single-night stay in Edinburgh across the weekend is said to cost on average £597.

With researchers Buzz Bingo telling us that the dearest place to stay are £923 per night.

And I’ve got the man too: With American footballer Kelcee

We’re reliably informed too of the rewards on offer for Airbnb owners.

With the average Taylor tariff £769.47, a 223% spike.

With the weekend before the Eras Tour, Airbnb rates are on average £237.88 a night, and £191.47 the weekend after.

None of which would make wholesome Taylor even blink or make a dent in her £1.3bn wealth.

Tour de force

Now the 34-year-old whose schtick is female empowerment, retribution lyrics for teens despite her 34 years.

And all through the prism of her very own form of modern country, pop and indie folk, or bland, as we’d prefer to tag it has been in Europe a whole month.

Making her way through France, Sweden, Portugal and Spain with her entourage.

And fear not, she will be making her way to a town near you soon.

With Liverpool’s Anfield stadium her next port of call after Edinburgh.

Followed by Cardiff, London and then Dublin.

Before making her merry way around Europe.

And then bringing it all to a thunderous climax with two more dates in London, at Wembley Stadium.

A Swift buck

You won’t pay that? Taylor is disappointed

Not that the countries who welcome her with open arms are complaining.

With the UK economy set to benefit by some £997 million from tourism and overnight stayers.

Because as we all know it’s not just the getting there and the staying but also the hospitality with bars and restaurants hiking the prices.

And of course you need new clobber for the night.

With fans expected to shell out around £56 although even that seems low.

Travel is likely to add up to another £111, while meals before the concert could be around £59, again a conservative estimate.

While you also need to show everybody for ever that you’re a Swiftie and you were there.

And that means merch, with Swift official merchandise expected to cost around £79 per fan.

All a long way from the less than £50 tickets you get with my old Wicklow neighbour Hozier.

She Penns a hit record

Buy my record: I’m down to my last billion

It’s easy to forget, of course, that the Girl from West Reading, Pennsylvania (and she has her own museum, online of course, at only 34) is first and foremost a musician.

And she certainly can belt out a good song which I can testify too after listening to the same tune, though called something else at every turn.

On every radio station, and in every shop and mall in the city and town around Edinburgh.

Remember it is her world and she’s only allowing us to live in it…. so Shake It Off, any negative vibes.

So get used to it, she’s here to stay so get on board with our Swift guide to Taylor tourism.

Countries, UK

Royal Edinburgh

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The eyes of the world will be on Royal Edinburgh over these days with the Queen to lie in state before her procession down to London.

All of which will shine a light on its most historic street, the Royal Mile.

The Royal Mile, or the High Street, as the Edinburgh folk know it, climbs from the monarch’s Official Residence, the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

To Edinburgh Castle, the city’s fortress and Scotland’s stronghold for 1500 years.

Hooray for Holyrood

For those of you who don’t know about these things you’re forgiven.

But Holyroodhouse precedes British rulers and was the royal household to the Scottish monarchs.

The most famous of whom is Mary, Queen of Scots who has horrible history here.

When allies of her husband, Henry, Lord Darnley burst in on her chamber to drag her private secretary David Rizzio out and murder him.

And opportunistic guides will tell trusting tourists that the red paint on the stairs is his blood.

Jenny from the block

Halfway up the Royal Mile is St Giles Cathedral where the Royal Family will hold a vigil for their matriarch.

And her subjects (you and me by the way) will get to file past her and pay our respects.

Chief among the 12th century kirk’s (that’s a Scots church) claims to fame is the Scottish Protestant Reformation kicked off here.

When a commoner member of the congregation, Jenny Geddes, launched her stool at the preacher.

His crime was to introduce the King’s Prayer Book which was a bit too Catholic for Scots’ tastes.

That king? Charles I who lost his head over religion.

So, maybe his namesake will keep his prayers to himself.

Mile’s better

The Royal Mile is still very much a functioning thoroughfare today just as it was back in Mary’s day.

The Scottish Parliament sits again, now at the foot of the Mile, opposite Holyrood Palace.

Where the Queen, and now the King, can keep an eye on that uppity First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

All across from the majestic Arthur’s Seat, the shelf remains of an ancient volcano, which gives Holyrood Park its verdant lushness.

Follow the road up and on your right you’ll see the dandy wee (that’s Scottish for short) figure of Robert Fergusson at the Canongate.

Where there’s a secluded gardens to ponder his place in literary history as Robert Burns’ muse.

Opportunity Knox

In truth, you can’t go more than a couple of steps up the Royal Mile without bumping into royal history.

John Knox’s House celebrates the great firebrand of the Protestant Reformation who railed against Catholic Mary.

And penned the blockbuster The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women.

All of which questioned whether a woman should be monarch…

We suspect Knox would have ended up wearing the trumpet if he lived in Elizabeth’s day.

Hang about

No place to Hyde: Dr Jekyll and Master Hyde

The Royal Mile, of course, has secular charms too with Mary King’s Close a recreated alleyway from the Black Death.

And the Heart of Midlothian crest where ne’er-do-wells were hanged, most famously of all Deacon Brodie.

In the picture: The Royal award-winning Mrs M

The real-life inspiration for Dr Jekyll & Master Hyde, the history of which you can read after a pint of heavy (Scots beer) in Deacon Brodie’s Tavern.

Phew, and you’ve only got halfway before you get to the Camera Obscura, The Scotch Whisky Experience and The Witchery restaurant.

Leave a few hours though to look around Edinburgh Castle at the top.

Among them St Margaret’s Chapel, named for a Scottish queen, and the Stone of Destiny, upon which kings and queens of Scots were crowned.

Stone me

And which was confiscated by the English only being given back back after 700 years.

But allowed to be used again in Westminster at the times of coronation and for King Charles III.

All to ponder as all eyes fix on Royal Edinburgh over these days.

Countries, Culture, UK

How many Ukrainians can Buckingham Palace take?

16th March 202216th March 2022 funtime65

You do the math, but with 775 bedrooms how many Ukrainians can Buckingham Palace take?

The Queen has moved back, of course, to Windsor Castle in Royal Berkshire.

Which means it’s free.

And even someone of her considerable wealth could do with the £350 per month government payment for taking in a Ukrainian family.

It would all help to pay her second-born’s settlement with Virginia Giuffre.

A day at the palace

Of course nobody gets into Buck House for free, unless your titled or entitled.

So it’ll be £30 of your pleb money for a visit to the State Rooms or £55 when it’s Combined with a Royal Day Out.

And that’s the State Rooms, The Queen’s Gallery and the Royal Mews.

We’ve been down this route before flagging up the royal palaces around the UK which you can visit.

With the Palace of Holyroodhouse at the foot of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh an old favourite and former neighbour.

How to explain the British reverence, fascination and obsession for the Royal Family?

It’s a combination of tradition, pomp, ceremony and soap opera.

Tourist magnet

And it is perhaps the biggest draw for tourists to the UK.

The experts, of course, are the guides who have an unrivalled knowledge of the history.

Whether they’re the Beefeaters at the Tower of London or the guides at the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

And while your Beefeater is stiff and proper there’s a twinkle in the eye of your Edinburgh guide.

A bloody royal tale

Maneater: Saoirse Ronan as Mary Queen of Scots

And he will cheerfully walk you through the story of the murder of Mary Queen of Scots’ favourite David Rizzio.

You’ll be invited into the Queen’s Chamber where the Scots lairds (that’s lords) killed the Italian in front of the queen.

And wend your way down the spiral stone staircase where the guide will point out to you and the impressionable American and Asian party…

Of the blood embedded in the stones.

I swear I saw a brush protrude from his satchel.

Haggis farms

Us Scots are noted for our dry deadpan wit and another example springs to mind of how the guides play with their party.

When Stevie apologised to the Irish party I was with in Aberdeen.

That we were running late and would not be able to visit the haggis farm.

And I had to prompt him later to put them right in case they wrote about the haggis farm in their articles.

Armoured and dangerous: And knowing smiles

So maybe it’s best to leave that question I set at the outset to the guides who know as much about the royal residences as the queen.

How many Ukrainians can Buckingham Palace take?

Africa, Countries, UK

Tale of elephants in Edinburgh or Africa

9th September 2021 funtime65

You probably wouldn’t expect to bump into elephants here but I aim to please so. read on for this tale of elephants in Edinburgh and Africa.

Lulla-Bye certainly wasn’t there the last time I traipsed through the Princes Street Gardens.

But the two and a half tonne sculpture is a welcome addition to the gardens.

And is a poignant tribute to a much-regretted part of Edinburgh’s story, the Mortonhall Ashes Scandal.

The ashes of hundreds of babies were buried or disposed of secretly at Mortonhall Crematorium over decades.

Despite parents being told there were no remains of their children.

Edinburgh’s elephants

It would seem that Edinburgh has somewhat of a history with elephants.

And that as well as the elephant in the Zoo there used to be one who lived in the best accommodation in town, Edinburgh Castle.

Ellie (my name for her) was the mascot of the 78th Highlanders who brought her back from Sri Lanka in the 1830s.

It seems she made herself well at home drinking beer, just like the locals.

That’s nailed it

Some nails on that: Our elephant friends

Her toenails are now on display at the National War Museum on Castlehill.

Of course, elephants belong in their natural habitat and that’s Africa and Asia.

One of schoolkids’ favourite animal questions they like to stump you with is how you can tell the difference.

And the obvious answer would be that if you’re in Africa which I was (Eastern Cape) it’s an African.

And if you’re in Asia then it’s an Asian.

But, yes, Africans have much larger ears while Asians have smaller, rounder ears.

Of course such beautiful creatures are favourite ornaments and you can easily bump into them in your lodge in South Africa.

I’ve heard too of destinations where they roam freely through the lobby of your hotel which is as it should be…

After all, they were here first!

All of which heavy thumping around the subject brings me to an important matter in hand, their protection.

And a very important initiative being run by Holly Budge.

Holly is the founder and director of the non-profit international organisation How Many Elephants which has been heralded by none other than Sir David Attenborough.

The elephant’s friend

Holly has raised over £400,000 for environmental projects.

She truly is the elephant’s friend and it is no exaggeration to say that without hers and others’ efforts their very survival is at risk.

Ninety-six African elephants are poached every day for their ivory, and at this rate, they’ll be extinct within a decade.

Herd about their plight: Elephants on the move

Holly’s global travelling exhibition displays 35,000 elephant silhouettes to show the annual poaching rate in Africa.

She can’t do it all alone, of course and that’s where Margot Dempsey comes in.

She launched World Female Ranger Day to support female rangers on the front line of wildlife conservation.

And she speaks passionately about the subject which again you are best checking out online.

Lest we forget and famously elephants never do… they were here first.

And it warms the heart, this tale of elephants in Edinburgh or Africa.

America, Countries, Culture, UK

Happy Deliverance Day when it comes

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Happy June 21 when it comes – but what about us Travel people?

June 21 is the glorious date when out Covid restrictions will be lifted and we can all go back to the way we were.

So if it is to be a Deliverance Day we all celebrate in the future then a bit more about its significance already.

Harry’s Day

Harry Potter: No not that merry merry band of brothers that fought with King Harry on St Crispin’s Day nor the pussy-whipped current Prince Harry.

No this Harry is the magical boy wizard Harry Potter whose book the Order of the Phoenix was released today in 2009 and became the fastest selling in history.

And so the legend which is celebrated from Watford through Edinburgh to Orlando grew.

Make way for the Molly Maguires

Molly Maguires: Anyone who has enjoyed an Irish trad band in an Irish bar will have ‘made way for the Molly Maguires’.

Probably without knowing who they were.

Irish coal-mining activists in Pennsylvania, ten of whom were hanged this day in 1877….

‘They’ve drinkers, they’re liars but they’re men, you’ll never see the likes of them again.’

Reagan shot

The 47th President of America: In Washington DC

Ronald Reagan shot: In a country where everything is marked with a plaque it is noteworthy that the spot where John Hinckley shot Ronald Reagan is not.

I looked for it but didn’t find it when I stayed at the Washington Hilton

I did find Ford’s Theater where John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln, and a swathe of American history in DC.

A new King Billy

Prince William born: The one who will be king and probably why he’s sticking around.

That and the fact that his wife isn’t homesick for Hollywood.

Prince William was born this day in 1982. Who knows when he will sit on the throne but London and all its royal schmaltz will reopen. Hurrah!

America, Asia, Caribbean, Countries, Culture, Europe, UK

Sir Sean’s iconic sets (or should that be shets?)

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Resht in peash, Shir Sean. And I hope Shaint Peter understandsh your acshent.

Living in Portobello, Edinburgh’s beach suburb for ten years I never heard anybody spik like Sir Sean.

But maybe thatsh moviesh!

Preparing for the role: In Portobello. www.twitter.com

First Porty of call

Portobello: And Porty is as good a place as any to talk about Sir Sean’s sets.

Because it was here in his hometown, and as a lifeguard at Porty’s outdoor swimming pool that he had his first stage.

The pool is now a five-a-side football complex, and we have both moved on.

Visitors to Edinburgh rarely go any further out of the city than Leith where the Royal Yacht Britannia is kept.

But they should. Porty is bohemian while still being grounded “, and if you can’t get to those beaches Bond did you can walk in Sean’s sandsteps here.

Bahama Mamma

Bahamas: And it’s fitting that Sir Sean saw out his days in the Bahamas.

He clearly enjoyed the island lifestyle as much as Ian Fleming who penned the spy which would propel Connery to fame just down the road in Jamaica.

We’ve all, of course, been reminiscing about who until today was the second Greatest Living Scot (it’s Billy Connolly now).

And my old pal, Rebecca Lee, who I sent out to the Bahamas reminds me of how she stayed at the hotel where he still played the tables.

And was beloved by the locals which is as it should be.

The daddy of them all: Indy’s Dad in Jordan. www.pinterest.com

Jordan and crusaders

Jordan: Sir Sean was always unmistakably Scottish… all Jocks look like movie stars after all.

And share his dry wit.

Sir Sean upstaged Harrison Ford in the Last Crusade, the climax of which is staged at The Treasury in Jordan.

Hardly surprising that proud nationalist Sir Sean should star in an Indy film!

Untouchable in Chicago

Chicago: And the film for which he won his Oscar as Best Supporting Actor above the wooden acting of Kevin Costner.

You can truly believe Sir Sean as a gritty Chicago cop.

So we’ll pass over that he’s meant to be Irish.

Whodunit: In Orient Express. www.imdb.com

Murder on the Orient Express

Istanbul: The Albert Finney version of course where Sir Sean plays Colonel Arbuthnot.

And Istanbul is the terminus for the Orient-Express, although we all know that Poirot and his fellow passengers were on their way back to London.

And an example of how less is more… with Sir Sean, the upstanding stiff military man rather than than the dashing, reckless Bond.

Anyone for Venice? James and Tatiana. www.pinterest.com

From Russia (really Istanbul and Venice) With Love

Istanbul and Venice: And this being released in the mid-60s and in the middle of a real Cold War the filming was done in the West.

There are some iconic scene in this my favourite Bond.

I love Commie kicker Hleb’s kickathon with Bond and who can forget Bond and Tatiana sailing under the Bridge of Sighs in Venice.

There’s definitely something about James… or should that be something about Murty!

Asia, Countries, Europe, Flying

Flyday Friday – Turkish d’flight out of Dublin

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You know they’re smiling behind their masks… and why wouldn’t they? Because Turkish Airlines are back flying us out of Dublin.

And believe me they’re a delight.

I have fond memories of being met by Mr Turkish Airlines wwwa.turkishairlines.ie Onur Gul at their desk before being flown out to exotic destinations… https://www.google.ie/amp/s/jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/2019/08/12/atoll-tale-the-maldives/amp/ and Wham bam, thank you Hamam.

They’ll be flying twice a week for the remainder of this month and four times weekly in July.

I do hope that we’ll not stop talking to our fellow passengers just because we’re wearing masks.

I’ve met some lovely and fascinating people on flights.

Sweet dreams

And the odd Manchester United fan in TA’s famed business class with whom I’ve slept tops and tails and who has snored their head off.

You know who you are, Brian http://www.kuramathi.ie.

Virgin territory

Passengers are a bit like needy lovestruck teenagers… stick with me here.

We need constant reassurance and validation.

And I’m happy to say that our airlines have been using this lockdown to tell us how much they love us.

I know, and love Virgin, from my fact-finding research trips to the Caribbean www.visitbarbados.org, www.visittobago.gov.tt and Let’s rumba in Barbados, My kiss with Rihanna and https://www.google.ie/amp/s/jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/2020/03/17/ready-steady-goat-racing-in-tobago/amp/.

And I am delighted that they have been keeping us members of their Flying Club up to speed with how we’ll all be taking to the skies again soon.

Come August they’ll be planning to return to 17 destinations.

They’re all available to book now along with flights from New York JFK, Los Angeles and Hong Kong to London Heathrow, starting from July 20.

And here’s what to do when you get there, https://www.virginatlantic.com, www.visitlondon.com and The London life and https://www.google.ie/amp/s/jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/2020/03/29/carole-king-youre-beautiful-londonwestend-musical/amp/.

Departing Edinburgh

No, I haven’t persuaded The Scary One to leave the delights of North Berwick near Edinburgh, I’m merely flagging up Edinburgh Airport’s http://www.edinburghairport.com reopened destinations.

Edinburgh was the last airport I flew out of … to Prague www.czechtourism.com way back in February. Yes years ago Hope springs eternal.

And I’m glad to say they’re now flagging up other old favourites back on the schedule.

Budapest, Malaga, Alicante and Barcelona https://www.barcelonaturisme.com/wv3/en/ and Messi around on the water . And Smooth sailing around the Western Med.

And anybody who has flown out of Dublin Airport and then Edinburgh http://www.edinburgh.org and Edinburgh – an old friend will be comforted by the comparative smallness of the Scottish version.

Taking to the Aer

And the last word is to back Aer Lingus’s www.aerlingus.com stance on the Irish Government’s latest direction of travel on quarantines.

While welcoming the lifting of the restrictions from July 9, they merely want clarity until then.

As one who would gladly queue overnight to get back, I echo their call. And all my airline friends who we appreciate even more, if that’s possible, now we’ve been seeing them less Flyday Friday – Airline angels with wings

MEET YOU IN THE SKIES

Countries, Culture, Europe, Food

Hungry and Thursday – sweet, sweet ice cream

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King Henry VIII’s Greensleeves means two things to me… Miss F’s slow wedding march and the ice cream van.

Just why Tudor music should be the go-to tune for ice cream vendors I’ll put out there for you to chime in with an answer.

But I rather enjoy the image of Henry running out in his padded garb for his 99.

And I suppose it could happen… on a film set. And I dare say Jonny Rhys Meyers and Damian Lewis like a double nougat or a screwball.

Porty’s finest

Did you know though that the 99 was created just up the road from here?

In my old stomping ground of Portobello, Edinburgh’s town beach https://edinburgh.org and www.visitscotlsnd.com.

Arcari claims to be the birthplace of the 99 with the number that of their address in Portobello High Street.

Where Stephen Arcari broke a chocolate flake in half and put it on the ice cream

An alternative explanation is that it comes from slang, 99 meaning excellent and alluding to an elite guard of 99 soldiers who served the King of Italy.

The Pope’s fave

Now I don’t know about the King of Italy but our Popes have been partial to a gelato, or ice cream.

We have the Good Book, the Vatican Cookbook, as our holy scripture here which tells us that Pope Francis loves an Argentine fave dulce de leche and its caramel flavour.

And he knows his flock loves gelati too, being known to hand out 3,000 ice creams to Rome’s poor and homeless.

All of which kept my mind occupied as I stood socially distanced in my queue.

Walk this way

And for a quick and invaluable guide on Rome and how to get there by foot with Francigena Ways see www.FrancigenaWays.com, https://www.rome.net and Small roads lead to Rome.

MEET YOU IN THE QUEUE

Countries, Culture, Europe, UK

Five British beaches

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I’ve always lived on the edge, so following on from my five best world beaches here are my five top British beaches.

The A+ of beaches

Aberdeen beach, Scotland: No, this is not the Caribbean, but I have swum here, in the frozen north-east of Scotland.

Miles and miles of sand stretching from the Brig o’ Balgownie to Footdee (Fittie) and its quaint fisherman’s cottages.

Aberdeen’s beachside and Queen’s Links have grown since I lived and worked here.

There’s now a cinema complex, but old fave Codona’s Amusement Park is still there. See www.visitabdn.com and Aberdeen – a light in the north.

Lush

Gang of four: Gavin and Stacey and Nessa and Smithy

Barry Island, Wales: And long before these guys washed up on our television screens I was down on Barry Island.

A favourite day out from Cardiff the beach is more compact than you might imagine but that gives it its intimacy.

Memories of a day out of my own after my old friend Whitey took me there when I’d failed an exam, and eating ice creams on the beach, come flooding back.

You can, of course, do a Gavin and Stacey tour www.visitwales.com.

Beach babes

Blundellsands beach, Liverpool; Parents everywhere will appreciate a good long stretch of sand to take their toddlers.

They’ve put up these statues from Antony Gormley called ‘Another Place’ since we were building sandcastles with the Son and Heir.

And that just enhances the view. Like the statues I was looking over to Ireland, hoping that one day I would live there. Visit https://www.visitliverpool.com/things-to-do/another-place-by-antony-gormley-p160981.

Porty spice

Portobello Beach, Edinburgh, Scotland: ‘Wall, huh! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing. Let’s say it again.’

With apologies to funkster Edwin Starr, this piece of graffiti embodies what Porty, where I spent ten years, is all about.

A city beach which also draws folks from across the Forth in Fife, and west from Glasgow, it boasts traditional swimming baths.

And Sean Connery was a lifeguard in the outdoor baths where the five-a-side pitches are now. Visit https://porty.org.uk/visit/ and https://edinburgh.org.

Brighton rocks

Brighton, England: A pebble beach but you’ll get over that quickly because of the buzz around the place.

Although I have been worried about the throngs there at the moment.

A traditional day out for Londoners, you’ll recognise it from the Mods film Quadrophenia.

But for me it’s a day down there when I was living in Reading and hooked up with friends, and some Spanish exchange students, which live long in the memory.

See www.visitbrighton.com.

And Bitchin’ Beaches… five around the world.

MEET YOU ON THE BEACH