Category: We’ve Been There

Stanford’s travel tales from our in-house travel experts.

Happy Birthday to the Old Wye Bridge

Opened on 24th July 1816, the Old Wye bridge in Chepstow joins Monmouthshire in Wales to Gloucestershire in England, over the River Wye. Designed by John Rastrick, it has been described as “the finest Georgian Regency arch bridge in Britain and the world.” Read More Happy Birthday to the Old Wye Bridge

Pisa’s “Il Gioco del Ponte” – the game of the bridge

There is more to Pisa than its leaning tower and its easy travel connection to the UK. There are some really nice parts of the historic centre and the sweep of the river through the town is pretty spectacular. Also, through June each year there are a series of public parades and spectacles. Passing through Pisa airport on our way to the coast we saw the posters promoting “Il Gioco del Ponte” – the game of the bridge – held on the last Saturday of June and we decided to go.

Read More Pisa’s “Il Gioco del Ponte” – the game of the bridge

5 mind-blowing places in Wales that you’ve probably never heard of

 

Wild Guide Wales is Daniel Start’s new compendium of adventures, from the best-selling Wild Guide series. The guide contains over 1000 hidden places to explore. Here he highlights five reasons to explore Wales this summer, and five iconic adventures that few people know about. Read More 5 mind-blowing places in Wales that you’ve probably never heard of

Our 7 Favourite Bridges in Great Britain

Bridges are amazing. They get you from one side to another and keep your feet dry. At Stanfords we’ve spent many a lunch break weighing up the merits of a footbridge against those of a toll. So after much deliberation, allow us to present our favourite British bridges and where to find them.

By Greg Cotton Read More Our 7 Favourite Bridges in Great Britain

We’ve been there // Yucatan

The Yucatan peninsular is an amazingly flat spur of land from the south east coast of Mexico. It comprises the entire country of Belize  together with three Mexican States; Quintana Roo, Yucatan and Campeche. That meteor fell 65 million years ago off its coast, in the Gulf of Mexico, which wiped out the dinosaurs. I will come back to that later. Read More We’ve been there // Yucatan

Western Montana

Montana is a state of two halves. The eastern (much larger) part of the state is dominated by the vast rolling landscapes of the great plains, more similar to the Dakotas or Kansas than to any of the states to the west. The western part is dominated by massive mountain chains, including the mighty Rockies. Read More Western Montana

Vancouver

Many organisations publish regular lists of cities ranking them by liveability or, in other words, the quality of life. Some of the lists are more respectable than others but most of them put Vancouver very high or even on top. There must be something in it. This year I finally had a chance to visit this famous city and compare it to the nearby (by North American standards) favourites of mine, Seattle and Portland. Read More Vancouver