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A small and quirky hotel in the “Latin Quarter” of Galway on the west coast of Ireland. A comfortable sanctuary after the scenic splendour of the Burren, before another day of riding the Wild Atlantic Way.
A
https://www.facebook.com/abdullasivad
https://www.youtube.com/user/MegaSeaward
Maldivian dive instructor and dive enthusiast based on the Bandos Island Resort. When not working, he dives with his video camera documenting marine life in the Maldives, including of the less visited deep south from where he originates.
An all-round good guy – always helpful, cheerful and friendly.
www.adobe.com/uk
Creator of much of the software we use for our digital photography and more.
We enjoyed a great time on the Kona Aggressor liveaboard in late 2006, exploring the Kona Coast of Hawaii. The manta ray night dives were incredible, like nothing else. The hospitality on the boat was excellent, too – the food was better than most restaurants. Who says you can’t trust a restaurant that moves!
In 2009, we travelled onboard the Cayman Aggressor, visiting selected sites around Grand Cayman before heading off to Little Cayman and Cayman Brac. It was another “top” week.
Then, in 2011, we enjoyed a fantastic week on the Belize Aggressor visiting iconic dive sites such as the Blue Hole.
In 2014, we hopped on the Turks & Caicos Aggressor for another great week visiting Grace Bay, North Point, West Caicos and French Cay and another stay onboard the Kona Aggressor, this time with Zac in tow as a Junior Advanced diver.
More recently, in 2016, Jeremy and Zac had a “father and son” trip on the Kona Aggressor – a fabulous week that included the famed Manta Ray Night dives, the “pelagic magic” blackwater night dive and sites along the Kona Coast almost as far south as South Point itself.
Jeremy’s pictures have been used many times in the Aggressor “Cruise News” and other spin-offs, including on one of their mugs!
Most recently in early 2022, we were sad to learn that the Kona Aggressor had to be taken out of service.
A great teacher of music with much versatility, empathy, knowledge and endless enthusiasm, and an all-round excellent chap, based in Warminster.
http://dlnr.hawaii.gov/alalaproject/
The Hawaiian Crow (the Alala) is one of the world’s rarest birds, critically endangered.
This website is the information centre for the organisation that is dedicated to saving them and re-introducing them to the wild.
It’s quite a task, let’s wish them well. If we can save this species, we can save others.
Our well located base in Venice – in the backstreets but close to Piazza San Marco.
When scheduling meant that we couldn’t dive the wreck of the Spiegel Grove with It’s A Dive (now Pirate Island Divers), we were referred to the Amoray Dive Centre just up the road. Great dive on the Spiegel Grove and a friendly, helpful crew.
http://antiguaanchorageinn.com/v2/
A friendly hotel very much in the vibe of the old “Caribbean” rather than the “all inclusive” resort style places that proliferate these days in Antigua and similar islands.
We dived with Aquamarine for our three diving days in the Nusa Penida area, looking for Mola Mola and Mantas.
A good reliable dive operator, we were successful in our Mola Mola quest with a great encounter on the second day. The Mantas for once played a supporting role.
A friendly and competent dive centre at Les Lecques in the South of France, used by Kurt Amsler for his underwater photography courses back along. Expect to be offered pastis after the dives, especially if Thierry is on the boat (if he’s still there, as it was some years ago)!
We were recommended to use Aquaphot by Ocean Optics for housing repairs and found them to be friendly, helpful and reliable.
We have used them for servicing and repairs ever since.
We’ve stayed at the quirky and enjoyable Brighton “branch” of the Artist’s Residence hotel on several occasions. Well located and a bit leftfield of the normal hotel.
We’ve also had some enjoyable stays at their Penzance “outpost” in Cornwall – our accommodation of choice whilst doing the Basking Shark and Blue Shark trips with Charles Hood.
Based in Newquay in Cornwall, this dive centre offers Blue Shark cage diving in the summer months. Jeremy did this trip during 2015 and found it very worthwhile, with very friendly hosts Chris and Annabelle.
The Philippines based Atlantis Hotel dive resorts, at Puerto Galera on the island of Mindoro, and at Dumaguete on the island of Negros offer a complete package for the long haul dive traveller, with high standards of accommodation and service, fine food and great diving. These resorts should feature on the “must visit” lists of the “global diver.
A racing circuit in Mexico City.
After a long hiatus, Formula 1 returned to Mexico City with great success. The organisers put on a great event with a great atmosphere. We were fortunate to attend in 2018, to see Lewis Hamilton win his fifth world title.
https://cubandivingcenters.com/
In March 2020, we boarded the excellent Avalon III for a week of diving the “Gardens of the Queens” marine national park on the southern side of Cuba. The Caribbean at its’ best. Remoteness itself.
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Supplier of my latest BMW 1200 Adventure Te (purchased in 2017), based in Alton in Hampshire.
https://www.bakucitycircuit.com/
The website for the increasingly popular street circuit in Baku, capital of Azerbaijan.
A long established and blissful Maldivian island, conveniently located close to Male. Great diving, including a superb house reef.
It’s been great for us as a family, and was the place where our son Zac did his first dive in the sea.
We’ve been there an incredible six times (at time of writing), and it’s very hard to leave when the time comes!
https://www.bannview.co.uk/
My base for exploring Northern Ireland on the R1200GS.
A hub of arts, film and music in the north east part of central London.
Lot’s of very interesting things happen there.
www.madagascar-resorts.com/en/the-berenty-lodge
A well known lodge, estate and reserve on the South East of Madagascar. The “walking” sifakas are great to watch.
Watch out for the “Ring Tails” though; if you leave a window open they’ll get into your room!
https://biggameclubbimini.com/
https://www.epicdiving.com/
The operator for our upcoming visit to the Bahamian island of Bimini in a quest for Great Hammerhead encounters.
High quality art of a prehistoric and sci-fi persuasion. The gallery and shop is at Lyme Regis, on the Jurassic Coast.
A laid back, friendly and underwater photography orientated dive centre located at Dahab in the Egyptian Sinai. Choose from a wide variety of shore diving sites, plus options for boat diving. We enjoyed ten great days there thanks to Hayden and his team.
Jeremy stayed at this luxurious hotel during his motorcycle explorations of East Anglia. It’s in a great spot and the bath was especially enjoyable after a few hours in the saddle. Blakeney itself and the area around it would be worth a visit in its own right.
https://bloolagoon.com
Our quirky and enjoyable “eco resort” base at Padangbai in Bali, from where we dived the Nusa Penida area.
We would have liked a few more days. The views of the sunrise each morning were magical as we drank coffee and watched the day come alive.
Our choice of dive centre on the Italian island of Ustica, north of Sicily.
Our visit coincided with fantastic conditions, and we really enjoyed diving with the Blue Diving team (and associated dive centre Mr. Jump), who we found really friendly, welcoming and professional. Very good indeed!
Way back in 2000, we travelled out to Micronesia. We stayed at the Blue Lagoon Resort, which was our base for visiting the famous wrecks of Truk Lagoon.
https://bluemarlincove.com/
Our excellent Grand Bahamian base for the shark diving at Tiger Beach.
This aquarium at Ellesmere Port near Chester offers dives with the Sand Tiger Sharks, which Jeremy and Zac enjoyed. Also in the tank are Lemon and Leopard Sharks plus eels, rays and a plenty of other fish.
BMW are manufacturers of fine motorcycles including the R1200 GS Adventure. Wheels (and poetry) in motion!
Bouley Bay Dive Centre in Jersey offer a friendly and helpful dive centre facility on the island’s north east shore. It’s a great place to dive, especially if the conditions are calm, with a variety of topography and marine life to check out. I was paired up with massively enthusiastic local underwater photographer Kirk Truscott, who was the perfect dive guide and buddy for the two days that I dived there.
Since our original dives back in 2010, we have dived Sark and Jersey again in 2018.
We organised our stay in Marrakech, Morocco through Boutique Souk and found Rosena to be helpful, attentive and prompt in sorting out the (relatively last minute) arrangements for our stay. The selection of Riads on offer made choosing difficult. In the end we went for Riad Ayadina, which was perfect for a relaxing and exquisite long weekend to celebrate a significant birthday of Amanda.
A fantastic Hawaii based artist producing a unique interpretation of Tiki art.
We bought a unique piece for our home, which looks great on our wall. We met Brad, and he personalised the painting for us with “JAZ 1” on the vehicle number plate.
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/branscombe/features/the-beach-at-branscombe
A scenic and tucked away section of the Jurassic Coast, with an excellent coast path section and plentiful wildlife including national rarities such as Peregrine Falcons and the Wood White butterfly..
This Bristol based underwater photography group includes some excellent underwater photographers amongst its membership.
After years of not getting around to it, Jeremy eventually joined in late 2016 and attends meetings regularly.
Our son Zac wanted to see a “salty” during his time in Australia. On this river trip, he saw several, including a couple of babies and a mature adult with bloodied teeth. Scary!
Affectionately known as “B-SOUP”, the British Society of Underwater Photographers is an active, diverse and progressive organisation, covering the entire spectrum of underwater photography and filmmaking. The website is an excellent resource.
We enjoyed some excellent diving with Bubbles Below around the “forbidden island” of Niihau, and also Mana Crack and Kauai’s south shore. What made it special was the dive crew themselves – friendly, knowledgeable, helpful and enthusiastic.
The encounters with the critically endangered Hawaiian Monk Seals were unforgettable.
http://butterfly-conservation.org
A UK based organisation dedicated to conserving UK butterflies and moths. We have a family membership and donate to their campaigns.
Reserves visited include Alners Gorse (https://butterfly-conservation.org/our-work/reserves/alners-gorse-dorset ), Broadcroft Quarry (https://butterfly-conservation.org/our-work/reserves/broadcroft-quarry-portland-dorset ) and Lydford Old Railway (https://butterfly-conservation.org/our-work/reserves/lydford-old-railway-devon )
“BC” also have local branches that cover counties and regions. Here’s the one’s I’ve spent the most time looking at, mostly for details of the sightings;
- Cumbria; https://butterfly-conservation.org/in-your-area/cumbria-branch
- Devon; https://butterfly-conservation.org/in-your-area/devon-branch
- Dorset; https://www.dorsetbutterflies.com/
- Hampshire/Isle of Wight; http://www.hantsiow-butterflies.org.uk/
- Norfolk; https://butterfly-conservation.org/in-your-area/norfolk-branch
- Somerset & Bristol; https://www.somersetbristolbutterflies.org.uk/
- Sussex: https://www.sussex-butterflies.org.uk/index.php
Wiltshire; https://www.wiltshire-butterflies.org.uk/
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We rented an apartment at the Cairns Aquarius for our 2010 visit to Australia. It’s in a great position, right on the esplanade and very close to all the restaurants and shops.
https://www.sleeper.scot/
The sleeper train to Scotland – we enjoyed waking up somewhere west of Glasgow to the vista of the Scottish Highlands en route to Fort William, before heading over to Mull. A good memory and trip.
Devon Cameras Underwater are the suppliers of our new Subal D7200 housings, as well as a few other items such as ports and accessories.
A welcome place (pub) to stay after a day of motorcycling up the East Coast of the UK
We stayed in one of these apartments whilst on the excellent island of Ustica.
A perfect base for our stay on the island, which included superb scuba diving.
We stayed in the Cavalluccio Marino apartment.
www.castlecomfortdivelodge.com
A small and intimate dive lodge situated near Roseau, the capital of the Caribbean’s “nature island” of Dominica. Excellent food, great diving and great people.
https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/home-of-charles-darwin-down-house/
I always associate Charles Darwin with the restless and enquiring mind, which led him to his theories on natural selection. In many ways, it’s that spirit (of the enquiring mind) that appeals to me more than anything.
Back in 2016, we visited his former home, which is run by English Heritage and is a museum to his life’s work.
Jeremy and Zac had good days hunting for Basking Sharks out of Penzance with shark expert and photographer. Though we didn’t get any “Baskers”, we did get to snorkel with seals. We hope to go back and get success with the Basking Sharks.
Charles also offers Blue Shark trips with high success rates, which we did in 2016 and 2017. Our 2018 and 2019 “blues quest” were both cancelled due to weather.
https://www.southwestcoastpath.org.uk/walksdb/622/
An interesting and secluded part of Portland, and centre of the fascinating re-establishment of the once extinct in the UK Large Tortoiseshell butterfly.
An excellent circuit just outside the enjoyable Texan city of Austin, famed for its’ live music scene. After watching Lewis Hamilton win, we stayed on and watched Stevie Wonder close out the event.
A historic circuit located in the hills of Provence, not far from Marseille, Aix-en-Provence and the coastal towns of La Ciotat, Les Lecques and Bandol.
We attended in 2019 in baking temperatures, as the summer heatwave kicked in.
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/glastonbury-tor/trails/collard-hill-in-pursuit-of-the-large-blue
A nature reserve near Street in Somerset, known for its’ population of the re-introduced Large Blue butterfly.
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/compton-bay-and-downs
A fabulously scenic bay on the south side of the Isle of Wight, and home to the rare Glanville Fritillary butterfly.
http://thecontentedsoleeyemouth.co.uk/the-old-coach-house/
I enjoyed a night’s stay in the Old Coach Coach House at Eyemouth on a east coast motorcycling trip in 2017.
Eyemouth is also a popular diving spot, and chatted with some divers in the pub that evening.
Our preferred property agent, with an office in our home town of Warminster.
www.plantationoncrystalriver.com
We spent two days snorkelling with the manatees at Crystal River in Florida based at the Plantation Inn – unusual in that it’s a “dive and golf resort” (there isn’t much interaction between the two “camps”!).
Above water, the conditions were perfect, but below the waterline it wasn’t quite as easy, especially for those of us with cameras. As the manatees feed they grub up the bottom and aren’t necessarily attracted to “good visibility” – often choosing the most muddy and murky areas of the river systems. If you’re lucky enough to encounter them in the King Spring or Three Sisters Springs where the water is incredibly clear, you’ll be in for a treat.
“Curlew Media” is the creation and work of Mary Colwell, a writer and producer specialising in the natural world. I especially enjoyed her book “Curlew Moon” which described a 500-mile walk for curlew awareness, overlapping with the complicated conservation matters and viewpoints that are associated with saving this expressive and dynamic wading bird in the UK.
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We use DAN Insurance for our dive travels, just in case anything goes wrong.
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001047478068
We’ve worked with Frome based Darren Haines (formerly Impact Digital Design) for a long time now. Design flair is evident on our “Diving Dreams” calendars, “Shoot To Thrill Policy” brochures and our “Cover Shots” to name some examples.
An organisation dedicated to helping people with disabilities to scuba dive. Jeremy has photographed some DDI pool sessions at Culverhay School in Bath at the invitation of the former Divezone.
We enjoyed a great week of diving in Saudi Arabia with Desert Sea Divers way back in 2000. Wonder where our friendly Welsh dive guide “Fat Cousteau” is these days? If anyone knows, let us know.
https://www.devonwildlifetrust.org/
A conservation body dedicated to conserving wildlife in Devon.
Essential work is undertaken by them.
We stayed at the secluded Dik Dik Hotel to visit the nearby Arusha National Park. They also arranged our successful “summiting” of Mt. Kilimanjaro (the “Roof of Africa”).
An excellent and friendly beachside dive centre on Grand Anse Beach in Grenada.
We visited over Christmas 2016 and enjoyed dives in the marine conservation areas at sites such as Happy Valley and the unique Underwater Sculpture Garden. We also were able to dive the wreck of the Bianca C, one of the “destination” shipwrecks of the Caribbean.
Highly recommend them!
US based Dive Photo Guide is a global “hub” for all things underwater photography and videography. Jeremy has contributed features to the website including trip reports and underwater photographer’s guides.
We found Dive Worldwide very helpful in pulling together our trip to Cuba, visiting Havana, then joining the Avalon III liveaboard to dive the “Gardens of the Queens” marine reserve and afterwards, an extension to the Zapata National Park area in a quest to find the Bee Hummingbird, the world’s smallest bird.
We’re now veterans of many Divequest trips, including Sulawesi, Bonaire, Dominica, Papua New Guinea, Borneo, Bali, Egypt and Galapagos. We hope to do many more. In fact, diving the Divequest “brochure” (now online!) could be a life’s work. It’s certainly a life’s ambition!
Divers Down helped us with tanks, fills and a bit of logistics whilst diving the “cuttlefish hotspot” of Babbacombe near Torquay in Devon.
We dived with this dive team during one of our earlier dive experiences in the Egyptian Red Sea, visiting dive sites around Hurghada
A rustic lodge set on a hillside overlooking the Ranomafana National Park in Madagascar. A great base from which to hit the forest trails.
www.donfosters.com
www.divetech.com
After a week on the Cayman Aggressor liveaboard, I still had the “urge to submerge”, so I did some half days with Don Fosters and Dive Tech – very mellow, easy diving, but still good.
www.dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk/wild-seas-centre
A small wildlife centre and museum at the remote (in UK terms) Kimmeridge Bay in Dorset.
https://www.durrell.org/wildlife/
Gerald Durrell was a trailblazer in conservation, opening his zoo with the aim of closing it, as his primary motivation was captive breeding and re-introduction rather than a zoo as an exhibition.
He hoped that there would be no need for his zoo in the future.
He also funded his work by writing, at which he became very successful.
I can relate to his life as a boy, collecting and finding insects and birds, spending most waking hours outdoors. He was in Corfu, I was in Corsley – I didn’t matter, there was so much to discover.
His work lives on via the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, based on Jersey.
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A pleasant and tucked away set of converted farm building re-imagined as self catering units. It was perfect for a concentrated content writing session for this website.
This privately owned farm on the Isle of Sheppey encompasses a vast National Nature Reserve.
We stayed in one of their “Shepherds Hut” cabins. Great for wildlife and walks. Really enjoyable.
Epic Diving were our friendly and welcoming hosts for our visit to Tiger Beach off Grand Bahama for Tiger and Great Hammerhead encounters. Sadly, no Great Hammerheads turned up during our visit, but the rest of the shark action was spectacular.
In addition to the “Tigers”, we saw Caribbean Reef Sharks, Lemon Sharks and Bull Sharks.
Since our return, a huge female Great Hammerhead (known to the Epic team for many years) has returned to the area (she was feared dead), so it was excellent news to hear this.
A friendly and professional dive centre in Exmouth serving the northern part of Ningaloo Reef in western Australia. Blizzard Ridge, Navy Pier and sites around the Muiron Islands offer top notch diving. For the southern end of Ningaloo see Ningaloo Reef Dive.
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https://www.visit-hampshire.co.uk/things-to-do/farley-mount-country-park-p1414861
An excellent “birds and insects” reserve near Winchester in Hampshire.
https://www.northnorthants.gov.uk/fermyn-woods-country-park
Fermyn Wood has become well known among butterfly circles as an excellent “Purple Emperor wood”.
The best areas are away from the Country Park visitor centre.
https://www.forestryengland.uk/fineshade-wood
Part of the original Rockingham Forest, Fineshade Wood was chosen as the reintroduction site for the Chequered Skipper in England. As of 2022, the project has been a success.
A long established dive centre in far flung Palau. Back in 2000, we spent three days there. It most certainly wasn’t enough!
It was our first experience of “flying in the current” on reef hooks.
www.floridaysresortorlando.com
A conveniently located resort in Orlando, close to Sea World and other theme parks.
We were in the area to give Zac the “theme park” experience, though it isn’t really “our thing”. We did do the Beluga interaction at Seaworld which was fun.
We also used the base to visit Cape Canaveral.
Without this tiny airline, we wouldn’t have made it to Montserrat.
We enjoyed the 20-minute flight from Antigua on their 6-seater, and lucked into great views of the island, including the smouldering menace of the Soufriere Hills volcano.
Forward thinking racing series using fully electric cars. Many of the world’s top drivers have been attracted to compete in the series.
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https://galapagosconservation.org.uk
A conservation trust dedicated to preserving the Galapagos Islands. A worthy cause, we think.
We have a membership and donate to their campaigns.
An excellent liveaboard that tours the wild seas of the remote Galapagos Islands, offering divers a glimpse of the way the oceans used to be. The crew know how to run a good dive operation that combines adventure with safety and comfort. The dives around Darwin and Wolf Islands are spectacular.
To quote Lewis Hamilton “It’s hammer time” (the hammerhead sharks).
Back in the 1990’s, we travelled a lot to Gambia in West Africa. We often used the Gambia Experience for bookings. The Gambia itself was great fun to visit, a mini adventure, especially if we travelled “up-river” to places such as Georgetown (Jan Jan Bureh Camp), Basse and Fatoto.
https://www.georgeanddragondent.co.uk/
Fuzz and I based ourselves at this friendly pub, whilst visiting the rea to see and photograph the Scotch Argus at the Smardale Gill National Nature Reserve.
One of the world’s biggest aquariums, home to whale sharks, manta rays and beluga whales among other things!
Our son Zac was super excited when he saw the whale shark.
https://gilbertwhiteshouse.org.uk/
Gilbert White was an early naturalist based in Selborne in north Hampshire. He studied and then wrote about the wildlife of Selborne.
Though a religious man, his work is that of a patient, careful observer with an enquiring mind. It’s that spirit of the enquiring mind that appeals to me most.
Today, his former home is a museum to his life and work.
Our magical and peaceful accommodation for our time on Montserrat.
The elevated position affords excellent views of the Caribbean, the volcanic islet of Redonda and Nevis in the further distance.
It’s also home to iguanas, hummingbirds and goats among other things. If the goats are nearby, why set an alarm clock – we called it “Goat o clock”.
Ginnie Springs is an excellent “outdoor living” resort in the north central Florida. It’s set in mature woodland along the Santa Fe River close to the town of High Springs. Feeding the river are a series of freshwater springs producing fantastic visibility for divers and snorkellers. The area also attracts cave divers, keen to explore the labyrinths created by the springs.
Globe Cottage in Weymouth was owned by Jeremy & Amanda, and was rented out to visitors to the area. It’s ideally situated within the old town offering easy access to the golden sands of Weymouth’s beach and is the perfect base for exploring the Jurassic Coast and wider local area including; Weymouth’s enchanting harbour, it’s busy shopping streets plus, historic Portland, Lulworth Cove, Abbotsbury, Lyme Regis, Swanage and the Isle of Purbeck.
The new owners, the Harrisons continue to offer the property as a holiday let – Google Globe Cottage Weymouth to find out more.
We ended up at this hotel after we headed to the Gower Peninsula in Wales on a whim.
It turned out to be a pleasant surprise. The “Room with a Bath” was quirky idea.
https://www.goyaboutiqueresorts.com/
Amanda and I treated ourselves to a stay at this excellent and hugely relaxing rsort at Ubud in Bali. It was hard to leave.
A pioneering project based on Salisbury with the aim of re-introducing the Great Bustard to the UK. The “appointment only” visits are very interesting and worthwhile.
https://www.somersetwildlife.org/nature-reserves/green-down
A small but very interesting reserve that is a stronghold of the re-introduced Large Blue butterfly.
https://gulliverstravel.co.uk/
We’ve booked some enjoyable Grand Prix trips with MRI – to Bahrain, Turkey, Belgium, Austin (Texas USA), Mexico, France and Holland (which was cancelled due to Covid-19).
Gary’s dry and cutting sense of humour kept us entertained!
H
We’ve been to Captain Don’s Habitat in Bonaire twice now. We liked the “diving freedom” and the laid back atmosphere.
This quirky and brilliantly located hotel was home for a night on one of Jeremy’s motorcycle weekends in the Welsh mountains. It’s since been refurbished.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLimg6IWluo
One of the best places we’ve ever stayed – this amazing house is set in the seclusion of the rainforest within the Volcanoes National Park in Hawaii.
A fantastic sanctuary that exceeded our expectations. When can we return and how long can we stay?
https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Gym-Physical-Fitness-Center/Harridges-Gym-LTD-124632261423/
A friendly gym in our home town of Warminster where Jeremy visits regularly in a quest to remain (somewhat) fit and healthy.
An excellent centre for all things “bird of prey”. They regularly fly many of the birds for the visitors, and offer superb Bird of Prey experiences.
An excellent nature reserve in the Norfolk Broads, a haven from a multitude of wildlife including the English subs-species of the Swallowtail butterfly.
I enjoyed the large comfortable bath when I stayed here, after a day of (mostly) wet weather motorcycling down the Pennines from Hawes in Wensleydale.
A (slightly) rock and roll themed hotel at the excellent town of Le Touquet in France (sometimes called “Paris Plage”). It was Jeremy’s first overnight whilst riding the coasts of Normandy and Brittany.
This hotel was better than it looked, though it wasn’t really in the centre of Brest as it’s name suggests. After a long day of wet riding, I didn’t want to go anywhere so turned in early. The breakfast was decent too.
www.hotel-cloitre-saintlouis-avignon.fr/
A secluded hotel to escape from the 2019 French heatwave after riding from Marseille, via the Camargue and Arles. The temperature gauge on the bike exceeded 40 degrees on the ride into Avignon.
http://hotel-restaurant-colbert.com
Our “start and finish” accommodation in Madagascar. We read about it in Gerald Durrell’s book “The Aye Aye and I”.
An enjoyable stay and sanctuary from the “full on” streets of Antananarivo.
http://en.hoteldeleurope-perros.com/
“Perros” was a nice discovery on my motorcycle explorations of Normandy and Brittany. I stayed at this hotel, which I enjoyed, benefitting from sea view.
www.hotel-barcelonnette.fr/uk/
I’d made some extra detours on the ride from Briancon, taking in Col De Bonette, so arrived in Barcelonnette later than I originally anticipated. My digs for the night was this hotel, which was pleasant and comfortable; ideal for a rest before tackling the final leg of the Route Des Grande Alpes.
www.logishotels.com/fr/hotel/logis-hotel-de-la-plage-2247?partid=661
A pleasant place to stay on the banks of Lake Geneva, prior to setting off south on the Route Des Grand Alpes.
https://www.hotel-deauville-le-chantilly.fr/
My accommodation for an overnight stay in the upscale town of Deauville, en route west on my Normandy and Brittany coast road exploration in 2019.
I enjoyed an overnighter here, on my motorcycle explorations of Normandy and Brittany.
A nice hotel within the walled old town of St. Malo on the coast of Brittany. After a long day of coastal riding, it was a pleasant sanctuary to rest up ready for another day in the saddle.
www.hotel-edelweiss-briancon.fr/en/
A pleasant and comfortable hotel on the Route Des Grand Alpes at Briancon, a place to reflect on riding mountain passes such as the spectacular Col D’Iseran.
Jeremy’s overnight accommodation in Luxembourg City, very welcome after a long (and sometimes wet) ride from Calais via Lille, Valenciennes and the winding roads of the Ardenne in Belgium.
Centrally based hotel with a roof bar in Havana. We enjoyed staying there.
One of the nicest hotels in the Finnish capital of Helsinki – we got an excellent deal to stay there for a few days.
A nice overnight stop on a Normandy and Brittany coast riding exploration. I enjoyed my room, comfortable and spacious with views. I didn’t want to leave it after a day in the saddle.
In neither Paris nor Rome, this hotel is to be found at Menton to the east of Monaco, close to the Italian border. It was my base for a night after the final stint of the Route Des Grande Alpes, having set off from Barcelonnette in the morning. I arrived hot and sweaty as the summer 2019 French heatwave started to build.
https://hotelraquellahabana.com-cuba.com/en/
In central Havana, this hotel also had a nice roof bar. The beer and rum went down well!
A nice boutique style hotel in central Strasbourg (itself a very pleasant city) – an enjoyable place to stay after several hours of motorcycling from Luxembourg.
https://www.vezelay-laterrasse.com/
I rode around 375 miles to reach Vezelay from Avignon in the midst of the 2019 French heatwave, taking in the Ardeche and other areas slightly off the beaten track. My reward was this hotel in the hilltop town of Vezelay which I really enjoyed. I liked the peacefulness of the upper town, as traffic was prevented from entering, though I managed to park the machine outside the hotel. The church next to the hotel is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
A friendly and quirky “boutique” hotel in buzzing, happening Brighton. Amanda and I enjoyed our stay, whilst we relaxed and made plans.
Our accommodation on the fantastic volcanic island of Stromboli.
The volcano trek is superb.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFH3cRKU6B4nceOpz5z9Xlg
Our old friend, now based in Kielce in Poland. He’s always been into his music, which he’s been making with collaborators in his adopted country, now being posted on his Youtube Channel.
I
http://web.tiscali.it/ilbalenottero/diving.htm
We managed a couple of dives when staying on Madagascar’s Ile Sainte Marie with this friendly dive centre.
A Japanese manufacturer of underwater photography strobes and lighting. Inon is now very popular with many photographers. Jeremy is currently using a pair of them.
https://autodromodeinterlagos.com.br/
Website for the iconic Interlagos Circuit in Sao Paolo, Brazil.
A friendly and well organised dive centre in Key Largo, Florida. We enjoyed five days of excellent diving on the reefs and wrecks of the John Pennekamp Marine Park.
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Jeremy and Amanda enjoyed a brilliant “pelagic magic” blackwater night dive with this dive centre whilst in Kona, on the Big Island of Hawaii.
Good briefings and friendly, enthusiastic staff.
A “busy bee” of a friend, always striving for something new in terms of his music and art. Hard to keep up with him!
St. Claude was once a centre of pipe making (of the smoking variety). Since it’s heyday, the town has suffered a decline, but I enjoyed my stay at the Jura Hotel, affording views across the valley.
It was a welcome sanctuary for a night after a long winding ride from Strasbourg, through the Vosges and Jura, sometimes in wet weather, though it improved as I homed in on the “destination”.
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The website for the Kielder Forest area in Northumberland, where Jeremy rode the Kielder Forest Trail as part of a North East and Pennines motorcycle exploration. An ambition fulfilled to ride this trail.
My Jersey based friend, diver, photographer and traveller.
Kirk has been a great help on my visits to Jersey, dive guiding me at the excellent Bouley Bay, and also organising a dive trip over to the island of Sark.
https://www.kneppsafaris.co.uk/
https://www.kneppestate.co.uk/
https://www.rewildingbritain.org.uk/rewilding-projects/knepp-castle-estate
Knepp Estate is the site of an inspirational project known broadly as “Re-Wilding”. It is brilliantly described in Isabella Tree’s superb book “Wilding”. What has happened there is nothing short of remarkable.
Kokee Lodge offer rustic cabins and camping in the Kokee State Park. It’s close to spectacular scenery, world class hiking trails and remarkable tracts of rainforest rich in endemic plants and bird life.
Jeremy and Zac enjoyed the stunning Manta Ray Night dives and equally stunning “pelagic magic” blackwater night dive with this dive centre. Totally good!
http://konaoceanfrontgallery.multiscreensite.com/
A great art gallery on the Kona water front in Hawaii.
We got to know them quite well as we homed in on a piece by “Tiki Shark” artist Brad Parker.
“KBR” is an excellent dive resort in north Sulawesi, (Indonesia). It’s located in the dive mecca of Lembeh Strait. Fascinating dives, incredible critters, friendly people and good service. The “muck” dives are like nothing else!
We visited in 2002 and returned again for Christmas 2018. Some of the same staff still worked there.
We loved our first visit to the Maldives with a couple of weeks on this blissful island in the Llaviyani Atoll. Our early diving experiences went up a few notches here!
Based in Les Lecques in the south of France, world renowned underwater photographer Kurt Amsler runs excellent courses for underwater photographers. Kurt’s work has been published all over the world in magazines, books and advertising.
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We enjoyed this secluded hotel on Madagascar’s Ile Sainte Marie. During our stay, we were able to take journeys out on small boats to watch humpback whales, whilst on evenings we were treated to the amazing spectacle of the resident fireflies.
Though they don’t seem to have website, this jazz club in Havana (Cuba) can be found on various listings on other websites. Whilst in Cuba, just before the first Covid lockdown, we enjoyed a visit to this club.
We enjoyed four great days on this fantastic little island located at the southernmost tip of the Great Barrier Reef. Great weather, great diving, lots of birds, nesting turtles, hatching turtles and simple living. There’s a fair bit of guano, too!
A laid back hotel at Ifaty on the South West cost of Madagascar. We did some dives here and enjoyed the general vibe of the place. The fish soup served at the restaurant was “the best ever” – at the time of publishing it still hadn’t been topped.
Lankayan Island is located in Sabah, part of Malaysian territory in eastern Borneo. It’s a lovely island with great food, great hospitality and fantastic beachside accommodation. We were unlucky with the diving during our stay thanks to very poor visibility, but it isn’t always like that. If relaxation and diving is what you need, this place will tick the boxes.
https://www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/nature-reserves/latterbarrow
A small, but interesting nature reserve in South Cumbria, visited by Fuzz and I in Summer 2022.
https://twitter.com/lesserspotnet?lang=en
You can find social media profiles dedicated to the most specific of topics, both positive and negative. This is the Twitter feed dedicated to sightings of Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers in the UK – a rare and elusive species.
Organiser of our quest for the Bee Hummingbird and other Cuban endemics in the Zapata National Park area of Cuba.
The Loloata Island Resort is located close to Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea, although its’ serenity doesn’t suggest that a nation’s capital is only a few miles away. It’s a long established dive resort with pleasant staff and decent diving, although a general facelift would probably work wonders for the place.
Having checked online recently (2020), a redeveloped resort is taking bookings.
https://www.kitchenerslowestoft.co.uk/
An unusual hotel, associated with a military charity at Lowestoft in Suffolk. We stayed there when Zac raced at Ellough Park Kart Circuit with Club 100.
https://thetobermoryhotel.com/
One of our favourite places that we’ve stayed (ever), this excellent cottage was perfect in every way, affording superb vistas over the channel towards the “mainland”. It’s owned by the Tobermory Hotel, but if it ever came up for sale…
We enjoyed our single night stay at this rainforest lodge, north of the Daintree River. The highlight was encountering a cassowary and chick on one of the forest trails.
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We couldn’t find a website for Maccas Mooring, though it’s listed on other “listings” websites, but thought it worthy of a mention. Basically, we stayed at this out of the way B & B at Green Head on the west coast of Australia and enjoyed the time there immensely, chatting with the hosts and drinking a few “tinnies”. In the day, we’d been swimming with sealions with Sea Lion Charters (brilliant!).
https://twitter.com/rebirding1
Twitter feed of Benedict McDonald, the author of the excellent and fascinating book Rebirding.
A popular stop off on the long haul dive travel map. Expect manta and shark action, and other great sights. We did our PADI Manta Ray Awareness Specialty course whilst there way back in late 2000.
A conservation body dedicated to the protection of the incredible manta ray (actually at least 2 species exist). A great cause, we think.
An organisation dedicated to marine conservation. A very worthy cause, we think.
We donate to their campaigns.
www.edgeunderwaterphotography.co.uk
Bournemouth based Martin Edge is the UK’s foremost teacher of underwater photography. Now retired, he regularly teached groups and individuals, and led photographic trips abroad to destinations such as Bonaire, Dominica, Sulawesi, the Red Sea and Micronesia. He’s also a former monthly columnist for Sport Diver Magazine, author of “The Underwater Photographer” and was a regular speaker at underwater photography events such as Visions of the Sea. He also taught both of us.
Warminster based freelance photographer with his own studio, offering a variety of services and image making.
http://www.matthew-oates.co.uk/home/
https://twitter.com/MatthewOates76?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
Naturalist, author and butterfly obsessive. Fuzzy and I met him at the Knepp Wildlands in Sussex, hunting for the H.I.M. (His Imperial Majesty, the Purple Emperor).
His books, In Pursuit of Butterflies and His Imperial Majesty are great reads.
https://www.devonwildlifetrust.org/nature-reserves/meeth-quarry
A unique and interesting nature reserve in North Devon, near Hatherleigh and Okehampton, and home to national rarities.
https://www.middleeight.com/
A hotel near Covent Garden in London, the kind of place for a treat.
www.elewanacollection.com/serengeti-migration-camp/serengeti-migration-camp-at-a-glance
One of the most remote, away from it all places we’ve stayed at, located in the northern Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. Blissful and exhilarating.
A lovely place to stay en route south on the stunning Route Des Grand Alpes. I had the entire place to myself.
https://parksandresorts.rac.com.au/
An “end of the road” campsite, trailer park and outdoorsy resort in the Shark Bay area of Western Australia. We stayed for a couple of days en route to Ningaloo Reef.
https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/woods/monks-wood/
A National Nature Reserve in Cambridgeshire, and an important site for the elusive Black Hairstreak butterfly.
http://montserratislandtours.com
Run by Sunny and his wife Kristina, they offer island tours including visits to the ruined and abandoned city of Plymouth in the volcanic exclusion zone.
The organisation tasked with attracting visitors to this “off the grid” destination.
A really helpful motorsport travel company who have organised our Grand Prix trips to Abu Dhabi, Monaco, Azerbaijan and Brazil.
https://mulleaglewatch.com/
A partnership of various organisations including the RSPB that organises the viewing and education of the White Tailed Eagle re-introductions.
We attended one of their “sessions” whilst on the isle of Mull.
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The website for the American space agency. In 2014, we visited Cape Canaveral in Florida which was incredibly interesting.
In a wider sense, it represents the quest for exploration and knowledge.
Zac did a couple of dives here on his way to qualifying as a PADI Junior Advanced Open Water Diver. Future visits will surely happen as a result.
An organisation dedicated to preserving land and buildings of historical or ecological significance in the UK. We maintain a membership.
http://www.thenautilusproject.co/
A Gibraltar based project to which we’ve contributed images, aimed at educating children about marine life.
We stayed at this crater rim lodge during our visit to the iconic Ngorongoro Crater. A few more days would have certainly been good!
Niihau Helicopters offer sporadic trips to the “forbidden island” of Niihau. If you want to go, get your name down early, as this trip isn’t really advertised and will only be run if there’s enough participants.
We use Nikon cameras, lenses and flash guns almost exclusively. We enjoy the experience.
Friendly and professional dive centre in Coral Bay serving the southern part of Ningaloo Reef in western Australia. If the conditions are right, Heikes Ledge is an excellent dive site. The Manta Ray interactions are superb, too! For the northern end of Ningaloo see Exmouth Diving Centre.
A small, quirky hotel with themed rooms in Calais, which marked the end (well, almost the end) of my motorcycle exploration of France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Monaco (which included the Ardenne, the Vosges, the Jura, the Alps, the French Mediterranean coast and central France). I picked the Moroccan themed room.
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www.oldharbourdivecentre.co.uk
A Weymouth based dive centre run by Mary and Nigel. They were part of our early dive training.
http://oliveridleyproject.org/
After meeting Jana working at Bandos Island Resort (Maldives), we learned of her “double life” as a marine biologist monitoring turtles for this project. A very good cause.
https://www.facebook.com/oystercatchercarlingford/
I enjoyed my overnighter at the Oystercatcher in Carlingford – just what I needed after some wet coast riding from Belfast, as part of my “circuit of Ireland” trip in 2018.
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The world’s most well known scuba diving organisation, responsible for training a large percentage of the world’s divers via affiliated dive centres around the world.
A nice stopover in the Wye Valley on one of Jeremy’s motorcycling odysseys in Wales.
www.sports-massage-claire-mcfarlane.co.uk/
Along with her sister-in-law Claire, Paula is an excellent sports therapist who keeps Jeremy’s limbs supple and in good working order and unwinds tense shoulders after motorcycling trips.
A quirky and well located hotel with a rock and roll theme in Brighton.
We’ve booked the “Mod Room” and the “Rough Trade (!)” room.
Jeremy’s base for his motorcycle explorations of the Kent Coast.
A long-established jazz club in London’s “West End”. It’s not far from Ronnie Scott’s actually, so two great jazz clubs within a stone’s throw of one another.
One of the south and west’s number one automotive retailers offering the Renault, Dacia, Toyota, Vauxhall, Nissan, Skoda, Hyundai and SsangYong brands.
We used this dive centre whilst in Calvi, Corsica. From there, it’s only a short boat ride to the wreck of an intact B17 bomber that crash landed in the second world war.
https://www.princeruperthotel.co.uk/
A good hotel in the old town of Shrewsbury. I’ve stayed there on two different occasions.
Pro Dive Cairns offer regular short liveaboard trips to the Great Barrier Reef visiting Milln and Flynn Reefs. We enjoyed the Three Sisters, Whale Bommie and Gordon’s in particular. A good trip, especially if you’ve got little time, with plenty of diving.
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Run by Rob Stokes, Rascom offer bespoke PC building, sourcing and installation. We’ve used him for some time and he always does an excellent job.
A part of our early diving experiences included day boats out to sites such as Ras Mohammed and the Wreck of the Thistlegorm. Exciting days for newbie divers!
This travel company arranged an excellent trip to Madagascar way back in 2001. We visited Antananarivo (Tana), Perinet and Mantady before heading south to Ifaty in the south west via Antsirabe, Ranomafana, Fianarantsoa, Ambalavao and Isalo. Later in the trip we visited Berenty and Ile St.Marie. One day we hope to return to this “island continent and visit some different areas.
A UK based dive travel company – we booked our first trip with them to the Roots Dive Camp in Egypt.
A lovely hotel set among the rocks close to Madagascar’s Isalo National Park. It was great to return here after a hard day’s trekking in the national park.
A friendly hotel, old fashioned in style but refurbished in some side streets just off the centre of Palermo., We stayed a couple of nights before heading out to Ustica for some diving.
http://riadayadinamarrakech.net/
Riad Ayadina proved to be a great choice for our stay in Marrakech, Morocco. It’s a cliche to say it, but it’s an oasis of calm from the chaos of life in and around the medina. Step through the anonymous door and you enter a different world. The right place at the right time.
Dedicated to helping and saving people who have got into difficulties in the seas around our coasts. I hope to never need their help, but they’re on standby if one does.
A long established and iconic jazz club in London’s Soho that hosts an eclectic mix of music broadly defined as jazz. We’ve seen some incredible gigs here and have maintained a membership there in recent years. To attend a gig at this venue is always a great pleasure.
Enjoyable “back to basics” living on the Red Sea near El Quesir. Basically, eat, dive, eat, dive eat, watch the sun go down and repeat. Nice people run it and work there.
Rosewood offer a number of vacation rentals in Kauai. We chose to stay at “Lanikai 114” in Kapaa and were really pleased our choice. The condo was exactly what we’d seen on the Rosewood website. It was a sad day when we had to leave.
www.losapos.com/great_alpine_road
www.dangerousroads.org/europe/france/5462-route-des-grandes-alpes.html
The Route Des Grand Alpes is a stunning route of mountain passes in the French Alps. If heading south, you pick up the route at Thonon Les Bains on the shore of Lake Geneva, with the route ending at Menton on the Mediterranean coast. It took 4 days of riding to do it, with stopovers at Villaroger (near Val D’Isere), Briancon and Barcellonette. Vertigo inducing at times, with sensational views and roads. Magical to ride and satisfying to complete.
A long established and well known organisation centred around birds, but perhaps more broad-based in that they conserve “habitats” which contain birds as well as other flora and fauna. We’ve been members for many years and donate to their campaigns.
www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/a/arne/
A great reserve in Dorset consisting of heathland, woodland and saltmarsh. It’s home to national rarities such as Dartford Warbler, Hobby, Nightjar and Spoonbill, plus other animals such as raft spiders and all six species of English reptiles. We visit whenever we can.
www.rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/reserves-a-z/labrador-bay/
An easily accessible reserve on the coast of Devon and a focal point of the conservation of the Cirl Bunting. Jeremy visited the reserve whilst on a motorcycle exploration of Devon.
https://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/reserves-a-z/leighton-moss/
Jeremy spent a day in this excellent reserve (a long held ambition) whilst on a motorcycle exploration of the North West. Sightings included Curlew Sandpiper and an Osprey.
www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/l/lodmoor/
If we’re at Weymouth, staying at Globe Cottage, we sometimes visit Lodmoor – a great reserve with easy access directly from the town. Expect Bittern, Marsh Harrier, Bearded Tit and Cetti’s Warbler depending on the time of year.
https://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/reserves-a-z/minsmere/
One of the best known of the RSPB reserves. Located in Suffolk, it has been the subject of TV programmes such as Springwatch. Worth a visit.
The RSPB’s conservation effort on the Isle of Mull includes the conservation of the successfully re-introduced White Tailed Eagle. We visited a hide overlooking a nest during our visit. Keep up the good work!
www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/r/radipolelake/
If we’re at Weymouth, staying at Globe Cottage, we often visit Radipole – a great reserve with easy access directly from the town. Expect Bittern, Marsh Harrier, Bearded Tit, Cetti’s Warbler, Kingfishers as well as Common Lizards, Grass Snakes and Otters depending on the time of year.
https://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/reserves-a-z/snettisham/
A reserve on the edge of The Wash on the North Norfolk Coast. You’ll see plenty of waders.
https://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/reserves-a-z/titchwell-marsh/
A popular reserve with good hides on the North Norfolk Coast. There’s a visitor centre as well.
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Back in 1999, we booked a bespoke safari through Safari Consultants – it was a truly great trip which included the Arusha National Park, a successful “summiting” of Kilimanjaro and a safari to Tarangire National Park, Lake Manyara National Park, Ngorongoro Crater and the incredible Serengeti.
Located on the huge sweeping arc of Rossknowlagh Beach, this hotel was a welcome respite at the end of a long day riding up the Wild Atlantic Way from Galway.
http://scribersadventures.com/
“Scriber” is Montserrat’s foremost and best known naturalist.
We enjoyed a guided walk with him on the Oriole Trail where we were able to see a variety of wildlife including a tarantula, hummingbirds, a mangrove cuckoo and the national bird of Montserrat, the endangered and endemic Montserrat Oriole.
A Singapore based scuba magazine, for whom Jeremy was an occasional contributor in the past.
Formally Sport Diver magazine, which was the official publication for the PADI diving society, and was popular among the diving community in the UK. This magazine was a regular publisher of Jeremy’s features.
It has since mutated into the non-affiliated Scuba Diver UK magazine. Jeremy has contributed many features and images to the magazine since its start up in 2017.
Run by Andrew and Emmy, these guys offer friendly, knowledgeable and laid back diving at sites around Montserrat.
We enjoyed several days of diving with them which was great. Highly recommended.
A lovely dive resort at Tulamben in Bali with good food, friendly staff and top notch diving. Jeremy went there in 2012 to try out a pair of new Inon strobes (a good excuse!).
This prompted a “family diving” visit in 2017, which was excellent. It was very hard to leave when the time came!
http://sealioncharters.com.au/
Sealion Charters is located in the tiny settlement of Green Head, about 250 km’s north of Perth in Western Australia. It’s run by Rod and Ronnie Wilson, a friendly and enthusiastic couple who operate what must be one of the best underwater experiences anywhere on the planet.
We spent a week on the Sea Serpent liveaboard from Marsa Alam in the southern Egyptian Red Sea, visiting areas such as St. Johns, Fury Shoals and Elphinstone. We were looked after by a good crew, and enjoyed decent food, good company and great diving. The photographic potential was “immense”.
https://seashantyholidays.co.uk/
Fabulously located self-catering accommodation above Branscombe Beach in Devon.
An organisation dedicated to the conservation of seahorses. They’ve been decimated over the years, so a very worthy cause.
Close to the Sepilok Orang-Utan Rehabilitation Centre is this pleasant “nature resort”. Check out the night walks in the nearby forest – they’re not for the squeamish!
Ask Amanda about the leech if you want a giggle.
Close to Sandakan in eastern Borneo is the Sepilok Orang-Utan Rehabiliation Centre. It’s a great place and gives hope that these endangered and threatened primates will survive man’s relentless onslaught.
We adopted a young male Orang Utan called Sen for our son Zac. More recently, after Sen was re-introduced to the jungle, we adopted Gelison and when he also returned, we adopted Archie.
Located in the central area of the Serengeti, we stayed at this lodge for the second half of our visit to this sensational national park.
www.underwaterphotography.com.au
A great bloke and great underwater photographer, now based in Perth in Western Australia. We enjoyed trips to Bonaire, Borneo, Papua New Guinea and Galapagos with him.
The Silver Series run Great Barrier Reef day trips from Cairns and Port Douglas. We chose the Port Douglas trip onboard the Silver Sonic visiting sites on the Agincourt Reef.
A popular and long-established racing circuit in Northamptonshire. It’s become an annual pilgrimage of ours to see the Formula 1 races, come rain or shine.
Retailer of scuba gear, from whom we purchased our new Suunto dive computers.
The Singapore Grand Prix (Formula 1) is a fantastic event that we were fortunate enough to attend back in 2010. When can we go back?
https://www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/nature-reserves/smardale
An excellent reserve, which includes an old railway viaduct, close to the town of Kirkby Stephen. It’s home to many species including the Scotch Argus and Red Squirrel.
Fuzz and I spent two days there, to see and photograph the Scotch Argus butterfly.
The Solmar V is an excellent liveaboard that visits the remote Socorro Islands on Mexico’s Pacific side. For divers looking for a different kind of experience, away from overcrowded and over dived resorts, this trip must surely be a major contender. It’s a great diving adventure and offers glimpses of a bygone era, of seas teeming with life in all its brutal beauty. The crew are friendly, professional and knowledgeable and offer a truly great week of diving.
The Solmar V also visits Guadelupe Island (for the Great Whites) which Jeremy and Zac did in 2016. We got the sharks!
An excellent liveaboard based from Cairns visiting the Ribbon Reefs on the Great Barrier Reef and the Coral Sea. In 2007, we had to leave the boat at Lizard Island from where we flew back to Cairns at low level. In 2010, we finished what we started with a trip Osprey Reef having flown up to Lizard Island to join the boat. Highly recommended.
In 2021, we will return to the boat to travel on their Far North Exploratory trip from the Torres Strait back to Cairns.
https://latorrehotel.it/
We enjoyed the great views from this hotel, a nice location to finish our trip after ten days of diving on Ustica.
A scuba diving organisation providing training and education for divers. We did their Nitrox course whilst onboard the Turks & Caicos Aggressor.
https://www.facebook.com/steve.warren.9659
Supplier of Inon strobes, and former owner of Ocean Optics, Steve is a long time friend and stalwart of the underwater photography world in the UK.
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/studland-bay
The Studland Bay National Nature Reserve is run/managed by the National Trust.
It’s a unique place – home to all six English reptiles, Dartford Warblers, Nightjars and Silver Studded Blues. Out in the bay itself is a population of seahorses.
We’ve used Subal housings exclusively since graduating to SLRs, initially housing Nikon F100’s, then a pair of ND20’s, keeping our Nikon D200’s dry. Now we’ve got a pair of D7200’s.
We’ve used Subtronic’s excellent strobes for many years, with good results.
www.sunbayhotel-hopecove.co.uk
A well located hotel at Hope Cove in Devon, Jeremy’s base for some Devon motorcycle explorations.
The Sunborn is a “boat as a hotel”. It proved to be a great choice of accommodation for our stay in Gibraltar.
www.sunningdaleapartments.co.uk/
We (Fuzzy and I) based ourselves here to dive Babbacombe Bay in search of the cuttlefish that gather to mate in spring/early summer. We probably missed the peak of the action by about a week, but we had good conditions and saw a few “cuttles”.
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https://tanhillinn.com/
The highest pub in the UK. I paid a visit whilst on a motorcycle tour of the North East, Scottish Borders and the Pennines. It had to be done!
More recently, I visited again on the motorcycle, this time with Fuzz.
A nice lodge set above the river in the excellent Tarangire National Park in Tanzania.
The walk back to our tent (which was the furthest from the lodge bar and restaurant) was somewhat unsettling.
We always enjoy visiting galleries and have especially enjoyed the Tate – we’ve been to the London, St.Ives and Liverpool galleries.
An interesting gallery in the Gaslamp District of San Diego.
We got tempted with a “Sludge Tarpon” sculpture for our house.
We visited this tiny factory whilst having a drive around Grenada.
They produce excellent chocolate, which can even be purchased at some outlets here in the UK
A friendly pub with accommodation in Stalham, perfect for a visit to the Norfolk Broads.
http://apaturairis.blogspot.com/
A blog run by and contributed to by fanatics of the Purple Emperor butterfly.
Fuzzy and I checked it often on the lead up to our successful trip to the Knepp Wildlands in Sussex, where we spotted the first Emperor of the season.
Jeremy stayed at this excellent pub and hotel during his motorcycle explorations of East Anglia. It’s near some great areas of natural beauty such as the RSPB’s Minsmere Reserve.
https://jurassiccoast.org/visit/attractions/the-undercliffs-reserve/
A unique nature reserve, stretching from Lyme Regis to Seaton, with great coast path trekking and wildlife sightings.
www.thresherdivers.com
www.tepanee.com
I enjoyed a very good ten days as a guest of Thresher Shark Divers and the Tepanee Resort. The area is unique for its reliable Thresher Shark sightings/encounters at Monad Shoals, but there’s a lot more to the diving than the sharks. Gato Island is highly recommended for spectacular underwater scenery and diverse marine life. The muck dives around Malapascua Island itself are also highly productive. It’s a great place for the discerning dive traveller wanting to get off the beaten track.
During my visit to Donsol and Ticao Island in the Philippines, I was unlucky in that the weather was unexpectedly bad and I’d picked up a nasty sinus infection which stopped me diving after a day and a half, but don’t let that put you off. In season expect multiple whale shark sightings plus other great experiences.
We’ve travelled to the Red Sea aboard the Sea Serpent and Typhoon with Tony Backhurst Scuba. We enjoyed both liveaboards and hope to go back and do some more.
We enjoyed a great week aboard the Typhoon liveaboard, getting away from the madding crowds and day boats of Sharm el Sheikh. We visited Ras Mohammed, Anemone City, Shark & Yolanda Reefs, Jackfish Alley, the Alternatives and spent three days at Abu Nuhas diving the “famous” Red Sea wrecks of the Chrisoula K, the Ghiannis D and the Carnatic. Friendly and helpful crew, nice boat.
We enjoyed an excellent long weekend in the artistic, gastronomic (and expensive) Cornish town of St.Ives.
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www.ukbutterflies.co.uk
A useful and comprehensive resource website for the UK’s butterfly species.
They’re social media feeds are also worth checking regularly, for latest sightings;
https://twitter.com/ukbutterflies
https://www.facebook.com/groups/576914769887362/
After trawling the internet for dive trips to the remote Dry Tortugas, we eventually found this liveaboard. It’s based out of Fort Myers Beach on the Gulf side of Florida. We had an excellent trip with a great crew. Good diving too!
Having read a feature about Undara in an in-flight magazine en route to Australia, we decided to go out to this unique lodge and national park in the outback. It’s about 4 or 5 hours drive from Cairns and choices for accommodation include staying in converted railway carriages. There’s the lava tubes themselves (fascinating), plenty of wildlife (birds, wallaroos, snakes etc), hiking trails and extinct (or dormant?) craters.
A long established free downloadable magazine produced by underwater photography pioneer Peter Rowlands. Jeremy has supplied features on occasions in the past, and Peter has been very helpful in publishing details of our “Diving Dreams” calendars.
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A nice forest lodge, close to the Perinet and Mantady National Parks in Madagascar. The nightjar action at dusk was spectacular.
Comfortable and reasonably priced accommodation in the Turks & Caicos Islands – we stayed for a couple of days prior to boarding the Turks & Caicos Aggressor.
All weather diving on the edge on the Mendip Hills, not too far from our home. Zac (our son), completed his PADI Junior Open Water and Junior Advanced dives here. We’ve got a membership.
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A culmination of an ambition delayed. Pushed back to 2022 due to Covid, we had no option but to wait longer for our dream to become a reality to visit this remote dive resort off south east Sulawesi in Indonesia – a week on the Pelagian and a week on the resort afterwards.
It was great to be diving again after two and a half years.
https://www.lancswt.org.uk/nature-reserves/warton-crag
A nature reserve and former quarry near Carnforth in Lancashire. On the top, it affords great views over Morecambe Bay.
http://www.warwickhotels.com/warwick-paradise-island-bahamas
Our base at Nassau before and after our shark diving visit to Grand Bahama.
Our base for tackling Scafell Pike, England’s highest peak.
The brie wedges were very popular with us.
My digs whilst staying at Oakham in the county of Rutland, en route to the East Coast for a few days of motorcycling.
https://www.whittlebury.com/leisure/british-grand-prix/british-grand-prix-camping
Our campsite of choice for attending the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in Northamptonshire.
https://themeresandmosses.co.uk/visiting-the-mosses/30-years/
An extensive lowland bog in Shropshire, home to Curlew and the Large Heath butterfly among many other species.
https://www.wildatlanticway.com/home
A resource website for the excellent Wild Atlantic Way, a route that a rode in the summer of 2018 on a “circuit of Ireland” motorcycle exploration.
Founded by Peter Scott, the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust continues to conserve wetland areas, and the birds that live in them. We’ve got a family membership and donate to their campaigns.
www.wiltshire-butterflies.org.uk
The Wiltshire “wing” of the Butterfly Conservation organisation.
An organisation conserving Wiltshire’s wildlife. We maintain a membership and donate to their campaigns.
An organisation dedicated to the preservation of woodlands in the UK. We maintain a membership and donate to their campaigns.
A long established supplier of all things entomological – including moth traps, breeding cages and livestock.
A conservation body that is global in reach, which uses the Panda as its symbol.
We donate regularly to their campaigns.
A friendly and enthusiastic nature lover and photographer that I met in Bentley Wood (!) near Salisbury.
A pleasant pub and hotel in the Wye Valley. We stayed here whilst Zac did his PADI Junior Advanced dives in the nearby National Diving Centre at Chepstow.
X
An American society dedicated to the conservation of invertebrates. It is named after the Xerces Blue butterfly, the first butterfly species known to become extinct as a result of human activity.
Y
Yongala Dive is based at the remote little settlement of Alva Beach, about 15km from the nearest “big” town of Ayr. The Wreck of the SS Yongala is one of Australia’s best known dives and with good reason. Yongala Dive offer a unique and quick way of getting to the wreck on their high speed RIB launched from Alva Beach itself. The “barbie” after the diving was a nice touch.
Z
A network of hotels that seem to specialise in squeezing in small gaps. Stayed in them in London a few times.
https://www.circuitzandvoort.nl/en/
Revamped for the Max Verstappen era, this circuit is located in the dunes on the North Sea coast of Holland. Expect to see a sea of orange when Max Verstappen’s in town.
We stayed at this excellent hotel whilst in Guernsey, a great place to be, just uphill from the centre of St.Peter Port.