My Writing

I love to take a leisurely stroll down to Clarence Park, enjoying its twenty-five acres of wide-open space. It is quiet here today and there’s a sense of privacy as Summer slowly turns to Autumn. This Victorian park is well kept and it feels…

I love the feel of this old country house; far enough from London to feel like you’ve escaped the big metropolis for an afternoon. As I enter the lobby, there she is, my dear friend seated on a chesterfield sofa by the grand fireplace, a beautiful…

Walking in the sunlight past the gates of Carpenters garden centre, I feel as if I’ve discovered one of St Albans best kept secrets. The small scale makes it feel private and a pleasure to explore. There’s an inherent sense of order; rows…

We enter the Natural History Museum at Tring housing one of the finest collections of stuffed mammals, aquatic creatures, birds, reptiles and insects. Once the private museum of Lord Rothschild, established in 1889 and donated to our nation…

I walk along St. Peter’s street, gradually leaving the hustle and bustle behind. I approach the church, walking by a row of listed cottages, and step passed the open gateway. The ancient churchyard feels spacious and is dotted with headstones…

We drive past the ‘Pick your own fruit ‘sign, park and walk up to the hut; we select three empty punnets and read the whiteboard with a map of the different fruit areas. The first fruits I see as I walk into the field are hundreds of squat…

I take in a breath of clean country air and look up at the abundant wisteria dressing the red brick arch. Before we enter the courtyard, on our right is a boutique packed with luxury home accessories. I enter the shop and have to look twice…

I walk up to Shaw’s Corner, stepping passed the green gates and onto the curved gravel path. The climbing hydrangeas completely cover the front façade in white blossom. The front door has a swirling Arts and Crafts design set in glass and…

I drive past the wrought iron gates and into the Childwickbury estate. Along the way, mannequins dressed up in frilly frocks, colorful hats and scarves, direct us to the arts fair, their macabre faces theatrically made up. The fair is held within…

It’s a gloriously sunny morning in June. I enter the churchyard and feel as if I‘ve discovered a hidden treasure. There is nobody around and I walk up the winding path, around the Church to the arched entrance. St. Michael’s Church is…

Entrance into Verulamium Museum is free for St Albans residents and we are warmly welcomed. I haven’t been here since my daughter was at junior school and vaguely remember her rummaging around in the dressing up box and modelling a roman soldier…

It’s a quiet midweek afternoon, we pass by the River Ver, over a footbridge, and head to one of the oldest pubs in England. Outside, old wooden church pews furnish the front garden and beer kegs are piled high. A steel cockerel towers above…

It was late on a Sunday afternoon, we were all in need of a little fresh air and decide to go for a walk into Heartwood forest. I’d already read about the stunning sea of bluebells every Springtime, but had heard from a neighbour that there…

Since moving to St Albans, we have spent many afternoons in Nature as a family. This park stands on what was once Verulamium, the third largest city in Roman Britain; it’s ruined city walls, constructed in around 270 AD, dominate the landscape.…

It is a warm sunny afternoon in May and as soon as we step passed the gateway into the Kingsbury water mill and waffle house, I can smell a concoction of sweet and savoury flavours. The friendly staff welcome us in and we sit by an old fireplace.…

It’s almost eleven on a Sunday morning, the sun is shining and we’re off to the Farmer’s market. We haven’t been for a while and wonder what its like these days. There are many more people around than there used to be, and the stall…

It is the first day of the new season and visitors are beginning to pour into Hatfield House after the winter months. The rainbow portrait of Queen Elizabeth I faces the entrance to the Marble hall, where lavish banquets were once held. It…

It is a warm Spring afternoon. The clouds slowly wander across the sky as I walk the narrow pathway between two topiary hedges, and take my first few steps into this lush royal garden. The Elizabethan patterns of hedges and floral architecture…

I head down to George Street, an historic road built on a hill in the very heart of St Albans leading to the Cathedral and St Michaels. The sixteenth century Tudor buildings, crooked and overhanging, have survived the centuries and are well…