Introduction

I’ve written about some lovely towns, so if you fancy a day out somewhere and want to know the highlights of your visit, then read on. Of course, what I would really like is for you to stay longer and see the unusual and quirky things that every town has to offer. These secret and unusual findings feature in all my books, with over one hundred photos in each. If you like looking at pictures, you’re in the right place.

There are so many things I enjoy in life, travelling being near the top of the list. I
love my house, and especially my garden, but there are hundreds of adventures to be had on the other side of my front door. I mainly visit busy towns and cities because I enjoy markets, churches especially cathedrals, and I want to learn about the history of places. But most of all, I like people. It would give me great pleasure if readers of this website visit the places I have written about. So many seem worried about going to new places for fear of not knowing what to do when they get there. I want to encourage people to get out and about, especially single women.

Are you strapped for cash? Or do you find it too daunting to go abroad on your
own? When was the last time you got on a bus to the nearest town and really looked
around? Have you stopped to read the inscriptions on a statue that you’ve walked past
hundreds of times before? Do you even know who it is?!

What about the local church (or cathedral – lucky you!)? You may have been inside, but do you know its history? What secrets does it have for you to discover? And it
will have secrets. Perhaps a famous person is buried there. Perhaps it has been built on
top of a site belonging to another religion. Did Henry VIII get his hands on it? Are there buried treasures in its vaults?

If you live alone, don’t waste all your days indoors. I have been going on day
trips, weekends away, and holidays abroad on my own for the last twenty-five years, and
I have never, ever, felt unsafe. I can assure you that I’m no risk-taker. I don’t ‘do’
country lanes nor footpaths along empty fields, and I certainly wouldn’t walk down any insalubrious-looking alleyways! Lots of people will talk to you because you’re on your own, and in other people’s eyes, believe it or not, you look safe to chat to. And you are.

So, explore my website, don your sunhat or umbrella, or sometimes both
depending on our fickle weather, and explore the towns with me.