“We’re from Bournemouth, sunny sunny Bournemouth” – Cherriesðfans. I have backpacked Bournemouth (Dorset, England) almost as many times as I have backpacked Belfast and Bangor! I spent 6 glorious years living in this marvellous seaside town before deciding to emigrate in 2009. I haven’t lived in either England or Northern Ireland since taking that plunge…
Read More“Everyone’s changing; I stay the same” – The Corrs (2004). Sentimental journeys are no stranger to my wandering heart or backpack. Neil Finn said it long before I rode my weary soul onto the streets of Bournemouth Town in 1994…my first trip to the iconic seaside town…10 years later I’d be working in a bar…
Read More“What you leave behind, you don’t miss anyway” – Paul Hewson. Friday 26th September 2003. That’s twenty years ago today. Madness. This was the day when life unknowingly all changed for me. It did for me and it could for you too and you will never expect that. I certainly wasn’t ready for a new…
Read MoreI often dwell on my days spent on England’s South Coast. It’s a beautiful part of the world and having spent 6 years in Bournemouth and Poole, it’s a place I get sentimental about. I return these days on average about once a year, normally to coincide it with a trip to Dean Court to…
Read MoreIn my ongoing series detailing all the jobs I have done, I’m slowly getting through the back catalogue. I have done quite a few volunteer jobs down the years and haven’t got round to writing about them all. They are a great way to meet people, help others, improve yourself socially and mentally and you…
Read MoreYou might have read some of my previous articles on Bournemouth, Poole and Hampshire on here. This part of England’s South Coast has a lot to offer the everyday tourist and long term nostalgic culture struck backpacker. This short article is all about Westbourne and Alum Chine. These are two districts in the west part of…
Read MoreThis edition in my world borders series is slightly long overdue. The reason being I have been on this route more times than I can remember. It was back in 2008 – 2009 that I worked on car ferries in the south of England. I was based in Lymington, Poole and Weymouth. But most of…
Read MoreI have spent a lot of my adult life in England and each time I’m back there I enjoy touring new parts and revisiting old haunts. In the last year I have backpacked through a load of English places like Liverpool, Birmingham, Windsor, Sunderland, Christchurch and London. I have also delved into the Empire of Austenasia.…
Read More“You’ll never change what’s been and gone” – Noel Gallagher It took me almost 5 years to return to the seaside town of Bournemouth in Dorset, England. It was the town I had spent most of my adult life in, and the town which kick started my journey round the globe. I first moved to…
Read MoreI was recently thinking about my job history, including all the unpaid work, the work I have done for friends, the work I have done for others on top of my 50 plus jobs where I’ve been earning money around the world. It astounds even me, as until recently I didn’t actually realise how many…
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