Croyview

Why start a travel blog?

I’ve been happily exploring the UK and further afield for ages, trying to make the most of my annual leave. However, my ability to explore has decreased due to less spare cash as my housing costs and bills have increased. I’ve been inspired by Remit Sethi’s approach to living a rich life. So, I’ve been thinking about how I can use my skills and knowledge to add value to others and increase my ability to do what I enjoy: exploring new places. (I’m so taken with the book and approach that I made it my first book review.)

Starting a travel blog is my way of responding to the challenge by making the most of my joy and curiosity in exploring new places with my writing skills. I’m also planning on providing some wider resources I hope you will find useful.

I also really like positive ethos for travel writing, as my travel writing tutor explained at it most basic travel writing is explaining to the reader why they should want to go and visit.

What will Croyview cover?

Travel in the UK and further afield

I’m aiming in this blog to share my different perspectives and knowledge of places to help provide some inspiration and help answer questions like:

• What can I do this weekend or during my holiday?
• Is this place worth visiting?
• What are some interesting things to do and hidden gems?
• How can I make more of my time to make some really good memories?
• What do I need to bring?

I’m a bit of a geek with a soft spot for industrial heritage, so I’m planning to continue to write posts on things like Cornwall’s Industrial Heritage. I’m also planning on continuing to share some of the events and experiences I’ve been on. For example, the one day Mogabout Tour of Arran, and my Bourbon Tasting Experience in London.

The blog will highlight some amazing places to visit in the UK, Europe and further afield. Posts about international destinations will be rarer, as I don’t travel internationally as much as I used to.

Other topics covered

I’m also hoping my blog can also help with those wider questions we all ask when planning for a holiday like, What shall I read on holiday? How to can I make more of the trip? How do I figure out how to pay for my trip?

Which places in the UK and further afield do I have knowledge of?

Of course, my knowledge and expertise about different parts of the world and the UK vary. So I’ve set out below how it varies by grouping it into different categories. (I know I’m analytical and love categorising.) I’m hoping this provides a bit of a guide.

I’ve categorised my knowledge into three levels Insider/outsider, Repeat visitor &, and Newbie. I’ve set-out what I mean by the different categories and I’ve also provided definition and some examples of my expertise below.

Insider/outsider	Repeat visitor
Scotland -particular focus on Central belt & Ayrshire	Cornwall
London	Paris
Norfolk	Berlin

Insider/outsider perspective

My insider/outsider category brings together my deep knowledge of having lived in a place for a substantial period of time yet still able to bring a visitor’s perspective. For example, while I grew up in Scotland, for the last 15-plus years, I have lived in London. I still go home regularly and make the effort to explore Scotland. Though I now count London as my home (and Yes I have two homes), I still remind myself why I moved to London (it was for the bright lights and big city vibe). I still want to see and explore all the amazing things that London and the South East have to offer. I also have in-depth insights of Norfolk by visiting there most years of my childhood, and rediscovering it again as an adult.

Repeat visitor

I define myself as a repeat visitor when I keep going back to the same place several times because I love it. I would most likely have seen many of the major sites and some of the smaller sights, too. While some time might have passed since my last visit, I’m still able to offer suggestions for places to visit and things to do. Areas that I love and have visited several times include Cornwall, Paris and Berlin.

Of course, there are many places that I’ve visited more than once, like New York, Washington D.C., Italy, Northern Ireland and York. However, it’s been a good while since my last visit. I’m happy to provide some light suggestions on tourist sites, but these will most likely be the classics.

Newbie

The newbie category is for those places that are completely new to me or visit rarely. These are the places I get to enjoy discovering it for the first time.

My Bio

I’m Scottish lass living in London for the past ten plus years. When not at work I enjoy exploring new places by myself or with my friends and husband. I love Eastbourne and a softspot for Cornwall. While in Scotland I’ve been really taken by some of islands as a place to chill-out.

I also love a good book, which varies depending on my mood and what I want to learn about. The last twelve months I’ve focused on personal finance, while this year it more business related. I also enjoy wide selection of fiction.

Contact Information

If you’re heading to Scotland or the UK and need some tips on what to do or where to go, feel free to email. Or even just pop a line in the comments and say hello!

Email:

info@croyview.co.uk