June 2026. Leeds to Bradford. Comfort break at Newlay’s Abbey Inn over, we resumed Day 2 of the Cask Camino with a route from posh Leeds to almost posh Bradford. Today’s “Identify the bird” is a tough one. Lots of interesting canal traffic, including the Absolute Madness tour boat on its way to a nostalgia festival...

June 2026. Leeds to Newlay (er, Leeds). I bet you thought the Cask Camino had stalled at the first hurdle lock, didn’t you ? Never underestimate Mrs RM’s tenacity and desire for blog views; Saturday saw us parked up at Apperley Bridge station (free !), 3 minutes before the train to Kirkstall Forge from which we’d...

June 2026. Sheffield. Having just got back from Sudbury (the drives are now more physically than mentally wearing, which I think is a good thing), I had an actual day in Sheffield. Obviously, I’m not staying at home, that risks gardening or something worse, but a proper walk to Abbeydale Road and beyond. Why DO...

June 2026. Sudbury. Suffolk. Mrs RM is, of course, correct in all matters (though she thought she saw Gareth Southgate playing for Australia v Turkey the other night), and is adamant that the only way you understand a place is with an overnight stay, whether the £227 Valley View, or my own more economical option...

June 2026. Sudbury. Now Sunnyside is sold I have to make other overnight arrangements when popping down to Cambridge, which seems to believe that £155 is a reasonable price for a night at a hotel. Luckily there’s still a few places you can park your campervan without enraging the locals, and Sudbury in Greater...

June 2026. Sheffield. An aimless Sheff walk up and down hills to get those 15,000 calories in finds me at the string of public parks above the University, harassing ducks. I think they’re ducks. Floral Weston Park leads to the reservoir at Crookes Valley, and the studenty Dam House. Unlike the Sheffield Hatter I...

June 2025. Haydock. Merseyside. I can still get thrilled at a visit to a new place, even if it is a mining village north of St Helens. Genuinely, I’d no recollection of Haydock, bar driving past the racecourse, and that’s virtually the now famous Makerfield. But Sankey Valley Park is an absolute joy, a proper oasis...

June 2026. Lytham (not St Annes). An afternoon in Lytham (not St Annes, for a change) to meet up with Blackpool Jane on her blogging return and swap World Cup stickers with Lee. You remember Lytham ? The one with the windmill and the 1940s obssession ? “Leafy Lytham” they call it, which seems to attract the...

June 2026. Preston. A night in Preston, but an afternoon in Lytham, and that meant no pubs in one of the world’s great pub cities. No, it really is, even with the demise of the Greyfriar Moorbrook, with a proper mix of boozers (ugh). A run of Old Vic, New Continental, Plug & Taps, NIKO’s (for Serbian wine), Black...

June 2026. Preston. At last ! We’re leaving Yorkshire ! I’d forgotten what it was like to be able to wake up on a Saturday morning with freedom to go anywhere I want as long as I’m home by tea so Mrs RM can check her blog clicks. Mrs RM had bought some walking shoes that cost nearly as much as my Manchester City...

June 2026. Sheffield. From the Park Hill flats we followed the path of the tram toward town, with the UK’s scruffiest tourist sign at the Park Square roundabout. Much of central Sheffield has been modernised beyond recognition in recent years; heck, we’ve even got a Pret a Manger* ! There’s a big building site where...

June 2026. Sheffield. I don’t like these days in Sheffield, there’s too much still to see, but with Mrs RM busy curating her blog I need to give her options for local exploration. It’s a while since we explored the Park Hill flats out the back of the station, as these steps don’t get any less steep as you hit middle...