Posted in Travel

Travelling Abroad: Why phones CAN be good

Rewind 10 years ago and I would never have imagined browsing the internet whilst abroad, it would have cost me an arm and a leg! I will never forget accidentally wracking up a bill of over £200 and feeling like my parents would murder me!

A few years ago a new EU law meant we could finally roam abroad in Europe with our phones at no extra cost, that coupled with the fact Three were offering a wealth of countries now in my plan, it has been a Godsend.

Whilst many people said the phone should be put down when on holiday, and I mostly agree, there have been times when I have really needed it!

Firstly, I travel solo a lot! My phone offers me a safety net, the ability to order a taxi, navigate and even translate when the need arises. Without all this, I would not feel comfortable going away by myself, I don’t know how they ever did it in the 70’s!

Why else would I use my phone abroad? Had you asked me a year ago I would have told you it was to keep in touch with Alex, and of course that’s true, but more importantly? Baxter updates! When I travel, Baxter spends time with his very loving grandparents, and like any dog mum, I worry about him when I’m not there. I insist on photographs and updates throughout the day so I can relax. Overprotective? Yes, but he is my pride and joy!

Lastly, and maybe most importantly, travelling with a phone means I can do work on the go. Remember when we had to go to cyber cafes? Ok, I was a bit young when cyber cafes were a thing, I just used them to email my friends or check my Neopets… Some may say you shouldn’t work when you are away, but a lot of the time I am in a location because of work, so I have no option. I am self-employed so don’t get paid leave! Even when I am holidaying with Alex there are times I need to spend a bit of time on my phone getting my work done, how else would I pay for Baxter’s toys?

My Favourite Travel Apps

Facetime: This one is a given, I need to coo over my puppy each evening! And make sure Alex is getting to bed on time of course.

The Trainline: When travelling in Europe I use the train a lot. This app means I can check the times and costs of trains all over Europe.

Instagram: How else would I keep you all updated?

Whatsapp: Did you know you can send your live location to a friend and they can track your movements for up to 8 hours? Pretty handy when I am walking around an unknown city by myself, I feel happier when Alex can see where I am.

Google Translate: Not every menu is English, Google Translate means I know exactly what I am about to order at a restaurant!

Sit or Squat: “What on Earth” you cry? No this isn’t a fitness app, squats are not a necessity on holiday! This app will tell you where the nearest public toilets are, surprisingly handy.

Tripadvisor: Just because a restaurant has a great smell wafting out from it, it doesn’t mean it will be any good. McDonald’s smells delicious but it doesn’t mean I went to eat there when I am trying to immerse myself in a new city. I always check Tripadvisor to make sure restaurants (and hotels) get decent reviews. Whilst I take all reviews with a pinch of salt, I tend to go with the advice of the majority.

Lightroom CC: This is one for the photographers. I use Lightroom CC that syncs with Lightroom CC on my laptop. This means I can edit my photos on the go without bringing a heavy laptop. All the photos are uploaded to adobe’s cloud so if the worst happened and you lost your phone, you wouldn’t lose these images.

Podcast: This app comes with all Apple phones, I am sure there must be one for Android too! If you haven’t gotten into podcasts before then this is about to change your life. No more boredom on flights, car journeys or trains. You can download podcasts and listen to them offline so if you are 40,000 ft in the air, that’s no problem either. If any of you, like me, love true crime, then I would highly recommend ‘To live and Die in LA’ and ‘Vanished’.

XE Currency: Make sure you aren’t getting ripped off. XE will give you real-time currency conversions.

Kindle: I’m going to be honest, I prefer reading on an actual Kindle than on my phone, but if I want to travel light then I don’t have the luxury of this option. Books are just one of the ways to pass the time when I am on a long train journey. I can read multiple books in the time it takes to fly to Japan.

Trip It: Trip It will pool hotel, restaurant and transport confirmations from your email and put them into an itinerary for you so you have all your confirmations on the go. I can’t be the only one who panic searches through my emails for a confirmation or booking number at the last minute and never finds it!?

Around Me: Ever needed to find a supermarket or a bank whilst overseas? The Around Me app identifies where you are and lists the nearest amenities such as hotels, banks, taxis, petrol stations etc.

Candy Crush: Just kidding, it will take over your life and before you know it you are 2000 levels up but 10 weeks behind on your work.

So, whilst I hate my addiction to Candy Crush, my phone is my best friend when travelling… other than my passport of course! If you manage the time you spend on it, it doesn’t have to interfere with anything other than helping your trip run smoothly!

 

This is a paid partnership article with Three, a mobile phone supplier in the UK as part of their Phones Are Good Campaign. Three believe that phones have been getting too hard a time recently. Far from bringing the end to humanity, they think they bring people together. Think about it. These pocket rockets help us plan our social life, find love, build relations, run businesses and make memories. They also keep us connected on the go, including 71 destinations worldwide with Three’s Go Roam proposition. As part of the paid article, Three asked me to share my personal experiences on why phones are good. These opinions, stories and images are my own.

Posted in Instagram

How To Make Instagram More Fun

I think we have all hit a brick wall with Instagram, a lot of the same content being churned out, over-tourism in the prettiest of places, seeing the same old people on our feeds and watching a rapid decline in engagement. All this added together has turned some people against the platform completely. But it doesn’t have to be this way… Instagram was launched as a fun app, one to take photos on and play around with filters, share personal photos with friends and family. I doubt the founders ever dreamed of it becoming the commercial platform it is today.

What can we do to make it more fun and support each other?

Sprinkle likes

It’s pretty easy, you see a photo you like? Double tap and watch that little heart pop up. Likes are free, why are we so stingy with them?

Share your thoughts

Ever seen a small creator ask a question in their caption and not get a response? Respond to that person! They are reaching out, give them something back and you might make a new friend. Instagram is great for discussion.

Share what you want

Not what you think people want… Instagram becomes SO much more fun when you share new types of imagery! Not only does it freshen up the feed but it freshens the soul, we don’t all have to be the same. Who cares if it gets half the engagement? People are still liking what you put out.

Follow new people

Instagram limits the number of people we can follow, and rightly so, there is no way you would be able to keep up with over 7,500 accounts anyway! Actually, I think 7,500 is very generous! But if you are feeling uninspired, change up the people you follow.

Mute, block or unfollow

Love your friend but hate their content? You don’t have to unfollow, you don’t have to look at their content every day if it makes you feel bad either. Instagram brought in a ‘mute’ button and it’s brilliant! When you see someone on your feed and want to take a break from them, click the 3 dots on the upper right-hand side of their content and click mute, you can mute their stories too. I tend to do this to brands I want to support but not see every day (shopaholic problems…).

Curate your own feed

The Instagram feed is based on what Instagram THINKS we will like, and whilst they don’t always get it right, you have a higher chance of seeing the people you engage with regularly. Want to see someone on your feed more? Go to their account and engage with their content, send them a message and say hi! Hopefully the next time you login they will be at the top.

Turn on post notifications

How many of us miss content from our favourite Instagrammers? I definitely do, and it usually takes a while of thinking they have dropped off the face of the planet before you see them ago. Go to the profile of your favourite accounts, click on one of their photos and top the 3 dots in the top right-hand corner, click ‘turn on post notifications’ and you will be notified as soon as they post! Pretty nifty.

Use hashtags

Who stopped searching through hashtags a long time ago? People seem to be tagging their posts but not actually looking through the hashtags they use! You can find some great content in there.

Engage with others

Why sit back and wait for the world to find your photo? Isn’t everyone doing that? Seek out content you love, like and comment as a sign of appreciation. We all know the effort people put in, make them feel good about it, you might just gain a new follower or two!

 

I hope some of these tips will make Instagram a more enjoyable place for you and make it that little bit more fun! Let me know your ideas in the comments 🙂

Posted in Hotels, Travel

2 Day Ligurian Coast Itinerary

Depending on where you live, travelling around Europe is pretty easy. In fact, really easy! Now I’m a proud dog mum of Baxter, I don’t like going away for too long, so more recently I have been researching places to visit that aren’t too far away. However, it’s not just distance that’s important, it’s flights too, I always look at how to maximise my time in any area, and that is how I found myself back on the Ligurian Coast.

Liguria is in the north-west of Italy, the largest town is Genoa. I have been a few times, and last year I was lucky enough to explore Genoa with the tourist board, so I knew I would love coming back!

I spent just 2 nights here, staying at the beautiful Il Leccio Luxury Resort 5 minutes from Santa Margherita. But was this enough time?

I’m not sure about the rest of Europe, but from the UK there are pretty regular flights to Genoa, so I booked myself an Easyjet flight from London Luton Airport, departing at 6:05am on Tuesday 24th September. 6:05am.. that meant a very early rise on Tuesday morning, 3:15am to be exact. I only live 25 minutes from the airport but I always get paranoid I will be held up and miss my flight, so I ended up arriving just after 4am.

Our flight was less than half full, I’m guessing this is because of the early morning time and people weren’t as willing to drag themselves out of bed before the sun had even started to make an appearance. I believe there are also flights from Stansted and Gatwick Airports, later in the day.

I booked a super early flight on purpose, it meant we landed around 9:15am (Italian time), we booked hand luggage only, we didn’t have to wait in a queue to get through passport control, and we had picked up our hire car all within 30 minutes. Ah yes, a hire car. Italy is well connected by train, however, in order to save time I decided to hire a car. This is partially because Genoa Airport does not have a train stop, I didn’t fancy wasting time getting a taxi into the city to then get a train. It was also because the hotel we were staying at was 10 minutes from Santa Margherita and again, I just didn’t fancy getting a taxi. Our car hire ended up costing £26, we paid €36 for insurance when we got there. This turned out being cheaper than getting return taxis and trains anyway, also it meant we had more flexibility.

We drove straight to Il Leccio Resort, this meant driving around the city of Genoa and along the autostrade (motorway), before turning off and driving along the coastal road, which was beautiful! There are tolls on the autostrade, it cost us €1.60 one way.

We arrived at Il Leccio Luxury Resort at around 11am. This beautiful hotel is perched on a hill overlooking the glitzy town of Santa Margherita, the gateway to Portofino! Because of its location it meant driving up a steep hill on a narrow road, around 7 hairpin bends. This didn’t bother me, although I burnt the clutch out once or twice. The road is VERY quiet so we never met a car along the way.

Il Leccio is a boutique hotel offering a quiet alternative to staying in Santa Margherita or Portofino. It is easily accessible and a great base for exploring this part of the coast. We were pretty much in the middle of Genoa and Cinque Terre. Both Santa Margherita and Portofino are well known for their high prices, Il Leccio starts at around £280 a night including breakfast, so whilst it isn’t the cheapest place, it is less daunting than spending £500 a night in Portofino itself.

My sister and I were met on arrival, quickly checked in and shown to our room which had the most beautiful view over the coastline, it had its own balcony. If we had more time it would have been a nice place to sit and chill for an afternoon!

Portofino

Our first stop of the day was Portofino. It took around 15 minutes to drive in Santa Margherita and join the narrow coast road to Portofino, we parked midway between the two towns (free parking!). We then walked the rest of the way into Portofino, you can either walk alongside the sea on the road, or you can walk around the cliff edge, both are lovely!

Portofino is a well-known destination among the ultra-rich, the harbour is full of yachts, celebrities visit every summer, and there are some beautiful hotels. However, it is opening up to the more regular members of society (like me!). You don’t need to have millions of pounds to enjoy this place.

The town is built around a small harbour of colourful buildings housing designer shops, seafood restaurants, gelato shops and souvenir shops. If you are on a time limit, you can explore the whole town fairly easily in the morning or afternoon. If you have time I would recommend having a drink on the terrace of the Belmond Splendido Hotel, this place is iconic and you can sit back and watch the boats coming in and out of the harbour. Just be warned, it is a bit of a climb!

Tip: For the best view of the harbour head up to Castello Brown, for just €5 you can head into the villa and out onto the terrace where you can enjoy a view you will never forget.

Camogli

We left Portofino around 16:30 so had enough time to drive to Camogli (around 25 mins) and enjoy golden hour here. Camogli is less known than other towns and villages along Liguria’s beautiful coastline, this is great as you are much more likely to bump into a local than a tourist, here you can enjoy a real authentic Italian experience.

We parked up near the train station and walked down to the seafront, the amenities are similar to Portofino but less glitzy, not that this is a bad thing! There are some lovely beachfront restaurants and bars, gelato shops and is home to not one, but two bays.

Tip: If you are having a weekend break in Genoa itself, Camogli is so easy to reach by train in less than an hour, make sure you enjoy a sunset meal here!

Cinque Terre

You have probably heard of Cinque Terre, it’s not surprising, for these villages are some of the most beautiful I have ever been to. The negative? Unlike 5 years ago, everyone knows about this place, and often it feels like half the world’s tourists. This place is now so popular, authorities are wanting to cut annual visitor numbers by 1 million! However, as long as you are prepared for crowds you can still enjoy it quite easily!

I would set aside a whole day to see the villages, in fact, you could probably do with a couple of days! But I have visited before and I wasn’t hugely bothered about visiting Monterosso so we ended up skipping this one, and also Corniglia.

Cinque Terre is a national park comprised of 5 colourful fishing villages. Monterosso is the largest and the place where you will find the majority of accommodation, it is also the one village that allows vehicles. It also has a small pebble beach which is lovely to relax at on a sunny day. Each of the 5 villages are commutable via a regular train service, there are just a few minutes between them, however, if you have the energy, you can hike between them!

Vernazza

Vernazza is my favourite of the villages, to me, it has the most character and the nicest viewpoint. You may well have seen this place on Instagram, including the gravelly lookout adorned by many in nice dresses. I would just like to point out that this has now been fenced off, and to access it from the village you must go past a ‘checkpoint’, it is free to go past if you have a Cinque Terre national park pass (we bought one with our train ticket), if you don’t have one, it is €7 to go past. You also must be wearing suitable footwear! They do check… If you are an idiot like me you can climb through part of the fence, walk along a narrow wall (with a drop on one side) and get to the viewpoint. I wouldn’t recommend this though unless you want to risk falling down a rocky cliff face, I accidentally flashed my pants to a bunch of French and German tourists, my nip popped out and I lost my ponytail. You can see the view just as well from behind the safety barrier (I am aware I am being a hypocrite on this one but it would be stupid of me to encourage the scramble).

Tip: For a different perspective of the village, walk up into the village and past the train station, there is a pathway on the right signposted to Corniglia. After a short climb, you will find a stunning view.

Manarola

Manarola is probably the most photographed of all the villages and it is my second favourite after Vernazza. The way the pink houses cascade down the cliff face is incredible. Make your way down to the waterfront where you will see locals diving into the sea!

Tip: Walk up to Nessun Dorma, a restaurant overlooking the whole village. Not only can you treat yourself to a frozen pina colada, but the food is really well priced too. At popular times you may have to wait for a seat, but it is worth it.

Riomaggiore

Riomaggiore is my sister’s favourite village, it is brighter than all the rest. I do think this is the prettiest one when viewed from the sea! The waterfront is my favourite, this is where I got my ice cream! The village dates back to the 13th century and produces its own wine. The main street, Via Colombo, is where you can find restaurants and small souvenir shops.

Tip: Take a ferry into Riomaggiore and drink in the view.

Using the train

To get the train into Cinque Terre from Santa Margherita is simple, there are direct trains (you need to take the train south towards La Spezia) and they stop in each of the villages. To get to the first village (Monterosso) you are looking at a journey of just under an hour and a half, it goes quickly though, the views are gorgeous! Train tickets cost us €4.60 each way which is a bargain compared to the UK train system, however, we would suggest getting Cinque Terre park passes which cost around €16. This means you will have the option of walking the trails and not having to pay when you are there.

Train staff are really helpful, not all trains to La Spezia will stop at the villages so please check when you are buying your ticket. Sometimes you need to go direct to La Spezia and change where you can go back north into the villages, this doesn’t take too long. Travelling home the trains back to Genoa (our direction) were only every hour so it is worth keeping a timetable on you so you aren’t hanging around, my sister and I missed the train by around 2 minutes as we hadn’t checked. You don’t need to go all the way to Genoa, Santa Margherita is a few stops before.

Tip: Make sure you check each station when you arrive, there were no announcements whilst we were on the train and we almost forgot to get off the train. I tend to get google maps up on my phone (if you live in Europe your data should be included in Italy) and see where I am. The trains stop at each station for a few minutes so you have time to get off even when you don’t realise at first that it is your stop.

Coming home

So, after a fleeting couple of days in my favourite country ever, it was time to go home. There were a few flight options back that day, however, it was easiest for my sister and I to go back to Luton. Our flight was at 10:05, so not quite as early as flying out. This suited us as Ellie wanted to get back to pick her daughter up from school and I wanted to get back to pick Baxter up. I prefer earlier flights when coming home as I always think the day is wasted, you tend to hang around waiting to leave for your flight as you become paranoid if you do too much you will be held up and miss it… that’s if you’re me anyway!

We left our hotel at around 7:15am, my worry was we would hit rush hour traffic. Due to the bridge collapse in Genoa a few years ago, more traffic is now diverted through the city. However, we didn’t have an issue with traffic at all other than a 5-minute hold up because someone broke down. We took a couple of wrong turns but made it to the airport by 8:30am (originally it was going to be 8:10am, but like I said, we aren’t the best navigators…).

Part of the agreement with the car rental company is that we had to fill up the petrol tank, conveniently there is a petrol station right by the entrance to the car rental car park so I popped in and filled up. It cost me €19, I thought this was pretty good considering the number of hills we went up!

Security at the airport was pretty busy and I did have a few panics in the queue. We didn’t have time to sit down at breakfast but we did make our flight! We were back at Luton and out of the airport within 2 and a half hours, pretty good if you ask me. We saved a bunch of time (and money) by using hand luggage only.

All in all, we loved our trip! Would I go back to Liguria again? Of course I would, it’s my favourite region. However, I have done Cinque Terre 3 times now and I think that’s it for me, I don’t want to ruin it for myself, so now I will have a look at some other places to visit!

Posted in Lifestyle, Travel

Travelling on a Budget

I am frequently asked how I afford to travel so regularly, and the truth is, it’s all I spend my money on really (except my nails…). I have been obsessed with travel for as long as I could remember, way back when I went into the travel agent with my mum and we booked a holiday to Disney World. I was 9 at the time. It was at that point I decided I wanted to BE a travel agent, and then my ambitions led me to the dream of building my own tropical eco hotel. Of course, the latter idea never came to fruition (one day maybe?), but I did become a travel agent. Well, a ‘Personal Travel Expert’ for a luxury tour operator based in the UK.

I have learnt a lot along the way, the best ways to save money, and how to travel within my budget and not miss out on what I want.

Consider Working Within the Travel Industry

If you are really serious about wanting to travel regularly, I would recommend working within travel. Not only do you receive some very good staff perks (flight vouchers, hotel discounts, free nights), but you can often be the first to find out about specific deals. If you work for a tour operator or agent you will often find yourself being sent on ‘fam trips’ – these are familiarisation trips where you get to visit hotels and destinations so you can sell them better. Whilst I was working as a PTE I went to Antigua and Mexico, staying in 5* hotels at no expense to myself, it was fab!

Travel Off-Peak

So many people make the mistake of thinking you can’t travel to a destination at certain times of the year. For the last ten years, Alex and I have been visiting countries ‘off-peak’. This is often when there is more rain, humidity, or it could be really cold! However, so far we have never had our holidays ruined by the weather.

By travelling in the rainy season we often save 50-70% on accommodation, we once went on a 6 week trip through South-East Asia, paying just £1,500 (including flights), in nice hotels too! We saw lots of nice weather along the way too, often these tropical destinations see plenty of sun through the showers.

For those who are very weather reliant on their travels, it is worth considering travelling in the shoulder season, rather than completely off-peak. This is when the seasons are shifting so you will get plenty of good weather too. Not only can you save around 30% on accommodation, but destinations are also much quieter so you can enjoy yourself more!

Join a Hotel Rewards Programme

Whilst in Kuala Lumpur, Alex and I managed to enjoy 5 nights at the 5* Aloft Hotel for free, thanks to his SPG points. There are many hotel chains that come under the same conglomerate and you can collect points for each night you stay! Not just that, many hotels will offer rewards if you don’t ask for your towels and linen to be washed every night, these can all add up to a good amount of points. Make sure to stick to the same points system when you travel, the points will go further.

Get a Debit/Credit Card with no Internation Fees

There are so many cards out there which will not charge you fees when you use your card abroad. If you travel regularly these can save you so much money! Some will charge a small fee annually or monthly, and some are completely free of charge. Please click here to read an article by money.co.uk comparing your different options.

Fly Indirect

No, you don’t have to fly via 3 different cities before reaching your final destination, but by adding one stopover you can save over £100 on flights!

Use Price Comparison Websites

If you know exactly where you want to fly and who flies there, it can be tempting to search for flights directly through an airlines website. However, you can save a lot of money by using websites such as Skyscanner or Kayak which will show you all your different options and airlines and which is the cheapest.

It’s not just flights you can save on, you can compare prices of hotels and car hire too! My go-to hotel price comparison website is hotelscombined.com.

Fly on a Week Day

From my experience working in travel, flights on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursday tend to be cheaper. I could go into the technicalities behind flight pricing, but to put it in simple terms, the flights with the least seats booked will always be cheaper. Flying on Fridays and weekends are always more popular!

Keep Up on Social Media

In the last year or so I have found great sale prices for hotels and flights, through their social media accounts! Many hotels will offer flash sales and these are a great time to book. Alex and I are off to Thailand this week and our first hotel was offering 60% off on the weekend we booked it, this saved us over £400 on a four-night stay! We wouldn’t have known about this offer had I not been following the hotel on Instagram.

Use Airbnb

There have been times I have trawled through price comparison websites and still not been able to afford a single thing on there! On these occasions, I have always found great accommodation through Airbnb for way cheaper than any of the hotels, and often in a better location too!

If you want to receive £25 off your first stay, you can sign up using my link here.

Use Your Legs Instead of a Taxi

Not only is walking great for your physical and mental wellbeing, but it’s also free! It can be so tempting to take a quick taxi journey across town, but not only does this cost money, you miss out on so much. Walk instead and see what you find.

Eat Locally

There are many cities across the world that have tourist hot spots in each area. Restaurant prices are far higher in neighbourhoods popular with tourists, why not get to know the more local areas and eat there instead? Your wallet will be much happier for it.

Don’t Buy Currency at the Airport

Just don’t do it! The rates are awful. If you get to the airport and realise you have forgotten to buy foreign currency, wait until you reach your destination and just head for the nearest ATM machine. If the ATM gives you an option to have the money converted by the machine or your bank, always choose your bank!

 

Posted in Homes and Gardens

6 Epic Houses for Sale in the Cotswolds

Maugersbury

If I had to draw my dream home on paper I am pretty sure it would be this. Located just a few miles from Stow on the Wold, this 7 bedroom home offers sweeping views across rolling green hills. Grade II listed yet recently renovated, I really question why anyone would want to leave these walls, I would even be happy just living in the 2 bedroom annexe!

Neston

Located right on the edge of the Cotswolds, close to the honey-coloured town of Corsham, this 6 bedroom house could be yours for a cool £2.6 million. The traditional farmhouse is surrounded by almost 12 acres of your own land and even comes with an indoor swimming pool and all-weather tennis courts.

Stanton

Stanton is one of my favourite Cotswold villages and this house offers a more modern twist on a traditional country home. You will need a good pair of green fingers to keep up with this landscaped garden if you want to keep it in tip-top shape! My favourite part of this house is the new orangery that floods the property with light.

Chedworth

Well if there was ever a house that made me want to go buy a lottery ticket, this is it. Set amongst immaculate grounds with a stone annexe, stables and paddocks, Salters Barn is the perfect example of a beautifully refurbished barn.

Sandford St. Martin

Have you ever wondered who actually needs a 7 bedroom home? Me too. But really, there are people out there with a lot of kids, so maybe this one is for them! This home has 16th-century origins, it was further extended in the 18th century, so it might come with a spooky story or two… I think that’s a sacrifice most would be willing to make in order to live in a home with a bespoke handmade kitchen, a master bedroom with its own dressing room, a spare cottage, outdoor heated pool and a hot tub. Did I mention the gym, sauna and steam room?!

Woodstock

Home to Blenheim Palace, Woodstock is an easy commute to Oxford and it’s on the edge of the stunning Cotswolds so there is no surprise there are people queueing up to live here. Little Manor (although there is nothing little about it), is in a village just outside of Woodstock, and with 7 bedrooms you can sleep in a different room every night of the week, and this isn’t even the main selling point!

This family home offers over 10,000 sq foot of living space, 9 acres of gardens, a swimming pool, paddocks, and even converted stables.

Posted in Instagram

How To Grow Your Instagram

Rewind a few years and Instagram was simple, it was straightforward. You would log into the app and you would scroll the most recent posts from friends, family, brands and whatever other accounts you followed. Jump forward to 2019 and it’s a minefield of algorithms, when to post? What to post? How to grow? We have been asking Instagram for years now to give us an option of a chronological feed, but alas, that does not suit the company’s agenda so it just will not happen, so what can we do?

I started my Instagram in 2016, for the first 6 months I ignored it, I started ‘gramming properly in December 2016 as I got an obsession for Christmas scenes. In my first year I grew to 10k, in my second year to 40k, and this year I hit 100k. This growth has been all organic, no dodgy giveaways, no fake followers, just hard work and trying to improve my content each day.

Below are the 5 most important things I believe you need to do to become successful on a platform so many now struggle with.

Engage with others

So many people forget social media is about being social. They get caught up on their own accounts, their own content and engagement, that they forget to interact with others. Why would Instagram reward you for not using the platform in the intended way?

Instagram has the highest engagement of all major social media platforms, whether we like the algorithm or not, clearly it is doing what Instagram wants it to do. With high engagement, Instagram can change brands and small businesses more for advertisement space. So believe it or not, Instagram is not ruining your engagement on purpose.

Whether you are funemployed, in full-time work, on holiday or maybe even just about to have a baby, there are ways to find time to engage with others. This includes liking and commenting on the content from people you follow, things you find on the explore page or within relevant hashtags, or simply just watching stories. So what do you do when you are working 9-6, then drive an hour home before cooking dinner and finally relaxing at 8pm? How do you find the time to engage with all these people? I started my Instagram when I was still employed at a travel specialist. I would engage with people when I was on my lunch break! On the loo, on the train into work (and this only took 4 minutes…), I would engage during ad breaks on the telly, when the kettle was boiling, when Alex was in the loo (I thought it would be a bit rude to do it when we were trying to spend time together). You don’t have to engage with thousands of photos, you can easily find some great content within a couple of minutes.

This engagement not only shows Instagram you are an active member of its community, but it also puts you out there to the people you are engaging with. People will start looking at your content, chatting with you, and you may even make a friend or two.

Create great content

You don’t need an expensive camera to take a brilliant photo, nearly all modern phones have cameras on that are pretty good. Find what you like taking photos of, then take some inspiration from other Instagrammers that are killing it, what are they doing? What advice can you take from them? I’m not telling you to go out and copy them, but I know a lot of people who struggle with how to compose a photo, Instagram is a great place to start for ideas.

Good content will do well, this is because the algorithm rewards those who receive large amounts of engagement in the first moments after posting. You don’t need thousands, or even hundreds of followers, the algorithms are based on a ratio between engagement and reach (unique views) of your photo/video. The engagement will come mainly due to people looking at your photo, being attracted to it, and clicking the like button. People are being more and more harsh with the use of the like button, they just aren’t using it, I am guilty of that too, so we need to find ways to WOW them. Then they will click the little heart without even realising!

It’s important when first starting out you try a bit of trial and error, take some new photos, edit them in different ways, look to see which does best, then you know how to move forward. You don’t need to get stuck in a niche, it is always fun to try something totally different, but don’t forget to regularly check-in and analyse what resonates best with your audience.

So how do you create great content when you don’t know your way around a camera or any sort of editing suite? Start with your phone, follow some basic rules – don’t shoot directly into the sunlight, try and focus on a subject within a scene, check your composition – is the horizon straight? Have you cut off anything out of the frame that should be in it? Hold the phone/camera still when you are shooting to save it from being blurred. If you are still struggling, get yourself onto YouTube and learn there – it’s free!

As for editing, there are a ton of apps out there with awesome filters so you barely have to do a thing, when I first started out I used A Color Story. I now use all my own presets (filters) on Lightroom which you can purchase here.

Edited with my England preset pack.

Post at the right time

Whilst the Instagram feed is no longer chronological, there really is no point in posting in the middle of the night when all your followers are asleep, you will wake up with low engagement and just get down in the dumps, even if it’s your best photo.

Think about where your followers are located, what time will they be awake? When will they be on their phones? Most people post in the mornings or evenings, when followers are commuting to and from work, there is no surprise that most people sitting on trains are on their phones. I no longer even post on a Saturday, firstly I like a day off my phone, and secondly, people are busy on Saturdays. Choose Sundays instead when people are laying on the sofa nursing their hangovers.

Keep up with your analytics

Instagram offers its users a wealth of audience and post analytics through the app. You can gain access to these by changing your account from a personal account to a business or creator account.

You can check the location of your followers, what time of day they are most active, which posts receive the highest engagement and the days you gained the most followers.

Use hashtags

Whilst hashtags are not nearly as effective as they used to be, they are a great source of traffic when you make it into the ‘top’. Instagram offers users the ability to filter hashtags by ‘top’ or by ‘recent’. The top hashtags are those that Instagram believes you will like the most, these often come from larger accounts or those with high levels of engagement, but there are often times when relatively small accounts and post make it onto there so it is worth a try!

Users can use up to 30 hashtags per post, any more than that and none of them will work. It is important to use only relevant ones, to save you from having your post reported by an angry hashtag viewer.

If you are struggling to find hashtags that fit your photo, you can search one hashtag, and it will suggest others. For example, if I search ‘englishcottage’, Instagram also suggests ‘thatchedcottage’, ‘englishcountryhouse’ and ‘beautifulengland’. Remember, you don’t always need to use hashtags with millions of posts, it will be harder to be seen, try using a range of large, medium and small size hashtags.

You can download my Instagram strategy for small businesses here.

Posted in Travel

Pretty English Streets

I was originally going to title this ‘The Prettiest Streets in England’ but firstly who am I to decide what the prettiest is, and secondly, there are a ton I have photographed and not got around to editing that should make that list. So instead, here are some of the pretty streets I have stumbled across. Some you’ll know, some you won’t, but I hope you enjoy!

Clovelly High Street

New Street, Painswick

High Street, Stamford

Vicar’s Close, Wells

Eastgate Street, Chester

Church Hill, Kersey

Trinity Lane, Cambridge

The Shambles, York

Catherine Hill, Frome

Gold Hill, Shaftesbury

Hay Hill, Bath

East Street, Corfe Castle

Steep Hill, Lincoln

The street, Castle Combe

Click here for the cutest cottages in England

Posted in Homes and Gardens, Travel

Cutest Cottages in England

England is well known for its picture-perfect cottages, especially in places like the Cotswolds. However, there are these sweet homes all over the place, not just in the South West. The cottage style of home came about in the Medieval Ages to house agricultural workers. Contrary to common misperception, cottages don’t actually have to have a thatched roof, it just seems a lot of my favourites do have one!

Honington, Warwickshire

Clovelly, Devon

Exton, Rutland

Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire

Grantchester, Cambridgeshire

Great Tew, Oxfordshire

Wennington, Cambridgeshire

Sissinghurst, Kent

Houghton, Cambridgeshire

Robin Hood’s Bay, North Yorkshire

Bibury, Gloucestershire

Click here to discover the 14 prettiest streets in England!

Posted in Favourite Eats, Instagram, Travel

The Most Instagrammable Ice Cream in London

Ok ok I know, I am slightly late with this post. So late, in fact, it isn’t even summer anymore. I planned to write this last month when we were in the middle of a heatwave, but adulting happens and before you know it it’s September, what’s a gal to do?! However, this is England, we love to wear shorts in 15-degree weather, we rarely take our umbrellas out, and come December we refuse to acknowledge the fact it’s bloody cold, so we can eat ice cream all year round right? I do anyway…

I am writing this article mainly to myself because I have an absolute obsession with a particular American ice creamery that is not in the UK, or even Europe. My husband is sick of me suggesting we go on holiday to the US purely so I can eat 800 calories worth of ice cream every day, I am hoping to find a new obsession, based in London.

Milk Train

I heard mixed reviews about this place. It is instantly recognisable these days and located in Covent Garden, its popularity has blown up massively over this past summer. Don’t bother getting there early, it doesn’t open until 1pm each day, however, if you want a chance of taking a photo of your ice cream against the pretty floral backdrop, you will need to start queueing around 15 minutes before it opens.

After hearing some negative things about their ice cream, I was pleasantly surprised by the taste of the soft-serve ice cream! And they really do look as good as the photos, the candy floss rings, however, are somewhat impractical (my friend ate mine in the end).

I would give this an Instagram rating of 5/5, a taste rating of 4/5, but the chaotic atmosphere inside the ice cream parlour is a little stressful. I wouldn’t sit in there to eat the ice cream because of how busy it is (this will improve outside of the summer season hopefully), however, it melts quickly so finding a spot to eat it in peace before being covered in gooey bubblegum goodness was difficult.

 

Whipped

It’s clear to see that many cafes and restaurants across the capital are creating food with Instagram in mind. Some people find this annoying, for me, it’s bringing out people’s creative sides, and I love that. Whipped London is a dessert cafe in Holborn combining ice cream and cheesecake! My favourite? The cookie monster! Everyone knows cookie dough is the best thing since sliced bread.

Yaki Yaki

A little taste of Japan in London. Yaki Yaki might look like a very modern-day dessert but the actual flavours have stuck to their traditional roots. Who doesn’t want to eat ice cream straight out of a little fishy cone?

So why fish? These fish cones are supposed to be seabream, a royal fish in Japanese culture. But don’t worry, it doesn’t actually taste like fish in any way! It is purely for aesthetic purposes.

 


View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Cindy ✘ London (@thefoodyproject) on


 

Yolkin

Did someone ask for an ice cream macaron sandwich? No, but that’s only because we hadn’t thought of it! These little treats are so cute and their designs are always being updated!

 


View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Duyku’s London️️ Food Travel (@eatnlondon) on


 

Knot Churros

Whilst the ice cream (and the churros!) look incredible, recent reviews suggest they look better than they taste. With an interior just as pretty, the cafe can get very busy and photos hard to take. So if you do want to pop in for a photo, make sure you get there early as they don’t take table reservations!


View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Knot Churros (@theknotchurros) on


 

Milkman Camden

Ever heard of nitrogen ice cream? Me neither until I stumbled upon this place. I won’t go too much into detail but think of it as a rather funky looking scientific experiment and poof you get some ice cream from it! Imagine super cold ice cream decorated with flowers and you will reach the below…


View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Milkman Camden (@milkmancamden) on


 

Milk Cool

Anyone else starting to see a trend in how many places use the word ‘milk’ in their name? Yep me too. Milk Cool is no different. Located in Notting Hill, Milk Cool is bashing out all the rainbow soft-serve ice cream you could hope for, and with a ring of candy floss too. All the ice cream is nut-free so this is the perfect option for those with nut allergies it’s pretty tasty too… You can even indulge in a six-tier, six flavour ice cream, all for the gram hey?!


View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Milk Cool (@milkcoollondon) on


 
Click here for the cutest cottages in England