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The Nats are a Bath institution, specialising in comic street theatre. You might catch them on the streets of Bath as they try out new and ever more bizarre scenarios before they take them on tour. What few people realise is that they also provide the rather more serious but still very engaging live historical characters at the Roman Baths. They are there every day of the week and really help to bring history to life.
Roman Baths Museum, Bath. Daily
www.naturaltheatre.co.uk
Google map: bit.ly/9Qne84
The distinctive red sandstone ruin of Edzell Castle in Angus is perfect for exploring, but the real treasure is finding an Italian Renaissance garden nestling at the foot of a Scottish glen. This walled garden or pleasance was originally built in 1604. Triangular beds of dwarf box hedging create amazingly intricate designs while the wall is home to 16th century German carvings using heraldic and symbolic imagery, plus flower-filled recesses. You won’t meet one of the former guests – Mary Queen of Scots – but will you encounter the ghost of the White Lady?
www.historic-scotland.gov.uk
Adult £4.70, Child £2.80
It's about five miles from the A90 Dundee to Aberdeen trunk road.
Google map: tinyurl.com/2ujd3nc
Penicuik is not your normal tourist destination ... but if you're looking to see a bit of the real Scotland away from the pretty and popular tourist spots this is where to come.
Penicuik is an old mining community. It's gritty. It's seen better days. But it's got a lot of history and a lot of charm beneath it's hard exteria.
In days gone by you can really image the old town centre as the hub of Penicuik. The old town clock hangs above the square, and the old water pump still exists. Today there's the Peni Deli on the High Street and a little French bistro that are well worth popping into for a cuppa and a quick bite if you're here.
Where a lot of people in the past would have been employed in the local coal mine at Bilston (the Miners Club is still alive and kicking on the high street!) today it's mostly a commuter town for people that work in the city of Edinburgh.
In the past couple of years an excellent new sports centre and swimming pool have opened in Penicuik, and there's a skatepark and sports pitches nearby.
If you enjoy going for long walks/cycles it's possible to walk/cycle from Penicuik to Musselburgh along the old railway line. It's a full days trek so take some lunch with you!
10 miles south of Edinburgh, just outside of the city bypass.
To get there by public transport take a Lothian Bus from the centre of Edinburgh, numbers 15, 37 & 47. They are very frequent - approximately every 15 minutes.
Google map: tinyurl.com/36ht44l
Unika Borneo, nestled in the heart of the old chinese quarter in Kuching, is a shop selling collectibles from all over Borneo, as well as some other parts of Southeast Asia. Whilst the main bazaar in the city is where people go for the more obvious tourist souvenirs, a visit to Unika Borneo, as the name suggests, gives you the opportunity of finding something a little bit different. I went here in 2009 and was very impressed with the range of wooden carvings (some of which are very old) and the laid back attitude of the staff, there is no hard sell here whatsoever. The atmosphere of the shop is more akin to that of a small art gallery, but the temptation to purchase something is high, and I was very pleased with the small stone buddha that I bought, which hailed from java. Kuching is a wonderful city and I hope to return again soon, when I'll also look forward to another visit to this specialist (and special) shop.
5 Wayang Street,
93000 Kuching,
Sarawak, Malaysia.
+6 082-416857
www.unikaborneo.com
Il Monastero is an apartment in an ancient Monastery in a hill top town in Le Marche, a great budget accommodation for a couple wishing to explore the area. Sant'Angelo has 2 restaurants in the lovely cobbled streets, and amazing views of the Sibillini Mountains. Its easy to get to the historic towns of art and culture from here, Marche is rich in Benedictine abbeys, well-endowed churches and monasteries and works of art. A particular joy of the area is to be able to look at works of art in churches and galleries in small cities where it is unlikely that there will be any other visitors.
17th Century farmhouse right next to the church in the village centre.
Charming hosts, great breakfasts and books to read.
Bamburgh
The former German town of Swakopmund is bordered by the cold Atlantic Ocean on one side and the hot Namib Desert on the other. Its architecture is reminiscent of Germany in the 1930s, restaurants feature German meals and even the language is invariably German.
On the Atlantic coast of Namibia
From Penny Black to BQ, the bars at the top end of Boat Quay are a world class place to hang out in the early evening.
Where else can you find a place as idyllic as this, just seconds from the centre of the city's financial district? Light rippling off the water, multi-coloured converted "go-downs", old river taxis still plying the river and historical buildings on the other bank?
Yes, the restaurants further down the river really are pure tourist fodder, so you'll want to go somewhere else to eat, and Harry's Bar might be more famous for Nick Leeson than anything else, but don't let the stigma of going to an "expat hangout" divert from a genuine part of Singapore's culture.
The expats have been here since the place began, after all, and you may know someone who works nearby - an ideal excuse to drink in the atmosphere.
If this doesn't appeal, stroll up to The Fullerton, cross the bridge, and head for Indochine and its Opium Bar where you can stare back at Boat Quay from the other bank - and probably get some better food.
Boat Quay, Raffles Place MRT.
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