Alastair

has published 468 posts

I'm a specialist travel journalist writing about battlefield sites, technical museums, military history, transport infrastructure, electric vehicles, amazing engineering & architecture, industrial heritage… and where you can see it. I’ve been a travel editor & presenter since 1989, originally in local radio, then national & international radio (Classic FM) before moving online just before the millennium. I’ve been an active member of the travel creative community since 2010 and a regular speaker at social media travel conferences. I’m an accredited member of the British Guild of Travel Writers (former Chair & Vice-Chair). I am co-author of Bradt: D-Day Landings – A travel guide to Normandy’s beaches and battlegrounds.

Author Archives: Alastair

Tall Ship ‘Peking’ returns to Hamburg

Yesterday, the historic ‘tall ship’ Peking was welcomed back to her home port of Hamburg, where she is due to become a permanent highlight on the waterfront, and the primary exhibit of the new German Port Museum. “With the Peking, Hamburg is gaining a new landmark,” Hamburg...

Using gravity to store energy

Edinburgh-based Gravitricity are starting work on a scaled down demonstrator tower to test the response of their design for a gravity driven energy storage system. It’s not exactly a ‘new’ idea – I keep thinking of my dad’s fabulous 18th century grandfather clock – but it is...

Istanbul Airport Opens a Culture Museum

Istanbul Airport has opened a new airport museum available to all international passengers. A growing number of international gateway airports around the world, such as San Francisco, Amsterdam & Paris, have become annexes to their national and local arts & culture museums, showcasing their national heritage to...

Fouga CM.170 Magister

The Fouga CM.170 Magister was a 2-seat jet trainer used by the French Air Force (Armée de l’Air) in the 1950s and 60s. Designed & built by the French aircraft manufacturer Fouga, it was instantly recognisable by its slender form and  V-shaped tailplanes.  It was the French...

H.L. Hunley Replica

This replica of the U.S. Civil War submarine HL Hunley sits outside the Charleston Museum. The HL Hunley (named after her inventor, Horace Lawson Hunley) was a Confederate State submarine, built in Mobile, Alabama in 1863 and launched in July 1863. She had a crew of 8...