Five escapes from the winter gloom

February 16, 2025February 16, 2025 / mikeosbornphoto / 5 Comments

The European winter is long and hard with freezing weather and dreary days.

Here in Manchester, we’re enduring a spell of really cold torpid days instead of hopeful signs of Spring.

This makes February and March a perfect time to get away and inject some sunshine and warmth into our lives.

If you’re fortunate enough to be able jet off, jumping from winter into an early summer is worth the journey. Here are five places you might consider for an injection of Vitamin D – and much more.

1. AGADIR

Feb/March temperature: 20-23C

This Moroccan seaside resort has been welcoming European visitors escaping the winter for decades and is a four-hour flight from the UK. It has a broad stretch of Atlantic beach and a host of hotels and restaurants. The old town comes with a souk and a splash of North African colour to complement the warm seaside vibe, while there are other lovely coastal towns to visit.

Tap/click image to see more of Agadir

2. HAVANA

Feb/March temperature: 26-28C

This sunny destination is more long haul, but well worth the journey. This legendary city with its colourful, tumbledown buildings, vintage cars and salsa rhythms is a real experience which will erase all memories of winter. If you want to sip rum cocktails on the beach, then head to Varadero to soak up the sunshine and also consider visiting some of Cuba’s other delightful cities.

Tap/click image for more about Havana and the island of Cuba

3. CAPE VERDE

Feb/March temperature: 22C

This African island archipelago adrift in the Atlantic Ocean, around six hours flying time from the UK, boasts a very pleasant all year round climate. The arid islands of Sal and Boa Vista have become popular beach holiday havens. But you can visit the other islands for a different flavour, such as rugged, verdant Santo Antão which is a great place to get your hike on.

Tap/click image to explore the Cape Verde islands

4. ABU DHABI

Feb/March temperature: 25-28C

The futuristic city of Dubai is a huge draw for winter tourism with a party vibe, but just up the Gulf coast is Abu Dhabi, which is less about staggering skyscrapers, feels more lived in and less of a showcase. It boasts a delightful corniche and sandy beaches, while a visit to the stunning Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque is an absolute must.

Tap/click image to see more of this waterfront city

5. CAPE TOWN

Feb/March temperature: 25C

One way to virtually guarantee a successful escape from the European winter is to head to the southern hemisphere summer. This South African city is perched on the edge of the continent with invigorating beachscapes and the majestic backdrop of Table Mountain. The multi-coloured district of Bo-Kaap lifts the soul. Cape Town is a great starting point for exploring more of South Africa.

Tap/click image for more on Cape Town

✈️ Do you seek the warm sunshine in winter? If you have any destination suggestions, please leave a comment below. Thank you!

Five capital cities to explore and enjoy

October 11, 2020November 26, 2020 / mikeosbornphoto / 6 Comments

Your first port of call in a new country is often the capital city. It’s the national hub, showpiece and population centre. It’s easy to pick world class cities such as London, Paris and Berlin. But I’m sharing five less obvious choices to add to your travel goals. As always, please share your favourite capitals!

HAVANA, CUBA

An exciting yet languid capital city showcasing decades of Fidel Castro’s communism in a tropical Caribbean climate. Havana is less about stately edifices but the shabby chic pastels of its elegantly crumbling buildings. A photographer’s wet dream. TAP/CLICK IMAGE FOR MORE OF CUBA

You must: Stroll around the back streets and take it all in.

Elegant crumbling Havana street corner, Cuba

Havana’s battered look is its greatest asset

REYKJAVIK, ICELAND

The world’s most northerly capital city is a place of compact size and immense cool, with some unexpectedly dazzling architecture. It’s also a city where the magnificent Icelandic landscape is never far away. TAP/CLICK IMAGE FOR MORE

You must: Take a trip up to the Perla Dome for some wonderful views.

Reykyavik: Small but beautifully formed

ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

This Arabian Gulf capital seems to sit in the shadow of its more famous, glitzy neighbour Dubai. But it feels more like a real, working city with all the benefits – a very pleasant seaside corniche, some modern high rises – and warm winter sunshine. TAP/CLICK IMAGE FOR MORE

You must: See the spectacular Sheikh Zayed Mosque. Go at sunset and after dark.

Skyline of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

The UAE capital has an ultra-modern skyline

TBILISI, GEORGIA

This undulating Caucasian capital sits in a spectacular spot and has an array of architecture and attractions. What I liked about it most was its energetic vibe and nighttime liveliness. TAP/CLICK IMAGE FOR MORE OF GEORGIA

You must: Ride the Soviet era metro and take the cable car for sunset views

Mother Georgia has a great view of Tbilisi

TOKYO, JAPAN

This five of the best is the largest capital city. Tokyo prefecture is home to a staggering 38 million people. If you’re visiting Japan for the first time, it’s a baptism of fire with its complex transport system, unfamiliar cultural norms and frenetic vibe. Just go with the flow and you’ll come to love it. Even I managed not to get lost. TAP/CLICK IMAGE FOR MORE OF URBAN JAPAN

You must: Visit bewildering Shibuya and walk in the other direction – you’ll hear birds sing.

Shibuya is an intensely urbanised area of Tokyo

16 of 2016

January 1, 2017July 19, 2022 / mikeosbornphoto / 34 Comments

2016 has been dismissed as a bad vintage by some, thanks to Brexit, Trump and a large number of celebrity deaths.

But behind the camera, another year has passed with a great deal of photographs to show for it. I’ve picked out 16 that seem to have stood out from the pack, reflecting a year of travel to Abu Dhabi and Sri Lanka.

The foreign adventures were curtailed as I set about the task of leaving London and setting up home further north. There were some photo excursions along the way, including a blistering summer’s day in Broadstairs – and finally capturing the sumptuous staircase in an old London furniture store.

2017 looks likely to be filled with new northern adventures in and around Manchester, with some travel thrown in. Thank you for another year of visits, appreciation and support – a Happy New Year to you and yours.

Click first image to view the best of 2016

Little bits of…

August 29, 2016August 28, 2016 / mikeosbornphoto / 9 Comments

I really like to seek out details to photograph, often more than the bigger picture and grand vistas. They can be tucked away doorways, windows that are so familiar they’re ignored. I’ve visited a number of places with my camera, and have looked back over my photo archive for some of those smaller, more ordinary items. It’s anything from a line of washing on the roof of a bland building in Cape Verde to a neat beach hut on the East Anglian coast. Enjoy the significance of these little bits…

Click first image to see collection

: Abu Dhabi

: Budapest

: Cape Verde

: Dungeness

: Sweden

: Hunstanton

: Norwich

: Olympic Park, London

: Sri Lanka

: Shoreditch

: Budapest

: Oostende

: Whitley Bay

: Woolwich

: Regent’s Canal

Abu Dhabi: Water metropolis

March 25, 2016February 14, 2025 / mikeosbornphoto / 12 Comments

Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates, nestles handsomely on the waters of the Arabian Gulf. During the relative cool of the winter, I spent an entire day making my way along The Corniche – a showpiece walkway by the water’s edge and Abu Dhabi’s beaches, with the high-rise majesty of the city centre next to you. The blue and white palette is dazzling.

The walkway eventually gives way to the bustling junction with 18th Street, the artery leading to Marina Island. It bristles with boats, has its own impressive shopping mall and a vast UAE flag. As the daylight slowly ebbs, people gather to pass the time. Dusk into darkness brings its own reward as the city twinkles and casts colourful reflections onto the water – a photographic delight.

As this is the final glance at Abu Dhabi, I’d suggest that it’s a better bet than nearby Dubai, which has mopped up all the notoriety having shot up from almost nothing. Well there’s only one way to find out…