Welcome to Burnessie Travels! I’m Charlie. *waves* I live and work in London, I’m in my mid 30s and I’ve been travelling solo for over 17 years. I’ve done everything from city breaks to long haul road trips by myself, as well as two long term backpacking jaunts in my twenties, before the time of Instagram and when you had to go to an actual internet café in order to connect with the world back home (yes, really!)
I started blogging well over a decade ago but a bit halfheartedly; mostly about food as I couldn’t afford to travel as much back then. That said, I particularly enjoyed writing about the food I enjoyed on my travels, so you’ll find some older in depth blogs focused on this in the archives.
Now, I’m in a position where I can travel a lot more and really, that is my true love, so the focus on here is very much on travel guides with recommendations of my favourite places I have found to eat and drink, as well as things to do and practical tips. Photography has been a hobby of mine for 25 years, so you’ll also find lots of snaps of my travels and you can buy some of my prints here, too.
FINE, ANOTHER TRAVEL BLOG. HOW DO I KNOW IF THIS ONE IS FOR ME?
This is a blog for those who like to maximise their holiday days around their 9-5 as much as possible, and in terms of budget are somewhere in the middle – I don’t rough it like I did back in the day, but luxury is also out of range, especially as a (predominantly) solo traveller. On average I aim to spend around £70 per night on accommodation, and I tend to do a mix of hotels and Air BnBs depending on where I’m travelling.
If you’re looking for fine dining and tasting menus, you won’t find it here – it’s just not my thing. I love street food and local restaurants but I also like to splurge on a nice cocktail at a rooftop bar with a view. The next night I might keep things basic and grab a beer from the local shop (foreign supermarkets FTW, right?) and sit by the river to watch the sun go down. I like a mix!
This blog is also for those who are thinking about solo travel and maybe don’t know where to start. It’s one of my favourite things in the world when someone messages me to tell me they took the leap into solo travel because of my content, and I really believe everyone should try it (and do it on the reg if possible, to be honest!)
WHERE DO YOU LIKE TO TRAVEL?
My favourite country is Italy and I try to visit every year, though I have a very real love for the Caribbean and South East Asia too. I’m happiest in a small Italian city, on the beach, under the sea or chasing a sunset.
I’ve backpacked South East Asia extensively over my two round the world trips, though this was a while ago now! I’ve worked in Australia, travelled beautiful New Zealand and explored amazing Mexico a couple of times and am very keen to see more of Central America.
OKAY COOL, WHAT ELSE WILL I FIND ON BURNESSIE TRAVELS?
I am obsessed with collecting Avios points in order to fly as cheaply as possible, including getting seriously savvy with them in order to fly business class long haul (The Dream). I promise to teach you everything I know!
I also love train travel and particularly sleeper trains – I have a long list of journeys I’m keen to do! Leaving one country at night and waking up in another one feels like the height of adventure to me, so I hope to put out more content around sleeper trains in the future.
I’m a Glasto girl, and since 2016 have written about the best food you can find at the greatest festival each year. Glasto is my favourite place in the world, even including all of the incredible places I’ve been lucky to visit. This year will be my ninth festival!
SOUNDS GREAT, I’M ON BOARD!
Yay! I’m very happy to have you here in my corner of the internet! You can follow me on Instagram here, and to make sure you never a miss a post you can also subscribe to my blog via this link or at the bottom of this page.
Hopefully I’ll inspire you to discover solo travel, try somewhere new and help guide you to my favourite places to eat and drink in far off places, along with some practical tips that will help take the stress out of planning.
It makes my day when someone enjoys somewhere I’ve recommended, so please do share it and tag me on Insta if you do!
