2024: Places

I've enjoyed exploring a lot of places this year, in Britain and further afield, and as usual these trips have regularly proved inspirational. One or two places have already given me fresh settings for stories that I'm working on. For the first time in ages, I went to Ireland - twice, for good measure - on tours that enabled me to see a good deal of the lovely countryside. One trip included northern Ireland and at last I managed to see the Giant's Causeway, somewhere that's been on my bucket list for a long time. In the republic, places like Donegal, Malin, and the cliffs of Moher are among those that linger in the memory. There were also lovely visits to Scotland (including Culzean Castle and the charming artists' town of Kirkcudbright as well as the book town Wigtown) and Wales.

Three trips involved more extensive travelling. One of the many highlights of a yacht cruise around Croatia, which ended up in Venice, was the chance to drink a Bellini in Harry's Bar - a memorable occasion for all sorts of reasons! Croatia is a gorgeous country, and this was my second trip in as many years. Some of the small coastal villages and towns are crammed with history. The same is true of northern Spain. A visit to the Guggenheim in Bilbao was fascinating, and the resort of Gijon was a revelation, a place I'd never heard of, but which really appealed to me.

Bouchercon this year was held in Nashville, in a vast and - in some respects - bizarre hotel in which many of us kept getting lost. But I did have a fantastic suite with a balcony and lots of nice meals and drinks with friends. I was interested to visit the city, including the legendary Printers' Alley, where I had a meal in a 'British pub' with a number of friends. One of the highlights was a great place which offered whisky tasting. And there was a Madame Tussaud's devoted almost entirely to country and western music stars...

One of the many highlights of a yacht cruise around the islands and northern coast of Croatia, which ended up in Venice, was the chance to drink a Bellini in Harry's Bar - a memorable occasion for all sorts of reasons! Croatia is a gorgeous country, and this was my second trip in as many years. Some of the small coastal villages and towns are crammed with history. The same is true of northern Spain. A visit to the Guggenheim in Bilbao was fascinating, and the resort of Gijon was a revelation, a place I'd never heard of, but which really appealed to me.

Closer to home, there were some marvellous festivals. Newcastle Noir, and a conversation with Ann Cleeves is fresh in my memory; I also did a couple of conversations with her in Wirral, an old stamping ground for both of us: the photo immediately above was taken in a church in Heswall, a couple of miles from where I had a flat in the 1980s and started work on my first novel. I also spent a couple of days in the north east when researching for Miss Winter in the Library with a Knife, when Ann kindly guided me around the area. I did a couple of fun events with her in Wirral and also a conversation with Peter James in Bramhall. The first Death in the Dales festival at Sedbergh was a great success; I really enjoyed my conversations with Kate Ellis and Jean Briggs, and I'm delighted to have been invited back for next year. The penultimate CrimeFest in Bristol was a lot of fun, and in one week I managed to fit in both the Richmond Festival, where I gave the first Peter Robinson lecture and enjoyed touring around the Yorkshire Dales as well as the Richmond area itself, and the Isle of Man, where there was again a chance for sightseeing in the company of my old friend from student days Tony and his wife.

Alibis in the Archive at Gladstone's Library and Bodies from the Library at the British Library are always very enjoyable. So was a trip to Cambridge to see a preview of the Murder by the Book exhibition. A real highlight (see the photo near the top of this post) was seeing All the Lonely People featured as one of the notable 100 British crime novels of the 20th century. A great moment! During the same trip, it was nice to spend a day in Rutland with David Whittle, biographer of Edmund Crispin and see places like Oakham and Rutland Water for the first time. It was fun to attend an E.C.R. Lorac exhibition at a library in Lunesdale and even more exciting to witness Lena Whiteley - above - unveil a plaque honouring Lorac at her old home, Newbanks, in Aughton.

Libraries - public libraries, not just Gladstone's and the BL - are very important to me. I organised exhibitions for libraries in the Wirral, Cumbria, and Warrington areas as well as at Bromley House in Nottingham. There were events at libraries in Penketh and Wallasey in June, while a trip to Cumbria involved four events at libraries in the area as well as the chance to revisit places like St Bees and Kendal. I even started thinking about ideas for another mystery novel set in the Lake District...I'm also very interested in getting young people enthused about crime fiction and as well as an online event with St Bede's, a sixth form college in the north east, I had the interesting experience of visiting Royal Lancaster Grammar School and meeting a bunch of students who had some really fascinating questions to ask about crime writing.

The year began with a family weekend celebration of my brother in law's 70th in Liverpool, and I spent time in Scotland and Wales, enjoying the scenery as well as conversations with local people. There were trips to Oxford, including meetings with more of my old college friends, and a poignant evening in Brooks' Club, London, when we celebrated the memory of my late tutor Don Harris, as well as a great night at Lincoln's Inn, listening to Matthew Syed, one of the journalists I admire most, in the company of my son and also some guys I last met as fellow students over forty years ago.

And as I've whizzed around, I've felt not only energised by the experience, but also thankful for the pleasure of the company of some lovely people. And a few of them will be featured in my final post of the year tomorrow.