Welcome to
ABOVE US ONLY SKIES
A world travel blog for travellers, would-be travellers and anybody else with a curious interest in ditching the routine and exploring our planet.
We’re Ian & Nicky and we’re here to inform, entertain and hopefully inspire you to explore more often and for longer.
With one caveat.
Whilst it’s still possible for many people to travel during the current pandemic, it comes with an extra responsibility to protect not just oneself but also others around us. Which means wearing a mask in public spaces, maintaining a safe social distance and regularly washing one’s hands.
HOUSESITTING IN FRANCE, SPAIN & PORTUGAL: A PANDEMIC TALE
4 March 2021 – Pandemic
It was meant to be our year for an extended road trip through western Europe, housesitting along the way. But 2020 turned into a pandemic tale of lockdowns, closed borders and ever-changing plans…
THE PERILS OF LONG-TERM TRAVEL
10 February 2021
A catalogue of tawdry tales full of mishaps, embarrassments and imagined acts of derring-do from our six years of travel…
6 THINGS WE'VE LEARNED ABOUT TRAVEL SINCE THE GREAT PANDEMIC OF 2020
8 December 2020 – Pandemic
It’s New Year’s Eve 2025 and, five years on from the Great Pandemic of 2020, it’s time to reflect on what we’ve learned about travel…
THE BASTIDE TOWNS AND "BEAUX VILLAGES" OF SOUTHWEST FRANCE
20 November 2020 – France
The bastide towns and “beaux villages” of southwest France boast an enticing mixture of history and beauty – here are 12 of our favourites…
EXPLORING THE WORLD IN PHOTOGRAPHS: "YELLOW"
10 November 2020 – Collections
Take a whistlestop worldwide tour via a collection of our favourite photographs, connected by the colour yellow – and not a banana in sight…
7 ESSENTIAL DAY TRIPS FROM MADRID
25 October 2020 – Spain
Madrid is a world-class travel destination in its own right, but here are seven essential day trips from Spain’s capital that shouldn’t be missed…
ALFORNÓN: A RURAL GEM OF LAS ALPUJARRAS, ANDALUCIA
15 October 2020 – Spain
Tucked away in a remote valley of Las Alpujarras, amidst endless almond and olive groves, we reckon Alfornón is rural Andalucia at its best…
6 HIGHLIGHTS OF PORTUGAL'S BEAUTIFUL LISBON COAST
20 September 2020 – Portugal
Jaw-dropping beaches, fairytale palaces and vertigo-inducing cliff walks are just some of the highlights of our guide to Portugal’s beautiful Lisbon coast…
HOUSESITTING IN FRANCE, SPAIN & PORTUGAL: A PANDEMIC TALE
4 March 2021 – Pandemic
It was meant to be our year for an extended road trip through western Europe, housesitting along the way. But 2020 turned into a pandemic tale of lockdowns, closed borders and ever-changing plans…
THE PERILS OF LONG-TERM TRAVEL
10 February 2021
A catalogue of tawdry tales full of mishaps, embarrassments and imagined acts of derring-do from our six years of travel…
6 THINGS WE'VE LEARNED ABOUT TRAVEL SINCE THE GREAT PANDEMIC OF 2020
8 December 2020 – Pandemic
It’s New Year’s Eve 2025 and, five years on from the Great Pandemic of 2020, it’s time to reflect on what we’ve learned about travel…
THE BASTIDE TOWNS AND "BEAUX VILLAGES" OF SOUTHWEST FRANCE
20 November 2020 – France
The bastide towns and “beaux villages” of southwest France boast an enticing mixture of history and beauty – here are 12 of our favourites…
EXPLORING THE WORLD IN PHOTOGRAPHS: "YELLOW"
10 November 2020 – Collections
Take a whistlestop worldwide tour via a collection of our favourite photographs, connected by the colour yellow – and not a banana in sight…
7 ESSENTIAL DAY TRIPS FROM MADRID
25 October 2020 – Spain
Madrid is a world-class travel destination in its own right, but here are seven essential day trips from Spain’s capital that shouldn’t be missed…
ALFORNÓN: A RURAL GEM OF LAS ALPUJARRAS, ANDALUCIA
15 October 2020 – Spain
Tucked away in a remote valley of Las Alpujarras, amidst endless almond and olive groves, we reckon Alfornon is rural Andalucia at its best…
6 HIGHLIGHTS OF PORTUGAL'S BEAUTIFUL LISBON COAST
20 September 2020 – Portugal
Jaw-dropping beaches, fairytale palaces and vertigo-inducing cliff walks are just some of the highlights of our guide to Portugal’s beautiful Lisbon coast…
MEET IAN & NICKY
We’re an English couple who are backpacking, road-tripping and housesitting around the world. And this blog is a permanent record of what we see, think and do. We hope it also provides information, entertainment and inspiration for other “mature” travellers, too. So, if you’ve got a few minutes to spare, why not pour yourself a glass of something suitably chilled and take a look around!
We’re currently in
ENGLAND
