Hello! We’re Jordan and Lottie, a couple from South Manchester with a habit of setting off with a sensible plan and returning with a much better story.
What ExploreAlotLife is all about
ExploreAlotLife is our honest scrapbook of cruises, city breaks, historic places and days out around the UK and beyond. We love the beautiful buildings, the food stops and the big views, but we’re just as interested in what a place is actually like when you arrive. Was it worth the entrance fee? Could we fit it into one day? Was the room comfortable? Did the food live up to the hype? And, perhaps most importantly, did we accidentally get lost?
We’re not glossy travel presenters pretending everything went perfectly. Sometimes it absolutely did. Other times a museum was not what we expected, a booking was for the wrong number of nights, the weather turned wild or a quiet walk became a rescue mission. That is all part of travelling, and we think those honest bits are often the most useful—and definitely the most relatable.
Meet Lottie
Lottie is usually the one having a gander, spotting something tiny in the distance and declaring a room, building or plate of food “such a vibe”. She loves history, old buildings, anything a little spooky and stopping to look up because that is normally where the best details are hiding. She is also powered by coffee, easily distracted by animals and very honest when something is beautiful, bizarre or not worth doing twice.
Meet Jordan
Jordan is the researcher, navigator and calmer half of the operation—although the navigation title is occasionally disputed. He enjoys the practical details, transport, ships, historic facts and working out whether a day out genuinely represents good value. He is also the person most likely to be handed the camera, captain a hire boat or be sent to investigate the thing Lottie has just noticed.
What you’ll find here
- Personal reviews of places we have genuinely visited.
- Experience-led cruise guides covering ships, cabins, food and ports.
- UK days out, museums, castles and historic locations.
- City breaks and realistic ideas for making the most of limited time.
- The brilliant bits, the awkward bits and the bits that went slightly wonky.
Our videos let you come along for the full adventure, while these guides bring the useful details, our final thoughts and the things we wish we had known into one easy place. Everything is based on our own visit. If something is an opinion, we will say so; if an experience changes, we will update it.
So pick a trip from the timeline, choose the sort of adventure you fancy or start with one of our most popular guides. We hope it helps you plan somewhere brilliant—or at least gives you a laugh while we try.