Travel lover Archives - COOLCURATION

May 14, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Best Travel Accessories UK 2026: The Editor’s Edit

Last updated: 14 May 2026

By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance

This post contains affiliate and referral links. We may earn a commission if you buy through them, at no extra cost to you. Everything here is independently chosen.

The best travel accessories UK 2026 has to offer are not the loudest ones. They are the quiet objects that earn their square inch of a carry-on: a Danish raincoat that folds to the size of a paperback, an Aarhus-engineered adapter that survives a flickering hotel socket, a 37Wh power bank that walks through a Heathrow gate audit without a raised eyebrow. This is the CoolCuration edit, written for people who travel often, pack light, and would rather buy once than buy twice. Eighteen pieces, all UK-priced, all in stock as of this morning.

Published by Stiv in Gift Guides, Lifestyle, Technology lover, Travel, Travel lover

Tags: AirTag, Anker, Bellroy, carry-on, design travel, Grayl, Matador, packing cubes, Peak Design, power bank, Rains, travel, travel accessories, travel adapter, travel essentials, travel gear

April 18, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Honest Mobile Review UK 2026: Is It Worth Switching?

Last updated: 18 April 2026

By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance

This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.

This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.

Cool Factor

★★★★☆

4 out of 5 — Stone cold

Most mobile networks spend their marketing budget shouting about unlimited data and free Spotify. Honest Mobile spends theirs planting trees and donating to charity. After four months using it as our daily SIM, here's our Honest Mobile review, covering signal, pricing, the app, and whether the ethical angle comes at the cost of actually being a good network.

Thinking of switching to Honest Mobile?

Our Honest Mobile referral page has the sign-up link and any current offer.

Try Honest Mobile

Published by Stiv in Carbon conscious, Ethical Living, Reviews, Tech Hacks, Tech News, Technology lover, Travel lover

Tags: Ethical Tech, Honest Mobile, Mobile Networks, reviews, SIM only, UK mobile

April 7, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Best eSIM for UK Travel 2026: Stay Connected Abroad and at Home

Last updated: 10 June 2026

By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance

This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.

This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.

Trying to find the best eSIM for UK travel in 2026? Whether you are a UK resident heading abroad or a visitor arriving in Britain, eSIM technology has made staying connected simpler, cheaper, and far less faff than swapping physical SIM cards at the airport. In this guide, we break down the top eSIM providers, which UK mobile networks support eSIM, and how three budget-friendly options can keep you online without burning through your holiday fund.

Published by Stiv in Comparison, Comparisons, Mobile Networks, Money saving, Tech Hacks, Technology lover, Travel, Travel lover

Tags: eSIM, eSIM UK, EU roaming, giffgaff, Honest Mobile, mobile data, roaming charges, SIM only, Smarty, travel eSIM, travel tips, UK travel

March 22, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

William Nicholson at Pallant House Gallery Review

Last updated: 21 March 2026

By Tristan · Arts, exhibitions and creative culture

This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.

The William Nicholson exhibition at Pallant House Gallery in Chichester is the first major survey of this extraordinary painter in more than 20 years. Spanning his entire career, from bold graphic posters to luminous still lifes and tender portraits, it makes a compelling case for Nicholson as one of Modern British art's most underrated figures. A friend who studied at the Royal College of Art tipped us off, and they were right. This is a show that rewards close looking, and Chichester itself makes for a brilliant day out.

Cool Factor: 4/5 Stone cold

Published by Stiv in Art Lovers, Artists, Arts & Culture, Reviews, Travel lover

Tags: art exhibitions UK, British art, Chichester, days out Sussex, Exhibition review, Modern British art, Pallant House Gallery, still life, William Nicholson

March 19, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

TrainPal vs Trainline: Which Train App Saves More? (2026)

Last updated: 29 March 2026

By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance

This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.

If you're booking train tickets in the UK, there's a good chance you've used Trainline. It's been around since 1997, and it's the name most people reach for first. But over the past few years, TrainPal vs Trainline has become a genuine debate. That's especially true for anyone who wants zero booking fees and automatic split ticketing. So which app actually saves you more money? We've compared the two side by side to help you decide.

Want money off your first TrainPal trip?

TrainPal books UK trains with zero booking fees, and our referral page keeps the current new-user offer up to date.

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Published by Stiv in Apps, Commuter, Discount, Finance, Money saving, Reviews, Saving, Services, Travel lover, UK Deals

Tags: cheap train tickets, cheap train tickets UK, digital railcard, digital railcard UK, monzo, Monzo railcard, railcard, split ticketing, train apps uk, train booking apps UK, Trainline, Trainline alternatives, TrainPal, TrainPal vs Trainline, travel apps uk, UK trains

March 2, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Rose Wylie at the Royal Academy Review: A Look at the London Exhibition

By Tristan · Arts, exhibitions and creative culture

This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.

This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.

The Rose Wylie Royal Academy exhibition places one of Britain’s most distinctive painters within the formal context of Burlington House. Rather than framing Wylie as an outsider voice, the exhibition situates her practice within a lineage of British painting that values scale, gesture and visual directness. The result is not a retrospective spectacle but a measured presentation that clarifies the structural intelligence beneath her deliberately awkward surface language.

As with other focused RA exhibitions, the strength of the show lies in pacing. The galleries unfold in a steady sequence, allowing Wylie’s visual vocabulary to accumulate gradually.

Published by Stiv in Art Lovers, Artists, Reviews, Travel lover

Tags: Art editions, Burlington House, Contemporary art, Exhibition review, London exhibitions, Painting, RA London, RA shop, Rose Wylie, Royal Academy

February 1, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

New AirTag Review UK: AirTag 2 vs Gen 1 Compared

Last updated: 27 March 2026

By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance

This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.

This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.

Cool Factor: 4/5

If you're looking for a new AirTag review, here's the short version: Apple's 2nd generation AirTag is louder, tracks from further away, and costs the same as before. It's a genuinely useful upgrade, especially for travellers. However, for many people who mostly lose things around the house, a discounted Gen 1 pack still makes plenty of sense. So which one should you actually buy? Let's break it down.

Published by Stiv in Apple, Apple apps, Reviews, Tech News, Technology lover, Travel lover

Tags: AirTag, AirTag 2, Amazon deals, apple, Apple Watch, Find My, gadgets, key finder, luggage tracker, UK tech

December 6, 2025 — Comments are off for this post.

Howard Hodgkin at Pitzhanger Manor Review: A Detailed Look at the London Exhibition

This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.

This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.

The Howard Hodgkin Pitzhanger review has already attracted significant interest from London art audiences, and it is clear why. This exhibition, set within the refined Georgian architecture of Pitzhanger Manor, offers a particularly clear reading of Hodgkin’s distinctive approach to colour, memory and emotional temperature. Rather than functioning simply as a showcase of major works, the show uses the character of the building itself to shape a more intimate encounter with Hodgkin’s practice.

Where large retrospectives often expand outward, this exhibition tightens the focus. Viewers move through a sequence of carefully paced rooms, each one revealing a different aspect of Hodgkin’s language of abstraction. The result is an exhibition that feels steady, well considered and quietly resonant.

Published by Stiv in Art Lovers, Artists, London, Reviews, Travel lover

Tags: abstraction, art review, contemporary painting, Howard Hodgkin, London art exhibitions, Pitzhanger Manor

November 2, 2025 — Comments are off for this post.

TrainPal Review UK: Split Tickets, PalPoints and Real Savings

Last updated: 24 March 2026

By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance

This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.

This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.

Cool Factor: 4/5 — Stone cold

Welcome to our honest TrainPal review, where we put the app through its paces to find out whether it genuinely saves you money on UK train travel. After months of booking tickets, testing split fares, claiming Delay Repay refunds and earning PalPoints, we're sharing everything we've learned. On top of that, you can get up to £11 off your first ticket using our invite code 57807b9c.

Want up to £11 off your first ticket?

Use our TrainPal invite link with code 57807b9c, and the discount applies automatically to your first booking.

Get up to £11 off your first ticket

Published by Stiv in Android apps, Apple apps, Apps, Discount, Reviews, Services, Travel lover

Tags: cheap train tickets, coolcuration reviews, palpoints, save money on trains, split ticketing uk, train apps uk, trainpal app, trainpal card, trainpal discount code, TrainPal referral code, trainpal review, trainpal uk, travel apps uk

July 1, 2025 — Comments are off for this post.

Exhibitions London July 2025 – What to See Now

If you’re planning to catch some culture, exhibitions London July 2025 is a search worth making. The capital is brimming with bold installations, legendary names, and summer-perfect galleries. Whether you’re a modern art lover, curious browser, or after some cool air and visual inspiration, here’s what’s on and worth seeing right now.

Published by Stiv in Artists, London, Travel lover

Tags: art shows London 2025, cool exhibitions London, exhibitions London July 2025, London galleries July, things to do London July, what’s on London July