Hello! Thank you for dropping by. If you want to know a bit more about me, I’m Ellie – a travel blogger and author from Brighton, England.
I started my blog Ellie & Co in 2016 as a distraction after leaving a job on a travel magazine. At the time, I’d also lived in Brighton for aaaages and was getting a bit bored. So, to inspire me and stop me watching telly all day long, I started ‘investigating’ little-known Brighton and favourite local haunts and posting about my curious finds.
I was born in on the west-coast of Scotland, but grew up a London girl, so I don’t have a Scottish accent at all. I came to Brighton pretty much on a whim in the early 2000s. I studied English Literature at university, I’ve worked on a kibbutz in Israel making horse riding boots (!) and am obsessed with New York (I go there every year – see here).
I cut my teeth on the kinds of small business-to-business magazines you see on Have I Got News for You (!). Dull, maybe, but through them, I travelled the world: Valencia, Munich, Monte Carlo, Tallin, Morocco, Toronto, Singapore, South Korea, Shanghai, Beijing, Sydney, Tasmania… Buxton and Birmingham.
For me, travel is not about where you go, it’s about how you see the world. When I visit a place, I like to get to know it away from the tourist crowds, seeking out unusual and unique sights and places I haven’t heard about too much. I also try to steer clear of chains, preferring unique and authentic hotels with character and charm (that don’t cost the earth).
I try to post regularly on Tuesday and Thursday OR Monday, Wednesday and Friday each week and am becoming less sporadic as my blog grows. I also have a newsletter.
Interesting fact: Only a year after starting my blog I was asked to write Secret Brighton, a guidebook to little-known Brighton. I have since published a second guide, Secret Sussex.
If you want to have a chat you can email me at hello@ellieandco.co.uk or use the contact form below.
Thanks for stopping by!