This summer I will be taking a few long weekend breaks on the Yorkshire coast, weather permitting, so it was interesting to read in the Which? Holiday magazine that this year only 71 beaches were awarded the Blue Flag status, that’s 11 less than last year.

Reduction in beaches awarded blue flag status

For those that are not aware, the Blue Flag status is awarded to beaches that have clean water, are litter free and have good facilities. The good beach guide has a map of British beaches and while I have no idea how many beaches we have it seems very poor that only 71 are awarded the Blue Flag.

Funding needed to clean up

My nearest seaside town is Scarborough and thankfully the beaches are good. That’s not the case for a lot of beaches though. I am not convinced that the government takes tourism seriously and it needs to start by putting money into improving our beaches before it is too late.

Keep our beaches tidy

It is our responsibility to make sure that we leave the beach litter free. Interestingly, at least 520 of our beaches have one storm overflow pipe which can cause pollution and increase the chances of sewage related diseases. You can report pollution online to the Marine Conservation Society.

Now the comments are open to you; what is the worst beach you have seen, and where.

There has been quite a bit of discussion about the future of blogs and Travel Weekly interestingly highlighted that only 7% of consumers would use a blog to research their holiday destination. I think that’s because most people cannot differentiate between a site and a blog.

You only have to look around online to find some great travel blog content so, this month’s blog carnival I have chosen five of my favourite posts bookmarked on my StumbleUpon page. If you want to be featured on future carnivals, add me as a friend.

Six indie places to soak up the sunshine this summer

Summer is here and most of us will be heading off on holiday, either in Britain or abroad. I am not the type of person who likes to lie around on the beach but this is a well written guide that highlights six great places to have some fun this summer.

Find out which destinations are featured

In defence of British Food

It’s good to read someone defending our great British food. I have to say that I do not think British food is particularly healthy and quite stodgy, but, you cannot beat a nice roast dinner with Yorkshire puddings on a Sunday.

Join in the debate about British food

Four great scenic coastal drives in Bali

I have never been to Bali, but after reading this in-depth guide and looking at the photos I now want to go. It features tons of great advice about the coast drives and the types of tourist attractions that you will find on your drive.

Learn more about Bali

Ten tips for planning a round the world trip

Another really in-depth blog post providing great trips on planning your next round the world trip, the guide covers everything from places to visit to budget planning and advice on how to find accommodation. A great read.

Get planning for your RTW trip

Top cities for partying

I envy Matt, not only is he travelling around the world, but he’s also partying too! I have heard of the Full Moon party in Ko Phangan, but never realised that over 20,000 people attended it. Very useful post if you’re looking to find a destination where you can party till’ the early hours.

Find out where the parties are

Feel free to add comments on your favourite post featured this month.

It is not the first time that I have received a rant about the lack of customer service from airlines where flight connections are concerned. This week a reader had a rant about two airlines who messed up his travel plans because of a lack of communication.

Stress of missing a connection

I am not sure how a big of an issue this is, but I can imagine the stress someone must go through if they have missed their connection. Am I expecting too much for airlines to know that a passenger is flying in to Heathrow and is on a connecting flight to say Dubai.

A one-off issue or regular occurrence

I have never had to take a connecting flight, and of course I would make sure I had enough time to catch the second flight but unfortunately, delays and cancellations do happen. I am wondering if many of you have had issues like this in the past, and what do you think the airlines could have done better?

A number of British camp sites are not allowing groups of all males or all female campers primarily because the camp site owners are concerned about how these groups will behave. I can understand this; you only have to look at the headlines of last summer of Brits on tour abroad.

Let’s not forget though that we should not all be labelled reckless, aggressive, drunken Brits.

Planning a frustrating British holiday

I am planning a trip with my 13 year old nephew on the Yorkshire coast during the school holidays, and I’ve yet to find a campsite that will allow us to stay. So, as you can imagine it’s quite frustrating when all you want to do is put up a tent for a few days and relax and spend some time on the beach.

Putting up the barriers

This type of ridiculous rule is why British holidaymakers will continue to take their holiday abroad. Surely, we should be opening our doors to holidaymakers who want to spend the summer at home, rather than putting hurdles in the way.

Isn’t tourism going to help boost our economy and help us get out of the recession?

I would like to start off by thanking everyone for their support over the last three weeks, it is very much appreciated and it has made me realise how much my blog is valued from within the travel industry. I have decided today that it was time, as one reader put it; to get back on to the saddle.

I have made a few changes and all comments will now be moderated as per my comments policy.

Hopefully the comments policy will not put people off from commenting because it is important that the great discussions that have gone on in the past continue. Not everyone will agree with what I write, but, discussion is an important element of any blog.

Normal service will resume tomorrow.

When I started writing this blog I never imagined that I would win the Travolution award, talk on stage at the PhoCusWright blogger’s summit in Berlin, be interviewed on BBC radio, and meet so many passionate people involved in the travel industry.

As my regular readers will know, I write this blog in my spare time, and it takes up a lot of my time, so you have to be passionate about what you write about. My life in the last two weeks has been incredibly stressful, and right now I have lost the love and passion for blogging and I need some time out.

I do not wish to comment about what has happened in the last two weeks. I would like to thank those of you who have supported me in the last week or two, you know who you are, and it’s appreciated.

I’ll be back.