Brummell Spring 2015

Spring 2015

Peak practice Adventure-holiday accessories • Driving across Australia • Riding with mustangs Rugged timepieces • Stress busting • Off-road motorbiking • Britain’s exotic breeds

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FLYBACK CHRONOGRAPH BLACK NIGHT

Automatic winding chronograph movement Power reserve : circa 55 hours Annual calendar 12-hour totalizer 60-minute countdown timer Chronograph fyback function Grade 5 titanium baseplate and bridges Rotor with ceramic ball bearings Special tungsten-colbolt alloy rotor weight 6-positional, variable rotor geometry With 18-carat white gold wings Balance wheel in Glucydur with 3 arms Frequency : 28 800 vph (4Hz) Moment of inertia : 4.8 mg·cm² Case in NTPT®Carbon Finished and polished by hand Limited edition of 100 pieces

Welcome to Brummell To civilians, it may seem counter-intuitive that City professionals working to the max in high-pressure jobs appear to spend any downtime immersed in adrenaline-charged activities. No strangers to facing testing situations intellectually at work, they push themselves to the limit physically at playtime too.

This issue explores many guises of adventure: we vicariously experience the dangers of speed, cornering and mud when off-road motorbiking; drive in a pimped 4WD along Australia’s Savannah Way, the epic 3,700km cross-country route linking east-coast Cairns with west-coast Broome; meet the travel doyen who thoughtfully teams luxury with the wild on safari; and avoid activating the emergency rescue watch, which could bail an explorer out of a life-threatening

situation in inhospitable conditions. Elsewhere in the magazine, we check out stylish accessories with which to run, climb and sail; and discover an RIB with a retractable-wheels system that allows it to be driven directly out of the sea.

Of course, having adventures and taking risks doesn’t only mean diving with sharks or base-jumping: it is as much about facing new challenges and experiences as it is sheer thrills and spills. We encounter a stress-buster who explains why it’s so important to confront early indications and take action, dine out on exotic breeds now introduced to Britain, and enjoy the reappropriation of vermouth by the cocktail crowd. Stirred, never shaken.

Joanne Glasbey, Editor

Contents • Brummell

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Cover illustration: Hey Show Media Brummell editorial 020 3222 0101 — Editor Joanne Glasbey Senior Art Director Dominic Murray-Bell Managing Editor Lucy Teasdale Acting Chief Copy Editor Gill Wing Art Director Jo Murray-Bell Copy Editors Mikey Fullalove, Nicky Gyopari, Tanya Jackson, Mary O’Sullivan, Katie Wyartt Editorial Assistant Jemima Wilson Picture Director Juliette Hedoin Deputy Picture Editor Jamie Spence Style Director Tamara Fulton Creative Director Ian Pendleton Managing Director Peter Howarth — Advertising & Events Director Duncan McRae duncan@fyingcoloursmarketing.com 07816 218059 — showmedialondon.com brummell@showmedialondon.com — Visit Brummell’s website and follow Brummell on Twitter for more tailor-made content: brummellmagazine.co.uk @BrummellMag Colour reproduction by the Born Group, borngroup.com. Printed by Pureprint Group, pureprint.com.

Brummell is published by Show Media Ltd. All material © Show Media Ltd. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is strictly prohibited.

While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, no responsibility can be accepted for any errors or omissions.

The information contained in this publication is correct at the time of going to press. £5 (where sold). Reader offers are the responsibility of the organisation making the offer – Show Media accepts no liability regarding offers.

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Foreword City professionals need to be seen to be doing good, says David Charters Money no object The tiny private jet that has room for seven – not to mention its own parachute BEAUMONDE News Getting a handle on Yangon; Philippe Starck luggage; Hermès scarves; cool knapsacks; the latest compact camera from Hasselblad Fragrances The incomparable feeling of wearing a custom-made suit now comes in a bottle, thanks to the major tailoring houses Off-road Simon de Burton puts the Land Rover Discovery Sport through its paces and bids a fond farewell to the Freelander Horology Could Breitling’s updated dual-frequency Emergency watch come to your rescue?

Motoring Prepare to be blown away by the new Ferrari F12 Berlinetta – it’s a future classic After the City How a love of cycling led Tony Coniglio to a life organising pro-am events

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FASHION Accessories Tackle the Great Outdoors – or a worthy opponent in the gym – kitted out to win Watches Tough timepieces primed for rugged action FEATURES Eco travel Georgie Lane-Godfrey is wild about the horse safaris at a luxurious eco-resort in the Nevadan desert Health Why you need to exercise more than your little grey cells to survive life in the City Travel Ian Belcher gets up to speed with the Savannah Way, coasting the 3,700km from east to west in a souped-up 4WD Motorcycling You might be surprised by how much you’d learn at a BMW Off Road Skills course with Australian two-wheel legend Simon Pavey…

Profle Intuition has brought the founder of Abercrombie & Kent great success – and given his high-end travellers great trips EPICURE News Make coffee like a barista; shuck oysters like a pro; where to eat Asian; Milroy’s whisky bar; the latest restaurant launches Spirits Vermouth is having a moment – it’s now the hippest drink bar none in the capital Produce They’re the critters you’d least expect to see down on the farm Need to know Pray for boating weather this spring – there’s an amphibious vehicle you might want to take out for a spin

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MASERATI QUATTROPORTE DIESEL FROM £69,235 ON THE ROAD Maserati has a long tradition of surprising the automotive world with innovation and unconventional thinking. The introduction of our new state-of-the-art V6 diesel engine in the Quattroporte is just the latest example. This 3.0 V6 unit produces 275 HP and the performance that befts the company’s fagship, whilst clever engineering has managed to reproduce the distinctive and much loved Maserati exhaust note.

For more information on the new Maserati Quattroporte Diesel, call 01943 871660 or visit maserati.co.uk

Offcial fuel consumption fgures for the Maserati Quattroporte Diesel in mpg (l/100km): Urban 36.2 (7.8), Extra Urban 54.3 (5.2), Combined 45.6 (6.2). CO2 emissions 163 g/km. Fuel consumption and CO2 fgures are based on standard EU tests for comparative purposes and may not refect real driving results. Model shown is a Maserati Quattroporte Diesel at £71,647 On The Road including optional metallic paint at £660, electric sunroof at £1,560 and extended key-less entry at £192.

Q U A T T R O P O R T E

www.maserati.co.uk

Foreword • Brummell

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Good as gold

Doing no harm is no longer enough – bankers need to show they’re on the side of the angels

Words: David Charters Illustration: Brett Ryder

Do we care if bankers are actually good people or is it suffcient for them simply not to be bad – as long as they can do their jobs? It is already the case that the Financial Conduct Authority checks us all out to see if we are convicted criminals, bankrupts or fraudsters, and rather like lawyers and accountants, the message to prospective entrants to the profession is, ‘Villains need not apply.’ But the question is whether that is enough, or whether a tougher standard should apply, at least in respect of the senior ranks of the profession, where signifcant authority is exercised and the public profle of individuals is high.

In the reticent sections of government service, such as the Foreign & Commonwealth Offce, the Ministry of Defence and the intelligence agencies, there are two classes of vetting. Security clearance is a largely automatic process, whereby boxes are ticked in order to check out a person’s past history – county-court judgments, criminal-record checks and so on. It looks for negatives and an absence of negatives is considered good enough.

For more sensitive posts there is developed vetting, previously known as positive vetting, whereby a more active – and more expensive – exercise is undertaken, involving interviews with family, friends and referees in order to obtain certainty that an individual is not only not a bad person (for example, with vulnerabilities that could be exploited by our enemies – a gambling habit, say) but is actually on the side of the angels.

Vetting offcers investigate a person’s beliefs and values, and it is an intrusive process, to which the subject must sign up in order for it to happen.

Nobody expects bankers to be role models.

We work in our chosen profession primarily for fnancial reasons, although the intellectual challenge is also great, and then there is the stimulation of demanding work with talented colleagues, the competitive satisfaction of beating the opposition, and occasionally we do real good as well. Just talk to project fnanciers about some of the things they

Imagine Masters of the Universe submitting a score card of the good they have done in their lives

do in the developing world. But essentially our motivation is – and can be – selfsh.

Or at least that used to be the case. Since the crash, we are subject to far greater scrutiny than ever before, and with good reason, as one scandal after another unfolds. If you think fxing interest rates was bad, how about fxing entire nations’ currencies? And, if it all goes wrong, what about agreeing to a multi-billion-pound settlement using shareholders’ money to get out of trouble?

The public can be forgiven for feeling a sense of bewilderment in the face of all this. Who are these guys? Who is actually in charge? Who chooses them and who (if anyone) supervises them? And are they actually good people?

Here is a practical suggestion. For positions above a certain level of seniority in any regulated fnancial institution over a given size, an additional element could be introduced into the regulatory approval process. Rather than ticking boxes to rule out negatives, a narrative section should be submitted, which seeks to prove a positive.

Examples of public service would feature: charity trusteeships, school governorships, NHS trust directorships and so on, but also charitable donations and volunteering that is unrelated to any offce or position. Does this person take a big public profle within their industry on matters relating to values or ethics? Have they committed it to print or spoken on the subject?

I’d go further and look at physical achievements relating to charitable work. Running a marathon,

climbing Kilimanjaro or cycling to Brighton are all things I’d hate to do, but for which I will get out my cheque book if done in a good cause.

Can you imagine Masters of the Universe submitting a scorecard of the good they have done in their lives? Unthinkable. Unless, of course, they had to in order to get the chief executive’s job.

What if they had nothing to fll in? What if they had done their job brilliantly, devoting spare time to their families and to nothing more harmful than a round of golf? Is there anything wrong with that? Why should the do-gooder thought police dictate to people who work hard and do no harm?

The answer is in the extraordinary position of the fnancial services industry, the rewards it continues to offer to those who work within it, and most of all, the way its survival is underpinned by the rest of the country. The words ‘too big to fail’ incur a set of obligations towards those who guarantee the future, and there is no better way for the industry’s leaders to acknowledge their obligations than by personal example.

Of course, it can be said that very few people at the top of the profession get there without any kind of philanthropic or charitable involvement.

It is part of the process of absorption into the Establishment, along with invitations to make fnancial contributions to political parties and the dangling of Honours.

But this would be different. I would ensure it was transparent – and thus competitive – and I’d formalise the requirement. And for those with nothing to say, the good family types with a decent golf handicap? Personal interviews by a panel of interested volunteers could be a substitute. What fun. I’d apply to be a panel member. Just imagine the opening question: ‘So, Mr X… what evidence do we have that you are a decent human being?’ l The Ego’s Nest by David Charters, the ffth novel in the series about City anti-hero Dave Hart, is published by Elliott & Thompson, £6.99

www.gievesandhawkes.com

Brummell

Cirrus Aircraft’s new mini model has all you could want from a private jet, including its own parachute

Words: Jemima Wilson

Instead of taking the family for a standard day trip in the SUV, why not treat them to the ultimate adventure and take a mode of transport for which even the sky’s no limit? Following a successful maiden voyage, Cirrus Aircraft’s Vision SF50 is poised to revolutionise the upper echelons of personal transport once it becomes available to buy at the end of the year. Much smaller than a typical private plane, it flls the niche between piston singles and light jets, allowing owner-pilots more fight options than ever before.

Its compact size makes it simple to fy, yet there’s ample room to seat fve adults and two children in its luxurious cabin. It has a high-end cruise speed of 300KTAS and an all-carbon-fbre structure, and its advanced avionics include a state-of-the-art parachute system for optimal safety. While it may prove a tad too extravagant for the regular suburb-to-City commute, if you don’t currently have your pilot’s licence, the thought that there’s a way to avoid the queues at check-in before your next holiday might prove just the incentive you need to acquire one. $1.96m; cirrusaircraft.com

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Beaumonde

A bike that’s smarter than you think; an indestructible umbrella; superhero scarves; modern luxuries in Myanmar

Enjoy the view in Verbier ← There aren’t many new alpine hotels that would go so far as to redirect the piste into town so their guests might get to the après bar that little bit quicker. But that’s exactly what the W hotel in Verbier has managed to do.

After a long day, you slide right into the arms of an adept ski-hand who whisks your gear away and readies it for the next foray up the hill. The rooms are rather special, too, each equipped with everything you might need for full high-altitude recuperation. If you plump for the penthouse, you’ll even get a rotating bed, offering some of the best views in Switzerland. The real feather in the W’s hat, however, is its locale – you can see the Médran gondola from the hotel café, allowing you to nip out when the queues aren’t too lengthy. A new lift across the valley simplifes the previously laborious access to Bruson – an under-appreciated area that also deserves exploration. wverbier.com

Reinventing your wheels Baidu, China’s answer to Google, has developed a smartbike to help you get in shape. The DuBike has sensors that monitor heart rate as well as how hard you’re pedalling.

An innovative laser indicator on the handlebars, powered by a GPS, tells you which direction to turn, and you can share routes with other cyclists via its social-media system. The DuBike is set to launch in China later this year before arriving in other major cities worldwide. £POA; dubike.baidu.com

Action packed ↑ Fit for any cycling expedition, from the commute to work to a day’s off-road exploring, Brooks England’s Dalston Knapsack is a stylish way to transport those everyday necessities. Brooks has almost 150 years of expertise in producing cycling accessories, and the Dalston is part of its latest collection, the Utility series. The medium-sized bag has a 15in laptop compartment, three inner pockets and two on the outside.

The smaller version does away with the bottle pouch and fts a 13in laptop – perfect if you travel light. Small, £128; medium, £145. brooksengland.com

As right as rain ↑ We have the Egyptians to thank for its invention – however, 3,400 years later, the umbrella still has some design faws. Thankfully, Senz founder Gerwin Hoogendoorn decided to challenge these preconceptions by introducing an aerodynamic canopy to withstand winds of more than 60mph and an asymmetric shape that ensures it won’t turn inside out. As well as keeping its user dry, the Senz6 benefts from ‘eye savers’ on its spokes to safeguard fellow pedestrians, while its new Monsoon collection features cool designs by Berlin-based artist Yoske Nishiumi. £49; senz.com

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Beaumonde • News

Town and country ↑ Despite its English-sounding name, JM Weston, founded by Frenchman Edouard Blanchard in 1891, is a symbol of Parisian style – and it has certainly learnt a thing or two over the years about crafting fne-quality footwear.

Giving a frm nod to rural life but retaining an urban elegance, its latest collection, aptly titled Country Gents, is just as suited to a bucolic stroll as to a metropolitan meeting.

Its Boot with Eyelets has a streamlined shape that features rear gaiter work and its construction is strengthened by leather pieces and rivets for added resilience against the rigours of both city streets and country terrain. £710; jmweston.com

Bags of innovation Philippe Starck has always

Cape crusaders ↑ Over the years, Hermès’s iconic scarf designs have drawn on everything from Pop Art and paisley to surrealist and equestrian motifs. For its most recent collection, by Dimitri Rybaltchenko, the company looked to comic books, releasing a short fashion flm that sees six Minuit au Faubourg scarves soaring through the sky as comic-book superhero capes. There are six bold colour variations to choose from, each featuring a night-time Parisian rooftop scene that depicts the action-packed adventures of ‘Super H’. £235; uk.hermes.com

Great escape ↑ Myanmar’s former capital, Yangon, is an exciting place to visit right now. Foreign investment is creating a buzz, but with cranes looming overhead and – in the manner of many Asian cities – smells, noises and sights abounding, your senses can feel bombarded. The Sule Shangri-La hotel provides a luxurious antidote to all the freneticism.

Formerly the famous Traders Hotel, the Shangri-La is an oasis of calm.

It has a pool, a ftness and recreation centre, and complimentary wi-f that’s said to be the speediest in the country – not a selling point in most places, perhaps, but a precious commodity in Myanmar. Then there are all the other indulgent details you’d expect of a Shangri-La hotel: authentic Burmese dishes and excellent international fare, well-poured drinks and comfortable rooms with sumptuous beds.

Special mention has to go to the hotel’s concierges. With little English signage, Yangon can be diffcult to get to know. The team will advise not only on nearby major attractions such as the astonishing Shwedagon Pagoda – but also extraordinary places off the regular tourist trail. Sule Shangri-La, Yangon can be booked through Abercrombie & Kent; abercrombiekent.co.uk

created objects that demand the most from the least, so it’s no surprise the new Starcktrip luggage collection

by Delsey, though simple in appearance, is packed with hi-tech features.

The 16-strong line of bags and cases benefts from nanotechnology that protects them from dirt and bacteria, while special fabric offers anti-theft data-protection.

More prosaically, effective waterproofng ensures belongings stay dry at all times. From £70; delsey.com

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Scents of style

Fine tailoring and perfumery have always been cut out for each other – as these sharp sartorial fragrances attest

Words: Henry Farrar-Hockley Photography: Emma Job

If I had to name one pervading theme in men’s perfumery over the past 15 years, it would be neither the enlivening Mediterranean-ness of citrus fruit, such as bergamot and grapefruit, nor the amberous and exotic allure of the increasingly ubiquitous oud; rather it would be that clean-cut staple of all things sartorial, the suit.

Run a Google image search for ‘men’s fragrance advert’ and you’ll get an idea of just how well-worn a visual reference tailoring has become in selling the aspirational lifestyle attached to masculine eaux de toilette. Yet this is as logical as it is lazy. At their best, fragrances are genuinely empowering mood-enhancers that bring us out of ourselves. In other words, they have much the same effect psychologically as donning a well-tailored suit, tie and polished Oxfords.

The rational progression of this natural alliance is, of course, fragrances devised for the tailoring houses themselves. Brioni, the de facto

practitioner of the Italian made-to-measure style, was an early pioneer of sartorial scents, having launched its frst eau de cologne, Good Luck, in 1959. Now it’s following suit with an eponymous formula that refects the brand’s classic masculine elegance through a blend of wood, forals and citrus. ‘When a man wears a custom-made Brioni suit, he exudes sexiness because he feels confdent and protected,’ explains the house’s creative director, Brendan Mullane. ‘We wanted to bottle that feeling with a sensual and elegant scent.’

To capture those hedonic yet refned qualities, perfumer Raymond Matts eschewed the familiar building blocks of an eau de cologne, preferring three distinctive accords. The frst is a sparkling, cold-pressed Sicilian lemon designed to give the overture a refreshing ‘fzz’. This is followed by a sharply foral amalgam of magnolia, Italian iris and violet inspired by a buttonhole. The fnish is intensely smoky and laced with saffron,

oud and liquorice. As for the bottle, it was conceived by avant-garde designers Patrik Fredrikson and Ian Stallard, and is both hefty and sculptural, glass and bronze – a tactile, fuid form approximating a tumbler of whisky.

Over on Savile Row, meanwhile, Richard James – who ruffed feathers back in 1992 when he set about creating a new establishment of tailors on the street, vaunting brightly coloured fabrics and slim silhouettes – has just announced the relaunch of his self-titled men’s fragrance, which is back (literally) by popular demand.

First introduced in 2003, it has lost none of its urbane charm in the intervening years, nor the dichotomous quality of its constituent parts – from the intense freshness of its ‘clean, starched shirt’ note, through its beguilingly feminine middle ground of evening-dew tuberose and lily of the valley, to the more familiar alpha-male territory of tobacco, vetiver and musk.

From its London headquarters at Bourdon House, in Mayfair, Dunhill has arguably acted on this entente sartorial between scent and suit a little too often: between 2000 and 2006 alone, it released a not-so-magnifcent seven of style-focused eaux de toilette: Desire, X-Centric, Desire Blue, Fresh, Signature, Pure and Pursuit – all incongruous with the house’s reputation for assiduous craftsmanship, and none so memorable as Dunhill’s exemplary 1984 fougère, Edition. Its licence recently transferred into the hands of Inter Parfums Parfums (which also creates and distributes perfumes for Brooks Brothers and Paul Smith). Earlier this year, the partnership’s inaugural launch, Icon – a worldly concoction of Neroli Absolute, Provençal lavender and earthy vetiver, composed by Carlos Benaïm – hinted at a return to form for the olfactory offshoot of this British luxury marque.

Last of all, mention must be made of those male fragrances inspired by tailoring houses rather than

commissioned by them. Sartorial was created four years ago for Penhaligon’s by the perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour, yet, to date, hasn’t had the attention it deserves. Dubbed ‘the scent of Savile Row’, it’s a paean not to the suit but the cutting rooms beneath the Row, specifcally those of Norton & Sons – the heritage tailor that was recently revitalised under its ebullient creative director, Patrick Grant.

The ingredients replicate the manual process of constructing a suit from scratch, from the block of beeswax across which each thread is run before stitching, to the oiled shears for cutting the cloth to size. Hence, the formula requires a blend of old and new, with conventional notes such as lavender, white musk and leather married with engineered facsimiles of old wood and honey. It’s an olfactory refection of centuries of Savile Row craftsmanship and, just as importantly, it smells terrifc. l brioni.com, richardjames.co.uk, penhaligons.com, dunhillfragrances.com

The right notes Above, from left: Brioni eau de toilette, £215 for 75ml; Richard James Savile Row eau de toilette, £60 for 50ml and £76 for 100ml; Penhaligon’s Sartorial eau de toilette, £85 for 100ml; Dunhill Icon fragrance, £55 for 100ml and £73 for 100ml

Disco’ fever The new Land Rover Discovery Sport is a nifty mover, up to tackling anything from tundra to the school-run

Words: Simon de Burton

December 2015 marks the end of the road for the Land Rover Defender, the legendary off-roader that evolved directly from the original Land Rover of 1948. There’s sure to be a fond farewell to this British national treasure, which, over the decades, has emerged from the muddy ruts of ruralism to become the last word in statement-making transport for everyone from Hollywood A-listers to school-run mums with an attitude.

But while the Defender looks set to go out with a bang, a less cherished member of the Land Rover line-up is being sidelined almost without mention.

We speak of the Freelander, the compact SUV that frst appeared in 1997 and fast established a bad rep for reliability before being replaced with the better-all-round Freelander 2 in 2006.

I, for one, shall miss the Freelander 2, which combined rugged looks with decent road manners.

During the past seven years, Freelander 2s have faithfully carried the small de Burtons to school through the worst Dartmoor weather, dragged trailers across felds, boats out of the sea and less-capable cars out of ditches – all without protest.

Equally willingly, they’ve cruised autoroutes in search of summer sun, tackled snowy alpine passes and, on more than one occasion, served as passable overnight accommodation when Mrs de Burton’s suggestion about booking ahead was overruled by my more brilliant idea of ‘playing it by ear’.

With all that history, I was ready not to like the Freelander’s replacement, the Discovery Sport, which carries the signature look already applied by automotive design maestro Gerry McGovern to its higher-end stablemates – the Range Rover,

‘Premium but not precious’ is how the Discovery Sport is officially described

Range Rover Sport and Range Rover Evoque. But Land Rover was clearly confdent that this latest product was more than a match, because it chose to launch the Disco’ Sport not just in Iceland, but in Iceland in the very middle of winter.

Unsurprisingly, it was almost dark when we touched down in the afternoon at Kefavik airport and learnt that most of the roads are made from gravel and invariably battered by howling winds; that standard snowfalls can rapidly turn to blizzards, and that ‘einn bjor, takk’ means ‘one beer, thanks’ – but if you take a single sip and get behind the wheel, you’ll be slung in jail, no questions asked.

We were then issued with expensive-looking parkas, made by Icelandic frm 66 Degrees North.

Several people delayed donning them, recognising their eBay potential in an unworn state – but minds soon changed once we stepped into the wind, which made even the short walk to the waiting feet seem on a par with the last journey of Captain Oates.

Once we had wrestled the doors open against the gale, my co-pilot and I clambered into our Discovery Sport’s welcoming, pre-warmed interior, which quickly allayed my fears that it was going to be too luxuriously appointed to be properly practical

for the sort of things we country bumpkins use our four-by-fours for. But no. ‘Premium but not precious’ is how the Discovery Sport is offcially described. This means you can have things such as touch-screen technology, with smartphone app connectivity, if you want it, but there’s also plenty of wash-down plastic and thick rubber matting.

And in the back, there’s loads of load space, even with the rear seats in position. Take a look under the foor – there are seats you weren’t expecting, a couple of handy ‘occasionals’ arranged, like the others, tiered-style so everyone gets a decent view.

Underneath, the newcomer is based on the platform of the Range Rover Evoque and is ftted with a slightly outdated but willing 2.2-litre, turbo diesel engine driving through a choice of a six-speed manual or nine-speed automatic gearbox.

The four-wheel-drive system is equipped with Land Rover’s excellent, fully electronic Terrain Response device which, combined with a set of studded tyres, made our journey through the tundra seem a doddle – although it must be said that some of the more gung-ho drivers did need to invoke the services of the apparently unstoppable Land Rover Defender ‘Big Foot’ tow vehicle.

Which just goes to show that, even with DSC (Dynamic Stability Control), HDC (Hill Descent Control) and RSC (Roll Stability Control), having an IBW (Idiot Behind the Wheel) can bring any car to a grinding halt. Even one as good as the new Discovery Sport. l The Land Rover Discovery Sport costs from £32,395 (SE) to £42,995 (SE LUX); landrover.co.uk

Help is at hand Breitling’s new dual-frequency Emergency II wristwatch summons help fast – however far-fung your location

Words: Henry Farrar-Hockley

The appeal of a rugged watch is not only its resilience against everyday impacts, but in the implication that the wearer is predisposed to a life of adventure. While it’s doubtful many of us will ever push our super-strength timepieces to their self-proclaimed extremes, it’s reassuring to know that, whatever the adversity, your trusty watch won’t fail in its duty to maintain punctuality.

But imagine if it could go a step further and bail you out in a tricky situation? Even in today’s connected world, it’s still easy to get lost. In 2003, this was the scenario facing British explorers Steve Brooks and Quentin Smith, who were attempting to be the frst to pilot a helicopter to both Poles.

Having conquered the north, the duo were forced to ditch their Robinson 44 Raven in the sea en route to Antarctica. Despite raising the alarm

on their satellite phone, they were only able to alert the Chilean navy of their whereabouts when Brooks activated his wedding present: a Breitling Emergency. Eight hours later, they were picked up.

Breitling launched its inaugural ‘rescue’ watch in 1995. At the time, it held the record for being the world’s smallest personal locator beacon – a device able to transmit SOS signals via the 121.5 MHz International Air Distress frequency to a network of satellites tasked with pinpointing the location of globe-trotting explorers. That system has helped save 26,000 lives in the past 30 years.

In the pre-smartwatch era, the Emergency was the acme of such technology, with around 40,000 sold.

In 2009, satellite processing at 121.5 MHz was phased out in favour of 406 MHz – a newer digital frequency able to provide more accurate location data. As the old-style format remained a reliable distress signal for land, sea and air, Breitling set about achieving another world frst: a watch with a dual-frequency locator beacon. Cue Emergency II. The challenge proved no mean feat. The Swiss house not only had to fnd a way to miniaturise a micro-transmitter to reliably operate from inside a watch, but also to leave room for an additional battery and antenna. It succeeded: the micro-circuit transmits the digital frequency for 0.44 seconds every 50 seconds and the analogue one for 0.75 every 2.25 over a constant 24-hour cycle.

The antenna comprises two aerials housed in the lower part of the watch. Manually deploying the spring-loaded devices activates the distress signal. To ensure you don’t accidentally call in the rescue services from your pool lounger, it requires the larger of the two crowns to be unscrewed in two stages. To keep the transmitter fully powered,

High time The new Breitling Emergency II – an investment that could save your life

Breitling also invented a rechargeable battery small yet powerful enough to operate in temperatures down to -20°C and at 50m below sea level.

The Emergency II includes both analogue and digital displays, a 1/100th of a second chronograph, alarm, timer, dual time zones, and calendar and battery-life indicators. Its ‘thermocompensated’ SuperQuartz movement is 10 times more accurate than the ‘regular’ certifcation required by the Swiss Offcial Chronometer Testing Institute, while its case is made from aeronautical-grade titanium – renowned for its strength and lightness and its resistance to magnetic felds and corrosion.

If you take your life in your hands, with this pioneering instrument on your wrist, survival is very much at your fngertips. l £12,400; breitling.com

Wild thing If your motoring choices tend to be based on the theory that ‘less is more’, you might as well turn the page now – because Ferrari’s F12 Berlinetta blissfully and unashamedly carries the concept of the GT supercar to the max.

The 599 that went before was impressive enough – I once enjoyed a magical blast in one from London, through France and Switzerland and on to Ferrari HQ at Maranello – but it was instantly and vastly overshadowed by the F12, which frst growled onto the supercar scene in 2012.

The frst thing that hits you about the F12 is its size. This is no nimble Latin lightweight, but a pumped-up, luxuriously appointed grand tourer in the old tradition. Although it weighs in at a comfy 1,630kg, it still boasts blistering performance, with the ability to complete the time-honoured 0-60 sprint in a lightning 3.1 seconds and carry on to a top speed of 210mph – a true continent-shrinker.

The secret of the F12’s warp-speed capability lies, of course, beneath the bonnet. There lurks a masterpiece of Ferrari engineering, in the form of a stupendous, 6.3-litre, V12 engine mounted in the ‘front-mid’ position for perfect balance. Although normally aspirated – ie, there are no turbochargers – the engine churns out a vast 730 horsepower at a screaming 8,250 rpm, with the result that, bar the €1m, limited-edition La Ferrari, this is the fastest road-going ‘prancing horse’ ever built.

All that power is laid down through an ultrahigh-tech seven-speed, semi-automatic gearbox – and the driver can control just how exciting he or she wants the delivery to be by adjusting a tiny switch, called a manettino, on the car’s steering wheel. Settings range from ‘position one’ for ‘normal driving’ to ‘position two’ for more spirited progress (frmer suspension, higher revs between gear changes), and so on up to ‘position fve’, meaning ‘driver, you are on your own’: 730 horsepower at the command of your right foot and all electronic safety devices disabled.

In the latter setting and in the wrong hands, the F12 could easily become nothing short of a wild, uncontrollable animal. But for those who know exactly what they’re doing, the combination of that magnifcent powertrain, a superb alloy chassis, a low centre of gravity and aerodynamic bodywork based on F1 wind-tunnel tests makes this among the greatest ‘driver’s’ cars ever built.

And with ‘classic’ V12 Ferraris from the Sixties now commanding tens of millions at auctions throughout the world, you might even say that the £240,000 F12 is something of a bargain.

But if you can afford to buy one, do you really need another reason for doing so? l ferrari.com

One look at the new Ferrari F12 is enough to make your heart sing. Now, imagine yourself driving it…

Words: Simon de Burton Photography: Jonathan Glynn-Smith

Motoring • Brummell

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The world awaits Continents shrink under the wheels of the new F12 Berlinetta – one of the fastest Ferraris ever built

HUNTSMAN FLAGSHIP STORE LONDON 95/96 NEW BOND STREET LONDON W1S 1DB T: 020 7647 9070

After the City • Beaumonde

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Wheeler dealer After 16 years in the City, Tony Coniglio found his next investment passion on the route of the Tour de France

Words: James Medd Photography: Trent McMinn

Led by the unlikely fgure of Mayor Boris Johnson, thousands of Londoners have taken to two wheels in recent years in a bid to fght both traffc congestion and their sedentary city lifestyle. Tony Coniglio was one of them, but for him, it went further than pulling on the Lycra for the morning commute. As commercial director of Cosaveli, he now helps organise major pro-am cycling events that raise millions for charity and help convert part-time two-wheelers into proper athletes.

Growing up in Bristol, Coniglio, now 49, was a talented athlete, playing football at county level, and he kept up his interest in ftness when he moved into the City. After joining NatWest Markets, he made use of his Italian heritage in Milan, before returning to London to join UBS. He was there for 16 years, until 2013, when he decided it was time to move on. ‘I always felt the City was a great place, but it has a fnite life,’ he says.

One of his projects was to help set up a business for old friend Theo Williams, the former creative director of Habitat and head of design at John Lewis, but what was to become his major concern began as a distraction. In 2012, Coniglio had taken part in Cosaveli’s very frst event, the Trois Étapes Tour in the Alps. In a team of eight, led by a professional, he rode for three days, experiencing the exhilarating highs and gruelling lows of the Tour de France route. Even now he is wistful at the thought of it: ‘We fnished on a climb that ended with a view of Mont Blanc. It was just beautiful.’

Rather than simply tick it off the bucket list, he joined the company. Set up by Niels BryanLow and Richard Gorman at the end of 2011, Cosaveli was growing fast, expanding from 60 entrants in the frst year to 105 the next, then adding a further event in the Italian Dolomites for its third. Teams are sponsored either by charities or by the likes of Goldman Sachs and Bloomberg, and the professionals are of the calibre of the 2008 Tour de France winner Carlos Sastre and ex-Ironman Triathlon world champion Chrissie Wellington. Plus there’s all the support of the real tour circuit, from team cars to soigneurs (those who take care of the riders en route). It’s already helped raise $6.5m for charities, including Teenage Cancer Trust, Kids Company, Walking With The Wounded and the Anne Frank Trust UK. Coniglio began to volunteer his services until, around the middle of 2014, Bryan-Low asked him to help develop the business. Cosaveli now has

seven staff and, this year, has added another two events – one in Mallorca for individual riders and a further team event in Belgium.

So far, support has come largely from the City, but Coniglio sees possibilities elsewhere. ‘I’d love to have other industries involved, too – advertising and construction, say. Lots of them generate as much money as banking.’ He also wants to move beyond charity donation to corporate sponsorship.

To this end, his City experience has given him more than a contact book, he believes: ‘I think people from the City generally have that desire and drive to do things. I’m one of those who don’t see an obstacle; I see a solution.’

Another ambition is to expand the number of women taking part. Despite the fact there has always been a female presence, it has so far been something of a man-venture event – a kind of 21st-century update on the midlife crisis. ‘Men have dusted down their old bikes and tried them, then gone out with friends, then bought themselves new bikes… Now cycling is strong among women,

too. We’ve had women at every event, and our frst all-female team competed in 2014.’

Still, he makes no bones about how tough it is. ‘Richard’s always described it as being on a par with a four-hour marathon, and I think that’s about right,’ he says. He trained for six months before taking part. ‘There are some teams that are very competitive, but it varies quite dramatically.

And the one that came last in the recent event still had such a good time – the climbs are amazing, the atmosphere is electric, and you can’t fail to enjoy these incredible views.’

While the sums raised are impressive, the appeal of the Trois Étapes events is the classic challenge of amateur sport: how far can you stretch yourself? ‘When you get on that mountain, you’re all equal,’ he says. ‘It doesn’t matter if you’re a multi-million-pound trader or a teacher or a pro cyclist, you’re going to suffer.’ He smiles, perhaps remembering his own Trois Étapes: ‘I think “humbling” is the word.’ l cosaveli.com; troisetapes.org

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Adventure • Brummell

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Adventure Land & sea ‘Life is an adventure… not a package tour,’ wrote Eckhart Tolle, the man The New York Times calls the most popular spiritual author in the United States, and we couldn’t agree more. Which is why, in the pages that follow, we focus, unapologetically, on the special, the bespoke, the one-of-its-kind. From holidays galloping with wild mustangs in the Nevadan desert, to courses in the motorcycling skills that could lure you to off-the-radar destinations, we bring you the experiences of a lifetime. We also profle the man who organises safaris in the Serengeti, where fresh lobster fown in for supper is standard fare, and tell you what to wear wherever you’re going. Bon voyage!

Good sports Whether squaring up to an opponent, meeting Nature head-on or beating your personal best, you need kit with the competitive edge

Photography: Andy Barter Styling: David Hawkins

OPEN ROAD Top row, from far left: Belvoir-print iPad case, £135, PAUL SMITH; Pro Team jersey top, £120, and cap, £30. both RAPHA; silk cravat, £210, MULBERRY Second row, from far left: Climbers’ shoes, £280, RAPHA; B17 leather saddle, £87, BROOKS ENGLAND; Phoebus polo shirt, £75, VICTORINOX; Revitalising Face Serum, £49, ACQUA DI PARMA; deodorant, £23, AESOP; leather wallet; £170, PAUL SMITH Third row, from far left: Manhattan leather wallet, £1,220, HERMÈS; leather gloves, £250, and belts (from left), £250 and £210, both DUNHILL Fourth row, from far left: Flex iPad case; £175, RICHARD JAMES; Maxwell messenger bag, £595, MULBERRY; cotton-canvas shoes, £480, HERMÈS; manicure set, £198, CZECH & SPEAKE; leather messenger bag, £575, DAKS

INDOOR ARENA Top row from far left: Leather holdall, £1,065, MONCLER; fencing mask, £206, LEON PAUL; boxing shorts, £495, MONCLER; calf-leather trainers with elastic insert, £POA, DOLCE & GABBANA; leather basketball, £170, SHINOLA; Phoebus polo shirt, £75, VICTORINOX Second row from far left: Cesar trainers, £285, MONCLER; fencing foil, from £180, LEON PAUL; Milk Spice Soap Bar, £8, and Matt Putty for hair, £14, both MURDOCK; Soho mid-year diary, £155, SMYTHSON; Electimuss Platinum Muscus Pure Perfume, £135 for 50ml, ROULLIER WHITE; Suunto Ambit3 sports watch, £325, RUNNERS NEED; wool jumper, £395, GIEVES & HAWKES Third row from far left: Shirt, £140, DKNY; wash bag, £125, PAUL SMITH; calf-leather A5 Panama folder, £250, SMYTHSON; Chevron silverplated fountain pen, £165, CARAN D’ACHE; tweed Fox notebook, £45, THE MERCHANT FOX; Black Pepper AntiPerspirant Stick, £16, MOLTON BROWN; Shaving Soap, £21, CZECH & SPEAKE; San Remo duffel bag, £795, TUMI

ROUGH TERRAIN Top row from far left: Beacon Hill backpack, £595, TUMI; Ariel down gilet, £170, RLX RALPH LAUREN; cotton jumper, £135, and shorts, £199, both PAUL SMITH; stone-coloured leather billfold, £140, HARDY AMIES; The No. 25 handmade leather and aluminium briefcase, £1,878, PASSAVANT AND LEE Second row from far left: La Sportiva Nepal Extreme climbing boots, £330, SNOW + ROCK; Field Notes graph-paper notebooks, £8 for a set of three, LONDON UNDERCOVER; leather belt, £95, ANDERSON & SHEPPARD; plaid shirt, £125, POLO RALPH LAUREN; Matterhorn hiking boots, £610, MONCLER; Cross-Terrain 24-Hour Deodorant, £14.50, KIEHL’S

HIGH SEAS Top row from far left: Cadet weekend bag, £2,350, RALPH LAUREN; pocket square, £50, RICHARD JAMES; chambray-cotton trousers, £250, HARDY AMIES; Alnwick jumper, £250, BELSTAFF Second row from far left: Swim shorts, £135, ORLEBAR BROWN; polo shirt, £85, HARDY AMIES; cotton-braid belt, £55, POLO RALPH LAUREN; webbing belt, £95, ANDERSON & SHEPPARD; Le Moc calfskin shoes, £390, JM WESTON Third row from far left: Ocean Pro jacket, £675, HENRI LLOYD; preppy belt, £75, POLO RALPH LAUREN; leather moccasins, £290, BALLY; Eucalyptus Deodorant, £18, MALIN+GOETZ at MR PORTER; leather wallet, £170, PAUL SMITH; Mirto di Panarea eau de toilette, £57 for 75ml, ACQUA DI PARMA; Cap d’Antibes aftershave, £125 for 100ml EIGHT & BOB at HARVEY NICHOLS; Panama notebook, £45, SMYTHSON; Novilo calfskin Victoria III Cabine 45 tote bag, £3,480, HERMÈS FOR STOCKIST DETAILS, SEE PAGE 80

The extra Adventurer Levison Wood’s audacious journey on foot from the source of the Nile in Rwanda to the Mediterranean sea in Egypt, saw him walk into the annals of history

Brummell + Burberry

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mile

Words: Rob Ryan Photography: Marius W Hansen Styling: Olie Arnold

Towards the end of my time with explorer, broadcaster and photographer Levison Wood, I pick up a crucial piece of advice for anyone who intends to emulate his travels along the world’s lesser-beaten paths. It is this: smoking may damage your health, but cigarettes can save your life.

Before that revelation, however, we spend quite a considerable amount of time discussing what it means to be an explorer in the 21st century. Surely, like being a hot-metal typesetter or a lamplighter, it’s a calling that belongs to another age?

‘On the face of it, yes,’ he agrees. ‘In the era of Google Earth, who needs to actually go off and discover places? And, of course, we are now beyond that colonial idea that somewhere is somehow undiscovered until a white man sets foot there. But I’m as interested in people and their culture as I am the physical environment, and Google Earth won’t give you that. What I try to do is bring back a snapshot of a place at a certain moment in time, because it won’t necessarily be as it is now forever.’

Levison, who was born in Staffordshire in 1982, is best known for Walking the Nile (the title of both his Channel 4 TV series and book), from its source as a mere trickle in the forests of Rwanda to the mighty river that splays into a delta and then disgorges into the Mediterranean. That’s a journey of almost 4,000 miles, on often blistered and swollen feet. So how did he become a professional traveller?

‘My father was a historian, not an adventurer of any description, although he was a reservist in the Army. When I was a teenager, he encouraged me to study the great Victorian explorers: Burton,

Livingstone and Stanley. Reading about their expeditions defnitely had an impact on me.

‘When I was 18, I took a gap year, which nobody I knew had ever done, and it was Africa that called to me. I’d been on a holiday to Kenya with my parents when I was young and, as many people know, it’s a continent that somehow gets under your skin. So my frst trip was to South Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia, on a very limited budget. It was a risky thing to do – mainly because travelling is so addictive that you may spend the rest of your life doing it.’ Which, of course, is exactly what happened.

‘When I was 21, in 2003, a friend and I thought we’d go to Egypt and Israel. Then someone blew up the UN building in Jerusalem, and the borders were closed, except to Jordan, so we went there.

And the only border open from there was into Iraq.

The Americans had just invaded, but we decided to hitchhike to Baghdad anyway.You could say it was reckless, but one thing I have learnt over the years is that risk assessment is important when deciding whether to go somewhere. And, in fact, it was like a little safe window – the combat operation was over and the insurgency hadn’t yet started.’

After that, he travelled to the Hindu Kush and, with a bushy beard and robes, into Afghanistan, where he was often mistaken for a dodgy Pashtun horse trader and got to stay with the Mujahideen.

Ironically, he would be back as a captain in the Parachute Regiment a few years later – without the beneft of a beard or local costume. Did his previous experience help? ‘As far as understanding the bigger

Age of discovery The Burberry Prorsum S/S15 collection is inspired by novelist and travel writer Bruce Chatwin Opposite: Merino-wool roll-neck, £357, Burberry London. Cashmere-twill topcoat, £2,695; mohair virgin-wool tailored trousers, £495; and calf-leather shoes, £450, all Burberry Prorsum

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Brummell + Burberry

The explorers’ club Burberry has dressed explorers and adventurers since the 1800s, and continues to reinterpret the theme in its current collections

picture, and why they were fghting, I think it did.

Without wanting to do my colleagues a disservice, frankly, a lot of them didn’t do their homework. The political situation in Afghanistan hasn’t changed in 150 years, and I think if more people had realised that, then we wouldn’t be in the mess we’re in now.’

Wood credits the Army with instilling in him a certain mental robustness and pragmatism that has stood him in good stead. ‘At Sandhurst, they tell you that being in the Army is 98 per cent boredom and two per cent adrenaline. And there is an element of that in what I do – it can be a week of slogging and then, suddenly, something happens that either makes it all worthwhile or really challenges you.’ He also admits that exploring might be a way of extending the kind of intermittent excitement the Army provided.

We have to speak about one of the biggest challenges that occurred on the Nile walk. He was joined in northern Uganda by photographer Jason Florio and an American journalist, Matthew Power.

Despite being an experienced traveller (K2, Costa Rica, the Amazon), Power suffered debilitating exhaustion and heatstroke and, in a devastating section of the TV programme, viewers witnessed the moments before his death, as the others desperately tried to keep his temperature down.

After the tragedy, was Wood tempted to quit?

He was caught on camera asking the rhetorical question ‘Is it worth it?’. ‘Of course I considered giving up. It was horrifc, especially when I had to break the news to Matthew’s wife. The whole episode made me question the ethics of such a trip.

I try to bring back a snapshot of a place at a certain moment in time, because it won’t necessarily be as it is for ever

Paper trail Walking the Nile (£18.99, Simon & Schuster), the book of the Channel 4 series, is out now

But if we’d given up, all of it – including his death – would’ve been for nothing. It was a tough few days, but after that, my resolve never wavered.’

Levison Wood is good company, thoughtful about what his profession means, about the challenges of being so far away from home for so long (‘especially when your mates are off to Ibiza’), the shock of reintroducing yourself to normal life after an expedition – something else with parallels to the Army experience – and the risks involved in visiting remote places. ‘At one point, before walking the Nile, I did some river-rafting on it with friends.

After going past a police training camp, we were chased by armed men in canoes and pulled over, then thrown face-down in the dirt with guns to our heads. They thought we were mercenaries.’

Was he scared? ‘Concerned. But the thing you have to do is to humanise the situation. I don’t smoke, but I always carry a pack of cigarettes, because if you can offer one and smoke together – I pretend – it establishes a rapport. Once you have that connection, they’re less hostile, and less likely to put a bullet in the back of your head.’

There you have it. Even abstaining adventurers like Levison should make sure that, under ‘S’ on their checklist, it says sunglasses, sleeping bag, spare socks and, just in case, smokes. l Levison Wood will be in conversation with journalist Ash Bhardwaj and signing copies of Walking the Nile at Burberry’s Regent Street fagship store from 7 to 9pm on 18 February. RSVP to brummell@showmedialondon.com; burberry.com

Photographer’s assistant: Tom North; Stylist’s assistant: Frances Knee; Retouching: Ben Pickett at Touch Digital; Grooming: Abra Kennedy

This page: Navy felted rabbithair The Campaign Hat, £225; and burgundy double-cotton feld jacket, £1,195, both Burberry Prorsum Opposite: Gabardine trench coat with cashmere detail, £1,395; Burberry London.

Showerproof feld jacket, £995; and leather The Travel Satchel, £1,495, both Burberry Prorsum

Tim e mot & ion

Stur dy t im c om p l e x e p ie c e s, it y a r ug g n d e c o mb ed c in le g a omp nce ing dur anio , ab m ns o n gr ake fo ility, Pho r e at a to d ve Wor graph y ds: ntur Sim : Andy es Bar on de B t ur to er n

Clockwise from top left: RICHARD MILLE RM58-01; BREMONT Supermarine Terra Nova; BLANCPAIN Speed Command; CHOPARD Superfast Chrono Porsche 919; BELL & ROSS BR-X1 Hypersonic Chronograph; BREGUET Marine Dual Time

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Brummell • Watches

Richard Mille RM58-01 ↑ Futuristic and ultra high-tech in typical Richard Mille style, the RM58-01 is a sophisticated world-time watch with a nifty rotating bezel. Simply turn it so the city of your choice is aligned with 12, and the hands instantly synchronise to show the correct time in 24 time zones. The black-and-white inner bezel shows whether it is day or night, and an indicator at two o’clock shows the amount of power remaining in the hand-wound 10-day movement. The RM58 is not for the feeble of wrist, however: its 200-part gold and titanium case measures a mighty 50mm in diameter. Its price, too, is fairly substantial. £350,000; richardmille.com

Bremont Supermarine Terra Nova ↑ British brand Bremont’s Supermarine, although named after the legendary aircraft company, is actually a rugged dive watch offering 500m water resistance. Back in 2013, Bremont created this special Terra Nova version, which polar explorers Ben Saunders and Tarka L’Herpiniere wore for their record-breaking 1,795-mile Antarctic trek.

The pair used the compass bezels and secondary GMT hands of their titanium-cased watches to navigate through the type of conditions in which battery-powered GPS devices quickly fail. It is now available in a 300-piece limited edition. £4,495; bremont.com

Breguet Marine Dual Time ↑ Mention the Breguet name and most horologists think of tourbillons, but the legendary 18th-century clock and watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet also supplied accurate and sturdy marine chronometers to the French navy – a fact that lends legitimacy to the simultaneously rugged and beautifully fnished Marine Dual Time, pictured here. Although replete with such Breguet signatures as an engine-turned dial, blued-steel hands and the classic futed case, this 42mm steel watch is water-resistant down to an impressive 100m. The highly legible, dual-time display lends a further touch of practicality. £16,900; breguet.com

Blancpain Speed Command ↑ Blancpain’s racy Speed Command combines the high-end fnish and mechanical sophistication for which the house is renowned with one of the most eye-catching sports watch designs around.

Its brushed-steel case is coated with a tough, Diamond Like Carbon (DLC) fnish, while the dial, made from a sliver of carbon, is equipped with individual counters for 30 minutes, 12 hours and 60 seconds elapsed time recording. The ultra-thin, self-winding chronograph movement features a fyback function, which enables it to be stopped, reset and re-started with a push of the button. £14,180; blancpain.com

Chopard Superfast Chrono Porsche 919 ↑ Chopard followed the announcement of its backing of Porsche Motorsport last year with the creation of this limited-edition version of the Superfast Chronograph, which pays homage to the marque’s 919, hybrid-powered endurance racer. The watch features the 45mm case and fyback movement of the ‘standard’ Superfast, but the dial is decorated with a vertical grid pattern and the ‘919’ logo.

A look through the sapphire-crystal case back reveals an oscillating weight, inscribed with ‘Offcial Timing Partner Porsche Motorsport’. Only 919 will be produced, all with ‘slick tyre’ rubber straps. £8,320; chopard.com

Bell & Ross BR-X1 Hypersonic Chronograph ↑ Bell & Ross created a cult watch with its hefty, square-cased BR-01 a decade ago. Designed to look like an instrument from the cockpit of a fghter jet, it has since appeared in numerous guises – the latest of which is this, the BR-X1 Hypersonic Chronograph. Inspired by the Bell X-1 rocket plane of the late Forties, it combines a 45mm titanium case, protected by a rubber and ceramic buffer with ‘rocker’ push pieces made from red ceramic. The self-winding chronograph movement has been seriously skeletonised for a pared-down look. Just 250 examples will be made. £13,000; bellross.com

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Horse power Where better to savour adventure in the saddle than in the middle of the Nevadan desert, where the scenery is as breathtaking as the ride

Words: Georgie Lane-Godfrey

In the middle of the Nevadan desert, a cloud of dust is rising. Despite the clear, piercingly blue sky, a thunder rolls across the plain, echoing off the mountains in the distance. At once, the horses we are riding begin to stir, dancing on the spot as the air becomes thick with anticipation. And then we see them – the herd of mustangs charging across the landscape, dusty manes and tails streaming in the wind – and we gallop off in pursuit.

But chasing the herd is like chasing a ghost; a hazy apparition in the distance that you can never quite reach. We gallop fat-out across the scrubland, weaving through scraggy bushes and gopher holes, even jumping crevices where the hard ground misaligns. It’s a fast, adrenalinefuelled ride – the horses we’re astride are former mustangs themselves and you can sense their excitement as they chase down their wild cousins.

The horse safaris are run by Mustang Monument, a luxurious eco-resort situated in the high desert of Nevada. Created by billionaire animal-rights campaigner Madeleine Pickens, it operates as more than your average ranch, providing a sanctuary for 1,000 wild mustangs. The horses are all rescue animals, many saved from cramped, governmentcontrolled corrals from where they’re often illegally sold to the European meat market, or to cartels looking to transport their drugs across the borders.

Here, they can roam free across 600,000 acres, allowing visitors an authentic glimpse of one of the most iconic symbols of the American West.

Yet Pickens’s altruism has garnered some heavy opposition. Local cattle ranchers object to the competition, viewing the wild horses as pests that threaten their livelihood, while government bodies argue that without a natural predator their numbers

will become unsustainable. So heated is the debate that some sabotage attempts have been made, from wires being cut – allowing the mustangs to stray into neighbouring lands – to stallions being planted in the castrated herd so breeding regulations are breached. Pickens has remained undeterred, however, striving to establish the ranch as a luxurious tourism destination in order to spread the word of the mustangs’ plight.

For guests looking for the thrill of a fast ride, these safaris really are the best way to get up close and personal with the horses. But adventure isn’t restricted to speed, and riders of any level can hack out over Spruce Mountain to explore the valley’s untamed wilderness. As we follow dirt tracks in the shadow of the pinyon pines, the fragrant scent of wild sage flls the air. It’s eerily quiet. We pass abandoned gold mines and the

Eco travel • Brummell

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Jo Danehy; Kristi Johnson; Michael Partenio

We gallop flat-out across the scrubland, weaving through scraggy bushes. It’s an adrenaline-fuelled ride

shells of remote villages, deserted by the pioneers who failed to tame this raw, rugged landscape.

Verging off the track onto the hillside, we emerge out of the trees to fnd a breathtaking view of the Goshute Valley, stretching as far as the eye can see into the blue-skied distance. We also fnd a sumptuous picnic awaiting us – this is a billionaire’s take on ranching, after all.

But riding doesn’t have to be the only thing you do here. Ex-Navy SEAL Monty Heath runs the more high-octane activities, including rock climbing, shooting and off-road buggy-driving.

Your regular GI Joe, he will teach you how to use the ranch’s extensive range of guns, from smaller pistols to larger assault rifes. You fre at targets in the shape of various villains, including zombies and Grand Theft Auto-inspired gangsters, that squirt red paint when you make a hit. But Heath’s military training really kicks in when he takes you out in the Maverick, an off-road buggy complete with roll cage that can reach speeds of up to 70mph. Clad in crash helmets, we career around the dirt tracks across the Goshute Valley, hearts racing and dust fying as we narrowly avoid rolling on every corner.

Back on the ranch, things take on a slower, more swaggering pace. Mustang Monument has a decadent approach to ranching, with its Ralph Lauren-adorned cottages and sumptuous hand-painted tepees. The candlelit dinner is taken in traditional communal style, with everyone swapping saddle stories from their day’s riding.

The four courses of home-cooked food are all hearty – pumpkin soup, roast chicken, corn on

Wild at heart Opposite and below: Mustangs roam free across the untamed Nevadan desert. Above: One of the luxurious cottages and handpainted tepees, set in majestic mountain ranges, at eco-resort Mustang Monument

the cob, cherry crumble – and are served in typically American-sized portions. After dinner, everyone retires to the saloon – a huge bar that looks like a movie set, with its Western saddle bar stools and country music crooning out of the stereo. Here, the bourbon fows, the tequila gets slammed and, as the night goes on, the talk turns whimsical with the promise of tomorrow.

Tomorrow, we’ll catch the mustangs. l Steppes Travel (steppestravel.co.uk) offers a seven-day itinerary with four nights at Mustang Monument in Nevada (mustangmonument.com) and three nights at the Sundance Resort in Utah, from £2,725 per person, based on two sharing and including economy fights to Salt Lake City, car hire, full-board and all activities at Mustang Monument, and room-only at the Sundance Resort

Fighting ft A new City-wide initiative is helping those on the fast track stay healthy and beat stress

Words: Charlotte Metcalf Illustration: Daniel Frost

Paul Pester, CEO of TSB Bank plc, used to be a junior international swimmer and still competes in triathlons. Indeed, he’s so convinced of the importance of ftness that, in 2013, the night before he launched TSB as a separate business from Lloyds, he was competing in a triathlon in Norfolk. ‘Leaders must be ft,’ he says simply.

Given his belief in ftness, it’s no surprise Pester was one of the frst to support Fit for Leadership, an initiative started by City insider Ker Tyler that aims to re-educate hard-working executives about their health. The Bank Workers Charity recently found that more than half of bankers suffer from job-related stress and don’t sleep properly. Since the high-profle cases of Andy Hornby at HBOS and António Horta-Osório at Lloyds, it’s been marginally less taboo to discuss stress-related absence and illness in the Square Mile, but while recognising it is one thing, doing something about it is another.

‘Fit for Leadership has come along at exactly the right time,’ continues Pester, who has worked on and off with Tyler over the years. ‘I think the whole City went through a period of excess, but now there’s a realisation that balance is important in our economy. I’m determined to build a work-life balance into the DNA of the “new” TSB bank.’

He describes exercise as ‘escaping all that stuff going on in your head’ and says, ‘I will run, even on a grey morning in the rain. It’s not about physique but about enjoyment and listening to your mind. In the middle of the investor roadshow, running up to the TSB IPO, Ker used to send me texts to check I’d been on my morning run!’

Last summer, I found myself among 350 women at Willis Group’s offces in Lime Street, listening to one of Fit for Leadership’s early presentations. The main message was that what’s stopping women from being at the top of our

game has little to do with the glass ceiling and much to do with health. While we can’t always dictate our load of responsibility, we can control our coping mechanisms. We heard from Olympic athlete Dr Cath Bishop, life coach Pete Cohen and Simon Shepherd MSCP (Member of the Society of Chartered Physiotherapists), who has pioneered Heart Beat Technology and got me to wear one of his monitors for three days and keep a lifestyle diary.

My report at the end of those days revealed the impact of alcohol, stress and lack of cardiovascular exercise. The monitor diagnoses the quality of sleep, so it’s no good having 10 hours if you’ve knocked back half a bottle of wine. Shepherd made it plain that, without being ftter, I am going to fnd it hard to achieve the levels of resilience necessary to reach – I’d like to say ‘stay at’ – the top of my game.

Sally Bramall, COO of the Financial Institutions Group at Willis, was also persuaded to wear a monitor. ‘It was so enlightening, and I was staggered by how varied my recovery was,’ she says. ‘It’s not just about sleep – the monitor showed that, even in important meetings, you can relax. If you’re in your element and confdently enjoying your work, you’re probably in recovery mode. I’ve become more diligent about walking round the building when I have a spare 10 minutes and was delighted at confrmation of the positive benefts of a glass of wine in relaxation. After all, no-one wants to be on a grim, joyless ftness regime.’

She explains why Willis embraced Fit For Leadership’s mission: ‘Since the fnancial crisis, our industry has changed so much. New regulations and restructuring bring stress to people at all levels of a business – if we can enhance the resilience of our people, then we can enhance our business’s resilience too, and we all stand to beneft.’

A few days later, I meet Tyler for lunch. Already in his early sixties, he knows a thing or two about

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If we can enhance the resilience of our people, we can enhance our business’s resilience, too

stress, having collapsed from it himself and recovered using his own methods. Now a couple of stone lighter, he is the embodiment of Fit for Leadership’s effcacy as he orders a plain chicken salad and eschews orange-favoured San Pellegrino in favour of still water.

‘Stress remains hugely misunderstood and a real taboo,’ he says. ‘People think mental collapse or “burnout” can’t happen to them, but there’s clear evidence that stress can trigger and escalate mental illness. They become mentally, emotionally and physically exhausted – as I did. Recovery is not just about having a few days off but about changing your lifestyle – and we can put in place programmes for businesses to empower their employees to do just that.’

‘Ker is breaking the mould,’ says Tony Powis, CEO of Willis UK Employee Benefts. ‘Our people are our greatest asset, so we need strategies to limit risks. Absenteeism costs the British economy £14bn per annum, so it’s increasingly important to focus on presenteeism, ensuring people at work are capable of giving 100 per cent.

‘The number-one people risk in the fnancial institutions sector is stress,’ he continues. ‘So how do we ensure leaders are making the best decisions when they are very likely working too late? If you’re employed by a bank or other fnancial institution,

you’re hardly going to telephone your boss and tell him you’re stressed as a result of the pressure he’s put you under. It’s still taboo, meaning many employees go to the edge. You can’t wire up 700 people in Canary Wharf to heart-rate sensors to help managers identify stress, so how do you do it?’

Willis has already started, by introducing risk management solutions such as EAPs (employee assistance programmes) to help identify and control stress. Employees can make a confdential telephone call to a qualifed person who is able to detect the onset of stress early enough to prevent it from taking hold.

Managing director of Russam GMS Interim Management Jason Atkinson, who worked with Tyler at Pearl Assurance in the Nineties, already has fve of his staff, including junior executives, wearing Shepherd’s monitors. ‘It sends a message that we’re investing in the wellbeing of our troops.

If our people are getting on a train at midnight or getting off a plane after a long fight to Dubai, it’s important that they know how their body is doing, because they have only one chance to give their presentation to a client or their lecture at an international convention.

‘Lots of people are doing bits of what Ker’s doing, but it’s fragmented. He has the expertise to scale it up,’ Atkinson continues. ‘All of his

products and speakers deliver more than you expect. He’s one of the few who undersells and over-delivers, and his enthusiasm is contagious.

It’s absolutely the right time for what he’s offering.

‘Every dinner I go to, people are talking about detoxing or dieting or exercise. There are more “mamils” [middle-aged men in Lycra] than ever before and everyone wants to be ft. People used to think smoking was fne, but medical advances mean we know more – there’s no going back.

We’re already giving free gym membership to new employees. If I had to invest in any industry now it would be in healthcare, food and ftness – wellbeing is crucial for our future.’

Tyler is on a crusade to conquer burnout, perceived as the City’s deadliest plague. ‘Our programmes help avert the kind of exhaustion that leads to breakdowns and can ultimately have a catastrophic effect on the bottom line,’ he says.

When Horta-Osório collapsed, Lloyds was left temporarily rudderless as share prices plummeted from 63p to 30p (between March 2011 and July 2012). At the time, the Daily Mail wrote: ‘The big question now is whether the star banker will ever be robust enough for the challenges ahead.’ Tyler’s answer to that question is a resounding, confdent ‘yes’. l ftforleadership.net

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Hard drive

For diverse terrain, astonishing panoramas and exhilarating experiences, hit the gas for an epic road trip across northern Australia

Words: Ian Belcher Illustration: Robert G Fresson

It’s farming, Mad Max style, and it’s seriously intimidating. My pimped 4WD, top hacked off, sides ringed by protective iron bars, is about to pursue feral bulls across Queensland’s Outback: a violent sideshow to the seasonal cattle muster.

‘We’ll hit them up the butt,’ says Casey McGrath, a giant, sun-scorched stockman. ‘Knock ’em over, pin ’em down with the bar then tie their legs together. Just like you do with cyclists.’

He opens his shirt, revealing a 36cm chest scar.

‘Watch those horns. The bulls get a bit winky.’

You can’t blame them – they’re facing castration. I fear a similar fate. The radio blares.

Our spotter chopper hovering overhead has identifed a target on the 600,000-acre Escott estate. We hammer through branches and vines, obliterate metre-high termite mounds and sail over spine-jarring ridges. I’m splattered with sap, dust and twigs, and damn near decapitated until, 35 obscenity-fuelled minutes later, the bull breaks cover for open land.

RSPCA offcers, look away now. We hit it side-on at 45km per hour. The stockman leaps

out, straps its legs and grunts loudly: ‘I win!’

Actually, Casey, we both do. We’re still alive.

Testicles and no-claims bonus intact.

The off-road bovine lunacy is an optional excursion when you drive along Australia’s Savannah Way – the epic cross-country route linking east-coast Cairns with west-coast Broome. But that doesn’t mean the 3,700km web of tarmac, dirt and gravel isn’t a high-octane blast. Indeed, how could it be anything else?

Embracing two oceans, three time zones, fve World Heritage sites and 15 national parks, it is, quite simply, one of the planet’s greatest road trips.

After rising through Queensland’s hilly Pacifc coast, my pick-up – locals call them ‘utes’ (short for ‘utility vehicle’) – bisects coffee and fruit plantations, before entering widescreen yellow-and-ochre savannah. I study a map showing Talawanta, Waggabundi and Wondoola, drive past massive wedge-tailed eagles feasting on wallaby roadkill and am overtaken by 150-tonne road trains transporting livestock. The Lucky Country is already swallowing me whole.

It is, quite simply, one of the planet’s greatest road trips

Escott cattle station doesn’t help. Its showers play host to cane toads, its trees to snakes, its garden to kangaroos. I escape onto a single-strip road (steering two wheels onto the dirt to avoid oncoming traffc) lined by shimmering gum trees. Around Gregory Downs, where the course widens, I sample a classic Outback bar with near-frozen beer and astonishingly tasty meat pies. The community noticeboard sports a snap of ‘JB and his girlfriend’: a blood-drenched man with a dead pig.

As tarmac mutates into dirt, my ute trails a honey and red-dust plume. I pull over at sunset, transfxed by feathered clouds garlanding a hillside of termite mounds. It’s nature’s Terracotta Army – a sight to inspire a better man to poetry.

Time to stop. Adels Grove Campsite (nights on the Savannah Way usually involve tents or basic cabins) is perfectly placed for the exotic fauna and seductive water holes of Lawn Hills National Park.

‘There are seven-foot “freshies” in there, mate,’ says my guide, Rick White. ‘They won’t harm you.

Unless you disturb their nest around mating time,

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Sunglasses are required to handle Broome’s glaring white sand and turquoise Indian Ocean

or stand on their heads.’ I’ll risk it. Catfsh roll, cockatoos shriek – it’s a revelation.

For a fat, straight road, the Savannah Way provides a steep learning curve. I engage 4WD to navigate shallow creeks, and deviate into felds to avoid cattle snoozing on the mud. But my most important lesson is about timing. After a lengthy, lazy lunch at Hell’s Gate Roadhouse, I lose half an hour on entering the Northern Territory time zone.

Light’s fading. I’ve a way to go and kangaroos and wallabies are drawn to my headlights as if in a trance. I can’t avoid them. To swerve is to roll is to most likely die. I wince at two deafening bumper smacks from suicidal wallabies.

By Cape Crawford, I’ve driven 700km in a day and have a screaming headache. Time for my Deliverance moment. I’m drinking alongside miners and stockmen in the Heartbreak Hotel’s rough-as-guts tin walled bar when I decide it’s time to select a suitably macho rock track on the video jukebox. Only I enter the wrong code. As I saunter back to my beer, the giant screen flls with Geri Halliwell and several male dancers in tights writhing suggestively to ‘It’s Raining Men’.

Not here it’s not, you Pommie bastard.

I survive. Just. To celebrate, I sample a few local excursions. There’s a heavenly swim beneath sheer mudstone cliffs in 27ºC Poppy’s Pools, and creamy witchetty grubs with the Mara tribe – a bushtucker aperitif for a Northern Territory main course: The Lost City. One of four rock formations claiming the title – losing one metropolis is unlucky, losing four is plain lazy – it’s a vast forest of towering sandstone phallus, eroded and sculpted over 1.4 billion years.

After several days of dry empty wilderness it’s a shock to hit the two-lane Stuart Highway. It leads to Katherine, home to soft motels, fat pizzas and decadent lattes – the end of a 1,800km macchiato-free zone. And the end of fat earth.

The landscape now rises, dips and rolls – a surrealist vision of fat-topped buttes, deep-red escarpments and baobab trees, their branches tangled like Medusa’s hair.

I lose another hour and a half entering Western Australia. The Kimberley region seems to know, packing show-stopping sights into shorter days.

A scenic fight crosses the 980sq km Lake Argyle and takes me to the world’s largest diamond mine: a kilometre-deep open cavern with steeply terraced sides resembling an inverted pyramid.

El Questro’s peachy homestead provides a luxury aperitif for the home strait. Its highlight?

The 250m-high orange and black beehive-like peaks of the Bungle Bungles. I witness their cliffs, domes and gorges burning in the dawn sun, drenching our hired helicopter canopy in soft, honeyed light. It should be the trip’s most memorable colour. Should be. But that comes 30 hours later, when sunglasses are required to handle Broome’s glaring white sand and turquoise Indian Ocean. It’s time for Speedos and a celebratory dip. I’ve just crossed Australia. l Drive the Savannah Way between dry, cool May and September. Flights to Cairns via Brisbane, returning from Broome via Perth, from £807; expedia.co.uk. 4WD hire from europcar.co.uk.

For information, including accommodation, visit savannahway.com.au

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Brummell • Motorcycling The trailblazer Simon Pavey puts riders through their paces around the many dirt tracks and trails at the 4,000-acre Walters Arena in Wales

Fast track An adrenaline-fuelled, off-road motorcycling course will gear you up to see the world rather differently

Llewellyn Pavey

Words: Simon de Burton

Towards the end of last year, I was invited by Nick English, co-founder of the Bremont watch company, to take part in an arduous expedition: a six-day motorcycle ride along some of the most beautiful roads and trails in South Africa.

Unfortunately (for me), the dates clashed with another, rather less exciting assignment I had already agreed to, so I was forced to decline. As they say in the modern vernacular, I was gutted.

What I did have time for, however, was to accompany English on a pre-trip, off-road riding course in Wales under the tuition of a man called Simon Pavey, who, in adventure motorcycling circles, is nothing short of a legend – not least because he has taken part in the famously gruelling Dakar Rally no fewer than 10 times and lived to tell the tale. Having lessons from him is equivalent, in off-roading circles, to being taught to drive a Formula 1 car by Lewis Hamilton.

I frst met Pavey back in 1999, when he was running a motorcycle project for south London ‘yoofs’ who had strayed from the straight and narrow. Shortly after this, he joined forces with BMW to set up the specialist Off Road Skills course as its founder, owner and chief instructor.

Pavey, now 47, looked at dozens of potential UK sites for the school before fnally settling on a vast, 4,000-acre area outside Swansea called Walters Arena. This was once an open-cast coal mine, but has now been reclaimed to provide endless tracks, trails, hill-climbs and forests that, quite simply, add up to dirt-bike heaven.

There are more than 40 courses a year at the site and Pavey works with six other instructors, all of whom are carefully selected for their combined talents of riding skill, patience and teaching ability.

Most of the motorcycles are supplied by BMW and examples of every model in the off-road range are available, right up to the giant, land-eating R1200GS, which is far and away the best-selling large-capacity motorcycle on the market.

Much of the bike’s success is down to the fact that it (and its predecessor, the R1150GS) was ridden by Ewan McGregor and his long-time biking buddy Charley Boorman on their Long Way Round and Long Way Down trans-global rides.The trips sparked a fre in people who had harboured thoughts of getting out there and really discovering the world by following its roads less

‘Unlike Superbike racing or Formula 1, this is something anyone who has the means and the time can take up’

travelled, not from the enclosed environment of a four-wheel-drive car but from the open-to-theelements, breathe-in-the-smells vantage point of a motorcycle designed specifcally for the job.

The result is that sales of so-called adventuresports bikes – tall machines with soft suspension, long-range fuel tanks, comfortable riding positions and off-road capability – have rocketed, with many buyers accessorising them with ‘overlanding’ gear ranging from capacious aluminium luggage to GPS systems and auxiliary lighting.

More than 1,000 people a year now take part in Pavey’s Off Road Skills courses – which is exactly 10 times the number who signed up in year one.

We were extraordinarily privileged, though: the day we turned up, no one else was booked in, so we had the maestro to ourselves – and lesson one began with Pavey laying his enormous BMW R1200GS motorcycle gently down on its side.

‘Like it or not, anyone who rides a motorcycle off-road is faced with this situation sooner or later, so you need to know how to pick it up and carry on,’ said Pavey in his good-humoured Australian drawl, before explaining the physics of the situation and demonstrating just how easy it is to single-handedly return a 200kg motorcycle from ‘prone’ to ‘upright’ using the handlebars as a lever.

We were then taught to understand the balance of our machines, to ride them in ever-decreasing circles and how to travel not as fast as possible but as slowly as possible. We were even encouraged to lock the brakes in order to learn how the bikes reacted, and were schooled in how to maintain control while accelerating with the front brake applied – scary stuff, but all confdence-inspiring.

Then, we simply roamed the vast acreage of Walters Arena, stopping at regular intervals to learn something new: how to pick your motorbike off the side of a one-in-four hill and get it safely

to the bottom without bursting into tears; how to make a controlled descent down a stone-covered slope; how to ride through ruts that seem to go on forever (answer: sit back, power through and steer with the foot pegs, not the handlebars).

At the end of the day, we were undeniably weary, but completely revved-up and wanting more – which didn’t surprise Pavey. ‘What people have discovered about this type of motorcycling is that, unlike a sport such as Superbike racing or Formula 1, this is something anyone who has the means and the time can take up,’ he explains.

‘People are now looking for an alternative to what everyone else is doing. Travel has become too easy and the sense of adventure is often lost.

Taking a motorcycle around exotic countries on dirt roads and having to explain yourself to a border guard in the middle of the night in some remote place has an air of mystique about it that promises far more excitement than you get from just jumping on an aeroplane. And all we want to do is give people the confdence to go down that frst gravel path – but the beautiful thing is that they often go on to discover the world.’

As for English, he took what he had learnt to Africa and soon appreciated that Pavey’s instruction had been invaluable. ‘Having him by your side when you get it wrong – and then having him show you how to put it right again – helps you realise that, with a little bit of knowledge, plenty of logic and a calm attitude, you should be able to get yourself out of most of the diffcult situations you’re likely to encounter.

‘Whenever I got into a tricky spot while we were riding in Africa, often in the middle of nowhere, I would just think back to what Simon had taught us and, nine times out of 10, it enabled me to ride smoothly through the problem.

‘Now I’m just looking forward to getting back to Wales and learning some more.’ l The BMW Off Road Skills Level One course costs £495, including bike rental. A range of motorcycling holidays is also available from BMW Motorrad (bmw-motorrad.co.uk) in destinations such as Africa, Portugal, New Zealand and Peru, or you can tour Africa or Australia on an adventure led by Charley Boorman, who organised the trip undertaken by Nick English and is an ambassador for Bremont watches.

Adventure capitalist A passion for seeking out what the world has to offer, plus a daredevil streak, motivates Geoffrey Kent, founder of Abercrombie & Kent

Words: Joanne Glasbey

Call of the wild Clockwise, from left: Geoffrey Kent’s intrepid spirit spurred him on to set up safaris, such as a trek in Zambia that takes travellers close to wildlife

Geoffrey Kent has to be one of the most widely travelled people in the world. Raised in Kenya, he’s always been a nonconformist, a pioneer, even in his teens. At school, aged 16, he was the proud owner of a two-stroke motorbike. But as students weren’t allowed to have them he was asked to leave. After a ferce argument with his father, he got on his bike and headed for Nairobi.

There, he bought a tarpaulin and a sleeping bag from the Salvation Army and built a frame for the bike to hold petrol on one side and water on the other. He bought biltong and a map and rode all the way to Cape Town, 3,000 miles away.

It transpired he was the frst person to make the trip by motorbike. Enterprisingly, he sold his story to a South African newspaper and the payment was enough to sail back, frst-class, to Mombasa.

Some years later, he was back with his family, organising safaris. The entrepreneur in him started asking questions, such as: how do you make a guest feel at home in the middle of nowhere? He soon hit on the answer: with a hot dinner and a cold drink. What they needed was a refrigerated truck so the ice wouldn’t melt and the meat wouldn’t spoil. ‘That,’ he says, ‘is how we became known for offering unexpected luxury in exotic places. It’s all about logistics, impeccable standards and a refusal to settle for second-best.’

Kent says they soon learnt the way to guarantee quality is to control as much of the end-to-end experience as possible. ‘Every single part of it is managed – nothing is left to chance.’

Kent is completely focused on providing the very best adventure-experience holidays. Since establishing Abercrombie & Kent in the early

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World class

Alamy

Kent’s latest travel recommendations

Sixties, all the excitement of his upbringing in the Kenyan highlands has been translated into the trips. The company was the frst to offer luxury mobile-tented safaris and canoe trips down wild African rivers, along with adventure cruises, horseback safaris and gorilla tracking. And it has always aimed to do it with style.

‘So, if Abercrombie & Kent’s clients are in the middle of the Serengeti, surrounded by migrating wildebeest, then they must have beautiful camps, fne wine and fresh lobsters fown in every day,’ explains Kent. ‘It always comes back to the same thing: take people to extraordinary locations so they can experience something they’d never have done otherwise, in a cocoon of luxury.’

But for Kent, it’s more than just commerce.

It’s personal. He craves adrenaline and the travel business provides his daily fx, particularly after an accident ended his international polo career in the early Nineties. He claims to have tried out nearly every one of A&K’s trips before deciding if it can be offered safely. This has involved travelling from the source of the Upper Amazon in Peru to where it enters the Atlantic Ocean (a hairy experience with a swift current and moving sandbanks) and cruising to the North Pole. ‘I’ve always had fun – and survived,’ he laughs.

And he’s still having adventures today. ‘I’m now leading our portfolio of glamorous journeys by private jet. We cross the globe and stay in exclusive hotels on several continents. From the start, I planned the trips to include those exotic destinations I’d always wanted to see, such as Nosy Be in Madagascar, Easter Island and Komodo, where you fnd the Komodo dragon,

the world’s largest lizard. Usually, such places would be impossible to visit in one journey, but our jet brings them in reach in comfort and style.’

A&K prides itself on its local guides, who have an intimate knowledge of a destination’s culture, history and wildlife: ‘There is no substitute for having our own people on the ground – experts with beyond-the-guidebook knowledge. Their deep roots and long-established relationships allow us to offer authentic experiences.’

One of the newest additions to Kent’s inventory of adventures is a walking safari in Zambia. His description of the experience makes you feel almost there: ‘There’s nothing more thrilling than approaching big game on foot,’ Kent says. ‘All your senses come into play as you approach from downwind, slowly, carefully, moving closer, following in the footsteps of your guide, being careful not to make a sound. Sometimes, the animal will sniff the wind, perhaps sensing your presence but not alarmed enough to take fight.

If you take your time, you’re often able to get as far as within 20ft of an elephant. You can hear the rhythm of their almost constant chewing as they browse on grasses and twigs, their ears slowly fapping as they make their way through the brush. You can see their long eyelashes, the rough texture of their skin and the wiry brush of their tail. Then, if someone snaps a twig or brushes up against a tree trunk, the elephant will sense your presence, turn in your direction – much faster than you thought possible – trumpet loudly, ears out, and… run off in the opposite direction. It will all be over in a matter of seconds.’ l abercrombiekent.co.uk

Myanmar Interest in Myanmar has increased dramatically since the National League for Democracy, founded by Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, welcomed responsible tourism. A truly spiritual destination, the Burmese countryside is largely untouched by Western civilisation. The rivers take you deep into the heart of Burma and almost to the borders of China and India. Travel in style on boutique river cruiser Sanctuary Ananda through stunning landscapes that have changed little in 1,500 years.

The Arctic The best way to experience the breathtaking landscapes and wildlife of the Arctic (above) – untouched by man – is on an adventure cruise aboard Le Boréal, which Condé Nast Traveller likens to a ‘Gold List’ hotel.

Discover polar bears in their natural habitat; and view the now extinct Snaefellsjökull volcano, setting of Jules Verne’s Journey to the Centre of the Earth. Le Boréal’s compact size enables it to get closer to fjords, glaciers and bays than big ships.

Sri Lanka Successive waves of Indian, Arab and European traders have focked to Sri Lanka’s palm-fringed shores, drawn by rare spices, precious stones and magnifcent elephants. Ancient cities, tea plantations and hill stations vie for attention alongside amazing wildlife, temples and golden beaches. A&K has recently opened a local offce to ensure guests experience the country in its inimitable style.

brummellmagazine.co.uk

The Brummell website – brummellmagazine.co.uk – is an essential resource: your edited selection of the very best in style, culture, travel, watches, food, drink, technology and motoring. Featuring exclusive interviews, videos and reportage, it’s the indispensable daily update of the little black book for the City.

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Epicure Wining & dining In a ceaseless quest to satisfy our appetite for adventure and our adventurous appetites, at Brummell we dine, sniff, sip and quaff, issue after issue. The most intriguing aperitif to enjoy right now is vermouth and, much to our delight, the capital’s coolest drink is available in variations that extend way beyond the mere sweet or dry. One of our all-time-favourite amuse-bouches, oysters, is now child’s play to open, thanks to the launch of a clever new knife. Spoilt for choice by the number of restaurant openings, we go for an Italian, visit an eaterie specialising in baked-egg dishes, and, with the Chinese New Year in mind, feast on fne Asian food. To bring proceedings to a splendid conclusion, we road-test the ultimate home espresso machine and sample the awe-inspiring array of malts on offer at Soho’s newest whisky bar. Chin chin!

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Class acts ↑ The chefs at London’s fnest dining establishments rarely reveal the tricks of their trade, but for those looking to hone their culinary skills, Caprice Holdings is offering a series of classes with the head chefs from J Sheekey and Daphne’s at the Cookery School on Little Portland Street. On 27 February, J Sheekey’s head chef James Cornwall joins Tim Hughes to teach the art of flleting fsh and preparing a threecourse meal, including the famous Sheekey’s fsh pie. If perfect pasta is your thing, Hughes is joining Daphne’s head chef Michael Brown on 27 March to cook up a feast of Italian staples.

27 February and 27 March, 10am to 1.30pm, £150 per session; cookeryschool.co.uk

New kids on the block ↑ M (mrestaurants.co.uk) is the frst solo project from Martin Williams, formerly of the Gaucho Group, which sees two new restaurants launch in the City.

Head to M Grill for steak and M Raw for tartare and tiradito. Bocconcino Pizzeria (bocconcinorestaurant.co.uk) launched in Moscow, but recently opened on Mayfair’s Berkeley Street.

Its menu of authentic wood-fred pizzas and fresh pasta follows the Italian phrase ‘l’appetito vien mangiando’ (‘the appetite comes by eating’). Sure to comfort and intrigue, niche opening Bad Egg (badegg.london) specialises in an eclectic mix of baked-egg dishes and hashes from around the world. Open all day from 8am, this modern Moorgate diner is an ideal breakfast stop. New in the City, chef-patron Guglielmo Arnulfo has opened Italian wine bar and restaurant Enoteca Rabezzana (rabezzana.co.uk) with Italian winemakers Rabezzana Vini.

Its wide selection of Italian dishes is complemented by an extensive wine list.

Whisky galore London’s oldest whisky specialist, Milroy’s is opening a new shop and bar, with a basement cocktail bar named Simo’s (after its new owner) and a private barrel room for groups of up to 12 people beneath Soho’s cobbled streets. The retail space will sell own-brand whisky alongside rare fnds. More than 250 whiskies will be served in the shop’s bar, and there will be casks available so customers can make bespoke blends. Milroy’s, 3 Greek Street, London W1D 4NX

Oh, shucks ↑ Malle W Trousseau has a simple approach to kitchenware: no frills, just genuine, quality cooking utensils that are well designed and made to last.

A vital piece of kit for any oyster lover, La Lancette is a professional-quality knife designed to ease the often-painful process of oyster-shucking. Made in Thiers, a region of France renowned for its cutlery, it is sturdy yet elegant and has a strong blade and rosewood handle. It comes with a natural-leather hand shield that’s suited to both left- and right-handed users. The shield covers the whole hand, providing better coverage than a glove and making it easier to open as many oysters as you can eat. La Lancette oyster knife, £43; mallewtrousseau.com

News • Epicure

75

Hotshot gadget → Introduced in Italy in 1970, the pioneering GS series espresso machine

by La Marzocco was the frst of its kind to use two independent boilers – one for hot water and steam and the other for extracting the coffee.

Forty-fve years and many espressos later, the new GS/3 is an impressive piece of equipment that incorporates original GS technology with modern design to allow you to make top-notch espressos in the comfort of your own kitchen. Designed with perfectionists and coffee connoisseurs in mind, the revolutionary dual-boiler system optimises espresso brewing and steam production, with portaflters and precision baskets improving cup quality and consistency, and an economiser fne-tuning the water temperature for tea. La Marzocco GS/3 espresso coffee machine, £5,760; lamarzocco.com

Asian array ↓ Coinciding with celebrations for the Chinese New Year, Harrods has opened Chai Wu (chaiwu.co.uk) on its ffth foor. The colourful modern menu has been created by Asian cuisine experts Jason Seeming Wa and Ian Pengelley, with specialities including Alaskan king crab with soy glaze, and lotus root and lily bulb in a spicy toban sauce. Design company Harrison masterminded the interior space, which features a charcoal grill surrounded by a dining bar to give guests a prime view of the action in the kitchen. Meanwhile, East Asian barbecue restaurant Bó Drake (bodrake.co.uk) is one of Greek Street’s newest additions. It’s the brainchild of Jan Lee, previously at Roka, and serves a mix of Asian and Korean dishes made with seasonal British produce.

All in good taste Since 1959, the Il Cucchiaio d’Argento (The Silver Spoon) cookbook series has preserved for posterity dishes passed down through generations of Italian families. The latest region it explores is Puglia – home to bountiful olive groves and benefting from an impeccable climate for growing fresh produce. The calendar of food markets and festivals offers a real taste of the region and is an excellent guide to the specialities to be found off the beaten track.

Puglia, £24.95; phaidon.com

I should cocoa ↑ The Chocolate Festival is the UK’s biggest celebration of all things chocolatey, showcasing some of the country’s fnest chocolatiers and artisan-chocolate producers. Taking place at the Business Design Centre the weekend before Easter, it’s an ideal occasion to stock up on gifts, while surreptitiously snaffing as many samples as possible. There will also be a chance to try a range of cocoa-butter based beauty treatments at the cocoa spa, and a health trail will provide information about the benefts of chocolate and a selection of free-from and raw-chocolate products. 27–29 March; festivalchocolate.co.uk

N O Ë L C O WA R D , W H O S E P L AY ‘ D E S I G N F O R L I V I N G ’ WA S FIRST PERFORMED IN 1933.

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Spirits • Brummell

Create a stir

77

Vermouth, the infused-wine cocktail stalwart, has made a surprise return to Britain’s hippest bars

Alamy; Getty Images

Words: Jane Fulcher

To make a classic dry martini, one must frst wash the inside of the glass with vermouth, then pour it away. But, with vermouth fast becoming the drink of choice across London, this year might see more bartenders retaining it in the glass.

Many of the recent drink trends – among them sherry, Aperol and Campari – have hailed from Spain and Italy, and vermouth is no different.

It, too, is a classic enduringly popular in its own country and enjoying renewed life in Britain, where it had been neglected for years. A fortifed wine made with the plant wormwood, it is a key ingredient in three other cocktails: the Rob Roy, Negroni and Manhattan.

It frst returned to prominence in 2013, thanks to the Italian brand Martini, which celebrated its 150th year of producing vermouth and sparkling wines with a host of glamorous parties, celebrity endorsements and a collaboration with Dolce & Gabbana. But it is Spain that has really led the charge in making the drink fashionable once more.

Dedicated bars have been springing up along Barcelona’s most fashionable streets, and the city’s hip alternative-music festival Primavera even has a vermouth tent, where it is served with soda, or deliciously cool and fragrant over ice. Catalonians have been drinking it for centuries, of course, and it has long been the tipple in Tarragona’s squares in the evening. However, it has only recently been seen as a drink for tastemakers.

In London, many of the vermouths in vogue are of an artisanal variety – after all, authenticity, or at least the appearance of it, is a consistent element in the city’s drink trends. Mele e Pere, the Italian restaurant in Soho that is home to the capital’s frst vermouth bar, is at the centre of the revival and keen to promote its variations, which run beyond just sweet and dry. Its resident expert offers classes in creating the fortifed wine, with tastings of the different varieties, and also demonstrates how he blends his dry white and bittersweet red into cocktails (£25; meleepere.co.uk).

Tony Conigliaro, the man behind one of London’s fnest cocktail bars, 69 Colebrooke Row, recently opened Bar Termini on Old Compton Street – a venture dedicated to the art of the Italian aperitif. An ideal place for drinks before dinner, its small selection of cocktails features no fewer than three Negronis, as well as a Marsala martini made with gin, Marsala wine, bitters and dry vermouth (bar-termini.com).

That’s the spirit From top: A Martini advert from 1953, when vermouth was frst in vogue internationally; Cinzano is enjoying a revival in the trend-setting East End

Other locations where vermouth is treated with due respect include Jason Atherton’s Social Eating House in Soho (socialeatinghouse.com) and City Social in Tower 42 (citysociallondon.com), the Artesian Bar at the Langham (artesian-bar.co.uk) and the excellent Sager + Wilde in Hackney (sagerandwilde.com), which celebrates retro chic with an aperitif of Cinzano on ice.

Along with those created by Mele e Pere, there are several other vermouths made here in the UK, including Blackdown Sussex Bianco Vermouth from the South Downs, and Sacred Vermouth, made in Highgate using Somerset wormwood and herbs from the New Forest. Other brands to look out for include Cocchi – especially its amberous Vermouth di Torino; Dolin, from Chambéry, the only region in France to have an Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée for vermouth; Antica Formula, which is sweet without being cloying and every bit as good for drinking as it is as in a cocktail; and the bartender’s favourite, Noilly Prat, which has stood the test of time.

So, what’s set to arrive next on these thirsty shores from the Med? Well, Catalonia – Tarragona in particular – also has something of a chartreuse habit, serving it with sharp lemon sherbet, which, when combined with the herbal favour of the spirit, makes for a refreshing summer drink. Less likely, perhaps, is Kalimotxo, the red wine and Coke drink favoured in the Basque region, which is probably a step too far even for Londoners.

Or will we take up the Spanish tradition of serving chilled red wines in the summer? Whatever the next trend, the capital’s early adopters will certainly be the frst to order at the bar. l

Produce • Brummell

79

A new breed

Britain has no shortage of exotic meats and unusual fare, should you wish to diversify, as well as native species in need of a bit of TLC

Words: Jane Fulcher Illustration: Mark Long

Where once it was only cows, sheep and pigs, it’s now not unusual to spot more exotic animals grazing Britain’s green and pleasant land. Buffalo, llama, alpaca, ostrich, wild boar and crocodiles are all currently being raised and farmed in the UK, resulting in an intriguing array of products, and providing a new source of income for farmers.

The appeal to customers comes not just in the desire to try something new, but also in the quality of meat or dairy from herds that have been raised sensitively in small groups and cared for by farmers willing to go the extra mile for their animals. That has seen expensive breeds become more viable to raise here – as evidenced by a British farmer’s investment in a very special herd from Japan.

Highland Wagyu (wagyu.co.uk), established in 2011, is now Europe’s biggest provider of the prized cattle. The wagyu’s extraordinarily favoursome meat is said to be 70 per cent down to genetics and 30 per cent attributable to diet, so the ready supply of fresh Highland grass is almost certainly the key to why the Scottish farm’s produce is coveted by top chefs such as Tom Kitchin and Adam Handling.

Closer to London, Laverstoke Park Farm, in Hampshire (laverstokepark.co.uk), raises all its animals in organic, biodynamic surrounds and is part of the Slow Food movement, which promotes natural, unharried husbandry. One of Laverstoke’s most popular products comes from its 1,500-strong water-buffalo herd, which is raised in grassy paddocks and fed only natural grains.

Its buffalo meat – a tasty alternative to beef, made into rich, tender steaks, juicy burgers and moreish jerky – has garnered many awards. Its mozzarella, meanwhile, is the only buffalo version made in the UK and is justly celebrated for its soft texture and delicate favour. As well as selling its products online, Laverstoke Park also has a butcher’s shop in Twickenham. Its meat and cheese is on the menus of restaurants across the capital, including Bistrot Bruno Loubet and Cinnamon Club.

Another unusual breed that has seen real success in the UK is wild boar, which produces a richly favoured meat that is leaner than pork,

Buffalo meat – a tasty alternative to beef – makes rich, tender steaks, juicy burgers and moreish jerky

making it ideal for stews and sausages. Well suited to the UK’s wooded landscapes, wild boar were thought to be extinct here for some 700 years, but have recently returned in numbers now deemed high enough for the Government to consider introducing traffc signs warning of their presence in some rural areas. And hunting boar has become increasingly popular – meaning you may no longer need to travel to Tuscany if it’s a pursuit you favour.

For those who prefer their pig ready-prepared, the Real Boar Company based in the Cotswolds (therealboar.co.uk) is one of the country’s fnest suppliers. Its animals are of Polish and German origin and roam 20 acres of Cotswolds’ woodland, gobbling all the acorns, berries and mushrooms they can forage. These contribute to the favour of the company’s outstanding charcuterie, adopted by chefs and fne restaurants across the country and beyond. Try the salami with sloe gin – the sloe berries provide an excellent balance to the rich meat – as well as the haunch cuts for roasting, or the spicy chorizo. The Real Boar helpfully provides excellent recipes, such as the delicioussounding roast boar with chocolate and wild-cherry sauce, and spiced honey-roast shoulder of wild boar, for those needing further inspiration.

Another surprisingly lean and versatile meat is that from ostriches. Surprisingly dark and juicy, it’s excellent for burgers or steaks, and doesn’t need much more than a good grinding of black pepper and garlic. Although ostrich-farming saw a boom in the Nineties, it fell out of favour with UK farmers for its lack of sustainability, and the bubble burst. However, a few small, dedicated farms have shown it can work, as long as the focus

is correct. White House Farm in Lincolnshire (oslinc.co.uk) has raised the birds for meat for 20 years and also sells their eggs. Ostrich meat from Nottinghamshire’s Gamston Wood Farm (gamstonwoodfarm.com) is available to buy at Borough Market.

Food source aside, exotic breeds have other purposes. Llamas are bred not only for their feece, but as companions for other livestock, because they will fercely protect sheep, chickens or goats by chasing off predators. They are also popular trekking companions – and those walking with Surrey Hills Llamas (surrey-hills-llamas.co.uk) are fuelled by a luxurious picnic and champagne.

The llama’s cousin, the alpaca, has a gentle nature that makes it ideal for trekking too. Butlers Farm (butlersfarmalpacas.co.uk) in Essex and the Isle of Wight’s West Wight (westwightalpacas.co.uk) both produce a range of alpaca clothing and yarn as well as offering animals for stud.

The frst crocodiles were introduced to a UK farm in 2011, when Andy Johnson brought them to Cambridgeshire (johnsonsofoldhurst.co.uk).

Rather than being bred for their meat or skin, their job is to eat the carcasses of the farm’s other animals and thus help with waste disposal. And of course, they’re a big draw for visitors, too.

At the same time as foreign or formerly wild breeds are increasingly being farmed, many traditional and heritage British ones are now close enough to extinction to be considered exotic themselves. Slow Food’s UK Ark of Taste project aims to preserve those animals once native to our farms but now all but wiped out due to intensive practices. They include cattle – the Blue Grey, with their unusual ombré curls, and the red-haired Devon Ruby Red; three pig varieties – russet Tamworths, silky Lops, and Gloucester Old Spot; and sheep – the wonderfully named Badger Face Welsh Mountain and the large Lincoln Longwool – to name but a few.

It seems that, going forward, with British farmers looking to tradition as much as to exotic breeds, our plates are set to retain the same splashes of colour as our countryside. l

80

Brummell • Need to know

Ocean drive The launch of a high-performance amphibious vehicle is set to leave other boat manufacturers all at sea

Words: Harley Sprocker

If you’ve ever wondered what survival expert Bear Grylls and omnipresent designer Philippe Starck might have in common, the answer is that they both have sea legs. Or, more accurately, Sealegs – an amphibious marine craft that promises to take much of the aggravation out of boating.

Launched a decade ago in New Zealand, Sealegs is a rigid infatable boat (RIB) with the useful addition of a retractable wheel system that enables it to be driven directly into or out of the sea, avoiding the need for a trailer or slipway and eliminating worries about tide times.

Until recently, Sealegs boats were mainly the preserve of military units and search-and-rescue teams, but the versatility and convenience of the design has now brought the frm to the attention of the civilian market, with the vessels proving especially popular with island-dwellers.

Unlike many amphibious craft, a Sealegs boat performs on the water in exactly the same way as any other high-performance RIB, because its wheels, which can be retracted or extended at the push of a button, are driven by their own power source, independent of the boat’s main engine.

Like most great ideas, it’s simple, yet brilliant – although the price isn’t exactly a drop in the ocean. A basic, 6.1m-long Sealegs will set you back around £90,000, rising to more than £120,000 for the 7.7m version. l salternsbrokerage.co.uk

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