tlm - the travel & lesiure magazine summer 2011

tlm Summer 2011

£3.50

tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine

the travel & leisure magazine

SKIP THE LIGHT FAN-TANGO Argentina uncovered

TAKE A HIKE

Exploring Britain on foot

NATURAL WONDER Bountiful New Zealand

HISTORY REVERED

HERE COMES SUMMER

10 of the best UK beaches CORKING HOLIDAYS

Wine tours near and far

FLAT OUT

Flying in style

Boston down to a tea

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PLUS Budget London Golf in Egypt The Cotswolds Boutique hotels

win

a trip t Cape C o Boston and od camera , 2 Olympus s in photo c our new ont & more est

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tlm

■ Walk this way

4 6 15 21 27

contents

in the frame spring photo competition winners getting to know New Zealand escape to Boston let’s try wine tours competitions

WIN – a £650 Cotswold hotel break in the Old Swan & Minster Mill WIN – two Olympus cameras worth £450 in our summer photo competition

28 uk uncovered Britain by foot

WIN – one of five copies of The National Trails guide worth £17.95 each

36 off the beaten track Argentina

WIN – a case of Nomade Argentinean wines worth almost £140 WIN – one of five copies of Patagonia on DVD, worth £15.99 each

42 a touch of class flying in style 47 in your flightbag what to take on the flight 48 in your suitcase what to pack for your holiday

WIN – a Louise Sandberg silk kaftan and beach bag worth a total of £234

50 travel tech gizmos and gadgets to take away

WIN – one of five iGo KeyJuices, worth £9.99 each

53 on your doorstep Cotswolds

WIN – one of five copies of Bradt guide Slow Cotswolds + READER OFFER 59 competition WIN – a holiday to Boston and Cape Cod worth over £2,000

61 pack your clubs Egypt + golf news

WIN – a GolfBuddy World rangefinder worth £279

67 travel update travel news

WIN – a Staysure Annual Multi-Trip travel insurance policy worth up to £450

70 74 78 82

10 of the best UK beaches checking out focus on boutique hotels + reviews london life budget London + London news out & about what’s on outside London

WIN – one of two pairs of Spitfire steam train tickets, worth £129 a pair

90 coming next what’s in store in the next issue subscribe to tlm – and get a Michelin London guide FREE EDITORIAL: Editor Peter Ellegard Editorial assistant Julie Thompson Writers Peter Ellegard, Julie Thompson, Terry Marsh, Andrew Williams, Gary Noakes and Caroline Mills Design Nick Blaxill Production June Barnard Publisher Terry Stafford Advertising sales Elaine Smith Digital Publisher Peter Lewsey Published quarterly by TLM Media Limited, Langdale House, 11 Marshalsea Road, London SE1 1EN Tel: 020 3176 2570 Fax: 020 3176 2572 Email: info@tlm-magazine.co.uk Printed by BGP © TLM Media Limited

Pennine Way National Trail

the travel and leisure magazine

from the

editor Peter Ellegard

M

id-summer? It is hard to believe that the nights are already drawing in when we have yet to have the “summer of ‘76” that we were promised; the threat of droughts here in the South East and blisteringly hot days have yet to materialise. When summer does decide to show up, we have our pick of the 10 best beaches in the UK where you can enjoy those hazy, lazy summer days.

Other UK picks in our bumper summer issue include a round-up of the very best walking trails in our UK Uncovered feature, while the perennial holiday favourite, the Cotswolds, are covered in our On Your Doorstep feature.

Further afield, we are highlighting golf in Egypt, worldwide wine tours and America’s walking city, Boston; and taking you to the other side of the world, we focus on New Zealand – still very much open for business after the devastating earthquakes – and we give the issue a Latin twist by heading off the beaten track to Argentina.

Once again, we were overwhelmed by the response to our spring photo competition and are launching a brand new competition with Olympus. And that’s not all – we have £5,000 worth of prizes to win in this issue, including a holiday to Boston and Cape Cod worth over £2,000.

If the sun doesn’t come out, you could always blame the editor...

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in the frame ■ spring photo competition results ■ Derek Tait’s winning photo: Spring at Devil’s Point

■ Munchin' by Bex Saunders

Spring in their step Derek and Bex snap up our Kodak photo competition prizes

Other top finalists

W

hen we launched our spring photo competition with our partner, Kodak, you literally leapt at the opportunity.

With several hundred entries of the highest quality – including many from very talented youngsters – we narrowed it down to 12 finalists, and asked for your help in choosing our winners.

More than 1,000 readers had their say, and Derek Tait, from Plymouth, ended up taking the top honours for his evocative and quintessentially English picture of Spring at Devil’s Point, polling almost half the total votes cast. He wins Kodak’s 12 megapixel EasyShare Max digital camera, worth £299.99.

A previous winner in our winter competition, Bex Saunders, from Romsey in Hampshire, was a worthy runner-up; her Munchin’ picture of caterpillars on a leaf got just under a quarter of your votes and won her the 10-inch Kodak Pulse digital photo frame, worth £169.99.

Well done to both of them and to all our entrants and finalists. Special mentions go to seven-year old Rachel Skirton, whose lovely crocuses picture made our final, beating her mum, and also to Neil Hedge, whose stunning picture of a bee in flight received most comments on our Facebook gallery. ● WIN one of two Olympus cameras in our great, new photo competition. See page 27.

! tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine

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■ Busy Bee by Neil Hedge ■ Crocuses by Rachel Skirton, aged seven

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getting to know ■ new zealand

Natural

high

The power of nature in New Zealand is as magnificent as it can be violent, as Peter Ellegard discovered

L

ike everyone else, I watched TV coverage of the terrible scenes of devastation from the earthquake in Christchurch earlier this year with shock and sadness. The human toll was tragic, the destruction wrought by Mother Nature on such a beautiful city heart-rending to witness.

The people of New Zealand are no strangers to nature’s power. Lying on the Pacific Ring of Fire, the country is one of the most seismically active in the world and it has been shaped over time by earthquakes and volcanoes. It is those very forces which in part draw visitors, notably to the bubbling mud pools and geysers of Rotorua’s geothermal parks, on the North Island.

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Summer 2011

getting to know ■ new zealand

Christchurch will rise again from the rubble. But while the city may be off limits to tourists, the rest of New Zealand’s South Island is very much open for business and you can still use it as the gateway to tour the island. I did that last year on a family holiday to both islands.

There is so much to see and do throughout New Zealand that you have to plan your trip and manage your time meticulously. We could only spare five days on South Island and wanted to do a big loop to take in both coasts and adventure capital Queenstown. So after a dawn flight from Auckland, we picked up a rental car at Christchurch Airport and bypassed the city, driving two and a half hours north to Kaikoura for a close encounter with one of nature’s giants – sperm whales.

They live in the deep waters off the Kaikoura Peninsula year-round and have become the centre of a thriving tourism industry. You can view them by boat, plane or helicopter. There is something magical about getting up close and personal to such magnificent mammals, however, so – having been entertained by a pod of leaping dusky dolphins when we stopped off en route at a coastal café for breakfast – we boarded one of the purpose-built catamarans operated by award-winning Whale Watch Kaikoura (www.whalewatch.co.nz), after an informative briefing at their wonderfully-

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named base, the Whaleway Station.

They boast a 95% success, and we were not disappointed. No sooner had we arrived on site than one surfaced alongside, shooting a cloud of spray into the air from its blowhole. After a short while on the surface, the whale arched its back to dive back down to the abyss for food, its tail fluke curving and then slipping vertically below the waves.

We had three sightings, each with the backdrop of the empty Pacific or framed by mountains, before pressing on for our overnight stop.

There are several coast to coast routes across the South Island. The most popular is on State Highway 73, accessible directly from Christchurch Airport. It cuts through the Southern Alps via Arthur’s Pass. The scenic TranzAlpine train follows the same route.

We followed the Alpine Pacific Triangle Touring Route to overnight at Hanmer Springs, a quaint, alpine thermal spa town with natural hot springs to soak in, heading across to Greymouth on the west coast via the often-deserted Lewis Pass highway.

With a long drive to our next overnight point, Franz Josef Glacier, the preserved gold rush-era Shantytown (www.shantytown.co.nz) made an ideal stop to stretch legs and enjoy the steam train ride. Mount Cook – New Zealand’s highest mountain – and

■ Milford Sound Tourism New Zealand

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getting to know ■ new zealand

! tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine

■ Bach at Whangapoua Beach, Coromandel pool, a spa and award-winning Barolo Italian restaurant.

A luxury retreat which will appeal to golfers and non-golfing partners is Kauri Cliffs (www.kauricliffs.com), in Matauri Bay on the North Island.

Choose an eco-resort, such as the fivestar Te Waonui Forest Retreat (www.scenichotelgroup.co.nz). Close to the centre of Franz Josef Glacier town, it feels like you are in the middle of a rainforest

adjacent Mount Tasman tower above the west coast highway and Franz Josef Glacier is the main access point for hiking and other mountain activities. We had a scenic helicopter excursion booked with The Helicopter Line (www.helicopter.co.nz), but sadly the weather closed in and we couldn’t do it. Another attempt at the town of Mount Cook on the eastern flank of the eponymous mountain a few days later was again sadly thwarted by low cloud. On a previous visit I had not only enjoyed spectacular aerial mountain and glacier views, but had even landed on Fox Glacier on a ski plane.

While driving down the west coast, be sure to stop off at Bruce Bay. Stones balanced on top of each other, some with driftwood, create a sea of sculptures on the beach; many bear poignant personal messages on the stones. Having added our own sculpture, the voracious midges forced us to seek refuge back in the car. As you turn inland beyond Haas, there are some lovely forest walks with waterfalls.

Wanaka is a pretty, laid back lakeside town offering lots of activities, but for all-action adrenalin and plenty to do by day and night, plus spectacular views of the sharp-peaked Remarkables mountains soaring high above serpentine Lake Wakatipu, nearby Queenstown can’t be beaten.

Dubbed the “Adventure Capital of the World”, Queenstown put New Zealand on the world map as an adrenalin destination. Jet boating originated here, and it was where bungy-jumping was popularised – both on the Shotover River.

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and you dine among the trees in The Canopy restaurant.

Other hotels which make good bases include the Heritage Hanmer Springs Hotel (www.heritagehotels.co.nz) in Hanmer Springs, the boutique Wai Ora Lakeside Spa Resort (www.waioraresort.co.nz) on the shores of Lake Rotorua in Rotorua and the Crowne Plaza Queenstown (www.ichotelsgroup.com), a quiet alternative a short walk from the centre of Queenstown.

jet boating I did a bungy jump at the original Kawarau Bridge site (www.bungy.co.nz) on my first visit to New Zealand some 20 years ago, stupidly thinking it would cure my fear of heights. It didn’t. This time, as on other subsequent visits, I was happy just to watch others throw themselves off the bridge while I took pictures. Been there, got the t-shirt, video…and mental scars.

But I did jump at the chance to go jet boating again, with Shotover Jet (www.shotoverjet.com). Exhilarating and fun, it takes your breath away as the “captain” weaves the craft from side to side through the narrow canyon at high speed, missing rocks by inches before throwing it a 360-degree spin to bring it to an abrupt stop.

For a more sedate experience, cruise Lake Wakatipu

Peter Ellegard

■ Stones on Bruce Beach

Peter Ellegard

There are many accommodation alternatives when you stay in New Zealand, from rustic to luxury.

Emulate local holidaymakers and stay in a traditional bach, or beach house. One of the most popular areas for them is the Coromandel Peninsula, where tour operator Austravel (www.austravel.com) offers more than 340 bach properties to rent.

Rates, size and quality of accommodation vary, but prices start from £70 per property per night staying in a bach in Matarangi sleeping six people.

You can also stay on farms or in B&Bs. In Wanaka, try the luxurious Maple Lodge B&B (www.maplelodgewanaka.co.nz), run by English ex-pats Paul and Bernadette Raymont.

If you want to treat yourself to some luxury while staying in Auckland, try the Langham Auckland (http://auckland.langhamhotels.co.nz), which offers facilities including a rooftop

Peter Ellegard

live like a local…or a star

■ Shotover Jet, Queensland

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Peter Ellegard

getting to know ■ new zealand

■ Whakarewarewa Thermal Village, Rotorua

“Nature can be brutal in New Zealand but it will also leave you in awe”

■ Whakarewarewa geothermal park

aboard the veteran steamship, TS Earnslaw (www.realjourneys.co.nz). It sails several times a day but my favourite is the dinner cruise. As daylight faded, we disembarked at Walter Peak Farm for a wholesome buffet dinner and a sheep-shearing demonstration, then on the cruise back everybody joined in a sing-song to old favourites such as Roll Out the Barrel being played on the out-of-tune piano. All it needed was Chas and Dave.

Allow a full day to see Milford Sound, in the spectacular Fjordlands. A coach journey through magnificent alpine scenery is followed by a cruise down the sheersided fjord past basking seals and cascading waterfalls.

Both times I have done the cruise, rain and low clouds obscured the amazing views, although the experience was still well worthwhile.

stopovers As New Zealand is such a long way to fly to, it makes sense to break your journey by stopping off on the way. The range of airlines flying to Auckland and Christchurch from the UK gives a number of different possibilities. One option is Singapore, where you can fly to on Singapore Airlines’ Airbus A380 super-jumbo and explore the city for a few days. Either stay in the city or, for even more convenience, stay at the Crowne Plaza Changi Airport (www.crowneplaza.com), which is literally just a walk from where you pick up your baggage at the airport’s new Terminal 3.

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Tourism New Zealand

Peter Ellegard

■ Hot Water Beach, Coromandel

My first visit there was in winter and as we set off on the journey back the rain turned to snow, causing avalanches which blocked the road and forced us and another coach to turn back. Milford’s hotel, closed for the winter, was hastily opened to accommodate us and we were fed from the tour boat kitchens. Next day dawned sunny and clear, allowing me to finally enjoy Milford’s spectacle. We even made the national news when we were rescued and flown back to Queensland on emergency flights aboard a fleet of small aircraft.

Before leaving Queenstown we also popped into nearby Arrowtown, a former mining town now popular for its historic buildings, restaurants and craft shops.

The drive back to Christchurch Airport from Queenstown is a comfortable six hours, but we had lots of time and took a couple of detours to Mount Cook village and Lake Tekapo town, to visit its tiny lakeside church.

north island The North Island may not be as dramatic as its sibling, but it has just as much to offer visitors. Auckland is known as the “City of Sails” and for good reason. It straddles the isthmus linking the main part of the island and the far north, and on sunny days it seems the whole population is out enjoying the water, whether on sailing boats in the Hauraki Gulf as we did aboard my brother’s yacht – he has lived there for 30 years – or on a sight-

Summer 2011

getting to know ■ new zealand

■ Auckland – city of sails Peter Ellegard

and Pohutu. You can also watch Maori performances and enjoy a geothermally-cooked hangi meal.

The Mitai Maori Village (www.mitai.co.nz) offers visitors an excellent insight into Maori heritage through a cultural performance which also includes warriors paddling canoes, a hangi meal and a forest walk to see glow worms. You can combine it with a night visit to next-door Rainbow Springs with its trout pool and collection of native animals and birds, among them the endangered and delightful kiwi.

Other musts include the Buried Village (www.buriedvillage.co.nz), with its moving account and trail telling the story of the violent eruption of Mount Tarawera in June, 1886, which killed over 150 people in Te Wairoa village, and Hells Gate Thermal Reserve (www.hellsgate.co.nz). Here, you can explore Rotorua’s most active geothermal field as well as enjoying a mud bath and sulphur spa.

The Coromandel Peninsula, just two hours from Auckland, is a holiday hotspot for New Zealanders and is beginning to attract more British visitors, thanks to its natural beauty and stunning beaches. We spent a long weekend there holidaying just like Kiwis, renting a typical bach, or beach house, and having barbies at night under the stars. The pristine, white sands

■ Mitai Maori Village, Rotorua

Peter Ellegard

seeing harbour and islands cruise.

If you don’t want to go out on the water, enjoy the lovely view of the city across the water from the old fortifications at Devonport. You can also get a great view of the city from atop one of its many dormant volcano cones. And thrillseekers can get a buzz by launching themselves off the Sky Tower with the SkyJump (www.skyjump.co.nz), a 630-foot cable-controlled base jump.

The city has several beaches, while a short drive away on the west coast lie the black-sand beaches of Piha, on the Waitakere Peninsula, popular with surfers and sunbathers.

Just three hours south of Auckland on the Thermal Express highway is Rotorua, and a little further beyond lies Taupo. Both have a sizeable tourism industry built on their geothermal attractions and other activities.

Rotorua is also renowned for its Maori cultural experiences. One of its best-known is the “living thermal village” of Whakarewarewa (www.whakarewarewa.com), where Maori villagers still live among the bubbling mud pools, hot spring and geysers. Here you can get a great view of two of New Zealand’s most active geysers, the Prince of Wales’ Feathers

Peter Ellegard

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getting to know ■ new zealand

new zealand facts

Peter Ellegard

Seasons are opposite to those of the UK. The climate depends on where you go, but New Zealand is generally warmer and is sub-tropical in the far north. In Auckland, temperatures reach 27C in January and fall to 8C in August. South Island is colder, with Queenstown the main ski resort.

■ Cathedral Cove, Coromandel

of crescent-shaped Whangapoua Beach were literally paces from the deck of our three-bedroom house.

getting there

rock pinnacles

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■ Church of the Good Shepherd, Lake Tekapo

Air New Zealand (www.airnewzealand.co.uk) flies from London Heathrow to Auckland westwards via Los Angeles and eastwards via Hong Kong. You can also fly from Heathrow to Auckland via other gateways including Bangkok (Thai Airways: www.thaiairways.com), and from Heathrow to Auckland and Christchurch via Singapore (Singapore Airlines: www.singaporeair.com), Hong Kong (Cathy Pacific: www.cathaypacific.com), Sydney (Qantas: www.qantas.com.au/uk) and, from both Heathrow and Gatwick, Dubai (Emirates: www.emirates.com).

getting around New Zealand is roughly the same size as the UK, and is easy to drive around each island. It is far less populated but also has fewer fast highways. The Interislander ferry (www.interislander.co.nz) links the North and South islands, between Wellington and Picton. Several domestic airlines fly between both islands. You can also rent motorhomes and campervans with companies including Maui (www.maui-rentals.com) and Britz (www.britz.com).

tour operators

Peter Ellegard

Coromandel’s popular Cathedral Cove is only accessible by boat or on foot via a long path and steep steps. A huge arch carved through towering cliffs links two beaches guarded by offshore rock pinnacles more reminiscent of Thailand than New Zealand.

Also popular is Hot Water Beach, named for the hot spring water which flows underneath and which seeps up through the sands. For two hours either side of high tide, a throng of people squeeze into a small area and shuffle their feet in the sand or furiously dig with shovels to find the spring water and create a personal hot spa.

The island’s sub-tropical top end is called Northland.

The main draw here is the Bay of Islands – a leisure playground of beautiful beaches, charming towns and tiny islands. We took a Dolphin Discoveries cruise (www.explorenz.co.nz) from Paihia to see the area’s iconic Hole in the Rock and watch dolphins playfully dance in the bow-wave. When there are no calves, unlike on our trip, you can swim with the dolphins. A key attraction is the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, where the 1840 treaty signing with the Maoris led to the birth of New Zealand.

At Paihia, you can also board an off-road bus to visit New Zealand’s northernmost point, Cape Reinga, and drive along 90 Mile Beach as well as “surf ” down huge sand dunes on boogie boards..

South of the Bay of Islands, the Poor Knights marine reserve is a mecca for divers, accessed from Tutukaka.

To the north is Matauri Bay, with the offshore Cavalli Islands. It was here, almost 25 years ago, that campaigning Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior was given a traditional Maori warrior’s burial at sea after it had been bombed by French secret service agents in Auckland’s harbour, killing the engineer. I dived it five years later, marvelling how marine life had colonised the vessel in such a short time. It was a moving experience, made more so back ashore when I trekked up a sacred Maori hill. At its summit overlooking the bay is a memorial comprising a basalt rock and semi-circle of stones surmounted by the Rainbow Warrior’s propeller.

Staying at the nearby, luxury Kauri Cliffs golf resort – built since my first visit – last year, I retraced my steps to take in the view once more. It is just as moving today as back then.

We couldn’t leave New Zealand without paying homage to its oldest and grandest residents, so on the

Peter Ellegard

when to go

Operators offering New Zealand include Austravel (www.austravel.com), Trailfinders (www.trailfinders.com), APT (www.aptouring.co.uk), Scenic Tours (www.scenictours.co.uk), Bridge & Wickers (www.bridgeandwickers.co.uk), New Zealand in Depth (www.newzealand-indepth.co.uk) and 1st Class Holidays ■ Cardrona Pass, (www.1stclassholidays.com).

South Island Rugby fans wanting to follow the World Cup in New Zealand in September and October can book through Gullivers Sports Travel (www.gulliverstravel.co.uk).

tourist information Tourism New Zealand: www.newzealand.com

way back to Auckland we drove over to the west coast to visit the giant kauri trees of Waipoua Forest. The largest, Tane Mahuta – Lord of the Forest – measures an incredible 45 feet in circumference and 169 feet tall.

Nature can be brutal in New Zealand but it will also leave you in awe. Every time I visit it gives me a natural high.

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escape to ■ boston

More than a

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New England’s unofficial capital, Boston, is cosmopolitan, friendly and full of history but, best of all, it is compact and easy to explore. Peter Ellegard takes it all in his stride

T

■ The Boston skyline Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau

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here’s something very homely, familiar and engaging about Boston. But it’s much more than a feeling. For an American city it has a distinctly European air about it, thanks to architecture which owes much to the Mother Country.

OK, so the colonists threw some chests of tea off several British ships into Boston Harbour as a protest against taxes a few years back, helping to precipitate the American Revolution.

Not that you would think there had ever been any discord between our nations. After all, what’s a few tea leaves between friends? Indeed, as you walk around Boston, what strikes you most of all is how friendly and helpful the people of this fair city are. On my last visit, while holding a map to work out where I needed to go, I lost count of how many times people stopped to ask

if I needed help. Try that in London.

People are friendly because they are not cocooned in their cars on gridlocked streets. In Boston, everyone walks. Everywhere. It is so compact and easy to get around on foot it is known as “America’s Walking City” – one reason why it is so different to other US cities.

For the last three years, visitors have been able to step out even more in the city, thanks to the completion of the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway (www.rosekennedygreenway.org), known simply as the Greenway. It is a mile-and-a-half corridor of parks and green public spaces through the heart of Boston, created when the crumbling, elevated Interstate 93

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■ See Boston on a Boston Duck Tour

splash out

■ Swan Boat in Boston Public Garden ■ Fenway Park

freeway was torn down and built underground in the controversial 15-year Big Dig – America’s most expensive highway project, costing $22 billion. The Greenway now lies above it, a tranquil escape from the city hubbub.

It also reunited the downtown with Boston’s historic waterfront. So you can enjoy a leisurely amble from the piers, docks and waterside attractions to downtown sights without having to negotiate a cacophonous, concrete and steel barrier, while pausing to relax instead on benches set in peaceful, green oases.

Peter Ellegard

italian-flavoured On one such walk, my friend and I sauntered through Boston’s Italian-flavoured North End, savouring the neighbourhood’s characterful appeal and stopping for lunch at Bella Vista – a traditional little eaterie where the owner, Tony, engaged in friendly chat with his thick Italian-American accent as we ate our pasta surrounded by ceramic handbags and other curios he had brought back from his homeland.

Another day, we stopped for a Guinness at a cosy little Irish pub, Durty Nelly’s, next to a street market just off the Greenway, where the barman cheerfully rustled up burgers even though we had missed last orders for meals.

Boston and food go together like, well, fish and

1" tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine

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Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau

Water has played a huge part in Boston’s history and is integral to it today. Hitch a ride on one of the ubiquitous amphibious “Duck” vehicles of Boston Duck Tours (www.bostonducktours.com) for sightseeing on both land and on the Charles River.

Take a harbour cruise (www.bostonharborcruises.com) to see the city from the sea, watch the sunset and go whale watching, or sail on one of Boston’s historic tall ships (www.libertyfleet.com). You can also get a fast ferry to Cape Cod’s Provincetown or enjoy a leisurely transfer from and to Logan International Airport from the waterfront.

Meanwhile, June 2012 will see the reopening of the totally revamped Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum (www.bostonteapartyship.com), which have been undergoing reconstruction following a devastating fire in 2007.

■ Little Italy

Peter Ellegard

Peter Ellegard

escape to ■ boston

chips. Indeed, seafood is part of the Boston experience.

Try New England lobsters or chowder at many places, including Legal Sea Foods (www.legalseafoods.com), a Boston institution (it actually started in neighbouring Cambridge) with several restaurants around the city. We celebrated my birthday at its popular Long Wharf restaurant, close to the Waterfront Park and New England Aquarium. Book ahead to guarantee a table.

You’ll want to walk off your meal, of course, and the best way to do so, and acquaint yourself with Boston, is to stroll along the Freedom Trail (www.thefreedomtrail.org). Created in 1958 when demolition threatened several landmark buildings, it stretches for 2.5 miles past 16 nationally-significant historic sites connected with the American Revolution.

The trail is like a vast outdoor and indoor museum. It starts at Boston Common, America’s oldest public park, and meanders north through the city, ending at the Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown.

Along the way it passes iconic sites including the grand State House, Old South Meeting House, Old State House, Faneuil Hall, with its tourist honeypot Faneuil Hall Marketplace, and Paul Revere House, which was the home of the leading revolutionary and is downtown Boston’s oldest building, as well as the

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■ Boston skyline from the harbour

USS Constitution – the oldest commissioned warship afloat and known as “Old Ironsides” – plus several historic churches and burial grounds.

boston tea party All are free except for the Old South Meeting House, where a meeting of over 5,000 colonists led to the Boston Tea Party of 1773, the Old State House and Paul Revere House, from where Revere famously rode out to Lexington in April, 1775, to warn that the British were coming.

Allow half a day to walk the entire trail, but even if you don’t want to do that, you will certainly walk some

beyond boston Neighbouring Cambridge is home to Harvard University, America’s oldest, where you can visit the Harvard Art Museums (www.harvardartmuseums.org) and the Harvard Museum of Natural History (www.hmnh.harvard.edu). Browse its many bookshops and relax in a coffee

S"##$r 2011

■ Harbourfest Redcoats

of it anyway as you explore the city. It is easy to follow, too, with a line of red bricks set into the sidewalk (that’s pavement to us Brits). You can pick up self-guided walking maps from the information booth on Boston Common, take a guided tour or, if you prefer to sit back and relax, join a trolley tour.

There are many other places to lose yourself in, either walkable from downtown or via its subway network. One of my favourites is the delightful Public Garden, where you can chill out, pedal a Swan Boat on the lake or listen to buskers on the bridge. Just across busy Beacon Street from the gardens is the Boston Cheers bar (www.cheersboston.com) – formerly the Bull & Finch

shop. I enjoyed a gospel brunch at the original House of Blues in Harvard Square before it closed in 2003 for a bigger venue near Boston’s Fenway Park, but there’s lots of music on the streets of Cambridge.

An hour south of Boston is Plymouth, where Plymouth Rock marks where the Pilgrims landed and where replica ship Mayflower II is now anchored, and living history museum Plimoth Plantation

Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau

■ The Greenway

Peter Ellegard

Peter Ellegard

escape to ■ boston

“In Boston, everyone walks.

Everywhere.”

(www.plimoth.org). Further south lies Cape Cod, with its pretty clapboard homes and unspoilt beaches.

Historic Salem, to the north, retains its old-world charm with sites including the fascinating Salem Witch Museum (www.salemwitchmuseum.com). And to the west are the towns of Lexington and Concord plus Old Sturbridge Village, re-creating 19th century New England.

tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine www.tlm-magazine.co.uk

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escape to ■ boston

pub, and the setting for the Cheers TV series. Although the series ended in 1993, the bar still attracts fans from around the world and I couldn’t resist popping in for a pint myself.

The Harbour Walk is another of Boston’s walking trails, winding 38 miles in all along its waterfront from Chelsea Creek to Dorchester. Then there’s the Irish Heritage Trail (www.irishheritagetrail.com), which stretches three miles through downtown Boston and Back Bay, recounting three centuries of immigration including the Potato Famine exodus.

Boston has been a magnet for immigrants from around the world over the years. Its 21 neighbourhoods are a melting pot of cultures and history, and it is fascinating to explore them. They include America’s third-largest Chinatown, Mattapan for its Haitian community and Little Italy in the North End.

boston facts when to go

getting there British Airways (www.ba.com), Virgin Atlantic (www.virginatlantic.com), American Airlines (www.aa.com) and Delta (www.delta.com) fly direct from London to Boston. Icelandair (www.icelandair.co.uk) and Iceland Express (www.icelandexpress.com) fly from London via Reykjavik.

accommodation

Peter Ellegard

culture

www.tlm-magazine.co.uk

Take your pick from hotels including the Fairmont Copley – 100 years old in 2012 – and recently-opened sibling Fairmont Battery Wharf (both www.fairmont.com), the Boston Harbour Hotel (www.bhh.com), Boston W Hotel (www.whotels.com/boston) or boutique Ames Hotel (www.ameshotel.com) downtown.

tour operators City breaks are offered by operators including America As You Like It (www.americaasyoulikeit.com), North America Travel Service (www.northamericatravelservice.co.uk), Virgin Holidays (www.virginholidays.co.uk), Titan (www.titanhitours.co.uk) and Trailfinders (www.trailfinders.com).

getting around Walking is the best way to see Boston.

But it also has an excellent subway system called the “T” plus local buses and railways. The most flexible and cheapest option is to buy a CharlieCard (www.mbta.com). The Boston CityPASS (www.citypass.com) costs $89 and covers five top attractions in the city.

Peter Ellegard

Among neighbourhoods, discover the narrow brick and cobbled streets of 19th century-era Beacon Hill, the eclectic art studios and boutiques of South End and Fenway/Kenmore Square, with its cultural institutions such as the Museum of Fine Arts (www.mfa.org), Symphony Hall (www.bostonsymphonyhall.org) and Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (www.gardnermuseum.org), where a $118 million Renzo Piano-designed extension opens next year, not forgetting legendary Fenway Park – home of Boston’s Red Sox baseball team (www.redsox.com). I once paid a literally flying visit there while in transit to the Midwest with a travel industry group. A stretched limo picked us up from the airport, took us to Fenway to watch a Red Sox game with beer and hot dogs – and a couple of home runs for the victorious home team – then stopped off at an Irish bar before dropping us back in time to catch our onward flight.

Culture vultures can also visit institutions such as the John F Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum (www.jfklibrary.org), the Commonwealth Museum (www.sec.state.ma.us/mus/museum) and Institute of Contemporary Art (www.icaboston.org) before taking in a show in the Theatre District.

And don’t forget shopping. Take the subway to Copley for Copley Place mall (www.simon.com) and the Shops at Prudential Centre (www.prudentialcenter.com), where a high-speed elevator whisks you to the top of the 50storey Prudential Tower for a bird’s eye view of Boston from the Skywalk Observatory. My best Boston bargains have always come from Filene’s Basement (www.filenesbasement.com), now in Boylston Street in Back Bay. That reminds me; I need another shopping fix. Guess I should dust down my walking boots and plan a return trip to ■ Paul Revere Statue Boston.

1" tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine

Peter Ellegard

Boston has harsh winters but is perfect to visit from spring through to autumn.

tourist information Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau: www.bostonusa.com Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism: www.massvacation.com

WIN Boston CityPASS tickets We have three pairs of Boston CityPASS ticket booklets to give away, worth $87.90 each booklet.

They give a saving of almost 50% on the combined admission prices to: the New England Aquarium, Museum of Fine Arts, Science Museum, Skywalk Observatory and the Harvard Museum of Natural History or John F Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. Go to www.tlm-magazine.co.uk and click on Competitions. Terms and conditions apply. Closing date August 15, 2011. ● WIN a Boston and Cape Cod holiday worth over £2,000. See page 59.

Summer 2011

David Grey – Proprietor on Tour Situated in the North Downs and only 25 miles from the City of London is Meopham Valley Vineyard. At this small family-run vineyard you will have an intimate and informative walking tour conducted by the owners.

You will hear about the planting of the vines right through to the drinking of the finished product and everything in between with a tasting of current wines on the hoof.

Bookings made via the website or by telephone.

www.meophamvalleyvineyard.co.uk 01474 812727

V I N E YA R D S

WINE • CIDER • APPLE JUICE

KENT’S OLDEST VINEYARD Award Winning Wines, Ciders & Apple Juice Open Daily FREE Admission & Tastings

Biddenden Vineyards, Gribble Bridge Lane, Biddenden Kent TN27 8DF

www.biddendenvineyards.com 01580 291726

20 tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine

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Summer 2011

let’s try ■ wine tours

!r#$e Wine tours have become a popular way of combining a break with visiting vineyards and learning about their products, as well as trying them. Wine expert Andrew Williams uncorks some vintage options

■ Wine maturing in Provence

■ Grapes in Provence

#$%%e' ")!!

Peter Ellegard

T

he last 20 years have seen a transformation in the drinking habits of the British public. Wine has moved centre stage, and shed its elitist, snobbish image. With more people enjoying a daily, indeed regular, glass or two of wine, there has also been a growing thirst for knowledge about the subject.

There is no better way to get to understand wine and the people who make it than by joining one of the increasing number of wine tour holidays. Several travel companies specialise in wine tours, offering something to suit all tastes, whether you fancy a light-hearted look at the Champagne region or an in-depth course in the intricacies of Bordeaux or Burgundy.

Tours currently on offer range from weekends in Cham-

Peter Ellegard

expectations

pagne to longer tours of the winelands of various New World producers.

old world The majority of tours focus on the wine regions of Europe, especially France. Among the most popular tours are those to Champagne. The ultimate celebratory drink offers a great introduction to the world of wine tours.

Typically, these trips include travel to Reims, tours of a range of Champagne houses and a number of meals, including one in the cellars of a producer. When I took such a trip with Arblaster & Clarke Wine Tours, in early March, it included two tutored tastings, which served as an informative and enjoyable introduction to the mysteries of Champagne.

tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine www.tlm-magazine.co.uk

"!

Napa Valley Wine Train

let’s try ■ wine tours

■ The Napa Valley Wine Train

The film Sideways – set and filmed around Solvang in the Santa Ynez Valley of California’s Santa Barbara region – put the state firmly on the map for wine tourism. It focused on a road trip through California’s wine country. But if you don’t want to drive, you can always let the train take the strain.

Join the Napa Valley Wine Train at Napa to travel along the Silverado Trail, stopping off at various iconic Californian wineries. During your three-hour trip aboard the atmospheric, classic 1915 Pullman dining car, you will enjoy gourmet food, plus great tastings on board, makes for a great Californian wine experience. Prices start at $165 per person.

“A trip to Champagne …can become the start of an addiction”

■ At your service on the Napa Valley Wine Train

Napa Valley Wine Train

on the wagon

During the weekend we visited the striking cellars of Taittinger, plus those of small and medium-sized producers, where we were hosted by the owner and/or winemaker. In all cases, the atmosphere was jovial and relaxed, yet at the same time the visits were hugely informative.

A trip to Champagne is a great aperitif for those wanting to learn more about wine in a relaxed but fun atmosphere, but it can become the start of an addiction.

Lynette Arblaster, managing director of Arblaster & Clarke Wine Tours, explains: “We get a tremendous amount of repeat business. Clients treat the Champagne tours as a taster, and a great many return on longer trips, going further afield”.

Grape Escapes is another specialist in the world of wine touring. Its trips are ideal to be used as a “bolt on” to a longer holiday. You make your own way to the wine region, where you will be met by one of their guides who will take you through a comprehensive two-day tour of the chateaux of your chosen region. It offers tours to some of the classic French wine regions, including Burgundy, Bordeaux and the Loire Valley.

Cox and Kings also offers a range of four-day wine tours. These include the usual French destinations, but it also takes tours out to Tuscany and Rioja. Both of these are wonderful destinations for wine tourism, with great

22 tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine

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■ Harvesting with Grape Escapes

scenery and cultural aspects that complement the days spent tasting wine.

Tasting Places is a company which concentrates as much on food as wine. It offers gourmet tours to some of Europe’s most attractive wine regions. The wines of most regions have an affinity with the local cuisine, and Tasting Places explores this relationship in Tuscany, Piedmont, Rioja and Gascony. Accommodation is generally in beautiful country house hotels and the holidays include cookery demonstrations in addition to tours of vineyards and wineries.

A more individual approach is offered by 3D Wines.

This company operates by renting rows of vines in some of France’s classic wine regions. Clients who have rented a row of vines then have the option to buy wine from their producer. The company organises weekend breaks to most French wine regions, where clients can meet their winemaker and taste a wide range of wines. These include breaks in the Loire Valley, Burgundy, Bordeaux and Champagne.

Those interested in getting more of an understanding about Rhone Valley wines can undertake day-long classes at the Université du Vin, which is based in the magnificent Chateau de Suze la Rousse. Morning and evening lectures covering aspects such as terroir, grape varieties and wine-making methods also include wine-

"#$$er 2011

let’s try ■ wine tours

Champagne/Ardenne Tourism

Peter Ellegard

■ The Universite du Vin, Chateau Souze-la-Rousse

■ A Champagne cellar Grape Escapes

tasting. There are classes on various dates throughout the summer, costing 130 euros per person. Half-day tasting courses cost 45 euros.

After this year’s interminable winter, I was lucky enough to be able to head off to the sun on an Arblaster & Clarke trip to the winelands of South Africa. Fortunately for us wine tourists, vineyards are invariably set among beautiful scenery, and this is definitely true of South Africa.

The tour involved numerous occasions sitting in the summer sun, sipping great wines in magnificent surroundings. There was also free time to explore Cape Town, visit Robben Island or just chill out and contemplate the weather that the family were enduring back home.

The vineyards of South Africa are mostly concentrated within striking distance of Cape Town, and we explored the region fully, taking in the old university town of Stellenbosch and the delightful area around Franschhoek. The highlight of my tour was a great Pinot Noir tasting followed by lunch with Olive and Anthony Hamilton Russell overlooking their vineyards and olive groves at their beautiful house near Hermanus – the town famous for whale watching.

!"##er 2011

■ Hotel Peralada, Spain

wine spas

Peter Ellegard

new world

If just drinking wine isn’t enough for you, why not try a wine spa? Grape skins and seeds contain powerful antioxidants, and this has led to the emergence of spa treatments known as vinotherapy.

The first of these wine spas that I visited was Les Sources de Caudalie (www.sources-caudalie.com), situated in Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte, in the Graves district of Bordeaux.

Here you can enjoy any number of vine-based treatments, followed by great food and wine in the idyllic

surroundings of this classical 18th century chateau.

Equally impressive is the spa at Spain’s Marques de Riscal Hotel (www.marquesderiscal.com), designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry. The futuristic building makes a dramatic backdrop from which to explore Rioja and its wines, while also taking restorative treatments. Also in Spain, the five-star Hotel Peralada in northern Catalonia boasts a wine spa (www.wine-spa.com) featuring a range of grapevine treatments as well as an 18-hole golf course.

Sonoma, in the heartland of Californian wine country, offers vinotherapy at the Kenwood Inn & Spa (www.kenwoodinn.com). Close to home, The Vineyard at Stockcross, Newbury (www.the-vineyard.co.uk), offers a decadent two-hour Vino Therapy Body Treatment involving massages with Sangiovese and Pinot Noir-based creams.

tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine www.tlm-magazine.co.uk

2*

let’s try ■ wine tours

north america

australia and new zealand As might be expected, the wineries of Australia and New Zealand are extremely welcoming to wine tourists.

Most of the wine regions are within easy striking distance of major cities. Adelaide serves as a great base from which to discover the winelands of the Barossa and Eden Valleys or the Mornington Peninsula. From Sydney it is possible to take in the vineyards of the Hunter Valley, while Perth serves as a base for exploring the wineries of Western Australia. In New Zealand, wine is produced on both the North and South Islands, and Arblaster & Clarke organises a tour that incorporates the fantastic art deco festival in Napier.

Chile and Argentina are also awakening to the idea of wine tourism, and it is now possible to visit many of the South American wine regions and taste great wines against the dramatic backdrop of the Andes. See Off the Beaten Track: Argentina on page 36.

Andrew Williams has worked in the wine industry for 30 years, as a journalist, winemaker, vineyard owner, wine buyer and importer as well as being a wine guide for several companies, and has travelled extensively in all the world’s wine-producing regions. He also writes on rugby and music, and has written books on all three topics.

wine tours facts Cox & Kings’ Bordeaux tour visits top class chateaux in the appellations of the Medoc, St Emilion, the Graves and Sauternes. There is time to visit the UNESCO World Heritage town of St Emilion and to explore the splendour of Bordeaux city.

The five-day tour costs £1,575 per person, including flights.

California with Arblaster & Clarke includes time in San Francisco before heading out to the charming Spanish town of Sonoma, and then on to the spa town of Calistoga. The wineries visited include all the leading lights of the California scene. Seven nights cost £2,125 per person, excluding flights.

Tasting Places’ Tuscan retreat offers seven days sampling the delights of Tuscan cuisine and wine. From your base at the Fattoria Montelucci you can explore the regions of Chianti Classico, Rufina and Vernaccia di San Gimignano. Cost: £1,950 per person. Flights are not included.

Other interesting options include vineyard walks, which Arblaster & Clarke leads through Alsace, Burgundy and Champagne.

wine tour specialists Arblaster & Clarke Wine Tours: 01730 263111, www.arblasterandclarke.com Grape Escapes: 01763 273373, www.grapeescapes.net Cox & Kings: 020 7873 5000, www.coxandkings.co.uk Tasting Places: 020 8964 5333, www.tastingplaces.com ■ Picnic time

other useful contacts Napa Valley Wine Train: www.winetrain.com Bordeaux Tourism Office: www.bordeaux-tourisme.com Université du Vin: www.universite-du-vin.com

!" tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine

■ Stanlake Park Wine Estate

www.tlm-magazine.co.uk

Stanlake Park Wine Estate

english wineries You don’t have to travel overseas to enjoy wine-tasting. The quality and status of English wines has come on in leaps and bounds over recent years. Many wineries offer tours, including: ● Denbies Wine Estate, Dorking, Surrey: www.denbies.co.uk ● Chapel Down Winery, Tenterden, Kent: www.englishwinesgroup.com ● Stanlake Park Wine Estate, Twyford, Berkshire: www.stanlakepark.com

■ Wine tasting in South Africa Arblaster & Clarke

sample packages

Solvang Conferance & Vi

A number of other long haul destinations are proving popular with wine tourists. California is one obvious destination; both the Napa Valley and Sonoma are incredibly well set up for wine tasting and tours, as are Santa Barbara with its Santa Ynez Valley and Monterey – which, with 45,000 acres of vineyards, has more land growing grapes than Napa Valley.

However, California is not the only North American area rich in vineyards. Oregon and Washington offer a more laid back approach, with splendid wines and a really warm welcome. Further north still, the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia has a number of interesting wineries, most of which are open to the public. The Niagara Peninsula, in Ontario, makes another spectacular backdrop for a wine tour. Both of these Canadian provinces are worth visiting, if only for their tremendous ice wines, one of the wine world’s real rarities.

● Three Choirs Vineyard, Newent, Gloucs: www.three-choirs-vineyards.co.uk ● Meopham Valley Vineyard, Meopham, Kent: www.meophamvalleyvineyard.co.uk ● Lamberhurst Vineyard, Lamberhurst, Kent: www.lamberhurstvineyard.net ● Biddenden Vineyards, Biddenden, Kent: www.biddendenvineyards.com You can also do a vineyard touring holiday; Helpful Holidays (www.helpfulholidays.com) has a Vineyard Trails tour in Devon and Cottages4you (www.cottages4you.co.uk) offers 10 of the best UK vineyard travel breaks.

#u%%er(!)**

Summer 2011

tlm â&#x2013; the travel & leisure magazine www.tlm-magazine.co.uk 25

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competitions ■ cotswold break + summer photo competition

WIN a £680 break Guests can enjoy activities including fly-fishing, tennis, boules, badminton and cycling, with horse-riding and golf nearby.

Now you can win a stay at this historic hotel in our easy-to-enter competition.

The lucky winner and guest will receive two nights on a B&B basis, with one complimentary evening meal.

The prize is subject to availability, excludes Bank Holidays and must be taken by November 30, 2011.

For more information, go online to www.oldswanandminstermill.com or call 01993 774441.

how to enter

To WIN a two-night stay at the Old Swan & Minster Mill, simply answer this question:

Question: What is the name of the river which flows alongside the hotel?

To enter, go to www.tlm-magazine.co.uk and click on Competitions. Closing date is August 15, 2011. Terms and conditions apply; see website for details.

Hot snaps Picture summer – and WIN one of two Olympus cameras in our new photography competition

If summer is anything like the recent spring, it is going to be a scorcher. Barbecues, days out in the countryside, beach trips – all offer the perfect opportunity to capture the Great British Summer on camera. And don’t forget your camera if you head overseas, either.

Why? Because we have teamed up with camera giant Olympus for

!"##er 2011

■ Cosy bedroom with beamed ceilings

■ Olympus TG-810 our latest photo competition, and summer is the theme. Send us up to five summer snaps and you could win one of two fantastic Olympus cameras from their Tough range, together worth £450. What’s more, because of the quality of entries from youngsters in recent competitions, there are two categories: one for adults and one for under-16s.

The new, 14 megapixel TG810 lives up to its Tough name by being crush-proof to a weight of 100kg, waterproof to 10 metres, shockproof, freezeproof and scratch resistant. It comes with GPS and electronic compass, so is perfect for travel.

Junior prize (under-16s): Olympus Tough TG-310 camera; RRP £179.99 This little beauty is just as tough as its bigger sibling; it is shock and freeze-proof, waterproof down to three metres and has a hard glass lens barrier to boost

the prizes Adult prize (16 and over): Olympus Tough TG-810 camera; RRP £269.99

■ Olympus TG-310

■ Horse riding is available nearby

Old Swan & Minster Mill

S

et in 65 acres of idyllic Cotswold countryside alongside the River Windrush, the Old Swan & Minster Mill is situated in the picturesque hamlet of Minster Lovell. The hotel comprises the restored 18th century Minster Mill and the adjoining Old Swan – a village coaching inn boasting 600 years of history.

The hotel’s romantic backdrop of gardens, orchards and the remnants of the ancient Royal Hunting Forest of Wychwood make the Old Swan & Minster Mill quintessentially English.

The honey-coloured stone of the Cotswolds, weeping willows, thatched roofs and the rushing waters of the river make this one of England’s most enviable settings.

Acquired in May, 2010, the Old Swan & Minster Mill is the latest of the de Savary family’s boutique inns. A complete restoration programme to its 16 historic guestrooms, bar and dining rooms has redefined the Old Swan and it now offers luxurious and comfortable furnishings, complemented by superb gastropub dining. The mill’s adjoining 40 contemporary millrace guestrooms also underwent a full face-lift.

Old Swan & Minster Mill

in a delightful Cotswold hotel

lens protection. As with the TG-810, it is 14 megapixels and has a 3D mode.

how to enter For details of how to enter the competition, go to www.tlmmagazine.co.uk and click on Competitions. Entries will consist of a portfolio of up to five photographs. You must be a UK resident. Only one entry is allowed per person and professional photographers are excluded. Closing date is midnight on September 18, 2011, whereupon the final 12 will be selected for a vote on the tlm website. See the tlm website for more terms and conditions.

For more information on the Olympus range of cameras, go to www.olympus.co.uk

tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine www.tlm-magazine.co.uk

2*

uk uncovered ■ britain on foot

Walk this way Whether you walk for pleasure or to keep fit, Britain’s countryside offers a wealth of opportunities for getting out and rambling through glorious scenery. Seasoned walker and guidebook author Terry Marsh hits the trails to uncover their delights

T

Britainonview/Rod Edwards

■ Hikers on a hillside overlooking Ullswater

he public footpath network of the UK deserves World Heritage status; it is a national treasure, arguably our most priceless recreational resource, with nothing else like it anywhere in the world. That it exists at all is thanks to our forefathers, from the children of the mist who roamed in search of food to the hardy packhorsemen and drovers who pressed trails across the countryside, leaving them for posterity, wraith-like traces embedded in the land. But their discovery by recreational man had to await the 19th century, when working people, desperate to escape the arduous and polluted urban scene, formed botanical societies and embryonic walking clubs to walk on the moors of northern Britain.

!" tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine

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Today, ever-increasing numbers of people are seeking ways to appreciate our landscape legacy, recognising the benefits to health, body, mind and spiritual well-being that leisure walking brings. We have an amazing heritage of inspirational landscapes in the UK, fashioned by nature and tinkered with by man, and all of them laced with ancient trails, long and short, many imbued with the echoes of times past and of famous people from pilgrims to poets, freebooters to musicians, outlaws and royalty.

There is no better aid to health and happiness than walking for pleasure, fitness and fun. Fundamentally, it is a cost-free pursuit, although a modicum of expenditure on decent boots will go a long way, and it is eco-friendly, especially if you walk, as many do, directly from your home.

Su%%er(!0**

uk uncovered ■ britain on foot

But, for others, the call of something more than an hour or a day brings them in search of greater challenges, such as the 700-plus established trails, and 200 lesser routes that offer the walker a lifetime of experiences, sights, sounds and sensations. Some 15 of these routes have been designated as National Trails, the first of which was the Pennine Way. Yet these alone offer over 3,100 miles of walking opportunity.

Throw in the rest, and the distances involved become staggering.

These are some of the UK’s most popular routes:

pennine way For many walkers, the Pennine Way remains the best of the major trails, rising to greater heights and traversing far more remote country than any other. Inspiration of ramblers’ champion Tom Stevenson in 1935, who imagined “a faint line on the Ordnance Maps which the feet of grateful pilgrims would, with the passing years, engrave on the face of the land”, the route opened in 1965. It provides a challenging trek from the bleak peatlands of the Dark Peak in Derbyshire, northwards to tussle with industrial Lancashire (now much brighter and greener than it was) and

Britainonview

Summer&2011

tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine www.tlm-magazine.co.uk

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uk uncovered ■ britain on foot

The National Trails network covers 15 trails for walking, cycling and horse riding in England and Wales. There are another four in Scotland which are known as long-distance routes.

All have been created by linking existing local footpaths, bridleways and minor roads. Each trail in England and Wales has a National Trail Officer looking after its management and maintenance.

The Pennine Way was the first National Trail and opened in 1965. The Pembrokeshire Coast Path and South West Coast Path are also part of the National Trail network. These are the other National Trails: ● Cleveland Way (from Helmsley to Filey Brigg, Yorkshire; 109 miles; allow nine days) ● Cotswold Way (from Bath Abbey to Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire; 102 miles; seven days) ● Glyndwr’s Way (from Knighton to Welshpool, Mid Wales; 135 miles; nine days) ● Hadrian’s Wall (from Wallsend in Tyne and Wear to Bowness-on-Solway, Cumbria; 84 miles; seven days) ● North Downs Way (from Farnham in Surrey to Dover; 153 miles; 14 days)

■ The Pennine Way ● Offa’s Dyke Path (from Sedbury Cliff, near Chepstow, Gloucestershire, to Prestatyn in North Wales; 177 miles; 12 days) ● Peddars Way/North Norfolk Coast Path (from Thetford to Cromer, Norfolk; 93 miles; eight days) ● Pennine Bridleway (from Derbyshire to the Yorkshire Dales; opening in stages – 130 miles currently open, will eventually cover 347 miles; open sections walkable from 3.5 hours to five days) ● The Ridgeway (from Overton Hill, Wiltshire, to Ivinghoe Beacon, near Tring,

on into the delectable Yorkshire Dales before pressing on to the highest of the Pennines, a stretch of Hadrian’s Wall, and into the peaty uplands of Northumberland and the Cheviot Hills.

Tens of thousands now set themselves the challenge of this pioneering route, but it is worth bearing in mind that, admittedly in the days of less sophisticated equipment, many of those who started failed to complete even the first day. Get beyond this, and it’s plain sailing....well, sort of.

■ Walking the West Highland Way

P.Tomkins/VisitScotland/Scottish Viewpoint

coast to coast walk Credit for the original idea for a northern cross-England route, starting at St Bees on the Cumbrian coast and finishing at Robin Hood’s Bay looking out into the North Sea, must go to the late, legendary hill walker and guidebook author, Alfred Wainwright, who first described it in 1973.

Since then the original line has changed little, but has been improved on here and there, and today offers a challenging but do-able enterprise that for popularity rivals all the other trails. Wainwright never intended this to be a definitive route across England, but simply one of many possibilities, an outline to be modified by whim and weather.

Usually undertaken from west to east, the walk deals first with the Lake District, visiting in the process areas that are often away from the tourist honeypots, but no less pleasurable. Beyond the Lakes, you enter a relaxing

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Pennine Way National Trail

national trails

Hertfordshire; 87 miles; six days, but ideal for day trips) ● South Downs Way (from Winchester to Eastbourne; 100 miles; eight days) ● Thames Path (from the source of the Thames, near Kemble in the Cotswolds to the Thames Barrier in Woolwich; 184 miles; 14 days) ● Yorkshire Wolds Way (from Hessle, near Hull, to Filey Brigg, near Scarborough; 79 miles; five days) For more information on all the National Trail walks, visit www.nationaltrail.co.uk.

interlude of limestone landscapes and prehistory before rising from the market town of Kirkby Stephen to cross into the Yorkshire Dales and Swaledale. The Vale of Mowbray is an agreeable break from rugged landscapes, as you tease a way through farmlands before heading for the Cleveland Hills and a mighty romp down to the coast.

west highland way The West Highland Way is an outstanding trek from the outskirts of Glasgow to the shadow of Ben Nevis at Fort William, and every step of the way is sheer delight.

Within minutes of the start, the leafy confines of Mugdock Country Park shepherd you northwards eventually to cross the Highland Boundary Fault and into the Lomond Basin, where the eponymous loch proves to be a charming companion. North of Loch Lomond, Glen Falloch provides a taste of Old Caledon, a once treefilled ruggedness through which the trail threads a pleasing line bound for Crianlarich.

Here, the route changes direction, entering Strath Fillan, and onwards to the scene at Dalrigh of one of Robert the Bruce's skirmishes. North of Tyndrum, the A82 is a delight to drive, but parallel its course on the opposite side of Auch Glen, and you gain an intimacy with Scotland at its best – high, wide and handsome.

Ahead lies Rannoch Moor, a vast spread of lakes, bogs and open moors, where getting lost is not a wise option. Thankfully, old military roads take the West

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Summer 2011

■ Marloes on the Pembrokeshire Coast Path

Highland Way onwards into Glen Coe, skirting the Black Mount before tackling the Devil's Staircase to Kinlochleven. If that isn’t enough, the magic of Lairig Mhor, an unseen valley unknown to most, is a spellbinding stretch for Wayfarers leading to a long, final descent to Glen Nevis.

pembrokeshire coast path The journey from Poppit Sands near Cardigan to Amroth Castle is generally low in elevation, but it is hugely convoluted, with numerous headlands and coves to tax weary legs. Those who covet coastal settings will find this affair with south-west Wales a most enjoyable encounter, taking in the delights of Cemaes Head, Dinas Island, Strumble Head, St David’s Head, Marloes Sands and the cliff coast to Stackpole Head.

Although confined to a relatively small area, an unravelled Pembrokeshire Coast Path will exceed in length both Offa’s Dyke, which runs the full length of Wales, and the English Coast to Coast Walk; a quart into a pint pot is very much the case here.

Exposure to the sea and the prevailing wind can bring days of battling the elements, with heavy seas crashing into the headlands and cliffs. But the calm of a fine day will expose a kaleidoscope of colours, of golden

useful guidebooks general overview guides

The UK Trailwalkers Handbook by Paul Lawrence, Les Maple and John Sparshatt (Cicerone Press, 2009: ISBN 978 1 85284 579 7) The National Trails by Paddy Dillon (Cicerone Press, 2009: ISBN 978 1 85284 504 9)

trail guides The Pennine Way by Paddy Dillon (Cicerone Press, 2010: ISBN 978 1 85284 575 9) Coast to Coast Walk by Terry Marsh (Cicerone Press, 2010: ISBN 978 1 85284 505 6) The West Highland Way by Terry Marsh

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Pembrokeshire Coast National Park

uk uncovered ■ britain on foot

“For many walkers, the Pennine Way remains the best of the major trails”

beaches, tidal creeks and cliff-girt promontories where seabirds nest in profusion. A dearth of towns and villages imbue the route with a keen sense of remoteness, and a need for self-sufficiency that is of paramount importance.

One of the first endeavours of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority was to consider the feasibility of a long-distance coastal path; it was opened by Welsh broadcaster Wynford Vaughan Thomas in 1980.

south west coast path By far the longest of Britain’s national trails, the South West Coast Path owes its origins to smuggling, or, at least, to the network of coastguard paths that evolved to combat it. Only the seriously fit and energetic should contemplate the complete walk; lesser mortals, like the author, will chip away at the route in sections, and in so doing enjoy all the better the sophisticated and extravagant delights of coastal Devon and Cornwall.

In fact, the route is ideal for a piecemeal approach; there is no pleasure other than achievement in consecutive days of poor weather when your appreciation of the landscapes could have been so much enhanced by a warm and sunny day.

(Cicerone Press, 2010: ISBN 978 1 85284 369 4) The Pembrokeshire Coastal Path by Dennis and Jan Kelsall (Cicerone Press, 2008: ISBN 978 1 85284 378 6) The South West Coast Path by Paddy Dillon (Cicerone Press, 2010: ISBN 978 1 85284 379 3)

other helpful guides Map Reading Skills by Terry Marsh (Crimson Publishing, 2008: ISBN 978 0 71174 978 8) GPS for Walkers by Clive Thomas (Crimson Publishing, 2006: ISBN 978 0 71174 445 5) Map and Compass: The Art of Navigation by Pete Hawkins (Cicerone Press, 2010: ISBN 978 0 71174 445 5)

■ South West Coast Path

South West Coast Path/Shirley Turner

South West England: Coastal Walks by Sue Viccars (Crimson Publishing, 2011: ISBN 978 1 85458 638 4) Three Peaks, Ten Tors by Ronald Turnbull (Cicerone Press, 2010: ISBN 978 1 85284 501 8)

background reading Shanks’s Pony: A Study of Walking by Morris Marples (London: J M Dent, 1959) A Claim on the Countryside: A History of the British Outdoor Movement by Harvey Taylor (Keele University Press, 1997: ISBN 1-85331166-9) A Right to Roam by Marion Shoard (Oxford University Press, 1999: ISBN 0 19 288016 0)

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■ Walkers at Edale

walking britain facts

This is a walk of massive variety, embracing cliff paths and easy jaunts along seaside promenades. But what remains essential is to allow time to chill out and explore the towns and homogeneous hamlets huddled in hollows that are a hallmark of the route.

Herein lies the heritage of a Celtic nation, and a landscape that is achingly beautiful. No other stretch of British coastline quite compares with that of Devon and Cornwall for unadulterated scenic splendour, interest, history and heritage.

other trails Around the UK, there are hundreds of trails of varying length, some better known than others. The Dales Way (78 miles), which runs from the Yorkshire town of Ilkley via delectable Wharfedale and Dentdale through limestone country to the shores of Windermere in the Lake District, is a perfect route on which to hone your multi-day walking skills, never being far from outside help in the event of an emergency.

The Tamar Valley Discovery Trail (30 miles), follows the river Tamar through Bere Ferrers, Bere Alston, Gunnislake and Milton Abbot in Devon, and while manageable by strong walkers in one day, is best spread over two or three. The trail links with the West Devon Way and the Two Castles Trail to give a circuit of 90 miles, known as the West Devon Triangle. The Two Castles Trail itself runs for 24 miles along river valleys, ridge roads, open downland and woodland away from the northern edges of Dartmoor, while the Smugglers’ Way is a 37-mile route across Cornwall’s Bodmin Moor, visiting Jamaica Inn – the haunted coaching inn immortalised in Daphne du Maurier’s eponymous novel – then on to Dobwalls and Sowden’s Bridge.

something for everyone The many walking trails of the UK are not all exclusively the preserve of the grim-faced, do-or-die brigade of walkers; most are available to any reasonably fit person, who takes regular exercise.

And if walking over several days is not for you, then there are many guidebooks detailing shorter walks, up to nine or 10 miles, that can be undertaken with comparative ease, and without the preparation and equipment needed for multi-day trails.

Travel by car or rail, and the landscapes flash by.

Walk that landscape and you enjoy a connection with it,

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The best time of year to tackle long-distance trails is spring and autumn, notably May-June and September-October; this is especially important if walking in Scotland, where insects, like midges and clegs (horseflies), can be an irritating problem. During the popular months of July and August, getting accommodation can be a trial, too. If time is not an issue, then it is worth beginning your walk out of sync with other walkers, such as by starting mid-week, when accommodation is more likely to be available.

where to stay Accommodation is given on trail-specific websites, although the Sherpa Van Accommodation Service (www.sherpavan.com) provides accommodation information for 16 trails, as well as providing a baggage carrying service for several trails mentioned in this feature.

Daniel Bosworth

Daniel Bosworth

when to go

■ Edale

route information ● Pennine Way (270 miles: allow two and a half to three weeks): the Pennine Way website (www.nationaltrail.co.uk/pennineway) also provides details of accommodation. ● Coast to Coast Walk (178 miles: minimum 12 days): there is no specific website for the C2C, although Sherpa Van provides this, at www.coast2coast.co.uk. ● West Highland Way (95 miles: allow seven-plus days): www.westhighland-way.co.uk. The website gives information on accommodation packages. A pack-carrying service (very popular) is provided by Travel-lite (www.travel-lite-uk.com). ● Pembrokeshire Coast Path (186 miles: allow two weeks): information about walking the trail is available at http://nt.pcnpa.org.uk. ● South West Coast Path (630 miles: allow between four and seven weeks to complete): the official website for the South West Coast Path (www.southwestcoastpath.com) provides extensive information about accommodation and services, as well as GPS waypoint downloads to help you on your way.

whether it is the joy of seeing a new-born lamb, a field bright with wild flowers, or hedgerows loud with birdsong. Walk, and you make contact with nature in the raw.

It’s all out there, just waiting for your feet.

WIN a copy of The National Trails We have 5 copies of The National Trails, written by Paddy Dillon and published by Cicerone, to give away.

The only guide covering all UK 19 national trails, it costs £17.95. Go to www.tlm-magazine.co.uk and click on Competitions. Terms and conditions apply. Closing date August 8, 2011.

Award-winning guidebook writer and photographer Terry Marsh has been walking since he was very little. But he didn’t turn his legs to recreational walking until the 1960s, when he tackled Ben Nevis. He now has nearly 100 guidebooks under his belt, with more in the pipeline. www.terrymarsh.com

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off the beaten track ■ argentina

Land of wine and

tango

“Argentina is enjoying the equivalent of a gold rush in its wine industry”

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■ Music of the Andes ■ Wine and empanadas

Argentina National Institute for Travel Promotion

M

ysterious, sexy, fiery, compelling – it demands your attention, seduces you and toys with your every emotion. It’s a description that applies to Argentina every bit as much as it does to its national dance, the tango.

This human art form, for it is far more than a mere dance, was born in the latter part of the 19th century in the poverty-ridden streets of immigrant communities in the port area of capital Buenos Aires. By 1912 it had become a worldwide phenomenon, only to fade in popularity until a revival in recent years.

Today, you can go out and watch tango shows in dinner theatres and tango halls across the city. But, more importantly, you can still find it being danced on the streets where it originated.

Head to La Boca – the neighbourhood famous for its Boca Juniors football team which produced Maradona – and you may well see a crowd held spellbound by a couple sinuously demonstrating tango’s allure against a backdrop of the brightly-coloured houses of the Caminito pedestrian street. The cobbled street was all but deserted when I visited in late afternoon, but I managed to catch two dancers on a stage outside a café around the corner just before they finished. Safe by day, La Boca is not a place to linger at night, our guide warned us as we sipped beer outside a bar across the street. So we left.

I had wanted to visit Argentina, and Buenos Aires in particular, for years but had never had the opportunity before. It was to be a very short visit to this most European of South American cities, with little exploring time other than a city tour which included visiting the fascinating Recoleta Cemetery with its grandiose tombs, among them that of Eva Peron, the nation’s beloved Evita.

I also visited the Plaza de Mayo in the city centre, where white shawls painted on the ground mark where the Mothers of the Disappeared have walked round in

Peter Ellegard

Synonymous with the tango, Argentina is fast becoming a destination for wine touring besides offering scenery and adventure in Patagonia. Peter Ellegard reports

circles every Thursday for over 30 years. Flanking the square are buildings including the vermillion-coloured Government House and colonnaded Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral.

vineyards However, Buenos Aires was something of a sideshow on this trip. My main reason for visiting Argentina was to discover its burgeoning wine tourism industry, before going on to Patagonia – travelling south 2,500km alongside the very spine of South America, the mighty Andes.

Argentina has been growing grapes to make wine for 400 years, but I must admit my ignorance of much of its

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off the beaten track ■ argentina

produce up until my visit. I had always associated Chile with wine in South America, but that is because the Argentineans drank most of what they produced until recently. It is also only in the last few years that the quality of the wine has been such that it has been able to export and compete with other countries. Big names such as Chandon from France have invested heavily, helping to improve quality still further.

Argentina is enjoying the equivalent of a gold rush in its wine industry, with land being snapped up by both local and international investors to plant as vineyards.

The reason for the boom is because these regions not only enjoy a superb arid and sunny climate, thanks to the lofty Andes mountains shielding them from rain and cloud, but also because of the altitude – the far north has some of the highest vineyards in the world – and the sometimes huge range in temperature between day and nightnight, which is ideal for growing grapes.

All these plus the free-draining, mineral-rich soil, the so-called terroir, help to produce wines which the world is now clamouring for. Torrontes, Malbec, even the oncepopular Chardonnay, now passé among the City quaffers who propelled its popularity back in the 1980s: all are gaining an increasing following as more people discover how good they are.

And in common with other wine-producing countries, people want to visit and learn more about them. As a result, wine tourism has begun to take off. Wine routes have been created in Salta, high up in the north-west close to the Chilean and Bolivian borders and, to the south, around Mendoza – now regarded as one of the top eight wine-producing regions in the world. Today, there are over 170 wineries in Argentina open to tourism, and on my visit I got a taste of what they offer. By taste, I mean we were visiting two to three vineyards a day and sampling an average of 10 different wines each day – the record was 25! – blending them ourselves at times under guidance from the winemakers as well as being taken through the wine-making process at various wineries.

■ Watch tango in the streets

Peter Ellegard

local delicacies

Peter Ellegard

■ Horse riding in Cafayate

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We were served wonderful meals outdoors on tables shaded from the hot sun, very welcome as Salta is on the Tropic of Capricorn and these areas enjoy well over 300 days of sun per year. Our palates were treated to all manner of local delicacies; we even helped to make traditional empanadas, like miniature Cornish pasties, in an outside oven at one vineyard on the edge of a desert.

And we stayed in fabulous boutique hotels, both alongside vineyards and in town. At these, you get extremely personal service, hand-prepared local speciality dishes and an intimate knowledge of the wines.

In Salta, we toured the brand new Museo de la Vid y el Vino wine (www.museodelavidyelvino.gov.ar), which is very well presented and helps even the most unknowledgeable layman, me, gain an understanding and appreciation.

Of course, visitors are not just going to go for the wines. Argentina’s wine areas have so much on offer in terms of sightseeing, activities, adventure, history and culture that you will feel you have barely scratched the

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off the beaten track ■ argentina

Peter Ellegard

■ Malbec and sunset

SECTUR

■ Vineyards at Mendoza

surface when you leave.

Salta itself is a beautiful city of grand colonial churches, ornate balconies and green squares. In the heart of the city is the fascinating MAAM museum, or high Mountain Archaeology Museum (http://maam.culturasalta.gov.ar), which displays the incredible contents of the tombs of three young children who were found mummified high in the Andes by the Chilean border. You can also take a gondola up a nearby mountain for glorious sunset and dusk views of the city, then at night take in a typical folk club with local music and dancing. From Salta, you can also board the spectacular Train to the Clouds, one of the highest railways in the world.

The wineries themselves offer many things to keep you occupied. We watched polo at Chandon’s Tupungato winery near Mendoza. I played golf at La Estancia de Cafayata (www.laestanciadecafayate.com) while my colleagues went horse riding through the estate led by a local goucho. I also played golf at the newly-opened Tupungato winelands course (www.tupungatowinelands.com).

The previous day we had sampled some of the best Malbec wines at the inaugural World Malbec Day celebration, held on a plateau above the golf course and vineyards and where a hotel will be built in the next two years. As we sipped the rich red nectar, the erstwhile

wineries to visit Here are some of the wineries you can visit to do tours, tastings or enjoy a meal: ● Salta/Cafayate: La Estancia de Cafayate (www.laestanciadecafayate.com); El Esteco Winery (www.elesteco.com.ar) ● Mendoza/Tupungato: Tupungato Winelands (www.tupungatowinelands.com); Salentein Winery (www.bodegassalentein.com);Renacer (www.bodegorenacer.com.ar); Bodegas Lopez (www.bodegaslopez.com.ar); Roberto Bonfanti (www.vinosbonfanti.com.ar)

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cloudy skies decided to put on one of the most spectacular sunsets I have ever witnessed, the snow-capped mountain tops looking like they were ablaze through the gap and the sun’s rays lighting the underside of the clouds like a spreading fan.

Other activities include hiking and cycling through the mountain scenery and shopping for handcrafted goods in local shops and markets

film After leaving my colleagues I flew on by myself to Patagonia, somewhere I had always wanted to visit.

Patagonia is flavour of the moment, thanks to the new movie of the same name which co-stars Welsh singer Duffy in her first acting role. The film, shot mostly in Welsh and Spanish, focuses on the strong links between Wales and Patagonia; it was settled by Welsh immigrants in the 1860s and Welsh is still spoken in many towns and villages.

It was my first taste of the destination and I was struck by the magnificence and sheer scale of it. Patagonia is vast, encompassing the southernmost portion of Argentina (as well as that of Chile), and comprising onethird of the entire country – itself the world’s eighth largest. To put it in perspective, Patagonia is over 40 times the size of Wales and one and a half times as big as France. With a population of just 1.5 million.

I experienced a fraction of it, yet what I saw left me breathless.

After flying into Bariloche, capital of Argentinean Patagonia, I stayed in the nearby, historic Llao Llao Hotel & Resort, a Leading Hotel of the World member.

My suite overlooked Nahuel Huapi Lake with a view – on a clear day, as it had been just before my arrival – of the glacier-capped mountains bordering Chile. Sadly, I got an early blast of winter during my stay with rain and then snow, and I barely caught views of the peaks.

They are part of the same chain of mountains as the Chilean volcano which erupted recently, spewing ash

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off the beaten track ■ argentina

■ Llao Llao’s beautiful setting

argentina facts Llao Llao Hotel & Resort

Seasons are opposite to those in the UK. Buenos Aires is mild from autumn to spring but hot and humid in summer. Salta and Mendoza both have very arid climates, Salta being tropical and Mendoza slightly cooler.

Patagonia enjoys warm and sunny summers, but winters are cold and snowy.

over Bariloche and other parts of the region and closing its airport at times. News pictures I saw of Llao Llao’s ash-covered golf course looked remarkably like ones I took with snow on the ground.

During my brief visit, I stayed at San Martin de los Andes, a three-hour drive away and in the heart of Patagonia’s Lake District. Known as the “Switzerland of South America” the region offers everything its European counterpart does, and more, including white-water rafting, cycling, hiking, mountaineering, fly-fishing and golf.

I returned to Bariloche the next day for my flight to Buenos Aires and then home. I was in for a treat, too, as my driver took me via the Seven Lakes Route, one of the most scenic roads in the world. Just make sure you allow plenty of time to do it at leisure – unlike my driver who picked me up so late he had to drive like he was in a rally so that I could make my flight.

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■ Recoleta Cemetery

getting there British Airways (www.ba.com) introduced direct flights to Buenos Aires from London Heathrow at the end of March.

getting around In Buenos Aires and other cities, taxis are relatively cheap and plentiful.

For journeys within Argentina, domestic flights link key cities including Salta, Mendoza and Patagonia capital Bariloche.

accommodation Buenos Aires hotels include the Argenta Towers (www.argentatower.com.ar) close to the city centre and Home Hotel (www.homebuenosaires.com) in the Palermo Hollywood neighbourhood. Wine is the theme at boutique hotels Hotel del Vino (www.hoteldelvinosalta.com.ar) in Salta, Altaluna Hotel (www.altalaluna.com) in Cafayate and Posada Salentein (www.bodegassalentein.com) in Mendoza’s Uco Valley. The InterContinental Mendoza (www.intercontinental.com) is in the city of Mendoza. Patagonia hotels include Llao Llao Hotel & Resort (www.llaollao.com.ar) and the Pestana Bariloche Ski and Golf Resort Hotel (www.pestana.com) near Bariloche and the LoiSuites Chapelco Golf & Resort (www.loisuites.com.ar) near San Martin de los Andes.

WIN a case of Argentinean wine – and five copies of the Patagonia DVD

tango shows You can find free tango shows on the streets in several neighbourhoods, including La Boca. There are a number of evening tango shows. One of the best is the lavish Tango Porteno dinner show (www.tangoporteno.com.ar), set in an ornate Art Deco theatre.

tour operators

Argentina National Institute for Travel Promotion

We have two great Argentinarelated prizes on offer. If reading about its wine has worked up a thirst, why not enter our competition to win a case of 12 bottles of wines from the highlyregarded Nomade winery? There are six bottles of Malbec and six of Torrontes, worth nearly £140 in total, on offer.

We also have five copies of the DVD of Patagonia, the film set in Patagonia and Wales and costarring Welsh singer Duffy.

Released on July 11, it has an RRP of £15.99.

For details, Go to www.tlmmagazine.co.uk and click on Competitions. Terms and conditions apply. Closing date August 15, 2011.

Peter Ellegard

when to go

Companies offering Argentina holidays include Tucan Travel (www.tucantravel.com), Kuoni (www.kuoni.co.uk), Tango Tours (www.tangotours.co.uk), Intrepid Travel (www.intrepidtravel.com), Journey Latin America (www.journeylatinamerica.co.uk), Latin ■ Alpacas in America Travel Patagonia (www.latinamericatravel.co.uk), Exsus (www.exsus.com); Western & Oriental: (www.wandotravel.com) and Travelsphere (www.travelsphere.co.uk).

tourist information Argentina National Institute for Travel Promotion: www.argentina.travel/en.

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a touch of class ■ flying in style

Go the ■ An Emirates onboard lounge

extra mile

Emirates

Just because you are going on holiday doesn’t mean having to slum it when you travel. These days there are far more options for treating yourself to a bit of luxury in the air and at the airport – and it need not cost a packet, as Gary Noakes explains

■ Virgin’s Upper Class

Virgin Atlantic

E

Air New Zealand

ven the shortest hop to the Med can leave an indelible impression on air passengers of average height or build – poor legroom, narrow seats and service levels that shame a fast food restaurant can sum it up. No wonder many want something more for that once■ Premium in-a-lifetime experience to ensure that economy on Air the dream trip to New York, the New Zealand Maldives or the Caribbean is not spoiled by the process of getting there.

The good news is there has probably never been a better time to travel in style at an affordable price and with a few simple tips, it need not be out of reach. Gone are the days when if you wanted a fully-flat bed on the flight, you had to travel first class, and equally distant is the time when if you wanted a little more legroom than economy, it meant the quantum leap to business class.

First class has disappeared on many airlines, as its chief

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selling point, a flat bed, is now almost the norm in business class. Further back on the aircraft, the recession prompted many airlines to fit or upgrade premium economy cabins for business travellers who weren’t allowed the expensive seats any more and these seats are a great option if your budget won’t stretch to business or even first class.

premium economy At its most basic, premium economy provides an extra six or seven inches of legroom and a wider seat. In airline speak, that means a 38-inch seat pitch compared with the usual 31 or 32 inches in economy. Some airlines, like Virgin Atlantic, upgrade the service in premium economy, with more drinks and better meals, while others, such as British Airways, provide only the same as in economy.

Premium economy travellers usually get their own

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a touch of class ■ flying in style

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Etihad

Using the premium lounges of some airlines is like being in a gentlemen’s club. Fly with Abu Dhabi’s national airline, Etihad, and its combined Diamond First and Pearl Business Class lounge at Heathrow offers a Six Senses spa with free massages and facials, showers, an a la carte restaurant, sound-proof kids’ room and a computer room. The spa in the Abu Dhabi lounges even has 24-carat gold grouting.

Qatar Airways opened the world’s first dedicated Premium Terminal at Doha in 2006, purely for its first and business class passengers. It has recently been expanded and now features a spa, Jacuzzi, fine dining and duty-free shopping.

But if it’s toys you want, no airline can beat Virgin’s Clubhouse lounges, which are at several airports on key routes. They feature a health and beauty salon offering beauty treatments and hairdressing, while the flagship Heathrow Clubhouse also has a poolside lounge, multiscreen TV wall, observation deck, sky lounge, library, music room, playground/video games room, study, bar and a brasserie/deli.

■ Etihad offers Six Senses spas

■ Qatar Airways’ Jacuzzi

■ Virgin’s Clubhouse

Qatar Aiways

However, if you want it all in one package, that means flying business or even first class. Other airlines have caught up with BA and Virgin Atlantic in fitting seats that convert to fully-flat beds, so your choice is unlimited, but there are a few notable exceptions, such as American Airlines, Lufthansa, and some flights by Emirates, Qatar Airways and Qantas where inclined flat seats are still found.

In particular, there is far more choice of good business class products to the US now that Delta, United and American Airlines have upgraded cabins, although their lounges at either end will not match the scale and opulence of BA’s and in particular, Virgin’s, whose Clubhouse lounge at Heathrow has so many amenities you will hesitate to board your flight.

If you have a very large wallet or a wad of frequent flier points, you might even consider first class, but ask yourself what you will really gain. Unless you need a very large seat and much greater privacy, the inflated cost probably isn’t worth it, although the private cabins found on Singapore Airlines, Emirates and India’s Jet Airways or the opulence of Etihad are the ultimate in air travel.

Whatever you choose, getting your swanky special

lounge around

Virgin Atlantic

private cabins

■ An Etihad premium lounge

Etihad

cabin with fewer seats in it than economy, but some airlines, like United and KLM, offer a premium economy section that is just part of the normal economy cabin layout, so remember to check exactly what you will get. This particularly applies to legroom. Most airlines offer a seat with at least six inches more, but United’s Economy Plus offers five inches and KLM’s Economy Comfort only another four inches.

The pick of premium economy cabins probably goes to Air New Zealand, whose new Spaceseat has a real wow factor. It allows couples to face each other when eating and is a hard shell design, which means that the seat in front does not recline onto your knees.

Premium economy generally means a dedicated check-in, but no admittance to the business class lounge.

You can make up for this on the outbound journey by paying to access one of the generic-branded lounges.

Some have the charm and décor of a 1980s motorway service station, but others, like No.1 Traveller, are superb. No.1 is at Gatwick and Stansted and opens in Heathrow’s Terminal 3 in August, complete with bedrooms for transit passengers, although these will cost more than the usual £15-£20 entrance fee. Holiday Extras offers 37 lounges at 21 UK airports, with access from £12, and has also started offering lounges overseas.

They can be booked through travel agents, as can the 150-plus lounges offered by Lounge Pass in the UK and worldwide.

Getting lounge access on the way home is trickier, but membership of schemes like Priority Pass overcomes this obstacle. Priority Pass covers 600 lounges in the UK and worldwide, including No.1 Traveller. A £69 annual fee permits visits for £15 and guest entry for another £15. Snacks and drinks are free, as is Wi-Fi, so if you travel a few times a year, it’s worth considering.

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a touch of class ■ flying in style

indirect On a similar theme, consider flying indirect. American Airlines’ hub at Miami airport and its network in the Caribbean mean a simple one-stop hop to many islands that will usually be cheaper than flying non-stop. In the other direction, the Middle East carriers will, for example, get you to Australia, Sri Lanka or Goa on a one-stop flight. Consider also going via Paris, Amsterdam or Frankfurt if your local airport has connections with Air France, KLM or Lufthansa, as these fares will often be cheaper and more convenient than the trip from Heathrow.

Another crucial point is time of year. For example, August is a great time to fly to New York – if you can bear the humidity – as few business passengers travel there then. A BA Club World return, normally £4,000£5,000, plummets to as little as £1,500 then, provided you stay over a weekend and book in advance.

flying in style facts airlines Air France: www.airfrance.com Air New Zealand: www.airnewzealand.co.uk American Airlines: www.americanairlines.com British Airways: www.ba.com Delta Air Lines: www.delta.com Emirates: www.emirates.com/uk Etihad: www.etihadairways.com EVA Air: www.evaair.com KLM: www.klm.com Lufthansa: www.lufthansa.com Jet Airways: www.jetairways.com Oman Air: www.omanair.com Qatar Airways: www.qatarairways.com/uk Singapore Airlines: www.singaporeair.com United Airlines: www.unitedairlines.co.uk Virgin Atlantic: www.virgin-atlantic.com

lounges No.1 Traveller: www.no1traveller.com Priority Pass: www.prioritypass.com Lounge Pass: www.loungepass.com Holiday Extras: www.holidayextras.co.uk

■ BA’s all-business class Airbus A318 British Airways

occasion flight at a good price requires some guile. As it is a holiday, you won’t be delayed in any business meetings so you can buy the cheapest fare category, a ticket that is not flexible. Be sure, however, to make it to the airport on time or face a hefty amendment fee.

Secondly, ask a good travel agent to search for all airlines that fly to your chosen destination. You may not realise, for example, that Air New Zealand is an excellent way to get to Los Angeles or Hong Kong, or that Taiwan’s EVA Air flies to Bangkok. Both of these go non-stop from Heathrow and can undercut the more familiar brands while offering a frequently-superior experience.

Economy: Air New Zealand’s Economy Skycouch looks like a conventional row of three seats, but it unfolds to permit two adults and a child to lie flat.

Premium economy: Resembling a slimmed-down business class seat, Air France’s new premium economy design will win fans.

Business: All Delta’s flights from Heathrow now offer the Business Elite cabin, making it the only US airline to offer fully-flat beds on the New York run. British Airways’ London City-JFK service is another sleek way of travelling to New York, using dedicated Airbus A318 aircraft with a single business class cabin. But don’t expect a sumptuous lounge in London – and remember that the flight is designed for bankers to sleep on the way back, not for partying.

First: Emirates’ Airbus A380 probably takes the prize for its onboard showers, although Singapore Airlines’ own super-jumbo aircraft offer a seat and a separate bed. Jet Airways allows you to dine face-to-face in your own cabin.

Frequent flier: Don’t forget to register for the airline’s frequent flier programme when you book, as your one premium ticket may give you enough miles for a free short-haul flight as well.

Limo service: Some airlines, including Virgin and Emirates, offer a chauffeur-driven service to and from the airport for premium class passengers, so you can start and end your holiday in style.

■ Emirates first class suite Emirates

■ British Airways’ Club World

British Airways

tips for flying in style

advice Gary Noakes is an aviation and travel writer who regularly flies the world’s airlines, good and bad. He’s been fortunate enough to enjoy the posh seats on many occasions.

44 tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine

www.tlm-magazine.co.uk

See www.seatplans.com for advice on which airline to choose

Summer 2011

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in your ■ flightbag

Jet, set, go

Trion it on B

erghaus – a literal translation of the German for “mountain centre” – has been selling outdoor wear since 1966 when, frustrated by a lack of decent equipment, climbers Peter Lockey and Gordon Davison decided

to import and sell their own, and they have been producers of revolutionary products ever since.

The Trion 30 Travel Case is a multi-purpose 30-litre bag which can be used as a rucksack or, with the straps detached, a carry case.

With plenty of pockets to store your stuff, including an internal organiser and a bottle pocket, this durable, versatile bag makes an ideal in-flight companion; it costs £80 and is available online from www.berghaus.com.

BUILT to last B

esides the standard book, passport and cosmetics, our hand luggage now contains multiple electronic accessories which not only

Summer 2011

need protecting, but need to look good too.

New York-based design company BUILT designs fashionable and functional covers and cases for every-

thing from your iPad to your camera case, as well as your Kindle and MP3 player.

The company’s light neoprene covers, with their funky spot prints, stripes and bright colours, are perfect for travelling.

Prices start from £12.99; retailers include John Lewis, Dixons, PC World, Amazon and Curry’s.

For the full range, go to www.builtny.com.

Keeping your children happy on a flight is never an easy task, but now the unique Grab and Go Pack from Little Jet Setter aims to make travelling with very young children fun and easy. The complete pack includes sticker and magnet activity sets, plush toys, all-natural baby wipes, hand sanitiser gel, crayons and doodle area, disposable bibs and change mats, which come packed in a fun mini suitcase that your toddler can carry. This portable, packable set is designed for young ones up to four-year-olds and is airline ready, with all contents under 50ml. Priced at £19.99, it is available from the British Airways High Life Shop and Virgin Atlantic Onboard as well as online from www.littlejetsetter.com.

Evolving beauty Looking for skincare products which are portable for travel and good for your skin? Evolve’s new summer sampler kit, the pick of the bunch, contains four 50ml luxury mini versions of its best selling body care products and is perfect to pop in your flightbag.

Evolve beauty products are 99% natural and certified organic, containing powerful nutrients to smooth and hydrate the skin. The kit contains the heavenly body polish, the radiance boost body cream, the mega omega body cream and the skin cocoon body wash and costs £15.99. The entire Evolve body collection is also available in miniature form for £3.99 each. For more details, go to www.evolvebeauty.co.uk.

It’s a wrap The Beach Ball Knot-Wrap is a new addition to Lush’s Knot-Wrap range – a collection of vintage scarves introduced as a means of in-store giftwrapping – and is designed to look just like a beach ball when it’s wrapped up. This oversized, colourful scarf can be used to wrap all your essentials in to take to the beach, or as a neck scarf or bandana, or even to sit on when you are on the beach.

The new Beach Ball Knot-Wrap bag and many more Knot-Wrap designs are available from Lush shops nationwide.

For details and mail order enquiries, call 01202 668 545.

Or, order online at www.lush.co.uk.

tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine www.tlm-magazine.co.uk

47

in your ■ suitcase

Retro chic P

Tan-tastic

No time to get that tan before you leave? Crazy Angel’s Express Liquid Tan is the ideal solution.

Supplied with a buffing mitt, the fast-acting liquid provides an instant bronze glow and, together with the new body scrub Halo Polish and Supreme Goddess moisturiser, these products can be popped in your suitcase to keep your tan going throughout your holiday.

Crazy Angel products combine moisturising Bearberry with naturally-derived tanning agents which are alcohol, paraben and mineral oil free, for a flawless finish.

For stockist information, call Beauty Solutions on 0845 180 1241 or visit www.crazy-angel.co.uk for details of all Crazy Angel products.

Flip flop fab

Keeping your feet flip flop ready when you are on holiday is essential and the Color Pop Portable Manicure Set from health and wellbeing experts Scholl is perfect for keeping your feet – and fingernails, too – in tip-top shape.

It has two speed settings and seven attachments, and the rechargeable wand can be used to tackle troublesome nails, dry or hard skin and untidy cuticles.

With exfoliating stones to smooth the skin and a cone attachment to shape nails, all in a handy carry case, Scholl’s Color Pop Portable Manicure Set is available from Argos, priced at £25.49. Go to www.argos.co.uk.

!8 tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine

www.tlm-magazine.co.uk

acking for summer should be easy, with lightweight pieces to mix and match taking priority in your suitcase.

However, combining beach and poolside chic with glamorous evening wear can be tricky, particularly if you want to keep in touch with the latest fashion trends.

Louise Sandberg’s stylish and luxurious beachwear collection of 1970s-inspired kaftans, dresses and tops are perfect holiday wear, taking you seamlessly from the pool to an evening out.

Featuring the flattering Amber range of kaftans and lines such as Donale and Love the Sand from St Barths, with styles in linen, cotton and silk, this gorgeous range of beachwear is accessorised by drawstring beach bags, woven from lightweight seagrass and fully lined in linen with leather handles, as well as straw hats and

belts.

For details of the full range of products and accessories, go to www.louisesandberg.com or call 0845 371 1553. ● For your chance to WIN

a Willa black and white silk kaftan, worth £199, together with a Beach Basket in Lime Stripes, worth £35, go to www.tlm-magazine.co.uk and click on Competitions.

Terms and conditions apply. Closing date August 8, 2011.

Miracle looks W e are all looking for the perfect swimsuit to make us look and feel good. The Miraclesuit is a unique new swimsuit that contours and firms the body, using colour and design to draw the eye away from the hips and tummy with subtle draping to enhance your shape.

Made from Miratex,

with three times as much spandex as traditional swimwear fabrics, and available in a variety of shades and colours, the Miraclesuit will make you “look 10lb lighter in 10 seconds”, according to the makers.

Miraclesuit is available from leading online retailers including www.simplybeach.com with prices starting at £135.

#$%%er 2011

Summer 2011

tlm â&#x2013; the travel & leisure magazine www.tlm-magazine.co.uk 49

travel ■ tech

Zoom zoom T

he latest camera from Leica is just the job for photographic adventurers. Boasting an impressive 16x zoom, touch-screen controls, 3D photos and GPS tagging, as well as outstanding image quality and HD video capability, the high-performance V-Lux 30 superzoom compact opens up a world of new perspectives and opportunities for travel photography.

The camera features a distinctively-clean Leica design with minimalist, black matt styling and its incredible zoom and 14.1 megapixel sensor will bring distant subjects into sharp, close-up focus. Yet, at just 33mm deep and weighing under 220g, it is compact and light enough to slip into a jacket pocket or small bag.

For global travellers, the V-Lux 30’s GPS function records the geographical co-ordinates of the user’s location and local time for

every shot, then saves them within the Exif file image data. It can also record that information on video files, and its full HD recording format and long lens, together with an integrated stereo microphone and electronic wind noise filter, provide performance

Sting on song Stuck for music with no power socket handy? What you need is a scorpion. Not the creature but the Etón Scorpion.

A multi-purpose solar-powered radio, it also comes with a USB mobile phone charger. With its splashproof, rugged exterior, aluminium carabiner clip, LED torch and bottle opener, it is built for the great outdoors. You can also hand-wind the built-in dynamo to recharge its battery, and it has a DC adaptor.

The Scorpion’s radio covers FM, Medium and Shortwave bands, while the audio line input allows you to play your favourite MP3 music devices.

It comes in a vibrant green or orange and costs £49.99, from www.etoncorp.co.uk.

!0 tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine

www.tlm-magazine.co.uk

to rival digital camcorders.

The V-Lux 30 has an RRP of £550 and is available with either a leather case and shoulder strap, at £80, or soft leather pouch, at £63.

It is available from Leica dealers or the Leica Store Mayfair; go online to: www.leica-storemayfair.co.uk.

Dynamic Duos E

njoy music on the move in style with Radiopaq Duos, new highdefinition DJ-Style headphones.

The over-head design Duo headphones are ideal for travel thanks to fold flat, tilt and swivel headphone cups, while soft, 15mm cushions offer comfort during prolonged use.

The 40mm sound drivers reproduce a wide frequency range with superb stereo separation to deliver dynamic quality sound for all musical genres.

Compatible with all MP3 players, the

Radiopaq Duos come in five stylish colours. With an RRP of £19.99, they are available from retailers including ASDA, Argos and WH Smith as well as from www.radiopaqproducts.com.

iGo, you go

T

he award-winning iGo KeyJuice makes for easy charging or syncing on the go via a laptop, PC or USB charger.

Light, small and made to fit on a key ring or slip in a handbag or pocket, when unfolded it reveals

mini and micro USB connectors, or an Apple version, to fit any smartphone.

The KeyJuice costs £9.99, from www.iGo.com/eu. ● WIN an iGo KeyJuice – we have five to give away.

Go to www.tlmmagazine.co.uk and click on Competitions.

Terms and conditions apply. Closing date August 8, 2011.

#$%%er 2011

travel ■ tech

Roam on the cheap A

new service promises to cut the cost of internet roaming in Europe for holidaymakers. The launch of Tep allows an always-on connection to the internet via a Europe-wide 3G network.

It claims to give savings of up to 90% on hotel internet charges with its smartphone and pocket Wi-Fi rental service.

Charging local prices for connection to fast 3G networks, the devices are rented via Tep’s website and can be delivered direct to the customer’s home or hotel, or picked up at the airport. They then return the rented phone by post, using a prepaid envelope, and all personal data is erased from the device.

Tep offers two products: a multi-European service across 16

countries, with a spending cap of 100Mb per day; or access to unlimited internet in Spain, Italy, France and Germany. Both cost £4.95 per day or £49.50 for 10 days – the average rental period. According to Tep, UK travellers typically download 10Mb of data a day on roaming in Europe, which would cost £388 over 10 days.

Download large emails or a video and it can jump to 60Mb, or £120, per day.

Go to www.tepwireless.com.

APPS CORNER Priority Pass has launched a BlackBerry app for its airport lounge access programme, following recent launches of iPhone, iPad and Android apps. Each one has a Find Nearest Lounge tool using GPS plus details of the lounges including pictures and directions to help members while on the move. Download from BlackBerry App World. www.prioritypass.com

The new EnjoyEngland iPhone app from VisitEngland offers users ideas for places to visit and activities to entertain them whether they are heading off for a day out or on holiday. The free app highlights nearby attractions via GPS or they can search for suggestions near their chosen destination. Settings can be personalised, too. www.enjoyengland.com

Blackpool has launched its own iPhone app, giving visitors a hands-on approach to the resort. Users can search for places to stay, restaurants and bars, or browse what’s on for festivals, shows and events.

Costing £1.19 from the iTunes App Store, the app also shows them where they are in relation to top attractions. www.visitBlackpool.com

Get into Orbit T

he Orbit USB Stereo from Altec Lansing is the perfect summer accessory for those who travel with their music.

Compact and lightweight, it’s ideal for packing into your suitcase and taking on holiday, for

!"##er 2011

weekend breaks or days out.

The powerful little speaker, which has two 40mm active drivers, has retractable stands and quickly snaps together for convenient portability, hiding all loose wires.

It is also battery-free, with USB connectivity for laptops or netbooks.

Priced at £39.99, the Orbit USB Stereo is available from Amazon, DSGi, JLP, Currys, and PC World. www.alteclansing.com.

High-end city guide series Hg2: A Hedonist’s Guide is now an iPhone app.

Covering 42 cities around the world from London and New York to Baku and Almaty, it includes over 12,000 reviews of hotels, restaurants, bars, shops and sights, with Augmented Reality. Download the entire Hg2 collection for £9.99, or 59p per city. www.hg2.com

tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine www.tlm-magazine.co.uk

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52 tlm â&#x2013; the travel & leisure magazine

www.tlm-magazine.co.uk

Summer 2011

on your doorstep ■ the cotswolds

!elco&e to my wold

Home of the Arts and Crafts Movement, and known for its chocolate-box villages, dry-stone walls and rolling hills, the Cotswolds are a national treasure. Lifelong resident Caroline Mills advises taking time to explore its many delights ■ High Street in Chipping Campden

Photo: Peter Ellegard

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T

his summer I am approaching a mid-life milestone. Far from becoming anxious about the ensuing day, I see it more as a celebration of 40 glorious years living in the Cotswolds.

Childhood memories of dandelion-filled days when friends and I would wave goodbye to parents for a day’s bike ride with little more than a packet of sandwiches and a Penguin biscuit as a picnic, never really getting very far courtesy of the undulating nature of the Cotswolds and a bicycle with limited gears; long country walks to isolated barns (they’ve all been “done up” now into designer dwellings); and the smell of warm blackberry jam bubbling in a pan having spent the afternoon picking fruits among the brambles, scratched arms the uncomfortable result of reaching for the plumpest berry.

More recently, I finished writing a guidebook to the Cotswolds, based upon the accumulated knowledge that I’ve gleaned over those

years as a lifelong resident. Such a project made me focus hard – and in a different way – on the places I’ve grown up to love. Here I share some of those – both well-known places and some hidden secrets worth finding.

Designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (similar in status to a national park) and covering 787 square miles between Bath and Stratford-upon-Avon, Cheltenham and Oxford, understanding the Cotswolds in a weekend is impossible. So I recommend exploring at a leisurely pace by taking a snippet of this rolling limestone countryside, criss-crossed by

tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine www.tlm-magazine.co.uk

*+

■ Cattle in the pasture around Broadway Tower

where to see pre-raphaelites and arts and crafts movement works ● Kelmscott, near Lechlade – home of William Morris, founder of the Arts and Crafts Movement. ● Buscot Church (stained glass windows by Edward Burne-Jones) and Buscot Park (Pre-Raphaelite paintings in the Faringdon Collection), near Lechlade. ● All Saints Church, Selsley, near Stroud – stained glass by William Morris, Rossetti and Burne-Jones. ● Rodmarton Manor, near Tetbury (www.rodmarton-manor.co.uk) – 1909 house built in the Arts and Crafts style and filled with furniture from the period. ● Court Barn Museum (www.courtbarn.org.uk) – celebrates 100 years of the Arts and Crafts Movement in and around Chipping Campden. ● Old Silk Mill – former workshop which was the original home of the Arts and Crafts Movement and Guild of Handicrafts in Chipping Campden, now a small museum. ● Gordon Russell Museum, Broadway (www.gordonrussellmuseum.org) – Museum housed in the restored furniture workshops of leading Arts and Crafts designer Gordon Russell.

● Broadway Tower, near Broadway (www.broadwaytower.co.uk) – exhibition on the Arts and Crafts movement housed in the “holiday home” of William Morris and the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. ● Hidcote Manor Garden, near Mickleton (www.nationaltrust.org.uk/hidcote) – garden laid out in the Arts and Crafts style by Major Lawrence Johnson. ● Cheltenham Museum & Art Gallery (www.cheltenhamartgallery.org.uk) – a significant collection of work from the Arts and Crafts Movement, especially that originating in the Cotswolds.

■ Kelmscott ● Sapperton, near Cirencester – entire village with many houses built in the Arts and Crafts style by Ernest Barnsley (also responsible for Rodmarton Manor). www.cotswolds.com

!" tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine

www.tlm-magazine.co.uk

www.cotswolds.com

www.cotswolds.com

on your doorstep ■ the cotswolds

■ Stroud farmers’ market

trademark dry-stone walls and rich architectural masterpieces built upon a prosperous medieval wool trade.

golden-coloured My favourite area to spend time, and what I believe feels the cosiest part of the Cotswolds, is around Chipping Campden. The golden-coloured town itself is a jewel, with architectural splendour along its alluring S-shaped High Street.

Close by, in Sheep Street, is the Old Silk Mill, where the town’s Arts and Crafts Movement began in 1902 and continues with small galleries of working artists and craftsmen. But take time to discover the satellite villages of Blockley, a hillside gem, Hidcote, renowned for both Hidcote Manor and Kiftsgate gardens, and Snowshill, famous for both the curious collection of knick-knacks at Snowshill Manor and as the film location for Bridget Jones’ Diary – it is also home to Snowshill Manor Lavender (www.snowshill-lavender.co.uk), the Cotswolds’ very own slice of Provence.

A mile north of Chipping Campden is Dover’s Hill. It’s the perfect spot for a summer picnic and, as one of the highest points in the area, a prime location for views across the Vale of Evesham and the distant Malverns.

For quiet, get-away-from-thecrowds Cotswolds, my choice is the villages between Stow-on-the-Wold and Chipping Norton: Adlestrop, made “famous” by the poet Edward Thomas whose railway carriage poem is etched into a seat at the

#ummer )*++

on your doorstep ■ the cotswolds

■ St James’ Church, Chipping Campden

entrance to the village; Daylesford, where you can stock up on the tastiest of treats at the increasingly-renowned Daylesford Organic Farm Shop; and Bledington, with its picturesque village green that straddles the tiniest of streams and is overlooked by the King’s Head, one of the Cotswolds finest pubs. Catch a train to the tiny station at nearby Kingham and explore on foot.

legends Two miles north of Chipping Norton are the Rollright Stones, a miniature Stonehenge with legends of a king, his soldiers and conspiratorial “Whispering Knights” turned to stone by a witch. Count the stones that make up the circle – another story says that you should never get the same number twice. Here are further views of the gentlest aspects of the Cotswolds; smooth, rounded hills covered by woodlands.

While in the area, take advantage of visiting Whichford Pottery (www.whichfordpottery.com), two miles further north still, where Jim and Dominique Keeling have been making their worldrenowned terracotta pots for over a quarter of a century.

While researching for my guidebook, one aspect that I’d never truly appreciated previously was the connections between the Cotswolds, the PreRaphaelite Brotherhood and the Arts and Crafts Movement. Kelmscott Manor (www.kelmscottmanor.co.uk), near Lechlade, is the key attraction as the family home of William Morris

!"##er 2011

summer events

www.cotswolds.com

● Robert Dover’s Cotswold “Olimpick” Games (www.olimpickgames.co.uk): early June on Dover’s Hill, near Chipping Campden. A world away from London’s 2012 Olympics, these 400-year-old games include World Championship Shinkicking. ● Longborough Festival Opera (www.lfo.org.uk): June 16-July 30. Professional opera performed in the idyllic village of Longborough, near Stow-on-the-Wold.

The 2011 season includes Cosi Fan Tutte, Falstaff and Siegfried. Candlelit picnics in the field a must. ● Midsummer Speed Fest: June 25-26 at Prescott Speed Hill Climb (www.prescott-hillclimb.com), near Cheltenham. Enthralling racing around hairpin bends on a steep Cotswold escarpment. ● Gifford’s Circus (www.giffordscircus.com): May 19September 11. A truly wondrous and intimate traditional circus that performs on village greens and Cotswold commons. This year’s show is War and Peace. Fabulous family entertainment. Dine in the Circus Sauce restaurant. ● Football in the River: August Bank Holiday Monday (August 29) at 2.30pm in Bourton-on-the-Water. A quirky Cotswolds event as teams battle it out in the shallow waters of ■ Morris dancers the Windrush. Prepare to get wet.

West Oxfordshire District Council

tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine www.tlm-magazine.co.uk

**

on your doorstep ■ the cotswolds

cotswolds facts There is easy access from the M40 and M4.

The Cotswolds and Malvern Line operated by First Great Western (www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk) runs to the northern Cotswolds while First Great Western trains stop at Stroud and Bath, covering the southern Cotswolds, both from Paddington. Cheltenham (tourist information centre: 77 Promenade, 01242 522878) is a key Cotswolds gateway, as are Stratford-upon-Avon, Oxford and Bath.

■ Minster Lovell West Oxfordshire District Council

getting there

For car-free travel, regular buses operate between main towns but public transport to surrounding villages can be sporadic. A pair of walking boots offers the best opportunities for making the most of the Cotswolds – including the Cotswold Way, a 102-mile National Trail along the western escarpment from Chipping Campden to Bath.

Britainonview / Tony Pleavin

accommodation While cosy B&Bs are the obvious thought, there are plenty of unique self-catering options plus boutique hotels and a selection of quirky accommodation too, such as the Pudding Club ■ Broadway village bedrooms – all decorated in honour of a ice-cream seller famous British pud –at the Three Ways House Hotel in Mickleton (www.threewayshousehotel.com) or, offering luxurious “glamping” in woodland glades close to Sapperton, near Stroud, Cotswold Yurts (www.cotswoldyurts.co.uk).

The famous Lygon Arms (www.barcelo-hotels.co.uk) in Broadway continues to impress its guests, as it has done for generations.

more information For visiting the Cotswolds, go to www.cotswolds.com (Cotswolds and Forest of Dean Tourism) and www.oxfordshirecotswolds.org (Oxfordshire Cotswolds). For information on the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (and activities organised by the Cotswolds Conservation Board), go to www.cotswoldsaonb.org.uk.

www.cotswolds.com

getting around

■ Painswick post office

(and Dante Gabriel Rossetti) and a firm favourite for visitors to the area. But lesser-known places also exist and much of the work from these periods can be viewed throughout the Cotswolds.

In the grittier and more rugged part of the Cotswolds around Stroud, where the hills are steeper and the valleys more prominent, my pick of destinations is the elegant town of Painswick, plus the commons around the sleepy villages of Sheepscombe and Cranham. Here, the vast beech woods that decorate the hillsides are so significant to the Cotswolds – indeed the country – that they are given national nature reserve status for their international importance. Their spacious, open nature provides perfect dappled respite from a glaring summer sun.

There is no better way to experience the Cotswolds than getting under the skin of what they are about and meeting the communities that live and work there. And even though I have lived there all my life, I feel as if I have so much still to learn about it myself.

Lifelong Cotswold resident Caroline Mills is the author of Slow Cotswolds, released in April 2011 and published by Bradt Travel Guides. She’s looking forward to celebrating her forthcoming “milestone” birthday with family and a giant slab of chocolate cake.

We have teamed up with Bradt Travel Guides to offer five copies of Caroline Mills’ book, Slow Cotswolds, which has an RRP of £14.99. Go to www.tlm-magazine.co.uk and click on Competitions. The first five entries drawn at random after the draw closes on August 8, 2011, will each win a copy. Terms and conditions apply. ● We also have a great READER OFFER available to all tlm readers. Just enter the code TLM25 when ordering Slow Cotswolds via the Bradt website, www.bradtguides.com, and you will get a 25% discount. Postage and packing is free to UK addresses. The offer is valid until November 30, 2011.

!" tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine

www.tlm-magazine.co.uk

West Oxfordshire District Council

WIN a Slow Cotswolds guide

■ Bliss Mill, Chipping Norton

#u%%&r )*++

Beautiful Wiltshire Countryside Stunning Gardens Award Winning Food

• SPECIAL SUMMER BREAKS ALWAYS AVAILABLE •

01793 772100 www.peartreepurton.co.uk

5! tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine

www.tlm-magazine.co.uk

Summer 2011

competition ■ boston and cape cod holiday

Tim Grafft/Mott

■ Boardwalk at Provincetown, Cape Cod

Peter Ellegard

■ Boston skyline from a harbour cruise

WIN a twin-centre Massachusetts holiday to Boston and Cape Cod – worth over £2,000!

Su##er&2011

Doyle Collection

C

■ Cape Codder Resort

Hugo Boss, Barneys New York, Salvatore Ferragamo and Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th.

The flights and car are courtesy of the Massachusetts Office of Tourism and America As You Like It – a specialist tour operator offering tailor-made fly-drives and city breaks throughout the USA and Canada.

The prize is valid from October 15, 2011, to June 30, 2012. The winner must be over 21 to rent the car.

how to enter

For a chance to WIN this fantastic five-night holiday for two people to Boston and Cape Cod, simply answer the following question:

Cape Codder Resort

Question: In which region of America is Massachusetts?

■ Wrentham Village Premium Outlets

Simon Malls

apital of Massachusetts, New England’s largest city and birthplace of the American Revolution – Boston is a vibrant, multi-cultural metropolis rich in history yet with a thoroughly modern outlook. Contrast that with the serenity and beauty of Cape Cod, with over 60 stunning public beaches, glorious nature in Cape Cod National Seashore, whale watching, sport fishing, and art and culture in its 15 diverse towns.

Now you have the chance to win a fabulous holiday for two to both destinations.

The lucky winner and partner will fly to Boston and spend three nights at the chic Doyle Collection property, The Back Bay Hotel, located in the heart of Boston’s Back Bay area in the former police department headquarters. It is now an even more arresting proposition after a stunning renovation programme that has created a modern-day landmark in this magnificent city.

They will then pick up a rental car for three days and drive to Cape Cod, for two nights at the Cape Codder Resort and Spa in Hyannis.

This award-winning resort is centrally located near shopping, beaches and attractions... but with all of these amenities – outdoor oasis pool, beach-like area, courtyard activities, two restaurants, outdoor dining, full-service spa and an indoor wave pool with oversized Jacuzzi – you may never want to leave!

The prize also includes a $250 shopping spree with Wrentham Village Premium Outlets, south of Boston on the way to Cape Cod. It offers 170 outlet stores, including Burberry,

To enter, go to www.tlm-magazine.co.uk and click on Competitions. Closing date is August 22, 2011. See website for full terms and conditions.

More information can be found on these links: Massachusetts: www.massvacation.com America As You Like It: Tel 020 8742 8299; www.americaasyoulikeit.com The Back Bay Hotel: www.doylecollection.com/backbay Cape Codder Resort & Spa: www.capecodderresort.com Wrentham Village Premium Outlets: www.premiumoutlets.com

tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine www.tlm-magazine.co.uk

5+

pack your clubs ■ egypt

■ Putting by the pyramids at the Mena House Golf Club

Peter Ellegard

Pharaohs and fairways The land of the ancient pharaohs is now a mecca for golfers, as its barren desert has been transformed into green oases by some of the world’s top designers. Peter Ellegard reports

A

Peter Ellegard

■ King Tut tee marker at Luxor’s Royal Valley Golf Club

S$%%&r 2011

papyrus inscription discovered in the tomb of one of Egypt’s pharaohs shows him holding a wooden stick and hitting small balls. While the Scots claim to have invented golf, could its roots really date back thousands of years?

Golf was introduced by the British in Egypt in the 1880s. By the late 1990s, there were just three courses, all of them at venerable clubs from that golden era. But since then, Egypt’s barren deserts have literally blossomed with lush fairways and greens, putting it firmly on the global golfing map.

There are now almost 20 courses, with the highest concentration around Cairo and in purpose-built Red Sea resorts. The calibre of architects stamping their name on new courses underlines Egypt’s determination to join golf’s premier league, with designs by the likes of Gary Player, Greg Norman and Sir Nick Faldo and others from fellow Open champions Peter Thomson and Jack Nicklaus to come.

Playing golf in Egypt is a unique experience. You can tee off in the shadow of the iconic pyramids or at new complexes in Cairo’s suburbs, sink putts next to the azure Red Sea and play on fairways carved through the

desert like emerald carpets close to where the ancient pharaohs were buried.

It is also just a five-hour flight away. Value is another trump card. Green fees and hotel rates are well below those of many other destinations. And since stability returned following the popular uprising earlier this year which saw the exit of President Mubarak, there have been fantastic deals from tour operators as hotels have slashed prices to try and lure back visitors.

Throw in the incredible history, sightseeing and other sporting and activity options Egypt also has to offer, and it becomes a compelling place for golfers to visit, either as part of a golfing group or on a family holiday with a few rounds thrown in.

Here’s where you can tee it up in Egypt:

cairo There are now nine golf courses in and around Egypt’s capital. The most dramatic setting of them all is at the Mena House Golf Club, where you can almost reach out and touch history. The Great Pyramid of Cheops towers high above this nine-hole course, originally created in 1889 and now part of the luxury Mena House Oberoi Hotel. Double tees and greens allow rounds of 18 holes.

tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine www.tlm-magazine.co.uk

"1

pack your clubs ■ egypt

■ The new Allegria course Troon Golf

Last year’s opening of Allegria, a signature course

by Greg Norman in the new Sheikh Zayed City community west of Cairo which is managed by Troon Golf, and Sir Nick Faldo’s first layout in Europe, a desert oasis-styled course at Katameya Dunes Golf Resort, has very much upped the ante for quality.

Designed in conjunction with Schmidt-Curley Design, Katameya Dunes features 27 holes playing as two championship 18-hole courses, both over 7,300 yards long. A hotel is planned for 2012. There are academies at both developments.

The 7,108-yard Mirage City Golf Club is part of a 400-acre development which includes the luxury JW Marriott Cairo hotel that offers facilities including floodlit tennis courts and a themed water park boasting Cairo’s only beach.

The Peter Harradine-designed course belies its desert origin, featuring numerous lakes, streams and waterfalls set among lush fairways lined by trees and exotic plants.

“Playing golf in Egypt is a unique experience”

Egypt’s greatest allure for golfers it that it offers so much more. Choose from the history and romance of Cairo, with its iconic pyramids, the Nile and atmospheric Islamic Quarter; Luxor’s grand pharaonic ruins, royal tombs and Nile cruises; Alexandria and the stunning White Med coast; the fascinating deserts and oases of Egypt’s interior, with sights including Mount Sinai and St Catherine’s Monastery; and the Red Sea Riviera, where resorts offer white-sand beaches, hotels ranging from family-friendly to luxury spa retreats, plus shopping, nightlife and activities galore – including world-class diving on the closest coral reef to the UK.

62 tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine

www.tlm-magazine.co.uk

■ Red Sea corals

Egypt Tourist Authority

off-course attractions

The 27-hole Dreamland Golf and Tennis resort, which also includes the Hilton Pyramids hotel, is close to Giza’s pyramids and offers superb views of them, the best from the newer nine-hole addition. The tee markers mimic the nearby pyramids while miniature obelisks imaginatively portray each hole.

In Cairo’s eastern suburbs, Amarante Golf City has a course by French designer Yves Bureau as well as a floodlit driving range and an elegant clubhouse.

Katameya Heights is a private members club but does allow visitors on its undulating 18-hole course. It also has a nine-hole par 35 course. Orange Lakes opened in 2008.

red sea Egypt’s main holiday golf region now has over half a dozen courses. The first, the Jolie Ville Golf & Resort, opened in Sharm el Sheikh in 1998 with the rose-pink Sinai Mountains as a glorious backdrop. Its 18 manmade lakes attract many migrating bird species.

At the top of the Sinai Peninsula looking out over the Gulf of Aqaba to Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel and set between the sea and the stark Sinai Mountains, is Taba Heights Golf Resort. It is part of a purpose-built resort complete with striking, pastel-shaded hotels. You may even have the club’s resident camels as spectators for your final tee shot.

El Gouna is a sister resort to Taba Heights with equally-stylish architecture. Its Gene Bates and Fred Couples course is laced by the lagoons which are a feature of the resort. Just 20 minutes from Hurghada, El Gouna has over a dozen hotels, connected by shuttles, tuk-tuks and water taxis which also transport guests to the Mediterranean-style marina where there is shopping and dining. A second course, by Karl Litten, is being built as part of the adjacent, new Ancient Sands Golf Resort and opens in 2012.

Half an hour south of Hurghada, the upscale resort of Soma Bay is set on a peninsula. Centrepiece is Gary

#ummer(2)**

pack your clubs ■ egypt

egypt golf facts weather Egypt is a year-round golf destination. While winter is the ideal time to play, summers are less fierce and less humid than in the nearby Gulf.

Cairo’s summer day temperatures rarely exceed the mid-30s Celsius and sea breezes temper the heat on coastal courses.

Peter Ellegard

getting there

luxor An undiscovered gem, Luxor’s Royal Valley Golf Club is just 13km from the city and its archaeological treasures, but you may well have the fairways to yourself.

Located on Luxor’s East Bank, it offers generous fairways with water hazards on the front nine and narrower tracks with larger waste areas on the back nine. The clubhouse is an impressive Nubian-style edifice, while evocative tee markers echo the names of the tee positions: King Tut, Ramsis (Ramses), Sphinx and Nefertity (Nefertiti).

mediterranean The 1889-vintage Alexandria Sporting Club is a tranquil oasis amid the hurly burly of Egypt’s second city.

Summer 2011

Tour operators include Longwood Holidays (0844 770 4907, www.longwoodholidays.co.uk), Peltours (0844 770 9960, www.peltours.com), Elegant Golf Resorts (020 8421 7019, www.elegantgolfresorts.com), Golf Breaks (0800 279 7988, www.golfbreaks.com), Supertravel (020 7459 2984, www.supertravel.co.uk) and Golf Planet Holidays (0845 601 2175, www.golfplanetholidays.com).

tourist information Visit the official Egypt tourism website at www.egypt.travel or call 020 7493 5283.

courses cairo Allegria: www.allegriacairo.com Katameya Dunes: www.katameyadunes.com Mirage City Golf Club: http://golf.jwmarriottcairo.com Dreamland Golf & Tennis Resort: www.dreamlandgolf.com

■ Obelisk marker at Dreamland

Peter Ellegard

Player’s stunning Cascades course, described as desert links because it combines both elements. Strips of fairway carve through desert scrub in a figure of eight, with several holes set along the top of low cliffs dramatically edged by the deep-blue sea. A nine-hole par three course and golf academy complement the course.

Among its hotels are the luxury La Residence des Cascades, which houses the huge Les Thermes Marins des Cascades thalassotherapy centre, and the pharaonicstyled Sheraton Soma Bay. Crown jewel in the new tourist resort village of Madinat Makadi, 35km south of Hurghada City, is its 7,500-yard, John Sanford course – one of Egypt’s longest.

Built to USPGA standards, it features three lakes, waterfalls and a meandering stream, while five holes offer views of the ocean and the resort. The five-star Jaz Makadi Golf Hotel is adjacent to the course, with a par-3 executive course and academy the other side.

Ain Soukhna, near the top of the Gulf of Suez, offers Karl Litten-designed The Links at the Stella Mare Golf Resort and a nine-hole course at Jaz Little Venice Golf Resort. Thomson Perrett & Lobb’s El Ein Bay course opens with 18 holes next year.

golf packages

red sea Taba Heights Golf Resort: www.tabaheights.com Maritim Jolie Golf & Resort: www.maritim.com The Cascades at Soma Bay: www.somabay.com El Gouna Golf Club: www.elgouna.com Madinat Makadi Golf Resort: www.madinatmakadigolf.com

luxor Royal Valley Golf Club: www.golfluxor.com

Short by today’s standards, it has small greens and fairways lined by mature trees.

Golf is now being developed at Mediterranean coast resorts, the first new facility being Porto Marina (18 holes played on nine fairways), near El Alamein, where German’s “Desert Fox”, General Rommel, was defeated

by Allied forces in World War II.

■ El Gouna

tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine www.tlm-magazine.co.uk

Peter Ellegard

■ Golfer and camel at Taba Heights

Peltours

■ Madinat Makadi

British Airways (www.ba.com), Egyptair (www.egyptair.com) and bmi (www.flybmi.com) all fly to Cairo. EasyJet (www.easyjet.com) and Egyptair fly to Sharm el Sheikh while several charter airlines serve Sharm, Taba, Hurghada and Luxor from various UK airports.

"!

golf ■ news

Hi ho, silver lining

GOLF CLIPS

T

he economic recession has been bad news for the golf industry, particularly in America, where the number of domestic golfers actively playing fell in 2010 for the third year running.

But for UK golfers heading across the Atlantic, the credit crunch has a silver lining – because a number of private clubs in luxury communities previously off limits to visiting players are now welcoming them to help boost their coffers.

The trend is particularly noticeable in south-west Florida, famed for its top-end golf but much of it impossible for visitors to play.

Now all that is changing, says Gerry Boyle, of the Naples Marco Island Paradise Coast. Speaking at the recent North America Convention of golf tourism industry association IAGTO in Monterey, California, he said: “The area was known in the past for having exclusive golf which was the preserve of people living in those communities. The recession has meant some of those communities have opened up their courses to day visitors.”

Among private clubs which have opened their gates are Fiddlers Creek, Hammock Bay Golf & Country Club and Tuscany Reserve, boasting a course jointly designed by Greg Norman and Pete Dye. Meanwhile, upmarket golf resorts that once restricted play on their courses to guests are also now

■ Turnberry’s Ailsa course

■ Open for visitors: Tiburon

offering tee times to non-residents. They include The Rookery at Marco, the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort for its Tiburon course, the Naples Grande and the Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club.

All that and the area is great value, too, with rounds at top courses in the area averaging just £50 from April to November.

“It’s millionaire’s golf on a budget,” Boyle added.

World measures G

PS technology has helped take the guesswork out of approach shots. Now leading rangefinder maker GolfBuddy has launched its new World model to sit alongside its flagship World Platinum device.

The GolfBuddy World includes many of its big brother’s features, such as a TFT touch screen, overhead hole imaging with distances to the front, middle and back of the green, TouchPoint instant distance measuring, standard and Stableford scoring, and pre-loaded details of 40,000 courses in 100 countries world-

■ The GolfBuddy World

■ The HS1 train

wide. It has a bright, anti-glare 2.7-inch LED screen.

The menu system is accessed by buttons, with scoring and shot details saved purely for the round being played, although the data can be uploaded and stored online.

Unlike some GPS devices, the GolfBuddy World and World Platinum require no annual subscription to download course maps. They are fee-free for life.

The World rangefinder has an RRP of £279 and is available from retailers including American Golf, Online Golf and pro shops. www.gpsgolfbuddy.eu

You can WIN your own GolfBuddy World rangefinder. For details, go to www.tlm-magazine.co.uk and click on Competitions. Terms and conditions apply. Closing date August 15, 2011.

#u%%&r )*++

Improve your game with the help of Europe’s victorious Ryder Cup captain at the Colin Montgomerie Summer Golf School at Scotland’s Turnberry resort.

Monty and his team at the Colin Montgomery Links Golf Academy will help golfers of all skill levels over the threeday course, from August 1921, with a golf clinic by the great Scot, academy sessions and play on all three courses with Turnberry’s pro team.

The fully-inclusive weekend costs from £798. Call 01655 333991 for more information. www.luxurycollection.com/turnberry

Golf fans will be able to speed to the Open Championship from St Pancras International in just 80 minutes thanks to an Open Special, operated by Southeastern using the HS1 high-speed rail link. The train will go directly to Sandwich to leave a short walk to the Open venue, Royal St George’s Golf Club. Halfhourly services will run on all four days of the event, from July 14-17, with connections from the new Olympic Park at Stratford, Ebbsfleet, Ashford and Canterbury.

Return fares cost £38.20. www.southeasternrailways.co.uk

tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine www.tlm-magazine.co.uk

"!

Sailing

A1 Sailing Mallorca Sea School Luxury Sail & Motor Yacht Charter

Warm breezes, crystal sea & sunshine Modern high specification yachts from 32 to 72ft available for charter • RYA practical & theory courses • Beginner to Yachtmaster • Flotilla and bareboat holidays • Dedicated RYA school boats Get more enjoyment from sailing

WWW.A1SAILING.LTD.UK Tel: +34 971 547 986 Email: A1groupmallorca@aol.co.uk

66 tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine

www.tlm-magazine.co.uk

Summer 2011

travel update ■ news

Peter Ellegard reports from US travel show Pow Wow in San Francisco

New York remembers S

completed in 2014.

A 9/11 Memorial preview site is already open, allowing visitors to record their own 9/11 stories.

Open daily with free admission,

it will remain open after the memorial is dedicated on September 11. Memorial visitors will need a time pass during construction work, available from the website at www.911memorial.org, which also includes general information. The memorial is expected to attract between five and seven million visitors a year. ● The Statue of Liberty celebrates its 125th anniversary on October 28. Access to its pedestal and crown will be restricted after that for security upgrades, but Liberty Island will remain open.

Hello sailors

!"##er 2011

SFCVB/Phil Coblentz

S

an Francisco will attract some of the world’s top sailors and fastest boats when it stages the 34th America’s Cup. The city, a favourite for sailing, is already gearing up for the event with major waterfront renovations under way and planned.

The America’s Cup World Series kicks off with the Louis Vuitton Cup from July 13-September 1, 2012, culminating in the America’s Cup Finals from September 7-22, 2013, when the sleek racing craft will vie for the oldest trophy in international sport. Up to 200,000 residents and visitors will be transported to the waterfront each day during the races under a “People Plan” by the city which it promises will make AC34, as it has been dubbed,

■ Yachts by the Golden Gate Bridge

the “most transit, bicycle and pedestrian-friendly major sporting event in history”. For details, go to www.americascup.com.

Next year also sees the 75th anniversary of the landmark Golden Gate Bridge. A year-long series of events has already begun to mark the anniversary, which is on May 27, 2012. More details at www.goldengatebridge75.org.

Universal Orlando

Squared Design Lab

■ How the 9/11Memorial will look

■ The Statue of Liberty is 125 years old in 2012

Marley White

eptember’s 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks will be marked by the opening of a new memorial on the site of the fallen World Trade Centre towers in New York’s Lower Manhattan.

The 9/11 Memorial will consist of two massive pools set in a tree-covered plaza within the original footprints of the Twin Towers, complete with 30-foot waterfalls. The names of the 2,982 men, women and children killed in the September 11, 2001, attacks of New York, at the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania, and in the 1993 World Trade Centre bombing, will be inscribed in bronze on parapets around the edges.

The memorial pools form the first stage of the redevelopment of the 16-acre World Trade Centre site, known as Ground Zero. The 9/11 Memorial Museum, located below the plaza, will open in late 2012.

Rebuilding will continue on the surrounding site, including the construction of 1 World Trade Centre, which will be the tallest building in the US when

■ The Spiderman ride is being re-engineered

Ride on Theme park giant Universal has unveiled major new attractions for its California and Florida parks.

Transformers: The Ride 3D is set to wow visitors to Universal Studios Hollywood from spring 2012. Based on the blockbuster films, it will take riders on an actionpacked adventure in 4K high-definition resolution.

At Universal’s Islands of Adventure, in Orlando, the popular Amazing Adventures of Spiderman ride is being totally re-engineered in 4K HD. And Universal Studios Florida will gain a Despicable Me ride based on the hit cartoon movie, also in 2012, replacing the Jimmy Neutron ride.

Not to be outdone, Disney is undertaking the largest-ever expansion plan for the Magic Kingdom in Orlando, again due in 2012, with other new attractions and hotels in Orlando and at Disneyland in California.

Meanwhile, Florida’s new LEGOLAND park will open on October 15 this year.

tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine www.tlm-magazine.co.uk

*+

travel update ■ news

Cover your big day ■ Insure your wedding – and it will be plain sailing

S

★★★ ★

Shooting stars

One-third of adults undertake a health and wellness activity while on holiday, according to a Mintel health and wellness holidays report – and more resorts are offering spas and sporting activities in response to demand.

Health and Fitness Travel, which provides tailor-made active and wellness holidays worldwide, has found that the five most popular holiday sports are yoga, tennis, cycling, exercise classes and trekking. The top five spa treatments are hot stone massage, facials, body scrubs, Shiatsu and Shirodhara Ayurveda therapy.

Among the company’s top recommendations for spa and sport holidays are Canyon Ranch in Arizona, Longevity Wellness Resort in Portugal and Sugar Ridge in Antigua. For more information, go online and visit www.healthandfitnesstravel.com or call 0845 544 1936.

Sit,

P

stay…

lanning holidays also means added worries about how safe your home will be, what to do with pets without costly kennel bills and tending your plants and gardens, particularly in high summer.

A unique new service offers free house/pet sitting in exchange for providing a place to escape to. Trustedhousesitters.com profiles potential

www.tlm-magazine.co.uk

■ Camel riding in the desert The Adventure Travel Company

Gym and tonic

A

new series of family astronomy holidays has been launched by The Adventure Company, starting with the Active in the Sinai Family Astronomy Tour, departing on August 7.

Aimed at children aged 12 upwards, this eight-day trip combines an action-packed itinerary with the perfect remote location in the Sinai desert to view stars and planets; the annual Perseids meteor shower peaks around August 12.

The itinerary includes a 4x4 safari, sandboarding from the top of the region’s highest dune and a snorkelling safari, plus two nights’ star-gazing. Prices, from £939 per person, include flights and seven nights’ accommodation.

For more information on the astronomy tour or to book, call 0845 287 1198 or go online at www.adventurecompany.co.uk/astronomy.

■ Leave your pets in good hands

Trustedhousesitters.com

Health and Fitness Travel

■ Spa breaks are very popular

6" tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine

P&O Cruises

taysure, the over 50s insurance expert has a new wedding cover policy add-on for its popular travel insurance policy as the growth in overseas weddings for both young and old grows. More than 57,000 couples exchanged vows overseas in 2010, according to research company Mintel.

The policy upgrade costs less than £50 and provides cover for up to £3,500 including missing wedding rings, damaged wedding clothes and loss of wedding gifts.

Staysure’s annual multi-trip policies are a flexible, cost-effective way to insure your

travel throughout the whole year, and allow up to 183 days travel during the year. They cover policy holders for up to 35 days at a time, from short breaks to cruises.

All of Staysure’s policies cover more than 220 pre-existing medical ailments, at no extra cost. For quotes call 0844 692 8264 using the quote reference CTLM, or visit www.staysure.co.uk. ● We have teamed up with Staysure to give away a Comprehensive Worldwide Annual Multi-Trip Travel Insurance policy for one lucky couple – worth up to £450. For your chance to WIN, go to www.tlmmagazine.co.uk and click on Competitions.

Terms and conditions apply. Closing date August 15, 2011.

sitters including veterinary staff, retired police and magis-

trates who want to look after homes and pets to save on the cost of holiday accommodation worldwide. Homeowners can securely advertise and search for sitters and can also view references and police check information to help give peace of mind.

Homeowners and house sitters pay a small subscription (£10 for a month, to £40 for a year’s membership), although homeowners only pay if they find an ideal sitter. Details at www.trustedhousesitters.com.

#$%%er 2011

Summer 2011

tlm â&#x2013; the travel & leisure magazine www.tlm-magazine.co.uk 69

10 of the best ■ uk beaches

Pure shores As summer beckons, many will be packing towels, parasols and flip flops to head to the coast. Here’s our pick of British beaches for those lazy, hazy days 1 Holkham Estate

2. South Devon: Blackpool Sands,

near Dartmouth

The wow factor: With its golden sands cupped by pine-topped cliffs and lapped by crystal-clear water, you could almost be in the Mediterranean. A Blue Flag winner in 2010, Blackpool Sands is privately-managed and is cleaned daily.

Activities: Supervised sand pits and lifeguards help make it one of the area’s most popular family beaches.

Water sports include kayaking and boogie boarding, while you can rent surf-skis or hire a wetsuit and snorkel to explore the waters. Walkers can enjoy the adjacent South West Coast Path. The sub-tropical

70 tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine

www.tlm-magazine.co.uk

Visit South Devon

of the be UK bea st: ches

The wow factor: One of the country’s most unspoilt and beautiful stretches of beach, you can follow in the footsteps of Gwyneth Paltrow, who walked across its sands at low tide in the closing scenes of the movie, Shakespeare in Love. Four miles of golden sands are edged by grassy dunes, creeks and saltings home to many rare flora and fauna species.

The beach forms part of Holkham National Nature Reserve, one of the UK’s largest nature reserves.

Activities: Visit nearby stately home Holkham Hall.

See colonies of seals and terns in Blakely National Nature Reserve. Watch glassmaking demonstrations at Langham Glass. Take a trip on the narrow-gauge, steam Wells and Walsingham Light Railway.

Stay: The Victoria Hotel (www.holkham.co.uk/victoria) is located on the coast road, a 10-minute walk from Holkham Beach. It is known for its relaxed, colonial feel, with furniture from Rajasthan and Victorianthemed, individually-designed rooms. www.holkham.co.uk

2 Blackpool Gardens, a restored 19th century plantsman’s garden, are nearby.

Stay: A range of accommodation is right on the doorstep. Family-run Stoke Lodge Hotel (www.stokelodge.co.uk) is in the neighbouring village of Stoke Fleming. Camping and caravanning and rental holiday cottages are also available in the area. www.visitsouthdevon.co.uk

3. Dorset: Sandbanks Beach, Poole

The wow factor: Winner of more Blue Flags than any other UK resort – it has held the coveted International

Poole Tourism

10

1. Norfolk: Holkham Beach

3

Summer 2011

10 of the best ■ uk beaches

Northumberland Tourism

Blue Flag accolade for the past 22 years – Sandbanks is one of five beaches in Poole and comprises three miles of soft, golden sands on a peninsula ranking as Britain’s most expensive piece of real estate. Thankfully, you don’t need to be a millionaire to enjoy its glorious sands.

Activities: Cycle along the beach promenade to Branksome Dene Chine and on to neighbouring Bournemouth. Swim and windsurf off the beach. Take the chain ferry to visit the National Trust’s Studland Beach and Nature Reserve. Sandbanks Beach hosts the British Beach Polo Championships each July.

Stay: The Sandbanks Hotel (www.fjbhotels.co.uk) is right on the beach and offers a terrace with direct beach access, indoor pool, gym, beauty rooms and a water sports academy. www.pooletourism.com

4

Isles of Scilly Travel

5 family-friendly, four-star Georgian hotel set in its own grounds with a maze, pool, leisure centre and spa. www.bamburgh.org.uk

5. Northumberland: Bamburgh Beach The wow factor: Overlooked by the famous castle – one of Northumberland’s most iconic sights – this gem is a long, sandy beach which offers beautiful views of Holy Island and the Farne Islands.

Activities: The beach never gets packed and its smooth sands make it perfect for beach cricket or rounders.

Behind the beach are sand dunes which are great fun for children to play on. Take a boat trip to the Farne Islands where you can see puffins.

Stay: Less than nine miles from Bamburgh, Doxford Hall (www.doxfordhall.com), near Alnwick is a

S"##$r 2011

6 6. Cornwall: Carbis Bay Beach, St Ives

The wow factor: Mile-long Carbis Bay’s beach is the quiet, lesser-known neighbour to bustling resort St Ives, just a three-minute train ride or 20-minute walk away. A Blue Flag beach of golden sands and turquoise sea, its exquisite beauty was the inspiration for sculptor Barbara Hepworth, whose home overlooked the bay.

Activities: Carbis Bay is ideal for families with its safe bathing and lifeguards in summer. Paddle in the clear waters or build sandcastles on the beach. The more active can go surfing, fishing, sailing and windsurfing, hike the South West Coast Path, ride the scenic rail line to St Ives or take a boat trip to Seal Island.

Stay: The luxury Carbis Bay Hotel (www.carbisbayhotel.co.uk) has a dramatic waterfront location with direct access to the beach. Carbis Bay Holidays (www.carbisbayholidays.co.uk) offers beach-front apartments to luxury villas, including one with an outdoor hot tub. www.visitcornwall.com

Herm Island

The wow factor: A crescent of white sand sloping gently into the sea, this stunning family beach lies close to Higher Town on the magical Scillies island of St Martin’s and is perfect for a picnic under the sun.

Activities: Safe swimming, relaxing walks or just laying back in the long grasses, you can be as energetic or inactive as you want on Par Beach.

Stay: Just a short walk from Par Beach, St Martin’s on the Isle (www.stmartinshotel.co.uk) opened in 1989 after the island’s landlord, Prince Charles, gave permission for it to be built two years earlier. The only hotel on St Martin’s, it nestles into a hillside to resemble a cluster of granite cottages and has its own quay. www.simplyscilly.co.uk

Carbis Bay Holidays

4. Scilly Isles: Par Beach, Higher Town, St Martin’s

■ Shell Beach, Herm

tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine www.tlm-magazine.co.uk

*1

10 of the best ■ uk beaches

9 9. Channel Islands: Shell Beach, Herm

7. Channel Islands: Plemont Beach,

The wow factor: Measuring just a mile and a half long and half a mile wide, Herm boasts several exquisite beaches, with Shell Beach being the pick of them. The sweep of golden sand stretches almost three-quarters of a mile to Herm’s northern tip and around to duneflanked sandy bays. It is named for the millions of tiny shells washed up by the Gulf Stream.

Activities: There are no cars on Herm, so walking is popular. You can go kayaking, fishing, charter a boat, go on an island RIB wildlife adventure, tour Herm’s gardens and discover its history. Go rock pooling on the beach.

Stay: Herm has one 40-bedroom hotel, 20 holiday cottages and two campsites. Stays at the White House Hotel, including sea or air travel, are offered by Channel Islands Direct (www.channelIslandsdirect.co.uk). www.herm.com

Jersey

The wow factor: Unsung compared to more illustrious south coast beaches, such as St Brelade and Portelet Bay, Plemont on Jersey’s north-west coast is a little beauty. You’ll need to get there before high tide as it gets completely covered; however, at other times it is a stretch of fine sand hemmed in by rocks. There are also fascinating caves to explore and a stream with a waterfall on the western side of the beach.

Activities: Children can go rock pooling to hunt for crabs and other sea creatures, or play in the shallow lagoons left on the beach by the retreating tide. Bodyboarding is popular on the surf waves when there is too much swell for swimming.

Stay: Book a self-catering apartment close to the beach or make it a decadent break and stay in one of St Helier’s luxury hotels, such as the Grand Hotel (www.grandjersey.com) or chic boutique property The Club Hotel & Spa (www.theclubjersey.com). www.jersey.com

VisitCornwall

7

Herm Island

Jersey Tourism

B&B with a relaxing café/bar and restaurant. www.visitpembrokeshire.com

8 8. Wales: Marloes Sands, Pembrokeshire Do you know of a better British beach?

Tell us on tlm’s Facebook page: http://bit.ly/tlm_facebook – and see our suggestions for 10 of the rest.

The wow factor: A huge expanse of sand at low tide with rocks and interesting cliff formations; rock pools can be found at the western end of the beach. At high tide the beach can disappear altogether, but at low tide, there’s plenty to explore. The rock strata have divided the beach up into little “bays” for added privacy.

Activities: Climb over the rocks at the western end to discover Albion Sands, a perfect little sandy beach. At low tide you can see the remains of a wrecked ship sticking out of the sand.

Stay: The Clock House, in the village of Marloes (www.clockhousemarloes.co.uk), is a contemporary

*2 tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine

www.tlm-magazine.co.uk

Visit Pembrokeshire

10 10. Cornwall: Bedruthan Steps Beach, Mawgan Porth

The wow factor: Located on Cornwall’s rugged north coast, this drop-dead-gorgeous beach is one of the southwest’s most photographed and is named for the giant granite rocks which, according to folklore, were the stepping stones for a Cornish giant. It is only accessible at low tide via steep steps, so is only suitable for the fit and agile. But that makes it very quiet even in summer.

Activities: Limited at the beach because access is restricted but then with such views, who cares? The South West Coast Path skirts the beach. The nearby National Trust car park offers welcome snacks and the obligatory Cornish cream tea. For finer fare, Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen restaurant is just 10 minutes away at Watergate Bay. Stay: Set on the cliff side, the Bedruthan Steps Hotel (www.bedruthan.com) was named Cornwall’s hotel of the year in 2010. www.visitcornwall.com

!"##er 2011

Summer 2011

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checking out ■ accommodation

C’est chic

hotel news

Luxury all-suite hotel The Wellesley, opening in London’s Knightsbridge in November 2012, will include an intimate jazz room featuring both established and up-andcoming artists, paying homage to the popular jazz club housed in the original 1920s Art Deco building. The 36-room townhouse property aims to become London’s first six-star hotel.

74 tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine

www.tlm-magazine.co.uk

Malmaison

■ The Edinburgh Mal

■ The Top Suite at Blakes

Drakes of Brighton

Macdonald Hotels has rooms from just £49 per person per night at any of its 48 UK hotels and resorts in a summer break deal. Book by August 31 for stays until September 5. Sunday-Thursday stays get an extra £15 voucher per room per stay. Properties range from city, spa and golf hotels to the Macdonald Aviemore in the Scottish Highlands. www.macdonaldhotels.co.uk/summer

T

■ Elegant bath at Drakes

■ The lobby at the Bristol Hotel

■ Town Hall Hotel building

Town Hall Hotel

Surrey coaching inn The Talbot, in Ripley, and nearby Michelin-starred restaurant Drake’s at the Clock House have teamed up to offer the “ultimate gourmet break”. The two-night Ripley Dining Experience includes an eightcourse tasting menu at Drake’s, dinner at The Talbot and full English breakfast both days. The £410 price for two, saving over £100, includes free entry to the RHS Garden Wisley. www.thetalbotinn.com

hey are all the rage at the moment – and boutique hotels are set to continue growing.

“Consumers are demanding the level of service that the previous generation expected. We are moving back into an era of wanting quality service and the wow factor – and boutique hotels have that,” said Tim Smith, London director of consultancy firm HVS at the recent inaugural Boutique Hotel Summit in London.

There is no clear definition of boutique hotels but they are generally small and intimate luxury hotels typically offering less than 100 rooms and often with funky interiors. Staff wearing black t-shirts was popularised by the trendy Metropolitan London (www.metropolitan.london.como.bz).

The phenomenon was born in London in 1978, when actress-turned-designer Anouska Hempel converted a group of South Kensington Victorian houses into Blakes (www.blakeshotels.com), its 48 rooms boasting exotic ethnic décor drawn from her travels. She also created 50-room The Hempel (www.the-hempel.co.uk), a minimalist, Zeninspired retreat which has hosted the Brit Awards after party.

Among large hotel groups getting in on the London scene are InterContinental, with its Hotel Indigo (www.hipaddington.com) near Paddington, and Marriott, which bought the Berners Hotel and is reopening it under its Edition Hotels brand (www.editionhotels.com) launched with boutique hotel pioneer Ian Schrager.

Properties often have unlikely previous existences. Opened last year, the Town Hall Hotel & Apartments (www.townhallhotel.com) is the former Bethnal Green Town Hall in London’s East End. It offers 98 rooms and apartments within its imposing Neoclassical exterior, with wide marble halls and staircases and the ornate former council chamber now a public room.

Guests can enjoy a stay at several places where predecessors had less freedom. In London, myhotel Chelsea (www.myhotels.com) was previously a police station while Doubletree by Hilton’s Courthouse Hotel (www.courthouse-hotel.com) is the former Great Marlborough Street Magistrates’ Court, once graced by Mick Jagger, John Lennon and Oscar Wilde.

Hotel group Malmaison (www.malmaison.com) has even turned Oxford Prison into a boutique hotel (www.oxfordprison.co.uk), giving it a decadent interior past inmates could only dream of. It is one of 12 properties the company has around the UK,

Blakes

Bespoke Hotels

focus: boutique hotels

Doyle Collection

among them a converted Glasgow Episcopal church.

Sister group Hotel du Vin (www.hotelduvin.com) will have 15 hotels countrywide when it opens its St Andrews Golf Hotel overlooking the 18th hole on the Old Course this year. All feature quintessentiallyBritish styling.

Other boutique hotels in great locations include Drakes of Brighton (www.drakesofbrighton.com), a townhouse right on the seafront with 20 contemporary rooms and the Doyle Collection’s Bristol Hotel (www.doylecollection.com), on Bristol’s vibrant quayside.

Summer 2011

■ Stern exterior

HOME

High bar The Kinmel Arms, Abergele, Conwy

D

Photos: Kodiak Greenwood

riving up to the Kinmel Arms in rural North Wales, you could mistake it for an austere vicarage, with its pebbledashed walls and stone mullioned windows.

A sign above the porch entrance gives a clue and the front door opens onto a bar. Its cask beers have won awards from the

real ale buffs at CAMRA, yet this is no simple country pub.

Check the wine list; no less than 19 house wines served by the glass or bottle, with finer wines available from its cellar which complement the restaurant’s food.

And pub grub it ain’t. This is cordon bleu cuisine of the very highest order – and is what sets

Photos: The Kinmel Arms

checking out ■ hotel reviews

■ Luxury bathrooms

factbox The Kinmel Arms St George, Abergele, Conwy LL22 9BP Tel: 01745 832207 www.thekinmelarms.co.uk Rooms from £135 per night B&B

best for ● Great food ● Tranquility ● Cosy rooms could do better ● Hard to fault

the Kinmel Arms apart from your average, rustic hostelry. That and the fact that it also offers accommodation in beautifully-appointed rooms. The owners describe it as a restaurant with rooms. It certainly sets the bar high.

There are just four rooms, all suites. My one, Pebble, was a spacious haven (it was totally sound-proof) with a hand-crafted, king-size oak bed, desk and sofa, plus a luxurious porcelain and marble bathroom and a small oak balcony. Original artwork by coowner Tim Watson – pictures made from pebbles – adorned the walls.

Your fridge is stocked with all manner of breakfast goodies while you dine, so much that it also made a picnic lunch for the road. Dinner itself was a gastronomic delight of locally-sourced produce rounded off with a platter of Welsh cheeses.

Just off the main A55 trunk road, the Kinmel Arms makes a great base for walking the pretty surrounding countryside – to work up an appetite for dinner.

Peter Ellegard

Cliff hanger Post Ranch Inn, Big Sur, California AWAY

■ Tree house

factbox Post Ranch Inn Big Sur, California Tel: 00 1 831 667 2200 www.postranchinn.com Rooms from $595 mountain view and $1,125 sea view B&B

best for ● Stunning views ● Rustic luxury ● Escapism could do better ● Limited menu

S"##$r 2011

■ Infinity pool

Set high on Big Sur’s redwood-forested cliffs, the Post Ranch Inn is famed for its stunning Pacific views and I eagerly anticipated the spectacle.

As I parked, the GPS read almost 1,000 feet. I was still sipping the champagne I was given at check-in while the bellman drove me and my luggage up to my luxury, cliff-top bungalow in a Range Rover.

My wood-clad suite occupied one floor, with floor-to-ceiling glass facing the ocean. I could laze in the bath, gazing out through the picture window, or sit in the stainless steel hot tub on

■ Ocean views

the curved veranda with a glass of red or white wine, kindly provided for guests.

All out of sight by anyone.

Unfortunately, so was the Pacific. My visit had coincided with unseasonably bad weather, and it was pouring with rain. Clouds enveloped everything at times, we were so high; it was too cold even for the

hot tub. So I lit the fire.

The normally-spectacular sunset view from the Sierra Mar restaurant, perched on stilts on the cliff edge, was also shrouded. But the sumptuous food made up for it although, being picky, the fixed-price $110 dinner was short on choice.

Thankfully, next morning, the sun broke through to reveal superlative vistas. A condor even languorously drifted past, dwarfing the skittish turkey vultures.

A unique eco-escape, the resort has 39 rooms offering either sea or mountain views, including triangular tree houses. There’s a spa, infinity meditation pool and activities including yoga, guided hikes and star gazing.

Forget the weather – I’m still on cloud nine.

Peter Ellegard

tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine www.tlm-magazine.co.uk

*+

We invite you to experience a friendly, relaxed atmosphere in a unique, idyllic setting

“Award winning hotel on its own beach” The Sands Hotel of Rosamund Pilcher’s novels and films

• Fully equipped en-suite rooms with child listening & room service • Unsurpassed sea views • Games & snooker room • Outdoor heated swimming pool & sun terrace • Direct access to our own beach • AA rosetted restaurant with superb choice of menu and wines • Sea view holiday houses & bungalows available • Rail access • Ample parking • New Suite Apartments and Cottages Bed & Breakfast from £75 per person per night

Perfect for Summer Breaks in Bournemouth

Tel: (01736) 795311 (5 lines) Fax: (01736) 797677 email: info@carbisbayhotel.co.uk

Located in the exclusive area of Alum Chine – minutes walk to Blue Flag beaches.

We offer stylish modern accommodation with superb food from local produce, service and views over Poole Bay. It’s the perfect base to relax and sunbathe or explore and discover Dorset and the surrounding areas.

75 bedrooms and 10 holidays apartments Indoor & Outdoor leisure club Games room & pool table Live entertainment Alum Chine, Bournemouth BH4 8JF T: 01202 763653 E: info@rivierabournemouth.co.uk

www.carbisbayselfcatering.co.uk

www.rivierabournemouth.co.uk

AA Rosette for outstanding cuisine

CARBIS BAY · ST IVES · CORNWALL · TR26 2NP

www.carbisbayhotel.co.uk

Overlooking Porth beach and the stunning North Cornish coastline, Glendorgal Hotel and Self Catering is set in a secluded coastal position within 17 acres of private headland, yet only a short stroll from Newquay town centre.

Ƈ Choice of hotel rooms or 2 & 3 bedroom self catering houses Ƈ 2 night stays available in self catering Ƈ Watermark Brasserie and Bar Ƈ Health Club with fitness arena Ƈ Swimming Pool Ƈ Hot tub Ƈ Sauna Ƈ Steam Room Ƈ Free Parking

10% off all bookings made before 1 September 2011 and 15% off quote all new bookings for 2012 made before 1 February 2012 Please reference TLM Lusty Glaze Road, Porth, Newquay, Cornwall, TR7 3AD | Call now on 01637 874937

E-mail: info@glendorgal.co.uk | www.glendorgalhotel.co.uk | www.glendorgalselfcatering.co.uk

76 tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine

www.tlm-magazine.co.uk

Summer 2011

The Devon Hotel with a Different Outlook...

Summer 2011

tlm â&#x2013; the travel & leisure magazine www.tlm-magazine.co.uk 77

london life ■ budget london

The best things

in life are FREE

■ Exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery

Taking in London's best attractions needn’t cost the earth

N

visitlondonimages/britainonview

■ The Reading Room at the British Museum

78 tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine

www.tlm-magazine.co.uk

museums London is home to some of the best museums in the world and most are free.

The Natural History Museum is one of London’s best loved, with the dinosaur exhibits being particularly popular with children (the dinosaur gallery reopens on July 23). Other highlights include the new Darwin Centre with its Cocoon experience and the high-tech Attenborough Studio. www.nhm.ac.uk Founded in 1753, the British Museum was the first national public museum in the world, granting free admission from the outset to all “studious and curious persons”. Highlights include the glorious Reading Room and the Rosetta Stone. www.britishmuseum.org

visitlondonimages/britainonview

■ The Natural History Museum

visitlondonimages/ britainonview

ot everything in our capital city is expensive; indeed, London has an incredible range of free attractions, making a day out, or a weekend, on a limited budget, very easy to do. From London’s fabulous parks, to world-class museums and amazing art galleries, there are some fantastic free experiences to be had in London.

Where else can you meet dinosaurs and creepy crawlies, see the Rosetta Stone, travel back to the Second World War or visit the Apollo 10 command module, all without having to put your hand in your pocket?

Add to that, inexpensive eateries and good value shopping, and you have our guide to London on a shoestring:

The Museum of London is an amalgamation of the Guildhall Museum, founded in 1826, and the London Museum. Housing the largest archaeological archive in Europe, the museum tells the story of London’s turbulent past. www.museumoflondon.org.uk From Stephenson’s Rocket to the Apollo 10 command module, you can encounter the past, present and future at the Science Museum (www.sciencemuseum.org.uk) or relive life at war, from the First World War onwards, at the Imperial War Museum. www.iwm.org.uk

galleries With everything from Old Masters to contemporary, modern art, London has an art gallery to suit everyone; most are free.

The National Gallery displays Western European paintings from artists such as Botticelli and Leonardo da Vinci; famous works include Sunflowers by Van Gogh and the Hay Wain by Constable. www.nationalgallery.org.uk

Summer 2011

With over 5,000 restaurants to choose from, how do you know which London eateries offer the best value for you and your family? You can’t go wrong if you pick a familiar “chain” restaurant such as Wagamama, with over 30 London branches, or Gourmet Burger Kitchen for an upmarket, yet good-value American burger.

For something a little different, yet still good value, try Comptoir Libanais (020 7935 1110) in Marylebone for Lebanese home cooking, Beatroot cafe (020 7437 8591) in Soho, for the best in vegetarian, or the Stockpot restaurant (020 7839 5142) in Panton Street for good old British fayre, at great prices.

money-saving tips ● Buy a combination ticket for some of London’s key attractions, such as the London Eye and Madame Tussauds. ● Get a London Pass and save on entrance to key attractions as well as discounts on shopping and eating. www.londonpass.com ● Check out the special offers available before you visit at www.visitlondon.com – new lists are added daily for discounts on food, shopping, attractions and entertainment.

shopping

suits you

■ Camden market

Away from expensive designer shops, you can still pick up some bargains on a London shopping trip. Markets, such as Petticoat Lane (Monday-Friday 10am4.30pm, Sunday 9am-2pm) and Camden Market (daily 10am-6pm) offer great value shopping, as do the high street chains. But how about a charity shop?

Manolo Blahniks have been spotted in the British Red Cross shop in Chelsea, for example... For more designer wares at bargain prices, check out http://designersales.co.uk for a list of sample sales – the next London one is July 8-9 at Chelsea Town Hall.

visitlondonimages/britainonview

visitlondonimages/britainonview

■ Deckchairs in Hyde Park

Summer 2011

● For cheap sightseeing, catch the London bus route 4; it goes past Waterloo, the Houses of Parliament, Fleet Street, St Paul’s Cathedral and the ■ St James’s Park Barbican. ● The Royal Parks celebrate their 160th anniversary of free public access in 2011; before the Crown Lands Act was passed, they were private royal gardens. ● Hyde Park was the starting point for more than 1,000 people taking part in a free, naked bike ride in June, taking in nine miles of London’s landmarks. ● The treasures contained in the British Museum span two million years of world civilisation.

eating out

parks and gardens

What better way to enjoy London for free than taking some time to explore its parks and gardens; with historical connotations as well as easy access to key London landmarks, they are the ideal place for that inexpensive picnic lunch. www.royalparks.gov.uk One of the best known is the 350-acre Hyde Park with its large lake, meadow and ornamental flower gardens, as well as the Diana Memorial Fountain and the Serpentine Bridge. Enjoy swimming, boating and cycling and, on a Sunday, hear London’s most vocal orators at Speaker’s Corner. Open: Daily from 5ammidnight.

St James’s Park is the perfect London retreat; it is home to pelicans, owls and bats, yet has numerous royal, political and literary associations. There are also free early evening and lunchtime weekend concerts throughout July and August.

Open: Daily from 5am-midnight.

Green Park is St James’s Park’s more peaceful neighbour, with its mature trees

did you know? visitlondonimages/britainonview

The world’s largest collection of personalities and faces, from Henry VIII to Lily Allen, are on view at the National Portrait Gallery. www.npg.org.uk Tate Modern is home to modern and contemporary art, in the contemporarylooking former power station building, with artists ranging from Damien Hirst to Gauguin, while Tate Britain houses the largest collection of British art in the world with work from the last five centuries, most notably masterpieces from Gainsborough and Constable, and the Turner collection of 300 paintings. www.tate.org.uk

and grassland. It was a famous duelling site until 1667 and borders Constitution Hill, which owes its name to Charles II and his frequent “constitutionals”. Open: Daily from 5am-midnight.

The 275 acres of Kensington Gardens consist of formal avenues of trees and ornamental flower beds, including the Italian Garden. Its two playgrounds include the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Playground and there is summer entertainment for children and free bandstand recitals. Open: Daily from 6am-midnight.

For families: London’s public transport system is an ideal way to get around as children under 10 can travel for free on buses, tubes, Docklands Light Railway and trams.

For couples: visit the world-famous tkts booth in Leicester Square for an inexpensive night out at one of London’s top theatres.

For value: Afternoon tea in London is a tradition and even this can be done on a budget; try Bea's of Bloomsbury’s tea for just £15 per person (0207 242 8330).

For luxury: Before choosing your cheap dinner ■ Sizing up venue, head for happy the menu hour and get two-forone cocktails; Covent Garden makes the ideal venue – check out Maxwell’s, Navajo Joe’s or Belushi’s.

visitlondonimages/britainonview

■ Display at Tate Modern

visitlondonimages/britainonview

london life ■ budget london

tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine www.tlm-magazine.co.uk

79

london ■ news

Lights, camera, action

Greenwich Comedy Festival

The tranquil grounds of the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich will resound to laughter again this September as the Greenwich Comedy Festival returns for its third year. Headline acts will include multi-award winning British-Iranian comedian Omid Dhalili, cockney funny guy Micky Flanagan, one-liner specialist and Mock the Week favourite Milton Jones and QI regular Sean Lock, as well as US comic Rich Hall.

Tickets start from just £15 ■ Omid Dhalili per show and bars, food stalls and live music are all available throughout the week (September 5-11). www.greenwichcomedyfestival.co.uk

Going batty

WWT

WWT London Wetland Centre is offering children the chance to take part in two Night Safaris on August 18 and 24. As well as building a den and making a fire, the evening ends with a dusk bat walk and is suitable for children aged seven and over. The cost is £20 per child; accompanying adults go free.

Booking is essential and the price includes admission to the centre after 6pm. For more information, go to ■ Den building www.wwt.org.uk.

80 tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine

www.tlm-magazine.co.uk

■ Gladiators in combat

Caesar the day W

ith the 2012 Olympic Games just a year away, the Museum of London is hosting a Roman Gladiator Games re-creation on Saturday, July 30, and Sunday, July 31.

A full-scale Gladiator arena will be built in Guildhall Yard above the historical Roman amphitheatre, unearthed by Museum of London archaeologists in 1988, with two hourlong shows on each day managed by re-enactment group Britannia, who

worked on Ridley Scott’s Gladiator.

Londinium will also be brought to life with re-created street scenes featuring everyday Roman Londoners from soldiers and slaves to doctors and musicians.

The games are part of the Festival of Archaeology, which has a range of free family and adult events with tours of the Guildhall amphitheatre also available.

Tickets for the games are £15 for adults, £12 for concessions and £10 for children. www.museumoflondon.org.uk

Animal antics F

ollowing the sell-out success of the 2010 series, ZSL London Zoo’s Zoo Lates events will take place every Friday night in July.

The zoo will be open, to over 18s only, from 6pm to 10pm with live bands on the lawn, an improvised comedy performance in the aquarium, a burlesqueinspired Twisted Cabaret and the Silent Disco, where revellers can dance next to the flamingos.

Animal feeds and

■ A night at the zoo

ZSL/zsl.org

Comic relief

Museum of London

Sony Pictures Animation/Aardman

A major new film event is coming to London’s O2 from August 1214 courtesy of Empire, the ■ Hugh Grant's world’s biggest pirate selling movie captain magazine, and Clarion Events.

Empire presents BIG SCREEN will offer the public a first look at the biggest and most anticipated films before they hit the cinema. Visitors will be able to see exclusive early footage of upcoming blockbusters, including Hugh Grant’s first foray into animation as the pirate captain in the Aardman film, The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists. Other highlights include exciting live entertainment in the Live Special FX Arena, movie master classes and original props, costumes and memorabilia. Tickets start from £35; for more information, go to www.empirebigscreen.com.

demonstrations as well as keeper talks are all on offer and the Eat Street Collective, an organisation that celebrates street food

vendors, will provide hot and tasty food to this visit to the zoo with a grown-up twist. Ticket details from www.zsl.org/zoolates.

Summer 2011

Summer 2011

tlm â&#x2013; the travel & leisure magazine www.tlm-magazine.co.uk 81

out & about ■ what’s on and where

Summer in Britain is epitomised by festivals, and not just the well-known music ones. We look at festivals celebrating music, food, comedy and even beer...

T

■ Faversham Hop Festival ■ Spitfire steam train

Shepherd Neame

he Faversham Hop Festival in Kent celebrates its 21st anniversary this year, recalling the days when hop-pickers travelled from London by train to take their annual working holiday in Kent to bring in the harvest.

This free family event, on September 3-4, attracts more than 20,000 people, with stalls lining the streets of Faversham featuring local food, drink and arts and crafts as well as three live music stages showcasing folk bands, rock bands and the best local musicians. Morris dancers will perform in the town centre.

The event is sponsored by Britain’s oldest brewer, Shepherd Neame, which, as well as offering brewery tours and special hoppers’ lunches over the weekend, also operates a day trip on the Spitfire steam train from Victoria, made up of

historic carriages featuring a real ale bar.

Advance booking for the train, guided brewery tours and lunch at the brewery is

Shepherd Neame

Hop to it

essential. For more information and tickets, go to www.shepherdneame.co.uk. For festival details, go to: www.favershamhopfestival.org. ● We have teamed up with Shepherd Neame and have two pairs of return tickets in Hopper’s Class, worth £64.50 each, for the Spitfire steam train from Victoria to Faversham on Sunday, September 4. For your chance to WIN, go to www.tlm-magazine.co.uk and click on Competitions. Terms and conditions apply.

Closing date August 21, 2011.

Entertainment with a Latitude

Hooray for Henley

The market town of Henley, synonymous with the Royal Regatta, takes on a glamorous air for a week in early July when the 29th annual Henley Festival takes place on one of the most scenic stretches of the River Thames.

Tom Jones kicks off proceedings in a sell-out concert on July 6 and the five-night black-tie event also features Jools Holland, Alexandra Burke, operaboyband Blake and Abba Symphonic, who will be performing from a floating stage on the river.

A spectacular firework display takes place at around 10pm each evening, while live musicians keep the music flowing until 1.30am at Chinawhite night club. For more information and tickets, go to www.henley-festival.co.uk.

"! tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine

www.tlm-magazine.co.uk

T

Latitude Festival

Henley Festival

■ Down by the river at the Henley Festival

he sixth annual Latitude Festival takes place in the heart of the Suffolk countryside from July 14-17, bringing together the best in music, literature, comedy, poetry, dance and opera for 2011’s bigger and better event.

Musical headliners include Paolo Nutini, Seasick Steve, Rumer, KT Tunstall and Suede, with the likes of Alan Carr, Omid Djalili and Marcus Brigstocke taking to the stage in the comedy arena.

Dance troupes presented by Sadlers Wells include the Olivier Award-winning Rambert Dance Company who will

■ Relaxing at Latitude

appear on the fabulous Waterfront Stage, while the best in theatre, poetry and even fashion will fill the remaining arenas.

Day tickets start at £70.

For more information on the line-ups and ticket details, go online to www.latitudefestival.co.uk.

Su%%er(!0**

out & about ■ what’s on and where

Roman Baths

Whitstable Oyster Festival Whitstable Oyster Festival

■ Crabbing competition

Cambridge City Council

he feast day of the patron saint of oysters, James of Compostela, falls on July 25, in the middle of the annual Oyster Festival in Whitstable.

The Kent festival, from July 23-29, traditionally opens with the Landing of the Oysters ceremony, when oysters are brought ashore and blessed by clergy.

A costume parade follows with music that takes the oysters to the local inns and restaurants in the seaside town, following tradition dating from Norman times when fishermen and dredgers held a thanksgiving for their survival and the oyster harvest. The Oyster Festival now has a food fair plus oyster-eating, kiteflying and crabbing competitions and, at night, locals build “grotters” on the beach – hollow mounds of sand or mud decorated with oyster shells and lit by candles.

For more information, go to www.whitstableoysterfestival.com.

■ Fun at the Cambridge Folk Festival

Old folk’s home again

F

irst held in 1965, when a littleknown American folk singer called Paul Simon played before 1,400 people, the 47th Cambridge Folk Festival – one of the oldest and most famous events on the folk, country and world music scene – will be held from July 28-31 at the original venue in the grounds of Cherry Hinton Hall.

Now attracting around 18,000 people, the four-day festival welcomes traditional folk artists from the UK such as Rumer

S$%%&r 2011

The Roman Baths in the city of Bath, one of the great wonders of Roman Britain unearthed in the late 19th century and opened to visitors in 1897, have been newly ■ The Great renovated and this Bath at dusk summer will be open until 10pm every night.

The Great Bath, lined with 45 sheets of lead and filled with hot spa water to a depth of five feet, is the centrepiece of the Roman attraction and will be lit by flame torches in the evenings.

Voted the most romantic building in Britain last year by the Royal Institute of British Architects, the Roman Baths building includes the Sacred Spring, dating from pre-Roman Times and the Roman Temple, built in 60-70AD. The Roman Baths are open daily 9am-6pm, admission £12 adults, £7.80 children 6-16, £34 family ticket. In July and August, they will be open to 10pm, admission £12.50.

For more details, go to: www.romanbaths.co.uk.

and Pentangle as well as American country, blues and roots artists, including Mary Chapin Carpenter and blues guitarist Robert Cray.

Other activities include juggling workshops, morris dancing and street theatre.

The event is being broadcast on BBC Radio 2 and will be televised this year by Sky Arts.

Tickets start from just £18; for more information on the event, go to www.cambridgefolkfestival.co.uk.

Swanning around The tradition of Swan Upping, the annual census of the swan population on the River Thames, dates back to Medieval times when mute swans were claimed as royal birds.

During the third week of July, the team of Swan Uppers, who wear the scarlet uniform of Her Majesty the Queen, travel along the river from Sunbury to Abingdon in six wooden skiffs. The Queen’s Swan Marker and the Queen’s Swan Warden count the number of young cygnets and also assess them for signs of injury or disease. When the boats pass Windsor Castle, the rowers stand to attention with oars raised and salute “Her Majesty the Queen, Seigneur of the Swans”.

Swan Upping this year takes place from July 1822, as follows: Monday, July 18, Sunbury to Romney Lock (Windsor); Tuesday, July 19, Eton Bridge to Marlow Lock; Wednesday, July 20, ■ Bird in the hand Marlow Bridge to Sonning Bridge; Thursday, July 21, Sonning-on-Thames to Moulsford; Friday, July 22, Moulsford to Clifton Hampden Bridge.

For more information on Swan Upping, go to: www.royalswan.co.uk.

Robert Dean

Aw, shucks...

T

Bath night

■ Awaiting the oysters’ arrival

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86 tlm â&#x2013; the travel & leisure magazine

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travel and leisure directory CORNWALL

NORFOLK

Waterside Cottages

NORTHUMBERLAND

www.visit-rothbury.co.uk for accommodation and information

in Fowey, Polruan & Looe • Superb views • Dinghies available • Children and Pets welcome • Open all year round

Tel: 01579 344667 www.cornquay.com To advertise in tlm – the travel & leisure magazine please call 0203 176 2570

Picture post-card villages

Picture perfect countryside

DEVON

Royal Glen Hotel

Picture yourself here

Glen Road Sidmouth EX10 8RW

• Secluded & Peaceful • Close to Seafront and Town • Bar Snacks & Evening Dinner • Delicious Devon Produce • Regency Drawing Room opening onto Sunny Veranda • Indoor Pool & Gym • Parking • Ideal for exploring Devon, Walking and the Jurassic Coast • Historic and Charming • Friendly and Attentive

Rothbury and Coquetdale Tourism Association MUSEUMS & DAYS OUT

BRITISH SCHOOLS MUSEUM COME & JOIN IN THE FUN

You’ll discover the history of elementary education housed in two impressive grade 2 listed school buildings.

Explore Victorian, Edwardian and WW2 classrooms – have a go at writing with an ink pen or in a sand tray!

Peek into the home of a Victorian headmaster’s family – what did they keep in the parlour and the scullery?

We look forward to welcoming you

www.royalglenhotel.co.uk 01395513221/513456

Lots to see – lots to do – rain or shine!

CHANNEL ISLANDS

Vazon Bay Holiday Apartments GUERNSEY - CHANNEL ISLANDS

ALDERNEY - Channel Islands B & B from £30pppn. Situated between the harbour and town, only 5 minutes walk to the beach.

L’HARAS Guest House

Newtown Road, Alderney, Channel Islands GY9 3XP Email: lharas@internet.alderney.gg Website: www.internet.alderney.gg/lharas

Tel/Fax: 01481 823174 (Mrs. N. Jansen)

Right by beach, large heated swimming pool, jacuzzi and sauna. Small play area. Restaurant, café and shop within walking distance. Range of accommodation 3 star, 4 star and 5 star. Two and three bedrooms.

01481 254353 info@vazonbayapartments.com www.vazonbayapartments.com www.rocquainebay.com

Summer 2011

To advertise in tlm – the travel & leisure magazine please call 0203 176 2570

Open to the public March–November: Tuesdays 10–4, Saturdays 10–1, Sundays 2–5 EXTRA Summer openings on Wednesdays: 27 July–31 August; 10am–3pm Admission charge – café & gift shop Queen Street, Hitchin SG4 9TS Tel: 01462 420144 admin@hitchinbritishschools.org.uk

CLOTHING & EQUIPMENT

WALES

The Swedish WALKSTOOL • High-quality compact folding stools • The only patented 3-legged stools in the world • Telescoping legs gives two seating heights • Featuring a large, triangular seat • Lightweight: from less than 22 oz (624g) • Can hold up to 660lbs (624 g) • Prices from £31.20 inc VAT

www.flaghead.co.uk

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travel and leisure directory WALKING HOLIDAYS

MOTORHOMES

WORLDWIDE

Motorhome hire in Scotland

Worldwide Tailor-made Holidays & Tours

2, 4, 5 and 6-berth motorhomes.

Ideal for touring within Scotland and further afield. All vehicles are fully equipped (bedding optional). Our package includes unlimited mileage, full insurance, AA cover.

End-of-season motorhome sales For brochure contact

0800 028 1951 www.othertravel.co.uk

Brown’s Motorhome Hire, Garrion Bridge Larkhall ML9 2UD (nr Glasgow)

100% financial protection

Tel/Fax: 01698 886255

ARIZONA

CANARY ISLANDS

Los Techos Lanzarote

This unique, private villa is situated in the quiet area of Los Mojones only a short walk from the main promenade and beaches of Puerto Del Carmen.

Comfortably accommodating 12 people this luxury property has 5 bedrooms all en-suite, games area, hot tub, large pool, extensive sunbathing terraces and barbeque entertaining area.

For full details go to

www.lanzarotevillas.info

or contact Annaley on 01253 780839 / 0772 0763378 for prices and availability E-mail: admin@lanzarotevillas.info

Luxury Accommodation in the Canary Islands

El Marques - Tenerife 1 Bed Standard - €318 per week 1 Bed Luxury - €346 per week 2 Bed Luxury - €410 per week

Las Brisas - Lanzarote

Los Claveles - Tenerife

1 Bed - €417 per week 2 Bed - €520 per week

www.wimpen.com

Tel: 0203 1620885

Studio - €230 per week 1 Bed - €367 per week 2 Bed - €427 per week

Email: reservas@wimpen.com

Some availability is limited Terms & Conditions apply

CYPRUS

Durmast Travel – The Cyprus Specialists We offer an excellent selection of privately owned villas, apartments and cottages in the most beautiful locations in Cyprus. Most of our villas have private swimming pools, gardens and lovely sea views.Whether you are looking for a large villa for a family holiday or wedding party, a property near one of the acclaimed golf courses or a romatic hideaway, we can help you. Our resorts include Paphos, Coral Bay, Pissouri, Protaras, Polis, Latchi, Agia Napa and many beautiful rural areas.

Durmast Travel Ltd is a friendly, family-run company with over 20 years’ experience.

Prices per property per week from £100-£2650 Please call 01425 403527 for details or visit our website www.durmast.com

To advertise in tlm – the travel & leisure magazine – please call 0203 176 2570 88 tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine

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travel and leisure directory FRANCE

FLORIDA

A detached light, airy, modern villa situated on the outskirts of a pretty village, offers self-catering accommodation for eight with a swimming pool. It is an excellent touring base for exploring the beautiful Languedoc, and is only five kilometres from the historic town of Carcassonne with its famous walled town.

Choose from our superb selection of privately owned luxury holiday villas with private

pools, spas and games rooms just minutes from Disney and I4.

Each one of our homes is managed and maintained by us to a very high standard.

Instantly book any of our homes online, all Major credit cards accepted.

With nearly 20 years experience and a high level of customer service consider us for your property management needs.

For more information www.lafrenchplace.com

QUOTE ‘TLM’ FOR FREE WELCOME PACK WORTH $25!

US: 001 407 909 9472 Email: info@justvillas.biz Fax: 001-407-909-9473

GREECE

• Luxury 4 bedroomed villa on a gated community • Secluded pool area • Only 15 minutes from Disney World • Visit www.sgbvillas.co.uk for more details • Contact Graham on 0208 482 2830 or 07941 661796

ISLES OF SCILLY

PAXOS

Planos Holidays - specialist Tour operators to Paxos, Greece.

To advertise in tlm – the travel & leisure magazine please call 0203 176 2570

ATOL10291 AITO 01373 813022

www.planos.co.uk NORTH CYPRUS One of the finest collections of hotels in Northern Cyprus with something to meet everyone’s expectations and budget.

THE NORTHERN CYPRUS SPECIALISTS Get mor e fo your £££s r a non-Eur : destinat o ion

tel: 02392 230030 www.cyprusdirectholidays.com

PORTUGAL

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