tlm - the travel & leisure magazine spring 2012

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tlm spring 2012

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the travel & leisure magazine

SANDY SHORES Exotic beaches around the world

NICE AND EASY Contrasts in the South of France

CANAL KNOWLEDGE

PLUS England’s Atlantic Links golf Luxury Caribbean The New Forest Resort report: Marbella

Exploring Britain’s waterways

UNDER AFRICAN SKIES Cheetahs and sand dunes in Namibia

WONDERFUL COPENHAGEN

win

a luxu getawa ry Swiss Alps tranqui y, a holiday o lH n gourmeerm island, a t break & London more

Denmark’s fairytale capital www.tlm-magazine.co.uk

tlm the travel and leisure magazine

n Zugspitz Mountain near Lermoos, Austria. See page 28 Austrian National Tourist Office/Niederstrasser

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contents

in the frame picture perfect – Polaroid photo competition winners getting to know South of France escape to Copenhagen uk uncovered UK canals and waterways hit the road Alps driving tour competitions WIN – a £2,000 three-night break in the Swiss Alps

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resort report Marbella seasonal focus summer with the kids a touch of class luxury Caribbean competitions WIN – a £850 trip to Herm Island and a £400 gourmet City of London break

59 travel fare Marrakech’s iconic dish, tagine 61 in your flightbag what to take on the flight WIN – one of two Mia Tui bags worth £60 each

62 in your suitcase what to pack for your holiday WIN – a £70 World’s Lightest suitcase, Craghoppers men’s and ladies underwear worth £40 per set and five Little Terra UV protective clothing items worth up to £25 each

64 10 of the best exotic beaches 72 off the beaten track Namibia 79 travel update travel news WIN – one of four pairs of brasher shoes worth up to £120 per pair

82 let’s try camping WIN – two Dormir Comfort sleeping bags and two Elixir rucsacs from Vango worth £150

88 pack your clubs England’s Atlantic Links + golf clips 94 travel tech gizmos and gadgets to take away WIN – one of two Q-Link pendants worth £80 each

97 on your doorstep new forest 102 checking out focus on unusual hotels, B&Bs, news + reviews 110 london life cycling in London + London news READER OFFER – 25% discount off Mind the Gap Tours

114 out & about what’s on outside London 119 coming next what’s in store in the next issue subscribe to tlm – and get an Insight Step by Step guide FREE EDITORIAL: Editor Peter Ellegard Editorial assistant Julie Thompson Writers Peter Ellegard, Julie Thompson,Victoria Trott, Jeannine Williamson, John Law, Jane Anderson, Sara Macefield and Rob Crossan 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 Acorn Web Offset Limited ©TLM Media Limited Front cover photo: Velassaru island in the Maldives © Universal Resorts The publishers cannot accept responsibility for errors or omissions. Whilst every care is taken, all material submitted to TLM Media Limited is done so at its owner’s risk and neither TLM Media Limited nor its agents can accept any liability for loss or damage.

TLM Media Limited is a completely independent company and can hold no responsibility for the actions of outside agents.

Spring 2012

from the

editor Peter Ellegard

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f spring’s erratic swing from unseasonably-warm March sunshine to squally April showers has got you thinking about the summer to come, then tlm will help get you even more in the mood.

Our bumper 132-page spring issue is filled with ideas to help you plan those holidays ahead, and if all that recent sun makes you think of sand and sea, we have several features reflecting that theme.

Pick your favourite from our top 10 exotic beaches around the world; discover Marbella in our Resort Report; and delve into luxury Caribbean resorts in our Touch of Class feature.

We also focus on summer holidays with the kids in our seasonal focus and take to the hills with our Hit the Road feature on touring in the Alps.

Our Off the Beaten Track feature takes you to the giant sand dunes of Namibia while, closer to home, the sand dunes and bunkers of England’s Atlantic Links golf courses are obstacles you might want to avoid.

We head to the South of France and take a look at Denmark’s fairytale capital, Copenhagen. And, for those who want to get active, we lay down the groundsheet in our camping guide, explore the UK’s waterways and canals and bike through London’s streets.

With £4,500 worth of prizes to win, including a Swiss Alps break and a trip to Herm Island, it’s time to kick off those shoes and feel the sand between your toes...

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in the frame n polaroid photo competition results

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Joanna Paszkiewicz’s winning picture: Kiwi in Water

Wet, wet, wet...

Joanna and Joshua make a splash in our Polaroid photo competition ur water-themed photo competition with Polaroid proved to be an instant hit, with a huge number of entries of the highest quality in both the adult competition and the under 16s category.

The judges picked their 12 favourite pictures from the adults and six of the best from the juniors and once again we asked for your votes for the winners.

Joanna Paszkiewicz, from Waltham Cross, takes top spot in the adult competition with her clever image, Kiwi in Water.

She wins a top-of-the-range Polaroid Z340 instant digital camera, worth £230.

The youngsters once again showed their talents, with 13-year old Joshua Toplis beating off the opposition with his lovely picture,

n Junior winner Joshua Toplis’s picture: Waving Goodbye to Summer

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n Polaroid 300

n Polaroid Z340

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Waving Goodbye to Summer. He will be able to take some fun pictures with his prize, the Polaroid 300 instant camera, worth £79.99.

Congratulations to both our worthy winners and to all our finalists. You can see them all on our Facebook page, on http://bit.ly/tlm_facebook.

Spring 2012

getting to know n south of france

Côte Long a magnet for artists and the well-heeled, the South of France spans the ritzy resorts of the Riviera to hot springs and Medieval grandeur in the Pyrenees, encompassing wolf-filled mountains, sleepy villages, historic cities, vineyards, rocky coves and sweeping beaches. Victoria Trott goes behind the glitz to discover its appeal rom the Art Deco bar I can see a man waterskiing past the gleaming yachts in the bay, while on the blue-and-white striped sun loungers around the pool, long-limbed women in designer swimsuits top up their year-round tans. The sun is sparkling on the dancing waves and I think I can hear the distant sound of tinny trumpets tooting The Charleston.

I’m in Juan-les-Pins, the resort which, along with its Greek-founded neighbour Antibes, became the French Riviera’s first summertime playground in 1923. And where better to stay than the historic Belles Rives hotel (www.bellesrives.com), teeming with original features built around the villa where F Scott Fitzgerald once lived?

The rich and famous might have been gracing the French Riviera (or Côte d’Azur as it’s also known) for decades but we Brits have been flocking there for

F

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centuries – originally to try and cure tuberculosis in the mild climate. Walk around the hillside cemetery in Menton, next to the Italian border, to see the graves of the many young foreigners who died there in the 1800s; although most people head to this pastel-coloured town to visit some of Europe’s finest gardens like Serre de la Madone (www.serredelamadone.com).

These days the Riviera has much to offer visitors, from the chic private beaches of Nice and Cannes (although there are public ones too) to the charming medieval hilltop villages of Grasse, famous for its flower-growing and perfume industry, Mougins, with its great restaurants, and St-Paul-de-Vence with its superb collection of 20th-century sculptures at Fondation Maeght (www.fondation-maeght.com).

Kids love watching the killer whales at

Spring 2012

getting to know n south of france

Marineland (www.marineland.fr), Europe’s largest marine park, near Antibes or learning about wolves at Scénoparc (www.alpha-loup.com) in the Mercantour National Park. North of here, the Alpes-de-HauteProvence and Haute-Alpes offer a plethora of summer and winter outdoor activities.

It’s generally quite easy to explore the main sites of the south of France by public transport, so I take the train west into the Var department.

n Cannes seafront and promenade

n Palais des Papes, Avignon

Peter Ellegard

n Flower picking in Grasse

Grasse Tourism Office/Antoine and Marta Konopka

Saint-Raphael is a good base for families due to its 30 little beaches and proximity to the Estérel mountains – ideal for hiking and mountain biking – while next-door Fréjus is noted for its Roman remains and artefacts, which can be seen at the Musée Archéologique (www.frejus.fr).

To avoid the traffic jams on the narrow coast road, the best way to arrive in Saint-Tropez is by boat from SaintRaphael or Sainte-Maxime. Although busy, Saturday is the ideal time to explore this glitzy former fishing village as it’s market day – luscious fruit and vegetables vie for attention with colourful fabrics and antiques.

Most people head to the public and private beaches on the Ramatuelle peninsula in the afternoon.

Hyères-les-Palmiers, with its quaint old town and palm-filled hillside gardens, was the original resort in the south of France in the 18th century (again, thanks to us Brits) but these days most visitors stop there on their way to the Giens Peninsula – a magnet for water sports enthusiasts due to its world-renowned wind conditions.

I sail a friend’s catamaran across to the island of Porquerolles, one of the three small Iles d’Or, for a picnic on the fine, white sand of Plage d’Argent and a spot of swimming in the Caribbean-clear water. Nonmariners can get there via a 20-minute ferry ride.

The Var’s main city, Toulon, is an unremarkable place and probably best avoided unless you’re a fan of military history – it’s the main base of the French Navy and home to the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, which is quite a sight when it’s in port. If so, take the cable car up to

Cannes Tourist Office

glitzy

n The hilltop Riviera village of St-Paul-de-Vence Office de Tourisme de Saint-Paul de Vence/Roland Michaud

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getting to know n south of france

food and wine

Patrice Aguilar

“These days the Riviera has much to offer visitors”

n Camargue horses

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Paranteau Philippe/Coll. MDLF Allemagne

Mont Faron for the Musée du Débarquement en Provence (www.telepherique-faron.com) to learn about the Allied landings in WW2 – and also for the wonderful views across the coast.

flamingos and horses Next along is the Bouches-du-Rhône department, where the Rhône enters the sea near the village of Les-SaintesMaries-de-la-Mer – the “capital” of the Camargue. This wild area, with its miles of salt marshes and rice fields, is paradise for horse lovers and birdwatchers and where I go riding at Les Écuries de l’Auberge Cavalière (www.ecurie-camargue.fr) and check out the flamingos in the Parc Ornithologique (www.parcornithologique.com).

Another place to get away from it all is the calanques, fjord-like rocky inlets east of Marseille, which becomes France’s latest National Park in June. The area is a mecca for walking and climbing – it’s a good idea to hire a guide – but less active sorts can explore them from the sea on a boat trip.

In contrast, the busy port of Marseille, France’s oldest and second largest city, is an edgy, multi-cultural metropolis that will be

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n Sea urchins

OTCM

n Nice wine

Atourt France/Robert Palomba

The best part of any holiday is sampling the local food and wine and visitors to the south of France won’t be disappointed. LanguedocRoussillon is France’s second largest producer of the top quality AOC wines which include Corbières, Costières de Nîmes, Fitou and Minervois. The area around the Rhône is best known for the wines named after it and also for Châteauneuf-duPape – still produced in the vineyards planted by the 14th century Avignon popes. In Provence, Bandol and Cassis will be familiar to many while Bellet, the only coastal appellation in Alpes Maritimes, comes from the hills around Nice.

Seafood features heavily on menus all over the south of France – one of the most famous dishes is bouillabaisse, a kind of fish stew, which is a speciality of Marseille while in Nîmes, brandade, a creamy mix of potato and salted cod, is the order of the day. Socca, a chickpea pancake, and pan bagnat, a large roll filled with salade Niçoise, are enjoyed in Nice’s old town. Luscious fruit from the Lubéron has been crystallised in the town of Apt for centuries while chestnuts abound in the Cévennes. In Saint-Tropez, it’s all about Tarte Tropézienne – sponge with a layer of custard in the middle – while in the far south west, Crème Catalane (like crème caramel) hits the spot.

n Cafe in Lourmarin, Vaucluse

European Capital of Culture in 2013. There are plenty of opportunities for high-street or designer shopping and for eating out but football fans might like to take the opportunity to watch an Olympique de Marseille (www.om.net) match at the Stade Vélodrome. Near the stadium is the Cité Radieuse, a modernist block of flats designed by Le Corbusier in the 1940s which incorporates a hotel (www.hotellecorbusier.com) whose rooms contain their original angular, austere interiors.

Inland, Aix-en-Provence is a genteel university town known for its fountains, 17th century mansions, cafes, spa centre (www.thermes-sextius.com) and large Saturday morning market. It was here that the artist Paul Cézanne, regarded as the father of modern art, was born in 1839; his house/studio (www.atelier-cezanne.com), in an idyllic, bucolic location, contains some of the original objects in his paintings.

Directly above the Bouches-du-Rhône is the Vaucluse department, of which the walled capital, Avignon, was home to the popes in the 14th century.

Their grand palace, the Palais des Papes (www.palais-des-papes.com), with its high ceilings and vibrant murals, gives a feel for what life was like back then. Avignon is also famous for its part-collapsed bridge across the Rhône, sung about in playgrounds around the world.

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n Rousillon village, Lubéron

Hocquel Alain - Coll. CDT Vaucluse

getting to know n south of france

n Grasse perfume bottles

From the top of the adjacent rocky outcrop, the Rocher des Doms, there are panoramic views over the surrounding area including Mont Ventoux, the highest mountain in Provence – the area which covers south east France. The city is particularly animated in July during the world-renowned theatre festival.

East of here is the Lubéron. Its sleepy villages and rural life were immortalised in Peter Mayle’s book, A Year in Provence. The small town of Isle-sur-la-Sorgue is best known for its Sunday morning market and large antiques centre while the rose-coloured village of Roussillon, perched on a hilltop, once had the world’s largest ochre quarry – now visitors can follow a trail through its reddish, moon-like landscape.

The most photographed place in this area is goldtinged Gordes, officially one of the most beautiful villages in France, where the nearby 12th century Abbaye de Sénanque (www.senanque.fr) is a colourful, scented sight from mid-June to mid-August thanks to its lavender field.

Stretching from the Cévennes National Park in the north, famously crossed by Robert Louis Stevenson accom-

Peter Ellegard

village scenery

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n Playing petanque

var from the madding crowd

n Typical Var

Behind the mountains edging the French Riviera lies an enchanting region of tiny villages, vineyards and pine and cork-oak forests a world away from the glitz, glamour and crowds of its jet-set resorts.

My brother spent several years living just outside Pignans, a typical village in the centre of the Var department full of stone fountains, cobbled streets, winding alleyways and squares edged by bars where locals gather to gossip, and I have many happy memories from summer vacations there.

Bumping into the locals there is one of the delights. Perhaps not literally, though, as I discovered early one morning as I drove out of the lane from my brother’s hillside house onto a road notorious for speeders coming over a blind ridge, and promptly collided with a none-too-happy Frenchman coming

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Vaucluse

Grasse Tourism Office/Antoine and Marta Konopka

sleepy villages

up the hill from the other direction.

An hour of angry Charles de Gaulle-style gesticulations followed, with family members called in as reinforcements, but I finally placated him with my schoolboy French assurances that it would be covered by insurance. Thankfully it was.

A happier memory involved getting slowly drunk by my brother’s pool with a local pompier (fireman), who was a good friend of his and often dropped in. By the end of the night, I was the proud owner of Nelu’s official pompier shirt, which he had given me and forced me to put on, body odour, sweat stains and all, after bear-hugging me and announcing that we, too, were brothers before clambering into his van and weaving his way back to the village.

Another visitor I am glad I avoided was a huge wild boar that leapt across the road just in front of my car, missing by inches before disappearing into the adjacent vineyard to join its little stripey piglets and their mother.

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getting to know n south of france

panied by a donkey in 1878, to the Pyrenees in the south on the border with Spain, Languedoc-Roussillon – aka south west France – has quite a different feel to Provence.

Nîmes, once the French equivalent of Rome, is more like Seville during its annual Whitsun Feria, when bullfighters from France and Spain entertain the crowds in the original Roman arena (www.arenes-nimes.com).

Women in Flamenco dresses rub shoulders with men in traditional gardian (Camargue cowboy) outfits – part of the Camargue lies in this area and its influences are evident in the south of the Gard department.

With one of the world’s oldest universities, Montpellier has a young vibe and is France’s fastest growing city; it also has a thriving cultural scene with many events taking place in the regional capital’s atmospheric old courtyards.

In the far south, Perpignan was the home of the kings of Majorca in the 13th-14th centuries and their presence can still be felt in their former palace, in the solemn Sanch procession at Easter and in the bilingual FrenchCatalan street signs on almost every corner.

n Explore south west France on the Canal du Midi

Sud de France/PaulPalau-Avril

cathar trail Fans of the great outdoors will love Languedoc-Roussillon. From kayaking in the Gorges du Tarn to meeting wisent, or European bison, in the Lozère (www.bisoneurope.com), and from learning to sail in Port Camargue, Europe’s largest marina, to taking a scenic journey on the Yellow Train from Villefranchede-Conflent, famous for its 17th century military fortifications, up to Bolquère-Eyne – the highest railway station in France.

As well as offering a wide variety of winter and summer activities, the Pyrenees are also the place to go for “water cures” and spa treatments – Cerdagne (www.pyrenees-cerdagne.com) has outdoor hot springs overlooking snow-capped Carlit mountain.

Almost forgotten about since their savage demise in

Peter Ellegard

n Vineyard near Pignans in the Var

This is the heart of Provence wine country, and there are lots of vineyards and cooperatives producing wonderful rosé wines you can buy directly, ringing the rusty bell outside to buy bottles or have containers filled from dispensers resembling petrol pumps.

Spring 2012

The area is full of delightful villages, each with its own rustic charm and character. At nearby Carnoules, you can ride the heritage carriages of the Tourist Train of Central Var (http://attcv.fr) on the pretty 24km (14-mile) route to Brignoles, the

historic capital of the region. Here, and in villages including Pignans, there is a fascinating weekly market.

While August may be hell on the main coast road, it is a wonderful time to visit the Central Var. Brignoles turns the clock back for its Medieval Festival, with people dressing up in traditional costume and lots of themed activities and stalls. Many villages, Pignans included, also hold annual fairs and music festivals then, decking the streets with bunting and erecting stages and trestle tables on the cobbled squares. And everyone joins in.

If you want to escape to the coast, you find deliciously-empty coves and beaches less than an hour away via scenic mountain roads or much quicker on the autoroute. While in the other direction, a must-visit is the spectacular Gorges du Verdon, France’s answer to the Grand Canyon, passing by exquisite hilltop towns and villages, lakes, vineyards and lavender fields en route.

Peter Ellegard

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getting to know n south of france

Monaco Press Centre Photo

eco-friendly living – including the introduction of electric-powered buses and recycled water.

Must-sees include the palace, the Musée

the 13th century, the Cathars (a Christian sect) came to the world’s attention in 2003 when Dan Brown published his book, The Da Vinci Code, which was compounded by the publication of Kate Mosse’s Labyrinth in 2005.

As a result, their associated sites such as Rennes-leChâteau and Carcassonne have had a boom in visitors – the latter is Europe’s largest medieval citadel, with 52 towers which can be seen from miles around. You can follow the Cathar trail on foot or by bike, alone or with a guide (www.audetourisme.com).

Tourism in south west France is inextricably linked to water. The Canal du Midi (www.canalmidi.com) is one of three canals which link the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. Built in the 17th century and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it offers a fun way to explore the region’s villages and vineyards on a self-drive boat or a crewed hotel-barge. One of the most spectacular sights is the Fonserannes lock near Béziers – a “staircase” of nine gates which allows boats to climb 21.5 metres (70.5 feet). Chef Rick Stein travelled along this route in his 2007 TV series Rick Stein’s French Odyssey.

The region boasts 200 miles of beaches, from the wild, grassy expanses of Le Grau du Roi in the Camargue to Cap d’Agde, Europe’s premier naturist resort, in the Golfe du Lion and from the stilt houses of Gruissan, which starred in the 1986 film Betty Blue, to the pictureperfect village of Collioure, a meeting place and inspiration for artists in the early 20th century. Follow in the footsteps of the Fauvists Derain and Matisse on a selfguided walking tour to see what and where they painted.

And where better to stay in creative Collioure than Hotel Les Templiers (www.hotel-templiers.com)? The walls of this harbourside hotel-restaurant are hung with many original artworks by its illustrious past guests, who included Picasso.

Wherever you go in the south of France you always feel like you’re stepping back in time.

Victoria Trott is a Wales-based French-speaking travel writer who mainly hangs around Nice and the Camargue but will make a special trip into the Var department for a decent glass of rosé.

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Océanographique, once presided over by Jacques Cousteau, and the superyachts in Monte Carlo harbour.

south of france facts when to go To make the most of the Mediterranean climate, May to October is the best time n Provence to visit – August is very busy. The Alpes- rooftops de-Haute-Provence and Pyrenees offer skiing in winter.

Peter Ellegard

Bordered by France on three sides and with a surface area of less than two square miles, Monaco (www.visitmonaco.com) is the world’s second smallest country.

However, what it lacks in size it certainly makes up for in glamour as this tiny Principality is one of the favourite destinations of the rich and famous – ever since American actress Grace Kelly married Monaco’s then ruler Prince Rainier in 1956.

Now their son Albert is in charge and while the country is still known for its glitz and Grand Prix, he is turning it into a model of

n Monte Carlo and harbour

getting there British Airways (www.ba.com) flies to Marseille and Nice, easyJet (www.easyjet.com) flies to Marseille, Montpellier and Nice and Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) flies to Béziers, Carcassonne, Marseille, Montpellier, Nice, Nîmes, Perpignan and Toulon. Rail Europe (www.raileurope.co.uk) sells train tickets from London St Pancras International to main stations in France via Eurostar (www.eurostar.com). You can take onward high-speed TGV trains to destinations including Avignon, Marseille, Nîmes and Nice.

getting around Hire a car for more freedom but it’s fairly cheap and easy to explore the main sites by bus or train.

tour operators Kirker (www.kirkerholidays.com) offers luxury short breaks while VFB (www.vfbholidays.co.uk) has a variety of options. Arblaster & Clarke (www.winetours.co.uk) offer wine, cooking and barge holidays whereas Cresta (www.crestaholidays.co.uk) organises flight/hotel packages. n Medieval musicians in Brignoles Peter Ellegard

monaco – small but perfectly formed

tourist information Atout France: www.franceguide.com Tourisme Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur: www.tourismepaca.fr Languedoc-Roussillon: www.sunfrance.com Côte d’Azur Tourisme: www.cotedazur-tourisme.com

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escape to n copenhagen

Fairyt ale

n Frederiksborg Castle

city

Once upon a time home to Hans Christian Andersen, Copenhagen is an enchanting destination of pretty cobbled streets, vibrant canals, historic attractions, cuttingedge design, and some of the best food in Scandinavia. Sit comfortably as Jeannine Williamson explains ver the last decade design, fashion and architecture have all helped Copenhagen emerge as a stylish city break destination that’s even been called the Paris of the North. To some that might sound like a bit of an exaggeration but the minute I landed on Danish soil I could see why it has become such a cutting-edge capital.

Copenhagen Airport is steeped in Scandinavian style,

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from the sleek aircraft wing-shaped Terminal 3, bronze statues of two girls leaning over a balcony and seemingly surveying the passing passengers, glass birds flying near the ceiling and expansive art on the walls on a par with anything you’d see in a gallery. I made my way to the exit across tasteful, wooden floors instead of the garish, patterned carpets so beloved of airports worldwide.

The once-humble fishing village that evolved into the glittering capital of the Danish empire, and now home to

n Christmas in Tivoli Morten Jerichau All pictures: www.copenhagenmediacenter.com and photographer or entity where credited

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shopping Running a mile through the city centre is Stroget, Europe’s longest pedestrian street and packed with well-known high street names and designer shops. Copenhagen is synonymous with the world-famous, hand-painted porcelain of the same name and beautiful tableware and figurines can be found, at a price, at the Royal Copenhagen Porcelain House (www.royalcopenhagen.com) in Amagertorv. More affordable is the factory outlet at Frederiksberg on the

western city outskirts.

For stylish and quirky souvenirs and gifts, such as kitchen gadgets, visit the Danish Design Centre (www.ddc.dk) near Tivoli. The city’s oldest department store, worth seeing for the architecture alone, is Magasin du Nord (www.magasin.dk), formerly a hotel where Hans Christian Andersen once lodged in an attic room. Ravnsborggade (www.ravnsborggade.dk) is the place to find antiques and bargain hunters should browse around Gammel Strand, a popular city-centre flea market that’s open Friday and Saturday from May-September.

n Strolling along Stroget pedestrian street

nearly one third of the country’s 5.3 million population, is a fascinating destination with a broad appeal for everyone, including families, foodies and culture vultures.

The Medieval streets encapsulate more than 1,000 years of history. They’ve been walked on by every generation of the world’s oldest royal family and have inspired generations of artists and writers, most famously storyteller Hans Christian Andersen, who spent much of his life in the city and wrote tales including Thumbelina, The Snow Queen, The Ugly Duckling and, of course, The Little Mermaid that has become the city’s symbol.

Visitors can experience this heritage by wandering along cobbled squares and taking in the sumptuous palaces and copper-roofed town houses.

compact city n Flea market

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Copenhagen is a compact, flat city and most of the main sights are within easy walking distance. It’s also packed with cyclists, so take extra care when you cross the busy bicycle lanes; or why not join the locals and hire a bike or pick up a free city bike to explore on two wheels yourself?

I spent my first morning strolling around the charming narrow streets by Nyhavn Canal where Hans Christian Andersen lived. For a grand view of the past, head to Amalienborg Palace (www.dkks.dk), originally built as mansions for 18th century nobility, and Kronborg (www.kronborgcastle.com), one of Northern Europe’s most important Renaissance castles and immortalised in Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

A relaxing way to view the city is on a canal cruise or sailing trip around the harbour, the latter taking in sights such as the spectacular Copenhagen Opera House

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Chnristian Alsing

n Royal Copenhagen Christmas table

Royal Copehnhagen

escape to n copenhagen

escape to n copenhagen

n Happy days in Nyhaven Cees van Roden

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A city break can easily be combined with day trips into the countryside or neighbouring Sweden.

Odense, with its tiny streets and n Hans Christian houses, is on Andersen statue Funen Island, which is connected to the mainland by bridge and 90 minutes from Copenhagen by road or rail. The Hans Christian Andersen Museum (www.museum.odense.dk) includes

the author’s childhood home and youngsters will love the Tinderbox activity centre across the street with its dressing up room and storytelling theatre.

Other popular excursions from Copenhagen include: cruises to the surrounding islands of Hven (www.visithven.dk), known as the “paradise island” of the Oresund and with a museum commemorating Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe; Christianso (www.christiansoe.dk), with its old forts; and neighbouring Bornholm (www.bornholm.info).

Back on dry land, the Swedish city of Malmo is well-known for its restaurants, with the country’s highest concentration per capita, and is a 30minute road or rail journey from Copenhagen across the 10-mile sweep of the spectacular Oresund Bridge.

Wonderful Copenhagen

n Christiania bike

beyond copenhagen

Wonderful Copenhagen

(http://kglteater.dk) and one of the world’s mostphotographed ladies, the Little Mermaid statue inspired by the fairytale and a present from brewer Carl Jacobsen to the city in 1913.

No visit would be complete without taking in Tivoli (www.tivoli.dk). Dating back to 1843 and famed for its gardens and theatre, it is one of the world’s oldest amusement parks and is said to have inspired Walt Disney to create Disneyland. It is particularly magical at night during the Christmas market season, when it is opened for a month from mid-November and lit by thousands of fairy lights.

The title of the world’s oldest amuse-

n The Oresund Bridge

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escape to n copenhagen

copenhagen facts

n Bakken ride

when to go Despite its northerly latitude, Copenhagen’s climate is fairly mild and it’s a year-round destination. The coldest month is February, averaging just below freezing, and June-August is warmest, with temperatures of 19.5C. n Amalienborg Castle

getting there ment park is actually held by another Danish institution.

Dyrehavsbakken – known simply as Bakken – opened north of Copenhagen in 1583 and is still operating today.

Another attraction that will particularly appeal to families is Copenhagen Zoo (www.zoo.dk) with its excellent children’s area, and look out for Copenhagen’s newest attraction, The Blue Planet aquarium, due to open in 2013.

Meanwhile, adults will want to make tracks to the Carlsberg Visitor Centre (www.visitcarlsberg.dk), historic home of the famed local brew where tours end with the all-important tasting.

neighbourhoods On the design theme this year is the 100th anniversary of the birth of architect and furniture designer Finn Juhl and his house at Charlottenlund (www.ordrupgaard.dk), six miles north of Copenhagen, is a showcase to his work.

Although it’s relatively small, Copenhagen has several distinct neighbourhoods. Vesterbro used to be an infamous red light district but, following a huge investment, it has become one of the trendiest places in town.

Christianshavn, the old working class neighbourhood, is a picturesque canalside area with narrow streets and charming 19th century houses. Other diverse areas include cosmopolitan Norrebro, a great place for vintage shopping, and the autonomous hippy “free town” of Christiania that’s celebrating its 41st anniversary this year.

When it’s time for a break there are plenty of places to eat and drink. In Nyhavn, stop off at one of the cafes or bars submerged in historic cellars or overlooking the water. Smorrebrod, the famous Danish open sandwiches, are traditionally served at lunchtime and toppings include succulent salmon, seafood, meat, eggs, cheese and poultry garnished with salad, sauces and herbs. I certainly had quite a job making my mind up at Ida Davidsen (www.idadavidsen.dk), where the menu has over 177 choices.

And if you want to push the boat out, Copenhagen boasts nine Michelin restaurants, totalling more stars than any other Scandinavian city. The latest newcomer to the list is the contemporary AOC restaurant (www.aaro-co.dk), in a 17th century vaulted cellar.

Incidentally, don’t ask for a Danish pastry as there’s no such thing in Denmark. The closest sweet treat is weinerbrod or Vienna bread!

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British Airways (www.ba.com), BMI (www.flybmi.com), easyJet (www.easyjet.com), Norwegian (www.norwegian.com), Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) and Scandinavian Airlines (www.flysas.com) fly to Copenhagen direct from London and regional airports.

The airport to city centre rail link takes just 13 minutes.

DFDS Seaways (www.dfdsseaways.co.uk) operates daily overnight ferry crossings from Harwich to Esbjerg and onward driving time to Copenhagen is just over three hours.

accommodation From luxury five-star and boutique properties to reasonably-priced family hotels, B&Bs and city apartments, Copenhagen has accommodation to suit all tastes and budgets. The Radisson Blu Royal (www.radissonblu.com) is the iconic hotel designed by Arne Jacobsen, famous for his egg chair, and 71 Nyhavn (www.71nyhavnhotel.com) is an atmospheric harbourside property in two 19th century warehouses.

tour operators Companies featuring Copenhagen include Abercrombie & Kent (www.abercrombiekent.co.uk), Best Served Holidays (www.best-served.co.uk), Cresta Holidays (www.crestaholidays.co.uk), Kirker Holidays (www.kirkerholidays.com), Nordic Experience (www.nordicexperience.co.uk) and Taber Holidays (www.taberhols.co.uk).

getting around Metro, buses and trains operate on a useful one fare system with tickets valid on all three. The cOPENhagen CARD, starting at €31 for 24 hours, provides free public transport, free entry into 65 attractions and other discounts. It can be bought at the airport, Visitor Centre and a number of hotels. Copenhagen n Copenhagen is renowned as a bike-friendly city and free by bike bicycles are available from 125 stands from mid-April to November.

tourist information Visit Copenhagen: www.visitcopenhagen.com Visit Denmark: 020 7259 5958, www.visitdenmark.com

Freelance writer Jeannine Williamson has visited cities around the world. She became a big fan of the Danish institution hygge, a cosy evening drink with friends, and was surprised to find the Little Mermaid is exactly that – tiny.

Spring 2012

Welcome to Copenhagen Star Hotel If you want Copenhagen at your doorstep, then Copenhagen Star Hotel is a great choice. Located in the heart of Copenhagen's Vesterbro quarter, Copenhagen Star Hotel is the ideal starting point for your stay in Copenhagen.

We take great pride in the fact that your stay at Copenhagen Star Hotel will be a positive experience – this means that we ensure that the entire hotel is clean, our beds are the best, breakfast is good, and that the surroundings of the hotel allows for fun and relaxation.

We look forward to welcoming you to Copenhagen Star Hotel.

Book on www.copenhagenstar.dk and get a free drink on arrival Spring 2012

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uk uncovered n britain’s canals and waterways

Float your

boat

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n Couple relaxing on the Shropshire Union Canal, Cheshire

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uk uncovered n britain’s canals and waterways

Built during the Industrial Revolution to link manufacturing centres, cities and ports, Britain’s canals are now used by huge numbers of recreational boaters and, together with rivers, fens and broads, comprise 2,000 miles of navigable waterways. John Law takes to the waters to explore them nthusiasts describe canal boat holidays as “the fastest way to slow down” – and it’s easy to understand why as you meander through peaceful countryside at a gentle 4mph. If that’s sounds a tad too sedate, speedsters can hire a cabin cruiser on the Thames or Norfolk Broads where they can power along at a relatively rapid 6mph.

The point is, nobody books a holiday on Britain’s 2,000 miles of waterways to reach anywhere in a hurry. The aim for most folk is to relax, do a little sightseeing and soak up the scenery – along with regular refreshment at historic waterside pubs on the way.

Life afloat wasn’t always such a leisurely affair. In the late 18th century, Britain was in the grip of “canal mania”, with 5,000 miles of waterways being built nationwide for transporting goods.

By the mid-1800s, the faster and more efficient railways had won most of the trade and many canals were filled in or fell into disrepair. Some continued in commercial use up until the 1960s but, after 50 years of neglect, UK waterways are today enjoying a renaissance.

Around 220 miles of new and restored waterways have opened in the last decade following an investment of more than £1 billion. Over the same period, the number of canal boats has increased by a third and there are now more than at the height of the Industrial Revolution.

An estimated 320,000 people currently go canal boating each year and many thousands more take to

n A canal boat passes under a bridge

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the rivers and Broads in a motor cruiser. So where can you venture by boat in Britain?

the south Take a cruise along the Kennet & Avon Canal and you’ll enjoy some of the South’s finest scenery en route to two of the West Country’s grandest cities.

The Kennet & Avon was built in 1794 to link Bristol with London and is today one of the UK’s most popular waterways, with some of the longest lock-free stretches that make for leisurely cruising. Head west from Reading and you’ll pass through Berkshire’s Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Wiltshire’s sweeping downland. Beyond the market town of Devizes a real challenge awaits: the 29 Caen Hill locks, which rise 235 feet and take around five or six hours to negotiate.

Stop off at Bradford on Avon, a pretty Medieval town with a Saxon church and tithe barn, before enjoying the Roman and Georgian heritage – and marvellous shops – of Bath. Bristol is home to Brunel’s SS Great Britain and a zoo, along with bigcity attractions of galleries, museums and great shopping and restaurants.

Londoners not wishing to stray too far from home can enjoy the historic sights along the Thames or quieter rural delights on the River Wey. It’s possible to travel 120 miles along the Thames from Teddington to Gloucestershire, but for shorter cruises, Windsor Castle (and nearby Legoland) and Hampton Court are within easy reach.

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London also has its own canals, offering boaters the chance to link to other waterways. Regent’s Canal runs between Limehouse Basin in Docklands and Little Venice and is part of the Grand Union Canal; its route takes in Regent’s Park, London Zoo and Camden. The Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal, an extension of Regent’s Canal, runs through West London suburbs to join the main Grand Union Canal near Slough. The Grand Union joins the Thames opposite Kew Gardens.

The River Lee is navigable from Hertford to the Thames at Limehouse, in London’s Docklands, passing

by Stratford and its backwaters, the Bow Backs, as well as linking to the Grand Union and the River Stort.

n

Caen Hill Flight on the Kennet & Avon Canal

The Grand Union was once one of the country’s busiest canals and is the trunk route of Britain’s canal network, linking Birmingham with London via the Chiltern Hills, rural Northamptonshire and Warwickshire. Covering 137 miles, it is the country’s longest single canal and has many branches to towns along the way.

If you want to avoid the crowds and enjoy a good workout at the same time, head for Hatton Flight on the Grand Union in Warwickshire. Its 21 locks can take from two to four hours to tackle. The old boatmen used to call it the Gateway to Heaven because it was the last push on the London to Birmingham route.

The Birmingham Canal Navigation is a network of canals linking the city with neighbouring conurbation Wolverhampton and the Black Country. Some 100 miles of it are still navigable today compared with the 160 miles during its industrial heyday.

Warwick and its impressive castle merit a visit, while a detour along the Stratford Canal enables cruisers to moor up in Stratford-upon-Avon and hit the Shakespeare trail. n Canal at The Midlands can also be reached along a Braunston particularly peaceful and picturesque waterway, the Oxford Canal, which heads from the city of dreaming spires to Coventry.

Some 240 years after first opening – and 72 years after they were officially abandoned – the Droitwich Canals reopened last year. The newlycreated 22-mile mid-Worcestershire Ring now enables boaters to explore the cathedral city of Worcester, a

Drifters

the midlands

river, one broad canal and two narrow canals in just one weekend.

the fens and broads

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canal restoration plans Restoration and improvement work on Britain’s waterways continues apace. London’s Lost Route to the Sea has been derelict for many years, but there are plans to restore the 23-mile Wey and Arun Canal which once formed the inland link between the River Thames and South Coast. A trip-boat is based at one of the few newly-navigable sections at Loxwood.

Closed for 50 years, the Cotswold Canals run through spectacular rolling countryside, with the Thames & Severn & Stroudwater Navigation passing the source of the Thames and woollen mills of the

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Head off to East Anglia to discover the famous Broads, an area best known for over a century as England’s boating heartland.

In Medieval times, peat was dug out for fuel until sea levels rose and flooded the land to form shallow lakes, or broads. Today this unique wetland is home to an abundance of birds and wildlife and a relaxed holiday afloat is the best way to appreciate its diverse attractions.

There are 125 miles of waterways to explore in Norfolk and Suffolk, comprising six rivers and more than 40 broads. Cabin cruisers glide past thatched cottages and sleepy villages, waterside pubs, windmills, nature trails, reed beds, marshes and meadows.

Stroud Valley. Towpath walks are enjoyed by many and the Cotswold Canals Trust aims eventually to open the entire length to boats.

The derelict 15-mile Manchester, Bolton & Bury Canal is a surprisingly green pathway through the north Manchester conurbation and current restoration plans are expected to act as a catalyst for urban and rural regeneration.

Meanwhile, in East London, volunteers are being recruited for the Big Waterways Clean-Up 2012, a scheme to improve stretches such as the Regent’s Canal and Hertford Union Canal ahead of this summer’s Olympics.

For more information on volunteering along Britain’s canals and rivers, go to: www.waterscape.com/things-to-do/volunteering.

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uk uncovered n britain’s canals and waterways

Anderton Boat Lift

Drifters

l Getting to grips with a modern canal boat or cruiser is easy and you don’t need a special licence. Tuition on handling the vessel and how to negotiate locks should be given at the outset. l Walking, running and cycling along tow paths costs nothing, but anglers will need a fishing licence. l This summer a new charity, the Canal and River Trust, takes over responsibility from British Waterways for the 2,000 miles of waterways in England and Wales. In its first year, volunteers are expected to give an estimated 24,000 days to the Trust. l Book a “taster session” if you’re new to canal boating. Ten of Drifters’ bases across the country offer day hire from £11 per person. l The longest, deepest and highest canal tunnel is Standedge Tunnel on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal. Completed

by Thomas Telford in 1811, it is 645ft above sea level, runs for almost 3.5 miles and burrows 638ft beneath the Pennines.

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l The longest lock flight is the Tardebigge Flight on the Worcester & Birmingham Canal. It boasts an exhausting 30 locks and raises the canal 220ft. l By the 1960s, most canal boats had been fitted with engines but horses were still a common sight on many towpaths.

“Capital” of Broadland is Wroxham, which has a good selection of shops, pubs and restaurants and an excellent craft centre. A 20-minute drive away is historic Norwich, with its 900-year-old cathedral and castle, museums and excellent shopping centre. Especially popular with families, the Broads have another bonus on the doorstep – the seaside. You can actually moor up in the centre of Great Yarmouth, while other big resorts such as Lowestoft and quieter sandy beaches along the Norfolk coast are easily accessible The nearby Fens provide a flat, fertile landscape whose bulbfields become a blaze of colour each spring. Fenland stretches from Cambridge to Lincoln and from King’s Lynn to Peterborough, its slow-flowing rivers giving boaters the chance to enjoy stunning skyscapes and sunsets.

Bustling market towns and other old cities such as Ely, with its imposing cathedral, are worth a detour, along with important nature reserves at Welney and Wicken Fen.

wales and the borders Celebrating its bicentenary this year, the 35-mile Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal is perfect for a peaceful break amid the stunning countryside of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Once an industrial corridor for coal and iron, it has few locks to negotiate on its route linking the charming market town of Brecon, with its stunning Georgian architecture, to Cwmbran. Other historic towns on the way include Crickhowell, with its 13th century architecture and good shopping.

For that “on top of the world” feeling, head for the

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l In 1912, a cow named Buttercup fell into the Leeds & Liverpool Canal near the Foulridge Tunnel. Rather than wade out she chose to swim the whole 1,640 yards to the northern end. She was revived with brandy by drinkers in the nearby Hole in the Wall pub!

awesome Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, which carries the Llangollen Canal 126ft high above the River Dee. Granted World Heritage status in 2009, this magnificent feat of engineering offers a breathtaking experience in an area of great scenic beauty.

The 46-mile Llangollen Canal is one of Europe’s most popular waterways and gets very busy in high season. But the countryside is attractive throughout and the towns of Whitchurch, Ellesmere, Chirk and Corwen are worth a visit, along with Lake Bala and Llangollen itself, with its Steam Railway Centre.

“Some of the least busy waterways can be found in the North of England”

the north Some of the least busy waterways can be found in the North of England, where boating itineraries can cover vividly-contrasting landscapes.

The Huddersfield Narrow Canal once provided the shortest way for people and goods between Lancashire and Yorkshire. The 20-mile stretch includes tranquil wooded countryside, charming towns and dramatic old mills and industrial sites.

The Rochdale Canal is another trans-Pennine route reopened in the last 10 years after 50 years without through navigation. It runs from the heart of Manchester through rugged and beautiful scenery to its junction with the Calder & Hebble at Sowerby Bridge.

Boaters on the Shropshire Union Canal with an eye for history should check out the National Waterways Museum at Ellesmere Port, where “the Shroppie” meets the Manchester Ship Canal and River Mersey.

More industrial heritage is in evidence where the

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uk uncovered n britain’s canals and waterways

Trent & Mersey Canal links with the River Weaver near Northwich in Cheshire. Built in 1875 and billed as “the Cathedral of the Canals”, the magnificently-engineered 60ft Anderton Boat Lift reopened 10 years ago and connects the two waterways.

canals and waterways facts Waterscape (www.waterscape.com) is British Waterways’ leisure site with information about boating, angling, wildlife, walking, cycling, volunteering, and places to visit.

Waterways Ireland (www.waterwaysireland.org) is the guardian of Ireland’s inland navigations.

scotland

Falkirk Wheel

operators/boat rental

Drifters

Thanks to an £84 million investment, it’s been possible since 2002 to cruise the 69 miles from the Irish Sea to the North Sea while stopping off at Scotland’s two grandest cities. The Forth & Clyde and Union canals link Glasgow and Edinburgh and take in some beautiful countryside and impressive sights. Among these, the massive and unique Falkirk Wheel connects the two canals, replacing 16 locks and raising and lowering boats 115ft in about 15 minutes.

Sailing boats and cabin cruisers can be booked to explore the West Highlands along the spectacular Caledonian Canal, which runs from Fort William to Inverness. The forested slopes of the Great Glen and magnificent castles such as Invergarry and Urquhart are highlights, while skippers are warned to keep an eye out for the famous Monster while crossing the tranquil waters of Loch Ness.

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Drifters (www.drifters.co.uk) represents leading independent narrowboat hire fleets working in partnership with British Waterways.

This year, it features more than 500 boats from 35 bases, with prices starting at £330 for a short break and £470 for a week. The Drifters website accepts bookings for several operators, including UK Boat Hire of Worcester (www.ukboathire.com), Anglo Welsh of Bristol (www.anglowelsh.co.uk), Shire Cruisers of Sowerby Bridge (www.black-prince.com) and Rose Narrowboats of Strettonunder-Fosse, near Rugby (www.rose-narrowboats.co.uk).

northern ireland

Freelance writer John Law has spent many years admiring the scenery and narrowboats on the Kennet & Avon Canal during regular towpath runs, and has taken to the water himself – although he is happier waving as boaters chug past these days.

Hoseasons (www.hoseasons.co.uk/boating) has n Dogs go, too combined with Blakes and now offers 1,000 boats on UK waterways, with 21 bases on the Norfolk Broads and 42 on rivers and canals. High-summer prices start at £644 for a four-berth cruiser on the Broads and £930 for a four-berth canal narrowboat.

Kate Boats of Warwick (www.kateboats.co.uk) operates narrowboats on the Midland canals. A typical price in early July is from £965 for a two/four-berth craft. n On the Shrophsire Union Canal Waterways Holidays (www.waterwaysholidays.com) offers an availability search of more than 1,500 narrowboats, cruisers & sailing yachts from 60 boat hire operators on the canals, Norfolk Broads and Thames.

Typical one-week prices in May start at £495 for a two-berth canal boat on the Shropshire Union and £342 for a two-berth motor cruiser on the Broads.

Mood lighting, fine bone china, three flatscreen TVs…welcome to the world of modern-day canal cruising.

The latest environmentally-friendly, hybrid narrowboat available through Hoseasons reaches surprising levels of comfort. Based on the North Oxford Canal this summer, the boat also features double-glazing, under-

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n A boat interior on the Broads

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Star of Northern Ireland’s waterway wonders is Lough Erne, a 45-mile expanse dotted with islands and rocky caves where families can admire the mountains and watch the swans, grebes, herons and other wildlife. For a real escape from the crowds, it is possible to moor up on the islands.

Once a Viking trade route, the Erne has never been a modern commercial navigation. Instead, people have for years enjoyed the game and coarse fishing, the watersports – and that stunning scenery.

Just north of Belturbet, a channel links the Erne System with the Shannon-Erne Waterway. Located at a point where the two great lakes of Upper and Lower Loch Erne meet is Fermanagh’s county town of Enniskillen, with its castle and craft workshops.

floor heating and a dishwasher, while an electric motor means progress is almost silent and less diesel is used.

Another, based near Rugby, has two en suite shower-rooms, a square stern for better seating and a particularly useful item – a wine cooler.

Cabin cruisers are also better equipped. The newest on the Norfolk Broads have walkaround beds, satellite TV and Sony PlayStations.

Spring 2012

hit the road n alps driving tour

Climb every mountain A circular route through spectacular alpine passes in Switzerland, Austria and Italy’s South Tyrol – including the famous Stelvio Pass – will satisfy even the most ardent adrenalin junkie. Buckle your seatbelts…

he Alps offer some of the most exhilarating driving you will find – nowhere more so than on the dramatic Stelvio Pass in Italy’s South Tyrol region. Named by the BBC’s Top Gear programme as the world’s best driving road, it is a wild ride of twists and curves amidst stunning mountain and valley vistas.

Stelvio is just one of the majestic highlights of this eight-day alpine driving tour through Switzerland, Austria and the South Tyrol, for which we have enlisted the help of Swiss-based motoring experts Ultimate Drives.

You can either drive your own car via a Channel crossing or fly to Zurich and rent a car for the 1,700km (1,050-mile) alpine route.

Besides Stelvio, the route encompasses magnificent mountain passes such as Austria’s Grossglockner and Switzerland’s Albula and Klausen, as well as pristine high Alps environment and pretty alpine towns and villages.

T

day 1

calais-zurich

Distance: 770km Driving time: 8 hours 30 minutes plus stops The drive: Take a cross-Channel ferry or Eurotunnel train then head south-east from Calais, bypassing Reims and Nancy and crossing into Switzerland near Basel then continuing on to Zurich. Alternatively, fly straight to Zurich and rent a car.

Overnight: Zurich. Try the three-star Hotel Seefeld (www.hotelseefeld.ch).

n Atop the Klausen Pass

n Drive through spectacular alpine scenery

day 2

zurich-lermoos

Distance: 400km Driving time: 6 hours 30 minutes plus stops Mountain passes: 5 including Hahntennjoch The drive: After setting off bright and early from Zurich, today’s drive takes you east and into some of the greatest mountain roads in the Austrian Vorarlberg.

About 90 minutes from Zurich and you are onto your first mountain pass, Furkajoch, from which the Austrians have kindly banned caravans.

You then head further east and into the beautiful, sweeping Lech river valley, over the Hochtannbergpass, then onto the jet-set ski resort of Lech, where you can stop for lunch.

After lunch, continue east along the Lech River valley, before cutting off and heading over a favourite alpine pass, the Hahntennjoch. One more long and sweeping pass takes you due east in the direction of Innsbruck, before which you head north to the Tyrolean mountain resort of Lermoos.

Highlight: The lunar-like landscape on the south side of the Hahntennjoch will make you feel like you have

swiss-image.ch/Christof Sonderegger

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swiss-image.ch/Manuel Bauer

nZurich’s Grossmuenster Church

been transported to another planet, before heading into the beautiful national park near the foot of the pass, a wonderful contrast over a 5km ascent.

Overnight: Lermoos. Stay at the four-star Mohr Life Resort (www.mohr-life-resort.at).

day 3

lermoos-salzburg

Ultimate Drives/Tim Andrew

Distance: 350km Driving time: 5 hours plus stops Mountain passes: 2 including Gerlos The drive: This morning, continue further east into Austria, past Innsbruck and on into the Salzburg region.

After tackling the beautiful Gerlos Pass and a run up to the end of the deserted Stubachtal Valley, head north via the Thurn Pass to Kitzbuhel, where you can stop for lunch and a stroll through its pretty streets.

Continue on via St Johann, crossing briefly into Germany before arriving in Salzburg. Spend the

n Grossglockner Pass Austrian National Tourist Office/Popp Hackner

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hit the road n alps driving tour

evening unwinding in the city, perhaps taking a gentle walk through its charming Old Town – a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site – past Mozart’s birthplace on the historic Getreidegasse pedestrian-only street and relaxing in a street-side beer garden prior to dinner.

Highlight: Just after tackling the Gerlos Pass, stop off near the town of Krimml to see the spectacular Krimmler Waterfalls. Europe’s highest falls and the world’s fifth-highest, they cascade 380m in three stages. A 15minute walk up the Waterfall Trail from a car park by the main road takes you to the lowest waterfall. You can continue for another hour to the top one, getting close to this amazing spectacle on special platforms while taking in fabulous views of the Hohe Tauern National Park.

Overnight: Salzburg. The Blaue Gans boutique arthotel (www.blauegans.at) is Salzburg’s oldest inn.

day 4

salzburg

Explore: Make today a carefree, and car-free, day to discover the delights of one of Austria’s most beguiling cities. Salzburg is easy to explore, both on foot or by bus – and the good-value SalzburgerLand Card gives free entry to all the city’s major attractions as well as free travel on the city’s buses and on the Hohensalzburg Fortress cable railway. You can also take in the Old Town sights on a traditional fiaker horse and buggy.

Wander the maze of streets, alleyways and squares and take in grand edifices such as the cathedral, Residence Palace (Residenz), St. Peter’s Abbey (Stift St Peter) and its fascinating cemetery, and Mirabell Palace (Schloss Mirabell) with its romantic river-side gardens, looking up at facades spanning the Middle Ages, Romanesque, Baroque and Renaissance periods.

Highlight: Salzburg is the city of music and the setting for The Sound of Music. Enjoy a Mozart concert high above the city in the elegant State Rooms of the Hohensalzburg Fortress after dinner in the fortress restaurant, looking out to the nearby mountains.

Overnight: Salzburg again – the Blaue Gans.

day 5

Peter Ellegard

Distance: 0km

n Salzburg and the Hohensalzburg Fortress

truly a sight to behold.

Take lunch near the top of the pass, then head over the Iselsberg Pass and on through beautiful Lienz, the main city in the East Tyrol which is also known as the “Pearl of the Dolomites”.

Cross into the Italian Dolomites to end the day in the alpine town of Cortina d’Ampezzo, host of the 1956 Winter Olympics.

Highlight: Built between 1930 and 1935 to connect Austria’s Salzburg and Carinthia provinces, the Grossglockner High Alpine Road is a breathtaking 30 miles of 36 hairpin turns ascending 2,500m through the Grossglockner Pass. Stop along the route to take in the spectacular views, augmented by information boards and exhibitions.

Overnight: Cortina. The four-star Hotel Cortina (www.hotelcortina.com) is in the city centre.

salzburg-cortina

Distance: 260km Driving time: 4 hours plus stops Mountain passes: 3 including Grossglockner

day 6

The drive: Head south-west from Salzburg, retracing your steps towards Kitzbuhel and briefly transiting Germany before turning off south past Saafelden n Stelvio and the popular lake-side resort town of Zell am Pass hairpins See, dominated by the Kitzsteinhorn peak and glacier.

As you re-enter the Hohe Tauern National Park, your sights will be set on the Grossglockner Pass. At almost 2,600m, it’s one of the highest and most spectacular passes in the Alps and is set in the shadow of the majestic Grossglockner Masif, standing 3,797m and

cortina-st moritz

Distance: 350km Driving time: 5 hours 30 minutes plus stops Mountain passes: 4 including the stunning Stelvio The drive: Begin your journey back towards Switzerland today, heading through the South Tyrol over the Di Rombo Pass, continuing down into the Parco dello Stelvio, where you will tackle the celebrated Stelvio Pass – regarded as one of the most spectacular mountain passes in the world.

Approaching from the north, the best way to experi-

Consorzio turistico Val Venosta

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hit the road n alps driving tour

n The Stelvio Pass has 48 switchback turns

ence it, this pass has a stunning wall of 48 switchback turns, each individually numbered with small cobbled stones; it’s a spectacular sight and even better drive, in every sense. Lunch can be taken just before you head over the pass in Trafoi, at the Hotel Bella Vista.

After lunch, tackle the north wall, stopping briefly at the top to admire the amazing vista. Start the ascent but then rather than continuing to Bormio, head north and onto the twisty Unbrail Pass, which takes you into Switzerland via Santa Maria Val Mustair, then directly into the Swiss National Park.

One final treat of the day is a run along the Lower Engadine Valley to the village of Tarasp, where one of the most beautiful medieval castles in Switzerland is located, on an elevated rocky outcrop setting overlooking the Lower Engadine Valley.

Highlight: Arriving safely at the top of the Stelvio Pass, knowing that even Sterling Moss managed to crash off the road during a vintage event in the 90s, gives you an enormous sense of accomplishment, and the view back down from the top is pretty special, too.

Overnight: The three-star Hotel Steinbok (www.hotelsteinbock.ch) is in Pontresina, near St Moritz.

day 7

st moritz-zurich

Distance: 370km Driving time: 5 hours 30 minutes plus stops Mountain passes: 3 including Albula and Klausen The drive: Your final run back to Zurich takes you east

towards the central Swiss Alps, home to some of the most scenic passes anywhere in the Alps.

The initial run takes you up and out of Engadine via the rugged Albula Pass, tracing the path of the Glacier Express. The Albula is one of the most untouched passes in the region, and a highlight is passing by some of the amazing railway viaducts that bring the trains south and through the Alps.

From the pass, head across to the resort of Davos/Klosters, where you can stop for a first coffee of the day. Try the hotel Chesa Grischuna, where you can take drinks on their terrace in the centre of this picturesque village.

Exit Klosters and continue north. You are now heading towards the Klausen Pass –home of the legendary Klausen Run (Klausenrennen), a 21.5km pre-war hill climb. The race (and, of course, the pass) consisted of 136 curves with an altitude difference of 1,237m from bottom to top.

A light lunch can be taken at the summit of the pass in the small Klausen Cafe. After lunch, head back down the pass, which drops you close to the shores of Lake Lucerne. Follow the western shoreline of the lake (one of the prettiest as it hugs its way n Lake literally all the way around the waters edge), Lucerne from before arriving at the lakeside resort of Weggis, Weggis for sundown drinks overlooking Lake Lucerne.

Known as the Garden of Switzerland, this region boasts some of the most beautiful flora and Weggis itself is always immaculately turned out. This oasis of calm overlooking the lake is the perfect place to reflect back on a stunning

“The Stelvio Pass…is a spectacular sight and even better drive”

swiss-image.ch/Franziska Pfenniger

Spring 2012

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hit the road n alps driving tour

MOTORING CLIPS

alps driving facts The high passes of Austria, Italy and Switzerland can be driven from June until mid-October. However, snow can close alpine roads even in summer.

n Bad weather can close alpine passes

driving distance The circular mountain driving route from Zurich totals around 1,700km – just over 1,000 miles.

Getting to and from Zurich by car from Calais will add another 1,550km (970 miles) to the total, with the distance from your home to Dover on top.

Ultimate Drives/Tim Andrew

when to go

The McLaren MP412C sports car can now be rented for the first time in the UK in an exclusive partnership between rental company Hertz and Premiere Velocity. Using McLaren’s Formula 1 technology, the 12C features a 592bhp, 3.8-litre V8 twin turbo engine. It retails at £212,000 but can be rented from £1,134.30 per day, or £906.30 for rentals over 28 days, from www.hertzsupercars.com.

Other supercars available include the Lamborghini LP560-4 Bicolore and Ferrari 458 Italia.

driving packages Ultimate Drives (www.ultimatedrives.net) offers touring packages of the Austrian, Swiss and Italian Alps, with or without rental cars. A package based on the featured tour would cost 985 euros per person, including hotel stays and driving itinerary. Fly to Zurich and rent a car to do it in style; Ultimate Drives offers a range of sports cars and supercars for rental. A Mini Coupe S costs from 1,400 euros, an Audi A5 Cabrio S Line is from 1,850 euros and a Porsche Boxster S starts at 2,800 euros, all for one week’s rental.

Tourist information Austrian National Tourist Office: www.austria.info Salzburg Tourist Office: www.salzburg.info South Tyrol Tourist Office: www.suedtirol.info Switzerland Tourism: www.myswitzerland.com

week of touring the Alps.

Either spend the night in Weggis or take the final run back to Zurich, around 60 minutes away.

Highlight: Arriving in Weggis for late afternoon drinks, you couldn’t be in a more beautiful setting. The resort looks directly out onto Lake Lucerne, without question the most beautiful lake in the Swiss Alps, and you can while away the time on the terrace of the Post Hotel watching the paddle steamers and pleasure craft criss-crossing the lake.

Overnight: Weggis – try the Seehotel Gotthard (http://gotthard-weggis.ch). Or Zurich for the Hotel Seefeld again. n Driving through the Swiss Alps

day 8

zurich-calais

Distance: 780km Driving time: 9 hours plus stops

Ultimate Drives/Tim Andrew

The drive: Retrace your journey back to Calais, perhaps breaking the drive with a detour to Epernay in the Champagne region. For a more relaxed return, stay overnight and after exploring the area before setting off early next morning for a midday Channel crossing.

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The RAC Personal HazardLight is a must-have for safety-conscious motorists.

Its 16 bright LED lights give 360degree coverage for up to 300 metres by day and 1,000 metres by night. Totally waterproof, the light floats and is both crushproof and magnetic. It comes in several different colours and is available with either replaceable lithium battery (£25) or rechargeable, with mains/car charger (£29.99), from www.personalhazardlight.co.uk. l Get a 20% exclusive tlm DISCOUNT by quoting this code when you order online: TLMOffer.

Frequency on the former SeaFrance CalaisDover ferry route now operated in partnership by DFDS and LD Lines has been doubled with the addition of a second ship from April 27. The Barfleur, which can carry 550 cars and 1,212 passengers, has been chartered from Brittany Ferries and will be renamed before entering service.

It will supplement the existing vessel on the route, Norman Spirit (pictured), to give 10 daily departures from each port. See www.dfdsseaways.co.uk and www.ldlines.com.

SnoozeShade for car seats is designed to help babies maintain their sleep patterns when on the move. The newest addition to the SnoozeShade family – joining the SnoozeShade Original buggy blackout blind – also gives babies maximum protection from the sun. It features UPF50+, breathable fabric and fits snugly and quickly on any Group 0 or 0+ infant car seat. Available from www.snoozeshade.com and stockists including John Lewis, it has an RRP of £17.99.

Spring 2012

competition n swiss alps break

n View of St Luc in the Valais

WIN a three-night break in a grand, historic hotel in the Swiss Alps – worth over £2,000 uilt in 1883 on the site of the original 1859 Bella Tola and fabulously located with a view of Switzerland’s Valais Alp 4,000ers (peaks over 4,000 metres high), the neatlyrenovated, four-star Grand Hotel Bella Tola & St-Luc is now a stylish, luxurious gem.

Lovers of historic hotels will adore this former chalet, which was declared Switzerland’s historic hotel of the year in 2001 by ICOMOS (the International Council on Monuments and Sites) and radiates 19th century nobility and alpine elegance.

Situated 1,650m above sea level in the middle of an alpine hiking and skiing paradise at St-Luc, in the Valais region, it boasts a wellness facility added in 2004 and serves up authentic cuisine accompanied by an excellent Valais wine list.

The Bella Tola is a member of Swiss Historic Hotels, a collection of nearly 50 landmark properties throughout Switzerland. Having been in the hands of the same family for three generations, the current owners – AnneFrancoise and Claude Buchs – have restored it to its former glory, with original furnishings in the rooms and lounges, a 19th century ceiling painting in the dining room and a large collection of original paintings.

Frequent events with a cultural and historic theme are held at the hotel, including concerts, talks and themed hikes.

We have teamed up with Switzerland Tourism to offer you the chance to win three nights for two people in a double room at the Grand Hotel Bella Tola & St-Luc, including half-board accommodation (breakfast and dinner) and free use of its L’Eau des Cimes wellness spa centre, with swimming pool and integrated whirlpool, sauna and steam bath.

The prize also includes two economy return flights from London to Geneva and two first-class fourday rail passes courtesy of Swiss Travel System. In total, this fabulous prize is worth £2,150 and it is valid until the end of October, 2013.

B

n Dining on high Picures: Grand Hotel Bella Tola & St-Luc

n The Hotel Bella Tola

n Swimming pool and whirlpool

To enter, go to www.tlm-magazine.co.uk and click on Competitions. Closing date is June 5, 2012. Terms & conditions apply; see website for details.

how to enter For a chance to win this fabulous threenight Swiss Alps break for two people, simply answer the following question: n Cosy bedrooms

Spring 2012

Question: In which region of Switzerland is the Grand Hotel Bella Tola & St-Luc situated?

For more information on the Grand Hotel Bella Tola, go to: www.bellatola.ch.

For details about Swiss Historic Hotels visit: www.myswitzerland.com/en/swiss-historic-hotels.html or http://swiss-historic-hotels.ch.

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resort report n marbella, spain

Costa del

soul

Cultured Marbella is the Costa del Sol’s answer to St Tropez but it has plenty of appeal for all. Peter Ellegard is your guide arbella is the Costa del Sol’s most cosmopolitan resort and its high-class hotels, glitzy nightclubs, designer shops and superyacht haven Puerto Banus make it a mecca for the jetset and celebrities.

Yet it is far from just the preserve of millionaires. It embodies the heart and soul of Andalucia with its beautiful Old Town quarter. Tree-shaded squares and cobbled side streets are dotted with historic buildings, bars, bistros, boutiques and galleries, just perfect for kicking back your heels in by day or night.

It has glorious, sandy beaches where you can hire parasols and cabanas, to laze and gaze out over the azure-blue Mediterranean. While for the active, there’s water sports and great golf galore.

M

Starwood Hotels & Resorts

on the beach

n Marbella sunset

Marbella’s coastline spans 25km and encompasses a number of sandy beaches. The palm tree-lined Paseo Maritimo esplanade stretches almost 7km from the centre of Marbella to Puerto Banus and flanks some of the best beaches, with many beach bars, restaurants and cafes along the way.

Playa de Calahonda, just east of the city, is one of the Costa del Sol’s prettiest beaches and is easily accessible from the main road.

Playa de la Bajadilla is located next to Marbella’s Puerto Deportivo marina, close to its Old Town quarter, and has several bars while the dark sands of Playa de la Fontanilla boast numerous bars.

The pristine Playa de Nagueles beach, along the city’s Golden Mile, is adjacent to the beach clubs of the swanky Puente Romano and Marbella Club hotels where you may well spot celebs relaxing in the sun.

Just west of that is Playa del Ancon, a half-mile-long

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n Marbella’s Playa Nueva Andalucia

golden, sandy beach giving sweeping views of neighbouring bays. You can fish from rocks at the end of the beach.

The fun beach of Playa Nueva Andalucia is adjacent to Puerto Banus marina and is a short walk from San Pedro de Alcantara, one of the centres within the Marbella municipality, with Playa de Guadalmina just beyond.

attractions Marbella has plenty of historic and cultural interest for those who enjoy time away from the beach or pool.

A reminder of Andalucia’s Arab heritage is evident in the Murallas del Castillo, literally Castle Walls, which are all that remain of a Moorish castle in the historic Old Town. They are not open to the public, but guided tours are available for even older ruins in San Pedro de Alcantara – Roman baths, a Roman villa and the 4th century Basilica Vega del Mar. Marbella’s Old Town is a maze of delightful side streets and has some lovely squares, notably the Plaza de

Spring 2012

resort report n marbella, spain

Los Naranjos (Orange Square) with old buildings including the Town Hall, a 500-year-old fountain and bars and restaurants with outdoor seating shaded by orange trees.

Another typically Spanish square is Plaza Puente de Ronda, surrounded by whitewashed buildings.

There are some pretty parks and gardens to enjoy, among them the Old Town’s Parque de la Alameda, which is full of sub-tropical plants. The adjacent Avenida del Mar is lined with copies of Dali sculptures. The fascinating Bonsai Museum has trees hundreds of years old.

But to really push the boat out, head down to Puerto Banus to mingle with the jetsetters and ogle at the floating gin palaces in the harbour.

eating and drinking Gastronomy lovers will be in seventh heaven in Marbella. Fish, particularly pescaito frito (small fried fish), is naturally very popular. But with such a cosmopolitan clientele holidaying here you can find any type

Spring 2012

“Head down to Puerto Banus to mingle with the jetsetters and ogle at the floating gin palaces”

n Plaza de los Naranjos, Marbella

Spanish Tourist Office

Spanish Tourist Office

Spanish Tourist Office

n Gin palaces ahoy at Puerto Banus marina

of cuisine, served up in eateries from beach bars to highclass restaurants.

This being Spain, you will find tapas everywhere. A great place to enjoy it in is plum-coloured La Cuisine (+34 952 82 56 88), on Plaza Puente de Ronda, which has a roof terrace and is open until 2am daily. Some of the best, and cheapest, tapas in Marbella can be had at nearby La Venencia de Los Olivos (+34 952 77 99 63), a favourite with locals.

Also in the Old Town is La Lavadora (+34 952 90 10 83), an atmospheric bar noted for its Moroccan specialities and milkshakes.

For some of the best freshly-caught and cooked fish, head to the Sociedad de Pesca Deportiva Marbella restaurant (+34 657 83 32 51) on the Puerto Deportivo harbourfront. It may be tiny and no frills, but the quality is excellent and the prices are good value.

At the Hotel Guadalpin’s El Rincon restaurant (www.rinconguadalpin.com) in Puerto Banus, you can even enjoy a traditional British Sunday roast

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in Marbella's Old Town

cooked by French chefs!

There are many restaurants and bars to savour a meal or drinks while people-watching in ritzy Puerto Banus.

But for sheer pizzazz, nothing can beat dining in Marbella Club’s (www.marbellaclub.com) legendary Champagne Room, which reopened after extensive renovations in October. With a glass or two of vintage Krug Champagne, of course.

nightlife

Spanish Tourist Office

n Marbella nightlife

With Marbella and Puerto Banus attracting the rich and famous, there’s no shortage of bars and nightclubs with bling appeal. The Olivia Valere nightclub (www.oliviavalere.com), between Marbella and Puerto Banus, is where you can rub shoulders with the highest of high society clubbers – and the drinks prices are skyhigh to match.

Another exclusive club is La Notte (+34 952 77 61 90), part of Marbella’s La Meridiana restaurant. Also popular with the party set is the stylish Suite in the Golden Mile’s Hotel Puente Romano (www.puenteromano.com), an Asian-inspired blend of restaurant, lounge and nightclub which becomes one of Marbella’s most exotic and upscale spots at midnight, featuring top DJs. You can find beautiful people partying to some of the UK’s best DJs at Tibu Banus (www.tibubanus.com), one of the hottest clubs in Puerto Banus that offers a rooftop terrace. Yet more glamour can be found at Pangea (www.pangea-club.com), also in Puerto Banus. Famous for its Sintillate Parties and luxury rooftop terrace, it reopens for the 2012 season in May. If your budget doesn’t stretch to such glamorous venues, you can find a host of bars that stay open till early morning in the side streets of Puerto Banus and in central Marbella.

And if you want to party all day, mixing with Marbella’s in-crowd, there is just one place to head – Nikki Beach. Its Grand Opening White Party on April 22 heralded the 2012 season, with all-day grooves from

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Peter Ellegard

n Plaza Puente de Ronda

Spanish Tourist Office

resort report n marbella, spain

n Beach at Hotel Marbella Club

DJs, live musicians and entertainers from 11am until 8pm up to mid-June and from late August to October, and between 10am and midnight in high summer.

shopping There is shopping to satisfy every taste and budget in Marbella. Saunter the streets of its Old Town to pick up curios and souvenirs as well as locally-crafted art works from galleries. Puerto Banus also has art galleries.

Head for Avenida Ricardo Soriano, Marbella’s main thoroughfare, for a wide selection of shops and boutiques including fashion brands Mango and Zara.

Shopping centres include La Canada, offering a mix of fashion boutiques and other stores in central Marbella.

Spanish department store chain El Corte Ingles has a big branch in the city and is good for clothing, shoes, perfumes and houseware items.

For designer label shopping, Puerto Banus is the place to browse with names including Versace, D&G, Dior and Fendi dotted around the superyacht-filled harbour.

Nueva Andalucia’s Centro Plaza has fashion outlet bargains, while a market every Saturday offers leatherware, antiques and general bric-a-brac.

Shops typically open from 9am or 10am until 8pm on weekdays, closing earlier on Saturdays. Most shops close on Sundays, other than those in central Marbella.

days out You don’t have to venture far to get a taste of rural life away from the busy beaches. The village of Istan, only 10km inland, is a peaceful haven with narrow streets that echo to the sound of water flowing from numerous fountains fed by natural springs.

A popular excursion is to Ronda, one of Andalucia’s celebrated hill-top Pueblos Blancos, or white villages – so-called because of the dazzling white-washed walls of their traditional architecture. A deep gorge spanned by an ancient bridge pierces Ronda, dividing its historic and

Spring 2012

Starwood Hotels & Resorts

resort report n marbella, spain

n Ronda is perched above a gorge

marbella facts

getting there Direct, non-stop flights are operated from London airports by British Airways (www.ba.com), easyJet (www.easyjet.com), Ryanair (www.ryanair.com), Monarch (www.monarch.co.uk) and Thomson (http://flights.thomson.co.uk). Marbella is 45km from Malaga Airport, a 40-minute journey by road.

getting around Driving is the most convenient option. Rent a car from Malaga Airport before you arrive to ensure you get one; they can be in short supply in high summer. Prices may also be much higher if you leave it till you fly out. All the major rental companies have cars there. Use taxis in the evenings, or walk if you are staying centrally.

prices Food and drink prices vary, but expect to pay 5-7 euros for a drink in a bar, more in chic clubs or bars. You can get a filling meal of tapas, with wine, for as little as 10 euros in Marbella Old Town, and a main fish course for 12 euros in small restaurants. The sky’s the limit in upscale restaurants.

Spanish Tourist Office

tour operators Holidays are offered by companies including Classic Collection (www.classic-collection.com), n Arco de Felipe, Thomson (www.thomson.co.uk), First Ronda Choice (www.firstchoice.co.uk), Sovereign (www.sovereign.com), and Cosmos (www.cosmos.co.uk).

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tourist information Spanish Tourist Office: www.spain.info Costa del Sol Tourist Board: www.visitcostadelsol.com.

www.tlm-magazine.co.uk

Spanish Tourist Office

n Playa del Ancon

The Costa del Sol boasts well over 60 golf courses and even proclaims itself the Costa del Golf on road signs.

All are easily accessible from Marbella, but with the city having the highest concentration of golf courses on the Costa del Sol, there are more than a dozen right on your doorstep. Several are clustered in an area known as Golf Valley.

Among local gems you can play are three by master designer Robert Trent Jones – Las n La Quinta Brisas, which sparked the golf course region’s golfing boom in the 1980s when it hosted the World Cup, Los Naranjos and Marbella Golf & Country Club.

Also nearby are La Quinta, which hosted the 2011 Spanish Ladies’ Open, and Monte Mayor, where you can tee off on high in mountain surroundings.

Water sports lovers have an endless array of options.

stay Hotels range from basic and affordable right up to five-star chic. Pick of the bunch are Leading Hotels of the World duo and near neighbours Hotel Puento Romano and Marbella Club Hotel, both of which offer refined elegance in relaxed environments and attract celebrity guests.

Just outside the city, Los Monteros (www.monteros.com) is another five-star hotel with Alist guests that have included Richard Burton, Sean Connery and Michael Jackson.

Other five-star hotels include the Gran Hotel Guadalpin Banus (www.granhotelguadalpin.com) and Hotel Don Carlos (www.hoteldoncarlos.com), home to the Nikki Beach club.

For something smaller, the hip, boutique Hotel Claude (www.hotelclaudemarbella.com) is in the heart of Marbella Old Town, as are The Town House (www.townhouse.nu) and, for those on a budget, the Hotel Don Alfredo (www.hoteldonalfredo.com). The Hotel Pyr Marbella (www.hotelpyr.com) offers threestar value in the heart of Puerto Banus.

Spring 2012

Sol Melia Hotels

sporting chance

when to go Not for nothing is the coastal strip where Marbella is situated called the Costa del Sol, or Sun Coast. It is blessed with 325 days of sunshine a year and enjoys warm days year-round, with daytime highs rarely falling below 14°C in winter and tempered by the Mediterranean in summer.

new quarters while buildings perch impossibly on sheer cliffs. Sights include an old bull ring, Arab baths and its ornate town hall and churches.

A tourist route links Ronda with other white villages including Arcos de la Frontera, which possesses one of Spain’s most striking old quarters.

Close to Estepona, the ancient mountain-top village of Casares, the construction of which was ordered by Julius Caesar, has a preserved Arab castle and offers views of the Straits of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean is squeezed by the convergence of Europe and Africa.

You can also take a day trip to Gibraltar for a cable car ride to the top of the Rock, while in the other direction you can visit Malaga’s Picasso Museum and the house where he lived, now preserved as a monument.

seasonal focus n summer with the kids

It’s a family affair

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n Water park fun at Beaches Turks & Caicos

Spring 2012

Beaches Resorts

Family biking in Austria

Freewheel Holidays

n

n Hen party at the Dandelion Hideaway

The Dandelion Hideaway

seasonal focus n summer with the kids

Finding somewhere to take the kids on holiday when schools finish for summer that keeps them happy and doesn’t break the bank can be taxing.

Mum-of-two Jane Anderson offers some suggestions whatever your budget s I sipped a chilled Portuguese wine from the terrace of As Dunas Restaurant, I watched with contentment as my eightyear-old daughter, Scarlett, and son Finlay, five, bounced and whooped with delight on the springy trampoline that lay just below the restaurant, surrounded by a child’s dream of a sandpit and, beyond, rolling sand dunes and impressive stretch of beach leading to the fishing town of Sagres.

I realised that this was one of the least stressful holidays we’d ever taken where everyone was getting to do what they liked.

We had checked into Martinhal (www.martinhal.com), a new resort in south-west Portugal, just south of Cape St Vincent, the Land’s End of Europe. Martinhal is one of a growing breed of hotels,

aiming to put family first without compromising on style. Our two-storey beach house wouldn’t have looked out of place in the pages of Elle Decoration. It came with a state-of-the-art kitchen so that we could self-cater if we wanted – a big plus with kids.

We used the Raposinhos Kids Club and I even took Scarlett to the wonderful Finisterra Spa for a parent and child half-hour massage.

There’s plenty of choice when it comes to high-end resorts rolling out the red carpet for kids. The Cipriani (www.cipriani.com) in Venice has opened a Smile Kids Club and staff will bend over backwards to take your youngsters fishing on the lagoon or help them discover the mysteries of the Doges Palace.

Or how about Crillon Le Brave (www.crillonlebrave.com) in Provence, where they’ll

A

n On the beach at Martinhal Martinhal

Spring 2012

l Look out for free attractions on www.enjoyengland.com. l Use voucher sites such as www.vouchercodes.co.uk for printable cheap meal vouchers and check out Groupon, Crowdity, Living Social and KGB Deals for special offers. l Book public transport in advance and look for deals, such as 50% off entry to attractions when you travel by train. For details, go to www.daysoutguide.co.uk. l Take packed lunches as many places provide picnic areas. l Check out parking charges and any other additional charges before you get to your intended

VisitEngland

uk summer family holiday tips destination, so you don’t get stung. l Check out annual passes. Many of the country’s top attractions n Look for attraction entry deals with rail travel offer yearly tickets which are worth investing in if you plan to visit more than once. l Download the free Official Enjoy England iPhone app, with over 1,000 ideas and places to visit in England including free ones. Personalise your search according to indoor or outdoor activities. l Give your kids a daily pocket money allowance so that they’re not constantly nagging for more treats!

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seasonal focus n summer with the kids

When you travel with young children, it can seem like you have to take everything but the kitchen sink with you on holiday.

However, there are some forward thinking resorts that will pre-order baby and toddler gear for your arrival.

Almyra Resort (www.almyra.com) in Cyprus has a Baby Go Lightly scheme, for example. Or you could check out The Little Concierge Company (www.thelittleconcierge.co.uk), which will deliver nappies, milk, food and toiletries to holiday destinations all over the world.

Classic Collection Holidays (www.classic-collection.co.uk) is giving complimentary inflatable BubbleBum car booster seats, worth £29.99, to all children aged from two to 11 years old who are booked to travel with the company.

“When it comes to family holidays, the major concern for parents is price”

n

BubbleBum car booster seats

value for money

even teach your child French (plus you can catch the Eurostar all the way to Avignon) or Niyama (www.niyama.com) in the Maldives, where kids under 15 stay for free?

Yet you don’t have to go five-star this summer to have the perfect family holiday. My kids have been equally happy glamping at Dandelion Hideaway (www.thedandelionhideaway.co.uk) near Leicester, with the added delights of a goat farm to explore and ponies to groom, or exploring the delights of the Isle of Wight by a pink VW campervan called Penelope (www.isleofwightcampers.co.uk). In fact, the whole camping on wheels trend is set to take off big time with companies such as Wicked Campers (www.wickedcampers.co.uk) offering mobile holidays across Europe in their cool vans.

Trying out archery at Butlins

Butlins

n

Classic Collection

gear up

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Camping in general still holds much appeal for families as it’s fabulous value for money and standards have risen immeasurably over the last 10 years. Choose correctly and it’s a great way of experiencing a chi-chi destination for a fraction of the price.

Venue Holidays offers economical summer camping in a fully-equipped Espace tent at Camping les Pins Parasols at Frejus on the snazzy Cote d’Azur. Keycamp (www.keycamp.co.uk) has campsites just outside of Paris which are a great base for exploring the expensive French capital and Disneyland Paris. Some feature Keycamp’s fabulous new treehouses, which kids adore.

Canvas Holidays (www.canvasholidays.co.uk) has expanded its “mini campers” programme to include 11 new campsites ideal for families travelling with underfours. For older children, there’s a host of activities from body zorbing to spy-themed sessions.

When it comes to family holidays, the major concern for parents is price. As Claire Wilson, mum and managing director of The Adventure Company (www.adventurecompany.co.uk) says: “The untold story of the average family holiday is the parental guesswork that goes into working out how much everything is going to cost and how much they’ll need to spend entertaining the kids when they get there.”

“Inevitably there are always day trips or theme parks that the children get wooed by and it’s all too easy to spend more than anticipated on hidden extras in the heat of the moment. It’s exactly for this reason that The Adventure Company details exactly what’s included in our holidays.”

Wilson’s hot tip for 2012 is Turkey. “Offering much more than just the beaches that it is perhaps best known for, Turkey is proving an increasingly popular short-haul destination for adventurous families,” she adds.

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CU134

PR134

seasonal focus n summer with the kids

La Manga Club

Learning to play a sport is a great experience for kids. The Aphrodite Hills Tennis Academy (www.aphroditehills.com) in Cyprus has teamed up with the Annabel Croft Tennis Academy for the first time this year to offer child and adult tennis training until October 2012.

Football fanatics will love the new Buccament Bay Resort (www.buccamentbay.com) in St Vincent.

Visit during summer half term (June 2-9) when Liverpool FC Football Academy Group Coaching will be running group football coaching sessions in resort with Rodolfo Borrell, Liverpool FC reserve team manager, for five to18-year-olds.

Forte Village Resort (www.fortevillageresort.com) in Sardinia has launched a new Cricket Academy and also runs a Chelsea Soccer School throughout the summer.

n Golfer Lee Westwood and fans at La Manga Club

Spanish sport and leisure resort La Manga Club (www.lamangaclub.com) offers youngsters the chance to learn from the best with its Lee Westwood Golf Academy, offering two week-long courses this summer, from August 6-10 and 13-17, and a Milan

“Its combination of great weather, fascinating culture and fantastic value, particularly thanks to being outside of the Eurozone, has led to family bookings increasing by 59% over the last four years. Our trips take in Istanbul, historic Ephesus, the hot springs of Pamukkale, the beautiful beaches in Kas and the underground cities and lunar landscapes of Cappadocia, with activities ranging from a gullet cruise, snorkelling and kayaking in the Mediterranean to horse-riding, mountain biking and even stargazing amidst the spectacular mountains.”

all-inclusives If you want a truly exotic adventure, Vietnam is more accessible than ever now that Vietnam Airlines is flying direct from Gatwick. Travelbag (www.travelbag.co.uk) is offering 10 nights at the four-star Victoria Hoi An Beach Resort & Spa, staying on a B&B basis from £2,999 for a family of four (two adults and two children) including flights, for travel between June 13 and September 30 this year.

A great way to save money is to link up with another family and share a villa or a chalet. The Adventure Company offers savings of £50 per person when six to nine people travel together. And if you manage to get 10 together, one person goes free.

Eastern Europe is another good choice for budget-conscious family holidays. Explore Montenegro (www.exploremontenegro.com) offers off-the-beaten-track villas and Balkan Holidays (www.balkanholidays.co.uk) has all-inclusive resorts that give great value for money.

All-inclusives are a great way of making sure you don’t have any nasty surprises at the end of your holiday

Spring 2012

Junior Camp with Italian football giants AC Milan, from July 8-14.

It also has its own junior club and academies for golf, tennis, cricket, rugby, football and dance, and is offering free junior clubs places to children staying this summer.

with additional charges and there is more and more choice for families.

The Caribbean was the original place to find all-inclusives and Beaches Resorts (www.beaches.com) leads the way with four resorts in Jamaica and the Turks & Caicos.

Sesame Street characters entertain kids and family suites have special bedrooms for young guests with nauticalthemed bunk beds and Xbox games consoles.

At St James’s Club Antigua, go during peak holiday times and kids enjoy storytelling weeks with Puffin children’s authors and illustrators including Adam Stower and Rachel Bright. Bookings are via Virgin Holidays (www.virginholidays.co.uk), with a week’s all-inclusive holiday for a family of four with flights costing from £4,999.

The family all-inclusive is moving beyond the Caribbean. Jebel Ali Golf Resort & Spa (www.jebalaliinternational.com) is the first resort in Dubai to offer all-inclusive and has been awarded the World’s Leading Family Resort honour at the World Travel Awards. There are more than 80 activities from mini-golf to camel riding.

activity holidays Active holidays are a good option for easily-bored teens. Freewheel’s (www.freewheelholidays.com) cycling holidays in Europe offer low cycling distances, safe roads, separate cycling tracks and plenty of other activities on rest days. Young cyclists in particular enjoy a great sense of achievement on completing routes or there are tag-along bikes for really little ones. A ninenight holiday in Austria, called Into the Valley of the Alps, starts in the Hohe Tauern National Park. Rest days include summer skiing, tobogganing, hiking, rafting and cable car trips up the mountains. Prices start at £719 per

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BeWILDerwood boat trip

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BeWILDerwood

sporty family holidays

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family holiday facts n Center Parcs outing l I-escape has a new kids collection featuring over 700 hotels and selfcatering properties around the world: www.i-escape.com/kids. l Family travel expert William Gray has put together his top 101 family holidays at www.101familyholidays.co.uk. l Check out high-end baby and toddler-friendly self catering at www.babyfriendlyboltholes.co.uk. l Powder Byrne (www.powderbyrne.com) offers fabulous crèches and kids programmes in its luxury family summer holidays. l The recently-relaunched Luxury Family Hotels (www.luxuryfamilyhotels.com), previously part of the collapsed von Essen group, offers upmarket family holidays in eight UK hotels. l For true adventurers, see Wild Frontiers’ new “Wild Child” options, at www.wildfrontiers.co.uk/wild-world/wild-child.

48 tlm n the travel & leisure magazine

www.tlm-magazine.co.uk

Kids love a good garden to explore and, this year, RHS Garden Rosemoor (www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/rosemoor) in the Torridge Valley in North Devon has brought children’s illustrator, Quentin Blake’s book, The Green Ship, to life in the garden. Kids can clamber all over the ship and parents will love reading them the story. An exhibition of Blake’s fantastic illustrations runs from May 26 to August 27.

Families can stay in one of three lovely cottages at Wansley Barton (www.wansleybarton.co.uk), set on an organic sheep farm just a few miles away from Rosemoor with an indoor pool, free fishing, play area and pony rides from around £750 for up to five during the summer holidays.

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LEGOLAND Windsor Hotel

Travel writer Jane Anderson specialises in family travel and is the author of Brittany with Kids and Dorset, New Forest & Isle of Wight with Kids, both published by Footprint Travel Guides.

Spring 2012

Center Parcs

useful websites

treehouses If you prefer theme parks close to home, you can take in the new WB Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter (www.wbstudiotour.co.uk). And kids who love LEGOLAND can try out the new LEGOLAND Windsor Hotel (www.legolandholidays.co.uk), with pirate, kingdom or adventure-themed rooms all with interactive challenges for kids. Families can literally roll out of bed into the park, where the new attraction for this year is the Star Wars Miniland.

You can also stay on site at Alton Towers Resort (www.altontowers.com), which has two hotels alongside the Staffordshire theme park, in a safari-themed hotel at Chessington World of Adventures (www.chessington.com) and at Drayton Manor Hotel, which opened next to Drayton Manor theme park (www.draytonmanor.co.uk) in Tamworth last summer.

BeWILDerwood (www.bewilderwood.co.uk) is a superb “Curious Treehouse Adventure Park” near Wroxham in Norfolk, perfect for younger kids who love make-believe, climbing rope bridges and exploring treehouses. There are several storytelling sessions a day. New this year is Mildred’s Musical Puppet Parade, from July 23-28 and the Curious Crocklebog Capers, from August 25-27.

Kayaking in Turkey

LEGOLAND

adult and £539 per child, excluding flights.

PGL (www.pgl.co.uk) is known for its school trips and activity and adventure holidays for youngsters and teens, but it also offers a selection of family active holidays in 13 locations in the UK and France.

There are activities galore both outdoors and indoors at the four UK villages of Center Parcs (www.centerparcs.co.uk), all set in forest locations.

Work has started on a fifth park in Woburn Forest, which will open in spring 2014.

Butlins (www.butlins.com) offers family fun and activities at three seaside locations in the UK – Bognor Regis, Minehead and Skegness. Bognor Regis is gaining a new £25 million Wave Hotel and Apartments in the summer, featuring interconnecting family rooms and two and three-bedroom self-catering apartments, while a new outdoor splash zone opens at Skegness in June.

And of course, where would family holidays be without theme parks? Head to Orlando for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (www.harrypotterworldorlando.com) at Universal Orlando Resort, which also includes Universal Studios and the Islands of Adventure park. You can also take your pick of central Florida’s many other attractions, from Mickey Mouse and co at Walt Disney World and Shamu and marine friends at SeaWorld Orlando to the latest family theme park – LEGOLAND Florida. It is geared towards children between the ages of two and 12 and offers more than 50 rides, shows and attractions.

Buy your theme park and other attraction tickets in advance from Attractions Tickets Direct (www.attraction-tickets-direct.co.uk), the UK’s largest Florida attraction ticket broker. You can also check out www.visitorlando.com for great information on Orlando theme park discounts.

The Adventure Company

seasonal focus n summer with the kids

a touch of class n luxury caribbean

Typically tropical

escapes

For luxury with a laid-back feel, nobody does it better than Caribbean resorts – where you can live it up in style on private islands, be pampered in luxury allinclusive resorts and even enjoy a James Bond-style getaway in the former home of 007 creator Ian Fleming. Caribbean queen Sara Macefield explores the options s it any wonder that so many celebrities beat a well-trodden path to the Caribbean? Considered by many to be the ultimate sun, sea and sand escape, this collection of idyllic islands is famous for beautiful lush landscapes and pristine beaches, which regularly attract a long list of Hollywood Alisters and famous faces.

Each winter, when normal mortals are shivering in the depths of a freezing British winter, the tabloid press are full of pictures of the glitterati lapping up the balmy charms of the beaches of Barbados or St Barths.

They tend to stay in sumptuous hotels or plush villas where they know they will want for nothing and privacy will be assured.

Those wanting to follow in their gilded footsteps can choose from extravagant casino resorts, luxury retreats oozing upmarket opulence or atmospheric boltholes where barefoot chic meets laidback luxury.

The Caribbean was the birthplace of luxury all-inclusives and is home to two of the best-known resort chains:

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Spring 2012

Sandals (www.sandals.co.uk) and SuperClubs (www.superclubs.com).

Both companies have resorts across the main islands, notably Jamaica, Antigua, and the Bahamas. SuperClubs is also on the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao.

Sandals has resorts in St Lucia and has properties in the Turks and Caicos and Jamaica with its family-oriented sister brand Beaches (www.beachesresorts.co.uk).

The resorts are big and bold, with quite a strong American flavour and offer plenty of activities, numerous restaurants, huge swimming pools, water sports galore and, in the case of Sandals and Beaches, the services of your own butler.

Major hotel groups such as Marriott (www.marriott.co.uk), Ritz-Carlton (www.ritzcarlton.com), Westin (www.starwoodhotels.com), Fairmont (www.fairmont.com), Four Seasons (www.fourseasons.com) can be found, notably on Grand Cayman, Nevis and Barbados.

n Sandals Halcyon Beach, St Lucia Sandals

“The Caribbean was the birthplace of luxury all-inclusives”

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a touch of class n luxury caribbean

Elegant Hotels' Colony Club, on Barbados

Elegant Hotels

n

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Jade Mountain, St Lucia

Jade Mountain

However, there is a handful of minor Caribbean chains, comprising smaller, more niche properties.

Barbados is home to Elegant Hotels (www.eleganthotels.com), which has five quite different establishments across the island.

These include The House, a stylish escape where “service ambassadors” wait on the adult-only clientele, and the family-friendly, upmarket Colony Club set in lush gardens with an enticing rock-pool-style swimming pool. Both are on Barbados’s prestigious west coast.

Almond Resorts (www.almondresorts.com) is another Barbados-based hotel group with three all-inclusive resorts, the largest of which is Almond Beach Village near Speightstown on the west coast, spread across 32 acres with 10 swimming pools, tennis courts, nine-hole golf course and spa.

Elite Island Resorts (www.eliteislandresorts.com) is a collection of 12 resorts across seven islands. These include the eco and family-friendly Verandah Resort & Spa on Antigua, the wellness-orientated LaSource resort on Grenada, and Palm Island Resort in the Grenadines, which has 43 rooms housed in bungalows spread through the island’s 135 acres.

Bringing a West Indian flavour is the collection of nine Island Outpost (www.islandoutpost.com) hotels and villas on Jamaica that range from GoldenEye, the former home of James Bond author Ian Fleming, to Strawberry Hill, an evocative former coffee plantation set amid the misty peaks of the Blue Mountains – and the place where reggae legend Bob Marley recovered after being shot in 1976.

One of the Caribbean’s main USP’s is the breadth of independent luxury properties. Here’s a potted guide:

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Pool at Jumby Bay, Antigua

LaSource, Grenada

Elite Hotels

Sandy Lane (www.sandylane.com): the most famous of the island’s hotels, noted for its opulent surroundings, sumptuous spa, two golf courses and lavish touches.

Coral Reef Club (http://coralreefbarbados.com): a long-established family-owned property of understated elegance with 88 rooms, cottages and suites spread through 12 acres of gardens.

Cobblers Cove (www.cobblerscove.com): classy and unassuming with 40 one-bedroom suites in English country-house style and an award-winning restaurant.

Island Outpost

barbados

Carlisle Bay (www.campbellgrayhotels.com): chic, stylish and sophisticated, this all-suite resort was founded by renowned hotelier Gordon Campbell Gray.

Hermitage Bay (www.hermitagebay.com): set in a stunning private bay, this hotel comprises 25 suites in cottages bordering the beach and on the hillside, offering fabulous views.

The Inn at English Harbour (www.theinn.ag): an old favourite that has been revitalised following refurbishment. Situated in pretty English Harbour, close to Nelson’s Dockyard, it has a house party atmosphere.

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n Cocktail time at Palm Island, in the Grenadines

Spring 2012

Elite Hotels

antigua

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Dine with a view at LaSource, on Grenada

Elite Hotels

a touch of class n luxury caribbean

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Solitude: Peter Island resort

Peter Island

st lucia

island hideaways Travellers looking for the ultimate escape will find island resorts scattered across the Caribbean.

The most famous is Necker Island (www.neckerisland.com) in the British Virgin Islands owned by Virgin tycoon Richard Branson, which reopens in April following last summer’s fire.

Also in the BVIs is Peter Island (www.peterisland.com), a luxurious island resort of 1,800 acres that promises complete solitude along with five beaches, tennis courts, a swimming pool and spa.

Nearby is Little Thatch Island, which is smaller and more rustic with just one place to stay – Seagrape Cottage (www.seagrapecottage.net), on its own beach with a dining deck over the sea.

The Grenadines boasts archetypal retreats such as Young Island (www.youngisland.com), where guests stay in charming wood-framed cottages, or Petit St Vincent (www.petitstvincent.com), a castaway spot with just 22 cottages. There are no phones, but if guests want service, they simply hoist a flag outside their room.

More sophisticated luxury hideaways include Jumby Bay (www.rosewoodhotels.com), on its own 300-acre island off the coast of Antigua, and the understated, but quietly luxurious Parrot Cay (www.parrotcay.como.bz) in the Turks & Caicos islands, which attracts celebrities wanting privacy.

Spring 2012

Anse Chastanet (www.ansechastanet.com): in a fabulous location by the islands’ famous Pitons with 49 individually-designed rooms, most of which cling to the hillside offering views to die for.

Jade Mountain (www.jademountain.com): located above Anse Chastanet, this sister property is famous for its wow factor with stunning vistas and unforgettable suites that have just three walls to capitalise on the views and infinity pools.

Windjammer Landing (www.windjammer-landing.com): a family-friendly beach resort with charming whitewashed villas giving it a Continental feel.

jamaica Jamaica Inn (www.jamaicainn.com): dating from the 1950s, this atmospheric hotel is full of charm and history.

Round Hill (www.roundhill.com): a classy tuckedaway retreat containing a hotel and beautiful villas.

Half Moon (www.halfmoon.rockresorts.com): a large resort with an impressive range of facilities including a golf academy and equestrian centre, but it maintains a boutique feel.

bahamas Ocean Club (www.oneandonlyresorts.com): very upmarket and classically classy. This hotel was the setting for Bond movie Casino Royale.

Atlantis (www.atlantis.com): a mega-resort comprising six hotel and apartment complexes, a huge marine waterscape containing water rides and sea-life lagoons, plus more than 10 swimming areas and at least 40 lounges, restaurants and bars.

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a touch of class n luxury caribbean

Nisbet Plantation

plantation house hotels

n Nisbet Plantation's Great House is the only original plantation house on Nevis

dominican republic

luxur y caribbean facts

Tortuga Bay (www.puntacana.com): a secluded escape located in the Punta Cana Estate with a Six Senses spa among its outstanding facilities.

Zoetry Agua (www.zoetryresorts.com): a peaceful retreat of 53 sumptuous suites and villas in a secluded beachfront setting.

A number of tour operators offer luxury getaways in the Caribbean. Here are a few samples:

Sara Macefield first visited the Caribbean more than 20 years ago and has been back countless times since, drawn by the warm tropical welcome of these engaging islands.

www.tlm-magazine.co.uk

Peter Island

Anguilla is known for opulent n Beach at Peter Island villas and upscale hotels including Cap Juluca (www.capjuluca.com) and Ku (www.ku-anguilla.com), while the British Virgin Islands boast established favourites such as Biras Creek (www.biras.com) and Rosewood Little Dix Bay (www.rosewoodhotels.com). As you would expect, the French Caribbean is big on chic haunts with Eden Rock (www.edenrockhotel.com) on St Barths and La Samanna (www.lasamanna.com) on St Martin, while Grenada boasts the plush Spice Island Beach Resort (www.spiceislandbeachresort.com), set on stunning Grand Anse Beach.

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Verandah Resort, Antigua

Caribtours offers a week at the Jamaica Inn, Jamaica, from £1,570 per person on room-only basis, including flights, private transfers and use of a private lounge at Gatwick. www.caribtours.co.uk

Elite Hotels

packages

smaller islands

54 tlm n the travel & leisure magazine

Some of the Caribbean’s most distinctive and atmospheric properties can be found on the sister islands of St Kitts and Nevis; known for their plantation house hotels which often sit amid the ruins of former sugar mills.

The family-run Hermitage Plantation (www.hermitagenevis.com) is built on the mountainous slopes of Nevis with pretty gingerbread houses surrounding its Great House, dating from around 1670 and believed to be one of the oldest houses in the Caribbean.

Another is 18th century Montpelier Plantation (www.montpeliernevis.com), also on Nevis, which was the idyllic setting for the wedding of a certain Horatio Nelson to Fanny Nisbet. Her former home, Nisbet Plantation (www.nisbetplantation.com), lays claim to being the only original plantation house on Nevis.

On St Kitts, Ottley’s Plantation (www.ottleys.com) is full of colonial-style furnishings, while its spring-fed swimming pool nestles against the remains of the old sugar factory; and Rawlins Plantation (www.rawlinsplantation.com) stands amid the remains of the abandoned 17th century mill that once stood there.

Prestbury Worldwide Resorts offers seven nights at Tamarind by Elegant Hotels, Barbados, from £1,080 per person, B&B, including flights and private transfers. www.prestburyworldwideresorts.co.uk Virgin Holidays offers seven nights at the Sandals Halcyon Beach resort, St Lucia, from £1,639 per person on an all-inclusive basis, including flights and transfers. www.virginholidays.co.uk Tropical Sky offers a week at the Colony Club, Barbados, from £1,049 per person, B&B, including flights and transfers. www.tropicalsky.co.uk Golden Caribbean offers a week at the Hermitage Bay hotel, Antigua, from £2,549 per person, on an all-inclusive basis, including flights and transfers. www.goldencaribbean.com

Spring 2012

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Thinking of CANADA Then you need to look no further — with over 30 years experience of the destination CANADA 4U will offer advice on all aspects and help tailor the holiday to your own personal requirements.

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Any departure days and length of stay Transport as required…car, coach, rail, motorhome, air Fully ABTA bonded Ticketing pack includes…full itinerary, maps, local booklets and other information Our guarantee…to provide the best possible service with competitive prices to match the product • We offer adventure, hiking, city stays, Alaska cruises, honeymoons or retirement • Free Berlitz Guide to Canada with bookings confirmed by 28th February 2012 • Ring now on 01502 565648 and put us to the test

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

Contact your own personal consultant NOW on 01502 565648 to help you plan your special holiday.

Spring 2012

competitions n herm island getaway + city of london break

WIN a two-night getaway for two worth £850 to tranquil Herm Island ying three miles off the coast of Guernsey and measuring just a mile and a half long by half a mile wide, Herm Island is the perfect place for a relaxing, get-away-from-itall stay.

This tiny paradise island offers a pristine, pollution-free environment boasting stunning, unspoilt beaches, with no cars, no crowds – and definitely no stress.

At the beautiful White House Hotel, guests are pampered in timeless comfort with outstanding service. You won’t find telephones, TVs or clocks, but you will enjoy well-appointed bedrooms, glorious sea views and excellent cuisine. Peace and tran-

Pictures: Herm Island Ltd

n The White House Hotel

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n Herm Island from the air

quillity are the buzzwords whispered around the island!

Enjoy world-class dining, with the Channel Islands’ most comprehensive wine list. On fine

days, enjoy drinks and lunch in the Britain in Bloom Gold award gardens, just a stone’s throw from the sea. Or relax by an open fire in one of the many lounges, with a glass of something chilled.

Children are very welcome.

The hotel offers many family rooms and baby sitters are available, allowing parents some down time.

You can win a two-night, halfboard break for two at the White House Hotel, including flights to

Guernsey, taxi and boat transfers, worth £850. The prize is valid until October 4, 2012, excluding mid-July to the end of August.

If you are not lucky enough to win, great-value, travel-inclusive package offers start at £295 per person for two nights’ half-board at the hotel, including flights and transfers. For details, go to http://bit.ly/Flightinclusivepackage.

Visit http://herm.com/hotel for more information on the White House Hotel and http://herm.com for Herm Island.

how to enter To WIN a two-night stay for two at the White House Hotel, simply answer this question: Question: In which group of islands is Herm?

To enter, go to www.tlm-magazine.co.uk and click on the Competitions button.

Closing date is May 30, 2012. See website for terms & conditions.

Following three years of disruption to the Blackfriars area in London, the Crowne Plaza London – The City, is celebrating the reopening of the revamped Blackfriars station, located just two minutes walk from the hotel, ensuring that corner of London will once again be more accessible to visitors.

The new-look station now has a brand new entrance, which is accessible south of the river, offering visitors a direct link to South Bank and Bankside, allowing access to cultural attractions such as the Tate Modern, Borough Market – London’s most celebrated food market – and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.

Besides the new station, the hotel has also undergone a transition over the last two years.

The addition of a Sichuan restaurant, the Chinese Cricket Club, and a plush Lobby Lounge, as well as a complete guestroom renovation in 2011 and a facelift for the communal areas, ensures the hotel has a stylish, contemporary look throughout.

Renowned for good food, the hotel’s restaurants include Refettorio, the Italian

Spring 2012

Photos: Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts

WIN a gourmet City of London break worth over £400

n Refettorio restaurant

Station, we have teamed up with the Crowne Plaza London – The City to offer one reader and their guest one night’s accommodation in a new Club Room, including breakfast and dinner in Refettorio or the Chinese Cricket Club, including house wine and coffee.

how to enter For your chance to WIN this fantastic London hotel break, simply answer the following question: Question: What is the name of the Sichuan restaurant at the Crowne Plaza London – The City?

n Suite at the Crowne Plaza restaurant under the directorship of celebrated Michelin-starred chef, Giorgio Locatelli, as well as the Chinese Cricket Club, offering authentic Sichuan cuisine. A stylish cocktail bar, NineteenBelow, offers an elegant environment, with first-class cocktails, too.

To mark the reopening of Blackfriars

To enter, go to www.tlm-magazine.co.uk and click on Competitions. Closing date is May 30, 2012. Terms & conditions apply; see website for details. The prize is subject to availability and must be taken by 30th November 2012.

Visit www.cplondoncityhotel.co.uk for information on the Crowne Plaza London – The City.

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

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Chateau des Vigiers Whether you are new to golf or already an experienced club player, the luxurious Chateau des Vigiers set in beautiful Bergerac countryside, is just the place for you to enjoy some great golf, fabulous food and outstanding wine. If you're not a golfer, then perhaps our spa complex, swimming pool and scenery will entice you instead.

For prices and more information about our extensive range of golf & spa packages, give us a call on 08451 222650 or visit our website: www.chateaudesvigierstravel.co.uk

House of Fusion M

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Chateau des Vigiers Travel is a trading division of

U5444

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Fabulous Moroccan cooking holidays - changing forever how you celebrate fooding

Sumptuous accommodation and fusion classes in our Marrakech riad and then the journeys...the Atlas, the desert, the kasbah and our C6 ksar, cooking in kitchens pre-dating Islam, lolling on carpets tossed in the sun, nights slumbering as if lullabyed.

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tlm â– the travel & leisure magazine www.tlm-magazine.co.uk

Spring 2012

travel fare n tagine & marrakech, morocco

Get into a real

n maison mk’s fusion tagine

stew maison mk

For the latest in our series on famous dishes and their origin, we head to exotic Marrakech to spotlight the classic Moroccan tagine n Morocco, meals are meant to be savoured – a real experience that excites the senses and shouldn’t be rushed. That is the case for both cooking and eating one of its most traditional dishes, the tagine – or tajine. These delicious, slowcooked stews are generally made using chicken or lamb, and sometimes fish, as the main ingredient, with herbs, fruits, vegetables or spices added for seasoning along with olives and preserved lemon.

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overlooking the square, haggle for bargains in labyrinthine souks, visit opulent palaces and chill out in tranquil, exotic gardens.

marrakech facts n Marrakech musician Moroccan National Tourist Office

where to eat tagine in Marrakech

origins A Moroccan word, tagine refers to both the dish and the glazed earthenware pot with a conicalshaped lid in which it is cooked. They were originally used by nomadic Berbers to cook their stews over open fires as well as for serving it.

Steam condenses on the inside of the lid, helping to preserve moisture in the food, as well as aiding infusion of the flavours. The lid can be taken off during cooking to stir the dish.

getting there: Direct flights are operated by British Airways (www.ba.com), bmi (www.flybmi.com), Royal Air Maroc (www.royalairmaroc.com) and several low-cost airlines.

While tagines are traditionally cooked in their conical pots, any ceramic dish with a lid can n Jamie Oliver be used. The meat at maison mk is simmered slowly in an oven, often for several hours, so that it becomes very tender and soaks up the aromatic flavours. There are many variations on the theme, particularly with lamb.

To accompany a tagine, try mint tea, the national drink of Morocco.

maison mk

the dish

stay: Stay in a traditional riad, such as maison mk, or choose from a range of hotels, the most famous being Marrakech grande dame La Mamounia (www.mamounia.com). information: Moroccan National Tourist Office www.visitmorocco.com

the city Marrakech is a kaleidoscope of colours, sounds and smells, with the Djemma el Fna square in the centre of the city’s old medina quarter the focal point for its food stalls, musicians and performers. Enjoy a coffee

l maison mk (www.maisonmk.com): Owned by photographers Paul and Aoibheann Hopkins, this luxury riad serving up different takes on tagines in its Moroccan/ French fusion restaurant, gastro mk, it also offers half-day cooking courses. Visit Mellah market to buy the ingredients before cooking a traditional tagine yourself in the kitchen guided by the Berber chef.

Jamie Oliver filmed his Channel 4 Jamie does...Marrakech programme at maison mk, cooking on its roof terrace after going to the same market. l Al Fassia (www.alfassia.com): This citycentre restaurant is one of the few with an a la carte menu, with dishes prepared and served exclusively by women. l Le Tobsil (+212 2444 4052): Indulge yourself in this grandiose former palace in the heart of the medina, where the set-menu food is always reliable.

where to eat tagine in London l Original Tagines restaurant in Marylebone (www.original-tagines.com): Take your pick from a dozen different tagines based on lamb, chicken, fish and vegetables. l Tagine restaurant in Balham (www.zizoutagine.com):Traditional Moroccan-style tagines, spiced up with optional harissa sauce. Bring your own bottle.

For a chicken tagine recipe, go to www.tlm-magazine.co.uk/s/recipes

Spring 2012

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

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BY APPOINTMENT TO HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH II SWAROVSKI OPTIK SUPPLIER OF BINOCULARS

in your n flightbag

Bags for you?

Mia Tui he new range of functional and stylish Mia Tui bags is perfect for travel. The Grace, Ava and Amelie bags were designed by mother of two Charlotte Jamme, who was looking for a bag to suit her busy lifestyle while living in Vietnam – Mia Tui means my bag in Vietnamese.

The Amelie is an ideal weekend or flight bag and is available in a choice of fabrics and colours. Big enough to hold a laptop, the Amelie has a multi-pocketed waterproof interior to keep travel documents, pens, mobile phone, keys and a water bottle in easily-accessible separate compartments.

There are two clear, removable zipped bags which are ideal for carrying liquids, toiletries and make-up through airport security thanks to their airline-compliant size. The Amelie Travel Bag comes with a coordinating clutch bag, too, for when you only need your essential purse, phone and lipstick. A baby changing mat is also available.

For details of the full range of bags and accessories, go to www.miatui.com.

The bags start at

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Beta skincare Greek skincare brand Korres was Athens’ first homeopathic pharmacy.

Set up in 1996 with the aim to utilise its extensive scientific resources for the development of effective and safe products, Korres now offers a natural and certified organic skincare and haircare brand.

A new limited-edition range of holiday-inspired gift sets is now available, including the exotic Tropical Holidays set, the Addicted to Rose collection, with an Oriental twist, and the Men’s Kit, containing travel-sized shower gel, shampoo, Absinthe shaving cream and marigold and ginseng aftershave balm – just right for the man on the go.

The full range is available from House of Fraser stores and online at www.houseoffraser.co.uk, with prices starting at £10.

£39.99. l For your chance to WIN one of two mustard Amelie Mia Tui bags, worth £59.99 each, go to www.tlm-magazine.co.uk and click on Competitions.

Terms and conditions apply.

Closing date May 27, 2012.

Pillow pals etting your children settled and comfy on a plane is no easy task, so the new Pillow Pets, an ideal combination of plush toy and soft pillow, make ideal travelling companions.

New to the UK this spring from Mookie Toys, the Pillow Pets range is made of chenille and when a hidden

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strap is released underneath, the cuddly toy transforms

into an ultra-soft pillow.

Eight Pillow Pets are currently available, including Silly Monkey, Playful Penguin, Ms Ladybug and Bumbly Bee. Pillow Pets can be found at Toys R Us and other major retailers, priced at £19.99.

For more details of the full range, go to www.pillowpets.co.uk.

Travel Well Away If you are looking to stay healthy while on holiday, Well Away, the new travelsized, seven-day supplement supply from Advanced Nutrition Programme, is designed to make looking after yourself easy and convenient.

The resealable pouch has individual blister strips of three nutrient complexes filled with essential multivitamins, minerals and high-quality omega oils to help look after your heart, skin, immune system and energy metabolism. The seven-day pouch costs £9.95 and is available online from www.anpshop.com or by phoning 020 8450 2020.

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in your n suitcase

Travel light he popular World’s Lightest range of luggage has now sold over 1.7 million cases worldwide and the unique, stylish range is getting lighter thanks to ongoing innovation and development.

The 16-inch cabin bag, with its 46cm x 31.5cm x 18.5cm dimensions, easily fits many airlines’ onboard cabin restrictions. The other, larger cases are ideal for checking into the hold; the 26-inch World’s Lightest case is the most popular, weighing 1.95kg, while the 30-inch weighs just 2.17kg.

The durable, lightweight material combined with a built-in aluminium frame, telescopic pull handle and sturdy corner wheels make the World’s Lightest cases perfect for holiday travel and all bags come with a 10-year warranty.

Bags etc, with stores across the UK and an online shop, stocks the full World’s Lightest collection; the 16-inch case

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Buzz off

costs from £45. For more information, go to www.bagsetc.co.uk. l You can WIN a 26-inch World’s Lightest case worth £70. Just go to

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

Terms and conditions apply. Closing date May 27, 2012.

Craghoppers has been making clothing specifically designed for the outdoors since 1965 and the company has continued to develop fabrics and clothing designed to protect whatever the weather.

The NosiLife range of lightweight, permanent insect-repellent clothing gives up to 90% reduction in mosquito bites. The non-toxic and non-irritant garments are anti-bacterial and feature SolarDry UPF 40+ sun protection.

Better still, NosiLife garments travel easily and can be worn and washed as often as you like without losing any of their effectiveness.The range includes short and long-sleeved shirts, skirts, trousers and accessories, as well as a new range of underwear for men and women. For full details and prices, go to www.craghoppers.com. l For your chance to WIN one of two sets of men’s and ladies underwear worth up to £40 per set, go to www.tlm-magazine.co.uk and click on Competitions. Terms and conditions apply. Closing date May 27, 2012.

Protect your little Terras f you are heading to sunny climes with your little ones and are worried about protecting them from the sun’s harmful rays, Little Terra’s range of UV clothing provides all the protection you need.

Tested in Australia, the products feature a unique fabric combining a special yarn and knit to achieve up to a UPF 100+ rating. The density and durability of the fabric means it is chlorine resistant too.

The range includes sunsuits, rash vests

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and shorts, as well as coordinating sun hats with generous flaps to provide excellent protection from the sun.

Prices start from £12 and the full range is available online from www.littleterra.co.uk. l For your chance to WIN one of five items of UV-protective clothing from the Little Terra range, worth up to £25 each, go to www.tlm-magazine.co.uk and click on Competitions. Terms and conditions apply.

Closing date May 27, 2012.

www.tlm-magazine.co.uk

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n Dreamy: Dinarobin Beach with Le Morne behind

Beach belles Looking to find that perfect desert island beach for your next holiday? We’ve scoured the world and found 10 that will take some beating

10 of the b

1. Dinarobin Beach, Le Morne, Mauritius The wow factor: This crescent-shaped, white-sand beach is situated on the most scenically-beautiful shoreline of Mauritius, with the spectacular Le Morne mountain rising dramatically behind it.

The beach is fronted by a tranquil aquamarine lagoon created by the coral reef that fringes most of the tropical Indian Ocean island and makes for safe bathing. It is part of the all-suite Dinarobin Hotel Golf & Spa which offers four restaurants, a spa and an 18-hole golf course shared with the neighbouring Paradis resort.

Did you know? Le Morne mountain is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, recognised for its cultural history.

During the 18th and early 19th centuries, runaway slaves escaping from the island’s sugar plantations used to hide there, protected by the mountain’s isolation and its sheer, wooded cliffs. Le Morne became a symbol of the slaves’ fight for freedom and a focal point to commemorate the abolition of slavery.

Stay: Beachcomber Tours offers accommodation in a junior suite at the five-star Dinarobin hotel

est: exotic beache s

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(www.dinarobin-hotel.com) for seven nights from £1,920 per person, sharing on a half-board basis. Price includes international flights and private hotel transfers. www.beachcombertours.co.uk

2. Kailua Beach, Oahu, Hawaii, USA The wow factor: A half-mile stretch of soft, white sand lapped by turquoise water and fanned by gentle breezes, Kailua Beach lies at the heart of a public park 30 minutes from Honolulu on Oahu’s Windward Coast.

It is a previous winner of the prestigious America’s Best Beach title by Dr Beach, aka Dr Stephen Leatherman, the country’s leading authority on beach quality.

Kailua is a water sports hub and you can rent kayaks, windsurfers and body boards. Kailua Town has a laidback feel with lots of restaurants and shops, while Kalua Beach Park has picnic benches and large, grassy areas which are perfect for an al fresco lunch by the ocean.

Did you know? Dr Beach has named 12 Hawaii beaches as America’s Best since he began picking his annual award winners in 1991 – twice as many as the next highest-ranked state, Florida.

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Beachcomber Tours

10 of the best n exotic beaches

10 of the best n exotic beaches

Stay: Funway Holidays offers five nights staying at the Ohana East on Oahu and five nights at the Aston Islander on the Beach, on Kauai, from £2,999. The price includes return international flights, inter-island flights and is on a room-only basis. www.funwayholidays.co.uk

n America's Best Beach winner Kailua Beach, on Oahu, Hawaii

The wow factor: Velassaru is a 21-acre coral island of glorious white sand, coconut groves and a luxury resort set like a gleaming pearl in a crystal-clear, turquoise lagoon in the Maldives’ South Male Atoll.

The island is a sophisticated, five-star resort comprising over-water bungalows and villas, with others dotted among the trees. It has two bars and five restaurants as well as offering private dining including on a deserted sandbank reached by traditional sailing boat.

When not relaxing on the beach, you can enjoy water sports including diving and windsurfing, go big game fishing or try traditional fishing methods and visit locals on nearby islands.

Did you know? The Maldives comprises almost 1,200 islands in 26 coral atolls in the Indian Ocean. The nation’s 350,000 population inhabits just 200 islands and there are 99 resort islands.

Stay: Seven nights with breakfast staying in a deluxe bungalow on Velassaru (www.velassaru.com) start at £1,249 per person for departures between May 3 and June 21, saving up to £513 per couple, with Kuoni. That includes return Sri n A dhoni on Lankan Airlines flights and transthe beach, Maldives fers. www.kuoni.co.uk

Hawaii Tourism Authority/Tor Johnson

3.Velassaru, Maldives

n Coral sands on Velassaru island, in the Maldives

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n Divi-divi trees on Aruba's Eagle Beach

Aruba Tourism Authority

The wow factor: Close to Aruba’s westernmost tip, Eagle Beach gets rave reviews and it is easy to understand why. Gnarled, windswept divi-divi trees provide Universal Resorts welcome shade over powder-fine, white sands which, together with adjacent Palm Beach, form a pristine, seven-mile strip that has just been voted the second best beach destination in the world by users of travel review website TripAdvisor. The clear, calm Caribbean waters are perfect for swimming and snorkelling, while there’s a plethora of water sports and activities for beachgoers as well. Behind both beaches are a number of four and five-star hotels.

Did you know? Tap water is safe to drink in Aruba; it has been distilled by the world’s second-largest saltwater desalination plant, as a by-product of oil refining at the huge WEB plant on the south-west coast.

Stay: Thomson Holidays has a seven-night package, including direct flights, hotel transfers and breakfast, staying at the five-star Westin Resort Aruba on Palm Beach from £1,026 per person, based on a May 5 departure. A seven-night Kuoni package at the adults-only Bucuti Beach Resort on Eagle Beach costs from £1,583 per person, with flights, transfers and breakfast, departing on May 8. www.thomson.co.uk, www.kuoni.co.uk

Universal Resorts

4. Eagle Beach, Aruba

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10 of the best n exotic beaches

n Bottom Bay is on the quiet

Barbados Tourism Authority

south-east coast of Barbados

5. Bottom Bay, Barbados n Indigo Bay on Rani Resorts

Bazaruto Island

venture in for a dip, however; the waves on this coast create rip currents. But it is great for surfing.

Did you know? Barbados has 60 beaches dotted all around the island and encompassing 70 square miles of sands. All Barbados beaches are open to the public.

Stay: DialAFlight is offering 30% off a seven-night stay at the adults-only Almond Beach Club in Barbados this summer, with prices from £1,299 per person – saving up to £315 per person. Valid for departures from June 25-30 and August 14-31, it includes accommodation on an all-inclusive basis in a standard room and return Virgin Atlantic flights. www.dialaflight.com

The wow factor: A hidden gem tucked below coral cliffs, Bottom Bay lies on the Atlantic-facing south-east coast of Barbados away from the hotel and tourist developments facing the Caribbean Sea in the west.

Few tourists go there. And with the mesmeric rhythm of the blue-tinged waves, luxuriant vegetation and statuesque palm trees swaying in the warm trade winds, you will want to keep it a secret yourself. Don’t

n Away from it all on Bazaruto Island, Mozambique

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Rani Resorts

6. Bazaruto Island, Mozambique The wow factor: Mozambique, off the coast of Africa, has some of the most stunning and pristine beaches in the world, little developed for tourism. Several are found on Bazaruto Island, one of four unspoilt islands comprising the Bazaruto Archipelago which lies 30km off the Mozambique coast in the Indian Ocean. The luxury Indigo Island Resort and Spa on the island is a luxury tropical island retreat with 30 beach chalets and villas offering a spa, diving and snorkelling, big game fishing and horse rides on the beach.

Did you know? The Bazaruto Archipelago is a protected national park that boasts 180 species of birds as well as butterflies, antelope and freshwater crocodiles.

Its offshore waters and reefs support a myriad of marine

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10 of the best n exotic beaches

7. Playa Juanillo, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic The wow factor: The Dominican Republic makes up the eastern side of the island of Hispaniola, and its beaches are lauded as some of the best in the world.

They don’t come any finer than Playa Juanillo, close to Punta Cana on Dom Rep’s eastern tip. Alluringly-angled palm trees sprout from dazzling white sands gently washed by azure waters in a bay protected from the pounding Atlantic surf by an offshore reef. The beach is close to exclusive golf resorts and communities, with celebrities owning homes including Julio Iglesias.

Did you know? The Dominican Republic is very popular with film makers. Scenes from famous movies shot there include the Godfather II, Apocalypse Now, and Rambo II. Stay: Thomas Cook offers seven nights at the all-inclusive Dreams Punta Cana Resort & Spa from £932 per person, including flights. www.thomascook.com Air Europa (www.aireuropa.com) flights serve Punta Cana via Madrid.

8. Ariara Island, Philippines The wow factor: Created by British couple Charles and Carrie McCulloch, Ariara is a 125-acre private island

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retreat in the Calamian Islands in the Philippines province of Palawan. Just 17 guests are accommodated in eight villas and suites situated on a 600-metre beach on this jungle-swathed island, edged by pristine beaches and surrounded by coral reefs teeming with marine life. All bedrooms have private terraces and gardens. In short, it is a tropical island paradise where you are guaranteed to have the beach to yourself.

It offers boating, including unlimited use of Ariara’s 33ft speedboat, a 100ft trimaran and kayaks, diving trips with all equipment, massages and a cinema in the main lodge.

Ariara Island

life including dolphins, dugongs, game fish and turtles.

Stay: Five nights at Indigo Bay costs from £2,740 per person with Africa Travel, full-board in a beach chalet on Bazaruto Island, including international and local flights, daily snorkelling trips and five spa treatments. www.africatravel.co.uk

Dominican Republic Tourist Board

n Beach at Punta Cana

Dominican Republic Tourist Board

n Exotic allure at Punta Cana's Playa Juanillo, in the Dominican Republic

n No crowds on the beach at Ariara Island, in the Philippines

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n Pink sands at Warwick South Shore Beach, Bermuda

Do you know of better exotic beaches?

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

Did you know? Ariara is one of more than 7,000 islands in the Philippines, making it the world’s secondlargest archipelago after Indonesia, which has 18,000.

Stay: Original Diving offers seven nights at Ariara Island from £2,100 per person on a fully-inclusive basis, including, activities and international/domestic flights and boat transfers to the island, based on a party of between 15 and 17 guests. Fuel and alcohol are extra.

Ariara Island is also featured by Audley Travel. www.originaldiving.com, www.audleytravel.com

pink-sand beaches and Warwick Long Bay Beach is the pick of the lot. Not only is it Bermuda’s longest, stretching half a mile, it is also one of its prettiest and it doesn’t attract the cruise shop hordes as some other beaches do. Exotic grasses and vegetation form a backdrop to the pink sands. The beach is great for snorkelling as there are numerous coves and rock outcrops to explore in the gin-clear Atlantic waters.

Did you know? Bermuda is not one landmass but a chain of 181 islands, islets and rocks. Its pink beaches are a combination of crushed coral, calcium carbonate and the shells of tiny, single-celled animals.

Stay: Classic Collection Holidays offers seven nights at Elbow Beach, Bermuda, from £2,337 per person this June. The price is based on two sharing on a room-only basis in a premier garden view room and includes return flights and private transfers. www.classic-collection.co.uk

9. Warwick Long Bay Beach, Bermuda The wow factor: Bermuda is famed for its gorgeous n Tanjung Rhu beach, on Langkawi

Tanjung Rhu Resort

10.Tanjung Rhu, Langkawi, Malaysia

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The wow factor: Located in the far north of Malaysia’s Langkawi Island, the resort of Tanjung Rhu is fronted by a 2.5km-wide, sandy beach that looks out on limestone outcrops rising up out of the Andaman Sea and is lined by casuarina trees rather than palms. The resort spans 1,100 acres of rainforest and encompasses mangroves and limestone caves.

Did you know? Eagles, which hunt in the mangrove swamps, can be seen on river boat trips.

Stay: Best At Travel offers seven nights at Tanjung Rhu from £1,839 per person on an all-inclusive basis and including return flights and airport transfers. It is valid for travel between May 1 and June 15. www.bestattravel.co.uk

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Bermuda Department of Tourism

10 of the best n exotic beaches

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off the beaten track n namibia

Cool for cats With vast, empty expanses of desert, a coastline of soaring sand dunes, wildlife-rich African bush, diamond rush ghost towns and a German colonial heritage still evident today, Namibia is a land of stark contrasts that tourists are just beginning to discover. Rob Crossan savours some close encounters of the furred kind as he explores he bowling alley is knee-deep in sand. Rather than the bilious clatter of skittle on wood, the only sound is that of the wind whipping up the peach-coloured sands as the shimmering heat of a late afternoon subsides and the shadows of the ghost town of Kolmanskop grow longer.

The scene of one of the last century’s greatest diamond mining booms, Kolmanskop’s heyday, when the town’s bars and skittle alley were crammed with hustlers, shaman and opportunists, all seeking their fortune from the rhombus that washed up on the shores of the Skeleton Coast, has long gone.

Since its abandonment at the end of 1950s, the clapboard houses and rotting verandas have been getting slowly reclaimed by the mighty Namib Desert, vast dunes burying some of the old homes up to their chimneys.

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Visiting Namibia, I quickly realised that, whether it be the verdant tropical lushness of the north of the country or the arid desert wastelands of the south – where Kolmanskop is slowly disappearing, this is a land where nothing moves quickly and where nature is given the space to breathe and evolve entirely on its own terms.

Larger than Spain and Portugal combined, yet with a population of barely two million, Namibia is one of the emptiest, and one of the newest, nations on the planet.

With a murky colonial past where it was one of Germany’s few African outposts (explaining why much of the white population in coastal towns such as Swakopmund are tri-lingual in German, English and Afrikaans) and decades as part of apartheid South Africa, Namibia finally achieved independence in 1990.

Now its stark, otherworldly beauty, for so long known only to diamond workers and indigenous Bushmen, is beginning to be discovered.

Namibia Tourism www.fotoseeker.com/Lisa Young

did you know? l The world’s largest underground lake, Dragon’s Breath Lake, is in the Otavi Mountains in north-east Namibia. Discovered in 1986, its surface area is about five acres. l The Namib is the world’s oldest desert, at about 80 million years old, and has the world’s highest sand dunes. It is sometimes called the “Living Desert” due to the wide range of its fauna. l The fossil plant, Welwitschia Mirabilis, grows in the Namib Desert and has a lifespan of up to 2,000 years. l Namibia has the largest free-roaming cheetah population in the world, estimated at 2,500. l Namibia is the largest producer of diamonds in the world. l Scores of shipwrecks litter the beaches of the Skeleton Coast – caused by dense fog and rough surf. Bleached whale and seal bones are a reminder of Namibia’s whaling industry.

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off the beaten track n namibia

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Crossing the Tropic of Capricorn

n Ghost town Kolmanskop is being engulfed by the Namib Desert

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Namibia Tourism - www.fotoseeker.com

AfriCat Foundation

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Tucan Travel

n Cheetah at AfriCat's Okinjima sanctuary

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off the beaten track n namibia

wildlife thrills park and ride

n Elephants in Etosha National Park

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deserted roads

Slowly being released into bigger and bigger sections of the park until they are able to fend for themselves – at which point they are fully released – it’s a fascinating process with luxury thatched-roof, dome-shaped individual cabins (called rondavels) for guests to stay in, where each morning the canopy walls are rolled up to leave nothing between you and the wild African bush.

My guide, Jacques, a typically-burly and amiable white Namibian bedecked in khaki shirt and shorts, took me on an early morning drive through the park to meet the resident celebrities. “Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have stayed here”, he told me as our Land Rover bounced across the dirt tracks in the searing heat.

“But they’ll never be as famous around here as Hercules.”

Too old and tame to ever be released back into the wild, Hercules and four of his friends, all sable fur-coloured cheetahs with soulful eyes and purrs as loud as helicopters, came to greet us. Barely four feet from my hands, Hercules himself looked slightly bemused at my agog expression.

Herding his friends to the middle of the dirt track we’d just driven down, the four of them lay down, seemingly wanting to pose for photos amid the scrub.

Cheaper than Botswana, less-well traversed than South Africa and with infinitely better infrastructure than Zambia or Malawi, Namibia is perfect road-trip country, where the thin ribbon of asphalt is so deserted that slowing down the car to chat to any passing motorist is considered almost de rigour.

The desecration of fauna in so much of sub-Saharan Africa is a threat taken seriously in Namibia, nowhere more so than at Okinjima – a vast park in the centre of the country, about three hours drive from Windhoek and home to the AfriCat Foundation.

Set up 19 years ago as a refuge for cheetahs that had been shot and injured by farmers in the wild, the park now operates as a kind of Priory Clinic for big cats being rehabilitated after suffering physical or mental trauma through a farmer’s gun or through being orphaned by their parents being shot.

Namibia Tourism - www.fotoseeker.com

“This is a land where nothing moves quickly and where nature is given the space to breathe”

Namibia Tourism - www.fotoseeker.com/Ute von Ludwiger

The poster girl for Namibia, Etosha is the largest park in the country, with nearly 9,000 square miles of woodland, scrub and blindingwhite saltpans. You may have to look a little harder here than in South Africa’s Kruger park to see the Big Five – but the lack of honking coaches and Land Cruisers is in itself a vital attraction.

Patience will almost always be rewarded with a sighting of a lion, cheetah or leopard but there’s just as much of a thrill in seeing springboks bounce over the earth, kicking up plumes of red dust, or in spying for vultures and kudus from the veranda of lodges such as Onkoshi, located within the park.

My own personal favourite moment? Parking up by a waterhole at sunset to see a greying lioness idle out of the bush for a solitary evening drink – her expression, as she turned her huge skull towards us, one of utterlyindolent contentment.

Walking on sand dunes

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relaxed pace For over an hour, Jacques and I sat there observing close-up these titans of the African bush which, even in the comfortable “retirement” home section of Okinjima, instantly project an aura of cool and refined, albeit somnambulant, strength.

Using radio detectors we set off again, this time on foot, to find Paddington, a hyena donated to AfriCat by a farmer who had been keeping him as a pet. Spotting Paddington’s dinner first, a young baby kudu he had just

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Omantravel is fully ATOL bonded for complete peace of mind

Discover the ‘real’ Oman with our friendly and experienced Omani partners Explore the heritage, culture and diverse landscapes of this welcoming and fascinating country – or just take time to relax in one of our comfortable hotels. From the excitement of driving into the stunning Empty Quarter to visiting camel races in the Wahibas, from observing the nesting turtles in Ras al Jinz to simply chilling out in one of Muscat's fabulous hotels. We have no standard holidays. We plan your holiday to take in what you want to do – at a price you can afford! We are the only travel company in the UK with Oman as its sole destination – so to find out how we can help you plan your perfect holiday in Oman please call us on 020 8748 6630 or email info@omantravel.uk.com or visit www.omantravel.uk.com

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off the beaten track n namibia

namibia facts

a taste of old-world Germany Swakopmund

when to go Avoid December to February, when temperatures soar past 100ºC. You’ll be most comfortable from April through to September, although the far north tends to be humid all year round.

getting there Air Namibia (www.airnamibia.com.na) n Tree in south Namibia offers direct flights from London Heathrow to the capital, Windhoek. Other services include South African Airways (www.flysaa.com) via Johannesburg, and Air Berlin (www.airberlin.com) via Munich.

austere architecture of the train station and prison to the main road, which despite being renamed recently is still known to all as Kaiser Wilhelm Avenue.

For a brief, and utterly unexpected, taste of urban life before plunging back into the wilderness, arrive at sundown and take a chair on the terrace at the 1905 Jetty restaurant for sushi and tapas as the spume of the ocean churns about you in this, the last vestige of the Germanic world which continues to cling on to the very edge of Africa.

Namibia Tourism - www.fotoseeker.com/Ute von Ludwiger

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Namibia Tourism - www.fotoseeker.com

At first it seems like the perfect desert hallucination. Tucked away on the coast, with some of the highest sand dunes in the world on one side and the misty expanses of the Atlantic Ocean on the other, there lies a town that seems to have been airlifted in its entirety from late 19th century Germany.

An African outpost of their colonial empire until the end of the First World War, the brief period in which Germany ruled this land continues to be unusually prominent in Swakopmund.

The Teutonic flavour is absolute, from the Treff Punkt bakery where matronly Germanspeaking women serve up gloriously-oversized cream cakes to the

getting around With few internal flights, a dilapidated train system dogged by accidents and a poor bus network, Namibia is essential driving country. If you’re travelling independently, hire a 4x4 from Windhoek or Swakopmund, where you’ll find all the major rental companies.

accommodation Namibia’s urban areas have little to recommend in terms of accommodation but in the wilderness there’s a huge array of top-class lodges, which include Okonjima (www.okonjima.com), Etosha Aoba (www.etosha-aoba-lodge.com), Ongava (www.ongava.com), Anderssons (www.anderssonscamp.com), Wolwedans Dunes Lodge (www.wolwedans.com), Mowani Mountain Camp (www.mowani.com) and Sossusvlei Lodge (www.sossusvleilodge.com).

tour operators Tour operators featuring Namibia include Tucan Travel (www.tucantravel.com), Explore (www.explore.co.uk), Cox and Kings (www.coxandkings.co.uk), Wild Frontiers (www.wildfrontiers.co.uk), Jules Verne (www.vjv.com), Audley Travel (www.audleytravel.com), Southern Eagle (www.southerneagle.com) and Intrepid (www.intrepidtravel.com).

Hercules

killed, in the depths of a vast spread of terminalia trees, we finally spotted the beast.

“Don’t try this at home”, Jacques joked. “Though we’re in no danger from him. He knows who we are and that we’re not a threat.” I believed Jacques instinctively, though I’m still certain the sweat on my brow wasn’t caused exclusively by the acrid heat.

Over a dinner of an unctuous springbok steak back at the sumptuous lodge, a fire was lit in the courtyard and I sat with a chilled glass of South African white in one hand, listening to the static hiss of the crickets.

“There’s really nowhere else like Namibia,” claimed fellow guest Rueben, a Brit who was at the lodge to gain advice about starting up his own reserve in the far

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AfriCat Foundation

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Ovamboland

For more information on visiting Namibia, go to the Namibia Tourism Board website, on www.travelnamibia.co.uk or www.namibiatourism.com.na, or call 020 7367 0965. For information about the AfriCat Foundation, visit www.africat.org and the website of Tusk Trust (www.tusk.org/africat.asp), which raises money for AfriCat’s work among many other projects.

north near the border with Angola.

“There’s a huge contradiction to how people feel about the place. On one level, it’s the emptiest place you’ve ever seen. On another, there’s nowhere on earth that’s so full of life.”

Full of life the bush may be, but when you get as close to nature as I did to Hercules and Paddington, I still couldn’t help but feel relieved that the relaxed pace of living seems to apply to the animals nearly as much as the humans.

Rob Crossan first visited Namibia for a trance party in the desert near Swakopmund on Millennium Eve and, when not writing travel pieces for publications including The Times, regularly visits the country to try and remember where he left his shoes that night.

Spring 2012

travel update n news

Walking on sunshine Walking is one of our favourite holiday pastimes; here’s our roundup of some of the latest walking holiday ideas:

Lane rangers

n Cami de Cavalls path

Crown copyright (2012) Visit Wales

Menorca walkers learn it off pat Rambling specialist Walk Menorca is offering trips covering eight sections of the 115-mile Cami de Cavalls path that encircles the beautiful island of Menorca.

The guided walks leisurely explore the coastline, cliff tops and marshes of the pathway – originally designed as a means of defending the island – with knowledgeable ex-pat guides. Prices start at £750 per person per week.

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

Spring 2012

n Enjoy the Suffolk countryside

Walking back to happiness Walks Worldwide

For serious walkers who can cope with walking between four and eight hours a day at altitudes of up to 2,000 metres, the Accursed Mountains trek to Albania with Walks Worldwide is an ideal trip.

This challenging trek takes you well off the beaten track into the spectacular, unspoilt and virtually-impenetrable Accursed Mountains of the north of Albania.

With two added dates, there are n Albania’s Accursed Mountains now six departures from Tirana between mid-June and September.

The eight day itinerary costs from £565 per person. For more information, go to www.walksworldwide.com.

Suffolk Tourism Partnership

Mountain excitement

The Suffolk Walking Festival, from May 19June 10, features over 30 guided trips including the new five-day, 70-mile Flatford to the Fens challenge (May 20-24) and takes in areas including Stowmarket, Lavenham and Newmarket.

Walks range from gentle two or threemile country rambles to longer, more energetic outings exploring Suffolk’s beautiful countryside. For more information, go to www.discoversuffolk.org.uk.

VisitGuernsey

In May, Wales will become the only country in the world whose entire coastline can be walked when the 870 miles of the Wales Coast Path is completed.

The path, stretching from n Talacre Lighthouse, the outskirts of Wales Coast Path Chester in the north to Chepstow in the south east, includes 70 beaches and 15 picturesque ports and walks range from under a mile up to 14 miles.

A number of walks were taking place in early May to mark the path’s completion. For information on the Wales Coast Path, go to www.ccgc.gov.uk.

Walk Menorca

Coast with the most

Guernsey’s stunning cliff top paths, peaceful rural lanes, woodlands and sandy bays make for perfect n Walking to Lihou Island walking breaks and VisitGuernsey has launched a new walking e-brochure with maps and travel information to help plan your trip.

Clearly marked are the Ruettes Tranquilles, a network of country lanes where priority is given to walkers, cyclists and horse riders.

A series of themed, guided rambles was being held during Guernsey’s Spring Walking Week, from May 5-13. For more information, go to www.visitguernsey.com/walking.

Best foot forward If you’re inspired by our walking ideas, you will need shoes fit for the job.

Brasher’s new travel footwear collection is uniquely designed to fit the shape of your foot, giving perfect support and natural walking comfort. Four of the styles available include the Saunter and Seeker GTX in the woman’s range and the Venturer GTX and Traveller GTX in the men’s range. www.brasher.co.uk. l For your chance to WIN one of four pairs of brasher shoes, worth up to £120 per pair, simply tell us what the new brasher range is renowned for. To enter, go to www.tlm-magazine.co.uk and click on Competitions. Closing date May 27, 2012.

Terms and conditions apply; see website for details.

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n London Southend Airport's new terminal

Come fly with me W

n Avalon panoramic suite

New ships? Suite…

Avalon Waterways is introducing two new “suite” ships in 2013, the Avalon Artistry II and Avalon Expression, to meet demand from the rapid growth in European river cruising holidays from the UK. The ships will feature two full decks of panorama suites with wall-to-wall panoramic windows that open to create open air balconies. For more information on the other suite ships and routes, go to www.avaloncruises.co.uk.

Retiring gracefully Cruises are often taken later in life when you have more time to relax. Now, in n Relaxing recognition of that, on board Fred Olsen Cruise Lines is launching a dedicated package, the Retirement Celebration, which is bookable on any cruise departing from January 2013.

The package includes Champagne and canapés served in the cabin, a greetings card and celebration cake, and costs £45 per person. For cruise details, go to www.fredolsencruises.com.

Fred Olsen Cruise Lines

ith the opening of a new terminal in March and the completion of its runway extension as well as the introduction of new flights with easyJet and Aer Lingus Regional this spring, London Southend Airport is set to become an important international gateway during 2012.

The new airport railway station provides fast, frequent train services to Stratford and London’s Liverpool Street and a quick and easy transfer from train to plane.

As well as easyJet’s 70 departures each week to nine summer destinations such as Amsterdam, Alicante, Faro, Malaga and

Avalon Waterways

London Southend Airport

travel update n news

Majorca, Aer Lingus Regional, operated

by Aer Arann, will have three daily flights to Dublin starting on May 10.

This new service will enable passengers to take advantage of transatlantic connections through Dublin on Aer Lingus flights to New York, Boston, Chicago and Orlando. With the unique US Customs and Immigrations pre-clearance facilities at Dublin Airport, holidaymakers can arrive in the US as domestic passengers – saving time and avoiding the hassle of long immigration queues.

For full details on routes and services, visit www.southendairport.com.

Tucan celebrates – you can, too dventure travel specialist Tucan Travel is marking its 25th year of offering exciting adventure travel holidays by giving clients a gift of up to 25% off its group tours.

From running a single tour with a handful of clients to South America using public transport, Tucan Travel now operates more than 400 tours in 70 countries across six conti-

A

Tucan Travel

n Lanin volcano, Patagonia

nents. For more information on the packages and

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offers, go online to www.tucantravel.com.

From May 2013, Royal n Adventure of the Seas Caribbean International will offer cruises from Southampton with the 3,114-capacity Adventure of the Seas in addition to the 3,634-passenger Independence of the Seas, meaning the cruise line will offer more Mediterranean, Northern Europe, Iceland, Baltics and Canary Island cruises than ever before.

If you book an Adventure of the Seas 2013 cruise before May 31, 2012, you can save up to £500 per stateroom: www.royalcaribbean.co.uk.

Royal Caribbean International

Sail away

Spring 2012

let’s try n camping holidays

Carry on

camping

n Camping in the New Forest

Ever since some disastrous camping trips as a young man, Peter Ellegard has never had an in-tents love affair with outdoors holidays. But, as he discovers, things have improved dramatically for those seeking al fresco breaks n the days before overseas sun and sand package holidays became the norm, the holiday of choice for most people was camping. It was cheap and fun, and you pitched your tent pretty much where you wanted. Even today, the freedom and value camping offers is still a powerful magnet, and an estimated 1.2 million people regularly head off into the British countryside or by the coast to sleep out under canvas.

Except, of course, these days it generally isn’t canvas.

Camping has undergone a revolution in recent years with the advent of new, easy-to-put-up tents made from lightweight materials, warm and weatherproof clothing, cosy bedding and all manner of high-tech gadgets that help make an outdoors holiday far more comfortable and appealing than ever before.

Forget trudging across a muddy field in pouring rain carrying buckets of water from a stream or having to

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find a secluded spot to answer nature’s call. Today’s campers have the latest facilities on campsites, from leisure centres and heated outdoor pools to bars, restaurants and children’s play and adventure complexes. At some sites in the UK and on the Continent, you can even indulge in a spa session with massage treatments.

If tents don’t appeal, you can enjoy more comfort and luxury by going glamping, the buzzword for glamour camping. Yurts, tepees, tipis and wigwams, camping pods and gypsy caravans are among alternative options for experiencing the elements in style.

I haven’t been tempted to camp since my now grownup children were young and we holidayed a few times on French campsites. Memories of camping in Britain are vividly etched in my brain.

The pungent odour of canvas and wet earth from family holidays as a youngster are early recollections. I also recall the feeling of excitement after passing my

Spring 2012

let’s try n camping holidays

Camping and Caravaning Club

n Prepare before you go so you can relax when you arrive

l Make a checklist of everything you

l

New Forest Tourism Association

l l

l l

need to take, and don’t forget to check your tent and other equipment is in good condition well before you go.

Don’t forget to pack suncream and protective clothing to prevent sunburn.

Pack a simple first aid kit to deal with insect bites and minor injuries.

Nights can be cold and tents have no insulation, so take warm clothing, good sleeping bags and plenty of bedding.

Take wellies, waterproofs and brollies, just in case.

Always pack a mallet – and buy a

driving test in the early 1970s and packing the car boot and roof rack with my frame tent and other camping paraphernalia for a week’s exploration of North Wales.

But visions of horror stories come flooding back, too.

glamping Among them, battling the indecipherable jumble of poles in sideways rain in a Welsh quagmire masquerading as a campsite on that trip, the tent flapping above me and my mother like a crazed dragon as we tried to pull it down over the frame I had finally pieced together. Or waking up in a sodden sleeping bag by the shores of Loch Lomond after the water level rose and flooded my chosen part of the campsite from the constant deluge. Or perhaps braving 70mph winds in the middle of a wild and stormy May night in the Cairngorms foothills to double-peg the tent and flysheet and put heavy rocks around the edges to stop them being blown away.

Trying to read by the light of a Camping Gaz lantern or hurricane lamp while getting a numb bum sitting on an uncomfortable folding camp chair, or attempting to light a bottled gas cooker with draughts continually snuffing out the flame are other

Spring 2012

n Inside a Cornish yurt Cornish Yurt Holidays

peg-puller tool to remove stubborn tent pegs. l Be careful with any cooking, heating or lighting equipment. Mains electricity in tents can be a potential hazard.

Take a fire extinguisher and/or fire blanket. l Ensure you maintain hygiene to stay healthy.

n Happy campers

Go Camping UK

camping tips

vivid flashbacks.

Although I am now an agnostic camper, many still keep the faith. The Camping and Caravanning Club (www.thefriendlyclub.co.uk) is the world’s oldest club for all forms of camping and has over half a million members, who spend over 1.5 million nights on its club sites each year. It offers more than 3,000 places to camp across the UK, including 110 club sites and another 1,500 member-only certificated sites, and is in the vanguard of change.

Developments for members include the addition of wooden camping pods at its Bellingham (Northumberland), Eskdale (LakeDistrict), Thetford Forest (Norfolk) and Isle of Skye club sites, while children love spending the night in the club’s cosy camping dens at its Gulliver’s Milton Keynes site. Safari tents sleeping up to four with mod cons including two-ring burner, grill and sink are available at its Teversal site in Nottinghamshire.

There are numerous other glamping options for chic campers. At 200-acre Yorkshire site Jollydays (www.jollydaysluxurycamping.co.uk), there are seven luxury tented lodges that sleep six and feature wood burners, four-poster beds, chandeliers and sofas.

Some also have their own showers.

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let’s try n camping holidays

Get the right gear

n The Vango AirBeam Flux tent takes just four minutes to pump up.

have all come a long way in recent years.

Scottish camping gear company Vango (www.vango.co.uk) makes a range of sleeping bags and tents and a host of other camping equipment, including cooking kits, lanterns, LED torches, bags, tables and chairs.

The Vango range includes the Vango Dormir Comfort sleeping bag (right), designed for comfort and durability, and the Vango Elixir 20 (above left), a multi-use

Vango

If you are new to camping, the choice of equipment and optional extras is bewildering.

Tents come in all shapes and sizes. The Camping and Caravanning Club lists more than a dozen types, from the basic ridge tent to dome tents, tunnel tents, geodesic designs, inflatable ones, frame tents, tepees and trailer tents.

Tent fabrics can be just as confusing. Once-ubiquitous cotton canvas tents are now quite rare. Larger frame and trailer tents may be canvas but are generally coated with PVC to make them tough and waterproof. Many are now made from lighter polycotton or coated polyester, while small tents often use lightweight nylon.

Pegs, too, come in all shapes and types. You can choose from steel, plastic, alloy or titanium, but if you want to be ecofriendly, get biodegradable ones that won’t harm farm animals or farm machinery if left in the ground.

Sleeping bags, lights and other accessories

rucsac perfect for active outdoor enthusiasts and day trippers with storage compartments for all your essentials. l You can WIN two Vango Dormir Comfort sleeping bags and two Vango Elixir 20L rucsacs, worth a total of £150.

Just go to www.tlmmagazine.co.uk and click on Competitions.

Terms and conditions apply.

Closing date May 30, 2012.

Home Away.co.uk

yurts

n Mongolian-style yurt

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Stay in Mongolian-style yurts with Cornish Yurt Holidays (www.yurtworks.co.uk/holidays) on the edge of Bodmin Moor, where they include wood-burning stoves you can cook on as well as a small gas cooker, double bed, chill box, separate bathroom yurt and a solar shower, and at Alde Garden (www.aldegarden.co.uk) in Sweffling, Suffolk, which has a yurt sleeping up to five plus a gypsy caravan, tepee and bell tent. West Wood Yurts (www.westwoodyurts.co.uk) has six yurts near Newcastle, while HomeAway (www.homeaway.co.uk) has yurts in Cornwall.

Low-carbon Cornish camping site Ekopod (www.ekopod.com) offers a geodesic dome tent echoing the Eden Project and featuring a king-size bed and wood-burning stove with adjacent kitchen and bathroom tents.

Get into the Wild West spirit at sites such as Cornish Tipi Holidays (www.cornishtipiholidays.co.uk) in St Kew, Cornwall, where 40 North American-style tipis are set in 16 acres, and at the Pot-a-Doodle Do Wigwam Village (www.northumbrianwigwams.com), near Berwick-upon-Tweed, which has 20 wooden wigwams

Spring 2012

n Serenity in the woods

in addition to several yurts. Trevella Holiday Park (www.trevella.co.uk), near Newquay has introduced tepees for 2012 along with safaris and bell tents.

And you can be snug as a pea in your own pod at more than 40 locations around the country.

If you prefer to enjoy the Great Outdoors in traditional tents, there are thousands of campsites and you’ll find them in some of Britain’s most breathtaking scenery.

Pitch your tent in one of the most scenic locations at caravan and camping park Castlerigg Hall (www.castlerigg.co.uk) in the Lake District, which proclaims itself as “the Park with the View”. It also has camping pods.

Callow Top (www.callowtop.co.uk), in the Peak District, is another picturesque site that caters for tents and trailer tents as well as caravans. There are many walking routes nearby and the thrill rides of Alton Towers are just 20 minutes away.

And if you want to camp in a child-free environment, take your tent to Hereford’s Long Hazel Park (www.longhazelpark.co.uk), an adult-only static and touring park ideal for using as a base to tour the West Country.

Vango

n Camping pods are popular

camping facts when to go Although most UK campsites close for winter, you can stay in some offering yurts or pods year-round. Waking up in a yurt with snow on the ground and the woodburning stove keeping you warm can’t be beaten for romance.

n Camping bliss

VisitBritain

VisitBritain

let’s try n camping holidays

camping and caravanning club The Camping and Caravanning Club (www.thefriendlyclub.co.uk) costs £39 to join for family membership.

more information Websites with more information about camping and campsites include UK Campsites (www.ukcampsite.co.uk), Camping Expert (www.campingexpert.co.uk), Cool Camping (www.coolcamping.co.uk) and Alan Rogers Campsite Guides (http://alanrogers.com).

spas Holiday Park operator Parkdean (www.parkdeanholidays.co.uk) has 10 touring and camping parks that welcome tents, set in coastal, countryside and woodland locations in Scotland and the West Country. Facilities include leisure complexes and pools, sports activities and kids and teens clubs as well as cafes and restaurants.

Haven (www.haven.com) has 23 touring and camping holiday parks dotted around the UK coast offering extensive facilities and entertainment and most welcome tents and trailer tents. Some even have spas. Pets are welcome on most sites, too.

Hoburne Holiday Parks (www.hoburne.com) offers camping at its Hoburne Cotswold park with facilities including an indoor pool with flume, sauna and steam room, outdoor pool, children’s club and entertainment in a licensed club.

For camping holidays in Europe, there is plenty of choice. Vacansoleil (www.vacansoleil.co.uk) is Europe’s market leader and offers 189 campsites featuring luxury, pre-erected tents in 15 countries including France, Belgium, Denmark, Holland and Germany.

“If tents don’t appeal, enjoy more luxury by glamping”

n Enjoy a massage at some sites

Some campsites offer overnight stops if you are travelling on to more distant sites, such as in Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, the Czech Republic and Hungary.

Keycamp (www.keycamp.co.uk) features supertents in 30 of its 99 parks, in France, Holland, Italy, Austria and Spain. They sleep up to six and you don’t have to go without creature comforts as they have electric lighting, full-size fridge-freezer, four-burner cooker and grill and beds with foam mattresses.

Eurocamp (www.eurocamp.co.uk) offers classic and safari tents, both sleeping up to four adults or six including children, on over 150 holiday parks across Europe.

Canvas Holidays (www.canvasholidays.co.uk) has maxi tents sleeping six on sites across eight European countries.

Health and wellbeing facilities are new in 2012 from French holiday specialist siblu (www.siblu.com) to pamper campers. There are steam rooms, saunas, hot tubs and massage treatments at some of its 14 parks, with massages from just 15 euros.

Maybe I should give camping another try; I might just like it.

siblu

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Spring 2012

Close your eyes and just imagine sitting by the pool in the sunshine, sipping something cool. Perhaps catching up on the bestseller that you keep meaning to read as the kids play on the waterslides DQG HQMR\ D IDEXORXV IXQ oOOHG KROLGD\ Isn’t that something to look forward to?

It can all be yours this summer with Vacansoleil from as little as £552*

Scan this code for more information

*£552 relates to a 14 night holiday during school summer holidays for a family of six including return ferry.

Book your 2012 holiday now or request a 2012 brochure by calling our expert travel advisors on 0333 700 50 50 (national rates apply) or visit vacansoleil.co.uk 260 pages

Wellington Country Park Campsite, located between Reading and Basingstoke on the A33, offers you the opportunity to pitch within the beauty and tranquility of woodland.

Accessible from both the M3/M4 motorways, it is ideal both as a touring base or destination. Included within your fee is ‘FREE’ unlimited access to all the Country Park facilities with play areas, miniature railway, slides, crazy golf and animal farm.

Definitely a campsite for all the family!!

Wellington Country Park Odiham Road, Riseley, Nr Reading RG7 1SP Tel 01189 326444

www.wellington-country-park.co.uk Spring 2012

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n Crashing waves off Trevose

Seaside specials For some of the finest seaside golf you’re ever likely to play, head down to the West Country’s Atlantic coast. Peter Ellegard packed his bucket and spade as well as his clubs inks golf: the mere mention can make sentimental golfers go misty-eyed and daydream about the likes of the Old Course, Carnoustie and Turnberry. Or 2011 and 2012 Open Championship hosts Royal St George’s and Royal Lytham.

England’s West Country is very unlikely to figure, though. Which is a shame, because there are some wonderful links gems that more than match up to their famous counterparts.

Some of the region’s top clubs are trying to change all that. Forming an alliance called England’s Atlantic Links, these five clubs offer six of the most historic seaside courses along the scenic Atlantic coastline of Somerset, North Devon and North Cornwall. And you would be hard-pressed to find a better collective test of golf in such magnificent settings anywhere in the world, let alone on your doorstep.

You can play one or two of them on a short break, but to see the region in all its glory and experience the best of its traditional links golf, take a touring holiday to play them all while adding some sightseeing along the way.

L

That is exactly what I did, starting at Cornish holiday resort Padstow to play James Braid classic St Enodoc and Harry Colt’s Trevose, then driving up the Atlantic coast to North Devon, where I played both Saunton courses and made a pilgrimage to Royal North Devon – England’s oldest links course – before completing my tour in Somerset to test my mettle against another Colt beauty, Burnham & Berrow.

I did my tour in July, just before the annual summer school holidays. Sadly, the great British weather didn’t play ball all the time and I had to brave rain and wind on some days. Yet at other times, such as the day I played Saunton’s duo, the sky was wall-to-wall blue, and I couldn’t have wished for a more perfect setting.

tallest bunker In Padstow, I based myself at the imposing Metropole Hotel, close to the harbour. The fairways of St Enodoc line the cliffs across the Camel Estuary directly opposite and you can take a ferry from the harbour over to Rock with your clubs and walk to up to the golf club.

I got there via a pleasant country drive. My drive on

Peter Ellegard

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England's Atlantic Links

pack your clubs n england’s atlantic links

the first tee of the undulating Church Course, however, was anything but pleasant, disappearing into dunes way off to the right. It was also a pity about the heavy overcast skies, as it is one of the South West’s most beautiful courses and gives wonderful views from its elevated tees, fairways and greens.

Originally designed by Braid in 1907, the course is a par 69 that may not be long by today’s standards but is both a beauty and a beast, with tight fairways and thick rough. It takes its name from the lovely Norman church with its distinctive crooked spire encircled by the 10th14th holes.

The feature that really grabs golfers’ attention, though, is on the par-4 6th. The infamous Himalaya bunker – reputedly the tallest in Europe – is a giant crater carved into a huge dune that towers over the fairway like its mountain range namesake. Hit a drive off target here and they may need to call out a search party for you if you try and find your ball.

Despite it being high season, I encountered few other golfers on my round. I instantly recognised one – European Tour pro Chris Wood – when I walked past him at the par-3 8th hole, where he had been practising firing irons at the green. I’m glad he moved on before I tried emulating his perfect shots, all resulting in gimme putts, and found a bunker instead. It was like watching a darts pro hit repeated bullseyes before missing the dartboard completely myself.

St Enodoc’s closing stretch, overlooking beaches, the Camel Estuary and Padstow, is divine, and I ended in seventh heaven after a rare birdie on the 200-yard, par-3 17th.

On the other side of Padstow lies the family-owned Trevose club, which includes on-site apartments and lodges just steps away from the fairways.

n View to the Camel Estuary at St Enodoc

England's Atlantic Links

pack your clubs n england’s atlantic links

Spring 2012

n Teeing off at Burnham & Berrow

Peter Ellegard

Its 18-hole Championship Course (there are two other nine-hole courses) is laid out alongside a bay with views to the headland beyond over crashing waves or, as when I played, gentle swells. The course comprises two loops, the front nine holes hugging the coastline and sand dunes and the opening two holes playing down towards the sea, while the back nine heads back inland to finish with an uphill 18th.

Trevose has welcomed golfers to its glorious links since Colt created it in 1925. It is a pedigree shared with exulted layouts such as Masters home course Augusta National, Sunningdale and Open venue Muirfield. If that doesn’t have the hairs on the back of your neck standing on end, the views and approach shots will, especially if the wind is up.

From Padstow, I headed north to Saunton Sands in Devon. You can do the 80-mile journey in around two hours if you take the A39 Atlantic Highway all the way.

However, it is worth diverting onto smaller coast roads at times for a more leisurely drive to take in villages, beaches and sights.

Saunton Golf Club has two jewels threaded between dunes adjacent to Braunton Burrows, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve that is Britain’s largest sand dune system

Peter Ellegard

biosphere reserve

n Bunker at Royal North Devon with Cape bunkers beyond

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pack your clubs n england’s atlantic links

Off course attractions Cornish resort Padstow has a pretty harbour and great seafood, with several restaurants and a fish and chip bar owned by celebrity chef Rick Stein. Visit pretty coves and sandy beaches nearby, watching surfers on the Atlantic rollers.

The space-age greenhouses and gardens of the Eden Project (www.edenproject.com) are just 20 miles from Padstow. Take a tour of the Camel Valley Vineyard (www.camelvalley.com) to buy some of its award-winning wines. I recommend the sparkling rose.

Bodmin Moor’s Jamaica Inn (www.jamaicainn.co.uk), made famous by Daphne du Maurier’s novel, is a good pit stop. At Tintagel, explore the castle (www.english-heritage.org.uk/tintagel) said to be the birthplace of King Arthur.

Pretty Boscastle is worth a visit, too.

Walk past the beach huts on Saunton Sands, in Devon, and survey the dunes of

“You would be hardpressed to find a better collective test of golf in such magnificent settings anywhere”

Eden Project

n Eden Project greenhouses

UNESCO-listed Braunton Burrows (www.explorebraunton.org). Enjoy a cream tea by the seafront at Westward Ho! Drive through Exmoor National Park (www.exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk), but detour to visit the villages of Lynton, on the coast, and Lynmouth, on the cliffs high above, taking the water-powered Cliff Railway that

and lies behind three-mile-long Saunton Sands beach.

Golf was first played here in the 1890s, on what would become its celebrated East Course.

The course has some of the finest opening holes in Britain, starting with a bruiser of a 478-yard par 4 followed by a testing par 5 and two more long par 4s, including the handicap-one 4th. Other standout holes include the 6th, which has a ditch down its right-hand side. The blind tee shot over a tussock-covered dune on the par-4 8th will also test your nerve – and leave you a blind approach to the green over another one if you spray it right.

Golf commentating legend Henry Longhurst once described the East Course as “the best course never to have held the Open Championship”. I wouldn’t disagree.

The equally-beguiling West Course, which was added in 1975, has five par-3 holes including the 16th and 18th, but is no pushover. It has more doglegs than its sibling and needs more course management to keep your ball on the short stuff, both off the tee and approaching the well-

protected greens. Both courses have been chosen to host the English Amateur Championship in 2014.

hoofprint rule

Peter Ellegard

n Saunton's East Course

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links them.

In Somerset, climb Brent Knoll for views over the Severn Estuary to Wales and enjoy a seafront sunset dinner in Weston-superMare. Inland, you can visit Cheddar Gorge (www.cheddargorge.co.uk), get New Age in Glastonbury and see the cathedral in historic Wells.

The nearby, landmark Saunton Sands Hotel makes a handy base as well as offering sweeping views over the beach and sea and the Burrows.

Also known as Westward Ho! and located in the town of the same name, Royal North Devon is a treat for golf and history aficionados. It is the cradle of English golf and was founded in 1864, with Old Tom Morris laying down a course prior to Henry Fowler, also responsible for Saunton’s East Course, designing the layout that is roughly what you play today.

The course retains its historic character but has stood the test of time well and remains a challenge, not least for the intimidating sleepered walls of the Cape double bunker, over which you have to send your drive on the 4th hole. Gorse bushes and small greens, some like upturned saucers, test your accuracy while the horses and sheep that roam freely – the course is on common land – provide an unusual sight and occasional mobile hazard. Thankfully, a local rule states that if your ball lands in a hoofprint, you can move it without penalty.

Make time to look round the fascinating museum in the clubhouse, which has a remarkable collection of old clubs and memorabilia.

After a drive through Exmoor into Somerset, I stayed in the delightful Woodlands Country House Hotel close to Burnham-on-Sea to play the most northerly Atlantic Links course, Burnham & Berrow. A classic, undulating links layout, five-time Open winner J H Taylor was the first club professional.

Spring 2012

Woodlands Country House Hotel Woodlands is an ideal base for both serious and social golfers. We are only 2.3miles or 3.7km from the championship course of Burnham & Berrow, which also offers the 9 hole Channel course.

Woodlands can also offer to organise tee-off times for our guests at Burnham & Berrow (Saturday mornings excluded) as we have an arrangement with the club for direct access to key tee-off times. If you can provide your preferred tee-off times when you book your accommodation we can arrange your tee off times for you. Green fees are at the standard rates.

Once you have enjoyed your game you can retire back to Woodlands to relax with a drink or a cream tea, perhaps play a game of 'crazy croquet' on the lawn, and enjoy fine dining at our restaurant.

Please visit us at www.woodlands-hotel.co.uk or call on 01278 760 232

Hill Lane, Brent Knoll, Somerset TA9 4DF Just 2 miles from the M5, exit at Junction 22.

Spring 2012

Woodlands

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pack your clubs n england’s atlantic links

GOLF CLIPS

england’s atlantic links golf facts when to go Peter Ellegard

Enjoy golf year-round. The Atlantic-facing coasts of Cornwall, Devon and Somerset enjoy some of Britain’s warmest spring, summer and autumn weather – and mild weather in winter, when green fees are lower. n Beach huts at

getting there

Saunton Sands

All five Atlantic Links golf clubs are easily accessible via the M5. Travel between them on the coastal A39 Atlantic Highway.

accommodation Somerset: Woodlands Country House Hotel, Brent Knoll (www.woodlands-hotel.co.uk).

Devon: Saunton Sands Hotel, near Braunton, Imperial Hotel, Barnstaple, and Barnstaple Hotel, Barnstaple (all www.brend-hotels.co.uk); Heasely House, North Molton (www.exmoor-hotel.co.uk); Norbury House, Ilfracombe (www.norburyhouse.co.uk).

Cornwall: Metropole Hotel (www.the-metropole.co.uk); Trevose Golf & Country Club, Padstow (www.trevose-gc.co.uk); St Moritz Hotel & Spa, Wadebridge (www.stmoritzhotel.co.uk); The Dormy House B&B, Rock (www.dormyhouserock.co.uk); St Enodoc Hotel, Rock (www.enodoc-hotel.co.uk).

New Ryanair routes to Cyprus are expected to boost the island’s golf tourism. Stansted-Paphos is one of 14 new routes from European airports this spring, and with the island’s top-rated golf course, the Nick Faldo-designed Elea Golf Club, just 10 minutes from Paphos airport, travelling golfers are predicted to form a significant percentage of passengers. The Stansted route will offer four flights a week from May 2, giving an annual capacity of 37,000 seats. www.eleaestate.com

more information Visit the Atlantic Links website at www.atlantic-links.co.uk or call 01932 228333.

courses n Padstow harbour

Devon Royal North Devon Golf Club, Westward Ho! www.royalnorthdevongolfclub.co.uk Saunton Golf Club, near Braunton: www.sauntongolf.co.uk

England's Atlantic Links

Somerset Burnham & Berrow Golf Club, Burnham-on-Sea: www.burnhamandberrowgolfclub.co.uk

Peter Ellegard

Cornwall St Enodoc Golf Club, Rock: www.st-enodoc.co.uk Trevose Golf & Country Club, Padstow: www.trevose-gc.co.uk

n Burnham & Berrow

The course is characterised by daunting, grasscovered sand hills and small, sloping greens, made harder by the constant, buffeting onshore winds. I was happy to get round losing just one ball.

My favourite holes included the par-4 12th, where a church overlooks the green, and the demanding par-3 17th, with a lighthouse beyond it.

It would be hard to choose a favourite course from the Atlantic Links portfolio, though. I might just need to play them all again to help me decide.

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Sardinia’s Forte Village Resort is launching a new Wentworth Golf Academy in conjunction with the legendary Wentworth Club.

The academy will be run by Wentworth’s PGA professionals from May to September and will coach children and adults on the holiday resort’s synthetic short-game area and new driving range, where golfers hit balls into a lake, as well as oncourse at the nearby, 27-hole Is Molas Golf Club, a former Italian Open venue. www.wentworthclub.com, www.fortevillageresort.com

The Turkish resort of Kusadasi, on the Aegean coast, is gaining its first golf course soon. The 18-hole, 6,991-yard Kusadasi International course officially opens in September and features USGA-standard greens and challenging and undulating fairways. Rental clubs and buggies will be available, and it will also have an academy offering lessons and golf clinics. Currently, Turkey’s golf courses are concentrated in southern resort Belek, with a few around Istanbul. www.kusadasiinternationalgolf.com Golf club rental specialist ClubstoHire’s expansion continues, with impending openings in Lisbon and the Isle of Man taking it to nine outlets – the others being Antalya, Alicante, Murcia, Dublin, Malaga, Edinburgh and Faro – and Gran Canaria and Tenerife opening soon. US stores may follow by the end of 2012. In a tie up with car rental company ArgusCarHire.com, customers booking cars in its locations can also book hire clubs. Rentals start at £35 per week, with rental periods from one day to four weeks. www.clubstohire.com

Spring 2012

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travel n tech

I want to glide my bicycle s the days grow longer and temperatures climb, more people are venturing outdoors to exercise. But if jumping on two wheels to brave hills and headwinds puts you off, why not consider an electric bike?

You pedal as normal, but when the going gets tough they provide a vital power boost to help you on your journey.

Ebikes are becoming increasingly popular thanks to technological advances. You can even get folding ones, ideal for sticking in a car boot for days out, short breaks and camping holidays, and for putting on a boat or taking on a train.

French maker Solex has teamed up with famed Italian designer Pininfarina to produce a range that includes the folding Velosolex model (pictured). Easy to handle and lightweight at just 22kg includ-

A

ing the lithium-ion battery, it has folding pedals, a six-speed Shimano drive train and a power-assisted

Weight watcher W

Stress away Jetlag can be a thing of the past, thanks to a new aid just launched in the UK. Q-Link is a health and wellbeing innovation that combats stress and aids restful sleep, making it ideal to help you get over jetlag and keep you calm on stressful flights.

Already a hit in the US and used by celebrities including Madonna and golfers Ernie Els and Justin Rose, Q-Link’s products use proprietary “sympathetic resonance technology”, or SRT-3, to rebalance and optimise a person’s natural energy or “biofield”, giving greater focus, awareness and concentration and reducing stress.

Among products are the Q-Link Pendant, with an SRP of £79.99, the Q-Link SRT-3 Bracelet, at £99.99 and the Q-Link CLEAR button, which

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system giving speeds of up to 25kph (15mph) in sport mode plus a “starter” function for speeds of up to 6kph (3.7mph).

The battery charges in five hours and gives up to 50km of “autonomy”. A handlebar-mounted LCD screen shows speed, distance travelled, power mode, journey time, power consumption and remaining autonomy.

The Velosolex costs £1,399 from stockists including Harrods. For more information, go to www.solexworld.com/en.

British manufacturer EBCO is flying the flag with its own ebikes, offering three models with prices from £1,100 to £1,600, also available from Harrods and other retailers. More details from www.ebco-ebikes.co.uk.

attaches to personal electronic devices, at £19.99.

UK stockists include Amazon (www.amazon.co.uk) and Peak Nutrition (www.peak-nutrition.co.uk).

See the full product collection at www.qlinkeurope.eu. l You can WIN one of two Q-Link pendants, worth £79.99 each. Just go to www.tlm-magazine.co.uk and click on Competitions.

Terms and conditions apply.

Closing date May 27, 2012.

www.tlm-magazine.co.uk

orried about excess baggage charges when you check in for your flights?

With airline baggage costs increasing, it is no wonder that luggage scales have become a popular accessory.

However, many scales on the market are electronic and need batteries, while nondigital ones are sometimes inaccurate, hard to read or uncomfortable

to hold.

That prompted chartered engineer Greg Marshall to come up with The Baggage Scale – a compact, folding device that weighs just 106 grams, fits in the palm of your hand, weighs luggage up to 32kg accurately and has a magnifying viewer for easy reading.

The Baggage Scale was designed in the UK and is available from luggage retailers as well as direct from www.thebaggagescale.com with an RRP of £12.99.

Spring 2012

travel n tech

That’s Handy f you want memories of your summer holidays but are reluctant to risk taking a video camera or your smartphone on the beach or by the pool, Sony has come to the rescue.

Its new Handycam GW55VE model is waterproof to depths of five metres as well as resisting dust and shocks from drops of up to 1.5m. So it is not only ideal for trips to the beach but you can also take it snorkelling, and there is no need to worry about dropping it in water or getting caught in rain.

The Handycam features a 10x optical zoom with extended zoom taking it to 17x maximum magnification and it shoots full HD video as well as stills, with stabilisation to correct hand-shake.

Auto recognition of up to 99 scenes adjusts camcorder settings for best results, and there is even a special underwater mode to optimise videos shot below the waves.

Other features include Intelligent Sweep Panorama with face and motion detection, allowing you to capture extrawide scenes, and a self portrait timer. It also makes a perfect travelling companion, boasting onboard GPS that logs where your videos and photos were taken.

I

Spring 2012

Independent reviews of Europe’s best campsites are now available in iPad editions with the free Alan Rogers Bookstore app from the market-leading campsite guides publisher. It allows users to download all guides in the collection at a fraction of the cost of the printed editions. Prices for guides start at just £1.99. www.alanrogers.com The new, free Eco Driving App from the AA is a fun, challenge-based way to help drivers improve their driving techniques and save up to 20% on fuel bills. Drivers activate it as they start journeys. It then monitors their driving and gives an eco rating score for how economically they have driven. For iPhone and Android. www.theaa.com

The Handycam GW55VE will be available in the UK from mid-May, with an expected price of £550 including case. www.sony.co.uk

Touch, read and go I f you love reading but don’t want to be weighed down by heavy books, the Kobo Touch digital touch screen e-reader makes a perfect travelling companion.

It comes in a range of colours and is the only e-reader with an open platform, allowing users to share the available three million digital book titles on any device.

Weighing just 185g, the Kobo Touch stores up to 1,000 e-books, expandable up to 32,000 with an optional 32GB SD memory card. It features a six-inch glarefree e-ink screen with a choice of seven font styles in 17 sizes to suit reading preferences.

The Kobo Touch is available from £89.99 at WH Smith and other major

APPS CORNER

Smartphone and iPad app versions are now available of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World website so users can browse, book and view SLH’s collection of over 520 hotels in more than 70 countries. iPad users are automatically routed to the site’s new version, which is also compatible with iPhone, Android, Nokia and Blackberry operating systems. www.slh.com A new, free iPhone app from air travel guide SeatGuru features a collection of over 700 colour-coded aircraft seat maps, with detailed seat recommendations, covering nearly 100 airlines. The app also integrates the TripAdvisor flight search engine, allowing travellers to book a flight on the go and get real-time flight status updates. www.seatguru.com

retailers. Visit www.kobo.com for more information.

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on your doorstep n new forest

Heart of oak The New Forest is Britain’s smallest national park but is big on nature, charm and things to do and is popular for holidays year-round. Peter Ellegard goes down to the woods and finds lots of surprises

I

Surprisingly, with a population of almost 35,000, the New Forest – or, simply, the Forest as the locals call it – is the most densely-populated national park in the UK. Each year, that is swelled by more than 13 million visitors, who come for its beautiful, natural environment, the variety of outdoor activities they can participate in, its historic and cultural heritage, and its wealth of flora and wildlife.

The Forest is home to rare species including Britain’s only native cicada, mole crickets, several species of carnivorous sundew plants and heathland birds such as the Dartford Warbler. Other Forest inhabitants include otters, polecats and several deer species, among them fallow deer, which can be seen at close quarters from a viewing platform at Bolderwood deer sanctuary.

Not all the wildlife is wild. The iconic New Forest

New Forest Tourism Association

f ever there was a misnomer for a place it surely must be the New Forest. One of Britain’s most ancient surviving landscapes, it was so named when William the Conqueror created a royal hunting preserve there in 1079 to hunt wild deer and boar.

Since 2005, the New Forest has been a national park, Britain’s smallest at just 218 square miles. Yet, despite its name, only one-third of it is woodland, while more than a quarter of it is heathland and grassland – making it Europe’s largest remaining area of lowland heath.

The New Forest is, in fact, a unique landscape that comprises woodland, heath, grassland, glades, bogs, rivers and streams, coastal saltmarshes and farmland, as well as picturesque villages, bustling towns and popular tourist attractions.

n The New Forest has over 100 miles of cycling routes

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on your doorstep n new forest

Much of how the New Forest looks today is due to its enduring traditions.

Commoning has been a way of life for centuries. Commoners occupy land or properties with rights of common attached, allowing them to graze animals in the Forest.

Over 300 still exercise the right and graze ponies, cattle, donkeys and pigs. Some also exercise the right to collect firewood, known as Common of Fuelwood, or Estovers.

Verderers are similar to judges and sit in the Verderers’ Court, which meets 10 times a year. They regulate commoning.

Agisters are like police. They are appointed by the Verderers to oversee the management and welfare of commoners’ stock and deal with road accidents involving the animals.

In late summer and autumn, Agisters hold drifts, or round-ups, to count ponies and cattle and treat any health problems as well as brand foals and cut mares’ tails to show grazing fees have been paid.

n New Forest ponies grazing on a “lawn”

ponies, which roam freely throughout the national park and can often be found stopping traffic in the main streets of its communities, are actually all owned by commoners who turn them out in the park for grazing. There are 4,000 of them and the distinctive, closely-cropped “lawn” areas of the New Forest are the result of that grazing.

Cattle and donkeys also roam freely, as do pigs in autumn. Commoners are allowed to let their pigs loose for a couple of months to eat the acorns that are poisonous to the ponies and cattle, along with crab apples and beech mast, in a centuries-old practice called pannage.

There are up to 600 of them these days, although that is just one-tenth of the numbers that once grazed there.

The Forest is a haven for horse riders, cyclists and ramblers. There’s a network of over 100 miles of cycle routes along tracks, old railway lines and minor roads, with lengths ranging from three to 21 miles, some of them taking in villages with tea rooms or pubs for a refreshing pit stop. If you don’t have your own bike, you can rent models including electric bikes from a number of cycle hire shops.

“The Forest is a haven for horse riders, cyclists and ramblers”

guided walks Horse riders are not restricted to marked routes, a key attraction of riding in the Forest. There are many stables where you can take a forest hack or book a riding lesson. Meanwhile, walkers have 143 miles of tracks to explore apart from the open heath and grassland areas, and guided walks with experts can help unlock secrets about its nature and history.

n

Forest inhabitants include several deer species

VisitBritain

park life

The towns and villages, both within and just outside the national park, are worth spending time in to browse shops and markets, visit pubs and restaurants and experience the atmosphere that makes the Forest so special.

Lyndhurst has been known as the capital of the New Forest since Norman times and it makes a great starting point to learn about it. The New Forest Centre (www.newforestcentre.org.uk) has a fascinating interactive museum which brings the Forest’s history, traditions and nature to life as well as an exhibition gallery, visitor information centre, reference library and gift shop.

The main focal point in the town is the tall tower of the pre-Raphaelite church of St Michael and All Angels.

Former Lyndhurst resident Alice Liddell, later Hargreaves, was the inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and is buried in the graveyard. Among nearby attractions are Longdown Activity Farm (www.longdownfarm.co.uk), with hands-on farmyard activities for the whole family, and the New Forest Wildlife Park (www.newforestwildlifepark.co.uk), which has a Tropical Butterfly House as well as resident animals including otters, Scottish Wildcats and lynx.

Brockenhurst has a mainline railway station and, with some of the Forest’s prettiest scenery in the area, is the starting point for many of the walks and cycle trails.

It makes a good base for a Forest stay, with hotels and B&Bs in the village and nearby.

There is a ford, known locally as the Watersplash, a pretty green, where you can often see ponies and donkeys grazing, picture-postcard buildings and several pubs. One is called The Snakecatcher

New Forest Tourism Association

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on your doorstep n new forest

(www.thesnakecatcher.co.uk) after legendary local character Harry “Brusher” Mills, who caught snakes to sell to visitors, zoos and research centres and who is said to have caught 30,000 adders and grass snakes in his lifetime. He used to drink at the pub, then called the Railway Inn, and died in 1905 just outside after having a tipple there. It serves food, but snake is not on the menu.

Spring 2012

n A pony grazing in the evening light at Crockford Clump

l There are over 600 listed buildings in the New Forest, from Beaulieu Palace House to cob and timberframe cottages. l The oldest tree is a yew at Brockenhurst Church, believed to be 1,000 years old. The tallest is a 178feet-high Wellingtonia (giant sequoia) on the Rhinefield Drive. l The New Forest has 75% of northwestern Europe’s valley mires (bogs) – 90 out of the 120. l William the Conqueror’s son, King William II, was killed while out hunting when a stray arrow shot at a stag glanced off a tree. The Rufus Stone monument marks the site. l Don’t feed the ponies; it can land you a £200 fine. They look cute but

n Thatched building in Brockenhurst

New Forest Show

did you know?

n New Forest Show can be aggressive and bite or kick. l The three-day New Forest and Hampshire County Show (www.newforestshow.co.uk) in Brockenhurst is the largest of many events in the New Forest calendar.

This year’s is from July 24-26.

Peter Ellegard

Whitefield Moor, not far from Brockenhurst, is a good place for picnics and relaxing, sharing the grassy lawn with grazing ponies and cattle.

Burley is the Forest’s most picturesque village and is full of timeless charm with its thatched cottages. It also leaves visitors spellbound. Sybil Leek, a self-styled white witch, lived in the village in the 1950s. She moved to America, where she died in 1982, but the Coven of Witches (www.covenofwitches.co.uk) shop she established in Burley is still going strong and sells all things magical, mystical and New Age. Beyond Burley, near Picket Post, is a car park with an elevated viewpoint giving glorious sunset views and paths to amble along through the heathland.

Ringwood, on the western edge of the national park, has been the Forest’s main market town for centuries and has a mix of modern shops, thatched cottages and old inns plus a Saxon church and an old, arched stone bridge over the River Avon. It is the home of the Ringwood Brewery (www.ringwoodbrewery.co.uk), which offers weekend brewery tours with tastings.

Nearby Moors Valley Country Park (www.moorsvalley.co.uk), in Ringwood Forest, has a woodland Play Trail and Go Ape Tree Top Adventure with zip wires, Tarzan swings and canopy rope walks.

Bordering the Forest’s southern boundary is delightful Lymington, where the New Forest National Park Authority is headquartered. The rich past of this historic port town is evident in the pretty cobbled streets and grand Georgian buildings lining its High Street. Go there on a Saturday morning for the wonderful weekly market, with stalls lining either side and stretching down towards the quay from which you can buy crafts and local produce; look out for the New Forest Marque (www.newforestproduce.co.uk), sold there and in other Forest markets and shops, that shows it is local.

Savvy shoppers might also want to browse the charity shops that dot the high Street. This area is fashionable with the country set, and you find a better class of bargain in their unwanted discards, as I discovered on a recent visit. I was staying in a posh New Forest hotel for the weekend and had stupidly forgotten to take a jacket for dinner. In one charity shop, I found exactly what I was looking for – a brand new, unworn Armani sports jacket that not only fitted but was a steal at £20!

You can take a boat trip around the Solent from the quay, and regular ferry services run to the Isle of Wight, just across the water. You can also take a walk along the nearby nature reserve and visit Henry VIII’s Hurst Castle fortress (www.hurstcastle.co.uk). Seaside towns Milford and Barton are just beyond.

New Forest Tourism Association

witches

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on your doorstep n new forest

new forest facts

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getting around The New Forest is served by a public bus network. The New Forest Tour (www.thenewforesttour.info) operates two hourly, circular routes from Lyndhurst in open-top buses from June 30-September 16.

Hop on and hop off where you like or switch between tours, on the same ticket. Up to four bikes are carried free. Adult fares range from £10 for one day to £20 for five days. Parking is largely restricted to car parks in towns and villages. Buy a £20 short-stay clock online from New Forest District Council (www.newforest.gov.uk).Valid for a year, it allows parking for up to three hours at a time.

accommodation The New Forest has everything from campsites and holiday parks to B&Bs, self-catering, pubs and luxury hotels. For a detailed list, see www.thenewforest.co.uk/accommodation. Options include Hoburne Holidays' park (www.hoburne.com), B&B Cottage Lodge (www.cottagelodge.co.uk), Little Paddock self-catering lodges (www.little-paddock.com), boutique hotel Stanwell House (www.stanwellhouse.com) and luxury hotels Rhinefield House Hotel (www.handpicked.co.uk), New Manor Park Hotel & Spa (www.newparkmanorhotel.co.uk), Limewood (www.limewood.co.uk), Careys Manor (www.careysmanor.com), Chewton Glen (www.chewtonglen.com) and The Pig (www.thepighotel.co.uk).

more information

n Exploring the New Forest

New Forest Tourism Association: www.thenewforest.co.uk New Forest National Park: www.newforestnpa.gov.uk New Forest District Council: www.newforest.gov.uk

n Paultons Park ride

n Exbury Gardens

New Forest Tourism Association

The park’s southern flank encompasses 26 miles of scenic coastline, broken by the Beaulieu River. On its banks lies Buckler’s Hard (www.bucklershard.co.uk), an important 18th century shipbuilding village where several ships for Nelson’s fleet at Trafalgar were built.

Part of the Beaulieu Estate, the village is now preserved as a maritime museum with living history depictions in summer. The Master Builder’s Hotel (www.themasterbuilders.co.uk), in the building at the end of the grassy street, was the former master shipbuilder’s house.

New Forest oaks were said to be the finest in the land for building the Royal Navy’s vessels. Many were felled and a Parliamentary Act in 1808 ordered their replanting.

The most famous surviving ancient oak is the pollarded (traditionally-pruned) Knightwood Oak, near Lyndhurst, thought to have been planted before 1600.

Close to Buckler’s Hard is Beaulieu (www.beaulieu.co.uk), where you can visit historic Beaulieu Abbey and Beaulieu Palace House, home to the Montagu family since 1538. Its popular gardens are linked by monorail to the adjacent National Motor Museum, where exhibits document motoring on Britain’s roads. Its Bond in Motion exhibition, which runs throughout 2012, celebrates 50 years of Bond movies with 50 vehicles from the films.

Across the Beaulieu River are the famed Exbury Gardens (www.exbury.co.uk), created in the 1920s and spanning 200 aces of horticultural splendour as well as a narrow-gauge steam railway. Nearby Lepe Country Park (www.hants.gov.uk/lepe) has pine-fringed cliffs, a beach and preserved D-Day remains.

Hythe is the birthplace of the hovercraft. Jump on a ferry to Southampton (www.hytheferry.co.uk) from Hythe’s Victorian pier after riding the world’s oldest pier train. On several days a week, you can watch flour being milled at restored Eling Tide Mill (www.elingexperience.co.uk), the UK’s only tidal water mill. Times are governed by tides.

Fordingbridge is the northern gateway to the Forest and is noted for its Medieval stone bridge over the Avon and its excellent, free museum. Rockbourne Roman Villa, just outside town, is well worth a visit.

Also a must visit if you have children in tow is Paultons Family Theme Park (www.paultonspark.co.uk), which has more than 60 rides and attractions and is home to Peppa Pig World.

Or you could simply head off on one of the many paths to immerse yourself in the New Forest’s glorious nature. You’ll find it a walk in the park.

Beaulieu Enterprises Ltd

mighty oaks

New Forest Tourism Association

n Buckler's Hard

n History at Beaulieu

By car, take the M27 and exit at Junction 1, signposted Cadnam. South West Trains (www.southwesttrains.co.uk) provide access to stations in the New Forest from London’s Waterloo, while Cross Country trains (www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk) runs services from Reading and the Midlands.

New Forest Tourism Association

Beaulieu Enterprises Ltd

getting there

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checking out n hotel accommodation

Rooms with a

wow

focus: unusual hotels

n Enjoy falconry at Dalhousie Castle

S

Desert Cave Hotel

n

Coober Pedy cave room

convent Across the Channel, France has a number of chateaux which have become hotels, while Spain has its parador hotels and Portugal its pousada hotels, many of them former palaces. Spain’s Parador de Granada (www.paradores-spain.com) is a luxury hotel set in a former 15th century convent which is part of

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n Where's the key, honey?

I'm getting wet out here

Jules Undersea Lodge

taying in a hotel need not mean putting up with a homogeneous mega-chain urban slab with identikit rooms and little character. There are many extraordinary hotels that started life in a very different guise but now offer an accommodation experience with a twist. Castles, forts, palaces, factories, convents, ships and caves – all have been transformed into hotels.

You can find them throughout the world, but you don’t have to travel far to enjoy a stay guaranteed to wow you.

Fancy yourself as lord of the manor? You can live the high life and be king of the castle, at least for a few days, in several historic piles in Britain. Dalhousie Castle (www.dalhousiecastle.co.uk), near Edinburgh, is a grand, 13th century fortress that has been turned into a luxury castle hotel complete with dining room in the vaulted dungeon. Guests can try the royal sport of falconry to complete their regal fantasy.

Built over 100 years ago, Bovey Castle (www.boveycastle.com) is now a five-star golf and spa resort set within Dartmoor National Park in Devon.

Why not get family or friends together and take over a Napoleonic fort? Spitbank Fort, a mile off Portsmouth Harbour, has just completed a multimillion pound transformation to become a private, luxury destination with eight en-suite bedrooms, three private dining rooms and bars, a wine cellar, rooftop hot pool, sauna and sun decks. Guests have Champagne and canapés in Royal Clarence Marina prior to their private boat transfer. The fort can be booked from £8,000 per night for exclusive use through Clarenco (www.clarenco.com).

Ireland has its own castles and stately homes now run as hotels. Among them are County Clare’s Dromoland Castle (www.dromoland.ie) and Adare Manor Castle Hotel (www.adaremanor.com), in County Limerick.

the famous Alhambra Palace overlooking the city of Granada in Andalucia. Italy, too, has some grand former palaces now welcoming paying guests.

If those don’t float your boat, why not opt for a grand home from home that once plied the oceans?

Stockholm’s Malardrottningen Hotel (http://malardrottningen.se) was the world’s largest diesel-powered yacht when it was built in 1924. Given to Woolworth heiress and socialite Barbara Hutton on her 18th birthday by her father, it welcomed royalty, movie stars and the world’s movers and shakers and is now a 60-room hotel moored near the city centre, its rich mahogany and brass decor preserved for today’s guests.

For true nostalgia, nothing beats a stay onboard former transatlantic liner, the Hotel Queen Mary (www.queenmary.com), permanently docked off Long Beach. Step back to the glory days of the multiple holder of the blue riband for the fastest Atlantic crossing in one of 314 first-class staterooms featuring rich wood panelling, Art Deco fixtures and portholes.

You can stay below the waves, too. Jules Undersea Lodge (www.jul.com) is a former underwater research laboratory that sits 30 feet underwater in a mangrove lagoon at Key Largo, in Florida. Operated for 25 years as a hotel, guests dive down to enter via a “moon pool” at the bottom. It has two double bedrooms, a galley with microwave and fridge and a dining area/lounge with TV where guests can watch fish swim by through the large

Spring 2012

checking out n hotel accommodation

HOTEL NEWS

Clarenco

Dalhousie Castle

n Spitbank Fort, in the Solent

Hotel Queen Mary

n Former liner, the Hotel Queen Mary

porthole window, before venturing out to explore the lagoon on a dive.

Spring 2012

Historic Scottish castle Ackergill Tower opens as a luxury hotel on May 1. The 15th century Highland bastion has previously only been available for private hire. It offers 28 en-suite bedrooms, many of them in original buildings on the estate. Half-board rates start from £300, while a Detox Weekend on May 11-13 costs £550 per person and includes fitness classes with a personal trainer, a massage and special menus. www.clarenco.com/ackergilltower A one-night Royal Jubilee Celebration stay at London’s Royal Garden Hotel on June 2 costs £315 and includes tickets to A Gala for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee at the Royal Albert Hall, starring Russell Watson and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as accommodation in a King Room. It is also offering a Diamond Jubilee Afternoon Tea in its Park Terrace Lounge from May 28-June 5 for £22, or £32 with Champagne. www.royalgardenhotel.co.uk

Hotel de Glace

cave hotels There are even hotels underground. The Desert Cave Hotel (www.desertcave.com.au) is located in the Australian Outback opal mining town of Coober Pedy, where residents live below ground to escape the heat. Of the 50 suites, 19 are underground. All have TV and internet access. Hotel facilities include shops, restaurants and bars, and guests can buy opals direct from the local mines.

Turkey’s Cappadocia region has several cave hotels built into its honeycombed volcanic rocks, including the boutique Cappadocia Cave Suites Hotel (www.cappadociacavesuites.com).

They may have melted now, but if you’re already thinking of somewhere different to stay next winter, a really cool option is to stay in an ice hotel. The largest is Sweden’s Icehotel (www.icehotel.com), and you can also snuggle up inside Quebec’s Hotel de Glace (www.hoteldeglace-canada.com) and the Ice Hotel Romania (www.icehotelromania.com).

But if you can’t do without your morning cuppa, book yourself into the Tea Factory Hotel (www.heritancehotels.com/teafactory) – a converted tea factory high up in Sri Lanka’s Nuwara Eliya tea-growing region.

The Athenaeum Hotel in Mayfair has won the Tea Guild’s 2012 award for Top London Afternoon Tea. Another 21 capital hotels were given Awards of Excellence, including the Savoy, the Ritz, the Dorchester, Claridge’s and Brown’s Hotel. Pennyhill Park Hotel & Spa in Surrey won the Top City and Country Hotel award. Judges praised its smart and elegant surroundings, service and tasty sandwiches, cakes and scones, as well as the choice of teas and quality of tea served. www.athenaeumhotel.com, www.pennyhillpark.co.uk

n Ice bed in the Hotel de Glace

Holidaymakers need to be quick off the mark to book a London airport hotel during the Olympics, accommodation broker HolidayExtras.com has warned. It highlights the fact that 320,000 international visitors are expected during the Games, with eight million people having tickets for events.

While average Olympics London room-only hotel rates are £213 – up 102% on last year – the company has overnights at Gatwick’s three-star Days Hotel and eight days’ on-airport parking, from £111. www.holidayextras.com

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Centre stage ost modern hotels are so bland they are instantly forgettable once you leave.

Guests at the new, £60 million Radisson Edwardian Guildford have no such worry.

Tucked off Guildford’s historic high street, the striking glass façade makes a bold statement. But inside is where award-winning designer Rabih Hage really has fun.

Walk under the huge chandelier in the atrium lobby and it feels like you are on an Alice in Wonderland film set. A two-storey, free-standing kiosk houses information pamphlets, plush seating and a TV displaying a roaring fire, with a roof-top business centre

M

factbox Radisson Edwardian Guildford 3 Alexandra Terrace, High Street, Guildford, Surrey GU1 3DA Tel: 01483 792300 www.radissonedwardian.com/guildford Double room from £99 B&B best for l Sense of fun l Exquisite food l Spa breaks n Restful

you can look down on from the balcony walkway leading to your room.

The soaring back wall comprises floor-to-ceiling library shelves and attached crooked, white ladders, up which you half expect to see the Mad Hatter. Stage lights complete the illusion.

Relish, one of two eateries, is equally theatrical; murals and nets printed with sumptuous palace interior scenes are set off by more chandeliers. The wonderfully-inventive, and very tasty, food is only upstaged by the friendly, efficient staff. But why skimp on the napkins at breakfast to use paper serviettes?

The daily Queen of Hearts Afternoon Tea

could do better l Paper napkins? No…

includes tarts and a Madhatter Milkshake, besides teas.

Guest rooms are comfortable and a restful chocolate-brown. The bedside iPod dock is a nice touch. Shame the immovable hairdryer in the wardrobe isn’t closer to the looking glass.

It costs £10 to use the superb spa’s facilities (sauna, steam room, small pool, relaxation room, five treatment rooms). But indulge yourself with a massage. It will have you grinning like a Cheshire Cat, as will your stay.

Peter Ellegard

n Rhinefield House Hotel and pond

factbox

Hand Picked Hotels

Rhinefield House Hotel Rhinefield Road, Brockenhurst, Hampshire SO42 7QB Tel: 0845 072 7516 www.handpickedhotels.co.uk Double room from £135 B&B best for l Forest escapes l Romantic breaks l Weddings

To die for

could do better l Warm rads, please

Hand Picked Hotels

n Lounge

104 tlm n the travel & leisure magazine

Approaching Rhinefield House Hotel on the wooded driveway in the heart of the New Forest, the first view you get of this magnificent edifice, framed by soaring redwood trees, is to die for. Which was fitting, as I was staying there for a murder mystery weekend.

The grand Gothic and Tudor exterior, creaking oak front door

www.tlm-magazine.co.uk

rooms

Radisson Edwardian Hotels

n Relish restaurant

Radisson Edwardian Hotels/Marcus Peel

n Theatrical lobby

Radisson Edwardian Hotels/Marcus Peel

checking out n hotel reviews

and maze of corridors and stairs added perfectly to the occasion.

As did the baronial-style, chandeliered public rooms with their lofty leaded windows and ornamental gardens beyond.

Hercules Poirot and Sherlock Holmes would be in their element in this magnificent country house hotel, part of the Hand Picked Hotels group and offering 50

bedrooms, outdoor pool and leisure centre in 40 acres of woodland. But with friendly staff and four-star comforts, it felt very homely even to a lesser sleuth like me.

Some rooms are in the new section, which is used as a conference and wedding venue.

Mine was in the old part, with a stone-mullioned window, but was very cosy. I particularly liked the toy New Forest pony left on the bed, which you put outside the room if you don’t want to be disturbed. Unfortunately, the bathroom radiator did not work, making for a quick dash for warmth after showering.

With two AA Rosette fine dining in a stately restaurant boasting a carved Armada frieze above the fireplace, the food is first rate, although my murder mystery companions and I ate in the glorious Grand Hall.

What a pity not all of them stayed around to enjoy the whole weekend.

Peter Ellegard

Spring 2012

Lansdowne Place Hotel & Spa

BRIGHTON & HOVE

“The best of Brighton & Hove”

• Luxury 4 hotel just steps away from Hove seafront • Stunning bedrooms • Function rooms up to 250 delegates • Cocktail bar and Restaurant • ESPA • Friendly staff at your disposal 24h a day

“We make your stay the best experience”

La n s do wn e P la ce H otel & Sp a

L a nsdo wne Pl a ce , H o ve BN 3 1 H Q T: 0 12 7 3 7 36 5 26 6 F : 0 1 27 3 72 98 0 2

Spring 2012

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checking out n bed & breakfast accommodation + review

n Stay in picture-

VisitBritain/Rod Edwards

VisitBritain/Rod Edwards

Cottage industry f bed and breakfast provokes images of old-fashioned seaside boarding houses run by stern-faced landladies and greasy breakfasts, you haven’t experienced a B&B stay in recent years.

These days, they not only offer all the comforts of your own home, they often also provide amenities to rival five-star hotels, restaurant-quality food and personal service.

If the experience has improved, so has the importance of B&Bs. According to the Bed and Breakfast Association, this cottage industry is now worth more than £2 billion a year – 28% bigger than the turnover of budget hotels

I

n Home-made breakfasts are a treat

postcard cottages

VisitBritain/Rod Edwards

n Afternoon tea, B&B-style

and 35% of the entire UK hotels sector. B&Bs also make up one-fifth of the total amount of serviced accommodation in the country.

You can find them everywhere and in all types of buildings, from chocolate-box thatched cottages in prime tourist haunts such as the Cotswolds and New Forest to more unusual offerings.

Among providers, Distinctly Different (www.distinctlydifferent.co.uk) offers a selection that includes a former church, two converted Welsh lighthouses and a hayloft. The company’s Bradford Old Windmill (www.bradfordoldwindmill.co.uk) stands

above the Cotswold town of Bradford on Avon and features a waterbed and a circular bed in its rooms. The lighthouses are West Usk Lighthouse (www.westusklighthouse.co.uk), near Newport in Gwent, and The Lighthouse (www.lighthouse-llandudno.co.uk) at Great Ormes Head, Llandudno.

For something more traditional, Enjoy England’s top choices include Regal House (www.regalhouse-seahouses.co.uk), in Seahouses, on the Northumbrian coast, and South West of England B&B of the Year for 2011, The Somerville (www.somervillehotel.co.uk), in the centre of Torquay.

Check Visit Britain’s accommodation directory, online at www.visitbritain.com/en/accommodation, to find a full list of assessed B&Bs.

Forest re-cycling Cottage Lodge, Bockenhurst, New Forest

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n Cottage Lodge exterior

www.cottagelodge.co.uk

Room rates start from £60 B&B best for l Exploring the New Forest l Eco champions l Homely charm could do better l Patchy Wi-Fi coverage

runs throughout the 16-room property, which owner Christina Simmons extended using New Forest Douglas Fir and recycled

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Cottage Lodge

It’s always refreshing to find accommodation that makes efforts to be eco-aware.

At Cottage Lodge, a cosy B&B in New Forest village Brockenhurst, they go the extra mile – or at least guests staying in the Standing Hat room can, if they wish. An eco-room featuring a four-poster bed and desk (both made from a locally-felled beech tree by a tree surgeon living in the next village) and bamboo flooring, it also has a standmounted bike for occupants to power the TV and some lights, so they can reduce their impact on the environment while getting a work-out.

The eco-friendly philosophy

Cottage Lodge Brockenhurst, Hampshire SQ42 7SH Tel: 01590 622296

materials, while introducing lowimpact initiatives. She even jokes that as it was built in 1650 from reclaimed ship timbers and handmade bricks, it has been recycling since Jacobean times.

Underlining its credentials, Cottage Lodge was named the country’s most sustainable tourism business by Visit Britain in 2008 and the most sustainable New Forest National Park business in 2011.

Gillies Holt, the self-contained room I stayed in, uses local timber and has solar-powered

Peter Ellegard

factbox

skylight blinds and low-flow taps and shower head. Solar panels and wood-burning stoves provide the B&B’s hot water and power and its delicious breakfasts use mostly local produce.

But eco-friendliness means nothing without the personal touch – and that is where Cottage Lodge really excels, such as offering guests tea and homemade cake on arrival.

You couldn’t wish to stay in a more welcoming or friendly home away from home.

Peter Ellegard

Spring 2012

Discover the Cotswold stone villages and market towns and explore the gentle rolling countryside with over 500 miles of walking and cycling routes, or immerse yourself in the history and heritage of this area of outstanding natural beauty. It’s the perfect touring base to discover the heart of England including Stratford-upon-Avon, Cheltenham and the ‘dreaming spires’ of Oxford.

The Oxfordshire Cotswolds www.oxfordshirecotswolds.org/facebook @OxCots www.oxfordshirecotswolds.org/twitter Download our Visitor Guide to your iPhone www.oxfordshirecotswolds.org/iapp Find us on YouTube www.oxfordshirecotswolds.org/youtube

www.oxfordshirecotswolds.org Email tourism@westoxon.gov.uk

BROCHURE REQUEST LINE

+44 (0) 1993 704645

■ SEASONAL BREAKS

The Hotel Collingwood is one of Bournemouth's finest hotels, ideally situated we are only a short walk to the beach, Bournemouth International Centre and cosmopolitan town centre. A family run establishment ensures you of an exceptionally high standard of service at all times. The hotel has 53 modern en suite bedrooms, which have their own distinctive style and are all furnished and equipped with individual heating controls, direct dial telephone, digital freeview TV, tea / coffee facilities. Lift access to all floors, as well as ample free parking for 70 cars.

We provide an exceptional and exciting array of entertainment most evenings throughout the year, Each live cabaret is unique, whether you want to dance the night away or just listen, all tastes of music are catered for.

Hotel Collingwood 11 Priory Road, Bournemouth BH2 5DF Tel: 01202 557575 Email: info@hotel-collingwood.co.uk www.hotel-collingwood.co.uk

SUMMER OFFER 1st July to 31st August £55 per person per night based on a minimum 3-night stay including:

•

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•

Breakfast Free hire car (excluding insurance and petrol) Based on 2 persons sharing Children under 12 £15 per night B&B if sharing with 2 adults For more information, please contact: Les Dicqs,Vale, Guernsey GY6 8JP Tel: 01481 248400 reservations.pen@cwgsy.net www.peninsulahotelguernsey.com

•

•

Spring 2012

SEASONAL BREAKS ■

Hotel and Self Catering Newquay

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

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

Spring 2012

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london life n cycling in london

n Cyclists enjoying the greener side of London

Mind the Gap Tours

Freewheelin’ The capital is great for exploring on two wheels. Julie Thompson gets on her bike to show the way

I

l A helmet is essential wherever you cycle, but particularly on uneven riverside surfaces.

l A bell is useful, especially as cycle paths are often

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london cycle hire scheme

Mind the Gap Tours

shared with pedestrians. l You should wear reflective clothing and use lights at night, white at the front and red at the rear.

You may be fined £30 without them. l At traffic lights, wait in front of other vehicles using the advance stop line for cyclists, if there is one.

Don’t ride through a red light; you may be fined £30. l Ensure your bicycle is in good condition with working brakes and good tyres.

More safety tips and scenic cycle routes can be found on the London Cycling Campaign website (http://lcc.org.uk), Sustrans (www.sustrans.org.uk) and n On your bike the London Cycle Network (www.londoncyclenetwork.org.uk).

For information on taking your bike on public transport, go to www.tfl.gov.uk, while Visit London (www.visitlondon.com) has excellent tips and route advice on cycling in the capital.

The introduction of “Boris bikes” (named after London’s Mayor, Boris Johnson) in July 2010 has made using a bike around London easier for residents and visitors alike.

The Barclays Cycle Hire scheme has over 6,000 bikes in more than 400 locations in London’s Zone One travel area.

With docking stations across nine London boroughs and in several Royal Parks, as well as the recent introduction of an additional 2,300 bikes and 4,800 extra docking points throughout Hackney and Tower Hamlets, getting around London

using the bikes couldn’t be easier.

Find your nearest docking station and, after paying your £1 access fee, you can use your bike for up to 24 hours, with increasing costs for the time used (for example, one hour costs just £1 while three hours costs £15).

However, the first 30 minutes are free, so return your bike to a docking station within that time and you will only pay the access fee. If you live in London and plan to use a Boris bike at least once a week, membership of the cycle hire scheme is quick and easy, but for one-off or occasional hiring, you simply swipe a credit card at the docking station.

For costs and a detailed map showing locations and bike availability go to the tfl website: www.tfl.gov.uk/cycling.

Transport for London 2005

f you are looking for a great way to explore London, cutting travelling costs and being green at the same, as well as benefitting from some good exercise, then get on your bike and see the best of the city from the saddle.

The introduction of cycle lanes and the public cycle hire scheme has made riding a bike in the capital easier and more enjoyable.

Here’s our guide to London on two wheels:

essential tips and links

n The cycle hire scheme

Spring 2012

london life n cycling in london

touring by bike

did you know?

If you want to explore more extensively by bike, there are several companies that hire out mountain or hybrid bikes (a cross between mountain and road bikes) and offer tours.

The London Bicycle Tour Company (www.londonbicycle.com) offers reasonably-priced bike rentals, as well as cycle tours of London, with or without bike hire, including a night tour and an Olympics tour.

Mind the Gap Bike Tours (www.mindthegaptours.com) uses vintage-style bikes with bells and optional baskets, offering guided cycle tours to Hampton Court and Windsor Castle.

Fat Tire Bike Tours (www.fattirebiketours.com) offers a Royal London bike tour or the River

l There are about a billion bicycles in the world, twice as many as there are cars.

l The first five-seat bicycle, the quindem, was built in

n Tower Bridge from the saddle

Capital Tours

1940.

Greenwich most of the remaining riverside cycling is on relatively quiet roads.

Be aware though; some sections of the Thames Path have public footpath status and cyclists cannot ride there without permission from the landowner – and cycling on a public footpath without permission is trespass.

l The 900 piles forming the foundations of the Olympics’ Velodrome had to be driven up to 85 feet into the ground – deeper than usual for a building of this size because the venue is built on top of a 100-year-old landfill site. l Since the Boris Bikes scheme was launched, there have been over 10 million cycle hires to date.

thames path national trail For carefree cycling, take your bike to the banks of the Thames, which has long stretches of traffic-free cycle paths.

Most of the cycle route that follows the Thames is on the Thames Path National Trail (www.the-riverthames.org.uk), one of the 19 designated national trails in the UK. It runs from the source of the Thames in the Cotswolds to the Thames Barrier at Greenwich.

Follow the non-tidal section from Hampton to Teddington Lock and then take the north or south bank routes from Teddington to Chiswick and Hammersmith. Between Hammersmith and Putney bridges, the south bank route is mostly traffic-free. If you continue on to

Spring 2012

n Towpath along the Grand Union Canal

Mind the Gap Tours

n Enjoying Hampton Court

suits you For families: Explore some of the 27 miles of pathway within the 10,000 acres of Lee Valley Regional Park, where the kids can enjoy the marshes and wildlife along the way.

For couples: Take a pedicab; these three-wheeled cycle rickshaws seat two or three people and let you see the sights while someone else does the pedalling!

For value: Pay your £1 access fee and pick up your Boris bike for a 30-minute excursion into one of London’s parks. Take a lunch break and pick up another bike for another half-hour; you will not pay any more. n Students take For luxury: Enjoy a to London's roads vintage bike tour with Mind the Gap tours, taking in a civilised train journey, a gorgeous vintage bike ride taking in Hampton Court or Windsor Castle and a pub lunch. l Mind the Gap Tours is offering tlm readers a special 25% DISCOUNT of its tours. Book online (www.mindthegaptours.com) and enter the promotional code, TLM25.You must book your tour before the end of May 2012 and travel by the end of October 2012. Riders must be over five feet tall to participate. Terms and conditions apply.

Bewley/Sustrans

Thames bike tour using California beach cruiser-style bicycles, while Capital Sport (www.capital-sport.co.uk) has a range of multi-day tours in London and beyond, including classic or luxury accommodation.

Several London bike routes follow the Thames. The Thames Cultural Cycling Tour is a 17-mile route which takes in London’s maritime history; Visit London (www.visitlondon.com) has a downloadable map of the route.

Cycling is also permitted along the canal stretches north of the Thames, although some sections do require a permit (www.waterscape.com).

Two other recommended cycle routes go along Thames tributaries. Lee Valley (www.leevalleypark.org.uk), in the north-east, has 26 miles of traffic-free cycling and is also home to the Velodrome Olympic Games cycling venue.

The 14-mile Wandle Trail (www.merton.gov.uk/wandletrail) follows the River Wandle from Croydon to the Thames at Wandsworth, allowing you to enjoy the flora and fauna of this chalk stream right through some of South London’s most industrialised landscapes.

Kingston Cycling Campaign

n Buckingham Palace by bike

Capital Tours

other london bike routes

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london n news

a hand-built, 88-foot rowbarge with 18 oarsmen, will head the flotilla. Next will be boats carrying the flags of the Commonwealth nations followed by the royal section, including the flagship Royal Barge, the Spirit of Chartwell, on which the Queen will travel.

For more information on the pageant, go to www.thamesdiamondjubileepageant.org.

Diamond days London will do what it does best in the coming months with displays of pomp and pageantry to commemorate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. Here are some key events:

Family fortunes

On Sunday, June 3, in Battersea Park, the Diamond Jubilee Festival will reflect design, music, fashion, art, film and food from the Queen’s six-decade reign, with the park divided into zones including a tea dance, vintage hair and make-up and an alternative village fete.

For more information go to www.sainsburys.co.uk/jubilee or www.thediamondjubilee.org.

Regal song and dance Celebrations for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee begin in May when The World Comes to Windsor event takes place over four evenings in Windsor.

Celebrating more than 250 state and Commonwealth visits that the Queen has made during her 60-year reign, the show will involve over 500 horses and 800 performers, with military and equestrian displays and musicians and dancers from around the globe, including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Maoris, Maasai warriors, Zulu dancers and Russian Cossacks.

The pageant takes place from May 10-13, with the Queen attending the Sunday evening performance.

Tickets for the Diamond Jubilee Pageant are priced between £30 and £100. For more details, go to www.diamond-jubilee-pageant.com.

VisitBritain

n Royal rowbarge, Gloriana

n Windsor Castle

J Sainsbury's

A major highlight of the June jubilee celebrations will be the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant, when up to 1,000 boats will take part in the largest Thames flotilla for 350 years.

Over seven miles long, it will consist of tugs, armed forces vessels, fishing and cargo boats and pleasure boats, all decorated with streamers and union flags.

Dunkirk little ships, wooden launches and steam vessels will be alongside passenger boats carrying up to 30,000 flag-waving members of the public.

Music barges will separate the 10 sections of the flotilla, the first being a floating bell tower, its chiming bells being answered by church bells along the route.

Downriver of London Bridge, there will be a gun salute and the flotilla will pass through The Avenue of Sail, made up of traditional Thames sailing boats, tall ships, square riggers plus the replica of Sir Francis Drake’s galleon, the Golden Hinde, and the 204-year-old oyster smack Boudicea, the oldest sailing boat still afloat in Europe.

Rowed and paddled boats, led by Gloriana,

2012 Diamond Jubilee

Sail of the centuries

London’s parks will play host to several festivals over the Diamond Jubilee Bank Holiday weekend, including the Jubilee Family Festival presented by Sainsbury’s taking place in Hyde Park on June 2-3.

Up to 50,000 visitors will see celebrity performers and dancers, equestrian events and motorcycle displays, with a 70-minute Disney concert finale each day.

n Fireman Sam and festival friends

five-month festival of international cabaret, music and circus will take over part of the South Bank from May 8, with Australian circus act Cantina headlining The London Wonderground event.

A

The 600-capacity Spiegeltent will be at its heart, with circus acts and side shows bringing a taste of Coney Island to the south side of the river until September 30.

Meanwhile, the E4 Udderbelly Festival, with

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its distinctive, upsidedown purple cow tent venue, is under way and hosts music and comedy events until July 8 alongside the Spiegeltent.

For more information on both events, go to www.southbankcentre.co.uk.

Underbelly Venues

Going Wonderground

n E4 Udderbelly at Southbank Centre

Spring 2012

Sunday 13 May 2012 Visit: www.stroke.org.uk/thamesbridges Email: events@stroke.org.uk Tel: 020 7566 0311 In partnership with

The Stroke Association is registered as a Charity in England and Wales (No 211015) and in Scotland (SC037789).

Also registered in Isle of Man (No 945), Jersey (NPO 369) and in Northern Ireland.

Spring 2012

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If you are enjoying your lunch while reading this, you might be interested to learn that this year is the 250th anniversary of the sandwich.

John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich allegedly invented the snack in 1762 when he asked for meat to be served between slices of bread so that he didn’t have to stop for lunch during a gambling game. As his friends asked for “the same as Sandwich”, the name then caught on.

The celebrations of the anniversary in the Kentish town of Sandwich on May 12-13 will include a theatrical presentation of the creation of the very first sandwich, a teddy bears picnic and a sandwich-making competition, as well as a baguette versus sandwich competition between locals from Sandwich and their twinned town of Honfleur.

The celebrations are part of British Sandwich Week, May 9-15; for more information go to www.sandwichevents.info.

or nearly 200 years, residents of Stratford have celebrated the birth of their most famous son,William Shakespeare. The bard’s 438th birthday, which fell on April 23, and the annual celebrations in Stratford-upon-Avon, kicked off the festivities for the World Shakespeare Festival, which runs through until November.

Produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company, the festival is the biggest celebration of Shakespeare ever staged. Artists from around the world will take part in almost 70 productions n Shakespeare's across the UK including London, gravestone Stratford-upon-Avon, Birmingham and Wales.

Events include storytelling sessions for children at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Family Workshops and a series of acting and directing workshops. The World Shakespeare Festival is part of London 2012 Festival, bringing artists from all over the world together in a UK-wide VisitBritain celebration for 2012. For more information go to www.worldshakespearefestival.org.uk.

F

VisitBritain

Cheese or ham?

Happy birthday, Will

n Shakespeare's birthplace, Stratford-upon-Avon

Take it on the shin

Racing ahead his year’s Festival of Speed, at Lord March’s Goodwood Estate in Sussex from June 28-July 1, will be celebrating motorsport’s young heroes; drivers such as Emerson Fittipaldi, Colin McRae and Lewis Hamilton all had success from an early age.

The festival, with the theme of Young Guns – Born to Win, will also celebrate Lotus, the small

T VisitBritain/James Marshall

n Sandwich, Kent

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British company inspired

by Colin Chapman that dominated all levels of motor sport with its technical ingenuity. Festival visitors will be able to see the latest road cars at the Moving Motor Show exhibition and to watch the Cartier Style et Luxe concours d’elegance.

Four-day tickets with grandstand access cost £209 per adult. For details go to www.goodwood.co.uk/ festival-of-speed.

hile venues in London and around the country will be hosting the Olympic Games this summer, with traditional disciplines including athletics, swimming and cycling attracting world attention, competitors will be battling it out in less-celebrated events such as cannon-fire, wrestling, shin-kicking and swordplay in the 400th Cotswold Olimpick Games in June.

England’s original Olympics were introduced

by English barrister Robert Dover, whose festival of sport and pageantry today still includes the World Shin-Kicking Championships.

The sport involves contestants, who are

W

allowed to protect their shins with straw, holding each other by the shoulder and trying to kick the shins of their opponents to bring them to the ground.

A Stickler, the judge, ensures the shins are hit before a fall can count.

Chipping Campden hosts the Olimpicks on June 1 with the Scuttlebrook Queen procession and street fair the next day.

For more details go to www.olimpickgames.co.uk.

n Shin-kicking contestants

Spring 2012

VisitBritain

n A 1907 Fiat Mefistofele at Goodwood

Jochen Van Cauwenberge

n Sandwich anyone?

VisitBritain

out & about n what’s on and where

out & about n what’s on and where

n Jubilee preparations at Blists Hill

Right royal knees-ups London may be the focal point of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations, but the occasion is being marked in other parts of the UK too. Here are some events:

Vintage fun Portsmouth Historic Dockyard will host a new event over the bank holiday weekend of June 23. Victorious Vintage will feature an array of beautiful vintage stalls throughout the dockyard, with colourful characters from different eras and live bands on the main stage.

Following the success of the Victorian Festival of Christmas, the dockyard has teamed up

once again with Love Southsea and The Boutique Market for this free event, highlighting the best of bygone eras.

Both evenings will have a headline act but groups announced already include Dodgy and the Lightning Seeds.

For more information, go to www.historicdockyard.co.uk.

Punch up at Queen Vic show Although 2012 is all about celebrating the present Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, the townsfolk

at Blists Hill Victorian Town, near Ironbridge in Shropshire will be stepping back in time to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee from June 2-5.

A daily concert on The Green will feature patriotic entertainment, including bagpipe players and drummers from the Seaforth Highlanders band in full Scottish costume and the Wellington (Telford) Brass Band.

Strolling actors will perform scenes from novels by Charles Dickens while younger visitors can enjoy a traditional Punch and Judy show.

For more information on ticket prices and opening times, go to www.ironbridge.org.uk.

A beacon chain was once used as a tool for communication and they have marked royal weddings, jubilees and coronations in Britain for centuries, with beacons being lit on village greens, castle battlements, church towers, beaches and mountain tops.

In 1897, beacons were lit nationally to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee and, in 1977 and 2002, beacons were lit to celebrate the Queen’s Silver and Golden Jubilees.

The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Beacons will be lit on Bank Holiday Monday, June 4, with the aim to light 2,012 beacons across the UK and Commonwealth nations.

The 10 pupils of Britain’s highest school, Flash Primary School in Flash, Staffordshire, will be lighting their own beacon, as will the residents of Reigate, St Albans, Nottingham and Lowestoft. The Queen will light the national beacon at approximately 10.30pm in central London.

For more information, go to www.diamondjubileebeacons.co.uk. n Jubilee Beacon Sourcewire.com

n Celebrating at the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard

VisitBritain

Hamilton Studios

Light my fire

he City of Oxford is where Welsh author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, better known as Lewis Carroll, first outlined his fantasy world story to 10-year-old Alice Liddell and her sisters.

The city will mark the 150th anniversary of the first telling of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland on July 4 by holding a special Alice Day and Caucus Race. The book was published three years later in 1865, with the sequel Through the Looking-Glass and what Alice Found There following in 1871. Since then, the books have been translated into

T

Spring 2012

125 languages and turned into films.

Alice Day events on July 7 will include a Mad Hatter’s tea party, the Queen of Hearts’ Unbirthday Party and Alice-themed walks and talks, followed by the Caucus Race the following day in Merton Field, Christ Church, where Carroll was a maths tutor.

In the story, the race was devised by the Dodo as a novel way to get dry and was possibly inspired by a picnic taken by Lewis Carroll and the Liddell sisters where they got caught in the rain. For more information, go to www.storymuseum.org.uk/alice.

n The Queen of Hearts and tarts

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

Marc West © Story Museum

Curiouser and curiouser

115

■ GREAT DAYS OUT

£4.00 adults, £3.50 seniors, £2.00 children

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www.tlm-magazine.co.uk

Spring 2012

GREAT DAYS OUT ■

Spring 2012

tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine www.tlm-magazine.co.uk 117

NEW

Support your Tummy while abroad!

When travelling abroad, the local food, drink and climate can all have an effect on the balance of bacteria in your digestive system.

Bimuno® TRAVELAID is a unique and convenient new formulation that has been specially developed for business and holiday travellers, to be taken in preparation for and during your time abroad.

Published scientific studies* have shown that some prebiotic Galacto-oligosaccharides, such as provided by Bimuno TRAVELAID, can help encourage and sustain a healthy level of your ‘good’ gut bacteria, helping to keep your tummy happy on its travels.

Next time you’re going away try Bimuno TRAVELAID soft chewy pastilles to experience the benefits for yourself.

TESTED IN PUBLISHED SCIENTIFIC STUDIES

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119

CLASSIFIED ■ Cornwall

Trenona Farm Holidays ROSELAND PENINSULA, CORNWALL

• Bed and Breakfast or 4 Star self-catering cottages • Wheelchair accessibility • Children and pets welcome • Superb accommodation in idyllic rural setting near St Mawes and the South coast

www.trenonafarmholidays.co.uk Tel: 01872 501339 Mrs Pamela Carbis

CUTKIVE WOOD HOLIDAY LODGES

Creekside Cottages Self Catering Holiday Cottages in Cornwall

Perfect for exploring Cornwall and North Devon Cottages sleeping 2 to 8, set in a 1.5 acre site, with good facilities situated in picturesque parish of Welcombe. Only half a mile from local beach and pub. Good network of footpaths, taking you through Devon wildlife conservation areas with plentiful wildlife and flora to observe, and coasting of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Please contact for special discount quoting TLM

01326 375972 relax and enjoy Cornwall 01579 362216 www.cutkivewood.co.uk

www.creeksidecottages.co.uk

Please mention you saw it advertised in tlm

Cotswolds

Devon Lydgate House Hotel • POSTBRIDGE, DARTMOOR •

Cotswolds

Cosy, comfortable cottages in unspoilt villages.

This beautiful area has wonderful walking, great restaurants and superb places to visit for all ages.

Tel: 01386 841441 www.discoverthecotswolds.net

Set in 36 acres in the middle of Dartmoor, we have 7 ensuite rooms, lounge bar, and restaurant.

Overlooking the East Dart River. Ideal for walking breaks, and exploring the area.

For further information tel 01822 880209 or www.lydgatehouse.co.uk

Dorset Bookham Court Holiday Cottages

Derbyshire

Four luxury cottages and B&B

Farmhouse B&B on the magnificent Roseland Peninsula, an ideal base for exploring Cornwall.

www.trewithian-farm.co.uk • tel: 01872 580 293

situated in the tranquil Dorset countryside with panoramic views over Thomas Hardy's Blackmore Vale.

Watch badgers and birds from our wildlife hide, scenic walks, fishing lake, games room, only 1/2 hour to sea.

Tel: 01300 345511 www.bookhamcourt.co.uk please quote tlm when calling

PEACEFUL AND PICTURESQUE SURROUNDINGS

S/C cottage, sleeps 2.

Buxton 7 miles, C/H, linen provided. Pets welcome.

Short breaks available.

Te l: 0 129 8 8 327 0

To advertise in tlm – the travel & leisure magazine please call 020 8554 4456 Spring 2012

tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine www.tlm-magazine.co.uk 121

■ CLASSIFIED Norfolk

Devon

Royal Glen Hotel

Kett Country Cottages have 150 cottages across North Norfolk.

Most accept pets at no charge.

Short breaks available.

Glen Road Sidmouth EX10 8RW

01328 887658 or kettcountrycottages.co.uk

MID-NORFOLK HOLT, NORTH NORFOLK • 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

We look forward to welcoming you

www.royalglenhotel.co.uk 01395513221/513456 Gloucestershire

Two, one bedroom holiday cottages, one double, one twin. www.gordonhousecottages.co.uk Tel: 01452 760109 or 07710 427008

www.jims-cottage.co.uk 0115 846 2271

Two 4 Star Self Catering cottages sleeping 2 to 13 in a peaceful hamlet.

Tennis Court & Croquet. www.norfolkcountrycottage.co.uk 01362 692079

Please mention that you saw it advertised in tlm – the travel & leisure magazine Scotland

Falls of Lora Hotel

Isle of Wight

Renowned for our hospitality andcuisine

FOREST OF DEAN 4 STAR SELFCATERING IN A VILLAGE LOCATION

Cosy cottage in lovely town.

Pubs, restaurants, galleries and shops in walking distance. Sleeps 4. Gas central heating, open fire with logs, parking & garden.

Tucked away in Shanklins Old Village, probably the Island’s most attractive corner, is where you will find The Braemar – a family run licensed hotel ideally located to offer you all the pleasures of the Isle of Wight. Whilst staying with us at The Braemar, you will enjoy the excitement of a top resort with golden sandy beaches offering safe bathing; a beautiful chine which leads down to the beach, speciality shops, a theatre, fantastic countryside to explore.

Tel 01983 863172 www.thebraemar.com

A fine owner-run Hotel overlooking Loch Etive set back on the A85, approximately 5 miles before Oban, 90 miles north-west of Glasgow or Edinburgh.

The main Hotel was built in 1886, the modern extension was added in the 70’s. The Hotel is beautifully appointed with 30 bedrooms from luxury to inexpensive family rooms – there is always a warm welcome, good food, service and comfort. Relax in the super Cocktail Bar with open log fire, there are over 100 brands of whisky to tempt you before or after a meal in our attractive and relaxed Bistro with its extensive a la carte menu featuring local produce.

New Forest

There is a pleasant 2 acre lochside garden across the road with a slipway which is suitable for launching small boats.

Off road parking for 40 cars adjoins the Hotel.

Cottage Lodge

Free WiFi internet access is available in the public rooms with a suitable laptop.

Five star B&B set in the heart of the beautiful New Forest village of Brockenhurst. Well located for pubs, restaurants, shops, cycle hire, horse riding and walking in the New Forest National Park the Cottage Lodge is a popular destination.

01590 622296 enquiries@cottagelodge.co.uk www.cottagelodge.co.uk

From £29.50 to £79.50 per person. Special 10% discount for TLM readers

Falls of Lora Hotel

Connel Ferry, by Oban, Argyll, PA37 1PB, Scotland, UK Tel: 01631 710483 Fax: 01631 710694 Email us: enquiries@fallsoflora.com www.fallsoflora.com

To advertise in tlm – the travel & leisure magazine – please call 0203 176 2570 122 tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine

www.tlm-magazine.co.uk

Spring 2012

CLASSIFIED ■ Sussex

Balearic Islands

Best of Brighton

&

Villas • Apartments • Car Hire

Sussex Cottages Fully furnished, assessed and graded self catering houses, flats, cottages, studios and apartments in Brighton & Hove and also East and West Sussex.

Try our various websites for full info and more pictures:

www.eastbourneapartments.com • www.apartmentsinbrighton.com www.bestofsussex.co.uk • www.bestofbrighton.co.uk

0800 328 4948 Tel: Email: villas@menorcagold.co.uk Web: www.menorcagold.co.uk

At Menorca Gold, we put a little extra into your holiday, so you get a lot more out of it. With our personal service and attention to detail, we can talk to you with confidence to help you find exactly what you want; whether it be a villa for all the family, an apartment by the sea or a rural retreat for a romantic getaway. Our close partnership with owners means we can provide the best quality with competitive prices.

Lets of from 3 days to 3 months.

Tel: 0044 (0)1273 308779

Canary Islands

Worcestershire Self Catering Holiday Rentals, Apartments & Villas in Tenerife

Management, Rentals & Maintenance SL www.villaslanzarote.net

Worcester Welcome Awards Self Catering Holiday of the Year 2011 Situated in the heart of north Worcestershire amid stunning countryside, Forest View Retreat Holiday Log Cabins offer four-star Gold Award accommodation and provide a perfect getaway for couples wishing to relax in tranquil surroundings, with complimentary sparkling wine and chocolates presented on arrival. They provide an idyllic spot for wildlife watching, walking, biking and touring the surrounding area. New for 2012 Hot Tub! For further information visit www.forestviewretreat.com or telephone 01299 266525

Wales

Balearic Islands

www.villas-menorca.com

Holiday rental properties in Lanzarote Calle Teide 22 Puerto del Carmen Tias 35510

Tel: 00 34 928 515321 Fax: 00 34 928 512424 info@villaslanzarote.net

Tel: 01795 438830 Email: paul@spanishisles.com www.spanishisles.com

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

Los Claveles - Tenerife

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

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

Selection of very special privately owned Villas and Country Houses.

Something to suit all tastes. Please contact Deanne on 01579 320800 or deanne@villas-menorca.com

ALDERNEY B & B from £30pppn.

Situated between the harbour and town, only 5 minutes walk to the beach.

COUNTRYSIDE & COASTAL LOCATIONS ACTIVITY HOLIDAYS – PAINTING CAR HIRE ALSO ARRANGED

Spring 2012

Vazon Bay Holiday Apartments GUERNSEY - CHANNEL ISLANDS

• APARTMENTS • FARMHOUSES • VILLAS

Take advantage of our knowledge and experience and let us guide you to a holiday where you can enjoy the unique experience of Menorca.

Channel Islands

L’HARAS Guest House Telephone: 01949 860568 Fax: 01949 861521 Email: bardcc@aol.com www.discovermenorca.co.uk

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.

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

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

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

tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine www.tlm-magazine.co.uk 123

■ CLASSIFIED China

Florida 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.

China Holidays organise bespoke tailor made journeys and group tours to China.

11 Days Taste of China, fully inclusive at 4# hotels, visit Beijing, Xian, Guilin and Shanghai from £1,395

Please call 020 7487 2999

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

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

ATOL

www.chinaholidays.co.uk

Crete

• Luxury 4 bedroomed villa

Calabay Parc 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 France 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.

A new fully furnished luxurious villa, equipped to the highest standard. 4 double bedrooms, 2 king double en-suite bathrooms, 4 single beds with a shared bathroom, enabling the villa to sleep 10 people comfortably. Heated pool, spa/jacuzzi. Cable TV, video, music centre. Fully fitted kitchen and laundry room.

Tel: 01628 823592 www.fearn-family-villa.com

For more information www.lafrenchplace.com

France Cyprus

Durmast Travel – The Cyprus Specialists

Fantastic choice of mobile home holidays on 4# campsites in the Vendee on the West coast of France

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

124 tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine

If your looking for relaxation, fun and adventure or simply want to sit back and enjoy the culinary delights this country has to offer check out www.charlesalexander.co.uk for the latest offers and information

www.tlm-magazine.co.uk

Spring 2012

CLASSIFIED ■ Northern Cyprus

France

'3"/$& %03%0(/&

One of the finest collections of hotels in Northern Cyprus with something to meet everyone’s expectations and budget.

3 Luxury Villas Privately owned

2 & 4 en-suite bedrooms Private heated pools Free use of 5 or 7 seater car

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

tel: 02392 230030 www.cyprusdirectholidays.com

Enjoy home-from-home comforts in high quality holiday properties set amidst vines and open countryside within easy reach of the historic, picturesque towns and villages of Perigueux, Sainte Foy le Grande, Bergerac and St. Emilion.

Tel - 01422 820665 cdwoodproperties@btopenworld.com www.woodproperties-france.com

Portugal Majorca

Northern Cyprus Authentic North Cyprus with the Experts Book NOW for ALL the best HOTELS and ALL the best DEALS

Holiday Specials

Spring, Summer, Autumn 2012

ABTA W7161 & ATOL 6118 protected

Istanbul City Breaks 2 Centres Holidays Groups & Activity Tours

www.newpresidentholidays.com • Our website is now ready for totally secured on-line bookings•

NEW PRESIDENT HOLIDAYS For reservations please call 0208 406 4440 For your FREE brochure please call 0208 406 4449

Please mention you saw it in tlm

Greece

PAXOS

Algarve/ Carvoeiro Terrific value full service, quality private properties (sleeping 2-6).

Maid, pool. Short/long rentals available anytime.

Planos Holidays - specialist Tour operators to Paxos, Greece.

For a colour brochure please email: algarveowners@aol.com or telephone: 01342 327501

ATOL10291 AITO 01373 813022

To advertise in tlm please call 0203 176 2570

www.planos.co.uk

Ireland

Spain

Catalonia / Costa Brava Pals, Begur, Sa Riera, Aigua Blava, Aigua Gelida, Tamariu, Llafranc, Calella de Palafrugell, Calonge & Palamos.

Top quality privately owned villas, apartments and country properties in the prettiest areas of the Costa Brava.

PCI HOLIDAYS QUALITY & CARE PROPERTY SALES MANAGEMENT & RENTALS TELEPHONE: 0330 555 0034

www.pci-holidays.com

Turkey The largest selection of holiday homes & cottages in all the most popular locations all over Ireland.

Lo-call from UK 0871 222 1424 or visit our website to view all our properties, our latest deals and offers.

TURKEY – YAKAMOZ HOTEL

Yakamoz is a small, friendly hotel situated between Fethiye and Oludeniz in SW Turkey.

Offering traditional Turkish hospitality, fabulous Mediterranean cuisine, friendly staff and delightful gardens.

Yakamoz enchants all who enter our gates.

SPECIAL OFFERS AVAILABLE FOR 2012 – SEE WEBSITE

- All rooms en-suite and with balconies.

- Open late April to late October.

- Children are welcome during selected UK school holidays.

- 2012 Rates – from £14 pppn B&B

Tel: 0090 252 616 6238 Email: info@yakamozhotel.com www.yakamozhotel.com

Spring 2012

tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine www.tlm-magazine.co.uk 125

■ CLASSIFIED Sailing Holidays

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

Ancestry Discover Your Ancestors

ANCESTORS

Boating Holidays

BEACON PARK BOATS

Let our professional genealogists trace your family history nationally and internationally.

money back guarantee

For the best, most economical services write to Ancestors.co.uk 11 Crosbie Road, Harborne, Birmingham B17 9BG (TLM)

Unwind however you choose, and for as long as you like, in the speldour of the Brecon Beacons on the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal.

0121 246 4260

www.beaconparkboats.com

01873 858277

Books

BOOK PUBLISHING Authors invited to submit manuscripts all categories including poetry

New Authors welcome

A.H. STOCKWELL LTD, Dept. 610, Ilfracombe, Devon, EX34 8BA. Tel 01271 862557 www.ahstockwell.co.uk Publishers for 100 Years

To advertise in tlm the travel & leisure magazine please call 0203 176 2570 126 tlm ■ the travel & leisure magazine

www.tlm-magazine.co.uk

Luxury, all-inclusive cruises on fully-crewed hotel barges cruising along the magical canals, rivers and lagoons of Europe.

Accommodation in luxury suites with first-class service, gourmet cuisine, fine wines and chauffeured daily excursions.

www.gobarging.com Tel: 01753 598555 Email: sales@gobarging.com For more information, or to request a brochure visit:

Spring 2012

CLASSIFIED ■ Budget Accommodation

Eating Out

Takara offers contemporary and traditional sushi preparation using the finest quality sustainable fish. Takara prides itself on offering the finest quality food without pretentious service; instead the chefs readily interact with the guests to build rapport which makes the restaurant ideal for newcomers to Sushi and the connoisseur looking for the chef’s creativity.

Takara is located inside the Hilton London Tower Bridge situated on the city of London’s and the Olympics district door step in this trendy “foodie” part of South East London.

Please call 0203 002 4400 for reservations London Tower Bridge

www.hilton.com/towerbridge

Great Days Out

ST ALBANS

Gifts

Great Days Out

Gift for a wine lover

320 Camp Road St Albans Hertfordshire Tel: 01727 869693 (Answering machine)

Rent a row of vines with 3D Wines and open up a whole world of exciting trips to visit your vineyard and taste your wine with the person who makes it.

www.3dwines.com

or please call us on 01205 820745

Motorhomes

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

Tel/Fax: 01698 886255

Spring 2012

ORGAN THEATRE

A permanent exhibition of mechanical musical instruments

Organs by Decap, Bursens and Mortier; Mills Violano-Virtuoso; reproducing pianos by Marshall & Wendell, Steinway, and Weber; Musical boxes; Wurlitzer and Rutt Theatre Pipe Organs.

Opening times second and fourth Sunday of month.

Other times for private groups by arrangement.

Adults £5.00; Child £3.00; Family ticket £12.00; Concessions £4.00. Organised groups by arrangement Registered Charitable Trust No.276072

www.stalbansorgantheatre.org.uk

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- STUNNING VIEWS OF BRIGHTON HOVE AND THE SOUTH COAST - YOUR OWN GUIDED TOUR FROM £46

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â&#x2013; CLASSIFIED Outdoor

www.visit-rothbury.co.uk

the user friendly website for Northumberland with accommodation and information for visitors

Picture post-card villages

Picture perfect countryside

Picture yourself here

Rothbury and Coquetdale Tourism Association

Travel Accessories

Spas

for luxury day spa and retreats

The Lorrens Ladies Health Hydro Cary Park, Torquay 01803 329994 www.lorrens-health-hydro.co.uk Travel Insurance

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CLASSIFIED ■ Travel Insurance

Wildlife

Essex Wildlife Trust Fingringhoe Wick Visitor Centre & Nature Reserve d

h

Sunday 22nd April-Saturday 12th May, 7.30pm-9.00pm

Nightingale Season @ Fingringhoe Wick Nature Reserve

Experience the wonderful song of these amazing birds, in the spectacular setting of this nature reserve.

These guided walks are always extremely popular and are often fully booked weeks in advance.

Do not delay, book your place today!!

Donation £5.00 per adult/£3.00 per child. Booking Essential

Fingringhoe Wick Visitor Centre & Nature Reserve, South Green Road, Fingringhoe Colchester, Essex CO5 7DN Tel: 01206 729678 www.essexwt.org.uk Email: louiseb@essexwt.org.uk

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Erin House Prints

Wildlife Gifts

Great Choice, Great Value lion - tiger cheetah meerkat gorilla rhino hippo leopard elephant polar bear orang utan bear tree frog agama chimpanzee wolf giraffe & more

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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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Walking Holidays

WALKING in the undiscovered Highlands & Islands

Worldwide walking holidays in Scotland

www.aboutargyll.co.uk - tel 01369 860272

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Winter Sun

Worldwide Tailor-made Holidays & Tours 0800 028 1951 www.othertravel.co.uk 100% financial protection

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

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