Travel

Never have I skied in the shadow of such dramatic mountains; every run in the Dolomites was dominated by craggy vistas that diverted your attention; pure magic. OK, the Matterhorn is stunning but is not the focus on all points of the compass.  There was drama on another front as well; there had been no snow for weeks and this was mid-January; the plan was to tackle our ‘Ski Safari & Gourmet in The Dolomites’ so we were expecting to cover a large number of different runs.

Villa Monticello, Ghana’s premier luxury boutique hotel was crowned Ghana’s Leading Hotel at the World Travel Awards (WTA) red carpet African Gala ceremony in Kigali, Rwanda on 10th October, 2017. Villa Monticello was also recognized at the ceremony as Ghana’s Leading Boutique Hotel and Ghana’s Leading Hotel Suite for its Kwame Nkrumah Presidential Suite. Since its inception in 2011, the Accra based hotel has won a total of six coveted World Travel Awards. The World Travel Awards acknowledges, rewards and celebrates excellence across all sectors of the global tourism industry.

The magnet of the prospect of exciting food in a delightful hotel will draw us out of our crowded corner of the South East; a 200 miles’ round trip was well worth the agonies of the Dartford Crossing and the M25.  
 

One of the great benefits of Lavenham  is that it is not really on the way to anywhere for most people.   This village has grown to be a small town but the centre still has the feeling of a village community.  This is possibly because so many of the houses in the centre are of the same Tudor period as there are over 350 Listed buildings from the very grand Guildhall to former bothies.  They must share the same endless problems of living in delightful but high maintenance houses.  If Lavenham had been in the Home Counties, property developers would be salivating at the numerous sites that th

London-based handbag designer Esin Akan launched her Eponymous label in 2012 and hasn’t looked back since. An award-winning graduate of London Business School and Central St Martins, Esin designs ‘smart bags for smart women’, which cleverly adapt to different situations throughout the day.

Norfolk was quite a surprise, whilst certain aspects took our minds back even as far as the 1950’s, there was a pleasant buzz about so many refreshing facets of life outside the Home Counties.   People have time to be polite, the roads were generally uncongested; we found some real treasures.  Some were unspoilt villages, wide open spaces of countryside seemingly largely unpressured by too much development.  There are several very grand houses including two very different National Trust properties; Blickling Hall for its exterior – even better than the photographs - and the modern planting

The Maldives are rightly known as heaven on earth, just over a thousand islands all reflecting an idyllic vision of paradise. Tiny islets of fine golden sand dotted throughout a crystal glass sea, basking in glorious sunshine that stays between 25 and 35 degrees all year round.

Whistler sets a standard that many other ski resorts have to match; right up there with Aspen and the best resorts in Europe but for very different reasons. The main concern for many is the flight; eleven hours but you do not lose skiing time as it is overnight and you are chasing the sun outbound.  Passing through Vancouver airport is quick and the transfer is less than two hours to Whistler, the roads are good and it’s worth keeping awake for the stunning scenery.  

I’ve been to Liuwa Plain National Park before, last time in November and I was captivated by the distant storms, the forked lightening, the pink sand lillies and the wildebeest babies being born; Liuwa Plain is home to the second biggest wildebeest migration on earth.

The ancient city of Bath is well positioned from so many aspects from an historical point of view through beautiful countryside to its arguably un-equalled Georgian architecture.  Whilst the city is fairly sophisticated, it has not lost its lust for life with its vibrant atmosphere.  It does cross your mind that this could offer the alternate lifestyle away from the pressures of London.  There is a combination of individual shops as well as the usual big high street brands, plus a few good restaurants and less formal eateries.