No one appreciated the rural English landscape more than a certain corn merchant’s son from Suffolk. John Constable made it his business to paint bucolic splendour, and perhaps no one has ever done it better. And when he went on holiday, on his honeymoon no less, he chose one particular …
Read More »‘This coast is saturated’: Italian village braces for post-Ripley crowds
When Andrew Scott’s eponymous character in the hit new Netflix series Ripley travels from Naples to the village of Atrani, the rickety bus has the road almost to itself; a solitary Vespa passes going the other way. When he tracks down Dickie Greenleaf at the beach, the rich American and …
Read More »‘Kayak across the fjord to your own secluded beach’: readers’ favourite summer trips to Scandinavia
Beautiful Bergen and beyond, Norway Bergen is often referred to as “the city between seven mountains” – which encapsulates its blend of culture and nature. Lose yourself in its charming old town, fish markets, galleries and museums, then hike or take a funicular up Mount Fløyen for views and pine …
Read More »A scoot through Wales: Cardiff to Llandudno on a Vespa
The neglect I had shown to my native Wales over the years, while writing about the streets of Delhi, or small town life in Kansas, shamefully hit home recently while listening to music in my apartment in Hong Kong, where I have been living for much of the past 20 …
Read More »My hike on the hardest trail in Europe – Corsica’s GR20
I’m on the easiest bit of one of the easiest legs of the GR20 – the self-styled hardest trek in Europe – so naturally here I am alone, lost in a cloud, with hands so cold I am seriously considering peeing on them. GR20 Corsica In the guidebook, this was …
Read More »Where tourists seldom tread part 9: four more British towns with secret histories
These oft-bypassed towns have all been, at some period in history, influential if not necessarily powerful; wealth-creating though hardly opulent; and vital to the nation’s wealth and security while never fully rewarded for it. Communications and trade once gave some urban centres the edge over others. Churches and marketplaces were …
Read More »‘I wanted the 17-hour trip to go slower, not faster’: readers’ favourite European journeys
Ferry through the fjord, Albania Instead of a four-hour road trip from Koman to Fierzë, relax and enjoy the Albanian fjords via the Drin River. We reversed on to the Berisha ferry, which takes 10 cars, plus foot passengers. Everyone sits on deck, regardless of the weather, to take in …
Read More »White cliffs to wetlands; discovering France’s Pas-de-Calais
With the tide out, it is a magical moment, rivulets of water swirl and eddy through the sand, the white cliffs of Cap Blanc-Nez loom behind me. There’s not a soul in sight. This jagged headland marks the start of the Côte d’Opale, which runs south-west from Calais for about …
Read More »Walking London’s unsung waterway: the River Lea rises again
For centuries the Lea has been a vital artery for London, carrying drinking water and grain into the city and servicing the factories and gunpowder mills that grew up along its banks. Rising in Bedfordshire, it flows for 46 miles through Hertfordshire and north-east London, eventually reaching the Thames. It’s …
Read More »Tell us about a trip to a national park in Europe – you could win a holiday voucher
There are more than 500 national parks in Europe covering an astounding variety of terrain, from the wild taiga of northern Finland to the coastal dunes and wetlands of the Doñana national park in southern Spain. These protected landscapes offer pristine scenery and endless opportunities for activity and adventure. We’d …
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