Hunting the hunters: We go on safari with the Serengeti’s canine anti-poaching unit September 13, 2019 We bounced along at high speed, our eyes glued on the dramatic chase unfolding on the Serengeti plains. An agile, golden-coated beast bounded forward in pursuit, its rowdy team striving to catch up. The target now cowered in a small thicket of acacia tree, a fairly lame strategy but it looked to be all it [...]
70 years after the publication of Nineteen Eighty-Four, we visit Orwell’s remote Scottish island home September 6, 2019 The Hebridean island of Jura has a particular fascination with 1984. Time seems to stand still here, like the early morning mist that lingers about the island’s rolling valleys. But that’s not to say that the small population obsesses over the goings on in Dallas, wears leg warmers, or puts up with Madonna’s Like a [...]
How the fall of Mugabe allowed Zimbabwe to reclaim the future of its tourism September 2, 2019 We discussed him in hushed tones, out of earshot of anyone else. Always the conversations were the same: “one day, maybe…,” swiftly followed by, “don’t say this where anyone else might hear.” Mugabe’s spectre loomed over even the most innocuous of chats, just like He Who Must Not be Named. And then, 24 hours later, [...]
Londoners pay highest UK house price premium to live closer to a station August 30, 2019 London home buyers are willing to pay almost 10 per cent more on a house in order to live closer to a station, according to Nationwide. The building society found Londoners are willing to pay a whopping 9.4 per cent premium for a house located 500 metres away from a station. Read more: UK house [...]
The Spa at South Lodge review: How a £15m spa transformed this traditional country-house into a cutting-edge hotel August 9, 2019 When you arrive at South Lodge, on the edge of the South Downs, it is exactly what you’d expect from a country house hotel: pretty grounds, a honey-coloured stone exterior and a crunchy gravel drive give you a warm welcome. While you can certainly decamp here for an enjoyable weekend away, with some stellar food [...]
The last resort: With travel operators running into trouble, here’s how to protect your holiday August 7, 2019 When you’ve spent hundreds or even thousands of pounds to escape to somewhere sunny for the summer holidays, you may have to stifle a scream when you find out that your travel operator has gone bust days before you were set to fly. This scenario will sound all too familiar to many families, after news [...]
The 13 best festival, camping and outdoor gadgets: from cameras and speakers to stoves and tents July 31, 2019 Festival season is upon us, like a large and pale dancing man silhouetted against a set of dazzling floodlights, whose sweat-sodden skin shines and catches the light like a salmon flashing in the brook. Make sure you’re ready for it by stacking your backpack high with the latest gadgets and technology. If you’re heading to [...]
Hotel Romeo review: Naples has gone from Italy’s junkyard to a jewel in its crown July 29, 2019 Leave all your preconceptions about southern Italy at the departure gate – Naples is a hidden gem of culture, history and, of course, food. Nestled in the shadow of an active volcano and infamous as a mafia hot-spot, it’s safe to say that this is a city with an edge. For decades considered little more [...]
The secret of Monkey Island: A hidden retreat in the Berkshire countryside July 26, 2019 You would be hard pressed to find a foodie who hasn’t heard of Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck at Bray. But where to stay on your foray into the Berkshire countryside? Thankfully the bucolic Monkey Island in the Thames has just reopened as a picturesque retreat, comprising a 30-room hotel, brasserie, floating spa on a [...]
Mauritius: Paradise, but not as you know it July 24, 2019 This tropical island offers the cliched white sands and blue seas, but there’s more to discover at this most unusual of holiday destinations Pop quiz: What is the only tropical island to host its own classic car rally? This November, Mauritius will be the unlikely home to some of the rarest and most expensive classic [...]