Ice chambers, wooden baths and good health in Austria March 13, 2011 IT is the depths of winter in Austria and what am I doing? Gracefully skiing down the Alps or snuggling up in front of a fire sipping Gluhwien? No, I’m dressed in my bikini and boots, awaiting instructions to go into a sealed chamber with a temperature of minus 130 degrees for three minutes. I [...]
A quiet haven of pure luxury in the Lake District March 13, 2011 THE old idea of Lake District hospitality is of floral-decorated B&Bs offering weak tea and a couple of cellophane-wrapped Jammie Dodgers after your long hike. Go to stay at the Lake House at Gilpin Lodge, however, and the biggest problem is working up the resolve to leave its elegant surroundings to explore the fells. Managed [...]
THINK ROOMS… with LateRooms.com March 13, 2011 GRAND HOTEL EUROPA 5* Südtiroler Platz 2 | Innsbruck | 6020 Being Innsbruck’s only five star hotel, Grand Hotel Europa has a prestigious status to live up to – and it certainly doesn’t disappoint. Most impressive is the way the super-stylish Italian designs blend with cosy Tyrolean influences, particularly in the hotel’s Europa Suites which [...]
Travel Notes March 13, 2011 YORKSHIRE FITNESS RETREATS IF you’re looking for something to kick-start a spring fitness regime but don’t fancy crowded exercise classes and stuffy lunch-hour gym visits, you can find something a bit more relaxing and soulful with a break in the Yorkshire Dales. Natural Retreats, which runs a handful of swish, remote eco-cottages secreted into the [...]
There’s no place like Cheltenham March 13, 2011 A is for Atmosphere – The roar of the tapes going up for the start of the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle is enough to send shivers down the spine of the calmest of human beings. When the commentator mentions the hot favourite “is absolutely cruising” rounding the home turn, the noise carries you along. B is [...]
Murphy hoping to make it Big at the Festival again March 13, 2011 Colm Murphy trains 50 horses in Ballinadrummin, Killena, Gorey – an address more Harry Potter than Dick Francis, but apparently it’s in the heart of County Wexford. We didn’t meet face-to-face and only spoke on the phone – he was too busy finalising his Festival plans and I couldn’t find platform nine and three quarters. [...]
Touching distance March 13, 2011 ENGLAND (22) vs SCOTLAND (16) Grand Slam just one win away after England survive a scare to defeat tenacious Scotland ENGLAND manager Martin Johnson admits major improvement is needed if his side are to complete the Grand Slam in Dublin next weekend. Scotland put up brave resistance at Twickenham yesterday but eventually succumbed to Tom [...]
More cup woe for Grant March 13, 2011 STOKE CITY (2) vs WEST HAM UNITED (1) WEST HAM manager Avram Grant saw another promising cup campaign reduced to shreds – and then borrowed from samurai culture to explain his disappointment at decisions he felt cost his side a trip to Wembley. Danny Higginbotham’s second-half free-kick clinched victory in the FA Cup quarter-final after [...]
Mancini: We’re underdogs March 13, 2011 MANCHESTER CITY manager Roberto Mancini is relishing his side’s FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United, but insists his side will be considerable underdogs. Under Mancini City have suffered four agonising defeats to the men from Old Trafford, the latest coming last month when Wayne Rooney’s overhead kick settled matters. Mancini’s side have an opportunity to redress the [...]
Binocular won’t defend Champion Hurdle crown March 13, 2011 BINOCULAR will not defend his Champion Hurdle crown at the Cheltenham Festival tomorrow after trainer Nicky Henderson was forced to withdraw his charge yesterday. On British Horseracing Authority advice, Henderson was forced to withdraw the JP McManus-owned seven-year-old after he tested positive for a legal substance having been treated for an allergy. Henderson said: “He [...]
