Notes on…
Aftershocks and polo ponies in Christchurch, New Zealand
On my first night in Christchurch, I woke at 3.32 a.m. to what felt like an explosion. My bed was…
New Zealand
On my first night in Christchurch, I woke at 3.32 a.m. to what felt like an explosion. My bed was…
Courchevel – from pickled cockles to the height of luxury
The last time I stayed in Courchevel it was in a tatty roadside chalet a long way down the mountain.…
Courchevel
The last time I stayed in Courchevel it was in a tatty roadside chalet a long way down the mountain.…
A silky, air-conditioned introduction to Bangkok
Last time I went to Thailand, there’d been something of a misunderstanding about accommodation, and my friend and I ended…
Bangkok
Last time I went to Thailand, there’d been something of a misunderstanding about accommodation, and my friend and I ended…
It took a move away for me to see how beautiful British Columbia really is
When people hear I’m from rural British Columbia, I know what their reaction will be: rhapsodic. ‘BC’ is their favourite…
British Columbia
When people hear I’m from rural British Columbia, I know what their reaction will be: rhapsodic. ‘BC’ is their favourite…
A former England international on the meaning of the Six Nations
Back in 1882, exactly 100 years before I was born, the Four Nations rugby competition was formed. It was originally…
Six Nations rugby
Back in 1882, exactly 100 years before I was born, the Four Nations rugby competition was formed. It was originally…
There may never be a better (or cheaper) time to visit South Africa
There are plenty of places to fly to for winter sun, but only one place that offers five-star hotels for…
South Africa
There are plenty of places to fly to for winter sun, but only one place that offers five-star hotels for…
The Venice Accademia: is this the smallest great gallery in the world?
The Accademia is one of the smallest of the world’s great art galleries, and picture for picture perhaps the most…
The Venice Accademia
The Accademia is one of the smallest of the world’s great art galleries, and picture for picture perhaps the most…
The lovely Clare Valley, like southern France with added kangaroos
It is a century and a half since The Spectator noted the exceptional qualities of South Australia, a colony of…
The Clare Valley
It is a century and a half since The Spectator noted the exceptional qualities of South Australia, a colony of…
The world is about to discover the wonders of Lake Iseo
If you’ve never heard of Lake Iseo, you’re not alone. Nestling shyly between chocolate-box Como and glamorous Garda, the smallest…
Lake Iseo
If you’ve never heard of Lake Iseo, you’re not alone. Nestling shyly between chocolate-box Como and glamorous Garda, the smallest…
Lions' wool and other wonders of Cirencester
Everywhere you look in Cirencester there’s another animal: a cockerel, a hare, a sheep or a skulking lioness. I rather…
Cirencester
Everywhere you look in Cirencester there’s another animal: a cockerel, a hare, a sheep or a skulking lioness. I rather…
Visit Albania now, before it changes too much
Seferis’s line about his native Greece, ‘Our country is a closed in place, all mountains’, haunted my mind as I…
Albania
Seferis’s line about his native Greece, ‘Our country is a closed in place, all mountains’, haunted my mind as I…
The delights and dangers of the Grand Tour
The Grand Tour usually culminated with Naples, ragamuffin capital of the Italian south, where Vesuvius offered a visual education in…
The Grand Tour
The Grand Tour usually culminated with Naples, ragamuffin capital of the Italian south, where Vesuvius offered a visual education in…
The secret ski resorts where the real sport lives
Skiing holidays have a problem. They’ve lost their sense of adventure. Yes, the first flurries of winter which arrived recently…
