NationalGeographicTravellerUKJulyAugust2020 PDF

WIN!
AN EIGHT-NIGHT CULINARY
ADVENTURE IN IRELAND
UK EDITION // JUL/AUG 2020 // £4.95 NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC.CO.UK/TRAVEL

#STAYINSPIRED
BILBAO
CYPRUS
IREL AND
MARR AKECH
+A n A-Z o f the
Indian O cean
ADE ADEPITAN • FELICITY ASTON • JULIA BRADBURY • WILLIAM DALRYMPLE

PICO IYER • CHRISTINA LAMB • ROBERT MACFARLANE • RAY MEARS
ALICE MORRISON • LEVISON WOOD • AND MORE
ALSO: BRECON BEACONS // COPENHAGEN // MUMBAI // SAINT-TROPEZ // SHETLAND

Surrounded by its
marvellous scene,
THE OMNIA,
remain never to be forgotten.
Join our place on the rock
with the Matterhorn
as your neighbour.
This is THE OMNIA.
30 Rooms including 12 Suites

Library with a fireplace
Restaurant
Lounge Bar
Sun Terrace
Boardroom
Wellness Center
THE OMNIA, Zermatt – Switzerland, Phone +41 27 966 71 71, www.the-omnia.com

www.sooribali.com
Jul/Aug
2020
Contents
WIN! AN EIGHT-NIGHT CULINARY
94
ADVENTURE IN IRELAND
UK EDITION // JUL/AUG 2020 // £4.95 NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC.CO.UK/TRAVEL

#STAYINSPIRED
BILBAO
CYPRUS
IREL AND
MARR AKECH
+A n A-Z o f the
Indian O c ean
ADE ADEPITAN • FELICITY ASTON • JULIA BRADBURY • WILLIAM DALRYMPLE
62 Why we travel 82 Ireland 110 Marrakech

PICO IYER • CHRISTINA LAMB • ROBERT MACFARLANE • RAY MEARS
•
ALICE MORRISON LEVISON WOOD AND MORE •
In this issue, a host of household Ancient monuments and stark The timeless tradition of ALSO: BRECON BEACONS // COPENHAGEN // MUMBAI // SAINT-TROPEZ // SHETLAND
names reveal how travel landscapes await on the island’s leathercraft thrives in the Red
has shaped their lives. From storied southwest peninsulas City’s souks and tanneries Issue 86
encounters with locals to
gruelling expeditions, some 94 Indian Ocean 122 Bilbao A daily activity, carrying
destinations have the ability From Anse Source d’Argent to The Basque city is a poster child water at a step well,
to transform us. Join us as we Zanzibar, discover an A-Z of far- for urban regeneration, but its Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
celebrate the power of place flung experiences cuisine is where it truly excels IMAGE: Getty
Jul/Aug 2020 5
Jul/Aug
2020
Contents
14 21 50
SMART TRAVELLER 29 The word 54 Sleep: Saint-Tropez

Six novels to transport you abroad Blissful beds on the French Riviera
13 Snapshot
The pick of the bunch in Italy 31 Competition TRAVEL GEEKS
Win an eight-night adventure in Ireland
14 Big picture 134 Travel Geeks
The bear necessities in Finland 33 Author series The experts’ travel manual
Christopher Beanland on Sydney
17 Walk this way GET IN TOUCH
Slowing down to discover Britain on foot 34 Q&A with an adventurer
We meet endurance athlete Jenny Tough 144 Subscriptions
18 Seize the night Make the most of our latest offer
Make the most of stargazing in the UK 36 Online
Highlights from our Stay Inspired campaign 145 Inbox
21 Food Your letters, emails and tweets
Noma co-founder Claus Meyer on Copenhagen INSIDER
146 Your pictures
23 On the trail 38 Weekender: Brecon Beacons This month’s best travel photos
Getting a taste for South Africa’s Whale Coast Embracing the outdoors in wildest Wales
24 Family 44 Eat: Cyprus DON'T MISS

England’s best bustle-free beaches Diving into Limassol’s melting-pot cuisine
142 National Geographic
27 Stay at home 50 Neighbourhood: Mumbai Traveller Food Festival
A wild and windy escape to Shetland Vibrant corners of the Indian metropolis Join us for a weekend of food and travel
#STAYINSPIRED VISIT NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC.COM/TRAVEL FOR NEW TRAVEL FEATURES DAILY
6 nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel
Contributors
COVER STORY: THE POWER OF PLACE National Geographic Traveller (UK) APL Media
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Associate Editors: Editorial Admin Assistant:
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basketball player Ade talks about his Commissioning Editor: Art Editor:
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Project Editor: Zane Henry Production Controllers:
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shock at learning about the slave trade’s Assistant Online Editor: Nora Wallaya Drew O’Neill, Lisa Poston,
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impact on Nigeria, the country of his birth. Charlotte Wigram-Evans
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became the first woman to ski solo across Partnerships Manager, Events: Accounts Manager: Siobhan Grover
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expedition to the North Pole that most James Bendien, Bob Jalaf,
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Head of National Geographic
Traveller — The Collection:
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Pico Iyer
National Geographic Traveller (UK) is published by APL Media Ltd under license from National
Celebrated for his vivid tales about Japan, Geographic Partners, LLC. For more information contact natgeo.com/info. Their entire
contents are protected by copyright 2020 and all rights are reserved. Reproduction without
the country he’s called home for over 30 prior permission is forbidden. Every care is taken in compiling the contents of the magazine,
years, British-born travel writer Pico delves but the publishers assume no responsibility in the effect arising therefrom. Readers are
advised to seek professional advice before acting on any information which is contained in
into his early career as an international the magazine. Neither APL Media Ltd or National Geographic Traveller magazine accept any
liability for views expressed, pictures used or claims made by advertisers.
affairs writer and reveals how a trip to Tibet
changed his life forever.
National Geographic Partners International Publishing
Chairman: Gary E. Knell Senior Vice President: Yulia P. Boyle

Editorial Director: Susan Goldberg Senior Director: Ariel Deiaco-Lohr
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Editorial Director: Amy Kolczak 20036-4688, USA
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The multi-award-winning Scottish Editorial Specialist: Leigh Mitnick
writer and historian describes how Translation Manager: Beata Nas
how travelling around India for the Editors: CHINA Sophie Huang;
past 30 years has changed him, leading CZECHIA Ondrej Formanek; FRANCE
Gabriel Joseph-Dezaize; GERMANY
him to embrace the virtues of pluralism Werner Siefer; HUNGARY Tamas
and open-mindedness Vitray; INDIA Lakshmi Sankaran;
ISRAEL Daphne Raz; ITALY Marco
Cattaneo; SOUTH KOREA Bo-yeon
Lim; LATIN AMERICA Claudia Muzzi;
NETHERLANDS Arno Kantelberg;
POLAND Agnieszka Franus; ROMANIA
Catalin Gruia; RUSSIA Ivan Vasin; SPAIN
Josan Ruiz; TURKEY Nesibe Bat
Christina Lamb OBE

British journalist and author Christina Copyright © 2020 National Geographic Partners, LLC. All Rights Reserved. National
Geographic Traveller and the Yellow Border Design are registered trademarks of
Lamb has reported on hotspots across National Geographic Society and used under license. Printed in the UK.
the grobe. She looks back at her first trip
to Afghanistan, in the 1980s, and how it
shaped a life-long love of the place and all
its complexities.
Quote JulySpecial and get a special discount!!
Editor’s
letter Coronavirus
The ongoing pandemic continues
to affect travel. Please note,
‘T
ravel is a state of mind. It has nothing to do with distance prices are subject to change.
or the exotic. It is almost entirely an inner experience.’ Contact your travel provider for
the most up-to-date information.
There seems to be a Paul Theroux quote to back up
For the latest updates on safe
almost anything you want to say about travel; the US travel writer travel and border restrictions,
and novelist has a knack of eloquently conjuring the words to visit fco.gov.uk
describe shared experiences that are somehow personal to each of
us. Lately, travel has been an inner experience, centred on nostalgia
for places visited and fervent plan-making for trips to come.
With the chance of the real thing seemingly tantalisingly near
HIGHLIGHTS
— and yet, at the time of writing, still subject to government
restrictions — we asked some of the most influential voices in travel
to give meaning to these strange times. In this issue’s cover story,
Pico Iyer, Levison Wood, Christina Lamb, William Dalrymple, Emily
Chappell, Robert Macfarlane, Ade Adepitan, Felicity Aston and
many more household names reveal the places they hold dearest,
the travel experiences that have changed them, and the destinations
Photography Competition 2020
that have demonstrated the power of a place. We’re busy working through the thousands
Whether it’s a wild encounter, a meeting with someone new, or of entries in this year’s contest. Keep an eye
on the website in August as we announce the
simply a moment of realisation that your place in the world isn’t
winners and runners-up.
quite what you thought it was, we celebrate the transformative
effect that travel can have.
And on that note, I’d like to welcome the thousands of new
subscribers who value armchair travel as much as the real thing. SUBSCRIBE TODAY
In print and online, we aim to ensure you #stayinspired.
PAT RIDDELL, EDITOR
@patriddell
@patriddell
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SMART TRAVELLER
What’s new // Food // On the trail // Family // Stay at home // The word
SNAPSHOT
Luna Prestint,
Italy
In a normal year, September
would be a busy time in the
vineyards around the medieval
town of Montalcino, just south of
Siena. This is when the sangiovese
grapes are harvested to make
Brunello di Montalcino wine. One
winery here that stands out is
Casato Prime Donne. Owned by
Donatella Cinelli Colombini, it’s
a venture run solely by women.
When I visited last year in the
early hours of the morning, I
made my way through the mud
and waited until the first rays
of sun parted the fog to reveal
rows of vines, where young
local women, including Luna,
were hard at work picking the
grapes. FRANCESCO LASTRUCCI //
PHOTOGRAPHER
francescolastrucci.com
@francescolastrucci
Jul/Aug 2020 13
SMART TRAVELLER
BIG PICTURE
Ruhtinansalmi,
Finland
I took this image in the small hours one
morning last summer in the east of Finland,
close to the Russian border. I was part of a
group of photographers visiting the region,
all of us keen to capture shots of brown bears
with their cubs. This particular morning, we’d
been waiting all night in small photo hides
beside a pond as the bears are often active
when it’s dark. We’d seen a few bears, but
hadn’t managed to get any good pictures.
Then, suddenly, a mother bear came sniffling
along the edge of the pond with her three one-
year-old cubs. Shortly after, a big male bear
arrived nearby — males can be a threat to cubs
and have been known to kill them. Wary, the
mother and her cubs stood up on their hind
legs to get a better view before running off in
the opposite direction. Luckily, I managed to
take this fleeting shot just moments before
they scampered away.
BJØRN H STUEDAL // PHOTOGRAPHER
stuedal.photography
@stuedal
Bjørn is The Societies’ Monthly Image

Competition’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year
2019. thesocieties.net
SMART TRAVELLER
Jul/Aug 2020 15
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SMART TRAVELLER
NEW ROUTES
WALK
THIS WAY
Slow Ways is poised to get Brits
discovering the country in a new way.
We talk to founder Daniel Raven-Ellison
about the ambitious new initiative
Tell us about Slow Ways

Our islands are rich with paths, but they haven’t been
pulled together into a single network that clearly shows
people how they can get between places on foot. Slow
Ways aims to create a web of walking routes connecting
all of Great Britain’s towns and cities, as well as thousands
of villages. Most of the project has been completed in
lockdown, with 700 volunteers drafting 7,000 Slow Ways
routes that collectively stretch for over 62,000 miles.
That’s the equivalent of two-and-a-half laps of the equator.
What inspired the project?

I’ve walked around Great Britain a lot, and I’ve noticed
things that could be done to support people walking
more. For example, rural walks that start and finish in the
countryside can feel inaccessible. However, as Slow Ways’
routes often start and finish in urban areas, where there’s
a greater choice of restaurants and accommodation, the
project will hopefully encourage more people to go hiking.
Could this be an alternative to taking transport?

Many of us are used to walking a few miles for the sheer
pleasure of it. I think Slow Ways will help to remind and
inspire us to make walks of that kind of length to see
friends, family or for work. Slowing down can be so good
for us. If we all walked more, it would be good for our DANIEL
health and the environment and would give us more time RAVEN-ELLISON
together — and it could potentially save us money, too. is a National Geographic

Emerging Explorer
and the founder of
What’s next, and how do people get involved Slow Ways.
as volunteers? ravenellison.com
Now that we’ve drafted the network, the next challenge
is to get outside, to explore and test it. All going well,
I hope we’ll be putting out a call to recruit 10,000
volunteers from across Great Britain to help with that at
the end of this summer. To volunteer, and to get involved,
people should sign up for the newsletter on my website.
INTERVIEW: AMELIA DUGGAN
CITIZEN SCIENCE: THREE PROJECTS TO GET YOU OUTSIDE
BIG SEAWEED SEARCH GARDEN BIRDWATCH ISPY A HEDGEHOG

Strolling along the British shoreline? Download Learn about the birds in your garden and contribute The Wildlife Trusts runs a number of regional surveys,
IMAGE: GETTY
the contributors’ guide from the Natural History to an ongoing scientific study by logging your avian but its two hedgehog-spotting programmes — for
Museum’s website and submit photos to help sightings with the British Trust for Ornithology. Now in Cumbria and Wiltshire — are particularly worthy as
scientists monitor the effects on environmental its 25th year, the scheme relies on the public to better numbers have fallen 30% in the past decade. Report
change of Britain’s sealife. nhm.ac.uk understand the importance of garden habitats. bto.org your sightings at wildlifetrusts.org/citizen-science
Jul/Aug 2020 17
SMART TRAVELLER
S TA R G A Z I N G
SEIZE THE NIGHT

Thanks to less light and air pollution, the country’s night skies
are darker than usual. So stay up, head out and go starry-eyed
SEEING STARS
Spread across southern England, Dark Sky Park has the darkest skies in
CRANBORNE CHASE offers night-sky England. On a clear night at Cawfield Dr Stuart Clark’s
visibility that’s so good it was the first Area Quarry, beside Hadrian’s Wall, you top tips
of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in can see our neighbouring galaxy,
the UK to be designated an International Andromeda, 2.5 million light-years away. Dr Stuart Clark is the author
of Beneath the Night, which is
Dark Sky Reserve, in October 2019. Cley northumberlandnationalpark.org.uk
available from October 2020,
Hill, near Warminster, is one the best Truly escaping light pollution in the published by Guardian Faber.
spots for stellar views, and you might see South East can be hard, but the SOUTH RRP: £14.99 stuartclark.com
something else, too — it’s said to be a prime DOWNS offer some of the best places to
1 ENJOY THE VIEW
spot for UFO sightings. chasingstars.org.uk stargaze in this corner of England. Visit
Wales’s rural and rugged Butser Hill in Queen Elizabeth Country Don’t try memorising
PEMBROKESHIRE COAST NATIONAL PARK Park, one of Hampshire’s highest points, or constellations. With
is perfect for enjoying the night skies, head to Birling Gap near Eastbourne, where familiarity, you’ll notice the
partly due to its distance from big towns the sky often shimmers with stars over the patterns stars make — then
and cities. It has string of designated sites English Channel. southdowns.gov.uk you can start putting names to
where visitors can discover the night sky, A sparse population in Scotland’s the constellations.
including Broadhaven South Beach, GALLOWAY FOREST means this woodland
near Stackpole, and Poppit Sands, on is a haven for astronomers. It became the 2 LOOK UP
Cardigan Bay. pembrokeshirecoast.wales UK’s first Dark Sky Park in 2009 and steps Planets visible with the naked
Meanwhile, the NORTHUMBERLAND have been taken to ensure light pollution eye are distinguished from
landscape is always a dramatic backdrop, remains at a minimum. On a clear night stars because they don’t
but it’s the heavens that steal the show along the A712, which winds through twinkle. Venus and Jupiter
after dark. Awarded ‘gold’ status by the heathland, you can admire the glittering are bright white, Mars is a
International Dark-Sky Association, Milky Way. forestryandland.gov.scot baleful red, Saturn is the colour
the Northumberland International CONNOR MCGOVERN of straw and Mercury only
appears in twilight.
3 GEEK OUT
Apps such as Star Rover or Sky

Safari (Android and iOS) are
inexpensive ways to find your
way around the night sky.
IMAGE: GETTY
SMART TRAVELLER
CLAUS MEYER
kick-started the
New Nordic culinary
revolution in the late
1980s and opened the
acclaimed Noma Claus lists his top
in 2003. three Copenhagen
culinary experiences
LOLA
In 2012, I founded the part-restaurant,
part-social education project Gustu in
La Paz, Bolivia. Spearheading it was
Kamilla Seidler, who last year opened
Lola, combining great, affordable food
with a social empowerment programme
for trainee chefs. restaurantlola.dk
DECIDERET CIDER
You can’t visit the cidery itself, but the
A TA S T E O F guys behind Decideret Cider make
some of the best cider I’ve ever had.
COPENHAGEN
They create a hyper-local variety using
only surplus apples from private garden
owners in Copenhagen. You can buy
the ciders from good restaurants and
speciality stores. decideretcider.dk
Restaurateur Claus Meyer, co-founder of

HART BAGERI
Copenhagen’s most lauded restaurant, Richard Hart is a Brit with a remarkable
Noma, discusses the evolution of New insight into the mechanics of baking.
He opened his storefront in the
Nordic cuisine in his hometown Copenhagen district of Frederiksberg
in 2018. It’s a bit pricey, but the flavours
make it worthwhile. hartbageri.com
The French word ‘terroir’ is very important in I’m still astonished by the impact Noma TAKE IT HOME
understanding the concept behind the New and the New Nordic movement has had on the
Nordic movement. It’s the impact of natural culinary landscape. The idea that ingredients The kanelsnurrer
forces — soil condition, sun, wind and rain cultivated close to home can harness an equal
cinnamon swirls
— in a specific region that enables us to bring if not superior taste experience compared to
food to the table with its own distinctive sought-after delicacies traded across borders served in Meyer’s
characteristics. In the Nordic region, there has stood the test of time. Bakeries (a chain of
aren’t many people, but we have lots of fertile These days, however, the culinary scene
soil. The idea was to deal with primary in Copenhagen still maintains a profound four artisanal bakeries
produce that had been exposed to very little understanding of the importance of using in Copenhagen) are a
cultural influence. Whatever we find in our local ingredients and working from a
wild landscapes is unique to our region. sustainable starting point. The Danish
great project to try at
Previously, eating in Denmark was a capital is a hotpot of taste explosions, home, combining easy
matter of economic efficiency. I grew up in ranging from street food to Michelin dining, techniques with more
an era of canned meatballs and mashed covering every part of the globe along the
potato powder, the birth of sauce colouring way. Young trailblazers and seasoned chefs challenging ones.
and of the bouillon cube. I knew that come together to form a food metropolis,
Denmark not only needed but deserved an which may be small in size but still manages
enthusiastic approach to food — it was just to influence the global food agenda. Find the recipe for kanelsnurrer
a matter of finding a way to unlock the true Read the full interview with Claus Meyer (pictured above) on our website. Share
potential of our food culture. online at nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel your photos using #STAYINSPIRED
Jul/Aug 2020 21
OPEN FOR YOU FROM JULY 1st
The Dominican Republic is ready for you

Thanks to your efforts, and everyone else’s, you can now enjoy an
idyllic location in the company of your loved ones, with the peace of
mind of knowing that all the necessary health protocols are in place
so that you can enjoy a dream holiday in complete safety.
Punta Cana
SMART TRAVELLER
ON THE TR AIL
SOUTH AFRICA
Take an epicurean road trip in the Hemel-en-Aarde
Valley and Cape Whale Coast, sampling smooth wines
and Saturday markets. Words: Heather Richardson
1 CREATION
At the top of the valley is
1
Creation, one of South Africa’s
best wineries. Stop by its Tasting
Room restaurant — overlooking
fields of vines and the mountains 2
beyond — for a delicious,
3
wine-paired lunch. Beetroot-
marinated springbok is matched
with smooth Pinot Noir, while 4
trout nigiri comes with a fruity 5
Chardonnay. There are tasting
menus for non-drinkers, vegans
and kids, too. creationwines.com
2 SUMARIDGE ESTATE WINES 4 HERMANUSPIETERSFONTEIN

Further down the valley, this MARKET
family-owned estate is a fine No Saturday morning is
spot for a tipple, with sweeping complete without a visit to the
views towards Walkers Bay. Hermanuspietersfontein Market
Its Cellar — a stone-walled, in Hemel-en-Aarde village. At
gable-roofed tasting room — is this family-friendly spot, which
designed in the style of the wine tends to be filled with locals
houses in Beaune, Burgundy; and visiting Capetonians alike, 6
Hemel-en-Aarde is often called stalls sell the likes of Cape
‘Little Burgundy’ due to its Malay samosas, pies, shellfish
cool-climate wines. Settle and fruity vintages from
down on the balcony to sample Hermanuspietersfontein Wines.
wines such as the flagship The market is open from 09.00
Shiraz-Pinotage blend, Epitome. until 13.00 — beat the crowds
sumaridge.co.za and go early. hpf1855.com
3 GLAMTRAILS 5 BIENTANG’S CAVE 6 GROOTBOS PRIVATE

Itchy feet? Set off on a walking Hermanus is famous for its whale- NATURE RESERVE
tour through the vineyards of watching — and at Bientang’s Cave Take the 45-minute drive from
Hemel-en-Aarde, with hiking restaurant, you can spot southern Hermanus to this protected
routes ranging in length from right whales from your lunch swathe of land that’s home
one to four miles. The 1.4-mile table. Overlooking the rolling to protected fynbos, ancient DID YOU KNOW?
In 2019, Hermanus and
De Bos Estate trail, which offers waves of Walker Bay, the spot is milkwood trees and two
its surrounding towns
glorious views of the ocean and named after the last known Khoi luxurious five-star lodges. The
were named South
valley, takes around an hour and strandloper (‘beach walker’), who site’s wine cellar is superb, with Africa’s first UNESCO
ILLUSTRATION: MARTIN HAAKE
a half. You’ll be led by botanist lived here in the 1800s. Battered a selection of rare vintages and Creative City of
Frank Woodvine, who will talk hake, peri-peri chicken and Cape excellent local wines to choose Gastronomy, noted for
you through the Western Cape’s Malay curry are on the menu; all from. Spend your time on its extensive network
endemic fynbos greenery along are best washed down with a glass fynbos ‘safaris’, learning about of local fishermen,
the way. Finish the walk with a of MCC (South African sparkling the reserve’s flora and fauna, or farmers, beekeepers,
picnic lunch and wine-tasting at wine) or a rock shandy (lemonade, while away an afternoon hiking cheesemakers,
winemakers and chefs.
Bosman Hermanus’ The Frame soda water and Angostura bitters). or horse-riding along the trails.
House eatery. glamtrails.co.za bientangscave.com grootbos.com
Jul/Aug 2020 23
SMART TRAVELLER
FA M I LY
THE COAST IS CLEAR

Escaping the crowds is all the more important this summer. We pick some of
our favourite bustle-free beaches for a day on the coast with the kids
Chapman’s Pool
on the Jurassic
Coast in Dorset is
ideal for fossil hunting
Earnse Bay, Cumbria of Broadstairs and seaside cheer of Margate. on a cliff, with crumbling ramparts and a
BEST FOR: Sunsets and letting off steam The soaring chalk stacks reach up to 130ft huge portcullis. visitnorthumberland.com
Few people come to Cumbria for its beaches, and there are also large stretches of pristine
but west-facing, empty Earnse Bay on white sand — ideal for long lazy walks or a Covehithe, Suffolk
Walney Island (you’ll reach it across a bridge spot of sunbathing. visitkent.co.uk BEST FOR: Remote beauty
from Barrow-in-Furness) is perfect for a Reached from a lane that ends abruptly
picnic. Views of the largest wind farm in Chapman’s Pool, Dorset at a crumbling cliff edge with a backdrop
Europe, the mountains of the Isle of Man BEST FOR: Fossil-hunting of a roofless church, Covehithe, south of
and, on a clear day, Snowdonia, can be Tucked away on Dorset’s Isle of Purbeck, Lowestoft, has an edgy, dramatic beauty
spectacular. visitcumbria.com Chapman’s Pool is far quieter than its better- that is sure to capture any kid’s imagination.
known neighbour, Lulworth Cove. Its beauty Explore the water-smoothed trunks of trees
Blackgang Beach, Isle of Wight is more than worth the modest effort needed taken to the shoreline by the collapsed cliff,
BEST FOR: Solitude and sandstone to navigate the footpath to the sand and before taking a break on the soft, golden
Blackgang Beach is surely one of the least shingle. And as this is the Jurassic Coast, sand. visitsuffolk.com
visited of all the island’s beaches and getting the kids will have every chance of fi nding
there’s as much fun as being there: you have ammonites, shell fossils and even small bits Lee Bay, Devon
to slither down a steep, sometimes slippery of Paleolithic reptiles. visit-dorset.com BEST FOR: Rockpools
(but generally safe) path from Niton. The An isolated beach in North Devon is hard
payoff is a glorious beach of fi ne-grained, Embleton Bay, Northumberland to find even at the quietest time of year, but
ochre pebbles, overlooked by a magnificent BEST FOR: Birdwatching and kite flying pint-sized Lee Bay near Ilfracombe is one
sandstone escarpment that resembles a vast Vast, crescent-shaped Embleton Bay hides such place. Close to popular Woolacombe,
slab of honeycomb. visitisleofwight.co.uk in plain sight behind the commanding you’ll find a small, sandy beach and rockpools
Dunstanburgh Castle. Even on the sunniest that are perfect for exploring, paddling and
IMAGE: GETTY
Botany Bay, Kent day you can wander, fly a kite or watch the sunbathing away from the crowds.
BEST FOR: Natural drama puffins and terns with few concerns about leebay.co.uk MARK ROWE
It’s hard to believe this spectacular beach lies social distancing. The castle looks like
within striking distance of the grand facades something a six-year-old might draw, perched Read more at nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel
Where family
means freedom
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SMART TRAVELLER
S TAY AT H O M E
SHETLAND
Scotland’s northernmost frontier is a
truly remote escape, with prehistoric
history and fine seafood to boot
Why go Don’t miss WE LIKE

Thanks to its historic Scandinavian ties, Shetland’s capital, Lerwick, features a
today, the Shetland Islands is an intriguing gorgeous winding high street where, at the Two short ferry rides
blend of Scottish and Nordic culture — in southern end, you’ll find the lodberries, a from the mainland gets
fact, its remote location in the North Atlantic collection of water-fronted cottages and
means it’s actually closer to Bergen than to storehouses once used by merchants for you to Unst, home to
Edinburgh. It’s a far-flung choice for a UK easy access to the water. Look familiar? One a remote gin distillery,
break that offers up plenty of opportunity of them stands in for the home of Detective
for adventure. Travellers can hike along the Jimmy Perez in BBC’s crime drama Shetland.
Shetland Reel, which
jagged coastline, try their luck at spotting does tours during
orcas and puffins, stumble across an Iron Age Where to eat the summer. A stroll
settlement or just hop in the car and drive At Frankie’s, you’ll find battered haddock and
through the islands’ windswept landscape chunky chips, but you’ll also see steaming through Hermaness
(looking out for those famous little ponies en bowls of mussels and scallops. Over in National Nature
route, of course). visitscotland.com Lerwick, The Dowry is a modern cafe with
Nordic vibes and views out to the harbour.
Reserve takes you
What to do It serves beautifully presented mains and within sight of the island
Archaeological sites are everywhere on is also a good place to try Shetland’s local
of Muckle Flugga, the
Shetland: Jarlshof is one of the finest, ale, brewed a mile up the road at Lerwick
situated on a dramatic headland at the Brewery. frankiesfishandchips.com instagram. UK’s most northerly
southern tip of the mainland. Here, visitors com/thedowryshetland lerwickbrewery.co.uk point. Or, explore the
will find the remains of a settlement
spanning 4,000 years that contains Where to stay headland at Skaw that’s
everything from Iron Age wheelhouses to a Sumburgh Head Lighthouse perches dotted with Second
16th-century laird’s house. For an even older precipitously on the southern tip of
sight, take a trip to Eshaness peninsula. mainland Shetland. Bed down in the former
World War bunkers.
Follow the path along the coastline from the lightkeeper’s house, which has walls so thick shetlandreel.com
IMAGE: GETTY
lighthouse to see the cross-section and layers you’ll barely notice if there’s a storm raging
of solidified lava flows of a 350-million-year- outside. And look out for orcas — this is
old volcano. historicenvironment.scot one of the best spots to see them from land. ABOVE: Shetland pony grazing on the
shetland-heritage.co.uk/eshaness shetlandlighthouse.com GAIL TOLLEY island of Unst
Jul/Aug 2020 27
SMART TRAVELLER
T H E WO R D
THE GREAT ESCAPE

Whether it’s Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Chile, Havana or Paris, journey around the world
with fictional tales that conjure a crackling sense of place. Words: Sarah Barrell
A Long Petal The Parisian, by Love After Love, Island of Secrets, Suncatcher, The Death of
of the Sea, by Isabella Hammad by Ingrid Persaud by Rachel Rhys by Romesh Vivek Oji, by
Isabel Allende A love story, of The follow up to This summer’s Gunesekera Akwaeke Emezi
Isabel Allende’s sorts, moving The Sweet Sop, ebullient beach Take a trip to 1960s This second novel
latest novel is a from Palestine to which won both the read (or, perhaps Sri Lanka with from Wellcome Book
thumping read, Montpellier then Commonwealth local park read) is Romesh Gunesekera, Prize and Women’s
following the life of Paris in the decades Short Story Prize set in 1950s Cuba, a who was shortlisted Prize for Fiction
a young doctor from before the Second 2017 and the BBC country on the cusp for the Booker Prize nominee Akwaeke
Barcelona, forcibly World War, this is National Short Story of revolution. Bored for Fiction and the Emezi offers up a
transplanted to Chile a tale of how global Award 2018, in Love Iris from the home Guardian Fiction chronicle of a death
during the Spanish politics and cultural After Love, Ingrid counties happens Prize for his debut foretold, examining
Civil War (aboard a identity shapes Persaud mines on an invitation to novel, Reef. This the events leading
ship chartered by the individual lives. A tender human truths Havana, where she story is set in Ceylon up to the mysterious
Chilean poet Pablo vivid rendering of from otherwise has ambitions of during mid-century demise of the titular
Neruda, no less). both one Palestinian invisible, small- becoming an artist. political upheaval. young Nigerian. Raw,
Raised in Chile and life in transition, and town Caribbean She soon uncovers With schools closed strange and packed
exiled to Venezuela, of a vastly shifting lives. The everyday gangsters, socialites and the government with a contrasting
Allende understands world order, this family houses, back and fated romance; floundering, the cast of characters,
the rippling effects ambitious debut gardens and streets the latest from young protagonist this is a tale whose
of being uprooted novel has been of Trinidad are firmly the Nigerian-born has to rely on his atmosphere lingers
herself, and this shortlisted for the in frame, brought multiple-pen-named- developing strength long after the reading
IMAGE: GETTY
story focuses on Edward Stanford sharply to life with writer of mystery and of character. This is done, not least its
the lasting impact Travel Writing colloquial, rhythmic crime fiction. Due in really is a fitting striking account of
of displacement. Awards. (Vintage Trini dialect. paperback July 2020. read for our times. modern day Nigeria.
(Bloomsbury, £16.99) Publishing, £9.99) (Faber, £14.99) (Black Swan, £7.99) (Bloomsbury, £8.99) (Faber, £12.99)
Jul/Aug 2020 29
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SMART TRAVELLER
NOTES FROM AN AUTHOR // CHRISTOPHER BEANLAND
SYDNEY
Hanging out at lidos is a great way to experience Australia, and the outdoor pools
that dot the Sydney coast offer a watery way to get under the city’s skin
T
he world looks different from the Wylie’s — a privately run rock pool where
water. You get new views, new the pastel colours painted onto wooden
perspectives. You see the birds, the decks and jaunty font of the signage remind
contrails of planes, the blues of the sky, the me of the New York State summer camp in
clouds forming into the shapes of countries Dirty Dancing. It’s overrun with bluebottle
you’ve visited or the faces of people you jellyfish when I swim there and I have to
love. Floating in the cool blue water of avoid the little blighters on each length, like
Sydney’s many pools, I saw different sides I’m playing a real-life computer game. Some
to this city of swagger and sweetness: one other interlopers have snuck in too: spiky
Australians find overbearing, yet Brits find little sea urchins the lifeguards scoop up
positively restful. and put in a Tupperware box for intrigued
The joy I get from a dip in the pool punters to take home and cook. Next door is
— wherever in the world that happens, be it the only lido I can’t visit, McIver’s: a women-
in Sydney or near my home, at London Fields only coastal bath where, so I’m told, going
Lido in Hackney — encouraged me to write topless is practically compulsory.
a book about the world’s greatest al fresco Swimming is only half the story, of course.
pools. A return to Sydney to swim in the most Eating your lunch, reading, idly scrolling on
magnificent ones of all seemed obvious. your phone, sunbathing — poolside is where
Australia’s largest city quivers on hot days, Aussies chill out and yabber. I watch families
and the pool is where you cool off. At the bicker, teenagers moan, couples flirt, tourists
1930s North Sydney Olympic Pool, frogs and get their photo taken (and yes, I join in), see
seahorses dance across the art deco walls a Love Island contestant on a photo shoot,
like some kind of seaside Jazz Age spectacle. and lads throwing themselves into the water
Sydney Harbour Bridge soars above you. At from the cliffs above Bronte pool.
Andrew ‘Boy’ Charlton Pool — named after As Melburnian author Christos Tsiolkas
a homegrown recordbreaker — you’ll find points out, pools are a part of what being
swimmers huffing and puffing in pursuit of Australian means. His writing is inspired by
their own personal bests, while across the the culture of changing rooms and sundecks,
bay you can spy on most of Australia’s Navy, each informing his acute observations of
moored up at Potts Point. everyday Australian life. You see everyone
Sport is the voice Australia has used to at the pool, from the fearless kids splashing
speak to the rest of the world (if you discount around to the grandmas serenely taking
TV soap Neighbours) and swimming is one their daily dip. In a classless society like
thing it’s excelled at. Over at Bronte, on Australia’s, the pool is for everyone; for a few
the pavement by the changing rooms, I’m quid, or often even for free, you can get your
inspired to tell one small story in my book diurnal exercise and your mental respite, to
after chancing upon a plaque dedicated to boot. The pool is a safe space in a country
Evelyn Whillier. She was a freestyle swimmer where seemingly everything else, from the
who competed for Australia in the 1936 Berlin
At Andrew ‘Boy’ Charlton Pool spiders to the seas, is trying to kill you.
Olympics and then taught almost everyone — named after a homegrown Whenever I visit Sydney, the last thing
in Bronte to swim at the jaw-dropping Bronte I do before leaving is go for a swim in the
Rock Pool, set beneath under the cliffs. recordbreaker — you’ll sunshine, usually at Bronte or Coogee where
The ocean is more fun, but the waves that
roll in all the way from Chile and bash you up
find swimmers huffing and I can alternate between lengths in the pool
and some wilder action in the surf. And it’s
ILLUSTRATION: JACQUI OAKLEY
like a cat trapped in a washing machine are puffing in pursuit of their own never failed to put me straight to sleep — a
sometimes too much for even an experienced most peaceful sleep, too — on the flight back
swimmer like me. The rock pools like Bronte, personal bests, while across to London and, inevitably, the cold.
Clovelly and the famous Icebergs at Bondi lie
somewhere in between the human-made
the bay you can spy on most of
and the godlike. Coogee has its Ocean Baths, Australia’s Navy, moored up Lido, by Christopher Beanland, is published by
which are nothing more than a load of rocks Batsford and is available from 6 August. RRP: £20.
dumped into the sea, and the charming at Potts Point @ChrisBeanland
Jul/Aug 2020 33
SMART TRAVELLER
MEET THE ADVENTURER
JENNY TOUGH
The endurance athlete on a mission to run across a mountain range on every
continent discusses positivity and the lessons that helped her survive lockdown
What’s been your most challenging moment?

When I was running across Kyrgyzstan, I made a massive
navigational error, went down the wrong valley and set
off a few landslides. Ahead was a cliff edge leading into a
pretty gnarly whitewater river; the only other way forward
was to climb a mountain. I was thinking: “All directions
would definitely kill me if I got it wrong.” I decided to go
with the climb, and it was a like a prolonged near-death
experience. It was a mistake that could have cost me
everything. I decided that as soon as I got out of that
valley, I was going to leave and go home.
When I got to the top, after what felt like hours, I just
collapsed and had a little cry. And then as soon as I was
done crying, I fixed my ponytail, got up, kept on running
and just went back to business.
What is the most extreme place you’ve visited?

I ran across the Bolivian Andes — which was a world
first — and it was way more extreme than I ever thought
it would be. Some sections were incredibly remote;
then there was the altitude and the weather. I still look
back on that leg and think: “Oh my god, I can’t believe I
actually survived that.”
As a solo adventurer specialising in remote How do you go about planning an adventure?

regions, you’re no stranger to social distancing. It starts with a lot of daydreaming. I think one of my best
Did this help prepare you for life in lockdown? time-wasting hobbies is staring at maps. And then you
My travels have taught me a lot of lessons, but I never start to wonder, what’s it actually like there? Is it possible
could have predicted they’d give me tools for something to get around? What vehicle would I use? Could I do it on
like a lockdown. Solo expeditions teach you how to be foot or do I need skis? You just start filling in all those
alone with your own brain, how to cope with fear and little details until you have a complete route in front of
uncertainty, and how to keep going when the trail ahead you that you want to attempt.
seems far too long. But I think the biggest lesson I’ve
learnt, and one that definitely applies to everyone, is that What’s your approach to packing?
you’re tougher than you think. It may seem impossible, Go as light as possible. Besides the camera, everything
but you’ll surprise yourself. I’m taking has to be integral to my survival. And then,
obviously, it’s got to be equipment that’s completely
Tell us about your first adventure. reliable — or at least reparable with duct tape.
I’d just finished university and went back to Canada,
where I’m originally from, and decided that I really What inspires new adventures for you?
wanted to go north to the Yukon. I wanted to go by human A desire to see what’s around the next corner. I want
IMAGE: JAY FRENCH @FREERIDENEWZEALAND
power — that was important to me — so I decided I’d cycle to see every part of the planet and I want to meet the
there. I’d never cycled anywhere; I didn’t know anything people on it. But also, within myself, I want to know what
about it. I bought a bike, watched YouTube videos on how challenges I can actually accomplish and how much
to change a tyre and then cycled up the Rocky Mountains. further I’m able to push myself. It’s all about wanting to
It was about 1,245 miles, took around a month and totally know more, to know what else is out there.
changed my life. It was really empowering. INTERVIEW: ANGELA LOCATELLI
What does adventure mean to you? RE AD THE FULL

Jenny is currently involved in a project to run solo and unsupported INTERVIEW
It’s a state of mind. You can’t really define it by the across a mountain range on every continent. In July this year, Jenny ONLINE AT
distance you cover, the place you go to and how long hopes to attempt her fifth mountain range, the Alberta Rockies. NATIONAL
it takes. It’s your attitude — that you’re open to new @JennyTough GEOGR APHIC.
experiences and seeing things in a different way. jennytough.com CO.UK/ TR AVEL
I AM
YOUR SEA
I am Gran Canaria
#somuchtolivefor
Discover the full story

ONLINE
W H AT ' S O N L I N E
CELEBRATING THE
DESTINATIONS WE MISS
As part of our ongoing Stay Inspired campaign, we ask a few of National Geographic
Traveller’s editorial team to toast their favourite destinations
MADRID — CONNOR MCGOVERN, BORNEO — CHARLOTTE WIGRAM-EVANS, MANCHESTER — NICOLA TRUP,

COMMISSIONING EDITOR CONTENT EDITOR ASSOCIATE EDITOR
My last trip to Madrid was when I started to I'm thinking back on the week I spent with Last year, I took a trip back to Manchester,
really understand the city. By day, I explored the Kelabit tribe in Bario, a tiny cluster of the city I lived in for university and where,
museums and churches, and wandered villages hidden deep in Borneo’s eastern secretly, my heart still lies. Yes, it rains an
through sun-drenched barrios and leafy Highlands. As well as learning about village inordinate amount, but with its red-brick
parks. By night, however, I discovered a life and exploring some of the 600sq miles architecture, fantastic food and unbeatable
different side to Madrid: I squeezed into of rainforest on their doorstep, I spent long music scene, it’s a beauty all the same. While
raucous bars that have barely changed in evenings cackling around a campfire. confined to my London flat, I’ve been escaping
a century, uncovered the exciting cocktail The Kelabits’ sense of sarcasm is to Manchester via film (namely the fabulous
scene and mopped up the night’s excesses unparalleled, and their dry wit — paired 24 Hour Party People, about the city’s music
with a plate of churros. It’ll be a while before I with an incredible warmth — has left me scene in the 1970s-1990s) and radio (thanks
can visit Madrid again, so for now I’ll make do longing to return. For now, I’ll be making to Greater Manchester heroes Radcliffe and
with Spain on a screen. Thankfully, legendary do with recreating the cocktail we drank Maconie on BBC Radio 6 Music). In the words
filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar’s work captures together: pineapple juice, crushed ice, of Radcliffe, Manchester is “a city that thinks
all the hedonistic, zeitgeisty vigour of Madrid mint leaves and a lot of white rum, but a table is for dancing on” — and once we’re
in the 1980s, when the city was rediscovering when we can travel again, you’ll find me free to roam again, I’ll be back on that table
itself after the Franco dictatorship. in the jungles of Borneo. like a shot. READ MORE ONLINE NOW
TOP
STORIE S
Here’s what you’ve been
enjoying in our Stay Inspired PHOTOGRAPHY FOOD VIRTUAL TRAVEL
campaign this month How I got the shot: capturing Five restaurant recipes to See the world’s natural
#stayinspired otherworldly Pamukkale try during lockdown wonders in real time
Nori Jemil discusses her latest Cook these dishes from National How webcams can act as live
assignment in Turkey Geographic Traveller Food portals to stunning natural vistas
ONLINE
W H Y T R AV E L G U I D E B O O K S M AT T E R B E YO N D T H E
T R AV EL S EC T I O N
MORE THAN EVER
As independent travel publishers everywhere struggle in the face of Covid-19,
decorated adventurer and Bradt Guides founder Hilary Bradt reflects on the travel
guide genre — and what you can do to help it survive
The days when we could travel anywhere, “No, this isn’t for us; it’s too specialised,” he
almost at whim, seem like a distant memory. told us. Our description of five hiking trails
Now even a few miles from home feels like a with off-the-beaten-track recommendations
foreign country. So, for now, the written word and thoughtful asides on local customs
has become our escape; it has the power to weren’t the sort of things he was interested in.
transport us to those places we know we’ll “But I’d publish a more mainstream guide to
journey to once this crisis is over. Peru if you’ll write it.”
I’d like to share the story of the early days “But we can’t afford to go back,” I replied.
of adventure travel publishing, how Bradt His attitude was cavalier: “Just use some
Guides came to be established, and how our brochures from the tourist office.”
approach to travel has shaped a generation of And that’s why I ended up becoming a | H I S TO RY |
explorers — and how, without your continued publisher myself. Guidebook writing is
support, this global crisis might see this work serious stuff, and good authors have an How centuries of
come to an end. obsession with portraying the country they pandemics have shaped
It was the 1970s, and George — my then love with passion, accuracy and individuality. the British monarchy
husband — and I were looking for a publisher The 1970s were a wonderful time for Prince Charles’ positive
for the next edition of our little guide, travellers, with three long-enduring coronavirus diagnosis joins
Backpacking Along Ancient Ways in Peru and companies starting up. We all had one aim: to the plague and smallpox in a
Bolivia. We met with the man who was then share our discoveries with like-minded young list of deadly diseases to afflict
the leading travel publisher in Britain. people. READ THE FULL STORY ONLINE NOW the royals
| S C I EN C E |
IMAGES: BEN ROBERTS; GETTY; NORI JEMIL; LAURA EDWARDS
Why Covid-19’s strangest

symptoms are only starting to
emerge now
Inflamed brains, toe rashes and
strokes — scientists on the ‘new’
effects of the coronavirus
| A DV EN T U R E |
How polar explorers survived

months of isolation
Among their ‘vital mental
medicine’ were strict routines,
sprightly tunes and a vision of a
happy ending
S E A RC H F O R
N ATG E OT R AV E LU K
FAC E B O O K
I N S TAG R A M
T WITTER
SMALL- SCREEN ESCAPES HOT TOPIC FAMILY TRAVEL PINTEREST

The TV locations stealing What the travel industry What’s keeping children
the show this summer did next switched on in lockdown
Plan a short-haul getaway to these We look at positive outreach Parents may have grand ideas, but
home-turf destinations and how you can get involved not everything goes to plan
Jul/Aug 2020 37
WEEKENDER
BRECON BEACONS
Take it slow through South Wales and discover endless trails over
moor and mountain, coaching inns creaking with history, ghostly
goings-on and moody landscapes to make the heart sing
Words: Kerry Walker
W
ales makes quite an entrance. As light of a late-summer afternoon, cloud-
rolling, chequered fields fade in wreathed in the rain, or frosted with snow,
the rearview mirror, the Brecon their beauty is entirely their own. This
Beacons begin to loom on the horizon: a weekend-long journey heads off the beaten
clear reminder you’ve reached a wilder, track — or igam ogam, as the Welsh say
more mountainous land. Snowdonia to the — from the eastern Black Mountains and
north may have the upper hand height- their secluded valleys through to the central
wise, but these peaks are just as dramatic, Brecons, where lofty summits, hiking
rippling across 520sq miles of national trails and dark night skies await, before
park. Rising like the prows of great ships, dipping south to waterfalls hidden in ferny
they hoist their sails above moors misted woodlands ripe for a fairytale. Pack sturdy
with purple heather and glacier-carved boots and clothes that can handle mud, and
valleys, the ramparts of Iron Age hill forts look forward to getting stuck behind that
and the dark skeletons of ruined castles. pootling tractor or stray sheep. This is one
And whether they’re seen in the gilded journey not to be rushed.
EAT UP
The Brecons’
three best food
experiences
FELIN FACH GRIFFIN
With log fires in the
inglenook, low beams,
flagstone floors and
Chesterfields worn smooth
by decades of shuffling
bums, this pub between
the Brecons and the Black
Mountains is the country
dream. Garden-grown and
locally sourced ingredients
are elevated to gastro
heights in simple-but-punchy
dishes like smoked duck
with feta and pickled garden
berries. felinfachgriffin.co.uk
WELSH VENISON CENTRE

Watch deer, sheep and cattle
graze as you dig into a local-
and season-driven lunch at
this terrific farm shop and
café between Crickhowell
and Brecon. Outdoor fires
and blankets keep you warm
while you enjoy rural views
DAY ONE SKIRRID TO CRICKHOWELL over Black Mountain Roast
Coffee, homemade cake,
MORNING AFTERNOON EVENING and farm-to-fork snacks like
There are higher peaks in After a bracing hike, The Skirrid As the late-afternoon light slants gourmet venison burger
Wales, but few have the pop-up Mountain Inn beckons for lunch. over the hills, head south on the topped with Welsh cheddar,
effect of the 1,594ft Skirrid on With 900 years of history, it A479, where the views of the Black bacon and fried onions.
the eastern fringes of the Black claims to be Wales’ oldest and Mountains — including the highest beaconsfarmshop.co.uk
Mountains. Sweeping above a most haunted boozer. It sure peak, 2,660ft Waun Fach — prove
fretwork of hedgerowed fields, looks the part, with sagging, distractingly lovely. Your base THE WALNUT TREE
the Skirrid takes its Welsh woodsmoke-blackened beams for the evening is Crickhowell, Shaun Hill heads up this
name, Ysgyryd Fawr (‘great and an inglenook fireplace where a picturesque Georgian market Michelin-starred restaurant
shattered mountain’) from the Shakespeare supposedly once town that straddles the River Usk. in the rolling borderlands.
massive landslide that shook its enjoyed a pint and came up with The 18th-century stone bridge ‘Shaking the pans’ for 50
northwestern flank during the the impish character of Puck here is well worth admiring for its years plus, Shaun’s menu
last Ice Age. for his play A Midsummer Night’s mismatched arches (12 upstream, is a love affair between
Rambling up through Dream. The hangman’s noose 13 downstream). Wales and France, with
broadleaf woods carpeted with above the stairwell nods to the Crickhowell’s showpiece is occasional whispers of India
ferns and wildflowers, the path pub’s darker past as a courthouse. The Bear Hotel, a 600-year- and North Africa. The vibe
emerges onto a wind-beaten Road trips are two-a-penny in old former coaching inn that is unpretentious, the price
ridge. When the Welsh weather Wales, but few can rival the one was once an overnight stop for surprisingly modest (3-course
behaves itself, the views from through the remote, steep-sided travellers heading from London lunch £32), and the flavours
the trig point are unbeatable, Vale of Ewyas, which unfurls just to West Wales. Now a delightfully simple and bright in dishes
reaching west to the conical Sugar north of the inn. The halfway old-school gastro pub and hotel, like squab pigeon with petits
Loaf and the Brecon Beacons, point is Llanthony, where the it brims with low oak beams, pois. thewalnuttreeinn.com
east to the borderlands and south ruins of an Augustinian priory log fires and cosy nooks. In
to the Severn Estuary. Ospreys, are so wildly romantic that they summer, the hanging baskets LEFT: A hiker surveys the
buzzards and red kites often inspired Turner to commit the are something else. If it’s warm, view from Black Hill (also
known as Cat’s Back) in
glide on stiff breezes above the scene to canvas in 1794. Further grab a pre-dinner drink in the
IMAGES: GETTY; ALAMY
the Black Mountains, the

exposed outcrop. And if history north, a single-track lane ribbons rear courtyard. The menu plays
easternmost of the Brecon
grabs you more than birdlife, look through windswept moorland up seasonality and traceability Beacons’ hills
out for the ruins of a medieval and up the 1,800ft Gospel Pass, in dishes like Black Mountain RIGHT: Usk Bridge and
chapel and the mound-and-ditch Wales’ highest road. Near the top, smoked salmon with crostini and The Bridge End Inn,
ramparts of an Iron Age hill fort astonishing views of Hay Bluff to lemon oil, and braised lamb shank Crickhowell, with Table
near the summit. the east and Twmpa open up. with spring-onion mash. Mountain in the background
Jul/Aug 2020 39
E S C A P E T O N AT U R E
Find me at my happy place!

Naturhotel Forsthofgut sits between rolling meadows and uncut forest beneath Leogang’s lovely Steinberg
mountains, only an hour from Salzburg. A 400-year old logging station cherished and transformed by the
Schmuck family into Austria’s leading Nature Hotel.
Delectable cuisine - sustainable local products from the hotel‘s own mountain farm and creative vegan menus.
A boundless outdoor playground on the doorstep. Explore the Saalbach-Hinterglemm-Leogang-
Fieberbrunn region on hiking and biking trails, with or without a guide and chair-lift assistance. Relax in
Europe’s first waldSPA (forest spa), with an exclusive adults-only area and natural bathing lake.
Away from it all, but not far away.
N AT U R H O T E L F O R S T H O F G U T | L E O G A N G | A U S T R I A
I N F O @ F O R S T H O F G U T. AT | + 4 3 6 5 8 3 - 8 5 6 1 | W W W . F O R S T H O F G U T. AT/ E N
WEEKENDER
TOP 5
Outdoor
Activities
SHEEP TREKKING
What could be more Welsh
than a walk with a sheep? At
Aberhyddnant Farm in Crai,
near Brecon, you can do just
that with its flock of sheep,
which include Jacob, Valais
Blacknose and Ouessant (the
world’s smallest breed). Bring
sturdy footwear for mud and
wet weather. From £25 per
person. sheeptrekking.co.uk
FORAGING
Passionate forager Adele
Nozedar, author of The
Hedgerow Handbook,
runs half-day, kid-friendly
foraging courses, which give
the inside scoop on wild
Behind-the-scenes tour
food in the Brecons (from
at Penderyn Distillery,
where you can try its £35 per person). Botanical
single malt whiskies gin workshops are also
and juniper-based gins available (£40 per person).
breconbeaconsforaging.com
WILDERNESS SURVIVAL
DAY TWO CRICKHOWELL TO PENDERYN Bear Grylls Survival Academy
has 24-hour courses covering
MORNING AFTERNOON EVENING everything from building an
Crickhowell is capped off by its A half-hour drive west takes you Post lunch, the road beckons for emergency shelter to fire
very own Table Mountain, and along a beautiful stretch of the a short but scenic drive south lighting. £349 per person.
that’s where you’re headed after A40. Were this not an A road, it through the wild heart of the beargryllssurvivalacademy.
a bright and early start. It may would be tempting to drive at Brecons. Allow sufficient time com
not be in the same league as its 30mph the whole way to your for gawping at the views of the
Cape Town namesake, but this next stop near Sennybridge and sweeping peaks, including South STARGAZING
flat-topped, 1,480ft red sandstone admire the views. But if you’re Wales’ highest, Pen y Fan, to the The Brecon Beacons National
outcrop is still a challenging lucky, a tractor will appear. east. After 20 minutes or so, you’ll Park is an International Dark
climb — a rite of passage for local Pause in Defynnog for lunch at arrive at Penderyn, just in time to Sky Reserve. Among the
hikers. Once the site of an Iron The International Welsh Rarebit catch a distillery tour. Or make best spots are the Crai and
Age hill fort, it stands sentinel Centre, a former a schoolhouse straight for the bar for a tasting Usk Reservoirs, Llanthony
above countryside ribbed with that’s now a cafe, art gallery and of its single malt whiskies and Priory, Hay Bluff and Sugar
hedgerows and dry-stone walls. cultural hub. Accompanied by traditional juniper-based gins. Loaf Mountain.
Beginning on the Llanbedr Road salads prepared from garden- Should this whet your appetite breconbeacons.org
above Crickhowell, the trail grown produce, a number of the for the good life, treat yourself to
IMAGES: ALAMY; KERRY WALKER
picks its way through a wooded delicious rarebits on offer deviate an overnight stay at Gliffaes hotel, ADVENTURE SPORTS
dingle and shadows a brook to from the traditional recipe. These an Italianate Victorian manor on Brecon-based Black
reach a sheepfold. From here, it’s include the likes of Guinness- the banks of the River Usk that Mountain offers canoe,
an easy climb up and over stile laced Stout Irish and Summer offers a dash of old-school class. kayak and mountain bike
and field to the top and back. The Rarebit, made with Welsh goat’s The restaurant menu is weighted hire, whitewater rafting,
summit rewards your efforts with cheese, honey, walnuts and lemon towards dishes created using local caving, gorge adventures
uplifting views of the Brecons and zest. It’s as good as cheese on produce, like supreme of guinea and much more. From £26.
Black Mountains. toast gets. fowl with spring vegetable broth. blackmountain.co.uk
Jul/Aug 2020 41
WEEKENDER
TRUNK CALL
Blink and
you’ll miss the
tiny hamlet of
Defynnog, near
Sennybridge,
which would
be a shame for
all lovers of
ancient trees.
Here a mighty
yew, which was
a sapling during
the Bronze
Age, spreads its
5,000-year-old
branches across
the churchyard.
THREE MORE WALKS ON THE WILD SIDE MORE INFO

Skirrid Mountain Inn.
skirridmountaininn.co.uk
Ideal for a post-lockdown ramble, these half-day hikes let you sidestep the crowds and immerse
Penderyn Distillery.
yourself in the Welsh wilderness. The national park was closed at the time of writing, so be sure to check penderyn.wales
restrictions before hitting the trail Beacons National Park.
breconbeacons.org
BRECON BEACONS HORSESHOE LLYN Y FAN FACH YSTRADFELLTE Visit Wales website.
No Brecons trip is complete If you’re convinced you’ve taken A warm day is best for striking visitwales.com
without puffing up the highest a wrong turn as you negotiate out on the five-mile Four Falls
peak: 9,537ft Pen y Fan. Ticking a single-track lane patrolled loop walk at Ystradfellte, which HOW TO DO IT
A car is a must for exploring
off a quartet of summits — Corn by unruly sheep, seemingly on can easily be tied in with a visit to
the remote reaches of the
Du, Pen y Fan, Cribyn and Fan y the road to nowhere, keep on the nearby Penderyn Distillery.
Brecon Beacons, but if
Big — the Horseshoe Ridge walk is driving. Out on its lonesome near Heading through pine forest you’re coming by train,
a longer, more dramatic alternative Llanddeusant, in the lesser- and deep into an ivy-draped, Abergavenny is a good
to the popular straight-up stomp explored western Brecons, the fern-cloaked wooded gorge, the gateway, with trains to
to the top. Beginning at the Lower four-mile circular trail to Llyn y Fan trail leads up and down steps London (via Cardiff) and
Neuadd Reservoir, the trail ascends Fach is immediately spectacular. and over footbridges to four Manchester. The A40 is the
steeply along a ridge, where The path shadows a burbling cascades. The two-tier spectacle main road through the
Brecons. In Crickhowell,
views crack open to reveal bald, stream to a steel-blue glacial of Sgwd Clun-Gwyn (‘white
simple doubles at The Bear
sheer-sided mountains and valleys cirque lake, encircled by sheer meadow fall’), a canyoning and
start at £117, while Gliffaes
blasted with glacial moraine. From slopes buckled and contorted by whitewater rafting hotspot, is has double rooms from £149
Pen y Fan, you can see all the way elemental forces over millennia. pure drama, but arguably the in low season.
to the Cambrians, Black Mountains Ascend the ridge for views that highlight here is the wispy Sgwd- bearhotel.co.uk
and Bristol Channel on clear days. take on a near-mystical quality yr-Eira (‘waterfall of the snow’), gliffaeshotel.com
IMAGE: AWL IMAGES
And if the descent can be boggy when curtained in cloud and mist. where you can actually walk
and tough-going at times, spare a Llyn y Fan Fach is the backdrop for behind the falls and feel the spray.
thought for the SAS; they run these the Lady of the Lake legend, a tale Arrive early in the day to snag a ABOVE: Scwd Ddwli falls,
tracks in full gear. nationaltrust.org. of hopeless love that appears in the parking space and experience the near Ystradfellte, a stop
uk/brecon-beacons/trails Welsh folk epic, the Mabinogion. falls at their most peaceful. on the Four Falls loop
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E AT
LIMASSOL
Over the centuries, the Cypriot city of Limassol has absorbed the flavours of
the Mediterranean and Middle East, while its vineyards have proved equally
adaptable, nurturing both local and international grapes. Words: Nina Caplan
W
hat will the future judge to be will. Still today, he tells me, “if I don’t see the
beautiful? I often wonder this sea for two or three days, I get stress”.
while travelling through places Now it’s a different sort of playground. Just
that don’t conform to a guidebook ideal of beside Amathus is Amara, a five-star hotel,
prettiness. In our carefully curated world, constructed on several levels, all facing the
where every town has a tourist board and sea. The spa had to be built around one of
every food trend a champion, it’s rare to Amathus’ ancient walls. Everything else is
find a place that hasn’t airbrushed out its brand new and very elegant, fashioned from
blemishes and imperfections to appease local wood, travertine and granite. It’s not
the tourists. Yet, for those of us with a keen Limassol’s first luxury hotel but it’s certainly
interest in local flavours, these can be among the only one with restaurants helmed by
the most rewarding places to explore. And, global gastronomic heavyweights Nobu
so it proved with Limassol. Matsuhisa and Giorgio Locatelli.
For a winter-weary Brit like me, Cyprus This is the new Cyprus. But there’s a lot
offers warm reprieve. On arrival, I find the of value in the old, too. Limassol’s recently
coastline thick with buildings but also alight redeveloped port has restaurants with sea
with sunshine, the Mediterranean glinting views and decent fish, but rather than seek
beyond. My driver — a child during the out these shiny new premises, I go looking for
IMAGES: GETTY; AMARA
Turkish invasion of 1974 — recalls this entire older wineries instead. Usually beautiful and
ABOVE: Street cafe’s
stretch as empty land, save the ruins of often under-explored, they can be great places
with tourists in Omodos
Amathus, one of Cyprus’s ancient kingdoms, to dine — or at least ask for recommendations. village, Limassol District
conquered by the Persians, Romans, Winemakers know the best local restaurants RIGHT: Grilled octopus at
Byzantines and Arabs. As a boy, he used to — they are, after all, the ones to supply these Armyra by Papaioannou
play here, dipping into the Mediterranean at establishments with wine. restaurant, at Amara
Jul/Aug 2020 45
THE WORLD AWAITS YOU
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A TASTE OF
Rebecca Argyrides’ family has been making is old-fashioned and cosy. Rebecca and
wine for five generations. The production Sofoklis are old friends who bicker good- Limassol
run at Argyrides Winery is tiny: 38,000 naturedly about the relative merits of local
bottles a year. Until recently, they’d load up and international grape varieties (Sofoklis:
the donkey with wine — “in the middle of “Local varieties do well at all altitudes.
the night, to avoid bandits!” — and travel to They’re the future.” Rebecca: “Maratheftiko
Nicosia to sell it. Rebecca, her mother and a is enough work for us!”). We try both: Aleatis,
younger woman with a baby girl comprise a plump, gorgeous white from the indigenous
the winemaking team, but they’re not the Xynisteri, but also Opus Artis, a blend of
only important females here. The local red the more familiar Merlot, Cabernet and
grape, Maratheftiko, produces only female Shiraz grapes. Where to try them with food?
flowers. Once pollinated with another variety, Sofoklis suggests Zygi, a fishing village east
it produces a lovely wine — emphatic but of Limassol where Santa Elena Fish Tavern
not heavy, full of cherries and earth and serves his wines.
sandalwood; it’s excellent with the grilled After our next stop — at Marcos
meats the Cypriots love — but, says Rebecca, Zambartas’s small winery, which makes a
it’s hard work to make. To accompany that remarkable number of good wines, including
wine, she recommends the food at Karatello Margelina, a blend from vines planted in 1921
Tavern in Limassol’s old town, and a little — we return to Limassol, hungry, to find a
farther out, Koursaros, which, according to different city: one much closer to the Cyprus KARATELLO TAVERN, LIMASSOL
Rebecca, has the best fish. we’d hoped to see. Walking down a side street This friendly tavern has a large
But first, more wine. Rebecca and I set off beside the pale, medieval stone of Limassol terrace overlooking Limassol
into the parched hills, their limestone soils Castle towards Karatello Tavern, we spot Castle and a high-ceilinged
somehow nurturing both trees and vines. This workmen drinking Cypriot Keo beer outside interior stacked with wine
feels as far from the development-clogged an unpretentious cafe. The proprietor, a shelves. Owned by a Limassol
city as you can get, yet this landscape is only former fisherman, uses his dockside contacts restaurant group, this is an
a 40-minute drive north. After stopping to to feed his old friends a cheap, good lunch unpretentious place (you tick
view the frescoes of a tiny, ancient church each day. We order a beer which comes with boxes on a paper menu) with
dedicated to lovelorn martyrs — on the banks complimentary nibbles: a dish of salty snails. good local food: fresh fish, various
of a river between the villages of Pera Pedi and Bottles of wine line the double-height roasts and meatballs and lots
Koilani — we reach Sofoklis Vlassides’ winery. walls of this airy, cheerful tavern, where of grilling. Around €35 (£30) per
Architecturally speaking, Vlassides salad and vegetables are marvellously fresh, person for fresh sea bass and local
Winery is as sleekly spectacular as Argyrides and fresher-still fish is sold by the kilo. wine. carobmill-restaurants.com
SANTA ELENA FISH TAVERN, ZYGI

The interior is cool and old-
fashioned, while the exterior
seating, arranged on a
pedestrianised throughway,
allows for excellent people-
watching. The fish is fresh from
the sea, there are local wines
to accompany, and the staff
are low on English but so high
on helpfulness and charm that
it doesn’t matter. Around €35
(£30) per person, with local wine.
facebook.com/santaelenafishtavern
AGIOS EPIKTITOS TAVERNA,

ARMENOCHORI
Set in the hills above Limassol, the
Armenian village of Armenochori
IMAGES: ARGYRIDES WINERY; KARATELLO TAVERN
is now a refuge for wealthy expats,

a fact reflected in the wine list,
which includes a Bordeaux Grand
Cru at €150 (£124). The food
is very Cypriot, though, with
souvlakia, sheftalies (meat balls),
snails and halloumi all on the
menu. Guitar players circulate,
as do a large family of feral cats,
Argyrides Winery, currrently all with their eye on your dinner.
run by a fifth generation Around €25 (£20) per person,
of winemakers with local wine. facebook.com/
agiosepiktitostavernalimassol
Jul/Aug 2020 47
Five food finds
Winemaker Marcos Zambartas,
the owner of Zambartas
Wineries, stands among vines
ELIES TSAKISTES
These green olives, doused in
coriander seeds, garlic, lemon
juice and olive oil, may be hard
to pronounce but they’re easy to
consume — especially with a glass
of local white wine.
SKAROS
Parrotfish, which the Cypriots Rebecca’s Viognier (surprisingly austere, Back in town, far from such rusticity,
grill whole, innards and all. It for Viognier) makes a wonderful match for we find Japanese-Peruvian fusion
may sound like an unappetising the sea bass. Walking off our meal, we head cuisine, conjured up by a chef who found
proposition, but the slightly bitter into the resort town of Aiya Napa, where we fame in New York. Matsuhisa Limassol
taste is truly delicious. admire the imposing cathedral and peer restaurant might seem an odd choice for
into the 16th-century Kebir Mosque, its a gastronomic exploration of Cyprus, but
minaret poking up above the old Turkish arguably chef Nobu Matsuhisa’s elegant
XYNISTERI quarter. Wandering down shady alleyways sushi and famous black miso cod — which
Cyprus’s most common white past charming shops and cafes, we begin to went beautifully with the local Xynisteris
grape produces a lovely aperitif, feel that warm, self-congratulatory glow of and Viogniers and Maratheftikos — were as
which is an excellent match for travellers exploring another gastronomic much the taste of this island’s complicated
more delicate fish. It can be fresh world. Just as Cabernet Sauvignon made here history as hummus or souvlakia.
and floral or more complex and doesn’t taste like a Cab from Napa Valley or Matsuhisa made me think of Cyprus’s
textured; when made well, it’s Bordeaux, so the fish, meat and vegetables ancient conquerors. Not least, the Byzantines
dangerously drinkable. that land on our plates have the specific who popularised the use of spices such
flavours of this place — particularly the fresh as cumin and coriander; the Arabs, who
sunny tomatoes, unmarred by refrigeration surely brought hummus with them and may
SHEFTALIES or air travel. also have introduced stuffed vine leaves, here
This popular fast food consists In the evening, we drive into the hills called koupepia; and the Persians, whose
of meat (usually pork and lamb) to a village with views over city and sea, word for ‘frying pan’, ‘tavas’, has come to
kneaded into meatballs and to a wood-lined restaurant. Like almost name a local dish of slow-roasted beef or
wrapped in caul fat. Then it goes everywhere in Limassol, Agios Epiktitos lamb. Louvana, a puree of yellow split peas,
into warm flatbread with diced Tavern offers meze — here, numbering probably came from Greece; even Cyprus’s
tomatoes, yoghurt and herbs. around 20 different plates: a great way tacky egg-and-chips joints owe something to
IMAGES: ZAMBARTAS WINERY; STOCKFOOD
to explore the menu. But the quantity is 20th-century holidaymaking colonisers. It

daunting. Instead, we order sparingly: seems, then, that gastronomic authenticity,
MARATHEFTIKO zucchini and eggs; souvlakia (tasty like architectural beauty, is sometimes simply
Not the easiest grape variety to skewered meat); and tender beef liver. a case of waiting a few hundred years.
pronounce, nor to produce: the A trio of guitar players circulates; the
vines ripen in fits and starts. Still, wine, from Kyperounda Winery, whose
for winemakers who persevere, vineyards are just too distant for our visit,
Limassol’s nearest airports include Paphos and
this red variety (found only in is delicious. Feral cats patrol the wall of the Larnaca, which are typically served from the UK by
Cyprus and rich in colour) stone terrace, neon-shiny eyes watching airlines including EasyJet. easyjet.com. For the latest
can be fabulous: full of cherries for the copious leftovers they’re no doubt on safe travel and border restrictions, please see
and sandalwood. accustomed to. fco.gov.uk
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NEIGHBOURHOOD
MUMBAI
Mumbai’s spectacularly diverse neighbourhoods are home to everything from
glitzy Bollywood studios to grand architecture and a national park that’s
famed for its leopards. Words: Jamie Lafferty
Not for nothing is Mumbai called Maximum City. There are two Londons’ worth
of people living here in an area less than half the size of the British capital and five
million people a day use the creaking train network. It’s hard to imagine this city
has ever been entirely quiet, or that the scents of incense and fried food have
failed to comingle on a hot afternoon. Another of its nicknames is the City of
Dreams, a place where Bollywood stars are revered as demigods. A first-time

visitor won’t fail to notice that the spectre of poverty seems to lurk around every
corner, too, but with a booming construction sector, and the Mumbai Metro
project slowly transforming an ailing transport infrastructure, Mumbai is moving
steadily, noisily, vibrantly into a hopeful new era.
FROM LEFT: Flower Bandra Around 2,000 movies come out every year
market in Mumbai; Auto I’m listening to a new recording in a in India, a ludicrously high volume (the US
rickshaws in Bandra Bollywood sound studio and it’s awful and churns out around 600) that demands
pitiful and embarrassing. If I was reviewing constant production. The most lavish and
this performance, it would be entirely star-studded are all made here in Mumbai.
negative. I’d say that the singer sounds Prior to arriving for this studio tour, Raj
nervous, for one thing, but fundamentally had driven me around the neighbourhood of
devoid of ability, for another. I’d add that Bandra to get a better sense of the industry.
whatever his day job is, he should be kept Unlike Hollywood, Bollywood doesn’t exist
well away from the 121-year-old Bollywood as a physical place, but Bandra is comparable
industry, which requires maximum to Beverly Hills. Many of the industry’s
pizazz and pep, not to mention talent top stars have properties here, which fans
and confidence. are known to gather outside in the hope of
I can say all of these things because I catching a glimpse of their heroes.
am the singer and, despite my mumbled Several producers and directors also live
protestations, guide Raj Nagrani has here; Bandra is unmistakably the land of
just cajoled me into murdering Neil The Haves. Car horns are less constant here,
Diamond’s Forever in Blue Jeans at 11am the roads are clearer. There’s a huge private
on a Thursday. It isn’t the first time I’ve hospital, a Starbucks, nightclubs and, more
mangled that song, but it’s the only time generally, an unmistakable atmosphere
I’ve done so sober. of affluence. At the southern tip of the
“We’ll send you the remix,” beams Raj, peninsula on which Bandra lies, close to the
apparently not offended by my effort. We’re ruins of an old Portuguese fort, stands the
on the lot of SJ Studios, one of several Taj Lands End hotel. Its House of Nomad bar
Bollywood production companies dotted is where the stars come to sign massive deals
around Mumbai. As well as this sound over cocktails.
studio, there are sets — some are permanent, Raj talks about the business as a sort
but others are just empty floors that can of religion. “I thought cricket was India’s
be rapidly customised into almost any unofficial religion,” I joke. “It’s popular,
backdrop. When filming isn’t taking place, sure, but they have seasons,” he replies.
tours are offered. “Bollywood is important every day.”
Jul/Aug 2020 51
NEIGHBOURHOOD
When in Mumbai Fort “From here, you can see the Rajabai
“They used to say that the streets were Clock Tower, which is Venetian gothic,
built by opium and the buildings by cotton,” then the former Watson’s Hotel, which
says Sneha Patil, momentarily sounding is an industrial pre-fab. Next to that
like she’s been chasing the dragon herself. we have the Army and Navy Building
The guide from Khaki Tours is taking me which is typically neoclassical. Next
on the popular Castle2Gateway walk, which there’s gothic, then Elphinstone College,
focuses on the colonial history around which is renaissance revival, then come
the Fort neighbourhood at the south of round here and we have traditional
Mumbai’s peninsula. Indian and then finally art deco. It’s
Although this part of India had already really remarkable.”
been colonised by the Portuguese and Dutch, We move on, pushing south towards
it went through an economic explosion Mumbai’s most famous landmarks: the
under British rule. At the heart of that boom Gateway of India and the Taj Mahal
MUMBAI SANDWICH time were the opium and cotton trades. Palace hotel. They too date back to the
This affordable streetfood staple To come to Mumbai and not visit Fort is British Raj, and their stories are the stuff
typically contains beetroot, akin to visiting New York City for the first of local legend. The satisfyingly chunky,
boiled potatoes, cucumbers, time and avoiding Manhattan — it’s possible, endlessly photographed Gateway was
tomatoes, onion and but surely not advisable. famously built to commemorate the arrival
mint chutney. This former economic hub remains one to India of King-Emperor George V and
of the city’s most prosperous areas and is, Queen-Empress Mary, the first British
by far, its grandest, architecturally. As the monarchs to visit the country. “Except it
CRICKET opium and cotton barons grew rich, so they wasn’t finished until 13 years after they were
Cricket is revered in Mumbai, as erected vanity projects around the city. The here,” says Sneha with a smile. And what
it is throughout the subcontinent. majority still stand today. about the Taj Palace, just across the road?
The Indian Premier League team “This is one of my favourite spots in the “Well, the story is that Mr Jamsetji Tat [an
here is the Mumbai Indians, city,” says Sneha, as she looks for a spot on Indian industrialist] decided to build it after
whose home — no laughing now Kala Ghoda Square where we’re less likely to being turned away from Watson’s Hotel
— is the Wankhede Stadium. get run over by a marauding auto rickshaw. because he wasn’t white.”
Spinning on the spot, she gives me a grand And is that true? “Well, I like the story
tour of wildly varying architectural styles. anyway,” says Sneha knowingly.
COLABA MARKET
If you don’t like haggling, then
this absolutely isn’t the place
for you. Just a couple of blocks
away from the opulence of the Taj
Mahal Palace hotel, the relentless
vibrance of the Colaba Market is
a handy reminder that you’re still
very much in India.
LEOPOLD CAFE
A city institution since 1871, the
Leopold Cafe was one of the
targets of the city’s 2008 terrorist
attacks. It’s since come to be a
symbol of defiance and cherished
by most Mumbaikars.
MARINE DRIVE
If you’ve overindulged on the
paneer and roti, head out for
an early-morning run along
Marine Drive. You’ll be joined by
hundreds or thousands of locals
also keen to get their exercise fix
— whether that’s a jog or a spot of
yoga — before the sun becomes
too intense. Later, couples and
families emerge to enjoy a seaside
perambulation along the two-
and-a-quarter-mile promenade.
NEIGHBOURHOOD
Sanjay Gandhi National Park As well as the big cats, the park is home FROM LEFT: the ubiquitous Mumbai
I’ve always loved Indian English and the to four types of deer and over 170 butterfly sandwich; the Gateway of India;
way it clings to archaic verbs and half- species. Around 250 species of bird have Kanheri Caves, a popular attraction in
Sanjay Gandhi National Park; spotted
forgotten idioms. Indians don’t argue, been spotted here too. Unfortunately, this
deer, one of four deer species found in
they quarrel; they don’t think someone is includes the crow, the ugly call of which
the park
nuts, but that they ‘have bats in their belfry’. seems to drown out other more melodious
It’s a variant of the language that bathes in songs. Elsewhere in Mumbai — as is the case
hyperbole and quirky idioms, whether that’s in all of India’s megacities — these scavengers
a ‘best exotic hotel’ or a ‘cryptic and elusive are usually accompanied by stray dogs, but
predator’ — the latter is a phrase naturalist they’re not in evidence here. There’s a good
Sagar Mahajan uses to describe leopards. reason for this: “When we study leopards, we
We’re in the north of Mumbai, on the edge have to look at their diet. Around 60% of what
of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, just they eat is dogs, mostly strays,” Sagar tells me.
20 minutes from the international airport. The leopards have been observed hunting
This is one of the very few national parks rats. “What I like about the leopards is how
in the world that falls within a city’s adaptable they are,” says Sagar, when I ask
boundary, and it makes up the majority him about this. Were it not for the danger MORE INFO
of Mumbai’s green space. Amazingly, it’s they also pose to humans, leopards would
tajhotels.com
also home to an estimated 50 leopards surely be a very welcome form of pest control
khakitours.com
— it’s difficult to believe that they have 20 in other parts of the country.
sgnp.maharashtra.gov.in
million people for neighbours. But on our trek, we don’t meet any. This is
“We’ve 46sq miles of wooded areas partly because it’s daytime and leopards are
and so this is the densest population of mainly nocturnal, but also because only 25%
IMAGES: ALAMY; GETTY
G ADVENTURES offers a four-day

leopards in India — normally they’d of the park has been made accessible to the
Mumbai itinerary, including a guided
require a lot more space,” explains the public. The rest remains wild and, although
nature walk, Bollywood city tour and
guide from the Bombay Natural History we might be on the fringes of India’s most Fort area heritage walk as part of its
Society as we follow a two-hour nature populous city — and an abundant supply of TailorMade tour offering. From £999
trail from the Society’s Conservation canines — the felines, when given a choice, per person, B&B, flights and other
Education Centre. will always prefer to go unseen. meals not included. gadventures.com
Jul/Aug 2020 53
SLEEP
SAINT-TROPEZ
High-end hideaways, chic townhouses and plush hotels hidden in the pines
— it’s all here in the Côte d’Azur’s ritziest resort. Words: Carolyn Boyd
Saint-Tropez is known for being the showy playground of jet-setting fashionistas,

but dig a little deeper and you’ll discover plenty of Provençal character. From the
Place des Lices, the central square where traders tout local produce, it’s a short
stroll up to the 17th-century Citadel. From here, gaze out over the terracotta roofs
of pretty yellow townhouses and admire the coast as it curls around the Gulf of
Saint-Tropez to nearby Sainte-Maxime. Indeed, the best beaches are a little
further out of town, including Plage de Pampelonne where a bikini-clad Brigitte
Bardot put Saint-Tropez on the map in the 1956 film And God Created Woman.
IMAGE: AWL IMAGES
When it comes to accommodation, the town’s glamorous reputation inevitably

pushes prices up, but with exquisite design, gourmet cuisine and jaw-dropping
settings, they’re well worth the splurge. More reasonable rates can be found if you
hunt a little harder, though be prepared to forego the same level of luxury.
Best for gastronomes
LE CHEVAL BLANC
From the sun-infused vegetables to the
morning-fresh fish, chef Arnaud Donckele is
spoiled by the local larder for La Vague d’Or,
his three-Michelin-starred restaurant that
looks out over Le Cheval Blanc’s cypress-
shaded terrace. The acclaimed restaurant is
the highlight of this hotel, but with a sublime
Guerlain spa, an infinity pool and a private
beach where therapists apply your sun cream
with a facial massage, there are even more
reasons to stay. With just 30 rooms, the
interior design draws on cobalt-blue, white
and neutral tones, while also celebrating
the work of local ceramist Roger Capron, a
contemporary of Cocteau and Picasso. The
service, meanwhile, is impeccable.
ROOMS: From €600 (£508), room only.
chevalblanc.com
Jul/Aug 2020 55
SLEEP
Best for year-round escapes

VILLA COSY
Summer is when Saint-Tropez really swings into
life, so a number of hotels shut up shop for the
winter season. Villa Cosy, however, just a short
walk from the centre in the town’s hilly suburbs,
is one of the few that’s open all year. Its 23
rooms are decorated in natural colour schemes,
with wooden floors and stylish furniture, and
are set between several mansions and their
courtyards. Several of the rooms offer terraces
that open onto the hotel’s courtyards and two
swimming pools — both kept a balmy 28C all
year. The courtyards are a sun trap, too, and so
are ideal for breakfast al fresco. There’s a small
spa with a hammam and sauna, along with two
treatment rooms with Sothys products.
villacosy.com
Best for fitness fans

LA RESERVE RAMATUELLE
Set high above a hidden cove near the medieval
village of Ramatuelle, six miles from Saint-
Tropez, La Reserve makes an ideal bolthole for
those who want to both switch off and tone up.
As well as a state-of-the-art gym and indoor
and outdoor pools, personal training sessions
include such as activities as cardio, yoga,
Pilates and aquabiking, while lovers of the great
outdoors can get their hearts pumping with
Nordic walking and jogging. Sustenance either
comes from the two-Michelin-starred La Voile,
or a more casual rooftop Japanese restaurant.
The hotel’s Philippe Starck-designed beach club
on the Plage de Pampelonne is a must, too.
lareserve-ramatuelle.com
SLEEP
Best for wellness warriors

LILY OF THE VALLEY
Interior designer Philippe Starck has
brought his signature eclectic style to the
Cote d’Azur with this high-end hideaway,
set above the beach at La Croix-Valmer, just
over the peninsula from Saint-Tropez. With
collections of bold modernist prints and
an African vibe, the decor is striking, but
the hotel’s real raison d’être is its wellbeing
space, set in a 21,500sq ft space around
and beneath one of its swimming pools.
Whether it’s fitness, detox, weight loss or
simply some R&R, there’s a programme and
a team of trainers and therapists on hand to
make it happen. Don’t forget to call in at the
restaurant and its terrace for views of the
wooded coastline towards Cavalaire-sur-Mer.
lilyofthevalley.com
Jul/Aug 2020 57
Summer chic
on the Riviera
Where best to experience the French Riviera in all its stylish glory? At the Negresco of course, the grand hotel
where the Côte d’Azur’s brilliant and joyful history began. That history is livelier than ever, as we invite you to discover
w i t h o u r e x c e p t i o n a l s u m m e r p a c k a g e ( * ) . Yo u ’ l l h a v e a r o o m l o o k i n g o u t a c r o s s t h e s e a , a b e a c h m a t t r e s s
reserved for you on the private beach in front of the hotel, and a special welcome gift. A sublime taste of summer sun!
© 2020 NEGREScO
(*)
“Summer chic package” at www.lenegresco.com in a deluxe sea view room, junior suite or sea view suite including the buffet breakfast at La Rotonde. Beach mat and parasol
provided free of charge. Offer available from June 21 to September 30, 2020 inclusive.
HôTEL NEGRESCO . 37 PROMENADE DES ANGLAIS . 06000 NIcE

InformatIon . 00 33 4 93 16 64 00 . WWW.LENEGRESCO.COm
SLEEP
Best for retro glamour

HOTEL BYBLOS
If Brigitte Bardot put Saint-Tropez on the
map, then Hotel Byblos was designed to
keep it there. Sadly for Lebanese billionaire
Jean-Prosper Gay-Para, who built the hotel
in 1967 to woo Ms Bardot, his grand gesture
didn’t result in reciprocated love. The hotel
has maintained its star quality, however,
with Beyoncé, George Clooney and Lady Gaga
among its guests, and its nightclub, Les Caves
du Roy, is where Mick and Bianca Jagger had
their wedding party. With 91 rooms and a
splendid cocoon-like spa, the hotel has bold,
colourful decor throughout with striking
features by ceramicist Roger Capron.
byblos.com
Best for setting sail Best for budget stays Best for lovebirds
LA BASTIDE DE SAINT-TROPEZ HOTEL B LODGE PAN DEÏ PALAIS
Those who enjoy admiring the boats in Saint-Tropez’s If you’ve blown your budget on Champagne rather Bardot wasn’t the first woman to set hearts aflutter
harbour should book into the Bastide de Saint-Tropez than accommodation, this spot is a good place to rest in Saint-Tropez. Back in 1835, a French general fell in
— guests can hire its 72ft Sanlorenzo Yacht to explore your head. Set in the centre of town, its 12 cosy rooms love with a Punjab princess called Bannu Pan Dei and
the coastline. Landlubbers, meanwhile, will be spoiled are decorated in neutrals and rich browns, and are built the lavish Pan Deï Palais to celebrate. Traditional
by the hotel’s beautiful grounds, which feature olive spread over three floors, some with a terrace. There’s Provençal mansion from the outside, the hotel has a
trees, fig trees and perfumed blooms around an idyllic a small pavement cafe, Café Barock, which is open distinctly exotic feel within. The dozen rooms include
pool. Its 26 rooms are set between four Provençal until the wee hours. It’s worth noting that there’s no features such as four-poster beds and fresh orchids. A
farmhouses and are decorated in classic regional style. lift, so if you’re not planning on travelling light, it’s gourmet restaurant serves fresh, local produce.
ROOMS: From £201, room only. relaischateaux.com wise to book a lower floor room. ROOMS: £372 (£343), room only. relaischateaux.com
bastide-saint-tropez.com ROOMS: €120 (£107), B&B. hotel-b-lodge.com pandei.com
Jul/Aug 2020 59
SLEEP
Best for a secret escape

LOU PINET
Squirrelled away on the edge of town, Lou
Pinet is the new kid on the luxury hotel
block. Opened in June 2019, the hotel has 34
rooms set in several mansions surrounding
its outdoor pool, which is shaded by two
elegant stone pines (‘Lou Pinet’ means ‘pine’
in Provençal). Interiors celebrate the colour,
vibrancy and creativity of the Cote d’Azur.
There’s a small spa, while the relaxing
restaurant has a menu featuring premium
meat and seafood.
ROOMS: From €430 (£362), B&B. loupinet.com
Best for shopaholics

WHITE 1921
With chic outlets galore, Saint-Tropez is
shopping heaven, and this boutique hotel
is perfectly situated for it on the central
square, Place des Lices. With the best
shopping streets in town on your doorstep,
it’s easy to drop off your purchases before
heading out to buy some more. With just
eight rooms and suites designed, as the name
suggests, in breezy white hues, there’s also
a sophisticated Champagne bar in which to
wind down after a hard day of shopping.
ROOMS: From €330 (£277) room-only.
white1921.com
Celebrate la Joie de Vivre
on the unique Tropezian rooftop
1 Tra ve r s e d e la Gendar merie, Saint-Tropez T. : 04 83 09 60 00 hotel depari s-s a i nttrope z.c o m
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nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel
IMAGES: GETTY; AWL IMAGES; ALAMY; RAY MEARS; DOUG ALLEN
THE POWER OF
PL ACE
Travel has the potential to change each of us: the
people we meet and the challenges we undertake in
the places we visit can greatly affect who we are.
This special cover story is a celebration of that
transformative, magical power. A range of experts,
from athletes to adventurers, reveal the
destinations and experiences that have changed
their lives and shaped how they look at the world
S TO R I E S B Y A D E A D E P I TA N , D O U G A L L A N , F E L I C I T Y A S T O N ,
J U L I A B R A D B U R Y, E M I LY C H A P P E L L , W I L L I A M D A L R Y M P L E , A L A S TA I R
H U MPHRE YS, PICO IY E R , C HRI S TINA L AMB, ROB E RT MAC FARL ANE ,
R AY M E A R S , A L I C E M O R R I S O N & L E V I S O N WO O D
COMPILED BY SARAH BARRELL
Jul/Aug 2020 63
THE POWER OF PLACE
Loch Affric, surrounded by pine

forests and the mountains of Kintail,
Cairngorms National Park, Scotland
THE POWER OF PLACE
UNITED KINGDOM
S E C O N D N AT U R E
R O B E R T M AC FA R L A N E
“Literature and
landscape are the
intertwining braids
of my life.”
WHAT FIRST DREW YOU TO THE UK’S WILD REGIONS? WHAT TYPE OF TERRAIN MOST INSPIRES YOU?
Mr Kipling Cherry Bakewells. Perhaps not the answer I live in Cambridge, a landscape so flat you can fax
you’d expected; I should explain. My childhood it, as the old joke goes. The landscapes that inspire
holidays were invariably spent in mountainous regions me most are still mountainous ones, though. When
— Connemara, the Lakes, Snowdonia and above all the I’m in the mountains, I find myself whooping and
Scottish Highlands. My parents had to lure my brother cheering involuntarily, whistling, singing, hugging my
and me into the hills, and they did so with cakes and friends spontaneously. “There are places where the
sweets, ruthlessly. My summer birthday cake would often natural movement of the heart is upwards,” wrote the
be a cherry bakewell with a single candle in it, on a windy mountaineer-mystic W H Murray. We all know a version
mountaintop. Strange are the things that set us going. of that feeling, those places, and for me it’s in the high
mountains, especially in winter.
HAS WRITING ABOUT LANDSCAPES HELPED YOU
UNDERSTAND THEM MORE? HAVE YOUR RECENT EXPLORATIONS OF THE SUBTERRANEAN
Literature and landscape are the intertwining braids WORLD SHIFTED YOUR FOCUS, OR ARE YOU STILL A SUMMIT-
of my life, certainly. I read my way up mountains SEEKER AT HEART?
before I walked up them, and I walked up them The darkness of the world’s interior holds greater
before I wrote about them. Now I find that place mysteries than the sunlight of the world’s summits.
deepens page, and vice versa. Nan Shepherd, author We know so little of what lies beneath us; it’s the space
of The Living Mountain, taught me to see the into which we’ve long placed that which we love most
Cairngorms completely differently, and indeed (the bodies of our revered dead, precious goods) and
to approach mountains differently. Nan preferred that which we fear most (nuclear waste, secrets, the
passes to peaks, an ethos of pilgrimage to one of murdered). So, I’m both more fascinated and more
conquest, and she spoke of walking ‘into’ the appalled by the underworld than by the peaks, if that
mountains, rather than only up them. J A Baker’s makes sense.
incandescent masterpiece The Peregrine sprang
the much-maligned landscape of coastal Essex into IN OUR UNCERTAIN TIMES, WHAT PLACES ARE YOU
astonishment for me, and ignited a fascination with DERIVING COMFORT FROM?
peregrines that’s tracked me back to my own city of A small beechwood on the outskirts of Cambridge,
Cambridge, where a pair now breeds on the gothic reachable along a field path perhaps 50 years old,
stonework above the main street. which leads past hedgerows foaming with blackthorn
and hawthorn blossom. It’s a modest place, planted
by the community, and giving shelter and succour to
IMAGES: AWL IMAGES; ALEX TURNER
WHERE HAVE YOU FELT MOST HUMBLED BY NATURE?

Certainly in Arctic Norway, alone on the windward and hundreds of thousands of people over the decades.
seaward side of the Lofoten archipelago in winter, when Right now, the green-gold light falling through the
I crossed the central ridge of that island range to reach young beech leaves, the wrens whirring between
a vast sea cave in which, thousands of years previously, bushes; these remind me of patterns of being and
iron oxide had been used to paint dancing red figures circuits of life that exceed our own suddenly
on the cave wall. A northerly blizzard blew in, trapping crumbling systems and structures.
me in the bay without mobile signal for some days. I was
both frightened and awed by what I discovered there, Robert Macfarlane is the prize-winning author
and what happened to my experience of time on that of Landmarks, The Lost Words, The Old Ways, and
wild frontier. Underland, all published by Penguin Books
Jul/Aug 2020 65
THE POWER OF PLACE
TIBET
TH E RO O F TO P O F M Y B E I N G
PICO IYER
“Clear and elevated

as I could never
remember feeling
before. Freed of every
distraction.”
I was 28 years old and enjoying the kind of life who’d walked 1,200 miles — some prostrating
I might have dreamed of as a boy: a 25th-floor themselves every few steps — to see the
office in Midtown Manhattan, a stimulating Jokhang Temple by flickering candlelight.
job writing on international affairs, a studio Lhasa then was still a cluster of whitewashed
apartment next to a one occupied by a shops and houses under the protective gaze of
gaggle of runway models. Yet something the 1,000-roomed Potala Palace high above.
in me intuited that the enticements and One bright September afternoon, I took
exhilarations of this world might prove so all- the steep walk up to the home of the Dalai
consuming that I’d wake up one day, aged 70, Lama, and, after passing through rooms full
and realise I hadn’t lived at all. of statues and mandalas, stepped out onto a
So, I asked my bosses for a six-month leave terrace to look across the valley. The elements
of absence and flew to Tokyo. Within a few had a sharpness I’d never seen, even at higher
days, I was in Hiroshima; silent, watching altitudes in the Andes. The monks chanting
red and yellow and emerald lanterns sent inside conferred an air of solemnity. The few
floating down the Motoyasu River on the other visitors were mostly pilgrims, excitedly
40th anniversary of the dropping of the buying scrolls near the rooms where their
atomic bomb. Soon, I was staying in a broken spiritual leaders once lived. At that moment,
room in Manila’s red-light district, heading I felt not just on the ‘rooftop of the world’, as
out each morning to join the demonstrations all the guidebooks had it; I was on the rooftop
that would culminate in the toppling of of my being, as clear and elevated as I could
Ferdinand Marcos through the nonviolent ever remember feeling before, freed of every
People Power Revolution. Later, I was riding distraction. By the end of my four-month
an overnight train from Guangzhou to journey across Asia, I’d decided to tell my
Beijing, stepping out to find the capital’s bosses I was leaving my comfortable job
IMAGES: GETTY; AWL IMAGES; DEREK SHAPTON;
wide streets entirely car-less, citizens in blue and moving to Japan, where still I live, 35
Mao jackets playing badminton in the main years later. But it was that one moment in
boulevards leading to Tiananmen Square. Tibet, in the midst of all the oppression and
The moment that transformed me, however, destruction that culture had suffered, that
came after I flew to Lhasa, in Tibet. My reminded me if I didn’t follow some intuition
BECOMINGX/SAM MCELWEE
parents had introduced me to Tibetan monks to leave the familiar world behind, I could
while I was a little boy, in Oxford, and as a remain an exile all my life.
teenager I’d made my first trip to Dharamsala
A Buddhist ceremony involving
(with my father) to meet the Dalai Lama. But Pico Iyer is the author of 15 books, most butter tea, taking place at Sera
nothing had prepared me for the shockingly recently, Autumn Light and its companion Monastery, Lhassa, Tibet
blue skies on the plateau itself, the silence piece A Beginner’s Guide to Japan, both TOP: Resident monks stroll through
around the great monasteries of Drepung published by Bloomsbury Publishing. Jokhang Temple, Lhasa
and Sera, the tear-streaked faces of pilgrims picoiyerjourneys.com
THE POWER OF PLACE
UNITED KINGDOM
GREAT ESCAPES CLOSE

TO HOME
AL ASTAIR HUMPHRE YS
“My monthly tree-

climb reminds me that
wildness, escape and
the natural world are
waiting everywhere.”
Perhaps my biggest perspective-shift about the power the

natural world has on the soul came sitting in the branches of
an oak tree minutes from my home. The buds of new leaves
glowed lime green in the spring sun. Bluebells carpeted
the wood, and the dawn chorus rang out in jubilation after
the quiet winter months. I noticed the seasonal changes
because I climb this tree every month, scheduled into my
online calendar alongside all the meetings, tax deadlines and
family commitments. This lunch-hour foray may seem scant
adventure in comparison with trekking in the Himalayas or
the jungle mysteries of Costa Rica. But I disagree. For my
monthly tree-climb reminds me that wildness, escape and
the natural world are waiting everywhere.
This mind-shift to champion the small and local developed
through what I call ‘microadventures’. After years chasing
conventional, ‘epic’ wilderness experiences around the
globe, it occurred to me to look outside my front door. I
walked a mere two-mile radius around my home. Along the
way, I discovered places I’d never seen before; I’d become an
explorer. I found spiderwebs jewelled with dew, the aroma of
cut grass, willowherb and cow parsley. The epiphany came
when I challenged myself to seek adventure in the most
boring, built-up place I could think of: the M25. A friend and
I spent a winter week walking a lap of the motorway, through
snow-covered fields and along a web of footpaths and lanes.
One evening, the orange glow of London’s lights illuminated
a frozen field as we crunched through the snow towards a
village and, we hoped, a pub. The wind was raw, my feet hurt,
my belly rumbled in competition with the motorway traffic. I
grinned at my friend, raised my arms in triumph and yelled in
delight at the moon, “This is it! This is the wild, raw universe
unrolling before my eyes!”
Adventurer, author and motivational speaker Alastair

Humphreys is the author of Microadventures: Local
Discoveries for Great Escapes, published by William Collins.
alastairhumphreys.com
Jul/Aug 2020 67
THE POWER OF PLACE
AUSTR ALIA
A T E S TA M E N T
TO HUMAN
RESILIENCE
R AY M E A R S
“ Yo u c a n ’ t b e u n c h a n g e d
by e x p e r i e n c i n g t h e
af termath of a bushf ire
l i ke t h i s . W h a t r e a l l y
made an impact on me
i s j u s t h ow s t r o n g t h e
A u s t r a l i a n p e o p l e a r e .”
Kangaroo Island has had

bushfires before, but this year’s
was unprecedented by local
standards. It moved across a
30-mile front at 60mph, with
flames 330ft high. I visited
one particular farm that had
lost 600 sheep — and if you’ve
ever met a sheep farmer, you’ll
know just how much they love
and depend on their animals.
Another 500 had survived, but
the shearing shed hadn’t, so
the farmers had improvised a
platform and were tackling the
remaining sheep. The fleeces
were absolutely filthy, thick
with soot and dust, forcing the
farmers to change blades every
two sheep. When I looked into
the farmers’ eyes, I could see
the hurt and the loss — but at
the same time, you just know
that they’re going to be alright.
In February, bushcraft expert

Ray Mears travelled to South
Australia to document the
impact of the 2020 bushfires
on its landscape and wildlife.
raymears.com Sweeping views across the
Bamiyan Valley, Afghanistan
THE POWER OF PLACE
AFGHANISTAN
A FO R E I G N C O R R E S P O N D E NT I S B O R N
CHRISTINA L AMB
“Iwasjust22thefirsttime
IwenttoAfghanistan,
anditturnedeverything
I’dknownorvalued
upsidedown.”
Sometimes, if I catch the fresh scent of pine trees or see happened yesterday. We had a shared history, Britain
a fragment of deep-blue lapis lazuli, it takes me back. and Afghanistan having fought three wars between 1878
Back to Herat, stamping my feet to keep warm in a dusty and 1919, and they loved to remind me they’d won (well, at
shop crammed with muskets and antiquities, as I watch least twice).
Sultan Hamidy, the glassblower, conjure up goblets of Afghanistan lay the other side of the Khyber Pass and
jade-green and cobalt-blue, telling me that for every one the jagged mountains we could see in the distance. I
he blows he breathes the name of one who’s died in the began travelling in and out with the mujahideen, who
war. Back to Mazar-i-Sharif and the cloud of snow-white were fighting the soldiers of the Soviet army, which
doves swirling round the Blue Mosque, where legend had occupied their country. The air was so crisp and
has it any grey bird will be turned white. Or Kabul, in the mountains full of pines, and the villages where we
November’s pomegranate season, drinking thick juice stayed were the poorest places I’d ever seen. Yet everyone
from a roadside grinder with a giant wheel or sucking on we met shared all they had — a little tea, dry bread and
ruby-red pips shining like jewels. occasionally some yoghurt or dried mulberries. I’d never
I was just 22 the first time I went to Afghanistan and it met people so hospitable, or such storytellers, even
turned everything I’d known or valued upside down. though most were illiterate. It made me realise they had
I had no links with the country but had ended up in values we’d forgotten.
neighbouring Pakistan after an unexpected invitation to I never imagined then that Afghanistan would become
a wedding in Karachi. I fell in love with the place and took so much part of my life, a place I’d visit frequently over
a crowded minibus called a Flying Coach up the Grand the following 32 years. Perhaps your first assignment as
Trunk Road to Peshawar, which any Afghan will tell you a foreign correspondent always has a special pull, like a
used to be part of Afghanistan, and many believe still is. first love affair.
In my bag was a pack of letters written in black ink by a When I hear people talk of the country as a ‘dusty
Pakistani friend to local contacts and a copy of Rudyard land of men with beards and guns’, it’s true that it’s been
Kipling’s novel, Kim. at war for 40 years and that Afghans fight even with
The bus journey ended at sundown in the Old City, kites and boiled eggs. But it’s also a land of poetry and
IMAGES: ALAMY; RAY MEARS
which, it seemed, hadn’t changed very much since pomegranates, and I dream of the day when there’s peace
Kipling’s day. Wooden-framed buildings leaning on each and I can visit with my son, who’s almost the age I was
other, streets filled with men wearing black eyeliner that first time.
and silver-embroidered slippers with curled toes, rifles
casually slung across their backs. Christina Lamb OBE is the chief foreign correspondent
I soon found my way to the Storytellers’ Bazaar, where at The Sunday Times and author of Farewell Kabul: From
a boy played an accordion and long-bearded elders Afghanistan to a More Dangerous World, published by
sipped green tea and talked about battles as if they’d William Collins. christinalamb.net
Jul/Aug 2020 69
THIS VIEW
ISN’T GOING
ANYWHERE.
SKYLINE TRAIL,
CAPE BRETON HIGHLANDS NATIONAL PARK
When the time comes, we can’t wait to show you just how much
there is to do in Nova Scotia, Canada—from exploring our five
UNESCO designated sites, to whale watching, to driving the
Cabot Trail—all while indulging in pure oceanside bliss.
Visit NovaScotia.com while you

#WaitToVisitNovaScotia
THE POWER OF PLACE
Chobe National Park, Botswana,

provides a migration corridor
for elephants to protected
areas in the north east
BOTSWANA Walking from Zimbabwe into Botswana beasts, on hearing a faint, deep rumble,
last summer, I spent a month living and Kane’s eyes lit up. “Lions,” he whispered.
breathing elephants. I walked alongside “They’ve got a kill.” It was a buffalo being
WALKING WITH ELEPHANTS a herd as they followed their migration gorged on by three fully grown male lions.
LEVISON WOOD route towards the Okavango Delta, “When I was a child,” Kane said, “we’d
accompanied by a San Bushman called wait for the lions to have their fair share,
Kane. Like Kane, the other local people then go and help ourselves to some meat.
I met lived alongside elephants, the Are you hungry?”
numbers of which have plummeted I thought he was joking but, following
across Africa as human populations have him, we sneaked towards the lions until
risen, encroaching into wild habitats. we were just three metres away. Standing
My views on elephant protection used up quickly, the lions grunted: there was a
to be pretty simple: the bad guys were the tense stand-off, then, suddenly, the cats
ones killing elephants for the tusks, and ran for the shade of a nearby tree, almost
the good guys were the people out there as if to say, ‘Go on then, if you must’. We
trying to stop it. But the people I met in crept up to the dead buffalo to inspect
the villages and farms along our journey the carcass, lions looking on.
weren’t bad or unsympathetic; they “We know how to live with animals,”
were struggling to feed their families and Kane shrugged with the air of a
make a livelihood. A herd of marauding philosopher. “If you want to save them,
elephants eating crops, destroying fences you have to work with the locals.”
or threatening people is a real danger. That trip taught me an important
The complexity of elephant conservation conservation lesson: glossy wildlife films
IMAGES: GETTY; ALBERTO CACERES
is that of humans and elephants needing are meaningless without the true story
the same stretches of land to live. It’s of how people survive and thrive in the
“I walked the length of a tough question to answer, let alone same environment as wild animals.
the River Nile, where to solve. Kane put it neatly: “If you love
I saw with my own elephants so much, why don’t you take Adventurer, author and broadcaster
some back to England and put them in Levison Wood is an ambassador for the
eyes the reality of the Queen’s parks. See how long they Tusk Trust. Walking with Elephants, a
conservation on the last.” He had me there. At one point three-part Channel 4 documentary set in
front line.” during our search for the magnificent Botswana, aired in May. levisonwood.com
Jul/Aug 2020 71
PRECIOUS MOME N TS
Located in the South of Iceland within the Golden Circle

For reservation & further information please visiT
www.torfhus.is
THE POWER OF PLACE
AL A SK A
TA K I N G IT TO E X TR E M E S
E M I LY C H A P P E L L
A remote mountain highway

in Alaska during winter
“I hadn’t anticipated
how much this cold
would weaken me”
I’ve never been as frightened as I was the day finite. A litre of porridge (with butter, almonds efficiently, so that my sweat didn’t line my
I rode towards Glacier View. Although barely and chocolate chips) would normally have jacket with frost, and to keep food where
three days from Anchorage, civilisation felt a seen me through most of a day’s riding, but I could access it without removing my gloves.
long way behind me. My tyres rustled over a out here, my body was burning through it at a A month later, I stood at the junction with
thick crust of compacted snow as I pedalled much higher rate, trying to maintain its usual the Cassiar Highway, a 500-mile road through
north, and the Chugach Mountains towering 37C in an environment more than 60C colder. the British Columbian backcountry. Unlike
above shone whiter with every hour that The occasional houses I passed were the busy Alaska Highway, with its compacted
passed. The cold felt malevolent, gnawing shut up for winter, drifts of snow in their snow and friendly truckers, the Cassiar
painfully at my fingers and toes, clawing at my driveways. My only potential heat source was was hidden under drifts, with just a couple
throat and nostrils. The sunlight taunted me, a puny multi-fuel stove, which I doubted my of tracks to suggest that vehicles had ever
promising a warmth it refused to deliver. cold-clumsy fingers would be able to wrestle passed this way. I glanced between the two
I hadn’t anticipated how much this cold from my pannier (never mind assemble and roads. The thrill of fear, familiar now, had lost
would weaken me. I’d been covering distances light), and the only food I could access was a much of its sting. I turned south and set off
like this for years, but I’d rarely ridden so stash of peanut butter cups in my bar bag. into the drifts.
IMAGE: GETTY
slowly, unable to muster the spark needed With time, I adapted. In my sleeping bag,
to cycle at anything above walking pace. I was, my body became a furnace that dried damp Athlete, author and former cycle courier
I understood, at the mercy of a simple and gloves and socks and melted the water that Emily Chappell is the author of Where
brutal equation. The energy in my body was had frozen solid in its flask. I learned to dress There’s A Will. thatemilychappell.com
Jul/Aug 2020 73
THE POWER OF PLACE
The Amazigh village of Aroumd in

Morocco’s High Atlas Mountains
AFRICA
AFRICA, BEYOND
THE HEADLINES
ADE ADEPITAN
“To see someone like

me, with a disability,
in a place synonymous
with flak jackets and
tanks: it’s not what
the world expects”
HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE IDEA FOR YOUR TV SERIES,
AFRICA WITH ADE ADEPITAN?
It’s something I’d wanted to do for decades. As a child
watching the news in the UK, all the images I ever saw of
the African continent were of war, corruption or poverty.
I wanted to change that. So, for the four-part BBC Two
series, I travelled through what, as we aimed to show,
is such a fun, exciting, diverse continent — not one
homogenous place. It was part travel, part current affairs.
I also wanted to do a homecoming story of sorts, as I
moved from Nigeria to London when I was three years old.
WHAT MADE THE BIGGEST IMPACT ON YOU?

When we travelled from Cape Verde to Senegal, we
followed the story of the slave trade, seeing the places
where slaves were kept in unfathomable conditions.
Some of the most sought-after slaves came from the
Uraba tribe in Nigeria, where I was born. It was a
shocking realisation for me.
WHERE CHALLENGED YOUR PERCEPTIONS THE MOST?

Mogadishu, Somalia. To go to a place that’s so
notorious for death and destruction was significant.
To see someone like me, with a disability, in a place
synonymous with flak jackets and tanks: it’s not what
the world expects. We had security with us around the
clock, undercover guards and such a short time in which
to get the stories of these incredible characters.
There were women playing basketball who leave
home for the court without saying anything to their
families. Once they were behind closed doors, off came
the burkas and on went the tracksuits. They knew that
if they were caught, they risked being stoned to death,
but they wanted to change the world for other women.
As an athlete, I’ve never risked death to play ball.
Adedoyin Olayiwola ‘Ade’ Adepitan MBE is a TV presenter

and wheelchair basketball player. Africa with Ade Adepitan
was broadcast on BBC Two last year. adeadepitan.com
THE POWER OF PLACE
MOROCCO
COMING HOME
ALICE MORRISON
“Looking out at the

glory of the mountains,
with her warm hand
in mine and the sun
on our faces, brought
me a simple and
complete happiness”
My most recent expedition took me 1,000 miles across

the Sahara, crossing endless golden dunes, facing weeks
of moon-like barren wastelands and watching hundreds of
camels gallop towards a well for water. These unforgettable
experiences have all had an indelible impact on me, but it’s
the small family compound where I live, in Morocco’s High
Atlas Mountains, that has changed me the most.
The Amazigh village of Imlil comprises a main street and a
clutch of red clay buildings built into the mountains, with the
douar (family compound) accessed via a track overlooking
a sea of walnut trees. Three families and a number of cows
and chickens live in the douar with me, our houses looking
onto a communal courtyard. Life in Morocco is segregated
by gender, so my home life is with the women. Initially, I
worried how I’d fit in — I fail on every level as a female here,
where home and children define your worth. I have neither
husband nor children, and I can’t cook couscous.
My first ally was a 90-year-old grandmother. She
would come to my house daily, bringing an orange or
some apricots, and teach me words in Tashlaheet, the
local dialect. Looking out at the glory of the mountains,
with her warm hand in mine and the sun on our faces,
brought me a simple and complete happiness.
‘One hand can’t clap’ is a saying in Arabic, and here it’s
impossible to be lonely. If I sit on my front step, a neighbour
will immediately appear for a chat about nothing in
particular: the weather, who’s had a baby, what we’re having
for lunch. I’m always invited to join the women at 5pm, when
they congregate to drink sweet mint tea and eat flaky pastry
pancakes dipped in wild honey or home-churned butter.
It’s the opposite of the busy life I was used to. Here,
everything is simpler. People have time for each other
— and time to sit and watch the flocks of rooks swirl and
swoop over the peaks.
IMAGE: GETTY
Alice Morrison is the presenter of BBC Two’s Morocco to

Timbuktu: An Arabian Adventure, author of Adventures in
Morocco and creator of the Alice in Wanderland podcast:
alicemorrison.co.uk/podcast
Jul/Aug 2020 75
THE POWER OF PLACE
GREECE
RECONNECTING
WITH GREEK
R O OT S
JULIA BR ADBURY
“ I t m a d e m e wa n t t o ke e p
t h e c o n n e c t i o n a l i ve f o r
my ow n c h i l d r e n ”
From the island of Skiathos,

I went out on one of the few
remaining traditional fishing
boats. Depleted fish stocks have
seen some local fishing families
turn their hands to sustainable
tourism, taking handfuls of
passengers to secret beaches.
This is about as far away from
30,000 people stepping on a
cruise boat in Venice as you can
get — and it’s the way forward
for tourism. Meeting people like
this across Greece cemented my
bond with my mother’s home
country; it made me want to
keep the connection alive for
my own children. I’ll return to
Skiathos as soon as I can, so my
kids can meet those fishermen.
I want them to connect with that
way of life, and care about it as
much as they do their own.
Julia Bradbury is a broadcaster

and adventurer. The Greek
Islands With Julia Bradbury was
broadcast on ITV earlier this
year. theoutdoorguide.co.uk
RIGHT: The bustling Chandni Chowk

market in central Delhi
THE POWER OF PLACE
INDIA
H OW I N D I A H A S C H A N G E D M E
W I L L I A M DA L RY M P L E
“Delhi never
feels pedestrian.
It always feels
bonkers”
I NEVER INTENDED TO COME TO INDIA. I originally set out sense of history, with monuments lying around on
to be an archaeologist in the Middle East, but the dig roundabouts, and tombs, palaces and old city walls
I was assigned to in Iraq closed down — purportedly wherever you turn. The Delhi Archives is also located
due to a nest of British spies. So, I joined a friend who here — housing a lifetime of documents that have
was heading to India. I had no particular connection barely been read — and when I need a break from my
to the country, but when I arrived, it was one of those research, there’s plenty going on elsewhere. Delhi has
moments in life when everything changes. Thirty years transformed in the last couple of decades from a
later, I’m still here. A constantly changing kaleidoscope government town to become a place that’s home to
of things has kept me attached, and a whole variety of India’s publishing and media industries, and many of its
careers have been facilitated by being here. My first job, best writers. It has an amazing classical music and dance
teaching, took me from the Himalayas down to the far scene. I’m never bored here. In England, on a dreary
southern tip of country. By the time I was two stops in, winter’s day, things can feel pedestrian. Delhi never feels
India had unveiled itself in all its complexity and beauty pedestrian. It always feels bonkers.
— I was addicted.
I’VE BEEN TRAVELLING AROUND INDIA FOR 30 YEARS AND
I’M A CHANGED PERSON, HAVING LIVED HERE. Just as I THERE’S STILL A GOOD QUARTER OF THE COUNTRY I’VE
now look different from how I did when I turned up in YET TO SEE. There are major monuments and mountain
India aged 18, I now think very differently too. I came ranges, extraordinary places in the Himalayas I’m
from an extremely Catholic Scottish background. I went dying to visit. India is a continent rather than a country
to monastic schools, my uncle’s a priest and my brother — you could never run out of things to explore here.
became a priest, too — we took our Catholicism seriously. I feel like a child in a sweet shop or a miser in a bank
Here, everyone believes in different things. Even within vault sometimes. There’s an almost infinite amount to
Hinduism, there are million ways of practising, different take in, see and understand. The book I’m currently
gods to worship and a choice of festivals to observe. working on is about the diffusion of Indian culture out
India is so vast and varied in a way that Britain isn’t for of India: the way Buddhism took over China, and the way
me; it’s an oddly homogenous place despite its history Hinduism took over Southeast Asia. Plus, how Indian
of immigration and empire. India has made me more mathematics travelled first to Baghdad and then to
open-minded than would have been possible living in Renaissance Europe, giving us the decimal system and
Europe. India is a true multiculture — it’s massively the numerals we use today — I didn’t know all this until a
pluralistic in every sense: racially, religiously, climatically, few years ago. Here I am in my mid-50s, still discovering
geographically. It’s a living lesson against dogmatism. amazing, world-changing information whenever I open
a book about this country.
IMAGE: GETTY
DELHI IS MUCH UNDERRATED, EVEN WITHIN INDIA.

It’s regarded as a difficult place to live and as William Dalrymple is the author of numerous travel
a big, polluted city — although it’s been glorious and popular history books about India. His latest
during lockdown. For me, as a historian and a book is The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East
writer, Delhi is fascinating. It has such a tangible India Company. williamdalrymple.uk.com
Jul/Aug 2020 77
WITNESS
AUTHENTIC
BEAUTY
LET US TAKE YOU CLOSER TO
THE GALÁPAGOS ISLANDS.
Galápagos Islands, by Steve McCurry
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THE POWER OF PLACE
INDONESIA
CAPTURING THE
CORAL REEFS
DOUG ALL AN
“ I ’m g r a n t e d a c h a n c e
encounter with a whale
s h a r k . T h e g i l l r a ke r s
t h a t s i e ve o u t h e r t i ny
plankton food are
visible inside her open
mouth as she swims
p a s t m e .”
Underwater, there’s a breath-

taking profusion of life:
dazzling hard corals in spiky
blues and pale yellows; soft
anemones like floppy grey
mushrooms; rainbow riots of
fish. The water, as warm as
a bath at the surface, meets
the deeper, cooler layers.
This fuzzy thermocline interface
plays hell with the focus
through the camera lens as
I rise and sink through it; it’s
like lime juice being poured into
a margarita.
Above me, the school of
fish is so dense it darkens
the sun. It moves like a giant
single organism, swirling like
a murmuration of starlings.
As if by magic, holes appear
in the fish mass as my bubbles
rise through it. Cruising on the
periphery are the mobula rays,
predators capable of bursts of
speed so fast there’s no way
I can follow them close up. I film
them wide and hope the editor
can make something of it.
Doug Allan is an award-winning

wildlife and documentary
cameraman whose credits
include BBC One’s The Blue
Planet, Planet Earth and
Frozen Planet, and National
Geographic documentaries.
dougallan.com
IMAGES: GETTY; DOUG ALLEN
FROM TOP: The spectacular rock formations

of Indonesia’s Raja Ampat archipelago;
clownfish seen on an anemone during one
of Doug’s dives in Raj Ampat
Jul/Aug 2020 79
THE POWER OF PLACE
Emperor penguins at Snow

Hill Island, Antarctica
POL AR REGIONS OF ALL MY POLAR EXPEDITIONS, THE and it’s -60C and you see materials like
ONE THAT HAD THE MOST PROFOUND rubber become as pliable as clay, you
EFFECT ON MY WORLD VIEW WAS MY realise most humans have a very limited
THIS MUCH I KNOW 2018 TRIP TO THE ARCTIC. There isn’t a vision of our existence.
FELICIT Y ASTON ‘hypothetical impact’ of climate change
— this is something that’s happening WE’RE A TINY SPECK IN THE UNIVERSE,
now. It’s our history. Skiing to the North BUT WE PUNCH ABOVE OUR WEIGHT.
Pole won’t be possible in about five years’ Humans achieve incredible things and
time. The first time someone crossed it gives me hope for our planet. I believe
the surface ocean to stand on the pole, we’ll help ourselves through science and
having got there on two feet, was in 1969. human spirit. We’re clever enough, and
In the space of a little over 50 years, we’ll we should be smart enough.
have gone from the first to the last.
SOMETIMES IT’S ALL ABOUT WONDER,
MY REASON FOR WANTING TO KEEP NOT SCIENCE. I’m well versed in the
RETURNING TO THE POLES IS TO COLLECT science of the Northern Lights, but
DATA. I’ll go back to the Arctic with when you’re beneath them, it’s hard
another team of women in 2022; we’ll to believe they’re anything other than
be among the last humans to get out on magic. All those folktales you hear
high-latitude ocean sea ice. The world about them being created by a celestial
relies heavily on computer models to fox brushing the sky with its tail, or the
predict future scenarios, and those are souls of the dead playing football with
only as good as the data we can collect. the skull of a walrus — out there, under
the endless sky, these make so much
HUMANS ARE VULNERABLE TO THE more sense than particles coming down
FORCES OF NATURE. When you’re out a magnetic field.
there standing on the ice, it brings home
how inconsequential we are. I don’t Felicity Aston MBE is a polar explorer. She’ll
“The vanishing of the just mean the power of sea ice or ocean be concluding her Royal Geographical
currents but, say, the magnetic fields Society speaking tour, Polar Exposure:
world’s sea ice? It’s a that cause Aurora Borealis and Australis. The Women’s Euro-Arabian North Pole
story that still needs to When you witness that one sunrise a year Expedition, in November and December
be told.” in Antarctica, or when you’re in Siberia 2020. felicityaston.co.uk
IMAGE: GETTY
| R E A D M O R E O N L I N E , F E AT U R I N G E X T E N D E D I N T E R V I E W S A N D E X T R A C O N T E N T # S TAY I N S P I R E D
T HE E M E R A LD E D G E O F
EUROPE
County Kerry and neighbouring West Cork are bastions of Celtic culture, their
f ive Atlantic peninsulas — jutting into the ocean like an outstretched hand
— home to historic monasteries, storied islands and otherworldly seascapes.
Tracing this shoreline on a wild, week-long road trip showcases Ireland’s
southwest corner at its most rugged, ancient and surprising
WORDS AMELIA DUGGAN PHOTOGRAPHS KAROLINA WIERCIGROCH
Jul/Aug 2020 83
IRELAND
Down in Ireland’s south west, the land frays

to tattered peninsulas that splay into the
Atlantic like f ive mighty, crooked f ingers.
Around them, little islands — some Life jackets are passed around, the boat is
inhabited, many not — stand sentinel among unmoored in a flurry of slackened ropes, an
the thrashing waters, fragments of the engine sputters into life and we’re away. In
mainland half-lured to sea by the mercurial his captain’s cabin, John is steering with one
wiles of the horizon. This stark coastline, hand and warming hunks of bread on a hob
stretching from County Kerry into rural West with the other. “Tea?” he asks as I squeeze
Cork, has the unmistakable feel of a frontier. in to join him, disturbing a sleeping dog as
“This is where Europe squares up to I do. “This is practically my second home,”
the rest of the world,” my guide, Ciarán he says, in an attempt to explain the jumble
Thornton, confirms, adjusting his flat cap, of possessions and pillows. “This was my
to which is pinned a kestrel feather. “Just father’s fishing boat. He was the first to offer
off this coast, the ocean shelf vastly drops proper tours to the islands, back in the ’70s.
away as the Eurasian Plate goes out to meet Business is much busier now.” Much of the
tectonic North America. You can feel it reason for this upturn in Skellig Michael’s
even without knowing it. There’s something fortunes can be attributed to its star turn in
almost magical about liminal places like the 2017 film Star Wars: The Last Jedi. “You
this. It’s hard to put into words.” haven’t brought a Jedi costume or lightsaber,
It’s still early — the first morning of my I see,” John remarks dryly.
week-long road trip tracing southwest I spend most of the hour at sea on the
Ireland’s coastal edges — when Ciarán and I prow with Luna, the Border Collie — “our
climb out of the car in the former smugglers’ chief dolphin spotter”. It’s a quiet morning
cove of Derrynane Harbour, at the tip of for marine life: Luna’s barks only alert us
Kerry’s Iveragh Peninsula. We’re met by a to one seal, glossily flipping about in the
briny slap of ocean air, an excitable sheepdog waves. Soon the pyramidal outline of Skellig
and a small flotilla of fishing boats floating Michael appears on the horizon, its natural CLOCKWISE FROM TOP
upon a hazy bay. Somewhere out of sight is spires and buttresses crystallising into LEFT: John O’Shea,
our destination: the archaeological marvel of view as we grow closer. It strikes me as an seen here with his dogs,
Skellig Michael, an island settled by a dozen Watson and Luna, has
untamable place; still simmering from the
been sailing visitors to
Christian monks in the sixth century and, violent geology that formed it. Even on a
the Skellig Islands for
today, abandoned to seasonal bird colonies calm day, tides smash into its barnacled cliff over two decades; a boat
— and tourists. faces — sending up geysers of white spray waits under the cliffs of
Visiting isn’t easy, though. To preserve the — and gales compete to dislodge stones. Skellig Michael; steamed
integrity of the site, only 15 small vessels are The island unsettled the Irish playwright Cromane mussels at The
licensed to take people out (between May George Bernard Shaw when he visited in 1910: Boat Yard Restaurant
and October) and these tours — which sell he described it to a friend as “an impossible, & Bar, Dingle; the view
out far in advance — are regularly called off mad place … I tell you the thing does not across to Little Skellig and
the mainland from the
due to dangerous ocean swells. “Someone belong to any world that you and I have lived
sixth-century monastery
has brought some luck along today. This is and worked in: it is part of our dream world.”
on Skellig Michael
the first day in almost a week we’ve gotten The intensity of faith that drove PREVIOUS PAGES:
the green light,” skipper John O’Shea says, as generations of monks — for some 600 years Walkers scale the cliffs
eight passengers and three dogs pile off the — to make this austere splinter of rock their of Dunmore Head,
jetty into his boat. home, is almost incomprehensible. Dingle Peninsula
IRELAND
Jul/Aug 2020 85
IRELAND
IRELAND
“You have to understand that early Celtic Throughout the tourist season, Catherine
Christianity was very different — you didn’t lives in a cabin on the island while working
need a church to be close to God, or a priest,” her fortnight-long stints. “I always try to take
Ciarán explains. “These men were influenced in the sunrise or sunset. Last night, I woke
by the Desert Fathers, like Saint Anthony, up and saw the moon had cut a path of silver
who lived in solitude outside civilisation. For through the sea and the whole site was lit up
them, the divine was in nature. This was a in monochrome. I know it’s said too often,
place they could meditate upon creation.” but there really is magic here.”
Ireland became an important centre Back on the boat, John is frying up
of learning and mysticism following the mackerel for us — he’d been busy with his
introduction of Christianity to Ireland in lines while we were exploring. It’s the best
the fifth century by Saint Patrick; the ruins fish I’ve ever tasted — mouthwatering and
of nine such island monasteries have been buttery soft. It’s with much reluctance that
identified off this stretch of coast, but none I share some with Luna, before rinsing my
as well-preserved as Skellig Michael. hands in the cold surf. I feel immeasurably
At the top of 618 uneven steps — a testing grateful for the trip; enriched, smiling and a
600ft climb that, according to our health and little sunburnt. I notice our captain appears
safety briefing, has occasioned a handful of to have come alive after a day at sea, too. His
recent fatalities — we emerge onto a terraced tan has deepened and his eyes twinkle like
shelf. Behind us is a low, grassy ‘saddle’ and sun-brightened shallows. Skellig Michael
a closed-off path that rises to a hermitage may have lost its monks, I think, but it still
built, daringly, on an exposed ledge on has its pilgrims.
the most southerly peak. Up ahead is the
monastery compound: a clutch of beehive- Dingle all the way
shaped drystone huts, known as clocháin, a It’s raining hard when we set out from Ventry
cemetery of rustic crosses and the eastern Bay the next morning. Cormorants move like
wall of a medieval abbey. Its remaining shadows in the shifting mists and, on the wet
window looks out to sea; through it, I can sand, the retreating tide has laid out large
see the outline of Small Skellig, home to the fans of knobbly kelp. Elated by the climate,
world’s largest gannet colony. Guillemots and Ciarán strides off apace. I trundle in his
razorbills trail their shadows across slopes wake, beginning to doubt the ‘waterproof’
dusted with wildflowers and puffin nests. I claims of my outdoor wear.
didn’t know a place this beautiful or thought- We’re heading out on a half-day hike of
provoking existed so close to home, just a section of the Dingle Way, the 101-mile
across the Irish Sea. trail that follows the coast of the Dingle
Catherine, a resident guide — bronzed from Peninsula — the western part of which is one
the summer, wearing practical, cut-off shorts of two designated Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking)
— answers visitors’ questions and shares regions in County Kerry. We’d spent the
some of the island’s secrets. She tells us that previous night in the main town, Dingle
due to the fragility of the ecosystem (not to (Daingean Uí Chúis, in Irish), an atmospheric
mention the perilous topography), guests cat’s cradle of harbour lanes, where live
aren’t permitted to explore beyond the steps music spills out of family-run pubs,
and monastery walls, but assures us that candles flicker in the windows of seafood
every jutting rock and hidden plateau of the restaurants, and shops selling knitted goods
island would’ve been familiar to the monks. stay open late. The county relies heavily on
“Each crag became a Station of the Cross,” tourism (its stunning 120-mile Ring of Kerry
Catherine says. “Imagine throwing open your driving route is flooded with coaches in
arms towards the ocean in worship. This the hotter months) but I’m finding that the
was the edge of the known world back then, region absorbs the crowds well. “It hasn’t lost
remember — there was no America yet.” its charm,” Ciarán agrees, “and it’s easy to get
Dingle (Daingean Uí Chúis, in Irish), an atmospheric cat ’s cradle of

Colourful street in harbour lanes, where live music spills out of family-run pubs, candles
Daingean Uí Chúis,
flicker in the windows of seafood restaurants, and shops selling knitted
more commonly
known as Dingle goods stay open late
Jul/Aug 2020 87
IRELAND
out and alone into nature quickly — that’s na Trá, from whose windows we’re gifted
part of its magic. There are areas that feel expansive views across a choppy strait to the
untouched by time.” Blasket Islands. The weather has cleared and
Ciarán isn’t from these parts — he grew we can see the main island’s wide smile of a
up in the mountains of County Wicklow yellow beach is dotted with seals basking in
— but has met me in the south west for the sun. Below us, a handful of brave surfers
a bespoke, private version of Wilderness chase waves to shore. In my hands, I’m
Ireland’s Hiking and Island Hopping Cork turning over a piece of slate bought from a
and Kerry group tour. He hums the ballad local artisan; it has the word ‘love’ carved into
Come by the Hills as we climb through it in Ireland’s ancient Ogham script. Together,
wetlands, past burial mounds and ringforts, the markings look like a broken feather, or
towards Eagle’s Rock. Ciarán is only in his a tree with short, erratic limbs. Inscriptions
late 20s but has an encyclopedic grasp of like these — some dating back to the
the country’s complex mythologies and fourth century — can still be seen on some
flora — and thoughtful takes on our times. of the almost 100 standing stones across
“You’re visiting at a special time. Ireland’s Dingle. Ciarán explains these are markers
reawakening, discovering itself, figuring out proclaiming the name of the local clan.
its identity,” he tells me. “We’re an ancient “West Ireland is one of the last places where
country but, in terms of independence, also you can still imagine what Celtic Europe was
barely 100 years old. For a while, we leaned like before the Roman Empire,” he explains,
into the whole ‘leprechaun’ thing,” he says, as the waitress swings by with seconds. Latin
skewering the use of corny motifs taken from culture only arrived here later, with English
folklore and splashed across keyrings and rule and the Roman Catholic Church. “The
fridge magnets. “But people are finding that Gaelic language survived in rural pockets
we have a real connection to the land, the like this that were hard to colonise,” Ciarán
trees, the rocks, the language, our stories. continues. “And people kept the culture alive
We’ve been through a lot, but it wasn’t lost. through songs and the stories. That couldn’t
We’d just forgotten.” be subdued. You can’t stop someone singing a
“Throughout our history, invaders came song, can you?”
for glory, because it was a holy land, a famous The following day, we head to a lesser-
land, a fertile land, or whatever their reason,” visited part of the peninsula. The hedgerows
Ciarán continues. “But they all fell in love with around the village of Annascaul are heavy
it and mixed in. That’s the true character of with the fantastical remnants of late
the land and the people: something very old summer: shocks of fuschia bells and plump
and accepting. And it’s surfacing again. You bilberries. A bauble-round robin flies around
need only look at our politics.” us, its wings purring in the warm air. “It’s
In 2015, Ireland legalised same-sex good to have a guide in Ireland,” Ciarán
marriage — becoming the first country in insists. “This walk would just be a footnote
the world to do so by popular vote; two years in a guidebook, if that. And you’d miss all
later, it elected as premier Leo Varadkar, a this.” The Con Dubh Loop Walk is one of
trailblazing young, gay politician and the his favourites as it has “maybe the quietest
son of Indian immigrants; and in 2018, a places in Ireland”. We explore a rustic
referendum resulted in a landslide win graveyard of cairns and crypts, where many
to legalise abortion. “But,” Ciarán says, inscriptions have been buffed away by time
adding a humble caveat, “these are my just and the elements. Interestingly, here lies
philosophical musings based on little more early 20th-century explorer Tom Crean, a
than walking in the hills.” local lad who signed up for three legendary
Our walk ends with hot chocolate and Antarctic missions, including Robert Falcon
hearty soup at clifftop coffeeshop Caifé Scott’s Terra Nova Expedition (1910-13), and
CLOCKWISE FROM
TOP LEFT: A ram in a
coastal pasture, Dingle
At the former smug glers’ cove of Derrynane Harbour, we’re met by a Peninsula; visitors scale
briny slap of ocean air, an excitable sheepdog and a small f lotilla of treacherous steps on
Skellig Michael known
f ishing boats. Somewhere out of sight is the archaeological marvel of as ‘the way of Christ’;
patchwork of fields
Skellig Michael, an island settled by a dozen Christian monks in the
near Allihies on the
sixth century and, today, abandoned to seasonal bird colonies Beara peninsula
IRELAND
Jul/Aug 2020 89
IRELAND
was aboard the ill-fated Endurance with than I can justify at the Beara Coast Hotel:
Irish Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton. buttery scallops, line-caught fish and salty
Still standing today, in Annascaul, is the samphire, followed by a platter of local
pub Crean founded when he retired, the cheeses (Milleens, Durrus and Beara Blue).
South Pole Inn, now plastered with portraits, Afterwards, I sip pints of Guinness with
cuttings and medals celebrating his exploits. locals in MacCarthy’s Bar. A tense game of
Before the path returns us to the village, Gaelic football is unfolding on the television,
it takes in Annascaul Lake — a pool of and I’m accepted into the fray with the
quicksilver in the crook of a valley dotted cheerful question, “Who are you shouting
with Fresian cows and curly horned sheep. for?” from the barmaid.
We plonk ourselves down on the bank, among The next day, I press on, parking the car
the bell heathers. “Appreciating nature, for and taking the tiny wooden cable-car across
me, is a process of unlearning, trying to find a to Dursey Island for a hike. As old cables
state of wonder, curiosity, unknowing,” Ciarán crank the carriage across the seething
confesses. “You may think you know a place, a strait below, I notice a bottle of holy water
scene — but try to look closer.” from Knock and a psalm pinned to the wall
— presumably to reassure travellers of a
The wild west nervous disposition. “I’ve also got a bottle of
I bid Ciarán goodbye in the pretty tourist whiskey if you need a little extra courage,” a
town of Killarney and drive on along empty passenger sitting opposite me jokes.
coastal lanes, until I cross into County The island is a revelation: lobster crates
Cork. The landscape is so rugged, rural and and tame donkeys decorate cottage gardens;
untouched, it’s easy to believe you’re the a ruined abbey, said to have been built by
first traveller to stumble upon it. Unpaved the monks of Skellig Michael, haunts a cliff;
Bantry House, a stately
roads, braided across the Beara Peninsula, stonechats click and flutter among hedges
home and museum with
bring me to postcard-perfect, pastel-hued of tasty blackberries. During the summer,
guest rooms overlooking
Bantry Bay on Sheep’s
Allihies, with its dramatic ruined engine I read, it’s a great spot for whale-watching.
Head peninsula; it’s still houses — a reminder that this was once a Dursey, I also discover, has a tragic history
run by descendants of its thriving copper mining village. And in the that demands to be heard: in 1602, Queen
18th-century founders fishing port of Castletownbere, I eat more Elizabeth I’s forces massacred 300-odd
Jul/Aug 2020 91
IRELAND
Coastal road on the Dingle Peninsula
ESSENTIALS
AT L A N T I C O
Peninsula
Blasket Dingle C O. K E R RY
Islands Dingle
Killarney
ula
e nins
hP
rag
Ive
Skellig
CEA
a
Islands s u l C O.
Derrynane e nin CORK
aP
ar
Be Bantry
N
Dursey Island
Sheep’s Head
Mizen Head Lough

IRELAND Hyne
DUBLIN AT L
Limerick ANT
IC OCEA
N
Cork 10 Miles
Getting there & around

Ireland’s south west can be accessed via
Shannon Airport in County Kerry or Cork
Airport in County Cork, both of which
are typically served from the UK by
airlines including Ryanair. ryanair.com
Average flight time: 1h30.
Car hire is essential unless joining a
group tour.
When to go
Ireland is a year-round destination but
summer and autumn offer the best
weather (July and August average 15C).
Boats to the Skellig Islands typically run
residents — men, women and children of the feels like I’ve reached a remote outpost. from May-early October; booking ahead
O’Sullivan clan. Some were thrown from the Scones slathered with homemade jam set me is essential. Due to coronavirus, Skellig
cliffs, others jumped. up to cruise back down the peninsula and Michael won’t be open until 2021. The
This sobering story stays with me, but I follow the south west’s pinky finger up to the island has no toilet or cafe facilities, and
pick up brighter ones, too, first at Garinish it’s advisable to bring study shoes, a
forlorn signal station at Mizen Head.
packed lunch and waterproofs.
Island — home to the historic Bryce House On my final evening, I meet Jim Kennedy,
and its Italianate gardens, which hosted some of Atlantic Sea Kayaking, beside the saltwater Places mentioned
of Ireland’s great 20th-century thinkers before inlet of Lough Hyne. There are gutsy Skellig Tours. skelligtours.com
becoming a museum — and later in Bantry. I swimmers taking a late-summer dip as we Dingle Way. dingle-peninsula.ie
stay in the little town’s crowning glory, Bantry paddle out in kayaks, the heavens darkening. Caifé na Trá. facebook.com/caifenatra
House, a stately home with plush guest rooms, “There’s depth to West Cork; once you peer South Pole Inn. southpoleinn.com
still run by descendants of its 18th-century beyond the top layer you can feel this whole Beara Coast Hotel. bearacoast.com
founders. After the house closes to day other world,” Jim says. “It’s the best place to Dursey Island. durseyisland.ie
guests, I wander through the drawing rooms taste Ireland, but it’ll never be touristy — for Bantry House. bantryhouse.com
Mizen Head Signal Station. mizenhead.ie
admiring the collection of art, gilt mirrors and one thing, you saw our roads.” My guide is a
Atlantic Sea Kayaking.
tapestries before curling up by the roaring champion kayaker who’s been running tours
atlanticseakayaking.com
fireplace (with a tipple from the honesty bar) in West Cork for 25 years but still ranks as a
and reading about its former residents. ‘blow-in’, according to local standards. More information
The final flourishes of West Cork take me We pause and float in the darkness, Ireland Tourism. ireland.com
through the wildest landscapes I’ve seen yet, listening to the heavy breaths of a nearby
to places that feel unmoored from the rest seal. “Look closely at the water,” Jim says How to do it
of Europe. Driving the precarious coastal softly. I see that my moving oar is glittering WILDERNESS IRELAND offers the
ILLUSTRATION: JOHN PLUMER
tracks towards the tip of the Sheep’s Head with blue sparks. How had I not seen this week-long Hiking & Island Hopping
peninsula, I’m reminded of one of Ciarán’s before? I look closer still and see the reeds Cork and Kerry from €1,870 (£1,675) per
person. Includes guided hikes along the
sayings: ‘There are no straight roads in Ireland, and fish are dancing with light, too. I plunge
Wild Atlantic Way, a visit to Skellig
or straight answers’. Astonishingly, at the tip my arm in and bring up a glittering gauntlet.
Michael and two other islands, visits to
of the headland is a cafe — Bernie’s Cupán I thought you had to travel to the Caribbean local craftspeople, and six nights’
Tae. Bernie Tobin’s improbable establishment to see bioluminescence like this, I say. accommodation in local hotels, all B&B.
is often called ‘the teashop at the end of the “Well,” Jim says, laughing kindly, “maybe Group and bespoke tours available.
world’, and after my bumpy journey it certainly you’ve heard: there’s a little magic here.” wildernessireland.com
the
A to Z
of the
Indian
Ocean
From dipping your toes in the showstopping bay of Anse Source d’Argent to
exploring the storied capital of Zanzibar, the Indian Ocean offers an expansive
catalogue of exotic flavours, eco-hideaways and groundbreaking conservation
work protecting a vast menagerie of endangered wildlife. Incorporating African
and Asian shorelines and archipelagos, it may be a little while before we’re able to
visit, but that doesn’t stop us dreaming
WORDS EMMA GREGG
IMAGE: GETTY
Jul/Aug 2020 95
INDIAN OCEAN
BIRYANI
The Indian Ocean is one of
the world’s most colourful
culinary melting pots: the
air is scented with spices;
breakfast tables are laden
with ripe, juicy fruit; and
chefs work African and
Asian ingredients into
dishes such as biryani (rice
with spices and marinaded
meat or vegetables), bhuna
(curry based on spices fried
in oil) and golden breadfruit
fritters, fried in gram flour
batter. Cooking classes are
available in resorts across
the region: in the Maldives,
for example, luxury
eco-resort Constance
Moofushi offers kitchen
masterclasses on request.
constancehotels.com
anse source d’argent

How do you pick a favourite beach in the Seychelles? With its coral sands and
remote location, the star of La Digue makes a play for travellers’ hearts
Steeped in desert-island allure, the Seychelles to designate 30% of its waters — a region
archipelago is scattered with drop-dead larger than Germany — as Marine Protected
gorgeous beaches. It’s almost impossible to Areas, to help safeguard ocean species,
choose a favourite. Anse Source d’Argent on habitats and livelihoods against over-fishing
the island of La Digue, however, is something and the effects of climate change.
special. Its backdop is dramatically With a name that means ‘silver spring’,
architectural. Huge grey granite boulders, as the kilometre-long Anse Source d’Argent
tall as mansions and curvaceous as elephants, is particularly envy-inducing. It’s a
frame the scene. Light bounces gently off the quintessential paradise, with immaculate
sea and the water is as shallow as a paddling coral sand, impossibly blue water and the
pool. Along with Anse Intendance on Mahé luxury of solitude — sheer heaven.
and Anse Lazio on Praslin, its supermodel HOW TO DO IT: Mahlatini offers an 11-day trip
good looks are legendary. to Mahé and La Digue in the Seychelles from
These shores are also models of marine £3,270 per person sharing, including half-
conservation. In March 2020, the Seychelles board accommodation, transfers and return
announced the final details of a new initiative flights from London. mahlatini.com
INDIAN OCEAN
FROM LEFT: Sunrise over Anse Source

D’Argent on La Digue Island in the
Seychelles; lamb biriyani; an elephant
on Tanzania’s wildlife-rich savannahs;
accordion player, Sauti za Busara music
festival, Zanzibar, Tanzania
PREVIOUS PAGE: Grey heron on the
beach at Bandos Island, the Maldives
festivals
Time your trip to
coincide with a festival
for the guarantee of a
vibrant atmosphere
1 SAUTI ZA BUSARA,
TANZANIA
Zanzibar’s annual live music
festival is one of Africa’s
best, showcasing local
taarab and bongo flava
bands alongside African
stars from as far afield as
Algeria and South Africa.
11–14 February 2021.
busaramusic.org
2 HOLI, MAURITIUS
Culturally diverse Mauritius
has a packed calendar
of festivals. The most
COMOROS colourful of these is Holi, a
two-day Hindu celebration
Also known as the Comoro Islands — Grande Comore, Mohéli and Anjouan involving bonfires, music
— Comoros is among the region’s best-kept secrets. In Moroni, the capital, and the good-humoured
showering of friends and
you may detect hints of the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar in the narrow neighbours with fistfuls of
lanes and carved doors. Wildlife-wise, the islands echo Madagascar, with gulal powder in rainbow
hues. 28–29 March 2021.
mongoose lemurs on Anjouan and whales and dolphins offshore. But in tourism-mauritius.mu
many ways, the Comoros is a place apart — and fascinating for it.
3 AZGO, MOZAMBIQUE
For five days in May,
Maputo’s annual arts
dodos elephants festival, Azgo — local
Gone but not forgotten, dodos live on as an Strangely, perhaps, Africa has few safari slang for ‘let’s go!’ — floods
emblem of Mauritius — they feature in the regions that include Indian Ocean beaches the campus of Eduardo
island’s passport stamp. Poignantly, they’ve as well as wildlife-rich savannah. Tanzania’s Mondlane University with
also come to symbolise the mass extinction Saadani National Park is one of those rare, Mozambican and pan-
that threatens our planet. For the past 50 magical places. Base yourself at Saadani African music, cinema
years, Mauritius has had a conservation Safari Lodge and you can spend your days in screenings and adventurous
network that’s focused on the nation’s a four-wheel-drive vehicle searching for herds art shows. 19–23 May 2021.
endangered plant and wildlife species. Île aux of elephants. They move between the trees azgofestival.com
Aigrettes, a protected islet off the east coast, is and the Wami River, cooling themselves with
one of its gems. mauritian-wildlife.org slow flaps of their ears.
Jul/Aug 2020 97
YOUR IDYLLIC ISLAND GETAWAY
waldorfastoriamaldives.com
INDIAN OCEAN
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: A youngster

cycles through the streets of Stone Town,
Island of Mozambique; a humpback
whale breaches at sunset off the coast
of Madagascar; giant tortoise, Île aux
Aigrettes, Mauritius
GIANT TORTOISES HUMPBACK WHALES island of

Once found on almost every continent, giant Most of us are familiar with East Africa’s Mozambique
tortoises were hunted to near-extinction Great Migration, which gallops across Kenya’s In its medieval heyday, Africa’s
during the Age of Exploration (from the 15th to Maasai Mara between July and October each Swahili Coast was dotted with
the 17th century). However, in the Seychelles, a year. But have you heard of East Africa’s prosperous trading posts.
late 19th-century ban on their slaughter saved Marine Migration? At around the same time Tragically, some of their most
IMAGES: AWL IMAGES; GETTY
the Indian Ocean’s last tiny population. There the wildebeest and zebras are arriving from magnificent buildings crumbled
are now around 150,000 Aldabra tortoises, the Serengeti, humpback whales appear in away after independence, but
mostly on the island of Aldabra. This atoll is Kenya’s coastal waters, ready to breed. Some in Mozambique’s first capital,
breathtakingly remote, but if you’re keen to calve in the warm, calm refuge of Watamu Ilha (as the locals know it), many
see some huge reptiles lumbering around, Marine National Park. The Watamu Marine mansions have been restored,
there’s a more accessible alternative: Curieuse Association has been studying them since with appealing guesthouses,
Island, which can be reached by water taxi 2011, and runs a project allowing tourists to galleries and museums popping
from Praslin Island. seychelles.travel add their sightings to its database. watamu.biz up on the historic streets.
Jul/Aug 2020 99
INDIAN OCEAN
jungle
At Tree Tops Jungle Lodge in Sri
Lanka, lying in a hammock
surrounded by the squawks of
wildlife is the perfect way to
relax. Deforestation has plagued
the coastline, but here, a glorious
swathe of jungle has been
restored. treetopsjunglelodge.com
kreol culture
Mauritius is awash with European
influences, but at Zilwa Attitude
FROM LEFT: Sri Lankan leopard
hotel, indigenous culture comes
on a branch, Yala National Park,
first. Kreol proverbs decorate the
Sri Lanka; a ring-tailed lemur
bedroom walls and staff organise carries a baby on its back,
language lessons and visits to Berenty Reserve, Madagascar;
locals’ homes. hotels-attitude.com prawn fritters served with
lemon wedges
LEMURS
A nighttime safari in Madagascar reveals another side of the rainforest:
this biodiverse African island is the endemic home of the lemur, one of
the world’s most endangered mammal groups
Nocturnal lemurs peer down at me Sesen, as if reading my mind. Relieved,

with a pointed stare. I’m tiptoeing I tiptoe onwards.
through a patch of ancient Madagascan Planning this nocturnal adventure
rainforest, flicking my torchlight was as simple as waiting for nightfall
through the trees, and tiny lights are and following Sesen into the forest.
beaming steadily back at me: eyeshine. As the darkness deepens, I’m glad
As I approach the closest pair of eyes, to be accompanied by a guide with
details appear: the round, furry face a calm attitude and a good sense of
and long, fluffy tail of a mouse lemur. direction. Everything looks different
“Let’s continue,” says Sesen, my by torchlight. A panther chameleon
guide, who has known this forest since wobbling on a twig looks monstrous,
childhood. “It’s best not to dazzle them and owl screeches sound like screams.
for long. A snake may be watching.” The next morning, I wake from a
In Madagascar, it’s perfectly possible dream of swimming in the ocean with
mayotte to wander along forest paths at night. whales calling all around. As I blink
The steep, volcanic peaks of In fact, I’d highly recommend it. awake, the dream fades, but the sounds
this island — a French overseas Elsewhere in the tropics, a nocturnal remain. Fuzzily, I recognise it. My
department — are popular with forest walk can be terrifying, with cabin at Saha Forest Camp overlooks
hikers. Below them are fertile creepy-crawlies, venomous snakes a curtain of trees that’s home to the
slopes, fragrant with vanilla and and dangerous mammals to watch indri, Madagascar’s largest and most
cloves and lush with banana, out for. But in Madagascar, no such vocal lemur. Lemurs flourished on this
papaya and jackfruit trees. worries apply — if you’re a human, island, but illegal activities like mining
that is. If you’re a lemur, you need to have whittled away their habitat,
watch out. Here in Madagascar’s central leaving their numbers threatened. To
nightlife
IMAGES: GETTY; YUKI SUGUIRA
highlands, mouse lemurs live alongside have seen — and heard — them in the
Mombasa is the buzzing centre Malagasy tree boas, non-venomous wild is indeed the stuff of dreams.
of Kenya’s coastal party scene. snakes that can grow to over two metres HOW TO DO IT: Rainbow Tours can
Check out Tapas Cielo bar in the long. The boas have thermoreceptive arrange a 17-day escorted wildlife-
Nyali area, Moonshine beach bar pits that allow them to work out exactly watching tour of Madagascar
at The Reef Hotel Mombasa and where their prey is. from £4,520 per person, including
Shots Bar in the Bamburi area. “Don’t worry — I’ve never known accommodation, flights and domestic
tapascielo.com reefhotelkenya.com our snakes to attack people”, says transport. rainbowtours.co.uk
INDIAN OCEAN
off-grid
prawn fritters
retreats and Selina Periampillai, a Mauritian chef and author of The Island
eco-lodges Kitchen cookbook, serves up her recipe for prawn fritters
(known as ‘crevettes croustillantes’)
Hoteliers are creating
planet-friendly places SERVES: 2 TAKES: 30 mins 1 egg, beaten 3 Pour the oil into a deep
to stay in sublime, 500ml vegetable oil, frying pan and heat until the
natural settings INGREDIENTS for deep-frying temperature reaches 180C
1 tbsp spring onion, finely on a cooking thermometer.
1 ALPHONSE ISLAND, chopped (approximately METHOD Scoop out the prawns from
THE SEYCHELLES 2 spring onions) 1 Mix the spring onion, chilli, the marinade and pat dry
The chalets on private 1 green chilli, finely chopped ginger, garlic, prawns, lemon with kitchen paper. Dip the
Alphonse Island, in 2.5cm piece ginger, peeled and juice and soy sauce in a bowl. prawns into the batter one by
southwestern Seychelles, finely chopped Season with salt and pepper, one, then deep-fry in the oil
come with their own 1 garlic clove, finely chopped then set aside to marinate for around 2 mins until lightly
bicycles, allowing guests 150g raw king prawns for 15 mins. browned and crisp.
to freely trundle along 1 lemon, ½ juiced, ½ cut 2 Combine the plain flour 4 Drain, then immediately
the palm-fringed paths. into wedges and cornflour in a bowl, serve with the lemon wedges.
Naturalists offer updates 1 tsp soy sauce then add 30ml chilled water The Island Kitchen by Selina
on the comings and goings 30g plain flour and the beaten egg and Periampillai (Bloomsbury
of turtles, and the diving is 30g cornflour whisk gently. Publishing, £26) is out now.
superb. alphonse-island.com
2 THE RAINFOREST
ECOLODGE, SRI LANKA
For a wraparound rainforest
experience, try a nature
walk from The Rainforest
Ecolodge. The hotel stands
on a tea estate bordering the
UNESCO World Heritage-
listed Sinharaja Forest
Reserve — the country’s
largest primary rainforest.
rainforest-ecolodge.com
3 MAFIA ARCHIPELAGO,
TANZANIA
Five islands make up Mafia
Archipelago. The capital,
Kilindoni, is a sandy-laned
town surrounded by
mangroves and papaya
trees. Chole Bay, meanwhile,
is one of Tanzania’s top
snorkelling destinations, its
reefs teeming with clownfish
and rays. Stay at Pole
Pole, overlooking the bay.
polepole.com
QUIRIMBAS ARCHIPEL AGO

The azure waters, coral reefs and luxurious lodges of Mozambique’s Quirimbas Archipelago promise the ultimate
island idyll. Ibo Island Lodge, located on the north west of Ibo Island, comprises three magnificent waterfront
mansions and is the perfect base for an island-hopping escape, with plenty of opportunities to explore by kayak,
dhow and standup paddleboard. iboisland.com
Jul/Aug 2020 101

INDIAN OCEAN
Hell-Bourg, a small village in Réunion

BELOW: Hawksbill turtles
on a reef in the Seychelles
RÉUNION
The island of Réunion, 420 miles
east of Madagascar, is a jumble of
turtles
jagged, UNESCO World Heritage
Site-listed peaks, thrusting up to A paradise idyll
10,000ft into the sky. Among them in the Seychelles,
is Piton de la Fournaise, one of North Island is as
the world’s most active volcanoes. passionate about
Steppes Travel offers bespoke the environment
hiking and beach holidays that as its luxury
explore La Réunion’s zigzagging credentials.
trails. Afterwards, maybe head Ayyoub Salameh,
to nearby Mauritius for a well- the general manager of North
earned chillout. steppestravel.com Island, discusses the island resort’s
rehabiliation and conservation efforts
Hawksbill and green turtle numbers are What’s the main threat to their survival?
SWAHILI dwindling. Visitors with four weeks or more Truthfully, fishing gear and rubbish in the
to spare can help by working as Marine ocean. Turtles can drown if they get caught
Learn a little Swahili and
Conservation Volunteers on North Island in in debris. To tackle this, North Island is
it will always smooth the Seychelles, assisting environmentalists plastic-free. We’ve banned single-use plastic
your path in Kenya. Hotel in monitoring turtles and other endangered and, every morning, our beach patrols collect
species as part of a long-running ecosystem rubbish carried by the trade winds and recycle
staff often greet guests restoration project. it to ensure it doesn’t re-enter the ocean.
with a cheery ‘karibu’
Why do sea turtles need protecting? How is ecotourism in the Seychelles
(‘welcome’). The well- They’re keystone species. For example, aiding marine conservation?
known hakuna matata’ green turtles keep the seagrass beds It’s educating people, while raising funds
(‘no problem’) is a firm healthy by grazing on them, and their to enable us to do more. The non-profit
egg shells and the hatchlings that don’t organisation Wildlife ACT has been an
favourite too. To break make it add important nutrients to the amazing partner. One of the original team,
IMAGES: GETTY
the ice, practise saying ecosystem. By safeguarding the nesting Elliot Mokhobo, fell in love with the flora
sites of hawksbill and green turtles for two and fauna of the island and decided to stay
‘habari?’ (‘how are you?’). decades, we’ve seen a remarkable increase on. He’s one of our best-loved guides.
magicalkenya.com in turtles nesting here. wildlifeact.com north-island.com
Jul/Aug 2020 103

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INDIAN OCEAN
UNDERWATER
ADVENTURES
With low-lying islands surrounded by
shimmering reefs, the Maldives is a superb
place to learn to snorkel and scuba dive, or
perhaps advance your skills. For the ultimate
indulgence, you can experience the ocean
from the comfort of your bed by booking
the ultra-exclusive The Muraka, at Conrad
Maldives Rangali Island. Launched in late
2018 for an eye-watering $200,000 (£160,000)
per four-night stay, this two-level lagoon suite
has a submerged bedroom with huge windows
and an arched ceiling of transparent acrylic.
It’s like sleeping in a private aquarium.
kagimaldives.com
vanilla
Around 80% of the world’s vanilla pods
are grown in Madagascar. With a minimum
export price of £280 per kilo, it’s a treat
when hotel housekeepers leave them on
your pillow. Sweet and evocative, vanilla is
so quintessential an island commodity that
Madagascar, Seychelles, Réunion, Mauritius,
Comoros and Mayotte chose the name
Vanilla Islands for their tourism partnership,
which encourages visitors to island-hop.
vanilla-islands.org
WATERSPORTS
Mauritius has a wild side. In the south west,
a basalt monolith, Le Morne Brabant, acts as
a natural throttle, whipping up winds that
set hearts racing among the windsurfers and
kitesurfers who flock here. One Eye break, to
the west, is famously lively and should only be
tackled at high tide. For beginners, Le Morne
Lagoon is ideal, with resorts such as Lux Le
Morne offering lessons. luxresorts.com
XYLOPHONE MUSIC
Handmade from wood, with hollow gourd
resonators beneath the keys, the marimba
is Africa’s xylophone. In Kenya and
Tanzania’s laidback beach resorts, you’ll
IMAGES: ALAMY; GETTY
often hear rippling marimba melodies

floating on the breeze. Together with
acoustic or electric guitars and wood-and- FROM TOP: Vanilla extract for
goatskin drums, they’re a mainstay of the sale at a market in Madagascar;
local bands that entertain at hotels and bars. windsurfing in Mauritius; musician
magicalkenya.com tanzaniatourism.go.tz playing the marimba
Jul/Aug 2020 105

INDIAN OCEAN
ZANZIBAR
This year, Stone Town, the historic quarter of Zanzibar City, celebrates its 20th
year as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. As ever, a cultural tour is the perfect
complement to any time spent lazing on Zanzibar’s shores
ylang-ylang If, after a safari in Tanzania, the ocean is

calling, a trip to the pale, palm-fringed
tradesmen’s symbols or passages from the
Koran. Some are studded with brass spikes,
flowers beaches of Zanzibar is the answer. As a bonus, an 18th-century fashion imported from
Marilyn Monroe would’ve Stone Town, the historic capital of Unguja, India, where doors were heavily reinforced to
felt perfectly at home on the the main island in the Zanzibar archipelago, withstand charging elephants.
island of Nosy Be, in northwest is fascinating to explore. For much of the past In 2020, Stone Town celebrates the 20th
Madagascar. It’s one of the world’s two millennia, the sheltered bay on Unguja’s anniversary of its inscription as a UNESCO
biggest producers of ylang-ylang, western shore was the Indian Ocean’s most World Heritage Site. Wander the alleys on
whose sweet, exotic fragrance treasured harbour. From as early as the first foot, and you’ll discover shops and galleries
adds a tropical frisson to century, merchants from Yemen, Iran and stuffed with African antiques, fabrics and
Chanel No 5, Monroe’s favourite west India were anchoring here to strike deals tinga tingas, brightly coloured paintings
perfume. With glamorous resort with the spice, ivory and slave traders based that are distinctively Tanzanian. MEMORIES
hotels and direct flights from along the Swahili Coast. By the 10th century, OF ZANZIBAR has a large selection, and you
Rome and Milan with Neos, Nosy Stone Town was beginning to take shape. can sometimes watch local artists at work at
IMAGES: GETTY; AKU/CHRISTOPHER WILTON-STEER
Be is popular with beach-loving With Portugal, Oman and Britain taking the CULTURAL ARTS CENTRE . To take in the
Italians, and others are catching turns to preside over it between the 16th and cityscape over cocktails and lunch, head to
on, too. neosair.it 20th centuries, it absorbed influences from all the rooftop TEA HOUSE AT EMERSON SPICE .
three, as well as from Arabia and India. emersononhurumzi.com emersonspice.com
Present-day Stone Town is an intriguing memories-zanzibar.com
jumble of narrow streets and alleys, shaded HOW TO DO IT: Audley Travel typically offers
from the tropical sun by coral stone mansions a 12-day trip to Tanzania, with four nights on
with heavy wooden doors. Many have vine safari at Selous Game Reserve and five nights
FROM LEFT: Ylang-ylang flowers
leaves and flowers carved into their frame, in Zanzibar, from £3,810 per person, sharing.
growing on the cananga tree,
Madagascar; Street vendors in front
an indication that the house was built for a Includes accommodation, flights from
of a traditional Stone Town doorway spice merchant — there’s a good example London and all domestic transport. For more
selling papaya, oranges, bananas and at EMERSON ON HURUMZI, a boutique hotel. information on Audley’s flexible bookings
jack fruit to passersby Other doors feature geometric patterns, promise, visit audleytravel.com
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PARTNER CONTENT FOR TWISPER
2 4 H O U R S I N
ZURICH
Tried-and-tested recommendations are the key to making the
most of a trip to Switzerland’s lakeside metropolis. Twisper
ambassador and award-winning cocktail maker Dirk Hany,
owner of cocktail den Bar am Wasser, curates the perfect tour
With its gilded banks and formal dining halls, a certain

conservatism has long defined Switzerland’s largest city.
But amid an influx of talented young creatives, Switzerland’s
mountain-backed, lakefront metropolis is being invigorated
by innovative restaurant menus and indulgent bar concepts.
“I grew up in South Africa, but my dad is Swiss and he was
adamant that Zurich is the best place to learn about fine
dining,” says Dirk Hany, owner of the city’s Bar am Wasser.
Dirk’s professional life encompasses accolades from the
prestigious Spirited Awards and Mixology Bar Awards; a
long stint as ambassador for drinks brand Pernod Ricard,
which took him around the world; and jobs fronting such
stellar Zurich drinking dens as Widder Bar. His original
dream, however, was to be a chef. “I wanted to manage
a grand culinary hotel,” he says. “But I soon realised the
potential of cocktails as a liquid kitchen. Plus, bar work puts
me front of house, where I can be my sociable self.”
The menus at Bar Am Wasser, a full-service, sit-down
bar offering everything from amuse bouche-style aperitifs
to dessert drinks, are works of art — and not just for the
cocktails within. Each season’s menu is tailored to specific
local flavours, creatively interpreted and designed by local
artists. “People beg, borrow and steal them,” laughs Dirk.
With the city’s bars newly reopened, ‘back to the roots’ is this
summer’s theme. “It seemed time to revisit classic cocktails
— with a twist, of course,” explains Dirk. “And it’s time to
revisit Zurich’s much-missed bars and restaurants.”
PARTNER CONTENT FOR TWISPER
Morning
Kafischnaps is a simple little coffee shop in
the heart of the city, decked out with black-
and-white tiles and wooden chairs. The vibe
here is local: the coffee comes from a Zurich
roastery, the milk from a nearby dairy and
the fruit and veggies from the local outdoor
market. kafischnaps.ch
Brunch is a popular pastime in Zurich,
so head to ROSI for ‘frühschoppen’, the
German and Austrian tradition of having
a late-morning get-together over a drink.
Expect lots of breads and traditional
pancakes, plus home-made preserves, local
sausage and plenty of beer and wine. THE LOCAL
rosi.restaurant BESTSELLER
Afternoon MAKE IT
Baur’s, at the Baur au Lac hotel, is a
brasserie-style restaurant with a beautiful
AT HOME
bar section. The dining menu includes Bring home a taste of
French brasserie classics — think beef Mexico with Bar am
filet and tartare — and heavy but delicious Wasser’s bestselling
desserts. As it’s annexed to a five-star hotel, cocktail, El burro de los
service here is phenomenal. baurs-zurich.ch Muertos, featuring the
For a quick bite, try the lakeside Pump Mexican spirit mezcal
Station. Run by a local character called
Baba, who even has his own Facebook fan Ingredients
page, the Alpine-grill-style menu includes 40ml mezcal
potato salad, kebab and grilled sausage. It’s 20ml fresh lime juice
worth a visit just for the amazing mountain 10ml agave nectar
views and Baba’s jokes. pumpstation.ch 20ml passion fruit juice
ginger beer
Evening
Zurich has a diverse international dining Method
scene, but when it comes first-rate Swiss Mix the mezcal, lime
dishes like fondue and raclette, you often juice, agave nectar and
need to head to the mountains. Kronenhalle, passion fruit juice, then
however, is a great spot for traditional strain into a highball
fare, including Zürcher geschnetzeltes and glass filled with ice. Top
rösti (potato gratin pancake). I always take up with ginger beer.
visitors here, as they love to see the waiters baramwasser.ch
dressed up in classic service uniform, and
the paintings by Picasso, Van Gogh and
Rembrandt on the walls. kronenhalle.ch
Bü’s, named after the owner, is another CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: River
personal favourite; I love a great host, and Limmat; Augustinergasse; Rosi;
Bü is exactly that, arriving tableside with Pump Station; Dirk Hany at Bar
IMAGES: GETTY; AWL IMAGES; ALAMY; @MCGERBERPHOTOGRAPHER
a sharp click of his heels. The place has a am Wasser
vast wine collection, so ask for the full menu

rather than the daily print-out. buetique.ch
Essentials
After hours
Zurich tends to attract a young club crowd,
TWISPER is a social travel app
so I head for places like Club Bellevue, that allows networks of friends
which has a slighter older clientele and to share and discover the best
plays classic house music. Klaus is another places to eat, drink and sleep
favourite; although not strictly a member’s around the world as well as
club, it’s a place ‘for friends and friends follow travel and lifestyle
influencers and magazines for
of friends’ and entry is at the bouncers’
recommendations. Find out more
discretion. Inside, you’ll discover a world at twisper.com
of dance and burlesque. club-bellevue.ch
hausvonklaus.ch
In the early hours, head to Gräbli Bar,
which has attained cult status for being open
around the clock. graebli-bar.ch
Download TWISPER now and follow Dirk Hany’s recommendations

M ARR AKEC H
Moroccan tanneries are renowned for their quality and craft,
and nowhere is the deep-rooted heritage of leatherwork better
experienced than the Red City. Within the bustling Medina,
tanners, dyers and merchants ply their trade, having honoured
the same techniques for centuries. From raw skins to colourful,
expertly crafted goods, the story of Marrakech’s leather-making
tradition is one that embodies the city’s thriving cultural identity
WORDS & PHOTOGRAPHS N I C O AV E L A R D I
Jul/Aug 2020 111

MARRAKECH
Located around the edge of the Medina, Marrakech’s open-air tanneries are a living postcard of
the city’s age-old leather-making tradition. Here, skins are tanned solely using natural elements
before being taken for dying. Visiting the tanneries feels like a glimpse into the past. Little has
changed in this industry; the same techniques have been used here since medieval times.
MARRAKECH
Jul/Aug 2020 113

MARRAKECH
MARRAKECH
Tanning is hard labour, carried out entirely by hand. First, the raw skins are washed with salt,
before being coated in a thick paste made from limestone to make them supple. After two weeks,
the hides are immersed in huge vats of bird droppings, then left to dry. Finally, the tanners scrape
away any remaining hair before the skins are sold on to local dyers and crafters.
Jul/Aug 2020 115

MARRAKECH
MARRAKECH
The maze of alleys beside the Ben Youssef

Mosque heaves with workshops, where the
processed, dyed leather is transformed into a
variety of goods. The place is alive with
industry: sewing machines thud away in the
background, workmen hammer at hides with
wooden tools, and the tea and coffee vendor
calls out, pushing his trolley through the busy,
twisting lanes. All this activity — both inside
and outside the workshops — makes this
corner of the Medina one of the most
fascinating places in the city.
Jul/Aug 2020 117

MARRAKECH
Marrakech’s beguiling souks are

the nation’s largest: a complex
network of narrow passageways,
packed with all kinds of goods.
The traditional markets are mainly
organised according to the products
sold or the specific trade, and
Marrakech’s leather souk commands
a large, busy corner of the Medina.
Here, merchants tout the wares of
local craftspeople, selling everything
from babouche slippers to
embroidered satchels. Getting lost
in these bustling alleys while
admiring the local craftsmanship is
a unique experience.
tastic family escape.
Where Moroccan heritage meets Oriental charm.
Route du Golf Royal, 40 000 Marrakech, Maroc. For reservations, visit mandarinoriental.com or call +212 5 24 29 88 88
PARTNER CONTENT FOR THE NORTH FACE
ADVENTURE
AWAITS From mountain climbing in the Lake District to river
rafting in North Wales, The North Face is fronting a
new diversity project aimed at enriching young people
through the power of the great outdoors
PARTNER CONTENT FOR THE NORTH FACE
Students rock climbing

OPPOSITE PAGE: Students
from City Academy, Hackney
rock climbing in the Lake
District and canoeing in Wales
The North Face has been synonymous with to explore the wonders of the UK’s Jack Day, physics
the great outdoors for decades, helping wilderness through confidence-boosting teacher at City
adventurers from around the world tackle activities such as kayaking, hiking, rowing
Academy: “It’s a
inscrutable challenges with it’s award- and orienteering, all in a bid to encourage
winning products and clothing range. equality and ignite a passion for the great great environment
Since 2010, the company has funded outdoors. Both brands are passionate about to spend time with
hundreds of non-profit organisations under adventure as a means of self-growth, and your pupils. It amazes
themes of ‘Enabling Exploration’ and believe it should be for everyone, not just for me to see how much
‘Loving Wild Places’. those who can access or afford it.
Now, as part of The Explore Fund that’s This follows last year’s successful
effort the kids put
being rolled out in the UK, Germany and campaign, She Moves Mountains, where into the trip, which
Italy, The North Face has launched a girls from Sarah Bonnell School in east is often the opposite
new project making adventure accessible London headed to Cumbria for an weekend of what we see in
for everyone, especially children from of outdoor challenges. Here, we look back
school! I personally
underprivileged communities in urban at a trip from February this year, where
areas. The project is in partnership with around 35 students from City Academy love being outdoors
The Outward Bound Trust — a charity in Hackney headed to North Wales for a as I’m originally from
dedicated to teaching children life lessons resilience-testing few days, and find out Yorkshire. The trip
through nature — and gives opportunities what the experience meant for them. creates a shared
cultural touchstone
with the kids that we
THE CHILDREN’S VIEW wouldn’t otherwise
have and I use that
back in the classroom.
It’s also a leveller for
me and the kids — we
all have a go at the
same activities and
camp together.”
Neesha Davis, aged Stephanie Adusei, aged Farrell Governor, aged
12: “This is a totally new 12: “I love how different 14: “I’ve been on the trip
experience for me. I’ve never it is in Wales [compared] before, but I loved it so
done anything like hiking or to home; how much space much that I applied to come
IMAGES: RICHARD PENCOTT
canoeing. I really enjoyed there is and the lack of back. I enjoy not having
making new friends and buildings. I could definitely [electronic] devices and
learning new things.” live here, but I’d miss being just being able to read and
Favourite activity: so close to Primark.” experience the outdoors.”
Canoeing as well as walking Favourite activity: Favourite activity:
up a mini waterfall. Scrambling. Camping.
For more information on The North Face and Outward Bound Trust, visit thenorthface.co.uk
CIT Y LIFE
BILBAO
Renowned for its art and riverfront architecture, Bilbao is
a city of chattering markets, long nights and football-mad
locals, but it also knows a thing or two about good food and
drink. WORDS: Ben Lerwill PHOTOGRAPHS: Slawek Kozdrasw
Jul/Aug 2020 123

BILBAO
FROM LEFT: Chef Paul
C
yclists buzz under plane trees as traffic and drink, filling its larder with a bounty
Ibarra, of Los Fueros
purrs past baroque churches. Two of produce from the Atlantic, the lush
restaurant; the Zubizuri
newlyweds are on the riverside, posing farmland of the surrounding hills and footbridge, designed
for photos. The groom is wearing a beige vineyards carpeting the valleys. Wander by Santiago Calatrava;
three-piece suit (you can get away with that the city’s streets and you could be forgiven Guggenheim Museum
sort of thing in Bilbao) and the bride a flowy for thinking it’s permanently on lunch Bilbao; pintxos at
white dress, the breeze catching the gauze and hour. Glasses are knocked back before Mercado de la Ribera
billowing it out, cloaking both husband and noon, bakeries bulge with customers and PREVIOUS PAGES:
Louise Bourgeois’
wife in a feather-light cloud of material. They pintxo bars throng with besuited workers.
sculpture Maman,
giggle and embrace. Behind them, the River Near-neighbour San Sebastián might draw
outside the Guggenheim
Nervión flows wide and blue under the sleek the international foodie garlands, but the Musuem Bilbao
lines of the Zubizuri footbridge. bilbaínos eat and drink with relish.
But Bilbao hasn’t always provided a “Cooking is simpler in Bilbao,” says
photogenic backdrop. Thirty years ago, the chef Paul Ibarra, speaking to me at his
idea of having your wedding shots taken at lively Basque restaurant, Los Fueros,
the water’s edge would have been laughable which has been pulling in locals since
— the river was a murky, odoriferous thing, 1878. Behind him, families pick through
the quayside a mass of rusting industry. But platters of grilled prawns. “In San Sebastián,
the largest city in the Basque Country has the food is more elaborate, more French-
since morphed into one of the most vaunted influenced. Here, simple is good. But
examples of urban regeneration in Europe, that doesn’t mean it’s easy. If you cook
full of chattering markets, long nights and something, it has to be marvellous; the
proud, football-mad locals, and was even flavours have nowhere to hide.”
designated an official UNESCO City of Design To make his point, Paul sizzles off a
in 2014. Today, you can almost sense it portion of hake in olive oil, sprinkles it with
swelling out its chest with self-confidence, sea salt, adds a dollop of roasted pepper
glass of txakoli white wine in one hand and mayonnaise and places it before me. “I
salt cod croquette in the other. don’t know about you,” he says, “but if I die
Visitors will want to loosen their belts tomorrow, this would be my last meal.” The
a notch or two, because this is a city that fish is golden, with a slight crunch to the bite.
knows a thing or two about good food It would be a fine choice, to be fair.
BILBAO
The bigger picture “And look,” Paul says, proffering a bottle apple. Maritime influences are everywhere
of txakoli. “The white wine here is different you turn in this port city, from the set menus
The Guggenheim isn’t to San Sebastián’s. We use the same grape, to the architecture. I even arrive by overnight
but theirs is sparkling. Ours has no bubbles.” ferry, and there aren’t many city-break
the only top-quality He pours some out for me, the chilled wine destinations where you can do that.
Bilbao gallery. Take causing condensation to form on the glass in
seconds. It’s crisp, fruity and sublimely fresh.
“It’s hard to explain how much Bilbao
has changed since the 1970s,” guide Miriam
time to visit the “No bubbles, just good wine,” says Paul. Ruíz López tells me as we wander the streets
“That tells you something about Bilbao.” around energetic Plaza Moyúa. Around us,
excellent Museo grand hotels look out over trim lawns and
TAKE ME TO THE RIVER curvy, Norman Foster-designed subway
de Bellas Artes, None of which is to say that the city lacks entrances. “People know us now for our art
for Basque and fizz. Bilbao can be showy, even flamboyant and our riverside architecture, but when I was
at times. Its transformation over recent growing up there was an urban myth that the
Spanish works decades has left a very visible legacy, with water was so dirty that if you fell in, you’d die.”
one particular project standing as a (literally) Bilbao’s long history has been shaped by
shining example. When it opened in 1997, its estuary location. From its beginnings
the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao had the in the year 1300, this has always been a city
world’s cultural commentators falling over of seafarers, traders and shipbuilders, a
themselves with excitement. Its giant, place happy to draw its influences from all
sinuous, metallic form was likened to a cross compass points. At the same time, of course,
between a palace and a ship. Today, over two it’s also somewhere that prides itself on its
decades on, the museum remains a world- self-determination. A case in point: the city’s
class attraction, inside and out. top-flight football team, Athletic Bilbao,
Perhaps inevitably, the Guggenheim has famously still employs a Basque-only policy
its own Michelin-starred restaurant, Nerua for its player recruitment. In all sorts of
Guggenheim Bilbao. Focused on seasonal respects, Madrid is a distant notion.
Basque ingredients, its best-known dishes The produce used by the city’s bars
include a sole and clam cream soup and a and restaurants also belongs squarely to
smoked eel ravioli with beetroot and green the region. At the Mercado de la Ribera,
Jul/Aug 2020 125

BILBAO
BILBAO
Urban recognition // a riverside hall that’s the largest covered

market in Europe, the aisles accost you with
Bilbao was named mounds of mussels, towers of tomatoes,
walls of cheeses and vats of green beans.
European City There’s a touristy element to it — local advice
is to avoid eating in the style-over-substance
of the Year at the bars within the market hall — but many of
2018 Urbanism Bilbao’s leading chefs still stock up their
restaurant larders right here.
Awards, which The sheer variety of local ingredients makes
the omnipresent pintxo — the Basque take
takes into account on tapas — the perfect Bilbao food. Found
everything from on almost every bar counter in town, these Q&A with Patrizia
snack-sized creations are traditionally meant
urban development to to be consumed in two bites. Today, however, Vitelli, Bilbao
they’ve evolved from simple-but-brilliant Food Tours
environmental issues classics such as the gilda — an olive, a chilli
and an anchovy on a stick — to creative HOW IMPORTANT IS FOOD TO
concoctions that might involve anything from THE LOCAL CULTURE?
quail eggs to spider crab. Food is everything in Bilbao.
Most bars offer a wide choice, but generally Every big decision, every
have their own, honed-to-perfection house celebration, every important
speciality. The locals have a word — poteo meeting takes place around a
— which refers to the act of moving from table. We’re lucky to have a huge
variety of ingredients — we have
bar to bar, ordering a drink and a pintxo in
a long coastline and the climate is
each. You hear the word said a lot, and no
just right for growing crops and
wonder. To spend an evening drift ing around vegetables — although Basque
a soft ly lit neighbourhood, gorging on bite- cuisine is still quite traditional. It’s
sized dishes and watching the edges of the honest food.
buildings grow gradually hazier, is one of
Bilbao’s greatest joys. WHAT’S THE RELATIONSHIP
LIKE BETWEEN SAN SEBASTIÁN
AND BILBAO?
THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN’
There’s a healthy rivalry. San
“I’ve worked behind the bar here for
Sebastián gets called ‘Little Paris’
30 years,” says Aitor Aginako, his face — in the ‘70s and ‘80s, some of its
cracking into a grin above his neatly chefs trained in France, so it’s a
pressed blue shirt. Café Bar Bilbao sits bit posher there. Although if you
in one corner of the Old Town’s Plaza ask them, they’ll say the bilbaínos
Nueva and has a marbled counter, a think a lot of themselves!
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP chequerboard floor and patterned wall
LEFT: Croissants at WHERE TRADITIONAL
tiles. “In 30 years, you learn how to look
Bohemian Lane cafe, BASQUE RESTAURANTS
after customers. You need to know where
Bilbao’s first vegan WOULD YOU RECOMMEND?
to stand — always be close by, but without Try El Arandia de Julen — it does
bakery; Bohemian Lane
invading their space — and how to treat the best beans and steak — or
owner Sandra Mateo;
Café Bar Bilbao prides
people with respect. But most of all,” he says, Pulpería Vermutería Florines for
itself on serving some pointing to small portions of bacalao al pil- good-quality octopus.
of the best pintxos in pil (salt cod in a garlic and chilli sauce), “you bilbaofoodtours.com
the city need good pintxos.”
Jul/Aug 2020 127

BILBAO
Close to Plaza Nueva are the seven detailing of the Arriaga Theatre. For me, INSIDER TIPS
medieval streets — known as Las Siete one in particular stands out. Not the
Calles — that make up the heart of the Guggenheim, for all its showstopping Kalimotxo is a drink that’s popular
Old Town. Ancient five-storey buildings beauty, but the Akzuna Zentroa, a bizarre across the Basque region.
with wrought-iron balconies look down on but brilliant cultural complex created by Improbable though it sounds, it’s
the cobbles. On one of these streets, Calle French architect and designer Philippe made by mixing equal parts cola
Carnicería Vieja, is Bilbao’s first vegan Starck in 2010. Its vast, dark foyer is and red wine, and tastes much as
bakery, Bohemian Lane. Its owner, Sandra supported by a series of squat, stylised you’d expect.
Mateo, welcomes me with a coffee and a pillars. Commuters wander through this
slice of carrot, cinnamon and walnut cake otherworldly gloom while families recline Locals rarely order more than one
(verdict: two sticky thumbs up). on glowing benches and, way overhead, pintxo per bar, although no one’s
“Bilbao is changing,” she says. “People swimmers float in a glass-bottomed rooftop going to object if you choose to
thought I was crazy to go against the pool. It’s an oddity that somehow finds a stay put and try multiple options.
usual traditions, but, as in so many places, natural home in Bilbao.
veganism is growing.” A steady flow of The building was once an enormous The Guggenheim Museum
customers through the doors underlines wine warehouse. This makes sense. Bilbao is closed on Mondays, but
her point. “I actually studied architecture,” Sooner or later, everything in Bilbao otherwise opens from 10:00 to
Sandra continues. “I still love walking comes back to food and drink. I later 18:00. Coming later in the day is a
around the city and staring at buildings. I learn that the local couple I’d seen having good way of beating the crowds.
like to think I actually use my education their photos taken on the riverside were
in my baking. It takes architectural skill to about to embark on a banquet of what can If you’re travelling by car, the
create a three-layered vegan cake!” only be described as Basque proportions: underground Arenal Casco
Today’s city has eye-catching buildings a traditional seven-course wedding feast Viejo car park is centrally
by the dozen, from the 41-storey curves of lasting several hours. It’s no wonder they located and has reasonable
the Iberdrola Tower to the neo-baroque were looking so happy. daily parking rates.
BILBAO
Top 8
FOOD & DRINK HIGHLIGHTS
EL GLOBO BASQUERY
BEST FOR: LUNCH-HOUR PINTXOS BEST FOR: BEER-LOVERS
Bare brick walls and a lively lunchtime Located near the Udaletxeko Zubia Bridge,
throng create the setting for this local this uniquely multifunctional spot is part
favourite, where the house speciality pintxo brewery, part bakery and part restaurant.
is a disc of bread topped with spider crab, Staff in breton tops buzz around ferrying
paprika and a béchamel sauce. Pair it with drinks and parcelling up bread. It does a
a chilled glass of txakoli and you may find it good-value midweek menú del día, which you
hard to ever leave. It’s a few minutes’ walk can enjoy while watching bakers and brewers
from Plaza Moyúa and, as with so many going about their business, although it’s the
places in Bilbao, offers excellent quality at an beer that’s the main attraction. Try the hop-
extremely affordable price. barelglobo.es heavy Hitman IPA. basquery.com
CHARAMEL GOZOTEGIA GURE TOKI

BEST FOR: BAKED GOODS BEST FOR: EXQUISITE PINTXOS
Locals queue up, waiting to pile Situated in one corner of Plaza Nueva,
into this Old Town bakery the moment Gure Toki is to many minds the greatest
it opens its doors each morning, which pintxo bar in the city, with some of its
tells you all you need to know about creations elevated to the realm of
the quality of its in-house baking. fine dining. It’s eminently affordable
You’ll find everything from croissants too, with devilishly good specialities
and pastries to more inventive concoctions such as its sheep’s cheese soup, served
FROM LEFT: Street scene
such as a blue-cheese cheesecake. The in a tiny bowl with quail egg, mushroom
in the city’s colourful
coffee is particularly good, while the and truffle oil, one of the best couple of
Old Town; gildas at Gure
Toki pintxo bar; perfect
homely interior design — with greenery euros you’ll spend anywhere. Some of its
for late-night snacks, hanging from the rough stone walls pintxo offerings require ordering direct
Café Iruña opened its — makes it the kind of place you’ll want from the kitchen — don’t be afraid to ask.
doors in 1903 to stay awhile. charamelgozotegia.com guretoki.com
Jul/Aug 2020 129

BILBAO
ESSENTIALS
200 yards
Nervión
ver Guggenheim Museum
Ri
URIBARRI
Zubizuri footbridge
Doña Casilda Museo de Bellas Artes
Park
ABANDO Plaza de Moyúa

Etxebarria
B I L B A O Park
Azkuna Zentroa
Plaza Nueva
CASCO VIEJO
Bilbao
S PAI N BILBAO Las Siete
MADRID LA VIEJA Calles
Mercado de
la Ribera
Getting there and around

Bilbao is typically served by non-stop
flights from London and Manchester,
with airlines such as British Airways,
EasyJet, Ryanair and Vueling. Aer
Lingus flies direct from Dublin.
ba.com easyjet.com ryanair.com
vueling.com aerlingus.com
Average flight time: 2h.
Brittany Ferries sails between Bilbao
and Portsmouth and Rosslare, with
up to three sailings a week in each
direction. There are also sailings
between nearby Santander and
Portsmouth (three times a week,
both directions) and Plymouth (once
a week, both directions).
brittany-ferries.co.uk
Average sailing time: 24h.
Bilbao is easy to cover on foot, but its
metro and tram system is efficient.
Gure Toki pintxo bar,
Fares start from €1.60 (£1.40) and
where specialities
€1.50 (£1.30) respectively. The airport
include cheese soup
is easily reached by public transport.
When to go
Late spring and autumn are the best
PROMENADE BILBAO CAFÉ IRUÑA times to visit, avoiding the intense
BEST FOR: DEVOURING GILDAS BEST FOR: ELABORATE DECOR heat and high prices of the peak
Calle Ledesma runs parallel to the main Overlooking the Jardines de Albia since it summer months and the wetter days
shopping drag, Gran Vía, and is lined with opened its doors in 1903, this stunning cafe of winter and early spring.
bars and terraces. It lends itself superbly still feels like some half-dreamt Moorish
Places mentioned
to a spot of bar-hopping, although tiny fantasy, with glazed tiles, painted murals,
Los Fueros. losfueros.com
Vermutería Promenade, with its slim yellow wood carvings and a tasselled valance above
Guggenheim Museum Bilbao.
frontage, can be easy to miss. Seek it out, the bar. It’s a relatively large venue, split into guggenheim-bilbao.eus
largely because it does one of the best gildas multiple areas, but the main event, food- Café Bar Bilbao. bilbao-cafebar.com
in Bilbao. Made with anchovies, olives and wise, is the grill in the far corner, where lamb Bohemian Lane.
green chillis, this pintxo is said to be named kebabs are spiced and cooked to order. As bohemianlanebilbao.com
after the 1946 Rita Hayworth film Gilda. late-night snacks go, it takes some beating.
promenadebilbao.com cafeirunabilbao.net More info
Bilbao Tourism bilbaoturismo.net
CAFÉ DEL ARENAL LA VIÑA DEL ENSANCHE

How to do it
BEST FOR: CHURROS BEST FOR: OLD-WORLD AMBIANCE
BRITTANY FERRIES has ferry-and-
On the fringes of the Old Town, this cafe Across the street from El Globo, La Viña del
hotel packages, at Bilbao’s four-star
isn’t much to look at — expect slot machines, Ensanche has been in business since 1927. Hotel Abando, from £389 per person,
tired neon, and a TV showing pop music It retains a pleasantly bygone feel, with including a four-berth cabin with
ILLUSTRATION: JOHN PLUMER
— but serves up an irresistible treat in the tulip-shaped lampshades, dozens of ageing return sailings. brittany-ferries.co.uk
form of its hot chocolate and churros. The postcards on the walls and huge legs of ham LOVEHOLIDAYS has four nights at the
chocolate is ludicrously thick and rich; hanging above the bar. This acorn-fed jamón, four-star NYX Hotel Bilbao in
the churros are crunchy tendrils of warm, cut wafer-thin, is what the bar is famous for, December on a room-only basis, from
£233 per person, including flights and
sugared dough fresh from the kitchen. Bag a but there’s a broad range of other pintxos to
flight amendments. loveholidays.com
seat outside, in the shadow of the Iglesia de try. In 1996, the bar opened a produce shop to
San Nicolás de Bari, and get dunking. sell the in-demand ingredients and wines on
facebook.com/cafeteriaarenal its menu. avinadelensanche.com/en
For all the top tips, inside insight and advice on how to get the best out of the Caribbean visit…
www.caribbean.co.uk
PARTNER CONTENT FOR POLAR ROUTES
UNCHARTED
TERRITORY
A new cruise on one of Ponant’s high-tech, state-of-the-art
ships promises close encounters with the Weddell Sea and
Larsen Ice Shelf in one of the most remote areas on the planet
You’re a long way from anywhere once you The ship departs from Ushuaia, in
reach the Weddell Sea. This remote body Argentina’s southern Tierra del Fuego region,
of water lies off the seldom-visited eastern before sailing across the fabled Drake Passage
coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. To call it via the far-flung South Shetland Islands.
magical would be no understatement: it’s a Over the next week and a half, as well as
silent, almost dreamlike world of glaciers, history and wildlife lectures from Ponant’s
ice floes and alpine peaks — a binary world team of expert naturalists, passengers have
of blue sky and white that stretches to the chance to kayak between ice floes, ride
the horizon in all directions, making for on hovercrafts and electric snowmobiles,
unforgettable sailing. try scuba diving and even rise above the
Ponant’s 11-night Weddell Sea and Larsen Antarctic landscape in a hot air balloon.
Ice Shelf expedition cruise showcases this Numerous shore visits in rigid-inflatable
most spectacular of regions to unrivalled boats provide the ideal opportunity to see the
effect. The Larsen Ice Shelf, on the edge of region’s extraordinary wildlife up close, from
the Weddell Sea, has produced some of the leopard seals and wandering albatrosses
largest tabletop icebergs ever seen. It also
IMAGES: PONANT
to Adélie penguins and humpback whales.

marks the ship’s ultimate destination, and Few voyages can lay genuine claim to being
as the vessel heads into deep Antarctica, the trip of a lifetime, but visiting the Earth’s
those on board become immersed by the lower-latitudes on an intrepid, educational ABOVE: Pleneau Bay, Port Charcot
great white continent. expedition is emphatically one of them. RIGHT: Emperor Penguins
PARTNER CONTENT FOR POLAR ROUTES
THREE MORE POLAR SAILINGS
1withPristine
Spitsbergen
National
2 At the Genesis
of the French
Polar Expeditions
3 Emblematic
Antarctica
This 12-day expedition
Geographic Follow in the wake of the cruise is the classic way
Ponant has partnered great explorers on this new to experience Antarctica.
with National Geographic 11-day cruise, focusing on Departing from Ushuaia, in
Expeditions for this nine- the rugged east coast of Argentina, the ship spends THE SHIP
day trip from Tromso to the Greenland. Departing from two days crossing the Drake
polar island of Spitsbergen. Reykjavik, you’ll sail west to Passage before arriving at The trip to the Weddell
First passing Bear Island, reach Greenland’s icy coast. the Antarctic Peninsula. Sea takes place on
home to hundreds of bird The voyage explores the What follows is the chance board the latest addition
species, the vessel then sails mountainous Ammassalik to revel in the region’s epic to Ponant’s fleet, Le
via Norway’s fjord-laced region, where Captain Jean- landscapes, as well as the Commandant-Charcot.
Sor-Spitsbergen National Baptiste Charcot sailed, opportunity to see first-hand As the first hybrid
Park. Spitsbergen, which before moving north to the the extraordinary animals electric polar exploration
forms part of the Svalbard Blosseville Coast, named that make this continent ship to be powered by
archipelago is spectacular. after the explorer Jules their home. Expect mind- liquified natural gas, it’s
With on-board luxury, de Blosseville. As well as bending numbers of a game-changer. The
and wildlife ranging from meeting local Inuit people, penguins, while stylish on- state-of-the-art vessel
whales to Arctic foxes, this the trip offers the chance to board hospitality adds even is designed to have
is a journey to be savoured. spot polar bears. more to the experience. minimal environmental
impact. On-board
comforts include an
indoor pool, panoramic
lounge, lecture theatre,
restaurants and a Sothys
spa, as well as just 100
cabins and suites. Shore
excursions, meanwhile,
take place on easy-to-
board, 10-person rigid-
inflatable boats. With
its revolutionary design
and luxury mindset, Le
Commandant-Charcot is
a polar exploration ship
with a difference.
Essentials
Ponant sails to 100 countries with

modern, environmentally friendly
ships. Polar specialists, including
biologists and glaciologists, are on
board every exploration.
Polar Routes are the expedition

cruise specialists who have gone
to the ends of the earth and back
again to bring you the best polar
expedition cruises around.
For more information visit polarroutes.co.uk

T R AV E L G E E K S
ASK THE EXPERTS

IN NEED OF ADVICE FOR YOUR NEXT TRIP? ARE YOU
AFTER RECOMMENDATIONS, TIPS AND GUIDANCE?
THE TRAVEL GEEKS HAVE THE ANSWERS…
FROM LEFT: Signal Hill,

Q // I’m planning a A great way to support local If you’re planning to head out
Cape Town, South
people is to choose a tour with a on safari, choose a game reserve
trip to South Africa in local guide or group — one that that has social initiatives in place.
Africa; taking photos in
Daisetsuzan National
2021, and keen to gives back to communities, as well Not-for-profit Lepogo Lodges Park, Japan
support local as showing you the sights. A great in Limpopo, for example, runs a
example of this is Juma Art Tours, carbon-offsetting programme,
communities. What a Cape Town-based social while Samara Private Game
do you recommend? enterprise that connects tourists Reserve in the Great Karoo
with vulnerable locals in partners with organisations
Khayelitsha through art, cycling on research, conservation and
and gardening programmes. community projects.
Another recommendation is You can also choose to stay
4Roomed eKasi Culture, also in somewhere managed by a local
Khayelitsha. Founded by community, such as Bulungula
MasterChef South Africa finalist Lodge on the Wild Coast. It’s
Abigail Mbalo, it’s a restaurant owned and managed by the local
styled on the traditional houses Xhosa community and is entirely
of South Africa’s oldest townships. solar-powered. A great resource
Abigail encourages young black for finding community-led
woman to stay in their accommodation and activities
hometowns, and to use their is non-profit organisation Fair
culinary creativity to entice Trade Tourism. jumaarttours.co.za
IMAGES: GETTY
visitors to dine locally and share facebook.com/4RoomedeKasi

cultural experiences. The lepogolodges.com samara.co.za
restaurant serves classic township bulungula.com fairtrade.travel
dishes with a fine dining twist. KGOMOTSO RAMOTHEA
Q // I’d like to book a While trips in 2021 are likely I wouldn’t recommend Q // I want to go on a
to go ahead, it’s still too early booking a trip just yet; instead,
trip abroad for next to book without running wait until policies return
long-distance hike
year, but am nervous the risk of being left out of without these exclusions. this summer. Where
about making the pocket. Earlier this year, the Once insurance is sorted, I would you suggest
coronavirus outbreak left would recommend booking
commitment. What thousands of UK travellers a package holiday. They’re
that has good camping
advice do you have? stranded and millions more currently financially protected potential along
waiting months for refunds. by the government, so the way?
The risk of another outbreak you’ll receive a refund if the
causing further disruption company goes bust (and
is significant. it’s likely some will in the The 186-mile-long Pembrokeshire
Generally, the sensible near future). Look for firms Coast Path has plenty of campsite
thing to do is to take out travel that have refunded quickly offerings. Compared with other
insurance that covers illness in recent months; you’ll be popular coastal footpaths around
and travel disruption, which rewarding those smaller, the country, the campsites along
the better policies would specialist operators that did this route are generally more
usually include. However, the right thing, and you’ll get easily accessible from the main
as insurers now exclude your money back if anything footpath, smaller and tend to be
coronavirus-related claims, goes wrong. RORY BOLAND independently run. For the best
coastal views, stop off at Rhosson
Ganol campsite on St David’s
peninsula, overlooking Ramsey
Sound. The best pocket-sized
campsites for privacy, meanwhile,
include Becks Bay Camping near
Tenby, Point Farm Campsite near
St Ann’s Head and Little Haven
Campsite near Walton West.
The National Trails website is
a helpful resource, as it details
campsites along every section
of the route (although it doesn’t
include some of the very smallest
farm campsites). There are
also excellent hop-on-hop-off
bus services for walkers during
the summer months. For more
details, see coolcamping.com
and nationaltrail.co.uk
Q // I want to I’m a strong advocate of composing more interesting JAMES WARNER SMITH
exploring your own backyard; shots while having to maintain
improve my travel you can transfer that travel social distance.
photography curiosity to your local Many organisations and
without going too neighbourhood with great companies, including the
effect. There are many ways Royal Photographic Society,
far from home. to sharpen your observational Nikon and Leica, have THE EXPERTS
What tips and skills while experiencing launched online resources.
resources would ‘boring’ everyday scenes, like By forcing us to be present,
KGOMOTSO RAMOTHEA //
watching sunlight be diffused the current situation offers an
you recommend? SOUTH AFRICAN TOURISM
through trees and seeing what excellent opportunity to push SOUTHAFRICA.NET
shapes the rays cast over the ourselves creatively. I’ll be
ground. You can also play teaching courses that explore
RORY BOLAND //
with light and shade. Head this idea at my upcoming
WHICH? TRAVEL
out to your garden or local online academy: academy. WHICH.CO.UK/TRAVEL
park and explore the effects geotravelermedia.com
of harsh afternoon light on Further tips and
LOLA AKINMADE
your photography. tricks can be found at:
ÅKERSTRÖM //
If you have a variety of nationalgeographic.com/ CONTRIBUTING
lenses, now’s the time to photography PHOTOGRAPHER
experiment and challenge online.nikonschool.com/courses/ LOLAAKINMADE.COM
your range. For cityscapes, instagram.com/explore/tags/
try using a fixed lens, such as a stayhomewithleica JAMES WARNER SMITH //
50mm. As you won’t be able to store.leica-camera.com/uk/ AUTHOR, COOL
freely zoom in and out, you’ll en/programme CAMPING BRITAIN
be forced to concentrate on LOLA AKINMADE ÅKERSTRÖM COOLCAMPING.COM
Jul/Aug 2020 135

TRAVEL GEEKS
THE INFO
THE RISE OF THE VIRTUAL TOURIST

WE ROUND UP SOME OF THE WONDERFUL WAYS WE'VE BEEN EXPERIENCING
THE WORLD FROM HOME. WORDS: CHARLOTTE WIGRAM-EVANS
IN NUMBERS
THE LOUVRE, PARIS

NATURAL
7
WONDERS
to visit virtually
THE NUMBER OF VIRTUAL
TOURS AVAILABLE,
SHOWCASING DISPLAYS AS ANTARCTICA
DIVERSE AS RENAISSANCE ART The Shackleton 100 interactive
AND EGYPTIAN ANTIQUITIES. virtual walking tour takes in
Antarctica’s extraordinary
11.1 million wildlife and historic landmarks.
THE NUMBER OF VISITS THE The environmental impact
700,000
LOUVRE'S WEBSITE RECEIVED of in-person tourism to the
BETWEEN 12 MARCH AND 8 JUNE continent makes this virtual
option all the more enticing.
380,000 shackleton100.com/antarctica
THE NUMBER OF OBJECTS
The number of people who virtually visited
HOUSED IN THE MUSEUM. GALÁPAGOS ISLANDS
LOUVRE.FR the Faroe Islands in a six-week period during Live cameras and 360-degree
lockdown — over six times the number of video footage bring the
actual visitors in 2019. The project saw tourists creatures of the Galápagos
Islands that bit closer to home.
from 197 countries explore the islands through Watch blue-footed boobies
the eyes of a local. visitfaroeislands.com and land iguanas go about their
day in real time. airpano.com/
360photo/galapagos
13 DAYS £100,000
GRAND CANYON
Two billion years of history
The duration of Tourism THE AMOUNT ONE are mapped out in layers
HOST CLAIMS TO HAVE of rock and fossil in the
Western Australia’s virtual
MADE WITHIN THE FIRST Grand Canyon. Virtual
tour of the region, which MONTH OF AIRBNB visitors can learn more
includes meeting kangaroos LAUNCHING ITS VIRTUAL on an archaeology tour or
and taking a dip with orcas. TRAVEL PLATFORM. set off on a kayak trip.
westernaustralia.com AIRBNB.CO.UK/S/EXPERIENCES nps.gov
Four ancient sites to explore from afar

THE PYRAMIDS, EGYPT ANGKOR WAT, CAMBODIA MACHU PICCHU, PERU OLD QUÉBEC, CANADA
Of the 100-plus pyramids that Originally built by the Khmer Situated 7,970ft above sea level, The historic district of Old
have been identified in Egypt, the Empire as a Hindu temple in the these 15th-century ruins are Québec is one of North
most iconic is the Great Pyramid early 12th century, this sandstone evidence of an engineering America’s finest remaining
of Giza, which was constructed complex was gradually converted marvel. Check out the famous examples of a fortified colonial
around 2560 BC. Virtual visitors into a Buddhist centre of worship. Temple of the Sun, see the city, founded by the French in the
can examine the gigantic Take in the famous temples, as courtyards (complete with 17th century. Virtual tours offer
structures up close, as well as well as the nearby town of Siem grazing alpacas) and ‘scale’ visitors the chance to experience
IMAGES: GETTY
seeing the nearby cemeteries and Reap, via these online tours. Machu Picchu’s highest point. the area’s unique architecture.
settlements. giza.fas.harvard.edu virtualangkor.com youvisit.com/tour/machupicchu quebec-cite.com
SOURCES: LOUVRE.FR, MUSEUMS.EU, TRAVEL PR, FORBES.COM, HISTORY.COM, UNESCO.ORG
TRAVEL GEEKS
HOT TOPIC I READ THE EXTENDED VERSION OF THIS ONLINE AT NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC.CO.UK/TRAVEL
REFUNDS, REBOOKING & YOUR RIGHTS

TRAVEL OPERATORS AND AIRLINES HAVE COME UNDER FIRE FOR OFFERING CREDIT
— OR NOTHING AT ALL — RATHER THAN REFUND CONSUMERS FOR TRIPS CANCELLED
DUE TO COVID-19. WHAT OPTIONS DO CONSUMERS HAVE? WORDS: SARAH BARRELL
YOUR RIGHTS
If an EU airline cancels
your trip, you’re
entitled to a refund or
a rebooking. You don’t
have to accept credit or
vouchers. Beyond the EU,
it depends on the terms
and conditions of your
carrier or travel agent.
2
Package holidaymakers
whose trips are cancelled
are entitled to a full
A long time ago in a reality far, far “We know the industry is under industry unity rather than refund refund within two weeks.
away — or, in other words, early immense pressure as a result of campaigns, Jones says: “There’s
March this year — travel-related the pandemic, and don’t want to still clearly an appetite for travel. 3
hashtags started making the see it suffer further. But it can’t With a compassionate approach, If you cancel your trip
rounds on social media. ‘Postpone be on consumers to prop up we’ve managed to persuade the because you don’t want
don’t cancel’, ‘rebook don’t airlines and travel firms through majority of our customers to to travel, it’s not a given
that your travel company
refund’ and ‘defer don’t drop’ this period as companies openly rebook in 2021.”
will refund you. Wait
were variations on the clarion call break the law and effectively use But are those new bookings
until it cancels the trip,
from champions of industry as customers’ money as an interest- safe? Predictions of zombie then rebook or request
countries started shutting down, free loan, especially when many of travel companies staggering a refund.
and people began assessing the those waiting for refunds are also into 2021, taking bookings, then
likelihood of imminent trips being in difficult financial situations.” falling insolvent just as those 4
able to go ahead. “Consumers are entitled to a new bookings or credit notes If your company doesn’t
It was a sentiment that, at the refund — it’s the law. This hasn’t become redeemable are legion. cancel, and the Foreign
& Commonwealth Office
time, had some traction with changed during Covid-19,” says The precarious state of the airline
(FCO) is still advising
consumers keen to support Kane Pirie, founder of VIVID industry adds to the problem.
against all but essential
businesses and communities at Travel and managing director of Which? was among several travel, your policy may
their chosen destinations (and the Right to Refund campaign. consumer rights groups to lobby cover you for cancellation
even keener to keep the faith that “2020 has been brutal for us, with the government’s Competition if you bought travel
a holiday was still within their massive cash outflows only made and Markets Authority to insurance before
grasp). But as borders closed and possible with additional finance investigate companies breaking coronavirus became
airlines began bulk-cancelling from me as the main shareholder. the law on holiday refunds. a ‘known event’ on 13
flights, it became apparent that Many other owner-managed “Which? wants to see the March 2020.
coronavirus’s impact would be tour operators have also done regulator come down strongly 5
more severe and long-lasting the right thing: followed the law on any airlines found to be
You may be able to claim
than originally thought, so people and refunded customers. Several systemically denying or delaying on purchases made with
started seeking refunds in earnest. larger tour operators could refund refunds for cancelled flights and a credit card via Section
“Since the UK entered but refuse to do so.” holidays,” says Boland. “And for 75 of the Consumer
lockdown in March, Which? The companies who get this the government to set out how it Credit Act, and even
has heard from thousands of right will have invested well in will support the industry, allow some debit cards
passengers who have had their their futures. “We’ve avoided airlines and holiday operators to via the ‘chargeback’
scheme. This is usually
trips cancelled and been left mass cancellations by speaking to refund passengers, and restore
only successful if you
without their money as airlines each client to talk through their trust in the sector.”
can prove your travel
and holiday operators continue options,” says Derek Jones, UK provider is refusing to
IMAGE: GETTY
to delay or simply deny them chief executive of DER Touristik, More information: which.co.uk/travel give you a refund or has
their refunds on a massive scale,” parent company of a number gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice gone out of business.
explains Rory Boland, editor of of big tour operators, including caa.co.uk/atol-protection
Which? Travel. Kuoni. A vocal advocate of abta.com/tips-and-advice
Jul/Aug 2020 137

TRAVEL GEEKS
KIT LIST
DAY-TRIP ESSENTIALS
APPRECIATE SOME OF THE BEAUTIFUL LANDSCAPES CLOSER TO
4
HOME — EQUIPPED WITH THE RIGHT GEAR — ON A DAY TRIP

WORDS: TAMSIN WRESSELL
1 KEEN HARVEST MASK

To encourage wearing masks, Keen
has created a line of them made
from upcycled materials originally 2 4 SMARTWOOL MERINO ULTRA
sourced from its shoe range. LIGHT HOODIE
They’re washable and reusable Designed to pack down into its
to minimise environmental pocket, Smartwool’s merino wool
impact, too. RRP: £10 for two. adds breathability to this super
keenfootwear.com light hoodie. Made from a blend
5 of merino and recycled polyester
with a DWR coating to provide
2 KATHMANDU HELI wind and weather protection.
THERMORE JACKET RRP: £114.99. smartwool.co.uk
For when the weather is on the
changeable side, this Kathmandu
jacket — made from recycled 5 ARC’TERYX NORVAN LD 2 SHOE
synthetic fibres — provides Arc’teryx’s new lightweight trail
dependable warmth without the running shoe is designed to be
bulk. It’s designed to be worn as breathable, durable and to provide
a mid or outer layer to keep away all-day comfort on extended walks
the chills when the sun goes down. and trail runs. Ideal on shifting
RRP: £99.99. kathmandu.co.uk terrain. RRP: £140. arcteryx.com
3 BRIDGEDALE ULTRALIGHT SOCKS 3 6 OSPREY ARCHEON 25 BACKPACK

Wearing high-performing socks is Made fully from recycled fabrics,
essential for keeping feet happy on this roll-top backpack comes
day trips. The Ultralight range from 6 with a rain cover and a specific
Bridgedale has been specifically backsystem support available in
designed for warmer weather, on men’s and women’s ranges. It has
and off the trail, to ensure feet stay metal fastenings for durability and
dry and comfortable. RRP: £15. a front pocket for easy access.
bridgedale.com RRP: £150. ospreyeurope.com
Three to try: Fill your backpack
JACK WOLFSKIN POP & STORE CLOSCA BOTTLE

RE WASTY 1L LUNCHBOX In line with their
Take home your rubbish Collapses down when Consciousness campaign,
after a day out with this empty, saving 60% space, Closca have created
100% recycled reusable for on-the-go storage. reusable, wearable bottles
rubbish bag. RRP: £12. Available in a range of sizes. inspired by nature.
jackwolfskin.co.uk RRP: £5.99. addis.co.uk RRP: £35. closca.com
TRAVEL GEEKS
TECH TRAVELLER
STAYING IN TOUCH
PEOPLE FROM ALL CORNERS OF THE GLOBE AND ALL WALKS OF LIFE ARE COMING TOP THREE...
TOGETHER ONLINE AS A WAY OF STAYING IN TOUCH, A HABIT WHICH SEEMS SET TO noise-cancelling
CONTINUE LONG AFTER SOCIAL DISTANCING HAS ENDED. WORDS: KATE RUSSELL
headphones
BLUETOOTH SONY WH-1000XM3

Life can get loud, as many of us
discovered during lockdown. Did you
know babies cry at 130db, which is
louder than a jet engine heard inside
a passenger cabin. These high-end
wireless cans have some of the best
active noise cancelling on the market.
RRP: £329. sony.co.uk
WF-1000XM3 TRUE WIRELESS EARBUDS

Noise-cancelling earbuds that are also
wireless are quite rare — complex
technology is hard to cram into tight
When it comes to virtual Video-conferencing app Zoom The free Zoom video-call service
spaces. This really impressive pair,
socialising, there are now a has exploded in popularity: free can host up to 100 participants,
however, has an accompanying app
dizzying number of text and and easy to use, you don’t need but if you want something even that lets you adjust ambient sounds
video-call platforms. The most to download the app to set up or easier for groups of up to six, Talky to allow voices to be heard, while
important question to ask when attend a gathering. Just tap the lets you set up and join an audio blocking out other noises.
choosing the right one is: what are invitation link and Zoom will run or video call without registering or RRP: £220. sony.co.uk
the people I want to talk to using? in your browser. Installing the downloading. Just give your room
WhatsApp is a safe bet, with two app provides better call quality, a name, then start chatting.
billion active users worldwide and some security features As online socialising becomes
and automatically encrypted aren’t default. Add the password imbedded in daily life, the likes of
messages for security. You can option to stop random ‘Zoom-call Microsoft, Google, and Facebook
start a one-to-one or group chat bombers’ disrupting your call, have upped their virtual comms
with anyone in your phone’s and under advanced settings offerings. Microsoft Teams
contacts — if they don’t have enable ‘Waiting room’ to place have travelled outside of office
WhatsApp, they’ll get a message all attendees in waiting until space with a mobile app to
inviting them to download it. approval from the conference connect friends and family, while
In some regions (notably South host to ensure you have invitees Facebook’s group video-calling SOUNDCORE LIFE Q20 HEADBAND
America and Southeast Asia), only. Also, in advanced settings, feature, Messenger Rooms (which Budget shoppers often have to forfeit
it’s the default communication ‘Touch up my appearance’ adds lets up to 50 people to chat at the some of the features and sound quality
found in more expensive headphones,
tool for both individuals and a soft-focus filter to your video same time), and Google Meet,
but this reasonably priced pair have
professional travel companies. A that smooths out shadows and platforms already at our fingertips,
active noise-cancelling technology
IMAGE: GETTY
useful feature: give the app access wrinkles in a subtle way. You can look set to become long-term slated to reduce up to 90% of external
to location data in your phone’s even add a virtual background, travel companions. whatsapp.com noise. They’re also very comfortable
settings, and ‘attach location’ to which is useful if your house or zoom.us talky.io meet.google.com and have a built-in bass booster.
show a map of where you are. hotel room isn’t camera-ready. messenger.com/rooms RRP: £48.99. soundcore.com
Jul/Aug 2020 139

IN THE NEXT ISSUE
ITA LY
We’re raising a glass of Campari and saying ‘saluti’, as Italy reopens

to travellers. From meeting artisans in the north to soul-soothing
coastal road trips in the south, now — more than ever — is the
time to plan an off-the-beaten-path getaway. We’ll show you how
Plus // Buffalo, Cappadocia, India, Kenya,

Kuala Lumpur, Mexico City, Osaka, Palma, Wales
SEPT/OCT issue
On sale SEPTEMBER 2020
IMAGE: ALAMY
For more information on our subscription offer,

see page 144
W ELCOME FROM R OBERTO E. W IRTH
It is my pleasure to take you on a discovery
journey through Italy and introduce you ROMA - 41°54’22.7”N 12°28’58.4”E
to my collection. Five gems, each featuring
its own distinctive personality, share a timeless
elegance and an authentic Italian style.
Meticulously designed historic villas and residences,
in unique and unparalleled locations, where guests
can appreciate the distinctiveness of an exclusive
style. Enchanting settings where one can feel the
personal touch of a family-owned business.
CHAIRMAN
CITTÀ DELLA PIEVE - 42°57’15.9”N 12°00’21.4”E
SPEDALICCHIO - 43°17’35.0”N 12°14’05.1”E
T. +39 06 699 340

booking@hotelhassler.it
ROMA - 42°57’15.9”N 12°00’21.4”E CHIUSI - SIENA - 43°01’37.2”N 11°53’17.6”E
FOOD FESTIVAL
16-17 JANUARY 2021
OLD TRUM AN B RE WERY, LONDON
Experience the world

through food and travel
CHEFS, AUTHORS, M AKERS, LIVE DEMOS & MORE
F E ATU RI N G
GR ACE DENT • JAY R AYNER • J OSÉ PIZ ARRO • OLIA HERCULES • ROMY GILL
M ARTIN MOR ALES • MIMI AYE • VANESSA BOLOSIER • DES DE MO OR
FUCHSIA DUNLOP • THEO MICHAEL S • JACK STEIN
I N PA RTN E R S H I P W ITH
F I V E WAY S W I T H
G E T YO U R
Watermelon
TI C KE T
N OW FO R With dishes from around the world, there’s plenty to
delve into at our Food Festival. To help you stay inspired,
£ 1 0* here’s five ways to get the most out of watermelon
Watermelon is a perfect summer

ingredient: colourful and refreshing, it looks
amazing and is great for cooling down. At
our next Food Festival, we’ll be showcasing
plenty of dishes with a global outlook — you
can broaden your palate stall by stall in our
exhibitor space, plus catch demonstrations
and talks. For now, we’ve gathered together
some of our favourite international
watermelon dishes to inspire you.
C Y P RU S
A typical Cypriot summer evening meal
is grilled halloumi served with cubed
watermelon; grill the cheese for two minutes INDIA
on each side until golden then add toasted Chef and cookbook author
pine nuts, torn mint leaves and a squeeze of Romy Gill has shared her simple
lime juice. recipe for watermelon salad.
Romy will be appearing at the
VENEZUEL A Speakers’ Corner at the National
A cross between a fruit salad and a punch, Geographic Traveller Food
tizana is a mix of fruits — watermelon, melon, Festival to talk about her book,
pineapple, grapes, bananas, apples and really Zaika: Vegan Recipes from India.
any other fruit that comes to hand, peeled and
chopped and then mixed with orange juice Tarbuj ka salad
IMAGES: CHARLIE RICHARDS; ROSALIND ATKINSON. FOOD STYLING: ANGELA ROMEO
and a splash of grenadine. Add a handful of ice S E RV E S : 4 TA K E S : 5 M I N S

and keep in the fridge.
INGREDIENTS
T U R K M E N I S TA N 1 small watermelon, halved
Watermelon is so popular in Turkmenistan 1 lime, juiced (if you don’t
that it even has its own national holiday, have a lime, use the juice of
Melon Day, which takes place every August. A ½ lemon)
popular accompaniment to tea is watermelon ½ tsp sea salt (substitute with
jam, which is often served on toast. It’s made chaat masala or mango
from pureed watermelon, lemon juice, sugar powder, if you have these
and pectin: boil and store in sterile jars. to hand)
2 tsp fresh mint, chopped
GHANA ½ tsp black pepper, crushed
Ghanian markets are usually full of the fruit in
the summer, so watermelon lemonade is very METHOD
popular. Made with plenty of lemons, Mix all the ingredients
it’s wonderfully refreshing. Blend the in a bowl and serve.
watermelon and add lemon juice, strain and It’s refreshing, delicious
add sugar syrup to taste, then chill in the and very simple to make.
fridge. Serve over ice; it can even be served in a
watermelon half.
#STAYI N S PI RE D
FOO D FE STIVA L . N ATG EOTR AV E LLE R .CO.U K
* A booking fee of £2.24 applies. Tickets include entry to the festival for one day only, including access to all interviews, sessions and demonstrations.
Limited availability. Tickets are non-refundable; however, should the event be cancelled due to UK government advice regarding the
coronavirus (Covid-19 outbreak), all ticket-holders will be refunded within 14 days of the government’s announcement.
WRITE FOR US!
ENTER OUR 2020 TRAVEL
WRITING COMPETITION
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JAPAN
FROM STEAMING ONSENS
TO SPECTACULAR WILDLIFE
— WELCOME TO THE LAND
OF THE RISING SUN
GUATEMALA
Volcanoes, giant kites
& Maya blessings in the
Western Highlands
ISRAEL
Walking in the footsteps
of pilgrims on the new
Yam le Yam hiking trail
+OXFORD
SCOTL AND
IREL AND
ALSO: AMSTERDAM // DENVER // LIMA // PRAGUE // STUTTGART // SWITZERLAND // ZAMBIA

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WIN STAR LETTER

Staying grounded
Having well developed travel plans for
Bear it in mind
Your article on bear conservation in
Abruzzo (March 2020) was beautifully
A summer bundle
from Finisterre 2020 is one thing, but having been further presented. I’ve visited this area of Italy a
worth £115! inspired by your December 2019 issue, few times, including Pescasseroli. It was in
the decision was made to reduce air miles an unspoiled part of the country, and so I
and travel by land or sea for adventures in was delighted to hear of the conservation
2020. In an undetermined period where work of both Salviamo L’Orso and the
‘stay home’ is safest for all and the outlook European Nature Trust (in Abruzzo and
unknown, will the convenience of air travel Scotland). I am grateful to these people
be less appealing than alternatives? As as our delicate planet, and all the living
an interrailer of years gone by and quite creatures we share it with, needs as much
happy to live out of a single (smallish) bag, help as possible. I’ll certainly look into
I do believe zigzagging across a country or returning to Abruzzo to spend some time
several by train, road or with two feet gives with national park guides to learn more
an adventure untouchable from 30,000ft. about the area and its wildlife, including the
The world will certainly change, and I for one amazing Marsican brown bear.
hope it’s for the better. MATT WACKETT DR NADIA TUZI
Finisterre’s new collection

Tasting notes
is inspired by the natural
Your ‘Taste of Lebanon’ feature (March 2020)
world, with designs taken
from the archives of the reminded us of our trip to the country. We
Natural History Museum. ventured beyond Beirut and discovered
Made from recycled and Bsharri, the birthplace of poet Kahlil Gibran,
organic materials, the bundle at the head of the Qadisha Valley which rings
includes a rucksack and with poetry of its own. There we found Café
T-shirt, featuring illustrations Aroma, run by Tony. We ordered sandwiches
from 17th-century naturalist
of kafta, Lebanese sausage and shrimps,
Maria Sibylla Merian, and a
washed down with Lebanese coffee: sweet
second T-shirt embroidered
IMAGE: GETTY
with a sea-faring tern,

and bitter, smooth and silky, without any
from naturalist John James residue. Thanks to Tony, we learned the
Audubon’s The Birds Of difference between Lebanese and Arabic
America. finisterre.com coffee! NANDINI CHAKRABORTY
Jul/Aug 2020 145

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