For Mary Gladstone, the 19th century Prime Minister’s daughter, it was ‘a palace-like cottage, the most luxurious and lovely thing I ever saw.’ But somehow the message never quite reached the stately home-visiting public. Today Ascott House, near Wing in Buckinghamshire, is one of the less busy big houses to the immediate north of London…. Continue reading
Browsing Category Travel
How Danny Boy struck a late night Olympic chord in Turkey
One of my most magical musical moments was at, of all places, Dalaman Airport in Turkey at around 11 pm on the night of Friday, 27 July 2012 – (clue – 2100 BST, UK). Our flight was about to be called, but we were suddenly aware of the sweetest sound I’ve ever heard in an… Continue reading
How tourism contributes to Turkey’s forest fires and what the future holds
The forest fires in Turkey in the summer of 2021 were a catastrophe. Images of blazing mountainsides were seared across nightly news bulletins. Holidays were cancelled, resorts evacuated and suspects arrested, although as the Turkish fires were only the worst of a series of conflagrations across the Eastern Mediterranean, it was quickly accepted… Continue reading
How upstart train company plans to speed the way to the west
When Britain’s railways were privatised in the 1990s, the plan was that passengers would benefit from competition. It didn’t really happen. 30 years on, and many major routes are still only served by one company. But, belatedly, that most traditional of market forces is beginning to assert itself. Independent company Grand Union proposes to take… Continue reading
Green stay – the hotel that will produce more energy than it uses
As the world seeks a path to net zero over the next crucial decades, travel must play its part too. There are many areas where action is required, such as reducing the impact of flying and other carbon-based transport, and making accommodation greener and food and drink more sustainable. But as the tourism industry prepares for… Continue reading
How Cornwall’s ‘lost’ Beeching railway beats the car to St Ives
Sometimes the case for rail over road is so overwhelming it scarcely needs to be argued. The short branch line from St Erth to St Ives in Cornwall is a shining example. It now carries more passengers than in any year since it was opened in the 1870s. That’s an awful lot of cars taken… Continue reading