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A gloriously unhasty retreat

There are times when we all need to retreat. To rest, to reflect and to recover. But often we don’t take the time, or make the time, to do so. I have always been slightly envious of meditating and yoga bunny friends who can tap into this ability to ‘just be’. I never seem to have the patience, and my ‘retreats’ are usually more in the form of hiking, biking or swimming. Or just diving  – into a bottle of wine. All of which are great, but actually usually lead to a stimulation of the brain or senses when sometimes, I just need to switch them off completely.

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Watching Jersey grow, the green way

I smiled at the irony of a man in a Panama hat, accompanied by a woman swathed in silk scarves, stopping their convertible vintage sports car to give way to our Number 1 bus as it left Liberation Station in St. Helier. I was taking the green way across Jersey,  travelling by bus, bike and boot power,  not only to discover its eco-friendliness, but also to allow myself a holiday where I truly slowed down. Some might say this is also a vintage approach to travelling, but  with the emphasis on green rather than glam in my case.

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Titanic Belfast – it didn’t rock my boat

It stands in the middle of a waste ground like a glittering Christmas bauble that is found months after the celebrations are over, lying in a dusty corner of the shed somewhere. It cost millions and it is now the biggest visitor attraction in Northern Ireland, surpassing the Giant’s Causeway. It’s Titanic Belfast, sitting pretty in the derelict urban space where industry once thrived. It shines, it sparkles, it grabs the eye. And yet, it looks weirdly out of place.

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HF Holidays – fine fellows celebrate a hundred years of outdoor holidays

Long before the words ethical or eco started creeping into the tourism industry’s boardrooms, there was one man who was quietly laying the foundations of fairness in travel. Thomas Arthur Leonard (or TA as he was known) founded HF Holidays in the UK a hundred years ago and it is still one of the leading providers of walking holidays in the UK and Europe. Although TA’s achievements have been relatively uncelebrated to date, the centenary of an organisation which still remains the only UK holiday provider that is a truly co-operative society, gives us a good opportunity to take stock of this pioneering philanthropist’s achievements.

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