London Voices: Simon Lycett
Continuing our London Voices series where we ask Londoners what makes them love London, Irene Caswell speaks to florist designer Simon Lycett. Simon Lycett moved to the capital city at…
Travel Topics
Continuing our London Voices series where we ask Londoners what makes them love London, Irene Caswell speaks to florist designer Simon Lycett. Simon Lycett moved to the capital city at…
Mark Bibby Jackson returns to a familiar Indian restaurant of his youth now transformed into the swish Grand Trunk Road, to see whether it justifies the accolade of the best…
Billing itself as a ‘hypnotic hybrid of Victorian steampunk and classic English comfort’, Flora Indica on the Old Brompton Road sounds an intriguing combination, Mark Bibby Jackson finds out whether…
Following on from last year’s success, The Great Northern Food & Drink Festival, returns to the North – this time in Nottinghamshire – this August. Organisers say that the festival…
Mark Bibby Jackson travels to Belgium to discover the myriad of things to do in Ghent, a city with a rebellious heart and the most amazing altarpiece. One of the…
In the first of a series of articles in association with Atlantic Canada, entitled Atlantic Canada Voices, Travel Begins at 40’s Mark Bibby Jackson talks with Lori McCarthy, the founder…
When the COVID-19 pandemic started, the food industry suffered huge losses. Restaurants across the globe had to either retrench or shutter completely as fears of infection grew and profits plummeted…
Roger Hermiston and Eileen Wise spend a night at The Savoy, discovering the colourful history and wonderful cuisine of one of London’s foremost hotels. Past the exquisite glass Lalique fountain…
James Clark discovers he has bitten off more than he can chew on a gastronomic summer journey to Verbier Switzerland. Verbier is not the first place that springs to mind…
With the UK leaving lockdown, why not consider treating yourself to one of the many luxury Christmas hotel breaks on offer in England, or say good riddance to 2020? For…
Mark Bibby Jackson returns to the East of England for a UK Staycation, visiting the seaside resort of Aldeburgh Suffolk and nearby Orford for a local experience. It seems somehow…
A frequent visitor to the island off the south coast of England, Mark Bibby Jackson shares his favourite Isle of Wight walks. Ever since a child I have been a…
Irene Caswell takes a virtual trip to Santa’s grotto and returns with some sustainable Christmas gifts suggestions especially for gourmets. Food and drink is one of the special delights of…
James Clark spends a night in the UK capital taking full advantage of 100 Queen’s Gate London’s door to door chauffeur offer. The doorbell rang bang on time to announce…
Mark Bibby Jackson travels to the Swiss canton of Valais to walk along the Aletsch Glacier, only to encounter a million-dollar view, a dish of cholera and cowbells that drove…
Hastings has the biggest beach-launched fishing fleet in Europe, and its iconic Net Shops. Travel Begins at 40 chats with Stella Landau, Fish Festivals Organiser, about the sustainable Hastings Fish…
On a trip to the South Coast of England, Hazel Holloway takes a bird’s eye view of Brighton on the i360 Viewing Tower before sampling some wonderful fish and chips…
If you’ve got your eye on a gastronomical UK staycation in the next few months, or even into 2021, you could do worse than consider going north of the border…
Mark Bibby Jackson discovers Britain’s largest pear tree, the home of Bombay Sapphire and a feast worthy of Queen Victoria on a UK staycation at the Crown and Garter Inkpen…
Mark Bibby Jackson ventures to Yorkshire to stay at Crathorne Hall hotel, an Edwardian stately home, with incredible views and a rich history, ideal for a UK staycation. Checking into…
Few cities in the world captivate in the same way as Jerusalem. It is a city that we all know, and sacred to three of the world’s great religions, Judaism…
Roger Hermiston and Eileen Wise return to the Caribbean to go on their Jamaica holidays and discover great Caribbean food, wonderful birdlife and the home of reggae. Some thirteen years…
Irene Caswell looks forward to a world where we can travel internationally once more and explores the delights of traditional food in Slovenia. Slovenia is less than a tenth of…
Eileen Wise goes on a trip of a lifetime discovering a side to Mexico travel well out of reach of us mere mortals. My parents met and fell in love…
One of the best ways of getting an understanding of a country’s culture is trying the local food. Whether it is bun cha in Vietnam, or cinammon buns in the Caribbean, you will get closer to your hosts if you eat what they do.
Organised food tours are a simple and affordable way to sample the local cuisine without biting off more than you can chew.
Alternatively, coincide your trip with a local festival and you will soon realise how important a role what – and how – you eat plays in determining local culture. Whether its Lincolnshire sausages, Catalan spring onions, Dresden stollen, or Cheng Chau buns in Hong Kong, people have a tendency to celebrate what they eat in wonderful ways.
At no time is this more in evidence than in the build up to Christmas, when people bulk themselves up on savoury and sweet fare, washed down by mulled wine in the most wonderful gastronomic celebrations.