Tag Archives: Travel

Arts & Literature, Culture, Homes, Magazines, Previews, Reviews

Previews: Country Life Magazine- February 7, 2024

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Country Life Magazine – February 6, 2024: The latest features The Travel Issue – View the world from the very best hotels; The map-makers who broadened our horizons; Out of the ashes – Chillingham Castle rescued and Waxwing explosions and snowdrop heaven….

Travel

  • Richard MacKichan rides with the eagle hunters of Mongolia
  • Jo Rodgers asks what makes a good hotel great as we introduce Country Life’s inaugural list of the world’s top establishments
  • All the latest travel news and new openings with Rosie Paterson
  • Nigel Tisdall tails the elusive jaguar in Belize
  • Catherine Fairweather is on the strait and narrow in Istanbul
  • Richard MacKichan puts the fun back into flying
  • Pamela Goodman swims with pigs in the Caribbean

A castle of curiosities

The history of Chillingham Castle in Northumberland is a turbulent and memorable one, peppered with family disputes, imprisonments and a live toad. John Goodall explores

Windows on the world

The urge to chart our surroundings is centuries old. With map in hand, Matthew Dennison ventures forth in search of mammoth tusks and globes

Irruption of the waxwings

Mark Cocker marvels at the exquisite plumage of this European songbird as it flocks to our shores to feed on a glut of its favoured winter berries

Get down on your knees

James Alexander-Sinclair joins the wandering throng as snow-drop lovers descend on Thenford in Northamptonshire to luxuriate in 900 varieties of Galanthus

Joanna Jensen’s favourite painting

The founder of Childs Farm chooses a rural scene to sum up ‘a picture of my England’

Groundhog day

The shortest month can also feel like the longest, delaying the arrival of spring, but what can February tell us about the year ahead? Lia Leendertz reveals all

Thunderous waterfalls and torrents hoarse

From the most dramatic plumes to the calmest cascades, we seek out the corners of the kingdom where water and gravity collide to magical effect

The good stuff

Hetty Lintell says green for go with a selection of stylish and useful khaki travel accessories

Interiors

Sally Stephenson on the secrets of illuminating period houses and Amelia Thorpe’s lighting picks

London Life

  • Russell Higham on piazza plans for the Docklands
  • Carla Passino meets the man who shaped Mayfair
  • Martin Fone reveals the saga of ‘London’s Eiffel Tower’

Kitchen garden cook

Melanie Johnson harnesses the delicious flavours of rosemary

Culture, Documentaries, Travel, Videos

Documentary: Albania’s Enchanted Mountains

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TRACKS – Travel Documentaries (February 4, 2024) – For decades Albania has been completely sealed off from the outside world. Hardly anywhere else are bias and reality as far apart as here. Albania is poor, but it is also rich. Rich in mountains and a diversity of landscapes.

A country with warm-hearted people and a Mediterranean lifestyle. Lying on the western edge of the Balkan Peninsula, only a couple of hours from most of Europe the first part of our journey takes us to the north of the country to the Albanian Alps, near the border of Montenegro.

Birds, Documentaries, Ecology, Nature, Travel, Videos

Hawaii Ecology: Creating A Seabird Sanctuary (PBS)

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Nature on PBS (February 5, 2024) – All around the world, seabirds provide a critical link between land and sea. On Hawai’i, ecologists are working to protect two vital shearwater species that helped life first take hold across these islands.

While seabirds predominantly reside at sea, they return to land to breed and raise their young. In this process, they deposit mineral-rich nutrients that sustain the whole island ecosystem. But the arrival of human settlers introduced non-native predators and extensive development. Together, these compromised many seabird habitats — and decimated their populations. Several species are now teetering on the brink of extinction.

The Maui Nui Seabird Recovery Project engages a multifaceted approach to protect these crucial birds: eliminating invasive predators, restoring native plants, and monitoring burrows for fledgling success. In one instance, they have established a dedicated sanctuary complete with artificial burrows, bird-shaped decoys, and audio speakers to attract one highly endangered shearwater species.

Through their efforts, the team gives seabirds a chance to raise the next generation on the very islands they helped bring to life.

Cities, Travel, Videos, Views

Travel: A Winter Walking Tour Of Salzburg, Austria

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POPtravel (February 3, 2024) – Salzburg is an Austrian city on the border of Germany, with views of the Eastern Alps. The city is divided by the Salzach River, with medieval and baroque buildings of the pedestrian Altstadt (Old City) on its left bank, facing the 19th-century Neustadt (New City) on its right. The Altstadt birthplace of famed composer Mozart is preserved as a museum displaying his childhood instruments. 

Tours, Travel, Videos, Views

Travel: 23 Most Beautiful Mediterranean Islands

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touropia (January 31, 2024) – One of the main places Europeans head on holiday, the Mediterranean is full of idyllic islands. Thought to number around 10,000 in total, their warm, sunny weather, sandy beaches and sumptuous food see many millions visit each summer.

Bordered by countless countries from Europe, Asia and Africa, the immense sea and all its islands have played a massive role in the history of Western civilization. Often boasting gorgeous scenery or crystal-clear waters, they’re the perfect place to relax and unwind in spellbinding settings. Here’s a look at the most beautiful islands in the Mediterranean.

History, Travel, Videos, Views

Canada History: Klondike Gold Town Dawson City

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TRACKS – Travel Documentaries (January 30, 2024) – 50 kilometers east of the Alaska border in the heart of Canada’s Yukon Territory, the Klondike Highway leads to Dawson City.

Dawson City is located on the shores of the Klondike river, a northern gem surrounded by a soaring rugged landscape holding secrets of the past. While the region has been home to First nation’s people for centuries, the town site was built more recently, at the height of the 1897 Klondike Gold Rush.

#klondike#canada#goldrush

Arts & Literature, Culture, Homes, Magazines, Previews, Reviews

Previews: Country Life Magazine-January 31, 2024

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Country Life Magazine – January 30, 2024: The latest issue features How British Rivers Got Their Name; Where to find a really wild man; Miniature collecting and more…

‘Still glides the Stream, and shall for ever glide’

From the Piddle and the Polly to the Yox and the Yeo, the meanings behind the namesof Britain’s rivers run deep, as Vicky Liddell discovers

Call of the wild

The protective, stick-wielding Wild Man that strides through much medieval art has taken on fresh meaning in recent times, reveals Susan Owens

Chainsaw gardening

Taking a blade to our gardens may seem drastic, but a severe pruning sometimes leaves plants and trees in better health, suggests Charles Quest-Ritson

There is wonder in the little things

Huon Mallalieu puts miniatures under the microscope and finds a world of small marvels celebrating power, loyalty and love

Allan Mallinson’s favourite painting

The military historian chooses a moving First World War scene

Murder most pitiful

John Goodall investigates the dramatic events that shaped the history of 18th-century Gilmerton House in Lothian

The devil makes work for idle hands

As dedicated craftspeople fashion a revival in the art of needlepoint, Matthew Dennison can see a pattern emerging

‘Full of a watchful intentness’

John Lewis-Stempel embraces the ‘faerie enchantment’ of the heath as he visits the inspiration for a classic Thomas Hardy novel

Interiors

Matthew Dennison celebrates the Soane chimneypiece that is still hot property after 200 years and Amelia Thorpe’s selections keep the home fires burning

Lord of the rings

Ben Lerwill meets Simon Turner, an arboreal artist who creates wonderful ceramics using the contours and curves of trees

Luxury

Hetty Lintell on high fashion in the Highlands, switching off the stress and astonishing rubies, plus some of McFly drummer Harry Judd’s favourite things

Kitchen garden cook

Melanie Johnson knows her onions, giving an understated kitchen staple a starring role

Ireland’s call

The well-oiled Ireland winning machine can repel France’s strength in depth to retain rugby’s Six Nations Championship, argues Owain Jones

And much more

Tours, Travel, Videos, Views

Winter In Switzerland: The Alpina Gstaad Hotel

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the Luxury Travel Expert (January 27, 2024) – A tour of the The Alpina Gstaad, one of the best 5-star hotels in Switzerland.

Video chapters: 0:00 Intro 2:19 Arrival 3:51 Porte cochere 5:37 Lobby (ground floor) 7:27 Lobby (first floor) 15:41 Boutique & jewelry 19:26 Suite 26:07 Spa 30:30 Indoor pool 39:27 Outdoor pool 45:55 Gstaad village 50:18 Megu Restaurant & Bar 56:01 Sommet by Martin Göschel Restaurant (one Michelin star) 1:01:51 Swiss Stübli Restaurant 1:07:17 Breakfast 1:11:29 Skiing

Built on five acres of the Bernese Oberland, The Alpina Gstaad promises two views: mountain and valley. The first looks onto Gstaad and promises snow-capped sightings of Spitzhorn and Oldenhorn, while the second delivers rippling hilltops and stretches of lake over Schönried village.

Travel, Videos, Views

Travel Tours: Zhangjiajie National Park In China

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Walk East Films (January 23, 2024) – Zhangjiajie is a city, region, and national park. It is located in Central China, about 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) from Hong Kong. Are you impressed by the Hallelujah Mountains in Avatar? The real ones are in Zhangjiajie.

There are 243 peaks and more than 3,000 pinnacles and spires in the national park. Scenes in Avatar come to mind when the peaks are caught in the right light or when the early morning mountain mist rolls in around them. In 1982, Zhangjiajie National Forest Park became China’s first national forest park.

Gardens, Travel, Videos, Views

Cinematic Japan: Renge-Ji Temple Garden In Kyoto

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Yurara Sarara Films (January 20, 2024) – Renge-ji is a small temple in the north-east of Kyoto city. It was founded in 1662 by Imaeda Chikayoshi but other sources state that it was originally near the current location of Kyoto Station, and that Imaeda-san only moved it here and “revived” it long after its total destruction during the Onin war (1467~1477).

The main hall garden is of the “pond” style, formally known as “chisenkai kaiyuushiki garden” (池泉回遊式庭園). The only island stone of the pond represents a ship and is called “funaishi”, which means… ship stone 😉