It’s a dog’s life. Staying in Val Cenis, the day started cold, but with the astonishing clarity of sunshine and light you only find in the mountains in winter. Kitted out in my warmest gear, I took th

Bucklesham Hall, Bucklesham, Ipswich, Suffolk. A renovated, 15th-century hall set in formal gardens with spring-fed lakes, including one with a Japanese-style bridge and an island. It has beamed ceili

This week’s dream: wonder and melancholy in eastern Turkey ...

On arrival at Arc 1800, one of five resorts in the Les Arcs ski region in southeast France, we were surprised to discover a 4ft dump of snow had fallen overnight. Skis were parked up, snowmen were bei

I’m sceptical about news stories you sometimes read of big black cats roaming the countryside. I was, however, tempted to don my boots for a hike I found on the internet titled In the Footsteps of the

WITH SUMMER ALMOST over, we at last managed an all-too-short driving holiday, discovering the Val de Loire region of France over seven days in our 2005 Maserati Cambiocorsa. That the Loire is one of t