Wilmslow Express - RSS Feed

Crystal Cruise – Caribbean Connoisseur 1

2010-03-08T12:09:48

Slipping gently out of her berth in downtown Manhattan, the night time view on deck from the Crystal Symphony was breathtaking.

On one side, the skyline of New York, with neon signs and skyscraper lights twinkling in the dark sky and on the other, the Statue of Liberty, that universal symbol of freedom, clearly visible from the cabin veranda.

Dawson City, Canada

2010-03-08T12:16:50

There’s a toe at the bottom of my whisky glass. Puckered and brown with age – but definitely a human toe. I swill it about a little, the chipped nail clicks unpleasantly against the glass. A glance up into the bar reveals expectant eyes.

Even this late into a night’s drinking I know this is not normal. But this is Dawson City and it’s been a long journey, so what the hell.

The Feversham Arms Hotel & Verbena Spa, North Yorkshire,

2010-03-08T12:20:45

Mud mud, glorious mud ... I couldn’t get the old song out of my head as I was covered with, well... mud.

The gooey stuff was an integral part of a spa treatment, a first for yours truly, tending to regard such things as fine for the ladies but not for unreconstructed males like myself.

Malta

2010-03-15T10:43:40

There's a lot to be said for exotic holidays to far-flung places. Trekking in Nepal, bungee jumping in New Zealand and safari in South Africa are all jaunts to brag about over the dinner table.

But every now and then it’s nice to go somewhere a bit less challenging. A Britain with sunshine, where you can relax and not worry about where the food on your plate came from.

Basilicata, Italy

2010-02-09T12:35:42

It’s fair to say Basilicata is not the most famous region of Italy. In fact, I’d never heard of it before I visited.

But the southern region, once Italy’s poorest, is now limbering up to promote itself as a tourist destination, hoping to attract crowds away from more traditional honeypots such as Tuscany and Rome.

Cruise special: Celebrity Equinox

2010-02-01T11:48:31

AS a fan of the 70s disaster movie the Poseidon Adventure the moment we walked on board the magnificent Celebrity Equinox cruise ship I started looking for the Christmas tree.

If we were to survive the ship being upturned by a massive wave while singing 'Auld Lang Syne' the only way to safety would be to shin up the Christmas tree, preferably not behind someone the size of Shelley Winters.

Cruise special: Grand Princess

2010-02-01T11:55:32

They have to be the world’s best vending machines. Forget the one in the corner at work that doles out the coffee and tea or a mid afternoon keep-you-going snack … these wonders serve up glass after glass of wine.

The gizmos are to be found in a cellar complex of Le Cantine in the small town of Greve, not far from Florence, set amid glorious Tuscan countryside, and they dispense the red wines of the area from the particular bottle, with a shot costing from 60 cents to eight euros, depending on the quality of the vino.

St Ives, Cornwall

2010-02-01T12:11:14

IAN Brown famously said Manchester has got everything except a beach – and he was right.

Because as much as I love this city, sometimes you need to escape the the hustle and bustle, the grind of nine to five and the constant bad weather for a few days.

Kitzbühel, Austria

2010-02-01T12:13:55

Forget Ski Sunday, the only way to experience the adrenalin-pumping terror of a World Cup course is to do it yourself. And that’s a lot easier said than done...

Here are the facts: the classic Hahnenkamm race in Kitzbühel, Austria involves skiers at the absolute pinnacle of their international careers reaching speeds of 90 miles-per-hour down a slope with, in one section, a 13-degree incline and has an early part ominously called the mousetrap.

Franche-Comte, France

2010-02-01T12:33:19

IT baffles me why there is a deference to French cuisine in our country.When it comes to regional food I’m proud of the north west of England.

I’d instinctively choose Lancashire Hot Pot over Coq au Vin and Cheshire Cheese over Camembert. I think our English food stands up pretty well to Gallic alternatives.

Newquay, Cornwall

2010-02-02T10:40:53

IT was the longest four hours of my life.... Confined on a small fishing boat with Chris and his eight fellow stags.

To be fair to Chris and team, I was the badly behaved one. They managed to turn green gracefully.

Slaley Hall, Hexham

2010-01-18T12:05:48

IT’S a view that will stick in my memory for a very long time.

Drawing back the curtains of our hotel room on the first morning of our stay at Slaley Hall, near Hexham in Northumberland, I caught my first glimpse of one of the most glorious golf courses I have ever seen.

The real India

2010-01-18T12:17:42

ODD. Joining us for a breakfast of those lovely little rice dumplings called idlee, our host Saijan exhibited a profound limp we hadn’t noticed on our arrival.

But that had been after dark. We had been rescued after our taxi transport had broken down in the Rajasthan desert some 30km short of our destination, Jodhpur.

Bad weather boosts top hotels

2010-01-18T12:14:09

City Inn duty manager, Graham was expecting me when I staggered up to reception. I hadn’t said what time I’d be checking in but Graham popped up as if he’d read my mind.

He had something to say. “We’re number one in Manchester on TripAdvisor,” he revealed excitedly as I shook the snow off my walking boots.

Spa Special: Molton Brown, Manchester

2010-01-07T15:01:41

WHEN I popped in to Molton Browns day spa I needed a reprieve from Christmas shoppers.

A brass band was playing, the German markets were in full swing and I was cold and crotchety.