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I went for a lovely lunch with a Peruvian hotel group called Inkaterra today, at a restaurant called Bumpkin in South Kensington.

Inkaterra has some of the most exciting, sustainable hotels in Peru. It all started in the 1970s with Inkaterra Reserva Amazonica right in the Amazon jungle. Next were La Casona in Cusco, part of the super-luxury Relais & Chateaux collection, and Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel right by Machu Picchu. Inkaterra has now launched another sister brand… Continue reading

[This blog first appeared on greentraveller]

Scottish railway company ScotRail has teamed up with a local wildlife organisation to help passengers appreciate the wildlife along the River Tay and its estuary.

Holidaymakers and other customers on its Perth to Dundee and Montrose routes can now download a “Travelling along the Tay” leaflet from ScotRail’s website, which describes the different habitats that the railway passes through.

The River Tay and its estuary are rich in… Continue reading

[This article first appeared in TTG]

Despite a thorough explanation from instructor Derek on how to hold my paddle and how to slow down and change direction, I was still concerned about losing control and smashing up my kayak on the rocks. But Derek assured me the kayaks were practically indestructible. “You might hit into each other, though – the kayaks have got magnets in them,” he warned us.

I’d have thought magnets would make the… Continue reading

[this feature first appeared in TTG]

The small island of Guernsey has inspired more than its fair share of creative types. Philippa Jacks explores the island’s literary links – and finds cycling an uphill struggle

Of all the ways you can cook a potato, a pie made of discarded, soggy peelings would not be my first choice. The particular pie in Mary Ann Shaffer’s The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society may be… Continue reading

I went to Chelsea Flower Show for the first time last week and, considering how little I know about plants and flowers (see earlier failed attempts to cultivate herbs on my balcony), I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I was a guest of the Malaysia Tourist Board, which won Gold for its rainforest-inspired garden, designed by James Wong (off the Grow Your Own Drugs programme on TV).

The garden was really beautiful… Continue reading