Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2022 i National Geographic Traveller (UK)

Around 4,500 years after its formation, the mysterious stone circle on Salisbury Plain still manages to captivate. And now Stonehenge and the ancient world it represents are the focus of a new exhibition at the British Museum, charting the history of our continent from 4000 to 1000BC. Stonehenge is the show’s headliner, but the exhibition goes beyond the landmark, bringing together more than 430 objects from its permanent collection, alongside artifacts from museums across the UK and Europe. The result is a detailed portrait of our ancestors’ way of life, spanning agriculture and hunting, combat and worship. There’s a millennia-old deer skull found in Yorkshire, worn as a shamanic headpiece, alongside axes, shields and bronze cuirasses. There’s also a partial recreation of the mysterious, 4,000-year-old Seahenge: a circle of felled…

1 DUBLIN WRITERS MUSEUM It’s 100 years since James Joyce’s Ulysses was published. In honour of this, get your bookish bearings at this old-school museum full of belongings from titans of Irish literature — Samuel Beckett’s old telephone and a letter from Brendan Behan berating the local press among them. Yes, most of those represented here are male and deceased, but a gander in these Georgian rooms is a good grounding for any literary layover in the city. writersmuseum.com 2 THE GUTTER BOOKSHOP Oscar Wilde’s aphorism — “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars” — has inspired this independent bookshop, a 20-minute stroll from the Dublin Writers Museum, in Temple Bar. Big windows bring natural light onto a carefully curated mix of…

Founded as a Spanish missionary settlement in 1718, San Antonio offers an intriguing blend of traditional Mexican and cowboy culture. Although a pilgrimage to THE ALAMO —the famous 18th-century mission — usually tops visitors’ must-do lists, a deeper dive reveals a surprisingly modern city with a booming food and cocktail scene. thealamo.org The SAN ANTONIO RIVER WALK can’t be missed. The 15-mile network of walkways along the banks of the San Antonio River is lined with bars, shops and restaurants. As well as defining the city, it also offers a great jumping-off point for further exploration. From here, it’s just a short jaunt to the PEARL DISTRICT, a former industrial quarter that’s now a great place to come to eat, drink and browse shops, stalls and a farmers’ market. Lounge in…

WHEN DID YOU BECOME INTERESTED IN THE ‘RIGHT TO ROAM’ IDEA? Back home in West Berkshire, long before I was an illustrator by trade, I sketched the countryside around me for pleasure. More often than not, the best scene to draw was off the path, so I’d hop over a fence and sit in silence and stillness for an hour. The outrage of gamekeepers seemed entirely disproportionate to what I was doing and it intrigued me: I wanted to find out what led them to respond with such anger to this quiet, harmless act. WHAT DO WE MEAN BY THE WORD TRESPASS? The law defines trespass as a tort, in other words ‘damage’, like defamation or battery. No matter how gentle your presence on land or water you don’t own,…

I was afraid of Haiti, and I couldn’t tell you why. Haiti is one of those places constructed in a faraway imagination, then handed down from generation to generation like a delicate, lace-trimmed handkerchief embroidered by a great grandmother. Only the story of Haiti has none of the tenderness of a dainty handkerchief. Instead, the version of Haiti that the world inherits is of a dysfunctional and violent place always teetering on the edge of collapse. So, I was afraid for what felt like good reason, but I couldn’t tell you why until I started to walk through the country and discern its rhythms for myself. Architecture was my entry point into thinking differently about Haiti. It began with the gingerbread houses [an elaborate, mid-19th-century style] lining large cities like…

PLATJA DE CAVALLERIA Two crescents of perfect, amber-coloured sand are the main draw at this gorgeous beach on the island’s northernmost peninsula. Afterwards, be sure to drive up to the Cap de Cavalleria, a dramatic headland overlooked by a lighthouse since 1857. CALA TIRANT This pretty, family-friendly beach near the village of Fornells has plenty to while away an afternoon with: shallow water, golden sand with loungers and parasols, plus kayaks for hire. Blessed by the Tramontana (a northerly wind), it’s also a popular spot for sail-based watersports, too. CALA MACARELLA With a sweep of white sand and neon-blue waters, this pine-sheltered cove is a poster child for beachy Balearic bliss. The car park is a good 20-minute walk away, but it’s well worth the trek for sun, swimming and…

People always use the words ‘wild’ and ‘wilderness’ about Dartmoor. It has its own unique feel. You’ve got great big open areas punctuated by tors, which are quite welcoming — from a navigational point of view, they’re your goals — but can also be quite intimidating. There’s a real sense of the ancient here, with amazing stone rows, stone circles and cairns — and a deep, deep feeling of age and history. I was introduced to wild camping in Dartmoor National Park when I was in the Scouts, then continued when I became a teacher. When I first took a group of youngsters out alone, it was terrifying because I was responsible for them and we were navigating through a difficult landscape, but it was also just wonderful to have…

It’s early morning on the Broads. The sky is a cold, clear blue. The marshlands are filigreed with frost. Three of us are stepping quietly through the reed beds of Candle Dyke, nearing an old eel-catchers’ hut at the water’s edge, when a winter flypast stops us in our tracks. A flock of 100 punk-haired birds sails overhead, northwards towards the coast. “Lapwings”, confirms Emily Leonard, one of the two Broads Authority team members joining me for the day. Then high-pitched peeps start emanating from the straw-coloured banks of sedge nearby. Emily raises a finger, smiles and whispers, “Kingfisher.” The Broads is the UK’s smallest national park, covering some 117 square miles (the largest, the Cairngorms, stretches to almost 1,750 square miles), but this doesn’t correlate with the size of…

THE COTTAGE IN THE WOOD Whinlatter Forest, England’s highest mountain woodland, is the setting for this outstanding Michelin-starred restaurant with rooms. Head chef Ben Wilkinson relies heavily on Cumbrian produce and has carved a reputation for inventive flavour pairings. thecottageinthewood.co.uk DRUNKEN DUCK INN The Lake District has plenty of notable pubs, but even these days it’s rare to find one serving things such as crab, chive and apple crumpets, or venison suet bourguignon pudding. Step forward the Drunken Duck, one of the most sought-after food pubs in the region. drunkenduckinn.co.uk THE YAN AT BROADRAYNE Dwarfed by the hulking scenery of the Central Fells, The Yan is a classy bistro in the boutique hotel of the same name, based on Broadrayne Farm near Grasmere. Breakfast is offered, as are larger mains,…

Just 135ft separate the height of Snowdon from that of Carnedd Dafydd — a summit a couple of green, green valleys away — but the difference is far greater than that. One peak has a cafe and gift shop, a tourist railway and seasonal queues that could rival the Tube in rush hour. The other has no crowds, a boulder-dotted plateau and views to melt the heart. “Take it all in,” laughs guide Mark Handford of Snowdonia Adventures, as our group of five, freshly arrived at the top of Carnedd Dafydd, stares breathlessly out towards Anglesey and the Irish Sea. There’s no getting away from the fact that Snowdonia National Park has a dominant focal point. Snowdon (or, to use its proper name, Yr Wydffa) is hugely accessible and, in…

The South Downs was only designated a national park as recently as 2010, which makes it the youngest national park in the UK: an irony, perhaps, given the impossibly ancient timescale of its chalk downlands and steepling cliffs. It officially covers parts of East Sussex, West Sussex and Hampshire, and has evolved to become a magnet for everyone from trail runners and mountain bikers to paragliders and kayakers. And — cue whinnies of delight — it’s also brilliant for horse riders. The park has roughly 750 miles of bridleways to be explored, from serene country tracks to steep hill climbs, as well as dozens of places to park horseboxes. But if, as is more likely, you don’t own your own steed, beat a path to the Happy Valley Equestrian Centre,…

It’s approaching midnight on a velvety Dakar night, and a superstar-to-be is turning my world upside down. His name is Elhadj A Tiaré, aka Ashs the Best, and he’s wowing the audience at Théâtre de Verdure with soulful ballads sung in the city’s lingua franca, Wolof. But Elhadj is no conventional crooner — what sets him apart are the turn-on-a-sixpence forays into hip hop, reggae, Latin jazz and gospel. He switches styles as smoothly as other singers change tempo or key and, somehow, it just works. Suddenly, the idea of single-genre music seems totally passé. Born in 1995, this dazzling Senegalese musician grew up in the Dakar suburb of Pikine and turned professional while still a teenager. Tonight, he exudes confident geek-chic, complete with wire-framed spectacles and the kind of…

IN NUMBERS 28 The number of crew on board Endurance’s 1914 expedition, led by a dogged Sir Ernest Shackleton 9,869ft The depth below sea level that the ship was discovered in Antarctica’s Weddell Sea, having sunk in November 1915 100 The exact number of years, to the day (5 March), between Shackleton’s funeral in South Georgia and the ship’s discovery in 2022 The wreck is a designated monument under the International Antarctic Treaty, so it must not be disturbed, nor any of its physical artifacts removed “The worst portion of the worst sea in the world” HOW SHACKLETON DESCRIBED THE FRIGID AREA OF THE WEDDELL SEA, WHERE HE HAD TO ABANDON SHIP IN 1915 The ship was found in good condition. The word ‘Endurance’ is visible on the stern, along…

GET IN TOUCH inbox@natgeotraveller.co.uk Have a query about subscriptions? Get in touch at natgeotraveller@subscriptionhelpline.co.uk or call 01293 312166 WIN an outdoor bundle from Sealskinz worth over £100! Embrace the outdoors with this innovative kit, offering comfort and breathability in the warmer months. The Waterproof Warm Weather Ankle Length Socks have a bamboo liner for moisture control; the All Weather Cap is 100% waterproof, and the Waterproof All Weather Lightweight Gloves are made with a close-to-skin fit and Fusion Control™ technology to ensure optimum breathability. sealskinz.com STAR LETTER Flying colours I found the report on LGBTQ+ travel (April 2022) interesting. We’ve ruled out destinations where we wouldn’t feel welcome before, but once used a gay-run travel company for a trip to South Africa, and the difference was palpable: we could be…

SNAPSHOT Maarika, Jaipur, India During Rajasthan’s hot season, I made the trek to the Amer Fort, just north of Jaipur. Originally constructed to protect the city from invading armies, it offered me some protection, too — only this time from the relentless sun. I made my way up the stone pathway and turned inside an elegant courtyard where a woman in a brilliant yellow dress immediately caught my attention. She was calm, yet still had tremendous presence as she enjoyed the breeze passing over the fort’s ramparts. I joined Maarika on the cool steps and we sat together for a while, admiring the grandeur of the Pink City in the distance. galtvisual.com @galtvisual…

This month, the Dutch town of Almere welcomes the Floriade — the floral spectacle held once a decade in the Netherlands. With over two million visitors expected, it’s one of the biggest — and most thought-provoking — horticultural exhibitions in the world. ‘Growing Green Cities’ is the theme of the event and some 160 acres have been given over to 400 global exhibitors, including cutting-edge garden designers and horticulturalists, who are set dazzle with displays of plants, vegetables, fruit and produce. Blooms are only part of the show, however; many of the exhibitors will showcase their latest green innovations, too, from state-of-the-art solar roof tiles to elaborate, space-saving vertical gardens. There’s plenty for travellers to enjoy at the event, held just east of Amsterdam, including national pavilions from exhibitors including…

MAMA SHELTER The Italian capital has seen a string of hot new openings and revamps over the pandemic, but instead of stuffy traditional grande dames and tiny boutique hotels, Rome is now back to full-on, Fellini-style glamour — and it’s attracting the brands to match. In the past year, Soho House, W and the Hoxton have all landed in town, but the arrival of the cool French brand is the icing on the cake. It might be just a 10-minute walk from the Holy See, but it’s a far cry from what many think of when they picture the Vatican: this is a retro homage to the post-Second World War cultural boom that anointed Rome as one of Europe’s most swinging capitals. Set over two buildings — iconic office blocks…

SICHUAN HOUSE This has become one of my favourite places to eat and it’s easily one of the best Chinese restaurants in town. The culinary team is from Sichuan and the food is great — including dishes such as underbelly pork and dry pot chicken. sichuaneats.com CLEMENTINE The husband-and-wife chef team take ‘simple’ seasonal food to another level. They have a ‘Feed Me’ menu where you just let the chefs serve what they want. When you let someone else take you on a culinary journey, it’s a really special experience. clementine-sa.com CAPPY’S RESTAURANT This San Antonio staple opened in 1977 and serves ‘upscale but casual’ American fare. Cappy’s is always getting better and reinventing itself and everything — the service, the wine, the food — is done extremely well. cappysrestaurant.com…

MOLA FORTRESS The fort commanding a strategic spot above Mahón harbour is so sprawling it’s almost a city in itself. Built in the late 19th century to fend off the French and British, the golden-stoned garrison buildings, batteries and fortifications are an excellent introduction to the island’s martial past. Set aside a good couple of hours to explore it all. fortalesalamola.com TORRALBA D’EN SALORT Another of Menorca’s stirring Talaiotic sites, this vast settlement is a sort of open-air museum. Constructed by Menorca’s early inhabitants, some of the structures here — which include quarries, silos, funeral chambers and the island’s best-preserved taula — are 4,000 years old and are still in remarkable condition today. nurarq.com MENORCA CATHEDRAL A striking mismatch of Catalan gothic, baroque and neoclassical styles, this great church in…

star trails, Yorkshire Dales…

COAST AND FOREST CIRCULAR 32 MILES The Moor to Sea Cycle Network links together 11 bike routes across the region, and the 32-mile Coast and Forest Circular route comprises highlights from several. Beginning at Scarborough railway station, pedal first along the former railway line to Whitby, known as The Cinder Track, then turn south to enjoy some glorious, wooded sections, eventually veering east to return to Scarborough and the coast. DALBY FOREST LOOP 14.5 MILES One of England’s best-known trail centres, the rolling woodland of Dalby Forest is threaded with everything from green-graded family routes to black-rated cross-country loops. This route begins outside the forest, at the high moorland car park at Saltergate before winding through the forest. After passing the Dalby Forest Visitors Centre, cyclists face a steep climb…

I was brought up just outside the Peak District, near Stockport. My friends and I started coming here as kids, and it was that classic thing — you see a bit of rock and you want to scramble up it. In those days we didn’t know anything really, had no knowledge or skills. It was just the pure adventure of it. I started climbing with ropes aged about 10. We didn’t get any instruction or training — it was basically if you survived, you learned something. It certainly wouldn’t be a method I’d advise, but it worked for us. We’d learn from watching other people on the crags. I moved into the national park about 25 years ago. I love the freedom of climbing, being out in nature, but also…

BEAULIEU This little village is best known as the home of the National Motor Museum, where youngsters can gawp at everything from F1 cars to vintage London buses, the Beaulieu site also has a Victorian country house to explore, a monorail to ride and the ruins of a medieval abbey to marvel at. beaulieu.co.uk NEW FOREST WILDLIFE PARK No lions or boa constrictors here. Instead, you’ll find native and past-native wildlife such as polecats, badgers, red deer, grey wolves and bison, as well as various species of otter and owl. Conservation is taken seriously, and the park also helps rehabilitate injured and orphaned animals. newforestwildlifepark.co.uk thenewforesttour.info BURLEY VILLAGE OF WITCHES TREASURE TRAIL Back in the 1950s, Sybil Leek — later dubbed ‘Britain’s most famous witch’ — lived in the quiet…

FRIDAY The Brecon Beacons might be renowned for its hilly, grassy moorland, but join local author and forager Adele Nozedar on a foraging workshop and you’ll discover it’s anything but barren. Adele runs half-day courses that focus on using the senses to explore the plants, fungi and wildlife of the Beacons. breconbeaconsforaging.com Now give your legs a good stretch. The national park looks at its best from up on high, so climb the 2,907ft Pen y Fan, starting at the Storey Arms Outdoor Education Centre. SATURDAY Sign up for a full-day bushcraft adventure with Mountain and River Activities. Its small-group sessions cover everything from building shelters and finding water to making a fire, and there are various dates available over spring and summer. Navigation courses are also offered. mountainandriveractivities.co.uk Then,…

Scale the sloping streets of the Bukchon district in the north of the city, and the views that greet you span both miles and centuries. Beyond the knobbly, traditional roofs is a sea of modern high-rises, with the N Seoul Tower in the distance. Travellers come to Bukchon for its well-preserved hanok dwellings, some of which are homestays and restaurants. Order of the day is a beaker of makgeolli, a creamy, slightly fizzy rice wine with origins dating back 2,000 years. Cheonggyecheon stream runs like a ribbon through Seoul, offering a green, watery oasis amid the high-tech cityscape. A short walk north leads to Gyeongbokgung Palace, a sprawling complex that was the seat of Korea’s Joseon dynasty and home to a wealth of cultural treasures. There are treasures of a…

1 St Lucia’s Pitons — two forested volcanic spires rising dramatically from the ocean on the island’s southwestern coast — form one of the Caribbean’s most distinctive skylines. Taking them in from the calm waters of the Caribbean Sea aboard a luxury chartered yacht, with a rum punch in hand, is a memorable way to appreciate these geological wonders. On board a crewed charter, all meals and drinks are catered for by a gourmet chef, with a focus on local ingredients and menus tailored to your palate. 2 Sailing south through St Vincent and The Grenadines, enjoy sunrises accompanied by gourmet feasts whipped up by the chef, before stopping at Bequia, a tiny island in St Vincent and the Grenadines. Walk barefoot across white sands at Princess Margaret Beach, learn…

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Not all Balinese dishes are created equal. Some are reserved for offerings or rituals, others for special celebrations and the rest for everyday nourishment. Our food can be as modest as a plate of fresh pineapple with sea salt and chopped chillies, or as complex as minced duck massaged with grated coconut and spices, pressed around bamboo skewers, wrapped in banana leaves and grilled over coconut charcoals. A classic Balinese paon (kitchen) is usually wall-less and simply outfitted with a low bamboo workbench, a large water tub and a jalikan (wood-fired stove). A cupboard stands in place of a fridge as Balinese food is designed to be eaten fresh and is rarely kept longer than a day. Baskets or containers made from coconut shells might hang from the rafters, keeping…

Carmarthenshire In the foothills of the Cambrian Mountains, you’ll find Cwm Rhaedr, with its mixed woodland of broadleaf trees and conifers, including sky-high Douglas fir trees. Activities include mountain biking in the Tywi Valley and waterfall hikes with views across the Brecon Beacons. Book the beautifully restored Glan-yr-Afon Riverside Cottage, an 18th-century woollen mill that’s surrounded by meadows and mountain streams. From £597 for three nights, based on four sharing. cambrianescapes.co.uk Isle of Wight A safe bet for spotting the elusive red squirrel is Brighstone Forest where, in the summer, you might also hear the call of the nightjar, a bird known as the ‘corpse hound’ on account of its rather chilling ‘churr’ call. Stay in an eco log cabin near Calbourne and fuel up on breakfast — with eggs…

Why go This idyllic corner of the country, designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in 1973, is a land dotted with old, steeple-topped market towns. But it’s the Wolds’ rural charms that impress most: these rolling hills are home to working farms, nourishing the country with a wealth of grains, potatoes, sugar beet and more, while historic burial mounds and barrows hint at ancient settlements. It’s this same timeless beauty that’s thought to have inspired Victorian poet laureate Lord Tennyson, born in the Wolds in the village of Somersby in 1809. visitlincolnshire.com What to do With ancient woodland and glacial valleys, the region makes for excellent walking. The gentle hills — which peak at a modest 550ft — mean that even the most sloping trails are unchallenging, but…

At the summit of Mount Toro is a statue of Christ, his arms outstretched as if embracing the island. Comparisons between him and his Brazilian counterpart are easy to draw, but this is a more modest affair — a fraction the size, with a fraction of the visitors. After all, Menorca is hardly one to shout about its charms. The second-largest of the Balearic Islands is a relaxed affair, where agricultural traditions hold sway and life moves to a gentler beat than that of its party-loving sisters Majorca and Ibiza. Venture inland and you’ll see that quiet, rural beauty at its best: juniper and pine trees circled by red kites; pretty, whitewashed villages; and dry-stone walls crisscrossing a landscape that feels like it hasn’t changed for centuries. Not that it’s…

What, I wonder, did Hadrian think of this place, when he stood on its chilly hills 1,900 years ago? The ambitious Roman emperor was by most accounts born in southern Spain, and he was in his mid-40s when he found himself up here, at the very edge of his vast domain, contemplating a construction project for the ages. In second-century Britannia, the Mediterranean would’ve felt a lot further away than it does today. What did he make of the rolling green landscapes? Did he curse the fact he wasn’t wearing a thicker cloak? We’ll never know, although the legacy of his visit endures in the form of a 73-mile barrier — or, at least, what remains of it — that once spanned the map, from west to east. Northumberland National…

This year marks seven decades of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park — a platinum anniversary for a golden destination, you might say. Outdoorsy types have always flocked to this outlying corner of Wales, lured by the sheer variety of activities on offer. The park’s craggy coastline draws walkers, climbers and wildlife-watchers, while the waters offshore attract surfers, canoeists and kayakers. But there’s one activity, practised here for decades, which combines both land and sea. Coasteering has found a home on various parts of the UK shoreline, but it’s here that it has its most natural base. TYF Adventure in St David’s has guided more than 200,000 people through the activity since introducing it in 1986, which says as much about coasteering’s ongoing popularity as it does about the drama of…

Sloping fields and dry-stone walls. Swaledale sheep and brown hares. Low-slung hills and glassy streams. In the daytime, the Yorkshire Dales encapsulate a kind of storybook version of rural England, which is precisely why so many visitors come calling. Depending on your predilection, you’ll find ready supplies of everything from fell-running trails to top-notch tearooms. But when the sun goes down, the Dales take on an altogether different appeal. After a concerted local effort, the national park was awarded International Dark Sky Reserve status in 2020, thanks to large swathes of the map being almost completely free of light pollution. Four locations have been designated as Dark Sky Discovery Sites, including the visitor centres at Hawes and Malham, the car park at Buckden, and the highest pub in Britain —…

TRAVEL GEEKS 14 JUNE 2 022 — LIVE IN LONDON Plotting a Caribbean itinerary If your sailing dream involves white, sandy beaches on tropical islands, colourful harbours and isolated coral reefs, this event will help you achieve it. You could visit the real-life inspiration behind Treasure Island in the British Virgin Islands, dive wrecks in the Bahamas and snorkel through the clear blue waters of St Martin. Or explore the Mayan ruins and rainforests of Belize, find a spectacular beach for every day of the year in Antigua, harness the warm trade winds of Grenada or discover the mountainous beauty of St Lucia. Thinking of the Mediterranean? Sailing this region is the ideal way to enjoy ancient history, beautiful scenery and great food and wine. Savour all three, whether you’re…