46 ............... Saturday, May 11, 2019
47
CHAMPING AT THE
BIT FOR LUXURY
CHAMPNEY’S
HOTEL, TRING
steak and roast lamb. There
is also a lounge to venture
on to with a glass or wine or
WHAT’S IT LIKE? A relaxing a cup of tea, and at
mix of stately home and
weekends a pianist plays
stylish boutique hotel, you to sleep before you
surrounded by beautiful
head back to your room.
countryside.
WHAT ELSE? Spa facilities
ROOMS ANY GOOD? Very are second to none.
much so, with themes and
prices to suit all. The
decor is in keeping
with tradition. Heaps check-in hydrotherapy pools
of rural charm with check-out
lovely home comfort
touches including
complimentary bottles of
studio and urban gym.
water, bath products, robes, SO YOU’D GO BACK? Yes.
TV and free WiFi. If you’re looking for a
EAT THERE OR GRAB A getaway where you don’t
PIZZA? Don’t venture out. have to leave the hotel to
The restaurant serves enjoy yourself.
everything from healthy WHAT’S THE DAMAGE?
salads and fish — which are Rates are from £59.54pp a
marked out as low-calorie night based on two sharing.
options on the menu — See champneys.com
through to luxuries such as
IT’S 32°C IN
hot THE MALDIVES
spot — a week at the
5H Kurumba
resort is from
£2,199pp. The price is
based on full-board with
flights from Gatwick on
selected dates in
September. See
kuoni.co.uk or call 01306
747008.
PRICE IS FLIGHT
ON DEALS IN SUN
FANCY some sun this
month?
Then head off to
Lanzarote for fun and
fresh air.
TUI have a 10-night
return flight leaving
Glasgow on May 23
from £173pp when
booked online at
tui.co.uk
l JET2 started new
flights to popular
holiday destinations
over the last two
weeks.
news via Helsinki, with fares
They include Izmir in
Turkey from Glasgow,
adding to their existing ser-
vices to Antalya, Bodrum
and Dalaman.
They also launched
flights to Naples, above,
Bourgas (Bulgaria) and Kos.
Edinburgh wasn’t
forgotten as Jet’s first flight
from there to Bodrum in
Turkey took off this week.
It was quickly followed on service from October on its
Thursday by a new service
to Corfu.
And today sees the
launch of their latest flight,
this time to Bourgas in
Bulgaria. See jet2.com
l aircraft is an important
FINNAIR has savings
of up to 15 per cent on
economy fares to a range of and our passengers in
top destinations in the Far
East, including Singapore,
Bangkok and major cities in more info.
Multiple pools, outdoor
jacuzzi, steam and
sauna rooms, indoor
and relaxation rooms.
If you’re into fitness,
there is a new cycle
JENNY FRANCIS
IT’S 36°C IN
hot DUBAI — three
spot nights at the 4H
Lapita Hotel is
from £679pp. The
price is based on half-
board with flights from
Edinburgh on June 11 and
includes complimentary
tickets to Dubai Parks
and Resorts. See
emiratesholidays.com
air
China from Edinburgh
from £390pp return to
Beijing. Book by May 27
for travel from May 14-March
31, 2020. Find out more
information at
finnair.com
l AIR Transat is taking
delivery of the first of 15
Airbus A321neoLRs that will
be added to its fleet and will
fly from Glasgow.
The aircraft will enter
twice weekly service from
Glasgow to Toronto.
Annick Guérard, the chief
operating officer at Transat,
said: “The arrival of this
new generation of
moment for our company
many respects.”
See airtransat.com for
1SM
AMERICAN WILDERNESS IS A
THE sun was setting
behind jagged
mountains bruised
with dark patches
of soaring pines.
Mist, like resting clouds,
circled peaks still draped
in ermine wraps of snow.
A pink flush on the
complexion of the sky was
mirrored in the surface of a
lake so calm it looked like
winter still had an icy lid
on it.
The frosty air still, too. No
breeze to ruffle the darkening
waters. The late evening cries
of nature the only soundtrack
to this tableau.
If this is heaven on Earth,
then Lake Tahoe must surely
be God’s Pond. A breathtaking
place, so beautiful it feels
almost otherworldly.
We’d just arrived, standing
on the shore, trying to take in
the scene before us. Words
failed that night. Silent
reverence seemed to do this
landscape more justice.
Just three hours earlier, we’d
been in the mid-70s spring
heat of California, bumper-to-
bumper on a freeway.
Now it seemed like my wife
Shirley and I were the last
couple on Earth.
The earlier heat of the day
slowly disappeared as we drove
up into the Sierra Nevada
mountains. The temperature
gauge on our Jeep Grand
Cherokee (Hertz.co.uk)
noticeably dropped and
dropped, almost with each
mile, as we navigated twisting
roads transformed into tunnels
by snow piled high on either
side around trunks of towering
trees.
Mythical landmark
As we crested a peak at
almost 7,000ft, Tahoe was
below us — a jewel glinting in
the half light.
We were heading for
Stateline, a pretty town that is
exactly what its name suggests
— straddling the border of
California and Nevada.
This was the start of a
week-long adventure, courtesy
of TravelNevada. And, boy,
were there some surprises in
store.
Lake Tahoe was some
mythical landmark to me,
mentioned frequently in books
by American fiction writers,
tantalisingly glimpsed in TV
shows
playground
and
for
movies.
Californians
A
and renowned for its beaches
AND ski resorts.
High up my bucket-list. And
it didn’t disappoint.
At 22 miles long and 12
wide, it’s the largest Alpine
lake in North America. And,
got to admit, it has that almost
European feel to it. Little
communities like Stateline and
our next destination, Incline
Village, hidden among the
forests, nestling on the 72 miles
of shoreline.
Picturesque rustic log cabins,
log burner smoke curling like
lazy snakes into the still nippy
spring air, roofs stacked with
snow almost as if some stage-
dresser had prepared them for
a scene in a Hallmark Channel
movie.
Everywhere we visited
seemed so perfectly serene
(probably more frantic in sum-
mer) that it felt like home.
Perhaps no surprise, as we
weren’t the first Scots to fall in
love with this idyll . . . a secret
we discovered at the
spectacularly luxurious Lodge
At Edgewood Tahoe (edgewood-
tahoe.com), our first hotel.
Edgewood’s history started in
1863 when two Scots
1SM Saturday, May 11, 2019 ...............
Edited by LISA MINOT & HEATHER LOWRIE See more at l thescottishsun.co.uk
GET THE WIND IN YOUR SAILS
TRUE PARADISE FOUND ENJOY winter sun in the Canary Islands from
Southampton onboard P&O’s Ventura on
November 29, calling at Madeira, La Palma,
Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Lisbon. Costs
cruise onboard Costa Cruises’ Costa
Magica, from £899pp. Includes an overnight
in Stockholm and flights from London
(regional departures available). See
from £749pp. See icelolly.com or call 03330 planetcruise.com or call 0808 278 8504.
603 499.
l JOSÉ Pizarro — the Spanish-born, UK-
based chef — is one of three new “local
l TRAVEL in style on board the Orient
Express, below, and enjoy Florence,
Seville and Rome on a 10-night cruise
food heroes” working with P&O Cruises to onboard Regal Princess which includes a
bring an authentic taste of the destinations one night hotel stay in Florence, three nights
visited by its newest in Lake Garda, a two-day full-board Venice
ship, Iona, next year. The Simplon-Orient
maiden winter season Express train journey
will be spent in Spain, from Verona to London
Portugal and the Canary and transfers. Departs
Islands, where you’ll be on October 7, 2020,
able to enjoy José’s from Southampton.
bespoke tapas menu Costs from £3,799pp.
for The Glass House, as
well as signature Span-
See imaginecruising.
co.uk quoting refer-
ish dishes, in the new ence MED7264 or call
dining option Taste 0800 840 5800.
LIVING ON THE EDGE . . .
360. For Iona’s
Norwegian
Fjords trip, chef cruise
news
l SET sail from
Southampton on
June 23 onboard
stunning room at the Kjartan Skjelde Cunard’s Queen Victoria
and photographer and head to the
luxurious Lodge at
Edgewood and, far and home cook Marte Netherlands, Belgium and France for a week
Marie Forsberg will join the crew. See with stop-offs in St Peter Port, Amsterdam,
right, Hyatt Regency pocruises.com Bruges and Cherbourg. Costs from £749pp,
l
SAIL through the Norwegian Fjords on a with a complimentary upgrade to Oceanview.
nine-night trip on Fred Olsen’s Boudicca
See barrheadtravel.co.uk
from Dover on June 9, calling at Bergen,
Flam, Naeroyfjord, Hellesylt, Olden,
Nordfjord, Stavanger, Eidfjord and Hardan-
l ENJOY a week-long cruise along the
Norwegian Fjords on P&O’s Azura
departing from Southampton on June 1 and
gerfjord. Costs from £970pp. See calling at Stavanger, Flam, Aurland, Sognef-
planetcruise.com or call 0808 278 8504.
jord, Alesund and Bergen. Costs from £911pp.
l TAKE in the Baltic capitals and stay over-
night in St Petersburg on a week-long
See cruise1st.co.uk or call 0800 953 4963
(quote PR1).
Perfect..
from top
to Tahoe
DIGGING IN . . .
Alan and Shirley
on Mount Rose
Fjordland Cruise
and with their
smart hire car
8 days first person WAS from £1,159 NOW from £929
Second person from £464
Sailing from Dundee on board Magellan, departs 26 April 2020
and hot tub as hungry flame two-hour cruise on the MS Dixie a popular spot for swimmers, Grylls. Anyway, fantastic Discover a landscape marked by crashing waterfalls and
GO: LAKE TAHOE tongues licked the night from
fire pits all around the
paddle steamer (zephyrcove.com)
gave us the history — and the
canoeists water-skiers, fisherman,
picnickers . . . and Shakespeare
experience in an awe-inspiring
Christmas tree landscape painted
ancient villages like Hellesylt and Geiranger as Magellan sails into
GETTING/STAYING THERE: Barrhead Travel can tailor-make your Nevada
experience including flights, hotel, car hire and excursions. Call their USA
experts on 0141 222 2223 or see barrheadtravel.co.uk for more info.
grounds.
Dinner in the Edgewood
Restaurant in the nearby
legends of its crystal clear
waters.
From Zephyr Cove we churned
fanatics! They have a festival
dedicated to the other Bard
every summer at a little outdoor
the whitest white.
Bart showed us the sights —
like Lake Tahoe city, North Star
Geirangerfjord, and cruises along the vast length of Sognefjord, past
deep forests and towering mountains, to the tiny village of Flam.
over to the aptly named Emerald
MORE INFO: Car hire in Nevada with Hertz.co.uk starts from £26 a day. clubhouse was special for its theatre. mountain resort, beautiful little
Cruise highlights
For inspiration, head to hertz.com/usaroadtripplanner and discover grand lake vistas — and Bay, with its mysterious little Our Hyatt was another grand — Truckee . . .
iconic and off-the-beaten track routes, downloadable maps and insider
guides. For info on Nevada, see travelnevada.com
memorable for introducing me
to elk chops!
Fannette Island and the 1929
Nordic-style mansion
but homely — lodge-style hotel
deep in the snow-covered woods.
We stopped in Squaw Valley
where the Winter Olympics were • Historic Bergen, delightful England’s beautiful Northeast
To be honest, we could have Vikingsholm built on the shore
just across from it.
Our 12th-floor room looked out held in 1960 and the torch still ‘Gateway to the Fjords’
• Traditional British & International
•
had a good time just staying in over dark pine forest-clad burns beneath the iconic rings at
Cruise into exquisite cuisine, stylish entertainment,
immigrants, David Park and lakeside. A plush retreat — an our spacious King room. Cosy
Crazy rock formations mountains dusted white as the entrance to this still-popular
Anne Brooks, made the long Alpine lodge in the style of the fire in the hearth, balcony with
Word of warning: if it’s a foggy
galleon clouds sailed across ski paradise. Geirangerfjord, with its waterfalls guest lecturers & on-board
Transatlantic journey (God old American West. As an views across the water, huge emptying their cargoes of snow. As snow fell, we took the tram
knows how because we were
knackered with an 11-hour
flight and three-hour drive) to
introduction to Tahoe, it didn’t
get any better than this.
Edgewood is, literally, on the
bed which could probably have
straddled both States and a
deep tub where you could soak
day, watch out for the ghost of
Captain Dick Barter trying to
climb up Fannette to get into a
We were going snow-shoeing (I
can barely walk in normal shoes)
with Bart Peterson, with Go
8,000ft above the town, where
there’s great ski-ing, an Olympic
museum and restaurants. •
and fjord-side villages
Flåm lies at the head of •
leisure facilities
7 nights’ full board
establish a cattle ranch in the edge of sprawling woods and AND take in Tahoe over the grave he’d dug for himself before Tahoe North. He’s an outdoors The white-out weather — even mighty Sognefjord accommodation on
nearby Carson Valley. the Tahoe shoreline. If the lake bathroom’s half wall. being lost in stormy seas. guy and must have taken one in April — showed yet another
Three decades later, their
son David bought land on
is like a sapphire, this place
too is a gem. Stone and wood
Downstairs in the cathedral-
ceilinged foyer, you could relax
Now we were heading to
Incline Village (seriously, Santa
look at us and thought ‘Is this
what I’ve got to work with
side to this area.
And there was even more to • Newcastle is gateway to board Magellan
South Lake Tahoe to set up blending with the landscape. with a drink in the bar or would feel at home in this US/ today?’ come as our journey took us
Call 0330 331 0924
‘Friday’s Station’ — a butcher’s And relaxation is the bottom sink into a sofa next to the Nordic community) for a two- Anyway, got up Mount Rose as back down the Sierra Nevadas quoting code
and onward into rural Nevada.
TSU
shop for wagon trains — and a line. You can golf, enjoy huge stone fireplace. night stay at the Hyatt Regency a blizzard closed in. We were
log cabin that became watersports, soak up the spa, A bolthole to remember and, Lake Tahoe Resort, Spa and heading for Chickadee Ridge, to But for one last evening in
Edgewood. shop, take long walks — and sadly, just one night. But, after Casino (hyatt.com). see actual Chickadee birds. beautiful Incline Village on the
He would have been eat and drink like royalty at a breakfast of pancakes (as big You can’t miss stunning Sand Managed to walk for a bit in lake’s edge, the snow
stopped and blue skies started
had www.thesuntravel.co.uk/cruisefromdundee
awestruck two years ago when one of three restaurants. as dustbin lids) we were ready Harbor on the way. A proper little ski-like contraptions before
the current version of his We braved the chilly evening to explore. haven with its gently sloping I fell head-first into a drift. peeking through the tree canopy. These holidays are organised & operated by Newmarket Holidays Ltd. ABTA V7812. Subject to availability.
No better way to get to know beaches, crazy rock formations Sorry Bart, I should have said Ta ta to tremendous Tahoe!
dream emerged on the for a dip in the outdoor pool
ALAN MUIR
Single supplements apply. Fares exclude gratuities. Standard phone charges. Prices above are per person for
Tahoe than to sail on it. The and water like molten glass. It’s I’m more Mixed Grills than Bear the lowest available cabin type. A selection of cabin types is available at ranging prices. All prices are
extremely limited & may be withdrawn without notice. *Book by 31 July 2019. Subject to availability
& may be withdrawn any time. Price shown includes 20% discount, 2nd person pays half that price.