British Travel Journal | Summer 2020
As we went to print with our last issue never could we have imagined a world in which travel would be completely stopped in its tracks. Never again will we take for granted our freedom to visit our magnificent cityscapes, captivating coastlines and peaceful countryside. It has been a difficult year for the hospitality and travel sector, but as this issue of British Travel Journal shows many are beginning to reopen, delighted to welcome back visitors and guests once more. We speak to these resilient hoteliers, destination managers, and others in the UK tourism industry about how they have responded to COVID-19. Our Cultural Agenda takes on a new direction, exchanging theatre performances for outdoor art, sculptures and natural wonders. And, in a time when remote locations are being sought after, all you need to know about wild (and nearly wild) camping is covered in our Sustainable Travel series. If camping isn’t for you, help is at hand to find the perfect holiday home in our 10 of the Best Self-Catering Properties. If you’re dreaming of strolls along the shore, fresh sea air and gently lapping waves, then you will love our coastal specials; Revival of the Beach Hut, England’s Coast, Wild Swimming and Secret Islands. Enjoy a taste of Cornwall in our Interview with Rick Stein before heading to the beach workshop of wooden bellyboards in our Meet the Maker: Wave Rider article with Dick Pearce. Finally, thank you to all our subscribers for your support, keeping our spirits high with words of encouragement and understanding the unusual delay in receiving this issue. Together we continued to dream of the extraordinary places we can explore, staying inspired with online and digital features, and hopefully by the time of reading this issue our next great adventures will have become reality.Travel safely, and together we will continue to support our wonderful tourism industry.
As we went to print with our last issue never could we have imagined a world in which travel would be completely stopped in its tracks. Never again will we take for granted our freedom to visit our magnificent cityscapes, captivating coastlines and peaceful countryside. It has been a difficult year for the hospitality and travel sector, but as this issue of British Travel Journal shows many are beginning to reopen, delighted to welcome back visitors and guests once more. We speak to these resilient hoteliers, destination managers, and others in the UK tourism industry about how they have responded to COVID-19. Our Cultural Agenda takes on a new direction, exchanging theatre performances for outdoor art, sculptures and natural wonders. And, in a time when remote locations are being sought after, all you need to know about wild (and nearly wild) camping is covered in our Sustainable Travel series. If camping isn’t for you, help is at hand to find the perfect holiday home in our 10 of the Best Self-Catering Properties. If you’re dreaming of strolls along the shore, fresh sea air and gently lapping waves, then you will love our coastal specials; Revival of the Beach Hut, England’s Coast, Wild Swimming and Secret Islands. Enjoy a taste of Cornwall in our Interview with Rick Stein before heading to the beach workshop of wooden bellyboards in our Meet the Maker: Wave Rider article with Dick Pearce. Finally, thank you to all our subscribers for your support, keeping our spirits high with words of encouragement and understanding the unusual delay in receiving this issue. Together we continued to dream of the extraordinary places we can explore, staying inspired with online and digital features, and hopefully by the time of reading this issue our next great adventures will have become reality.Travel safely, and together we will continue to support our wonderful tourism industry.
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4LOVELLS<br />
WELLAND,<br />
WORCESTERSHIRE<br />
Cathie and John Rolinson<br />
moved to the village<br />
of Welland below the<br />
Malvern Hills in 2008 having made the<br />
bold decision to establish a vineyard<br />
from scratch. Their first 900 vines were<br />
planted in 2010 and since then they<br />
have added thousands more and taken<br />
management of Tiltridge Vineyard in<br />
Upton on Severn. Now working four<br />
vineyards over 15 acres – all sheltered<br />
by the Malvern Hills, Lovells produces<br />
Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes<br />
which are marketed in a series of<br />
wines named after local composer, Sir<br />
Edward Elgar.<br />
“Ours is a story of a hobby that<br />
became more serious,” says Cathie.<br />
“It started with an ambition to prove<br />
to friends and family that we could<br />
produce a decent English wine. We<br />
were ably helped along the way by<br />
the expertise of the well-established<br />
Three Choirs Vineyard as well as<br />
several other knowledgeable and kind<br />
souls” Operating out of a delightful<br />
farmhouse and visitor centre, Lovells<br />
now grows Orion, Pinot Noir, Siegerebbe,<br />
Madeleine Angevine and Seyval Blanc<br />
as well as red Rondo grapes. Today<br />
this charming vineyard produces over<br />
12,000 bottles of wine a year, from<br />
sparkling whites and rosés to dry<br />
whites and single varietals. The Elgar<br />
range includes an Elgar Medium Dry,<br />
Sonatina Rosé and two sparklings -<br />
Ysobel Rosé and Elgar Sparkling White.<br />
We love Elgar Medium Dry made<br />
from a blend of Huxelrebe and<br />
Schonburger from the vineyard’s<br />
oldest vines. It retails for around £12.50<br />
lovellsvineyard.co.uk<br />
Where to stay<br />
The Cottage in The Woods<br />
The Cottage in The Woods is on the<br />
Malvern Hills just above Lovells and<br />
serves the Elgar wines. It was originally<br />
the dower house for a massive<br />
Victorian estate, Blackmore Park in the<br />
Severn Valley that burned down in 1921.<br />
cottageinthewood.co.uk<br />
32 <strong>British</strong><strong>Travel</strong><strong>Journal</strong>.com<br />
5DENBIES<br />
WINE<br />
ESTATE<br />
DORKING, SURREY<br />
The hugely productive<br />
Denbies operation almost<br />
didn’t happen. In 1984 Adrian White<br />
bought this Surrey estate as his home<br />
but was unsure what to do with the land<br />
so he asked a friend, Professor Richard<br />
Selly (who normally advised on drilling<br />
for oil) to survey the site. Selly worked<br />
out that its chalk soil and well-protected<br />
location were ideal for wine production.<br />
Thirteen varietals were planted as an<br />
experiment in 1986 to see which would<br />
take, and 34 years later, in 2010 Denbies<br />
medium dry Surrey Gold became the<br />
best-selling English white wine.<br />
These days the vineyard produces 10% of<br />
all English wines. Other Denbies’ blends<br />
are geographically named: Flint Valley,<br />
Ranmore Hill and Redlands. Single<br />
varietals include Bacchus and Pinot Gris.<br />
Despite a lot of success with its sparkling<br />
wines, 40% of Denbies’ output remains<br />
still and it also makes wine for other<br />
companies, like the Albury Vineyard<br />
near Guildford.<br />
Good entry-level wines under £10<br />
helped establish the brand, but the<br />
new Denbies’ Vineyard Select range is<br />
exciting critical attention. The visitor<br />
centre with its great central tower and<br />
Disneyfied wine train attracts 350,000<br />
visitors a year. The site is very accessible<br />
and friendly, with locals walking their<br />
dogs. There is also a modern 18 bed<br />
hotel created out of an old farmhouse on<br />
the estate.<br />
Where to stay<br />
Denbies Vineyard Hotel<br />
Denbies Vineyard Hotel has a very<br />
attractive view of the vines from its<br />
dining room. This building was<br />
originally a farmhouse on the original<br />
estate but has been completely<br />
repurposed for visitors.<br />
denbies.co.uk<br />
WE LOVE<br />
RANMORE<br />
HILL 2017<br />
Ranmore Hill 2017 is a<br />
white wine that was a Gold<br />
award-winner at WineGB<br />
2019 in the category of ‘Best<br />
Blended Wine’. At £14.95 it is<br />
also very good value.
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