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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POST-LOCKDOWN LUXURY<br />
It’s clear too though, that plenty of changes will need to be<br />
made, and hotels and restaurants have a lot to consider<br />
when looking at how they offer the same levels of quality<br />
and service amidst social distancing measures. Andrew<br />
Stembridge, executive director of Iconic Luxury Hotels, voices<br />
the concerns of many, saying; “There is no doubt that the<br />
reopening of hotels will not be easy. We are developing and<br />
adjusting our comeback plans and re-opening models daily<br />
for all our hotels in order to get through the numerous hurdles<br />
in place.”<br />
Patricia Yates suggests that we might start to see the<br />
introduction of a common industry quality mark that<br />
would provide a ‘ring of confidence’ for tourism businesses,<br />
attractions and destinations as well as reassurance to visitors<br />
that businesses have clear processes in place when restrictions<br />
are lifted. “We can holiday at home again to give reassurance<br />
to the public that it is socially responsible to travel.”<br />
At luxury hotel Cliveden House post-pandemic measures<br />
include new cleaning training programmes, changes to their<br />
dining room layout – including a one way system through<br />
the restaurant, as well as extra use of their wonderful Astor<br />
Grill. Previously the stables, the Astor Grill design lends itself<br />
naturally to social distancing with individual booths which<br />
organically limit the space and number of settings. In the spa<br />
there will be an increase in personal training and one-on-one<br />
yoga sessions, while all guest rooms will have in-room tablets<br />
which eliminate many touch points and allow for remote<br />
access.<br />
In Sussex, Goodwood Hospitality Managing Director,<br />
Andrew Coggings explains "With such a high demand for<br />
the temporary Goodwood Farm Shop (a switch from our<br />
wholesale business to a fully-fledged farm shop offering our<br />
home-reared organic meat, cheeses, milk and beer directly<br />
to customers) we are considering making the shop a more<br />
permanent fixture on the estate and offering tours of our<br />
organic farm."<br />
At the Headland Hotel in Cornwall, owners John and<br />
Carolyn Armstrong took advantage of lockdown to refurbish<br />
the indoor pool and changing rooms, and undertake various<br />
maintenance tasks, as well as preparing the hotel for opening<br />
post-Covid by finishing the build of their new Aqua Club,<br />
with six swimming pools and a restaurant, which will provide<br />
takeaway flatbreads from its new pizza oven together with<br />
freshly cooked lobsters and crabs from Newquay Harbour.<br />
The hotel also has 40 self-catering cottages which will allow<br />
people a safe and easy place to holiday. “We have a huge<br />
amount of space within the hotel and ten acres of grounds,<br />
with thirty sunny little dug-outs perfect for social distancing<br />
while safely enjoying Cornish cream teas and watching the<br />
waves,” says Carolyn Amstrong. The perfect vision of a<br />
socially-distanced way to holiday.<br />
26 <strong>British</strong><strong>Travel</strong><strong>Journal</strong>.com
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