A gallop with Highclere Thoroughbred Racing

On the gallops at Newmarket’s Warren Hill, a group of four riders dressed in beige jackets and caps approach at a brisk canter, their horses’ hooves drumming and manes flying.

Trainer Luca Cumani – who has produced two Derby winners among a host of other champions – looks on with an expert eye.

He’s not entirely happy. ‘Come on girls,’ he says, ‘I’m trying to make athletes here, not sleeping policemen.’

How to chose your horseracing colours

Her Majesty the Queen favours a purple jacket with scarlet sleeves and gold braiding topped by a black velvet cap with a gold fringe. Sir Winston Churchill opted for pink with chocolate sleeves and cap, while Lord Astor’s choice was a pale blue jacket with a pink sash and cap.

We are, of course, talking about horseracing silks, the distinctive colours worn by jockeys when representing a particular owner.

Choosing a set of silks is a subject that has occupied most race horse owners’ minds at some point – certainly those who, unlike the Queen, have not been bequeathed particular colours by their ancestors.

Russian artworks hit new heights at Christie’s

The strength of Russian art as an investment has been underlined once again with Christie’s achieving a record price for The Coachman by Boris Kustodiev.

The work was painted in 1923 and was formerly in the collection of Noble Prize winner and friend of the artist Peter Kapitza (1894-1984). 

A short tour of Abbeville, Picardy

The northern French town of Abbeville was a favourite of the art critic and painter John Ruskin.

When he visited in 1868 he wrote with admiration about the view of the gothic church of St Vulfran towering above medieval houses and marketplace.

Watercolours and sketches that he made at the time can still be seen in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, but while the 15th-century church that so impressed him is clearly recognisable today, the medieval centre that so captivated Ruskin has largely disappeared.

Run to Monaco 2013 date announced

Luxury motoring event Run To Monaco is scheduled for 22-26 May 2013.

The spectacle, which sees drivers taking luxury supercars from Brands Hatch to the Principality, begins with participants heading through southern England via Eurotunnel to the Champagne region of France. 

Viking swords top the list at Bonhams’ sale

A fearsome array of swords from the Medieval period and earlier, including Viking weapons, form the main thrust of Bonhams’ sale of antique arms and armour on 28 November in London’s Knightsbridge.

David Williams, director of arms and armour at Bonhams, said: ‘Many of these rare and remarkable weapons would have been used in battle. The scarring and damage goes some way to confirm this, though the years have also taken their toll.’

Ageing cars to be banned from Paris, says mayor

The writing may be on the wall for the iconic 2CV or Renault Five rattling through the streets of Paris.

Socialist mayor Bertrand Delanoë intends to outlaw (by September 2014) the use of cars and utility vehicles more than 17 years old and lorries or buses more than 18 years old.

Pompeii and Herculaneum exhibition at the British Museum

In Spring 2013 the British Museum will present a major exhibition on the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, sponsored by Goldman Sachs. 

This exhibition will be the first ever held on the cities at the British Museum and the first such major exhibition in London for almost 40 years. 

Health benefits of a hot sand bath in Kyushu, Japan

Boris Yeltsin lasted 30 minutes; he did well. Most people struggle to get past 20 – and the recommended dose is a trifling 15.

Frankly, I am nervous. The sauna at the Hakusuikan resort at Ibusuki on the tip of the southern Japanese island of Kyushu may be recommended as a cure for any number of ailments, but it also involves being buried up to your neck in geothermally heated sand.

Ash dieback taking hold in UK, warn experts

A summit on the tree disease Chalara fraxinea, also known as ash dieback, took place in 7 November.

The meeting, chaired by environment secretary Owen Paterson and attended by Government officials, tree experts and conservation NGOs, considered the findings of a nationwide survey carried out by Forestry Commission staff and agreed a course of action.

Six unusual war memorials in London

With Remembrance Day around the corner visitors to London will find many war memorials on the city’s streets and within its parks. Here are six of the most unexpected and dramatic.

Imperial Camel Corps Memorial, Victoria Embankment, EC4
Surprisingly diminutive, this 1921 memorial features a soldier of the Camel Corps atop his trusty steed.

Or not, perhaps; the unit was mounted exclusively on male camels which, though harder to control and more grumpy than females, were somewhat cheaper to buy.

CityJet announces Nuremberg flights from London City Airport

From 27 January 2013 CityJet will be flying to the historic German city of Nuremberg from London City Airport. 

The year-round service will operate two flights weekdays and one on Sundays.

Christmas at London’s Burlington Arcade

Actor Bill Nighy will switch on the Christmas Lights at London’s Burlington Arcade on 22 November.

Resident retailers will be offering Christmas shoppers a wide variety of British luxury brands.

Japan: samurai traditions live on in Kyushu

Kyoko Sata points to the cherry blossoms in her Zen garden. Not so long ago, people would hang washing up to dry in those trees. At the top they’d put the men’s clothes and at the bottom the women's.

She pauses to make sure I have understood the implications of this. Just in case I have not, she adds: ‘The men's clothes would drip on the women’s. They would dry quicker.’

We are sitting, knees bent, feet tucked away beneath us, in the main room of Sata's 250-year-old house in the carefully preserved samurai village at Chiran on the southern Japanese island of Kyushu.

Review: Wicken Fen, Cambridgeshire; a fascinating place to visit

To gain an insight into the wildlife of the Wicken Fen nature reserve in Cambridgeshire, it pays to take to the water.

I do so in the company of Ralph Sergeant, who, with his East Anglian accent and long beard, is a fenman straight out of Central Casting. 

He worked at Wicken for over 30 years before his retirement, but he’s still on hand to share his knowledge when the need arises.

Napoleonic re-enactors and the Battle of Waterloo pt2

For Napoleonic re-enactors, events don’t come any bigger than the annual restaging of the Battle of Waterloo.

The spectacle regularly attracts around 3,000 men and women, dressed in the uniforms of the era, who act out the events of 18 June 1815 on the same ground that was trodden by the armies of Wellington and Napoleon.

And the colourful, dramatic and often noisy display is watched by many thousands more.

Bunnahabhain unveils 40-year-old Islay malt whisky

Islay-based whisky distillery Bunnahabhain is to release a one-off rare single malt that has lain undiscovered for four decades.

Only 750 bottles will be released and each will be numbered and signed. 

Bonhams to auction German enigma machine

Auction house Bonhams is scheduled to put a German enigma enciphering machine under the hammer for the first time on 14 November in London.

The machine, which is estimated to sell for between £40,000 and £60,000, was built in 1941 and was used by German forces during World War II. 

Top cigar bars in London

With winter closing in on London, the appeal of the city’s cigar bars becomes all the more defined. Here are four of the latest openings.

The Edward Sahakian Cigar Shop and Sampling Lounge can be found within the precincts of the Bulgari Hotel and Residences in Knightsbridge.

Bosideng opens flagship London store

Chinese super-brand Bosideng recently opened its first oversees store on London’s South Molton Street.

Set over three floors, the store showcases the 500-piece Bosideng London collection that has been created for the UK market by designers Nick Holland and Ash Gangotra.

Review: the Ormond at Tetbury, Gloucestershire

There’s been a bit of a drama in Tetbury the night I arrive. A window has been smashed in a second-hand bookshop. Nobody is exactly sure when the crime occurred however. It could be any time between 7pm and 11pm.

That’s a clue there to how many people have walked past the premises on this particular Saturday night – the perpetrator (presumably) and not many others. Or not many who were very observant, at least.

Sarlat’s regional food festival

Foie gras is the order of the day at Sarlat’s gastronomy festival, with stalls selling it and a demonstration of how to cook it – with the accompaniment of local figs.

England rugby looks to broader fan base

England’s rugby union team may play some home Test matches at venues other than Twickenham to promote the 2015 World Cup across the country.

‘There is a tremendous appetite to make sure this Rugby World Cup gets to as many corners of the country as we can take it,’ said Andy Cosslett, the chairman of England 2015.

One reason for this is that organisers hope to sell almost 3 million tickets for RWC 2015.

10 chances to join Shackleton epic

Ten travellers with a thirst for adventure – and £19,025 to spend -– are being offered the chance to follow in the footsteps of British explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton by joining a 56-day Antarctic expedition to mark the centenary of his 1916 polar voyage.

The Shackleton Epic, which will be led by veteran British/Australian explorer Tim Jarvis, aims to be the first expedition to recreate Shackleton's 800-mile nautical voyage across the Southern Ocean from Elephant Island to South Georgia, and his subsequent crossing of the island's mountains. It will use a replica lifeboat and only the equipment that was available to Shackleton at the time.

Five cycling experiences in Suffolk

The Tour of Britain is scheduled to kick off on Sunday 9 September in Suffolk.

A little research reveals you don't have to be a world-beater to enjoy a cycle round the county. 

Pedal power: a cycle tour of Munich

A red squirrel darts across the path and I apply the brakes.

Unperturbed the animal pauses, perhaps to assess whether I come bearing anything edible, before it turns and scampers up the trunk of an ancient oak tree.

I move off again, slowly gathering speed past more elderly oak trees and a shady lake where three swans swim regally across still waters.

This little vignette does not take place in some rural idyll, however.

Light relief: a cigar tour of London

Cigar smoking, as any aficionado knows, is very much a matter of taste. Few people know that better than Edward Sahakian who, for more than 30 years, has run the famous Davidoff store on in London’s historic St James’s district.

‘Every cigar has a time and a place,’ he says. ‘I’d smoke something different on a cold, wet day in London, for example, than I would on a warm afternoon in Havana – with a Mohito.’

Given that Sahakian’s shop contains at least 220 different cigars – at the last count – that’s plenty for his customers to be getting on with. And many of them, like him, like few things in life quite as much as a good cigar.

‘I’d say the process of enjoyment all starts when you open the box,’ adds Sahakian. ‘There could be 10 or 20 cigars in there, but one of them will catch your eye. That’s where the attraction all starts.’

Live like a duke at Château de Brissac, Angers

‘These aren’t our greatest tapestries,’ says the Duchess de Brissac, indicating two large, intricate and, frankly, priceless-looking creations on a drawing-room wall. ‘They aren’t actually originals. But they do well here.’

She’s absolutely right. The room looks as though it could be expecting the Three Musketeers to walk in at any moment and start planning how best to thwart the latest dastardly plans of Cardinal Richelieu.

In fact, the whole Château de Brissac is redolent with that same atmosphere. Located near Angers, in the Loire region of France, with huge grounds and dramatic turrets it looks a lot like a storybook castle.

Touristlink offers hill station tours

Travel company Touristlink has launched of a selection of packages aimed at travellers seeking to visit central India’s hill stations during the monsoon season.

On offer are trips to Pachmarhi, Mahabaleshwar and Lonavala, all locations that are awash with greenery during the rainy season and which provide hiking trails, dramatic waterfalls and visits to ancient forts.

With their cooler climate, the hill stations were originally a favourite of European colonialists who were keen to escape the summer heat.

London prepares for the Olympic Games

Architects are not always overly complimentary of their fellow professionals’ work, so it perhaps says much for Zaha Hadid’s Olympics Aquatic Centre (above) that it has almost without exception impressed the men and women of her profession.

British architect Amanda Levet, a winner of the UK’s prestigious RIBA Stirling prize, is but one example. ‘Without question, the Aquatics Centre is the star building,’ she says. ‘It is a spectacular expression of its sport, resolved in its form and beautifully detailed.’

With its undulating roof reminiscent of a wave and sinuous, aquatic lines, Hadid’s creation is one of the most memorable sights of the Olympic Park that has been created in east London to host the games of the XXX Olympiad.

Jordan picks easyJet for Olympic flights

Jordan has confirmed easyJet as its official Olympic Games carrier, with the announcement that the budget airline will fly its athletes and support staff between Amman and London, according to a report in the Financial Times.

It is the first time a UK carrier has sponsored a foreign team. British Airways will fly a number of overseas athletes to London for the Games, but its only official sponsorship deals are with Team GB, ParalympicsGB and London 2012.

Lana al-Jaghbeer, secretary-general of Jordan’s Olympic committee, said: ‘In today's financial climate, sponsorship is crucial for our athletes and this contribution is very much appreciated by all.’

EasyJet expects to fly around 75 people as part of its sponsorship deal. They will be given seats on one of theairline's scheduled flights between Amman and London Gatwick.

Svalbard: dogsledding at Trappers’ Lodge

I am faced by a yard full of excited huskies. In fact, the word ‘excited’ doesn’t really do justice to their state of near-frenzied anticipation.

The venue is Svalbard, Norway’s Arctic archipelago that is around a 600-mile flight north of the city of Tromsø at a line of latitude of 78°North, and I am about to try my hand at dog-sledding through the polar winter.

It is just before 4pm and it is dark. In fact, it has been dark all day. Around midday the sky flirted with a slightly bluer shade of black, but I don’t think I would have even noticed if it hadn’t been pointed out to me.

A year at the Royal Hospital Chelsea

Prince Harry meets the veterans

Chelsea Pensioners are a feature of London. These smartly turned out gentlemen (and a few ladies, nowadays) in their red or blue jackets are as much an icon of the UK capital as the Palace of Westminster, St Paul’s Cathedral or black taxis.

Until recently, photographer Patricia Rodwell was like almost every other Londoner – generally aware the Pensioners existed, but with no clear idea of their day-to-day lives.

A chance meeting with the governor of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, however, sparked her interest in the place and its residents. She resolved to use her camera to record the progress of a year at an institution that can trace its roots back to 1682 and the reign of King Charles II.

10 top European festivals for summer 2012

St Petersburg: home of the White Nights Festival

There is a huge variety of summer festivals in Europe this year. Here are 10 of the best. 

St Petersburg, Russia

White Nights Festival

11 June – 2 July

www.saint-petersburg.com

The world-famous festival owes its name to the light skies that characterise midsummer nights in the northern latitudes. 

Summer visitors to St Petersburg can experience a huge variety of cultural events; with opera, ballet and classical concerts much in evidence. 

Grouse shooting at Swinton Park, North Yorkshire

Mark Cunliffe-Lister and his dog, Myrtle

Rain was forecast, but it hasn’t arrived. Instead a late summer sun beats down on the Yorkshire moors, creating a shimmering heat-haze above the purple carpet of heather.

The silence is disturbed only by the hum of bees and the distant cry of a kestrel. The scene is one of unchanging, undisturbed and unparalleled British countryside.

There is more to this timeless scene, however. It is the first day of the grouse-shooting season (traditionally 12 August) at the Swinton Park estate in North Yorkshire and, strung out behind a low stone wall, a line of nine guns is waiting.

A long weekend in Angers, France

The 12th-century Cathedral of St Maurice, Angers

The historic city of Angers lies around 180 miles southwest of Paris – just over an hour and a half’s journey on the TGV, making it a feasible destination for a long weekend.

FRIDAY

Afternoon

The modern train station is on the edge of the compact city centre and within walking distance of several of the city’s main hotels.

Review: Aikwood Tower, Selkirk, Scottish Borders

Aikwood Tower: the Reiver's return…

The Border Reivers weren’t big on luxury. After a hard day spent stealing their neighbours’ cattle or otherwise getting up to mischief they’d retire to their strongholds for a few mugs of ale before falling asleep in a heap – and quite possibly in their armour – in front of the fire.

The Reivers roamed the No Man’s Land between England and Scotland in the 16th and 17th centuries, and traces of their presence can still be seen today.

One of the more obvious of these is Aikwood Tower, 40 miles south of Edinburgh. While from a distance the Reivers would find it familiar, however, they would probably be left dumbfounded by its luxurious interior.

Traditional luxury at the Carlton Hotel, Cannes

The Carlton: a façade to remember

Cannes is a city of grand hotels, and they don’t come any grander than the Carlton, whose vast white façade, towering above the famous Croisette, is one of the city’s signature sights.

The hotel was built between 1909 and 1913, much of the money supplied by a Russian aristocrat who wanted to create a Côte d’Azur resort for his wealthy countrymen. Given the popularity of the place now with Russian visitors he had more foresight than he perhaps realised.

The hotel’s 343 rooms include 39 suites, each named after an actor who has a link with Cannes and its film festival. The grandest of these are on the seventh floor and include the Grace Kelly, the Cary Grant and the Sean Connery.

Falklands War Surrender Telex goes on sale

With the Falkland Islands back in the news, Bonhams will soon be auctioning a copy of the original Falklands War Surrender Telex.

This document, announcing the laying down of arms by the Argentine Forces under General de Brigada Mario Menendez in June 1982, is to be sold at the auction house’s marine sale on 3 April.

The auction takes place immediately following the 30th anniversary of the Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands (2 April 1982).

Picasso & Modern British Art at Tate Britain

Nude, Green Leaves and Bust

Pablo Picasso was perhaps the most influential artistic figure of the 20th century and Tate Britain is this year exploring the effect he had on art in the UK.

Its methodology is to consider the stimulus Picasso provided to seven British artists: Wyndham Lewis, Duncan Grant, Ben Nicholson, Henry Moore, Francis Bacon, Graham Sutherland and David Hockney. As a parallel theme it also considers how the Spanish artist was received by British collectors.

The show is entitled Picasso & Modern British Art, a title that was chosen for specific reasons, says its curator, Chris Stephens.

France: the best places to eat in Lyon

The bouchon: Lyon’s foodie heart

If any French city can claim to be France’s culinary capital, it is the east-central metropolis of Lyon.

The secret of the its gastronomic success is a deep-seated love of food that permeates the very fabric of the place, combined with a fortuitous position adjoining two of France’s finest wine regions, (Côtes du Rhône and Beaujolais), and some of its most fertile farmland.

One of the best ways to gain an insight into the mouth-watering array of produce available in the region is to visit the Halles de Lyon-Paul Bocuse, close to the city’s Part Dieu railway station.

Lisbon: a city tour on the No28 tram

The No28 rumbles through the city

Lisbon’s No28 trams are something special.

To enter their venerable carriages is to travel back in time and to share a journey once enjoyed by literary greats, wartime spies and inspiration-seeking artists.

From the outside the trams are trim and yellow, looking almost overly truncated for the demands of the 21st century.

Hajj: Journey to the Heart of Islam at the British Museum

An early depiction of the sacred

The British Museum’s latest exhibition: Hajj Journey to the Heart of Islam tells the tale of the pilgrimage that is central to the Muslim Faith and represents one of the Seven Pillars of Islam.

Using an impressive array of objects it assesses how the journey has changed over the years and the artistic creations it has inspired.

Neil MacGregor, director of the British Museum, says: ‘We wanted visitors to the exhibition to get some sense of what the experience of the Hajj means. At one level it is a theological and religious experience. At another it is arguably the greatest logistical challenge on the planet.

War Horse walks in Dartmoor National Park

Dartmoor National Park is organising guided walks taking visitors to many of the locations that form the backdrop for the film War Horse.

The movie, which opens nationally in the UK on 13 January, tells the story of a Devon farm boy who braves the trenches of World War I in search of his horse, Joey – taken by the army to the Western Front.

Director Steven Spielberg said of Dartmoor: ‘There’s no place like it in the world – it’s pretty extraordinary country. I have never before, in my long and eclectic career, been gifted with such an abundance of natural beauty as I experienced filming War Horse here.’

Germany: what to do in Frankfurt

But it's more than just banks and bankers

The German city of Frankfurt am Main may be famous for its banks and high rises, but it is also a place with plenty of cultural highlights.

A logical place to start a tour of Frankfurt is the Römerberg, adjacent to the Römer U-Bahn station, and at the heart of the Altstadt (Old Town).

This was once the city’s main market square and the place where the Holy Roman Emperors were crowned. Today, it provides a pleasant stroll amid street performers and café tables.

Belgium: Napoleonic re-enactors and the Battle of Waterloo

And here come the French

Every year thousands of Napoleonic re-enactors travel to Belgium to recreate the Battle of Waterloo.

This annual re-staging of the 1815 battle that saw Napoleon Bonaparte’s French army defeated by a confederation of other European nations led by Great Britain and Prussia and commanded by the Duke of Wellington, attracts well over one thousand re-enactors dressed in brightly coloured and authentic-looking uniforms of the period.

Many of the combatants, however, are not necessarily what they seem. There are Poles taking the role of Frenchmen, Dutch playing Scots, Germans dressed as English...

A London ghost walk: Smithfield and Farringdon

Watch out for padding monks

This London ghost walk brings together medieval monks, a headless duke and a phantom dog, among others.

It begins at Faringdon Underground station. At the entrance, turn left and follow Cowcross Street uphill. Soon you reach the junction with St John Street, the buildings of Smithfield market to the right.

Cross into Charterhouse Street, passing the ornate façade of the Fox and Anchor pub, with its two grinning leopards.