The Sunday Times Travel - UK (2021-11-14)

26 November 14, 2021The Sunday Times

Travel

The Olympian has a soft spot

for camping in Pembrokeshire

and swam with turtles in Oman

MY HOLS

PAULA

RADCLIFFE

I met my husband, Gary, at

Loughborough University.

We moved to Monaco in

2005. Admittedly it’s a
      privileged bubble, with the glitz of Café de
      Paris and the grand prix, but there’s also a
      safe village and community that provides
      a great place for children to grow up.
      My family were really into camping and,
      from when I was six, we’d drive through
      the night from Cheshire, get the ferry to
      France, sleep in a layby and arrive on the
      Atlantic coast in the morning. That’s
      where my love of travelling and France
      comes from. Once, our campsite was
      alongside a ravine and it was raining so
      hard that my parents moved us into the
      car to sleep. They took down one of
      the tents and stayed awake all night
      holding up the other one. We moved
      to a hotel the next day.
      My parents taught us to be
      independent from a young age. I’d
      have to change the gas canister or go
      to the campsite shop, which is quite
      daunting when you’re young. My
      mum would tell me what to say, but
      she’d be right there with me and my
      younger brother, Martin. Similarly,
      after I passed my driving test my
      dad made sure I could change a tyre
      before he let me drive on my own.
      When we weren’t going abroad we’d
      go camping in Pembrokeshire — my

grandma was from Carmarthen. It’s such

a beautiful place, especially the coastline.

I was 18 when I won the IAAF World

Cross Country Championships in Boston

in 1992. It’s a big honour to represent your

country and family, but at the same time

it’s also about trying to achieve the goals

you’ve set for yourself. After the 1993

World Championships in Athletics in

Stuttgart I took my first trip abroad

with friends, to Perpignan in the south

of France — five girls from the running

club all piled into my Citroën ZX.

The other place that means a lot

to me is Chicago, where I won my

first international marathon in 2002,

setting a world record.

New York, where I won the

marathon three times, is also very

special — I went in 1995 to take part in

the 5th Avenue Mile road race with my

husband and I think we walked every

inch of the city. Everyone comes out to

show support as the marathon goes

through the five boroughs, each of

which has a different vibe. I was in a

shop in Monaco and saw Sarah Jessica

Parker, who said: “We saw you run the

marathon!” It totally blew my mind

that she had any clue who I was.

The Mutrah Corniche area of Muscat, Oman, where Paula Radcliffe took a recent family holiday

Before I married Gary we’d holiday in

Florida and picked random budget hotels.

There were a few occasions when we said:

“We might sleep in our clothes tonight.”

But we had our honeymoon in the

Maldives, which we absolutely loved.

Recently we went to Oman. We swam

with turtles and visited the Ad Dimaniyat

Islands, exploring the mountains and old

villages. It was great for the children to

see the mix of cultures.

We’re planning a trip to Kenya this

Christmas as I’m supporting a group

building the first children’s cancer

hospital in sub-Saharan Africa. When my

daughter’s cancer was diagnosed, her

survival odds were nine out of ten, but in

Africa only one in ten survive because it’s

diagnosed too late. We’re doing the

Equator Run — 50 miles from the Equator

to the hospital site in Eldoret.

Although I still love camping, my

husband doesn’t. When we go away he

likes hotels, but we won’t stay in luxury

hotels when go on safari. We’ll do some

glamping there — as long as there’s a hot

shower, that’s his main criterion.

I’d like to do skydiving, but I haven’t

had the opportunity yet. I’ve done the

high zip wire between the redwoods in

America, which was amazing. I’ve also

been ocean diving and have swum on the

Great Barrier Reef, which was stunning.

Seeing all those things gives you more of

an understanding of what it means to

protect the environment.

Tokyo and Boston are on my bucket list

as they’re part of the six marathon majors

that I haven’t done. I still run marathons,

but I don’t race — I love the atmosphere

and taking part rather than trying to put

in a performance. I enjoy running with

someone and helping them to achieve

their time goals, because I’m never going

to improve on my records. I wouldn’t say

that I’ve turned off my

competitive streak — I have

just transferred it over to

different areas.

Paula Radcliffe, 47, lives in Monaco

with her husband, Gary Lough, 51, and

their children, Isla, 14, and Raphael, 11.

She was speaking after the inaugural

Viridian Indy Health Week last month.

The week is designed to support and

celebrate independent health stores

across the UK (indyhealthweek.com)

Interview by Shelley Rubenstein

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The Mutra

The menus in the hotel’s

greenhouse restaurant

draw on a rich stock of

local produce and fish, as

well as the kitchen garden.

One three-course dinner for

two (excluding drinks) is

included in the prize.

For more see thepighotel.

com. The prize must be taken

before April 30, 2022, subject

to availability and excluding

December 18 to January 3,

April 10 to 24 and Valentine’s

Day weekend.

The winner and guest will

stay for two nights’ B&B at

The Pig in the South Downs,

The Sunday Times Country

Hotel of the Year. Opened

in September, the latest

outpost of the Pig group is

set in a 1770s house near

Arundel, overlooking the

group’s first vineyard. Home

to chardonnay, pinot noir

and pinot meunier grapes, it

aims to pop the corks on its

first bottles in January 2023.

Indoors the style is classic

Pig. In the bedrooms —

spread across the main

house, the stable yard and

a range of Field and Garden

Wagons — expect lush

fabrics, well-stocked larders

and roll-top baths.

Only one entry per person,

at thesundaytimes.co.uk/

wherewasi by Wednesday.

Normal Times Newspapers

rules apply. No correspondence

will be entered into.

The answers are Rufus

Castle and Weymouth and

Portland National Sailing

Academy. David Munro of

Melrose wins a luxury break at

the Harper Hotel in Norkfolk.

We did go for one short

amble. Friend motored to a

National Trust castle three

miles south-southwest of the

town centre. But he only

wanted to use its car park so

we could explore the ruins

of a gunpowder mill near by.

Then he remembered

another mill, in a riverside

village nearly five miles

north of the castle.

Established more than 175

years ago, it’s still a going

concern. At this time of year

you’ll see one of its products

in flowers nationwide.

En route, as we juddered

back through the town,

Friend revealed that he’d

taken his driving test in its

streets. “Passed first time,”

he claimed. I had my doubts.

Even now, his driving wasn’t

up to snuff.

Sean Newsom

COMPETITION

WHERE WAS I?

THE QUESTIONS

THE PRIZE

HOW TO ENTER

LAST WEEK’S PRIZE

WIN A

LUXURY

BREAK

FOR TWO AT

OUR COUNTRY

HOTEL OF

THE YEAR,

THE PIG IN THE

SOUTH DOWNS

EMAD ALJUMAH, KARWAI TANG/GETTY IMAGES

Given our location, I’d hoped

for a day outdoors. But Friend

had other ideas. Instead of

exploring the protected

landscapes immediately to

the west of us, he was

focused on a town’s industrial

past. Despite its modest size,

it has been a busy place —

cloth, shoes and intoxicants

all featured in its output.

“Initially it was because of

the river,” Friend said. “Water

power was the key.” So

instead of a hike, our itinerary

was built around mills. To

add insult to injury, Friend

insisted on driving. Badly.

At least I got to sample a

local snack. Over the years

the town has made a mint

from it. “Never fell for it

myself,” Friend said as he

ground through the gears.

“That’s probably because

you’re not much of a walker,”

I observed — unlike a former

resident, an accountant when

he settled here but whose.

true calling was making,

rather than keeping, books.

1 What’s the name of the

castle?

2 What’s the name of the

riverside village?