26 July 21, 2019The Sunday Times
Travel
My parents owned a hotel
in Blackpool, so the idea
of going on holiday used to
feel rather strange when I
was a kid. As soon as school broke up, I
was already on holiday. Back then, all the
Lancashire towns would close the mills for
Wakes Week and everybody would flock
to Blackpool. People came for the beach
and for the stars — Arthur Askey, Tommy
Trinder, Frankie Howerd. You name ’em,
I saw ’em. When I think back, all I can see
is happy faces. And permanent sunshine.
I’m sure every summer wasn’t really like
that, but that’s how I remember them.
We ventured further afield to the Peak
District in Dad’s car. My favourite places
were the reservoirs at Ladybower,
Howden and Derwent. Dad told me
that this was where Guy Gibson
and the Dambusters had
practised their bombing raids
in the war. The water was cold,
but I didn’t mind. I’d look to the
skies, imagining the sound of
the planes as they flew over.
My first big trip abroad
was to Morocco in 1968, when
I joined Blue Peter. Johnny
Noakes and I had been working
together for about a year, but I
didn’t know what it was going
to be like living out of each
other’s pockets for a month.
One day, we were walking by the
pool, getting ready for filming,
and out of nowhere he pushed
me in. That was Johnny all over,Peter Purves, 80, is an actor
and TV presenter. He starred in
Doctor Who in the mid-1960s
and worked on Blue Peter
for 10½ years. He has also
presented Crufts for 40 years.
He and his wife live in Suffolk.
He will be at the London Film
& Comic Con, Friday-Sundayalways looking for the gag. It made
travelling with him such a joy.
The world seemed so much bigger then.
To get on a plane and land on another
continent, and drive across the desert,
miles from anywhere — it was when I
understood what travel really meant.
Another Blue Peter trip I won’t forget
was to Tonga, in 1972. It was paradise.
Along with the locals, we helped a priest
build a house. Then we moved to another
village, where they put on a feast — sucking
pig, rice and vegetables — cooked in stone
ovens on the beach. It was and has remained
the most wonderful meal I’ve ever had.
I like islands, the idea that you’re cut
off from everything. Back in the 1970s, it
was easy to get away from the hustle and
bustle. My first wife and I took several
trips to Rhodes and always rented a scooter.
I remember going to a gorgeous village
called Monolithos, where we bought bread,
cheese and tomatoes, then headed down
a track to the coast. It was like having our
own private beach. We felt so free.
I got married again in 1982. My wife,
Kathryn, isn’t great with flying, but I’m OK
with that. We treat ourselves to European
mystery road trips. One year, we got the
ferry to Holland and drove to Amsterdam,
across to Paris, then to the Dordogne.
No itinerary. We’d look at the scenery,
listen to music, talk about life and pull in
when we saw a nice chateau. We ended up
in the town of Domme and had lunch
at a bistro on a crag overlooking
the valley below. We were so high
that when a couple of hot-air
balloons floated past, we were
above them. It was
as if we were
looking out over
the whole world.SHUTTERSTOCKabsinthe and camomile, £23), created
by the mixologist and bitters specialist
Matteo Zed? That might wreak its
vengeance, so perhaps stay the night
and have dinner at Aroma, the
Michelin-starred restaurant on the
rooftop terrace. Upgrade fancies the
Grand View Colosseum Suite, which has
a balcony with eyes on the arena and the
Ludus Magnus, where the gladiators were
barracked and mastered their deadly
moves. Suites start at £1,155 a night.
palazzo-manfredi-rome.hoteque.comInterview by Danny Scott My name is Gladiator. At least it could be
overlooking this killer view. The lavish
Palazzo Manfredi hotel, in a 17th-century
palazzo in Rome, has opened a new bar,
the Court, which has uninterrupted
up-close vistas of the Colosseum, scene of
games, combat and bloodshed from AD80.
Of course, you could queue to get inside
the magnificent space (it attracts an
estimated 7m visitors a year), but why not
marvel at its walls over a Roman martini
(Seven Hills gin redistilled with laurel,The presenter grew up in a Blackpool hotel
before Blue Peter showed him the world.
Today, it’s all mystery European road trips
MY HOLS
PETER
PURVES
Luxury travel with Jenny Coad
UPGRADE
COCKTAILS AT THE COLOSSEUM
“Kiss me,” Friend says
suddenly. I’m rather taken
aback, until I remember the
context. We’re standing next
to a towering 19th-century
memorial to a sailor (born
1769). His was a glittering
career, marked by victory, but
it was his role in a deathbed
scene that made him famous.
Under the circumstances, a
kiss would be appropriate.
Today, we intended to hike
part of a 17-mile ridge-top
footpath that passes the
memorial. It’s a spectacular
route, peppered with Neolithic
and Bronze Age burials. But
we have wilted in the heat and
are abandoning the walk in
favour of another scheduled
monument nearby.
We also postpone the kiss.
“Let’s save it until I’ve won an
epoch-defining sea battle,”
Friend says with a wink.
So we jump in the car and
head to a giant earthwork,
three miles east-northeast of
the sailor’s memorial. It also
dates from Neolithic times,but acquired its distinctive
shape in the Iron Age. Did the
Legio II Augusta storm it, as
some have claimed? We can’t
be sure. But it’s likely that
the county town close to its
northern ramparts grew from
one of the legion’s forts. More
than 1,800 years later, it was
home to a writer (mother:
Jemima) who shared his
name with the sailor. We visit
his house on the outskirts, as
well as a 15th-century church
he helped to restore.
Now then, what about that
ridge-top path? There’s still
time to tackle the section
above a white horse. “How
about an ice cream instead?”
Friend suggests, turning
towards a cafe. Without a
word of protest, I follow.
Clearly, we’re not as hardy
as we thought.
Sean Newsomtransfers and full-board
accommodation on a standard
package basis. It must be
taken between November 23,
2019, and November 21,
2020, subject to availability
and excluding public holidays
and the periods December 21
to January 5, February 8 to
March 8, April 4 to May 3,
July 4 to September 6 and
October 17 to November 1.
For full terms and conditions,
visit thesundaytimes.co.uk/
wherewasi.THE PRIZE
The winner and a guest will stay
for seven nights at Club Med’s
brand-new five-trident resort,
Michès Playa Esmeralda, in
the Dominican Republic —
its first Exclusive Collection
resort in the Americas. It
consists of four themed
villages, surrounded by palm
groves and tropical forest,
with four restaurants, six bars,HOW TO ENTER
LAST WEEK’S PRIZE
The answers are Egglestone
Abbey and Barnard Castle.
Austin Purdie of Glasgow
wins a foodie break for two
in the Lake District, as a guest
of Askham Hall, Cumbria.several outdoor pools and
an adults-only Zen zone.
There’s also a huge range of
complimentary activities,
from kids’ clubs and yoga to
snorkelling, tennis and a
trapeze school. For more
information about Michès
Playa Esmeralda, or to book,
call 020 3957 7380 or visit
clubmed.co.uk.
The prize includes return
flights from London, group1 What is the name of the
ridge-top footpath?
2 What is the name of the
giant earthwork?THE QUESTIONS
WHERE WAS I?
Only one entry per person,
at thesundaytimes.co.uk/
wherewasi by Wednesday.
Normal Times Newspapers
rules apply. No correspondence
will be entered into.COMPETITION
WIN A
LUXURIOUS
WEEK FOR
TWO IN THE
DOMINICAN
REPUBLIC
WITH CLUB MED