By Anya Cooklin-Lofting
It is rare these days to stumble upon moments devoid of the need for distraction. Podcasts and music streaming services deliver almost constant scores over which to perform our daily tasks and we have windows to the Universe tucked into our pockets for easy-access escapism. Life under lockdown was particularly screen-centric, so to make up for lost time, I have begun chasing down moments to live in, distraction-free. Keeping my phone in my handbag at dinner with family and friends has been a great place to start, as has been removing my headphones on my morning jogs to hear the birds and the rustle of the wind in the leaves.
Confident in the knowledge that watching the world go by in real-time brings balance, a sense of peace and an earthly pace to each day, I began to wonder how best to sit back and focus on the world around me. It became very apparent that travel, and being in transit more specifically, offers the perfect environment in which to do that. While flying gives you awe-inspiring views across whole countries and cloudscapes, there is something far more human, more intimate, about train travel. Tracking the shifting landscapes as they modulate like stage sets reveals a world of bucolic splendour, glistening, glass cities, coastlines battered by relentless tides and valleys clad with thick forests. Unlocking your phone as you snake along a track that hugs the undulations of a crumbling coastline or as you pass over a soaring viaduct feels positively criminal.
So, today, I’ll be rounding up five of the most scenic train trips around the world. Prepare for rugged mountainous landscapes, endless seascapes of aquamarine and epic architecture to give your next adventure a hit of Golden Age grandeur.
The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express
What better train trip to start with than the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, a Belmond train that breathes life into stories of spies and detectives set onboard its illustrious carriages. The most popular route on this storied train begins in London, arriving in Verona or Venice, although Prague, Vienna, Paris and Budapest also benefit from its 5-star services. Guests travel in one of six private suites each named after some of Europe’s most historic cities, paying homage to the train’s journeys through the very veins connecting Europe’s cultural capitals. In this case, of course, the interior might be just as alluring as the exterior views, but when it comes to simply luxuriating in your surroundings, either will do nicely.
California Zephyr
A tasting menu of the delights of American variety, the California Zephyr takes passengers from Chicago, Illinois to Emeryville California via showstopping sights including the Rocky Mountains, the fiercely red, sculptural plains of Utah, the Sierra Nevada, the Donner Pass and San Francisco Bay. Travellers have the option to visit the Sightseer Lounge complete with broad, tall windows and comfortable, window-facing seating for optimal views. Beware, though – the lounge seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis and it fills up quickly.
The TranzAlpine
New Zealand is something of a lodestone for adventure-seeking, global travellers with a love of the great outdoors. Although much Kiwi travel makes best use of its slick domestic flight network, the TranzAlpine express train route is one of very few in existence. Whisking passengers from the bustling city of Christchurch to the historic, West Coast town of Greymouth, the journey hugs the Waimakariri River, negotiates the Southern Alps and offers striking views across miles of beech forests.
The Mandovi Express
Your 12-hour journey on board the Mandovi Express leaves from the Victorian spectacle of Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, an Italian Gothic-style station designed by architectural engineer, Frederick William Stevens. Weaving its way down the Konkan Coast flanked by the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats, the train crosses over 2,000 bridges, passes coconut groves and reveals the lush plains of the West Coast’s countryside. Passengers are free to await their arrival in Madgaon from their seats or from the pantry car, watching the cooks conjure a heady mix of traditional cuisine including thalis, biryanis and dals.
The Trans-Siberian Railway
Russia is certainly a country of extremes and its Trans-Siberian Express is no exception. The longest railway line in the world, the Trans-Siberian Express connects Europe’s largest city, Moscow, to Vladivostok on the Pacific Ocean, across almost 10,000 kilometres. For over 100 years the railway has connected the two cities, but plans are now in place to extend the line to Mongolia, China and North Korea. The current route takes passengers over the Ural Mountains, across the sprawling Steppe and offers views of Lake Baikal, the world’s deepest, oldest and largest freshwater lake.
Festive Table Laying Tips
By Anya Cooklin-Lofting
Never have we known a table richer in expectation or weightier in tradition than the Christmas dining table. From the jolts of nostalgia to the eye-stinging gratitude it brings, the sight of the Christmas table positively shuddering under the weight of its cumbersome contents is a touchstone many of us simply won’t do without. Whether you’re laying a festive table for just one household or are welcoming guests this year, make sure to set a memorable, joyous table that brings those you love together. Even if you’ve eaten far more meals around the table together over the last two years than you may have expected, seeing the table dressed and ready for the big day will bring a little more festive cheer to the season.
Start With the Basics
Especially if you’re welcoming multiple guests, making sure your proportions are generous involves a little calculation and rearranging. Work on the basis that each guest should have at least a 40 centimetre setting along the table. Of course, much of the joy of a large Christmas gathering is the jostling of shoulders around the table, but if you can, provide as much table space per guest as possible.
Another calculation you may wish to make is whether you have enough of the correct cutlery for each course you plan to serve. A quick, pre-Christmas audit of your cutlery drawer will pay off, and as you’ll read, it doesn’t matter if you need to supplement with a new set or two.
Glassware will play an expectedly large role over the festive season and you’ll be surprised by quite how many glasses guests accumulate between arrival and Christmas dinner. Between reception bubbles, wine pairings throughout the meal, water and digestifs, ensure there is enough room around each place setting for each receptacle. A handy tip is to serve Champagne in flutes rather than coupes as these take up less space on the table and are far less prone to spilling.
Layering Up
Consider the festive season your ticket to full-blown maximalism. Your Christmas table should be filled with colour, pattern and texture to create a memorable, inviting and expressive scene. The best way to achieve this look is through layering pattern and colour from the tablecloth, up, adding highs and lows, textures and points of interest along the way.
So, begin with table linen. A patterned table cloth can be a real crutch to lean on if your crockery is plain, but can also act as a foil for more decorative plates and bowls. Often, you can purchase napkins in the same print or in contrasting colours to make a style statement. Vintage napkins also make a lovely addition, bringing some eclecticism and history to the table.
Placemats are delightful additions to the table and provide the opportunity to bring in a new layer of texture. Rattan or jute options are particularly popular at the moment and bring an unexpected dress-up-able texture to your layering.
Layering up your charger plates will bring more of a sense of occasion to mealtimes like these, and although they can give a more formal feel, you can opt for quite contemporary – or even novelty – styles. The rest of the plates should be stacked at each setting according to the courses you’re serving. This makes for a more impressive table as guests arrive and also encourages a more intimate, ‘hands-on’ approach to dining. Serving pre-plated courses feels fussy and overdone. For example, soups should be served at the table from a tureen, and then the bowls removed after the first course to reveal the next plate and to signal the arrival of new serveware filled with the next, delicious items on the menu.
Finally, don’t be afraid of mixing and matching cutlery. In metallic finishes, they serve as little glinting accents amongst the rest of your table. Using a mix of brass, silver and even gold with enamelled or scrolling, antique detailing adds character and personality to each setting.
Florals and Table Decorations
An honorary part of the layering up of the table indeed, but a sub-heading in its own right, is the Christmas floral arrangement. As integral as it is divisive, greenery on the table can make or break a table setting, so be sure to get it aesthetically – as well as logistically – right. When it comes to the look and feel of your table florals and foliage, keep it seasonal. Spring blooms on a Christmas table looks particularly jarring, so why not opt for sprigs of rosemary, pine or eucalyptus dotted around the table. Clusters of oranges also work well to bring colour and fragrance to each setting. Where possible, source greenery from your garden, or ask your local Christmas tree seller for some off cuts.
From a practical perspective, it’s important to keep any displays low to stay out of guests’ eyelines as taller, larger arrangements can obstruct conversation. It may also make sense to remove any larger or wider florals, foliage or ornaments before it’s time to eat to clear space on the table for your serveware.
Magical Moments
Little, magical moments around the Christmas table lodge themselves in the minds of children and adults alike, forming memories to last a lifetime. So, this Christmas, imbue your table with considered details and thoughtful flourishes. Super-size pepper mills are hugely popular at the moment, bringing a smile to each face at the table with every grind of the turnplate. Personalised crackers and menu cards will also give your table an enchanting feel, bound with velvet ribbons.
Finally, there is nothing more magical or festive than the glimmer of candlelight between the bulging dishes and elegant stemware. Choose a mix of little votives, chunky pillar candles and some taller candlesticks to put the proverbial cherry on the top of your Christmas table, adding the qualities of luxury and cosiness that only candles do.
The Best Staycations to Get Your Wellbeing Fix in 2022
By Anya Cooklin-Lofting
As the ashes of New Year’s fireworks settle and the Christmas ornaments are wrapped in their ancient papers and stored, from the glittery haze of Betwixtmas emerges a singular sensation, a paradoxical cocktail of both gloominess and determination. Yes, it’s still cold, and no, crisps and wine probably aren’t an acceptable mid-afternoon snack, and yet, the sense of a new beginning is enough to lift us from our spiced, mulled slumber with startling enthusiasm. It’s time, once again, to focus on what our bodies and minds truly need over and above the obligatory festive indulgences.
It is well known that gyms experience peak sign-up rates in January and that these first few weeks of the year see us reaching for rice cakes instead of the leftover Christmas cake, but our New Year’s resolutions can often leave us feeling less resolved and more reluctant. Wellbeing isn’t just for January, so why not follow my lead and plot some wellness highlights into 2022 with staycations to help you reset, refresh and recharge? Whether you’re after a fitness kick, a soothing spa weekend or the peace and quiet that distance and space can bring, read on…
Lake District – Walking & Fitness
The Lake District is one of the walking capitals of the world, perfect for getting away from the bustle of the city and reconnecting with the natural world. With a bottle of water and an apple in tow, I have found myself feeling refreshed, active and satisfied, hillside, lakeside and fireside on trips to the storied land of poets, writers and artists. Its bucolic cosiness is unrivalled in the UK, and the rush of following a map and reaching a peak, pit or pitstop on a track unfailingly brings a sense of achievement to my annual leave.
The Lake District’s towns and villages are tucked into crevices between the still bodies of water that lap at their shores and are dotted with tearooms and pubs that crop up exactly when you will them to after a bracing walk through rolling countryside. The choice of walks is almost overwhelming in these parts, but the walk from the Honister Pass to Haystacks, one of A. Wainright’s favourite fells, is one I’ll certainly be revisiting.
Bath – Wellness & Water
Bath is a hugely popular spa town with hot springs that were known to inhabitants as early as 60 AD when the Romans built temples and baths along the River Avon. Since this time, the town has become something of a site of pilgrimage for those seeking the curative properties of water and was cemented as a wellness destination by the Georgians. For a restorative break steeped in heritage and rich in culture, Bath offers a peek behind the veil of history as well as a modern homage to the Romans’ innovation.
The Roman Baths themselves are no longer fit for their original purpose, but visitors are welcome to explore the pools, the hallowed springs from which over a million litres of naturally heated water gushes every day and the remains of saunas and changing rooms. With a sense of the history of the therapeutic, healing waters, visitors to the UNESCO World Heritage site can make the one minute commute to Thermae Bath Spa on Hot Bath Street to take the waters themselves. The modern complex has views across the hodge-podge of the city’s golden, Bath Stone skyline, the perfect reminder that these waters are as rich in history as they are in health-giving minerals.
Isle of Skye – Distance & Solitude
For an enchanting, memorable and restful break, why not look to find peace and quiet on The Isle of Skye, a remote island connected to Scotland’s northwest coast by the Skye Bridge? The rugged landscape is encrusted with Medieval ruins and laden with stories of fairies, giants and Selkies, ‘seal folk’ that shed their skins and turn into humans. The island’s scenic hiking opportunities abound with routes via the Fairy Pools of glass-like water and the Old Man of Storr, an imposing rock formation that serves as a landmark for miles and resembles the face of an old man.
Soothing for the eyes and the mind alike, lucky visitors to the Isle of Skye over the winter months can see the Aurora Borealis Northern Lights. The lights generally appear white to the eye at this latitude but are no less magnificent than imagination might prophesy. The dancing sheets of spectral light are most visible in wide, open areas making evening hikes all the more magical.