TRAVEL NOTES
Boutique boltholes in Bath (and beyond)
If you fancy the ultimate romantic getaway, check out the OHH Collection’s newly refurbished handful of boutique hotels and gastro pubs in Bath and England’s “prettiest village”, Castle Coombe. Think ivy-covered period houses, ornate fireplaces and quirky furniture – the properties are decorated by the owner’s mother. The six-bed gatropub, The Old House at Home (in Castle Coombe), is a good base for country pursuits; The Northey, just outside Bath, has just five bedrooms while The Crown, also near Bath, is particularly foodie. www.ohhcompany.co.uk
Getting Ancient on the Scilly Isles
Hell Bay is offering history nuts a fascinating, four-day archeology break. A local expert will take you to King Charles’s and Cromwell’s Castles, prehistoric field boundaries, post-mediaeval cottages, a Bronze Age and Iron Age settlement, as well as the Scillonian entrance graves and cists that the expert herself is researching for her PhD. Prices start from £750 pp, including return helicopter travel from Penzance, 4 nights’ dinner, bed & breakfast, all boat trips and entrance charges, guided visits to all sites, evening slide shows and travel insurance. Tel: 01720 422947; www.hellbay.co.uk
Flight BA2012: new Shoreditch bar
British Airways will launch an airline-themed pop-up, Flight BA2012, celebrating the best in British talent in the run up to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Open on select weekdays from 4-17 April, the three-in-one art gallery, cinema and dining room will showcase the works of the BA Great Britons who were mentored by Richard E Grant, Tracey Emin and Heston Blumenthal. The “airline-themed venue” has been designed to “recreate a premium flying experience”. Why leave London? Bookings must be made in advance at www.facebook.com/britishairways.