Travel in the UK and Italy
‘The Big Boot of Sicily…’
- ‘The big boot of Italy kicked little Sicily into the Mediterranean Sea.’
The rhyme came back to me from childhood as the plane flew low over the sea on its
approach to the airport at Palermo. Sicily’s capital city feels a world away from the
rest of Italy, more North African than European, with a heady mix of Gothic, Baroque
and Art Nouveau architecture. Its situation in a natural amphitheatre, the Conca D’Oro
or Golden Shell, and the huge flank of Monte Pellegrino provide a dramatic backdrop to
the faded elegance of its palaces and churches, the bustling Vucciria market and the
hunting ground of the Bourbon kings, the Parco della Favorita.
A short bus ride from central Palermo, up to a hilltop village, brings you to a little known
wonder of the world. The great Norman cathedral of Monreale was founded in 1172.
Its exterior with fine bronze doors and decorated apse end cannot prepare you for the
magnificence of the mosaic covered interior. The golden richness of the mosaics glows in
the sunlight streaming in through high windows. The sheer size and scale are
breathtaking. The effect is of being shut inside an enormous jewel box.
Just along the coast from Palermo lies Bagheria. Once the summer retreat of Palermo’s
aristocracy there are still several Baroque and Neo-Classical villas scattered amongst
the blocks of dreary flats that make up the modern town. The eccentric Villa Palagonia
designed in 1715 was described by Goethe as ‘the Palagonian madhouse’ because of the
riot of enormous stone statues that stand on top of the perimeter walls. Representing
imaginary animals, ladies, knights and other caricatures they present a rather creepy
effect in the gathering dusk of a winter evening.
The Greek and Roman remains in Sicily have drawn travellers over the centuries. The
most famous of these is the archaeological zone known as the Valley of the Temples near
Agrigento. A series of fine Doric temples is strung out along a ridge and must have
provided an impressive view to passing ships.
The temple of Segesta, on the way to Trapani, also has a spectacular setting. The temple
stands alone surrounded by arid hills, with a glimpse of blue sea sparkling in the sunlight
in the far distance. This temple was never finished- it is rumoured to have been a
workshop for trainee temple builders- but, together with the remains of a Greek
theatre nearby, provides a truly atmospheric setting.
Just outside Piazza Amerina, in the south eastern corner of the island, lies the Villa
Romana dei Casale, thought to be the home of Maximianus Herculeus, co-emperor with
Diocletian. It certainly must have been a very luxurious villa in the 4th century B.C.
Little remains of the fabric of the building but over 40 fine mosaic floors are preserved.
The most extraordinary is the great hunting scene, containing depictions of exotic
animals and stretching for over 60 metres. Tigers, elephants, ostriches, rhinos and
leopards are shown being trapped, caged and bundled on board ships destined for the
Games back in Rome. Another famous mosaic shows two tiers of dancing prancing girls
wearing ‘bikinis’ and carrying beach balls.
Siracusa, on the east coast, boasts a wealth of Roman and Greek remains as well as fine
Baroque buildings. The Duomo, on the fortified island of Ortygia, incorporates the Greek
columns of the Temple of Athena within the structure of the Christian church
with its wonderful Baroque façade by Andrea Palma.
Sicily’s earliest Doric temple, the Temple of Apollo, faces the Ponte Nuove.
Its huge monolithic columns are all that remains. In the huge Parco Archeologico, to the
north of the city centre, lies the Greek theatre which held up to
15,000 people and where plays are still performed during the summer. An enormous altar
to Hieron II dating back to the 3rd century B.C. lies nearby, alongside a
Roman amphitheatre from the 2nd century B.C. 7000 Athenians were left to die after
their defeat in battle in 413 B.C. in the enormous stone quarries that surround the site.
Conquerors have left their mark on Sicily and its landscape, food and customs. The
result is a heady whiff of exotic spices. The people are warm and friendly like the
weather and the food and wine are superb. Sicily is sure to impress and remain a happy
memory long after the tan has faded.
PLANET BLACKPOOL
The vivid greens and golds of the sari-wearing Asian ladies battling along the wind-swept promenade are the only spot of colour in a sepia postcard landscape. Blackpool, the famous seaside resort on the Lancashire coast, is not mentioned on the roadsigns until you are practically on the seafront. Though there are no clues, apart from the landmark Tower, to indicate in which direction the sea might be.
Passing the discount jewellers, closing down sales and One Pound Only-Why Pay More? Stores, I spy Nicola and Danielle, two 13 year olds, leaning Kate Winslet style into the stiff breeze blowing off the iron-grey sea. They have both lived in Blackpool all their lives, have never been to the top of the Tower but frequently ride the Pepsi Max roller coaster at the Pleasure Beach. What is there to do for 13 year olds in Blackpool?
‘ Stanley Park- it’s got a boating lake and a Bandstand. We sometimes go t’ beach…’ We share a collective shiver as we watch three grey donkeys stampeding along the deserted sand.
A couple sheltering from the dizzle, facing away from the sea, cuddle a green dragon and a custard-yellow duck. The dragon’s bigger brother is a few yards further on, holding out a red plastic bucket for charity donations. He removes his head as I approach.
The weathered little man selling whelks, winkles and ocean sticks offers me a squeezy bottle of lurid pink sauce to smother my tub of prawns.
‘It’s been a poor summer’ in spite of his six days a week, 12 hours a day for 25 years job.
‘W’ve enough drunks and druggies as it is, luv’ when I mention Blackpool becoming the new Vegas. Little Nicola, eyes wide under the brim of her baseball cap, had warned me about the drunks ‘It’s a very unsafe country, you know’
‘Come on Dad. Come inside’ exhorts the bingo-caller at the end of Central Pier. The dads, their kids, the identikit couples in bellbottoms and matching baseball caps, the lads and the girls are all on the other side of the tracks. I join the crowds, by crossing the tramlines and the dual carriageway, to gaze at the garish karaoke bars, the grim pubs, the ‘bum shorts’, the sequinned Stetsons, glitter hairbands and those sticks of pink candy known as ‘Blackpool Rock’
Five item breakfasts PLUS cup of tea at £1.25 and a ‘sirlion steak’ (they must be big!) for only £4.99, a St Trinian’s schoolgirl and a Victorian Bathing Belle light up their fags under the café awning and Rupert Fabulous is playing at ‘the Royal Oak’ across the road tonight.
The knots of families, loud lads and giggly girls probably don’t know or care that in Marriott Edgar’s 1932 poem about Albert Ramsbottom, Blackpool was noted for ‘fresh air and fun’. In my brief visit to Blackpool I’ve enjoyed both!
A precipitous narrow lane plunges headlong between high hedges of bracken, elderberry and bramble and, just when you think the tarmac must soon run out, you reach a high-backed bridge over a creek with a notice warning of puppies, children and ducks. Facing you is a picturesque inn ‘The Waterman’s Arms’, whitewashed and flower-decked. The site of this ancient inn was mentioned in the Domesday Book and, in the past, it’s been used as a smithy, a brew house, a haunt of pressgangs and even a prison. It’s hard to imagine a more delightful spot to be imprisoned.
In this half mile stretch of Bow Creek, a tributary of the River Dart in Devon, stand two award-winning country inns. ‘The Waterman’s Arms’ has 15 en-suite bedrooms, a cosy candle-lit restaurant or al fresco eating in its riverside garden. In Tuckenhay ‘The Maltster’s Arms’ also offers real ales, wonderful food and characterful accommodation. The pub was once owned by Keith Floyd, the TV chef, who commissioned the unusual rooms in the Old Winery next door which include ‘Khun Akorn’, a room decorated in sumptuous Eastern style, complete with four poster bed and ‘The Duke’s Suite’ which boasts a huge raised bed from which there are views down Bow Creek.
There’s a lot to do and see in this part of Devon, which is known as the South Hams, and includes the towns of Brixham, Torquay and Totnes. From Totnes you can take a cruise down the beautiful River Dart to Dartmouth but the town itself is well worth exploring. By the Middle Ages Totnes had become a walled town with four gates, two of which still survive. The remains of the castle are by the North Gate. Totnes has always been a market town for a rich agricultural area and its prosperity is still evident in the well-kept houses, delightful shops and many restaurants. The High Street has its shopping arcades; these examples date back to the 18th century. They were created by extending the upper floors of existing houses and supporting their outer corners on wooden pillars. These covered arcades, known as Butterwalks, are ideal for our unpredictable climate and the only town with more than Totnes is Chester. The tower of St Mary’s church provides a focal point for a distant view of the town but then disappears completely until you come across it again in a small close set back from the town’s main street. The tower has tall octagonal pinnacles and was modelled on the one at Ashburton with its characteristic central stair turret. However the church is most notable for its medieval stone screen. Pevsner describes it as ‘one of the most perfect in England’. The screen spans the complete width of the church and there are remains of the original gilding and colour. In the north aisle is a memorial to an Elizabethan squire, Christopher Blackwell. His four wives kneel below him and their individualised faces could be portraits. Another interesting memorial is to Walter Venning, born in Totnes in 1781. He died in St Petersburg in 1821 after contracting fever in prison there. The plaque on his memorial provides no explanation for the intriguing story of this Devon man who founded the Prison Society of Russia.
Approached down a drive lined with hedges of scarlet fuschias, Coleton Fishacre, near Kingswear, was built in 1923-6 for the D’Oyley Carte family. Richard D’Oyley Carte was the impresario behind the Gilbert and Sullivan operettas and his son Rupert inherited a business empire that included
Claridge’s Hotel and the Savoy in London. Rupert and his wife, Lady Dorothy, spotted the site for their house from the sea, whilst cruising on their yacht from Brixham to Dartmouth. The house is hidden at the top of a long combe that drops down to the sea at Pudcombe Cove. The terraces surrounding the house and the walled Rill garden are a formal introduction to the luxuriant jungle of vegetation that covers the sides of the valley. Because of the high humidity and mild climate many moisture loving plants can grow beneath the tree canopy. The house itself was described in ‘Country Life’ in 1930 as a ‘modern’ house. The Y-shaped house is approached from an entrance courtyard to the north-east. The Saloon, the most striking part of the house, has theatrical steps leading into a room almost 12 metres in length. You can imagine Noel Coward types leaning against the black Siena marble chimney piece as elegant silk clad ladies sip martinis. The low Autumn sunlight caught the Odeon cinema style mirror as the National Trust guide confided that she hated the brash colours of the orange, yellow and red painted ceramic vase that squatted on the black tiled window sill beside her. The Library has a beautiful location in the rounded bow on the front of the house, overlooking the garden. A charming collection of children’s classics from a bygone age occupy simple pitch pine shelves. Over the fireplace there is a remarkable painted map offering a birds’ eye view of the Dart Valley and its environs. Built into the map is a wind dial that still works. The map painting is by Spencer Hoffman and incorporates many charming features such as the oversized pig chased by a small girl at Pighole Point and the strangely named Slapper’s Hill, aptly illustrated by a man walloping a small boy. The house of Coleton Fishacre appears in the painting, with Rupert D’Oyley Carte sitting on the cliff top with his favourite Dalmatian dog and the nearby Day Mark which acted as a bearing for ships entering the mouth of the River Dart. The delicious cream teas in the National Trust tea room are provided by the Quayhole café whose premises at Stoke Gabriel overlook a mill pool famed for crab fishing.
Cars and pedestrians can quickly nip from Kingswear to Dartmouth by catching the ferry which takes exactly three minutes to cross the river, steered by a sturdy ochre-coloured cabin boat. Dartmouth has many interesting buildings and good places to eat. ‘The Carved Angel Café’ in Foss Street is the less expensive sister of the Carved Angel Restaurant on the South Embankment. A teetering gateau of avocado and crabmeat followed by sea bass with potato and green beans and a crispy pastry tart of cherries and almonds, accompanied by a cool Chilean Sauvignon Blanc, made a fitting end to a perfect weekend in Devon.
FACT FILE
Getting there:
By road: Motorways M4/M5 to Exeter. From the A38 Exeter to Plymouth road, take the Totnes turning. On the outskirts of Totnes take the A381 towards Dartmouth. About one mile out of Totnes, about two thirds of the way up the hill, take the turning to Bow Bridge and Ashprington.
By rail: Frequent trains to Totnes. Journey time approx. 35 minutes from Exeter St David’s.
The Waterman’s Arms, Bow Bridge, Ashprington, Near Totnes TQ9 7EG
tel. 01803 732214
The Maltsters Arms, Bow Creek, Tuckenhay, Near Totnes TQ9 7EQ
Tel. 01803 732350
www.tuckenhay.com E-mail pub@tuckenhay.demon.co.uk
Coleton Fishacre, Kingswear, Dartmouth A National Trust property
Tel. 01803 752466
Opening Times up to Feb 2003
Garden: March Sat. and Sun. only
23 March -3 Nov. daily except Mon. and Tues. 10.30-5.30 (open Bank Holiday Mondays and 3-4 June)
House: from 23 March, opening times as garden 11- 4.30
Admission Adults £4.90 Child £2.40 Family £12.20
Quayhole Café Mill Quay, Stoke Gabriel, South Devon tel. 01803 782520
River Dart Cruises tel. 01803 834488
www.riverlink.co.uk
The Carved Angel Café, 7 Foss Street, Dartmouth TQ6 9DW
tel. 01803 834842
www.thecarvedangel.com E-mail enquiries@thecarvedangel.com
