logo
You'll find no better company on earth than 40 northerners on a coach holiday

You'll find no better company on earth than 40 northerners on a coach holiday

Telegrapha day ago
This is how things unfolded that sweltering Saturday afternoon on the River Loire. Our coach group of around 40 had been divided between three flat-bottomed toues, the traditional wooden Loire working boats. We were drifting, our bronzed boatmen letting the current do the work as they explained this and that about France's longest, wildest river.
Beavers featured prominently. One boatman thought he'd spotted a few on the bank. He guided his boat in, leapt for land and started digging around with a short stick, seeking beavers. Intent, he didn't notice his boat escape, drifting away towards the middle of the river. Then he did. Panic attack. He plunged after it. There were a dozen or so rudderless senior Britons floating off, conceivably quite far.
The plunging, though, merely pushed the boat further away. The boatman was neck deep before he caught up, and couldn't haul himself aboard. Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Tony, a retired local government worker from Ingleton, managed to haul a saturated Frenchman to safety. It was a stirring display. Manly handshakes were exchanged, the entente cordiale sealed once again.
Such drama is not the usual diet of coach trips but, believe me, these tours are absolutely not as perceived by those who have never taken one. I know. I've been there. Once a year, I stop being a reporter to organise, and guide, a French holiday for a Yorkshire Dales coach company owned by a friend of mine. I have a ball.
This year, 2025, in the hottest early summer since the Big Bang, we rolled into the Loire Valley, rolled into a hotel in Amboise and rolled out every day around what is the 'Frenchiest' region of France. Here the language is the purest, the light the softest, the landscape the most amply fertile and the history the most elegant. The world's greatest collection of Renaissance châteaux constitutes the stateliest statement of French aspirations. And the Loire itself provides the running commentary.
But – as I said over the coach PA, maybe a little too often – Chambord castle and the rest aren't just majestic monuments. They were the setting for heavyweight history: power plays, torture, intrigue, debauchery, murder, skulduggery, cross-dressing, adultery and epic horticulture – all more or less vital to keep France governed and French monarchs on top. That's the fascination.
Here we had, then, the best of France being visited by the best of Britain. Granted, our cast of northern English people were not in the first bloom of youth, more of an age when independent travel had become too much of a palaver. With a coach tour, you take your bags to the hold, ensure you're punctual and polite – which comes naturally to Britons of this ilk – and that's your responsibilities done.
And, once met, they proved a diverse bunch. Where else might one share conversation, drinks and meals with a surgeon, several farmers, businessmen and women, teachers, the boss of an electrical company, a champion crown green bowler, a graphic artist and civil servants, among many others – who, incidentally, had more to tell me than I ever had to tell them?
As built-in company goes, there's none better. I'd look round the bar at apéritif time, see couples travelling independently who surely didn't consider themselves 'coach group people'. They were as glum as hell. Meanwhile, batches of our bunch were discussing the day, Starmer, French food, Joan of Arc, rugby league, kids, grandkids, the NHS and former holidays in France over beer, wine, gin and tonic, and Baileys with ice. I don't ask for much more.
So we roamed the great château of Chambord where, with vast magnificence, Renaissance king François I established that French kings were second only to God, and a pretty close second, at that. The Black Eyed Peas had played a summer show in the grounds a few days earlier. The Loire châteaux are going all out to kick on into the 21st century. That said, the grandeur still expresses the absolute power of the 16th and 17th.
We took in Chenonceau – arching over the river, a couple of unicorns short of fairy-tale perfection – and Clos Lucé in Amboise, where Leonardo de Vinci spent his final years. The manor house and grounds now host evocations of the works – engineering, art, architecture – of a man better than everyone at everything. As Leonardo's host, François I, said: 'It is inconceivable that life might produce anyone similar.' He'd foreseen, among much else, the parachute, helicopter, machine gun, military tank and car-jack. 'I'd no idea,' said a cultivated lady from Lancashire. 'I thought he was just the Mona Lisa.'
And that was enough châteaux. Loire valley visitors need to know that 'châteaux fatigue' is a real threat. Divert to the gardens. Villandry is among the most extreme in France, the French correcting God's design for nature with fanatical geometrical precision. It's a dazzling exercise in horticultural control – but also a challenge to get round as the temperatures rose to around 35C.
Most seductive of all the gardens were those at Plessis-Sasnières in the Loir (no 'e') valley, slightly to the north of the grander Loire. Echoing English gardens – their creator was a fan – these caressed the senses with colour, calm and aromas. A waterhen and her chicks scooted across water lilies. And there was tranquillity, too, around beer, tea and assorted drinks on the shady tea-room terrace.
We'd travelled along the Loir from Thoré-la-Rochette on a 1950s train retained for tourists and run by volunteers of some exuberance. We'd lunched at Montoire, directly opposite the little station where, on October 24, 1940, Hitler and Pétain shook hands on their collaboration deal. The station is now a little museum but not open very often, which may be just as well. As one of the (above) volunteers said: 'It's the only reason anyone's ever heard of the place, but Montoire locals would prefer they hadn't'.
A surprising amount of life in both the Loire and Loir valleys takes place underground, in caves and troglo-dwellings either featuring in, or dug out of, the limestone rock. Near Montoire, we'd scheduled a visit to Trôo – a vertical village punched into a cliff face on several levels. We soon abandoned that. The perpendicular ascent, or descent, and rickety steps would have seen off half the group.
That said, we got a decent taste of troglodyte matters, first at Bourré where some of the miles of former underground workings were now devoted to growing exotic mushrooms. A fine guide made the subject roughly 37 times more interesting than anticipated. Meanwhile, round a few underground corners, a stone-mason and a sculptor had created a haut-relief model main street about a third life-size – and teeming with reminders, for future generations, of what mid-20th-century village life resembled.
Later, lunch in a nicely-lit troglo-restaurant went pretty well, too, not least due to a local starter of warm fouées. As you'll probably know, these are something very like pitta bread, cut almost in two and filled with potted meat (rillettes) and salad. A Touraine red proved just the ticket.
On other days, we toured Amboise by dinky tourist train – do not disdain them – and Blois by Percheron heavy horse and carriage. Getting aboard necessitated gymnastics from people who hadn't done much of this kind of thing in decades. A sense of triumph filled the air, and the gigantic horses clip-clopped off.
So to boat, heroics – and home to the hotel. As I've learnt, an important part of any tour organiser's job is to ensure that the group is back at the hotel to change (smart shirts, posh frocks) for the correct amount of drinks before dinner. Not many. Mainly just one, but a vital one. It is also to know when to shut up.
Join our writer in France next summer
Anthony Peregrine's 2026 summer tour will be to the Moselle in northeast France, based in Metz. Details remain to be finalised but will be found at bibbys.co.uk.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Lonely Planet founder reveals the Greek island tourists haven't destroyed yet
Lonely Planet founder reveals the Greek island tourists haven't destroyed yet

Metro

time8 hours ago

  • Metro

Lonely Planet founder reveals the Greek island tourists haven't destroyed yet

When married couple Tony and Maureen Wheeler left London for Australia in 1973, they were effectively taking a 'gap year' before the term was even coined. After travellers they met along the way started to ask them for their advice, they wrote their first book, Across Asia On The Cheap. And when that shifted 1,500 copies in its first week, travel guide publisher Lonely Planet was born. Fast forward 52 years, Tony is still sharing his wisdom with the masses – and during a recent visit to Greece, he found an island that's not been decimated by overtourism. The northernmost island in the Cyclades group, Kea, isn't as well-known as the likes of Mykonos – but that's part of its appeal. Despite having a permanent population of just 20,000 residents, with its white houses and sparkling blue waters, Santorini attracts as many as 3,400,000 visitors each year, a situation that's led politicians to introduce a €20 (£17.33) daily tourist tax for those arriving via cruise ship between June and September. By comparison, Kea is mainly still visited by Athenians looking for a break from the city, which has given Tony 'reassurance' that overtourism hasn't taken over the entire world. Fuel your wanderlust with our curated newsletter of travel deals, guides and inspiration. Sign up here. There are glimmers of hope that remain, if you know where to find them. Forget Red Beach or Kamari: if you want to emulate the magic of Santorini's famous waterfronts, you needn't look any further than Xyla. It might be coated in pebbles and golden sand rather than red or black, but it's certainly got that quintessential peaceful feel – and the Aegean Sea still sparkles. There are also plenty of sun lounger spots available at Pisses, while Spathi is another quiet nook. If you're into Greek history, then Kea is peppered with archaeological sites. One of the most famous is the Agia Marina Tower, which, at 20 metres high, is made exclusively from local slate and marble. These days, some of its original materials can be spotted on neighbouring buildings, as after it was partially destroyed by an earthquake in 1858, it was used to rebuild those that had suffered a worse fate. Meanwhile, the Lion of Ioulida sits on top of the island's hilltop capital – and, constructed in 6BC, it's another notable example of well-preserved Hellenic history. There's also the Kea Folklore Museum, which, originally built in 1845 to house travellers passing through the island, now documents local history. Mainly displaying agricultural tools and traditional costumes from the locality, there's also a theatre outside that hosts events throughout the summer, including the Fairy Tales Festival with its folk legends. Given that it's not yet been overrun by tourists, it'll come as little surprise that there isn't an airport on Kea Island. So, if you're wanting to escape for a little bit of Greek sunshine, you'll need to fly to Athens International and catch a ferry. There are direct London connections from Luton, Stansted and Gatwick, all of which take in the region of four hours. The best bit? The boat from the port of Lavrio only takes an hour, and tickets cost a very reasonable €14 (£12.13). By comparison, Mykonos can take between two and two-and-a-half hours from the Greek capital. Naturally, there's no shortage of sunshine on Kea Island – and the summer is the hottest time of the year. More Trending Temperatures throughout August tend to average out at around 33C, so if you can't handle the heat, you might want to bookmark your trip around October, when things chill out to approximately 24C. Likewise, if you're looking to top up your dopamine levels during the winter, the mercury levels out at around 15C in February, while March dips up slightly to 17C. Do you have a story to share? Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@ MORE: Airline founded by UK millionaire 'parks' only plane — after two return flights MORE: 'First-of-its-kind' Eurostar-style train to directly connect UK with Berlin and two more cities MORE: Our Travel Editors' picks of underrated destinations in the easyJet summer 2026 sale

Huge easyJet sale launches today with seats from £21.99 – here are the best offers available
Huge easyJet sale launches today with seats from £21.99 – here are the best offers available

The Sun

time8 hours ago

  • The Sun

Huge easyJet sale launches today with seats from £21.99 – here are the best offers available

EASYJET has just released millions of cheap seats for next summer and here are the top offers that you can still get your hands on. Each annual quarter, easyJet releases a new batch of tickets for flights which are put on sale for the lowest possible price. The flights are usually released first thing in the morning and prices will remain low for as long as demand does. Seat fares tend to climb back up, however, a few hours after bookings have gone live. So you need to be quick if you want to snap up the cheaper fares. You haven't missed out yet, though - there are still plenty of the cracking offers available. We've picked out the best bargains that to book right now. Paris, France There are many cheap flights across UK airports heading to Paris with easyJet. For example, you could snatch up a flight from London Southend Airport to Paris Charles de Gaulle for £21.99 on July 2, 2026. Alternatively, you could head from Birmingham Airport for £25.99 on June 30, 2026. There is also a flight from Southampton Airport to Paris Orly for £29.99 on July 3, 2026. Paris has always been a top European destination, but even more people are heading to the French capital following the rise in popularity of Netflix 's series Emily in Paris. The city is bustling with sights to see and flavours to taste – particularly giant croissants that Emily is often seen eating in the TV series. In addition to your typical tourist spots such as The Louvre and the Eiffel Tower, the city is home to quaint bakeries and newly opened swimming spots, thanks to the River Seine welcoming swimmers once again. Landmark in major European capital reopens following €466million restoration Bordeaux, France Also in France, Bordeaux has cheap flights from Bristol Airport as well as Birmingham Airport. For £26.99, you could head to the French city from Birmingham on August 30, 2026. Alternatively, you could head from Bristol on June 22, 2026, for £32.99. Perhaps a great option for those who have visited Paris but have not yet had enough of France, Bordeaux is great for experiencing the country's wine culture. Head to La Cité du Vin to learn all about French wine with exhibitions, shows, movies and seminars. You can then always grab a bottle and sit in the beautiful Jardin Public in the city. 6 Prague, Czech Republic There are still cheap flights for the Czech Republic's capital too. You could fly from Birmingham on September 2, 2026, for £26.99, for example. The city boasts numerous places to explore such as Prague Castle, which dominates the skyline. You can also travel back in time at the Retro Museum, which captures what life was like in Czechoslovakia in the 70s and 80s. And in 2023, an immersive beer experience called Pilsner: The Original Beer Experience opened - bringing the history of the famous Czech beer to life. 6 Amsterdam, The Netherlands Cheap flights to Amsterdam are still available at some airports as well. You could fly from Birmingham, for example, on June 17, 2026, for £25.99. Or from London Southend on the same day, for £22.99. Assistant travel editor Sophie Swietochowski recently visited the city. She said: "Stroll just five minutes in any direction, away from the compact city centre and down one of the cobblestone alleyways, and that's where you'll find the real city. "The whole city is littered with tiny artisan bakeries and shops where you'll find locals sat at a rickety old table, sipping coffee and tucking into homemade goodies. "If you're brave enough, drive your own boat [through the canals] - you can pick one up for €16.50pp (£13.90pp) for three hours on a six-seater vessel from 6 Nice, France Another destination in France with cheap flights still available is Nice. Flying from Liverpool Airport on August 28, 2026, a one-way flight can be booked for just £23.99. Nice is home to pretty beaches and amazing scenery such as the iconic hotel Le Negresco, which is known for previously hosting Elizabeth Taylor and The Beatles. There is also a quaint Old Town with numerous winding lanes dating back to the 1700s. Many of Nice's beaches feature clear Mediterranean waters too, which are great for swimming. 6 Geneva, Switzerland Now, in Switzerland, there are still some bargains available, including a flight from Birmingham Airport on August 31, 2026, for £30.99. Geneva is surrounded by the Alps and the Jura mountains with great views of Mont Blanc, making the entire city a stunning spectacle. And if you happen to go for an August flight, make sure to check out Les Aubes festival at Bains des Pâquis. Each year people gather to see a stunning sunrise with a homemade breakfast and music playing. Here's how to get cheap flights in the sale. Plus, the always-sunny holiday destination with quiet beaches is getting new easyJet flights from the UK. 6

Is there a luxury train from Paris to French locations?
Is there a luxury train from Paris to French locations?

The Independent

time17 hours ago

  • The Independent

Is there a luxury train from Paris to French locations?

Q I was told that there is a luxury train going from Paris in September to different places in France. It's first class and the journey is for around six days. Susan Barr A Le Grand Tour, as the venture is known, talks a good game. The plan is for a six-day 'immersion in the French wonders'. Passengers will travel a total of 2,500 miles around France, packing in a host of sites. The experience starts at Paris Gare de l'Est, which I regard as the most elegant of the capital's stations. Day one takes in Reims for lunch (and presumably some champagne), continuing to Beaune in Burgundy, where a private tour of the ancient almshouse awaits. Day two: Avignon, with a rooftop tasting 'of the region's finest wines and produce'. On the same day, the train will reach the southwest city of Carcassonne. For the third day, the first destination is, oddly, Pau: a second-division historical city, though with a decent view of the Pyrenees. In the afternoon, the Bay of Arcachon will improve humours, with a visit to the Dubourdieu shipyards and a boat trip. Maritime appeal continues on day four, with handsome La Rochelle in the morning and a private tour of Chenonceau, the 'Château des Dames' later on. The finale appears to happen on day five. To quote the marketing: 'Le Grand Tour ends with a spectacular journey back in time at Puy du Fou.' This is a historical theme park southeast of Nantes. The sell continues: 'Over the course of a day, history blends with legend to come alive again until nightfall, when the grand spectacle of the night shimmers under the stars.' You might think this an unusual choice of location for the climax (presumably day six is a trundle back to Paris to offload one set of passengers and take on the next lot). But it makes sense when you learn that the trip is promoted by the Puy du Fou enterprise itself. The plan was set out in 2022 and little appears to have happened since. I have checked putative departures up to 2028 and can see none confirmed. So while a first-class trip around France in September sounds like a grand idea, get a first-class Interrail pass instead. Q Our flight from Venice was delayed overnight. Who is responsible for sourcing our accommodation? Ellen Saville A Under air passengers' rights rules, anyone whose flight is delayed overnight is entitled to be provided with a hotel room and meals commensurate with the length of the delay. In addition, the Package Travel Regulations specify: 'Where the organiser is unable to ensure the traveller's return as agreed in the package travel contract because of unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances, the organiser must bear the cost of necessary accommodation, if possible of equivalent category.' Both sets of rules point to the same outcome. Often when a flight in connection with a package holiday is delayed by 24 hours, your stay at the hotel will simply be extended by a night. But the airline or holiday company (which, in your case, are basically the same entity) may move you to a different property, such as an airport hotel, if necessary. I think it highly unlikely that you will be left to sort out the problem yourself; but if you are, pay for the extra stay and meals and present the receipts to the company. Q We are heading to North Macedonia and Albania this summer. My wife is worried about the driving. Is it bad? Richard V A Your wife is right to be concerned. I have consulted the Albanian traffic accident statistics for the past decade. They are tragically high. The average death toll on the roads is more than 200 per year. Adjusted for population, that is about 2.5 times the fatality rate in the UK. In terms of road miles, the accident rate is worse still, since Albania is a small country (the size of Wales) and long journeys are commensurately rare. While I haven't studied the North Macedonia statistics, my observation from travelling around is that driving and road standards are equally poor. The reasons: bad driving (fuelled by alcohol in one in 25 accidents, the statistics relate), inadequate policing and some dangerous roads. Rail travel is not a viable option in either country. In these circumstances, it is wise to rely on professional drivers. In both countries, I travel longer distances by bus or minibus, and make shorter journeys by taxi. This works out better than you might imagine. On arrival at Tirana airport, coaches are usually waiting to run into the capital – or, less frequently, to Durres on the coast. Coaches or minibuses run between larger towns and cities – many minibuses run on demand, departing when full. Crossing between North Macedonia and Albania is straightforward. For shorter journeys, you can flag down a taxi (the North Macedonian capital also has Bolt, which is similar to Uber) or take a local bus. If you plan an excursion taking in three or four locations in the day, your hotel will know some reliable drivers who will offer a fair price. I should stress that I am a non-car owner and a poor driver, and therefore always prefer it when someone else is driving. You can enjoy the many spectacular views – and meet interesting locals.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store