Launch of Clean Breaks, new green travel guide from Rough Guides

Clean_Breaks_FINAL_cover.inddSnow-shoeing in the Pyrenees, learning to dance in Rio, chilling in a Provençal treehouse, clubbing in Rotterdam or London… these are just a few of the  ‘Clean Breaks’ featured in this stunning new book from Rough Guides, which was launched 1st August 2009 – It is a comprehensive guide to unusual, alternative and incredible experiences that make a real difference to the local people and to the planet.

Travel and environment writers Richard Hammond and Jeremy Smith have hand-picked the world’s best hotels, tours, and activities run by people who are passionate about what they do, in an environmentally and socially responsible manner.
Whether you fancy diving, trekking, mountain-biking, staying in a gorgeous cottage or watching wildlife from a jungle lodge, taking a Clean Break doesn’t mean sacrificing style, adventure or quality.
As Richard and Jeremy explain, “In the same way that many of the world’s best chefs are those that use local, seasonal ingredients, it stands to reason that the most rewarding holidays are provided by those who really care for their local environment, its people, how their food is grown and the wildlife that surrounds them. These people make the best hosts and guides. Which is why Clean Breaks make the most fantastic holidays”.
Clean Breaks is organised by geographical region and includes suggestions for all pockets, from budget to luxury. Although you won’t fit it in your pocket, as it is pretty hefty, and more for the side of the bed, as you fall asleep dreaming of Scottish bothies, whale watching off the coast of West Cork, swimming in a Finnish lake, or crossing the Namibian desert. There is more than one for every night of the year, as they have given us a generous 500 places to see and things to do. Fab book, brilliantly researched, and makes me very green….with envy, that I didn’t write it, of course.

 

 For more information on Richard Hammond’s work, see his website www.greentraveller.co.uk

 

 

 

Clean Breaks: 500 New Ways To See The World
By Richard Hammond and Jeremy Smith
 ISBN 978-184836-0471, £18.99

 

 

 

Natural Retreats in Ireland

nrparknasillavilla1-2I love a man who does what I tell him. “You should open a Natural Retreats in Ireland”, I told Ewan Kearney, Director (and partner) of an  idyllic collection of sef-catering houses, situated in UK National Parks,  which look as if they were lifted off the set of Grand Designs. I stayed at their retreat hidden in the hills of the Yorkshire Dales last July. Their exquisitly eco-designed wooden houses,with sedum moss rooves, local food sourcing for client’s goody hampers, rainwater harvesting, are all just part of their exemplary, sustainable links with UK National Parks. Much to my surprise, less than a year later,Kearney has opened up five new Natural Retreats sites in Ireland (www.naturalretreats.com). This guy doesn’t let the green grass grow under his feet, that’s for sure.

Sadly I can take no credit. Natural Retreats had already been working with Irish tourism experts, to work out the best way to expand into Ireland and maintain their ethos of sustainability at the same time. They started looking at Irish National Park sites, with a view to replicating their already successful English product. And then the credit crunch hit. But this didn’t stop them, realising there was still room for Irish development. The answer was not to build from scratch, but team up with Irish businesses which already had high quality, environmentally sensitive, self-catering accomodation, and which were willing to find new uses and marketing outlets for them. The result is Natural Retreats luxury villas at Parknasilla (as photographed here), County Kerry, Adare Manor, County Limerick, Castlemartyr Resort in County Cork, The K Club in County Kildare and Kilronan Castle Estate in County Roscommon.

 I must admit, I was slightly disappointed when I heard that they hadn’t gone out on their own, and had teamed up with prestigious and pricey resorts. However, Kearney was quick to point out that it is a different world we are working in now, rightly saying “Sustainability is the single most important thing for us, and having access to beautiful areas like Parknasilla, for example, where there is already an excellent product, in a stunning location, which we could only dream of having access to, has been amazing!. There are endless activities here which allow visitors to interact with this stunning natural environment, as well as superb local produce to fill our hampers. This has meant we can all still do what we believe in, despite the challenges of this current economic climate”.

 

Natural Retreats’ empasis is always on local. At their new Irish sites, they have employed local site aerial-view-parknasilla-resortmanagers, for example, insisting they are people with excellent local knowledge, and a passion for the landscape, walking, riding, cycling etc. When they told their new partners that they wanted to provide food hampers, one of them voiced concern at not being able to get Yorkshire produce, not realising that when Natural Retreats say local, they really do mean local.

 So, if you want to retreat into the luxurious arms of this new ethical ‘blow-in’, check it out for yourself. Because sustainability is not just about renewables and recycling, it is also about saving what we already have, especially the good stuff, and just making it better. If more businesses combined forces like this to fight the crunch, and create more ethical, sustainable products, we would have a lot more to write home about when we get there. 

 (Article first published in The Irish Times, 25th July 2009)