Europe and Middle East

Exclusive guide to the best holiday destinations in Europe and Middle East. independent reviews from award-winning travel writers

Anna Smith reports back on the Standon Calling Festival in deepest Hertfordshire Ella Eyre Gaelle 03

Standon Calling Festival. A Fantastic Family Favourite.

For years I’ve been searching for the ideal boutique UK festival, with that magical mix of location, size, facilities, bands and sideshows. Just when I find one – like The Big Chill or Wilderness – it gets a little too big for comfort. Too many queues, tents crammed in together, lost friends… So this summer, Standon Calling came to me and my festival friends. How did it fare?

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Powerscourt Hotel. County Wicklow

Imagine a building that looks as if it was put there just to pay homage to one of Ireland’s most spectacular landscapes? Five star Powerscourt Hotel on the edge of ancient deer forests in a historic estate sprawling over 1,000 acres in the” Garden of Ireland” is like that.

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Andermatt. In the footsteps of James Bond

Admittedly I am driving a classic Morgan, but in my head it is an Aston Martin. Nevertheless I am hurtling down the twisty Oberalppass towards Andermatt, with the top down enjoying the hot summer sun and feeling distinctly like a secret agent. Actually I’m lying about the hurtling bit, you never hurtle in a Morgan, you just glide and make sure everyone can see you.

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Ognisko dining room

Ognisko London

Sausage and gherkins come more readily to mind than gastronomic delights as stereotypes of Polish food, but Ognisko is forcing diners to reconsider their perceptions.

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Martin Milesis   fake potato  with mushroom earth black olives and corn

UNA Supper Club. Brilliant concept dining location at St Pancras.

It’s the hardest restaurant to find your way into, in spite of its familiarity as a London landmark. Who’d have thought you could eat dinner inside George Gilbert Scott’s clock tower atop St. Pancras station? It actually houses a private penthouse whose Gothic tower enjoys a sometime alter ego as UNA, a South American supper club becoming one of the hottest tickets in town.

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Terranima

Bari is so unrepresentative of Puglia – the formal, imposing and rather austere capital of a region which is all about charm, informality and joie de vivre – that it’s surprising to find a suitably charming and informal restaurant in its back streets.
Terranima is a microcosm of rural Puglia – its trompe l’oeil decor is designed to evoke the feeling of a street in one of the region’s hilltop towns – and the food is utterly authentic.

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