Strikes cause travel headache for BA passengers 
Passengers booked to fly with British Airways on this month's strike days will have to go through the small print of their insurance policies and navigate around the BA website to find out just what effect the dispute will have on their travel plans.
March 12th, 2010
Second rail union votes for strikes
A second rail union announced today that its members have voted in favour of strikes in a row over Network Rail's plans to axe 1,500 maintenance jobs.
March 12th, 2010
Coming up: what's on in the world of travel
Upcoming festivals, events and exhibitions around Britain, chosen by Jolyon Attwooll.
March 12th, 2010
BA strike Q&A: what to do if your flight is disrupted
The announcement today of a series of strikes by British Airways cabin crew will come as no surprise to travellers, but will, nevertheless, catch out tens of thousands of us.
March 12th, 2010
20 cracking last-minute Easter stays
From a thatched cottage to a castle outhouse, seaside retreats to an historic city pad, we've picked 20 fantastic self-catering properties available over the Easter holiday
Wales
Capel Pennant, near Llangollen
Capel Pennant is a cosy converted estate chapel in the gardens of one of Wales' most handsome manor houses, Plas Pennant, on the Chirk Castle estate near Lllangollen. It has been elegantly furnished, but the chief delight is the wonderful open view down the famous Ceiriog valley. You can enjoy access to the gardens of the manor, or great walking in the area, and visit the charming heritage towns close by, of which Llangollen and Chirk are just the start.
⢠Sleeps up to two people in one bedroom. Arriving Easter Monday, five nights costs £355 or stay seven nights for £533. Under The Thatch, +44 (0)1239 851410.
Cragside, near Caernarfon
An unusual rustic, mountain cottage standing on its own on a hillside surrounded by fields. It's close to several beaches, inspiring castles and amazing views. It is offered by Sheepskin, which launched last month, with 10 stylish self-catering properties in remote and beautiful locations in north and south Wales. Sheepskin keeps prices the same all year round and has a special launch offer giving guests a 20% discount on an Easter break and all subsequent stays for the rest of their lives. (The discount applies to week-long Easter breaks completed by 11 April.)
⢠Sleeps two adults and and three children. Cost £888 (with 20% discount) for seven nights over Easter. Sheepskin; +44 (0)1865 764087.
Scotland
Easter Steading, Near Cupar, Fife
Converted from old farm buildings, the Steading forms two sides of a secluded walled courtyard with a backdrop of the rolling hills of north Fife, exactly half way between Perth and St Andrews (16 miles from both). Includes sitting room with wood-burning stove and piano, fully equipped kitchen/dining room, two ensuite bedrooms and gallery games area with table football and broadband connection.
⢠Sleeps four. A seven-night holiday starting on 3 April costs £475. unique-cottages.co.uk; +44 (0)1835 822277.
Delgatie Castle, Aberdeenshire
Mary Queen of Scots once slept in this historic Scottish castle in Aberdeenshire. Home to some of the finest 16th-century painted ceilings in Scotland, parts of the building date back to 1030. You'll stay in apartments in the castle coach house, from where you can explore the estate and Delgatie Woods, go flyfishing for rainbow and brown trout in the castle lake or tuck into cream teas and home-cooked food in the Laird's Kitchen. It's a good base for exploring the Highlands; Speyside and the Cairngorms are easily accessible and some of the world's best known whisky distilleries are nearby.
⢠A week's stay costs £409 (was £503), sleeps five/six in an apartment in the castle coach house. delgatiecastle.com/; +44 (0)1888 563479.
Achleek Cottage, Argyll
Save £80 on a seven-night stay in this snug former tackman's house on the south side of Loch Sunart. Recently refurbished it sleeps five in three bedrooms and has an open fire and wonderful views down the loch and across to the mountains of Moidart and Sunart. There are few roads in the area (but lots of wonderful walking) and less in the way of human settlement - the nearest village is peaceful Strontian three miles away. Drive to the end of the Ardnamurchan peninsula, the westernmost tip of mainland Britain, with its glorious beach at Sanna and boat trips from Kilchoan.
⢠A week's stay costs £495, sleeps five, valid from 3 April. Pets welcome by arrangement. unique-cottages.co.uk; +44 (0)1835 822277.
The Hill House, Helensburgh, near Glasgow
This is the perfect stay for lovers of architecture and design. The Hill House - including much of its interior, from fireplaces to furnishings â was designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh for publisher Walter Blackie, and is considered to be his domestic masterpiece. You will stay in the top floor flat, where you can still find the toy cupboards of what once was the schoolroom of the Blackie family. The house is very close to Glasgow, where art enthusiasts can learn more about Mackintosh and visit his famous School of Art.
⢠Five nights from £957, sleeps six. landmarktrust.org.uk; +44 (0)1628 825925.
England
West Leas Farm cottages, Yorkshire
Archway, Granary and Byre cottages are housed in a converted barn on peaceful West Leas Farm in the Yorkshire Dales. All have countryside views and access to enclosed gardens which lead directly to open fields and footpaths â the owners can provide you with a map showing their favourite local walks. See new-born calves ('Snowdrop' was born last month), ponies and Easter lambs. Nearby are the cathedral city of Ripon and the market town of Masham, famous for its Black Sheep and Theakstons breweries. The villages of Kirkby Malzeard and Galphay are both within walking distance, with local shops, pubs and tea rooms.
⢠£460 a week for a family of four from 5-18 April. iknow-yorkshire.co.uk; 0844 453 6648.
The Miller's House, Shropshire
This snug conversion is in part of the original Birches Mill, by the River Unk. The mill dates back to 1640 and corn was ground here right up until the second world war. Artists Gill and Andrew live next door and will happily provide you with a locally-sourced home-cooked meal from their freezer if you arrive exhausted on a Friday night (or you can order a welcome box of local produce for £22). Downstairs is a living room with low, beamed ceilings and wood-burning stove; a wildlflower garden sits behind the cottage. Offa's Dyke can be reached by foot, and the gastonomic town of Ludlow is a short hop away.
⢠A week's stay, from 2 or 3 April, costs from £405, sleeps four. special-escapes.co.uk; +44 (0)1588 640409.
The Spinney, Cumbria
Set in the countryside between Ennerdale Water and the market town of Cockermouth in west Cumbria, this new-build house has under-floor heating, wood flooring, a four-poster bed, a great dining/kitchen and a real fire in the large living room. The house is surrounded by glorious countryside for walking or cycling â the Coast-to-Coast Cycle Route goes past the front door.
⢠Sleeps up to six. A week's rental starting April 3 is £780 (reduced from £890). Arrive 10 April for seven nights and the cost is £680. Cumbrian Cottages; +44(0)1228 599960.
Kendal cottages riverside apartment, Cumbria
Be the first to stay in these new luxury suites with riverside balconies looking out over the River Kent to picturesque Stramongate Bridge and on to Kendal castle. The apartment is bright and spacious with open-plan kitchen, living room and dining area and super king size beds. There's a free welcome bottle of champagne for Easter guests.
⢠A week's stay costs from £650, sleeps four. kendalcottages.com; +44 (0)1539 736611.
The Granary, Forest of Dean
Set between the River Wye and River Seven this 18th-century cottage has been sensitively converted into a rural getaway in the heart of the Forest of Dean. There are 180-degree views of open countryside and forest walks starting right from the back door. Horse riding, canoeing or mountain biking are also available nearby. The owner, an award winning photographer, is able to offer individual tuition or you can play drums, keyboard and guitars in the fully equipped music studio under the guidance of professional musicians.
⢠A week's stay costs £325, sleeps two. holidaylettings.co.uk; +44 (0)1594 860476.
Stonechat Cottage, Worth Matravers, Dorset
Worth Matravers is often cited as the prettiest village in Dorset. This Grade II-listed, Purbeck stone, quarryman's cottage dates back to 1772 and retains many original features. Just a mile from the beach and four miles from Swanage, Stonechat Cottage is found on a no-through lane leading to a path down to the sea at Winspit. It has accommodation over three floors with a small rear decked courtyard with barbecue. Or, if you can't be bothered to cook, pop into the Square & Compass pub for a pint and a pasty and great views down to Chapman's Pool beach. Easter also sees the start of the nearby Bridport Film festival (3 â 9 April). From Page To Screen (+44 (0)1308 424204) celebrates film adaptations of new and classic books with daytime screenings and talks at Bridport Arts Centre and evening screenings at The Electric Palace cinema.
⢠Sleeps four. Available week commencing 2 April and costs £420, a saving of £50 off the brochure price of £470. Dorset Coastal Cottages, 0800 980 4070.
Little Barn, Polperro, Cornwall
Backing on to the river that flows down to the harbour in Polperro, this delightful property has two bedrooms set in the eaves. The cosy lounge has beams and rough stone walls with deep-set windows and window seats from which to watch and listen to the river as it hurries down to the sea.
⢠Costs is £473 for Easter week, sleeps four. toadhallcottages.co.uk
St Hilary, West Cornwall
Spend Easter in a cosy three-star 18th-century, Grade II listed, thatched cottage. Inside are ancient oak beams and an inglenook fireplace. There's a tree-sheltered garden at the front and meadows at the back; a track alongside links to several foot paths and cycleways. The attractive village of Goldsithney, with two good pubs is within walking distance. Mounts Bay and St Michael's Mount on the coast are two miles away. Or head down to Porthcurno for the Cornish premiere of Disney's Beauty and The Beast at open-air Minack Theatre (2-5 and 10-12 April).
⢠A week's stay costs £545, sleeps five. Available Saturday 3 and 10 April. Pets welcome. Reference: Z101. Helpful Holidays; +44 (0)1647 434063.
Sea Wall Cottage, Porth, Cornwall
As the name suggests this cottage is built right on the sea wall at beautiful Porth beach in north Cornwall. Enjoy the sea views from your own sun terrace or walk out on to the sand for some rockpooling, bodyboarding or surfing. Warm up after a spring swim in front of the fire in the living room. Dogs are welcome.
⢠£650 for a week, from 3 April. Sleeps four.beachretreats.co.uk; +44 (0) 1637 861005.
Swallow Tail Houseboat, Devon
Swallow Tail barge is permanently moored on her own tranquil jetty in the heart of the Westcountry. The boat is surprisingly spacious and comes with its own woodburning heat system. Watch the busy wildlife right outside the galley window â spot wetland birds, deer, rabbits and silently swooping barn owls. Land organic rainbow trout for dinner and in the evening watch the sun setting from the aft deck knowing that it has given its solar energy to power your lighting for the night ahead.
⢠Available for the week over Easter for £385 and sleeps four-six. responsibletravel.com.
The Mill House, Lee Bay, Devon
A Grade II listed 16th-century property right on the water's edge in Lee Bay. Many period features have been retained including the original milling room (now the dining room, with a grand table seating 10), inglenook fireplace, bread ovens, woodburning stove, boathouse and the drawbridge over the mill race. French doors open on to the garden with sea views; at the front is a terrace enclosed by a stone wall.
⢠A week's stay from 3 April is £1,340 (reduced by £200), sleeps 10. marsdens.co.uk; +44 (0)1271 813 777.
Magenta, Aldeburgh, Suffolk
Step into this pretty cottage right off of the sea front in Aldeburgh on the Suffolk coast. Both living room and main bedroom have uninterrupted sea views; downstairs there's an open plan kitchen and dining room. Located just a couple of minutes' walk away from the town where there's plenty of restaurants and pubs â including, renowned The Fish and Chip Shop. Freshly caught fish is sold daily at the fisherman huts on the beach.
⢠Sleeps four. A week from 2 April costs £765. Alternatively, Mariner's cottage (sleeps four), a few streets back from the sea costs £560 for a week arriving on 2 April and comes with a chocolate hamper. bestofsuffolk.co.uk; +44 (0)1728 638962.
Coach House, Heathfield, Sussex
This organically run smallholding has been turned into a creative escape for those who want to write, read or paint. The Coach House â oceans of daffodils to one side, a country road to the other â has been designed as an open-plan, lofty, two-room retreat. The living area has contemporary Scandinavian-style furniture and kilims on a sweep of maple parquet running through folding doors to the bedroom on the other side. Owner Julia is committed to conservation, so the fabrics are natural, the water for the main house solar-heated, and the sheep rare-breed. Extra guests or friends can stay in the farmhouse or the Studio a flexible project space.
⢠Four nights for £300, full week for £400, sleeps two adults plus one baby up to two years or child over seven years. Alastair Sawday's Special Escapes; +44 (0)1435 830203.
Barn Cottage, Mersley Garlic Farm, Isle of Wight
This two-bedroom cottage is housed in one of the traditional outbuildings of rural Mersley Farm. As the name suggests it's a garlic lovers' haven â the onsite shop farm shop stocks elephant garlic, smoked garlic and even garlic honey, as well as fresh local produce. Nearby are the towns of Sandown and Shanklin and the surrounding area is good cycling and walking territory. Guest have free WiFi and use of a tennis court.
⢠£512 a week, sleeps four. Departing on 9 April, the price includes seven nights' self-catering accommodation and return Wightlink car ferry crossings from Portsmouth or Lymington. Wightlink Green Getaways; 0871 376 0013.
March 12th, 2010
Travel feedback of the week: March 6-12
Our readers comment on the travel issues and stories of the past week.
March 12th, 2010
BA cabin crew to strike over cost-cutting
British Airways cabin crew are to stage a series of strikes in a bitter row over cost-cutting, threatening travel chaos for tens of thousands of passengers, it was announced today.
March 12th, 2010
Skiing Mount Etna: Hit the slopes one day, sail the next
If the weather turns foul on Mount Etna, you can always head for Sicily's coast, says Johnny Morris.
March 12th, 2010
Cordoba: the complete guide
From the March issue of The Sunday Times Travel Magazine
March 12th, 2010
BA union announces strike dates
British Airways cabin crew to hold two weekend walkouts in March over staff cuts, Unite says⢠How will the strikes affect you?British Airways cabin crew will stage a series of strikes over two consecutive weekends this month, beginning with a three-day walkout on 20 March and followed by a four-day action from 27 March.The first strikes by BA cabin crew in nearly 13 years have been called by the Unite trade union after a breakdown in talks over staffing cuts. The industrial action by up to 12,000 flight attendants has been timed to bring maximum disruption to BA, with the airline facing a struggle to reinstate a normal timetable between strikes.BA carries around 75,000 passengers a day and the strikes will affect hundreds of thousands of passengers. The airline has pledged to run a significant skeleton service with the help of 1,000 volunteer cabin crew.Unite announced it would ballot its 12,000 cabin crew members on a new offer tabled at the 11th hour by the airline, giving a glimmer of hope that the strikes could be averted.The walkout will affect BA's 650 daily services. However, the airline has pledged to break the strike with 1,000 volunteer flight attendants drawn from the ranks of its non-cabin crew workforce, and is preparing to hire 23 airplanes, complete with their own trained crew.The BA chief executive, Willie Walsh, said he hoped to operate a substantial proportion of the airline's Heathrow airport long-haul operations and a good number of short-haul flights.BA has said it will operate its entire schedule from London City airport during the expected strike and has claimed more than two-thirds of its Gatwick-based crews will work normally.Informal channels of communication are still open between BA and Unite via the general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, Brendan Barber.It is understood that BA is willing to partially repeal the staffing cuts at the heart of the dispute and is considering putting around 184 cabin crew positions back on its 239-plane fleet. However, Unite wants 700 positions returned to BA aircraft and has proposed around £60m worth of cost savings to fund the proposal. BA says the figures are significantly short of its cost-cutting target.Unite is also threatening to hold a consultative ballot over proposed changes to baggage handlers' contracts. If union members vote against BA's proposals an industrial action ballot will be held, although that move is several weeks away.Unite argues it has been bypassed by BA, despite holding talks about the baggage handler contracts.Steve Turner, the Unite national officer for civil aviation, said: "It is hugely concerning that BA feel that management by imposition is their preferred approach. Very soon, no worker at the airline will feel that either their job or their terms and conditions are safe. This instability cannot be healthy for the airline."A BA spokesman said: "We are consulting with our ground-handling staff at Heathrow about potential changes to improve the way in which we work. Any talk of a ballot for industrial action is speculative and premature."British AirwaysTrade unionsAir transportAirline industryDan Milmoguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
March 12th, 2010
Union announces seven days of BA strikes
British Airways cabin crew will stage a series of strikes in a bitter row over cost-cutting, threatening travel chaos for tens of thousands of passengers, it was announced today.
March 12th, 2010
Hiking on Lundy Island with Nicholas Crane
As we launch a series of exclusive National Trust walks, Nicholas Crane heads for Lundy Island.
March 12th, 2010
Dunstable Downs, Bedfordshire: Walk of the week
The second of our series of National Trust walks is through the beautiful Bedfordshire countryside, on an exhilarating walk across the Dunstable Downs.
March 12th, 2010
Durrington Walls, Wiltshire: Walk of the week
The first of our new series of weekly walks, provided by the National Trust, is a ramble around mysterious Durrington Walls in Wiltshire, with views towards Stonehenge.
March 12th, 2010
Ask Gill: Ryanair stamps its authority... again
Foreign passport holders may need an airline's 'exit stamp' even if they don't need a visa, says Gill Charlton, who also advises on Madeira and Australian visas.
March 12th, 2010
Second rail union set to vote for strikes
A second rail union is set to announce today that its members have voted in favour of strikes in a row over Network Rail's plans to axe 1,500 maintenance jobs.
March 12th, 2010
Union to reveal next move in BA cost-cutting row
Leaders of British Airways cabin crew will reveal their next move today in the long-running dispute over cost-cutting which threatens disruption to flights later this month.
March 12th, 2010
£30bn high-speed rail plan signals end of the road for ...
Days of building intercity roads are over, says transport secretary Andrew Adonis, as government announces network of 250mph trains to be completed by 2026The government signalled the end of intercity motorway building today as it announced plans for a £30bn high-speed rail network, with the first phase between London and Birmingham opening in 2026.Lord Adonis, the transport secretary, said the motorway network had reached its limit and the burden of ferrying millions more people between cities would instead be taken by fleets of trains travelling at up to 250mph. Work on the first phase linking the capital and England's second city could begin in 2017 after a formal public consultation, Adonis said.Having pledged to eliminate demand for domestic air travel with ultra-fast trains, the transport secretary took on motorways in a 152-page "command paper". He said: "I do not envisage building another generation of intercity motorways."The last new motorway, the M40, opened in 1991 and the government's strategy now is to widen the UK's major road arteries or to make hard shoulders into new lanes. The news was attacked by a motoring thinktank, which warned the government not to sideline roads when they account for more than nine out of 10 UK passenger journeys, against 7% for rail. "It is not enough to deal with growing demand," said Professor Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation. "What is the government going to do instead? If it does nothing, inter-urban congestion will just get worse."Under the high-speed rail alternative, London and Birmingham will be linked by a route carrying 18 trains an hour in each direction, with every one carrying up to 1,100 passengers. Journeys will be slashed from 84 minutes to 49 on a line originating at London's Euston. At Old Oak Common in west London an interchange with the Crossrail service, due to be completed in 2017, will take passengers to Heathrow.Controversially, the line will then run through the Chiltern hills in Buckinghamshire, past picturesque villages such as Wendover, partly following the A413 road and the Chiltern rail line before joining the track-bed of the former Great Central Railway. Before entering central Birmingham there will be a stop near its airport, which will be 31 minutes from Old Oak Common. There will be a new terminal at Curzon Street in Birmingham centre but the main body of the line will sweep through the Trent valley to join existing tracks north of Lichfield, where journeys will continue to Manchester and Scotland at conventional speeds.Adonis said it would lead to the demolition of just 440 houses, against 700 for the planned third runway at Heathrow.The transport secretary also unveiled the blueprint for a wider network, with a Y-shaped route splitting off from Birmingham to go westwards to Manchester and eastwards to Sheffield and Leeds. Journey times between London and Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield would come down from about two hours 10 minutes to 75 minutes. However, the document makes no formal provision for a direct route to Scotland and Newcastle and time savings from London to Scotland's major cities are less impressive, falling from four-and-a-half hours to three-and-a-half hours.Acknowledging Tory objections over the Heathrow proposal, Adonis said the case for a station at the airport would be examined by the former Tory transport secretary Lord Mawhinney. The Tories have pledged to build a high-speed network instead of a third runway at Heathrow, and to start construction in 2015.Theresa Villiers, the shadow transport secretary, said: "In leaving out Heathrow and setting out plans that give no firm guarantees north of the Midlands, Labour's plans are flawed both by lack of ambition and undermined by their inability to grasp the basic truth that high-speed rail should be an alternative to a third runway, not an addition to it."The London-to-Birmingham phase will cost up to £17.4bn, with the full 335-mile network costing £30bn. Adonis said he expected the financing to be "state-led", costing about £2bn a year. The environmental benefits will be negligible, however, as the Department for Transport admitted that the London-to-Birmingham route will be carbon neutral.Green groups also warned that the proposals must not squeeze funding from the conventional rail network. Stephen Joseph, executive director of the Campaign for Better Transport, said:"The danger is that a high-speed line will suck money out of the current transport network. The last thing people want is service cuts, higher fares and more potholes, while the executive classes are treated to gleaming new high-speed trains."Transport policyTransportRail transportAir transportRoad transportHeathrowTravel and transportDan Milmoguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
March 11th, 2010
Journeys for the girls (and women)
Virginia Woolf's house, Gertrude Stein's flat â feminist pilgrimages are a great way to connect with history. So when Vera Groskop said girls were boring, her mother decided it was time for her first tripDespite my best efforts, my three-year-old daughter Vera hasn't exactly been celebrating her girlhood of late. In fact, influenced by her six-year-old brother, she can frequently be heard muttering, "Girls are boring. I want to do boys' things." I can see her point. Her brother's life is full of Star Wars, pirates, football and other action-packed phenomena. Vera gets Hello Kitty. She clearly finds this unsatisfying, and the situation is coming to a head. "I am not a girl, Mummy, I am a boy," she told me recently. "My name is Peter."But it's good to be a girl, I tell her. Being a girl is fun. There are women's successes to be celebrated. There is joy in the female condition. How can I prove this though? In our home city, London, there is just not that much physical evidence of women's greatness. The Alison Lapper statue in Trafalgar Square was taken down in 2007. There are nine male statues in Parliament Square â and no female ones. London's first public statue of a black woman, Bronze Woman by Aleix Barbat, in Stockwell Memorial Garden, did not appear until 2008. Germaine Greer has frequently complained that women are underrepresented in public monuments, noting that one of the only recent sculptures of a woman is of the actor Diana Dors at the Shaw Ridge leisure complex in Swindon. Now, I like Diana Dors. But this is pathetic.I was not about to frogmarch Vera to Swindon, but I loved the idea of an adventure, exploring women's hidden imprint on our streets. So I decided it was time for her first feminist pilgrimage. My mother-in-law reeled: "That poor child." But I knew how to sell it to Vera. "Would you like to come and find out what lots of important ladies did, and then we'll have cake?" "Yes," she replied seriously. "I would like cake."Rachel Kolsky, a London tourist guide, has run women's walking tours since 2005. "They open people's eyes to the hidden history of an area," she says. "There is a great women's story on every corner." Vera and I set off on a three-hour walk around the East End of London, starting at the Royal London Hospital, the focal point of the Wonderful Women of Whitechapel and Spitalfields Tour. Here, Kolsky tells a story about Eva Luckes, the famous hospital matron, whose successes included the containment of a typhoid epidemic. The hospital's inner courtyard has a magnificent statue of Queen Alexandra, who was instrumental in bringing a new treatment for tuberculosis to the hospital. "Look at that strong, proud lady, Vera!" I say. "You said I could have cake," she says. "I'm cold."Then Vera starts to cry, bringing our adventure to a sudden end. This is the problem with Kolsky's brilliant London tours: in order to showcase women's buried history, they cover a lot of ground. Great for an adult, but slightly too ambitious for a three-year-old.I am not deterred though. Quite the opposite. As we head home I am hatching plans for future feminist pilgrimages. In the UK, we can follow in the footsteps of Virginia Woolf, Jane Austen, and the Brontës. Or, next time we are passing the Houses of Parliament, we could check out the statue of Emmeline Pankhurst, one of London's few female landmarks, in Victoria Gardens. Then there's a trail of Pankhurst family blue plaques to be followed in London, from 50 Clarendon Road in Holland Park to 120 Cheyne Walk in Kensington.Further afield there is Gertrude Stein's apartment in Paris at 27 Rue de Fleurus. Now a private home, this address was once host to weekly salons and packed with paintings by Renoir, Gauguin and Cézanne; Picasso was a regular dinner guest. You may only be able to walk past these days, but you can still reminisce fondly on key passages in Stein's classic work The Auto- biography of Alice B Toklas. Or, in the same city, you could visit Simone de Beauvoir's grave â next to Sartre's â at the Cimetière du Montparnasse.In New York there is a lengthy Dorothy Parker trail leading from the Ansonia at 2108 Broadway (one of New York's most famous apartment blocks: Parker lived around the corner), to the 1925 birthplace of the New Yorker magazine at West 47th Street, where Parker worked, and on for cocktails at the Algonquin Hotel. Then there are all the great feminist museums: the Elizabeth A Sackler Center for Feminist Art, for instance, at the Brooklyn Museum in New York, which includes a gallery devoted to Judy Chicago's "vaginas on plates" sculpture, The Dinner Party.Maybe I will even start a "Sylvia Plath does New York" fund for when Vera turns 16. We will stay at the Barbizon Hotel at 63rd and Lexington â which was once women-only â wearing dresses with matching bags, as Plath did. We'll lunch near the one-time offices of Mademoiselle at 575 Madison Avenue where Plath was an intern. Or we'll criss-cross Massachusetts in a turquoise 1966 Thunderbird Convertible à la Thelma and Louise in honour of Louisa May Alcott, tattered copies of my favourite childhood book, Little Women, in tow. More likely though, we might just go to Stockwell when the weather warms up and take a look at that Bronze Woman, holding her baby triumphantly aloft. As long as there's an ice-cream van nearby, I'm sure Vera will be up for it.For anyone who wants to explore women's lives and history, here are some other great ideas for feminist pilgrimages.Bath: Jane AustenAusten lived in Bath from 1801 to 1806. The Jane Austen Centre at 40 Gay Street is gearing up for September's Austen Festival which features "the opportunity to dress throughout the week in 18th-century Regency costume". You can have "tea with Mr Darcy" (a £10.50 high tea with cucumber sandwiches, scones and cream) all year round. Those keen for an Elizabeth Bennett-style constitutional can download a free audio walking tour "In the footsteps of Jane Austen" at visitbath.co.uk. There is also a "Jane for the day" suggested timetable: "12.45pm: Visit the Assembly Rooms: in Jane's day, guests assembled for balls, to drink tea, play cards, listen to music or just to talk and flirt. 3pm: Stroll around the streets Jane would have known."Sussex: Virginia Woolf"It is not so much a house as a phenomenon." So wrote Quentin Bell of Charleston, the country home between Eastbourne and Lewes that was used by the writers, artists and thinkers known as the Bloomsbury group in the early 20th century. Virginia and Leonard Woolf originally spotted this late-17th-century Sussex farmhouse, situated at the foot of the South Downs, and coaxed Virginia's sister, Vanessa Bell, to move there in 1916. It reopens for the summer on 31 March, with special tours on Fridays.The Woolfs' own country home was Monk's House near Lewes, East Sussex (nationaltrust.org.uk). This property is occupied by tenants so is open only for short visits on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons between April and October. But there is the ideal pilgrimage on Saturday 26 June: an eight-mile walk "In the Footsteps of Virginia Woolf", from Monk's House to Charleston, with lunch at local stately home Firle Place (£25). To book tickets, call Charleston on 01323 811626 (charleston.org.uk).Washington: Michelle ObamaThe Smithsonian's National Museum of American History (on the National Mall, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue) has hundreds of exhibits commemorating the women's reform movement. The museum's First Ladies' Collection celebrates the influence of presidents' wives and has been one of the most popular exhibitions for the last 100 years, including archive material, diaries, memorabilia and costumes. This week, the white chiffon Jason Wu gown Michelle Obama wore to the inaugural balls went on show for the first time.For another tribute to Obama, head to her favourite takeout joint, Good Stuff Eatery at 303 Pennsylvania Avenue SE in Washington DC for a "Prez Obama" burger or to Ben's Chilli Bowl at 1213 U Street NW for the Obamas' favourite half-smoke chilli dog. Nearby Busboys and Poets (2021 14th Street), a cafe and bookshop, hosts feminist events and has a huge feminist book collection.Amsterdam: Anne Frank "Now our Secret Annexe has truly become secret . . . Mr Kugler thought it would be better to have a bookcase built in front of the entrance to our hiding place. It swings out on its hinges and opens like a door." The canal house at 163 Prinsengracht was the hiding place of the young Jewish girl Anne Frank and her family during the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam, and there are numerous tours of the city that include the house, where you can visit the annexe where Frank wrote her secret diary. The house opens at 9am, and it is best to visit early to avoid queues (annefrank.org).Paris: Simone de BeauvoirAs the French travel bible Guide du Routard notes, "In the winter Simone de Beauvoir came always first thing in the morning to the [Café] Flore to have a seat near the stove. Sartre recreated the atmosphere of an English club. Everybody listened to jazz, read poems or played little acts." Pay homage to the great feminist philosopher over a café au lait at Café Flore, before downloading a walking tour from St Germain to the Louvre at girlsguidetoparis.com for $1.98 (£1.30). This takes in 60 Rue de Seine where de Beauvoir once lived, and while you are strolling, remember: one is not born a woman, one becomes one.⢠Wonderful Women of Whitechapel and Spitalfields starts at 11am on 13 March. Tickets can be booked through the Women's Library on 020-7320 2222. Battling Belles of Bow, 11am on Saturday 5 June, follows in the footsteps of Sylvia Pankhurst. For more information on other tours, email rachel@smallcake.co.uk or visit goeastlondon.co.ukWomenFeminismJane AustenVirginia WoolfMichelle ObamaSimone de BeauvoirViv Groskopguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
March 11th, 2010
Passengers must wait for BA strike dates
Union leaders representing thousands of British Airways cabin crew kept the airline waiting for any decisions on strikes today after again holding back from announcing dates for industrial action.
March 11th, 2010
Dog holidays: the best in show
As Crufts opens, we reveal our top holiday suggestions for dog lovers, from dog spas to husky-sledding.
March 11th, 2010
Ambitious £30bn high-speed rail network proposed
An ambitious £30 billion plan for a high-speed rail (HSR) network was proposed today by the Government.
March 11th, 2010
Simon Reeve's Tropic of Cancer top 10
Simon Reeve visited 18 countries for his new television series Tropic of Cancer, which starts on BBC2 on Sunday, March 14, at 8pm, and sees him travelling around the northern border of Earthâs tropical region.
March 11th, 2010
Hopes raised for battered airline industry
Hopes for the battered airline industry were raised today after the global aviation body predicted a strong recovery this year as passengers take to the skies again.
March 11th, 2010
£30bn high-speed rail network gets go-ahead
A new £30 billion high-speed rail (HSR) network, with 250mph trains, was announced today by the Government.
March 11th, 2010
Matt on travel: airport expansion
Our favourite Matt cartoons on the subject of airport expansion, at Stansted and Heathrow.
March 11th, 2010
Network Rail workers vote in favour of strikes
Thousands of Network Rail maintenance workers have voted strongly in favour of strikes in a row over jobs, bringing the threat of industrial action over Easter closer, it was announced today.
March 11th, 2010
Video breaks: Marcel Theroux in Cambodia
Marcel Theroux takes a trip upriver in Cambodia and samples some famous (and infamous) street food in Siem ReapElliot SmithMarcel Theroux
March 11th, 2010
Great Himalayan Trail
For the first time walkers can take a guided trek traversing the entire length of the Himalayas in NepalIn pictures: The Great Himalayan TrailHave you got six months off? Do you fancy a long walk? If so, World Expeditions may have just the holiday for you. They have become the only trekking outfit to offer a guided trip along the first completed section of the Great Himalayan Trail (GHT). Stretching for 1,700km along the length of Nepal, the GHT will take you a mere 157 days to complete. You'll see eight of the world's 14 peaks over 8,000m, including Everest, and cross passes reaching up to 6,000m, climbing a total of 150,000m. That's a Snowdon every day for half a year. Oh, and it will set you back £20,500.The GHT isn't the world's longest long-distance footpath. The Continental Divide Trail in the US is 5,000km and the Trans Canada will be three times that. But this steroidal version of the Pennine Way looks like being the most coveted of all. Eventually, the trail's originators hope it will stretch from the mighty 8,000m peak Nanga Parbat in Pakistan, considered the westernmost outlier of the Himalaya, to Namche Barwa in Tibet. It will connect five Asian countries - Bhutan, China, India, Nepal and Pakistan. That version will stretch for 4,500km, but there is no completion date confirmed for such a huge undertaking. For now, the focus is on Nepal - with the first guided treks starting next year. As well as being an enormous challenge, the GHT could also prove to be a welcome money-spinner for a country still recovering from 10 years of civil war. Some parts of Nepal have benefited hugely from tourism, like the Everest and Annapurna regions. Those areas without such famous mountains, particularly in remote western Nepal, haven't fared nearly so well.Last year, I trekked along a section of the GHT through the Mugu district of western Nepal, a remote region peopled by Tibetan traders and animist tribes. Thousands of people were relying on aid from the World Food Programme, flown in by helicopter with the nearest roads a week's walk away. Many young men leave to find work abroad. Tourism, for all its faults, could really make a difference here.Several adventurous souls have travelled the arc of the Himalaya before, while Richard and Adrian Crane, cousins of television presenter Nicholas Crane, actually ran it in 1983. But the idea of a defined and designated route for trekkers is more recent. In 2006, the Dutch development agency SNV and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development based in Kathmandu committed to developing the idea, and have brought together government agencies and local people.But it's the hard work of one man, Australian trekker Robin Boustead, that has moved the project along most. After years of research (read his account here), he completed the trek in two sections, and has drawn an excellent free map of the trail's route as well as writing a guidebook. Every water source, camping ground and elevation has been meticulously logged with GPS, but he says that the route will undoubtedly develop as more people do it and discover better alternatives.For those without the time â or the knees â to do the whole thing in one go, Boustead has broken the GHT down into nine sections, which you can pick off at your leisure. And if you think 20 grand is a lot of chapatties to spend on an adventure holiday, it's still a lot less than the current price of a trip up Everest â and a lot more exclusive. There have been four thousand ascents of the world's highest mountain, but only one man has done the GHT.⢠The Nepal stretch of the Great Himalayan Trail guided with World Expeditions opens in February 2011. It costs £20,500, not including interntaional flights. It takes 157 days to complete, although it can be broken down to seven smaller stages up to 34 days. For more information and bookings call World Expeditions on 0800 0744 135 or visit worldexpeditions.co.ukNepalWalking holidaysAdventure travelNepalEd Douglasguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
March 11th, 2010
The worldâs 12 sexiest cities
ROME
March 10th, 2010
Ask Tom: your travel dilemmas answered
Lonely Planet's Tom Hall answers your questions on worldwide travel. This week: is Colombia really a safe destination and can you do Cairo in a day?Email Tom for help planning your next tripWhy is it that we hear so little about Colombia? I know that they had trouble years ago with drug gangs etc, but I've heard that it's settled now and is an absolutely beautiful country. A couple of friends have travelled away from the usual coastal areas to the main coffee area around Armenia and said the Andean scenery was stunning. I'm thinking of going in the summer and would like to go to the central area, not the touristy coast. Can you help?Name and address suppliedOnce the South American country to avoid, Colombia is continuing a recent come-back, and is now far safer with a wild mix of destinations that take in the Andes, the Caribbean, the Amazon and the Pacific. The Guardian listed it as one of the destinations of the decade, and its South America correspondent only warned against the remote areas. One of the great Andean destinations, actually, is Bogota, one of South America's most engaging capitals. The cobblestone core of La Candelaria is a student-filled area with a wonderful free museum of Botero's plus-sized sculptures and cafes selling canelazo tea (spiked with aguardiente), and the sushi bars and salsatecas around northern neighborhoods like Zona Rose and Parque 93 are for the dress-up crowd. The classic Colombian route still hugs the coast, taking in Cartagena, Caribbean beaches and then hitting an island or two. If you'd rather take in the attractions of the interior, you could do a loop out of Bogota first heading north via colonial towns like Barichara and Mompos (or Mompox) to Cartagena. If you want to do the jungle trek to Ciudad Perdida (the Lost City), then you can head north-east from here to Santa Marta to arrange the hike. Then you can head back south to Medellin to explore the Zona Cafetera â the coffee lands that your friends were rightly raving about - and the nature reserves around Manizales and the Valle de Cocora outside Salento. You can reverse again at Cali, after you've visited the archaeological ruins at Tierradentro and San Agustin, before returning to Bogota via the striking landscape of the Tatacoa Desesrt. Ciudad Perdida is an ancient Tayrona site you trek in to over three days.Provided you don't go too far off the beaten track, you're likely to come away thinking Colombia feels as safe as anywhere else in South America, though frequent military checkpoints are a reminder of a less stable past. Apart from the Colombian tourism authority's snappy assertion that "The only risk is wanting to stay", the main concern is of theft when out and about in big cities. Take taxis after dark and seek local advice on any no-go areas.Are there any Buddhist monasteries near Nara in Japan that people can visit and then stay the night? If so, can you recommend an authentic one?Marie Hynes, Ireland Here are a few authentic options to try near Nara, recommended by the Japan National Tourist Office ⢠The temple at Hosenji, 40 miles and a couple of hours by train. ⢠Closer is the Soto International Zen Center at Nanyoji, 10 miles from Nara. ⢠Taizoin is located in north-west Kyoto but gets good reviews.⢠The Temple Lodging in Japan website lists a number for Nara.I am travelling to Cyprus in May and was considering going to Cairo on a daytrip. Is it safe for westerners and can you recommend a tour company?James Mullaney, by email These tours take advantage of Cairo's proximity to Cyprus â flying from Pafos takes less than an hour. It's a pretty breathless day, requiring an early start and taking in the Pyramids and the Sphinx before lunch. After a bite to eat, usually in a centrally-located hotel, it's off to the Egyptian Museum, sometimes with time for a quick Nile cruise and a couple of compulsory stops at shops for "demonstrations" of their wares. You'll get back to your hotel in the small hours. The trips run during the summer season. Cairo is a safe and exciting city and there's certainly no risk involved other than frustration at the time you spend stuck some of the Egyptian capital's traffic jams and not having longer to explore further. Regency Travel is the main company running this tour, charging around £324 for the all-inclusive day trip, but I don't have any experience of using them. If any readers do, please get in touch.Your help would be hugely appreciated to plan our summer holiday. We would like to spend two weeks in Austria over the summer. A rough itinerary would be Vienna or Salzburg for two-three days, around eight days hiking (with some rest days in between) and then finish up in a really nice hotel for three days for some well needed R&R. For the hiking, we would like to see the best that Austria has to offer - stunning mountains, lakes, meadows, rural villages etc. We are both quite fit but don't want any hiking that would involve a lot of experience or technical climbing skills. We would like to stay in authentic Austrian B&Bs with homely food or stunningly located serviced mountain huts. What areas/rough itineraries would you recommend? Also, do you have any recommendations for companies that transfer your luggage, as this is on option we are seriously considering? And we would like to finish up in a really nice hotel with spa and excellent food in a gorgoeous location ...Carol Houlihan, by email I asked Austria expert and guidebook author Neal Bedford for a few suggestions. He says: "If they're looking for lakes and mountains, then they have the choice between Carinthia or the Salzkammergut. Both will be busy in July. The Salzkammergut is easily accessible from Salzburg, and offers some great hiking, for instance around Dachstein (near the former celtic settlement of Hallstatt), where there are cable cars to high altitudes and mountain huts all around. Or, if they're travelling by car, they could traverse the Grossglockner road in Osttirol, while heading from Salzburg to Carinthia, and end their drive at Weissensee." The location, with a lake at 995m and chairlifts into the mountains with hiking all around is both fit for your purpose and and very traditionally Austrian."From there, they could drive east to Styria/Burgenland and the region's thermal spas. Bad Blumau was designed by noted Austrian architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser and is a pretty funky place, but cheaper options include spas at Loipersdorf and Bad Waltersdorf. From there, it's an easy couple of hours by car or train to Vienna."For more on Austria, visit: austria.info/ukColombiaAustriaCairoEgyptWalking holidaysTom Hallguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
March 10th, 2010
Camera phone travel photo tips
See a gallery of 12 images from the exhibition below left
March 9th, 2010
A guide's view of Petra
Mat Heywood puts one local's knowledge to the test on a tour of Jordan's 'rose-red city'Mat Heywood
March 9th, 2010
Video clips of the month: mountain biking
As the first signs of spring tempt more of us back in the saddle, this month's video round-up features our pick of MTB films and clips from the internetThis month's video chart is all about mountain biking. So basically broken bones, scabs and some moments that will bring a tear to your eye, all against backdrops of rather large and unforgiving hills. Here are our favourites but there's plenty of room for you to add yours below. 1. What better way to kick off than with Sheffield's Steve Peat finally becoming World Champion? There are lots of clips from the Canberra race in 2009 which saw him squeeze past Greg Minnaar and achieve a dream, but most of them have terrible music. Plus this one shows him doing what he predicted he would do if he won â cry. Can anyone else feel their heartstrings being pulled? 2. Next up is one of the most inspiring and beautiful MTB films ever made. Fact. Seasons raised the bar when it was released in 2008. It follows seven riders over four seasons, with everything from dirt jumping to downhill covered. Highlight has to be Andrew Shandro proving that he may be old, but boy can he still ride that BC North Shore. Oh, and Cam McCaul gets a bonus point for laying claim to his own forehead. 3. Of course there is more to MTB than big jumps. Here's a taste of the Great Divide Race that sees competitors charge from Canada to Mexico in just over two weeks, climbing the equivalent height of Everest seven times. No wonder they all look like whippets. 4. Is it worth pointing out that girls ride bikes too? Round of applause to Women of Dirt for finally capturing the obvious on film. 5. Rumour has it that the Red Bull Rampage could well be back in the first week of October 2010. In other words insane freeriding in the dusty wilds of Utah makes a return after a two-year absence. Huge jumps, hilariously scary lines and the kind of cojones not usually associated with homo sapiens. In other words: mountain biking at its best. And to prove it, here's a clip from the legendary MBUK production Dirt circa 1995 and starring the much missed Jason McRoy. Compare and contrast - we've come a long way people. 6. And finally. At some point it was going to become necessary to bow to the views of those in the know. Both Tracy Moseley, Trek's downhill champ and Jess Stone, 2 Stage bikes' newest ripper insisted that the Steve Peat (him again) and Nathan Rennie section from Progression - Kranked 6 be included. And they are right - it's amazing.Extreme sports holidaysCycling holidaysExtreme sportsSusan Greenwoodguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
March 8th, 2010
The Aborigines who've walked for 40,000 years
Aborigines have handed down songs and legends about their lands for generations. Today they form an unbroken link to a mythical past â and a key to the futureImagine a beginning, when man and woman first named the world. A "Songline" or "Dreaming Track" in the Australian outback can still be walked, perhaps by the Arrernte or Pintupi or other Aboriginal peoples, and for them, it is nothing less than creation, the world sung into existence by naming all plants and animals and the landscape itself. Reaching back at least 40,000 years, a singer can find his or her way along the ancient path of one of the "Ancestors" retracing a Lizard Dreaming, or a Kangaroo Dreaming, or a Rain-Maker Dreaming, refreshing existence and "singing up the land".The outback is a different place entirely to what I had expected: welcoming, safe, the snakes all asleep in this season. We're in John's country, his home. A wide, dry river of red sand with old white trees, thick trunks. John Kemarre Cavanaugh is a traditional landowner, an Arrernte man who still follows traditional Aboriginal law. He comes from a family of healers and cracks jokes about "witch doctors". He's invited me here to Urlpmerre, his country east of Alice Springs, along with his "old men", Ken and Frankie Tilmouth, who are his kwertengwerle, his ritual caretakers, related through a maternal line. He can't tell stories in his land or make decisions about the land without their presence and approval. And he fulfils the same role for them on their land.In the centre of John's country, Rain-Maker tracks head off in all directions, a crossroads for all of Australia. An Emu Dreaming crosses through here, too, and John shows me the flat plateau that is the emu's nest. Two small hills beside it are the emu chicks. "Dingo come bite old man Emu in his side," John says, and points to a sharp saddle cut into the ridge, "and the emu chicks all run that way.""So someone following the Emu Dreaming follows the way the chicks ran off?" I ask."Yes," he says. "We go there now. A Rain-Maker Dreaming track go that way also. Kwatye ke artweye. It means Rain-Maker, owner of water."John owns the Rain-Maker Dreaming here, and he's responsible for it as far as the boundaries of his country, where other traditional owners take over. He can follow the dreaming through their land, but only if he's invited. He's also responsible for other dreamings that pass through his land, including the emu and goanna, or lizard, and he knows their songs, too. But his most private dreaming, most sacred, is his altyerre, the possum. Altyerre means something like totem, but it also means dreamtime, creation time. The altyerre is given at birth or during pregnancy according to a sign, which could be a kangaroo crossing a mother's path, or a birthmark. John won't tell me about the possum. He asks Ken, and Ken says "possum all through here", but they don't say more, because John's altyerre is "men's business" â sacred, closed to outsiders and women, neighbours and boys. To tell me would be against traditional law.Australia, the recent movie with Nicole Kidman, dramatises what happened to the "stolen generation", children born of Aboriginal mothers but fathered by white men, removed from their mothers and sent to missions. But full-blooded Aboriginal children were taken away from their families, too, and this is a story less well-known.John was born in 1957 and taken away from his parents by missionaries. When we visit these old places, John doesn't say much. It's not until early one morning that John sits by the still-smouldering coals of the night's fire, drawing with a stick in the sand. The dormitory of Santa Theresa Mission, a line coming from either side, showing the yard separated, one side for boys, the other for girls. "If you're playing, and a ball go over this line, you can't cross. They watching us like hawks, all the time. My older sister like a stranger to me."John's parents were nearby, and he would sometimes see them lining up to collect rations, but he couldn't wave to them. They'd just look at each other across the yard in silence. "Christian people done cruel things to Aboriginal people. It was like a prison. Small windows, lock us in. Children want to see their mothers and fathers. In 1967, when the freedom act happened, they finally send the children back, but many go back to empty houses. Their parents dead or gone. It's too late."John ran away from the mission several times before this referendum. He thinks he may have been about seven years old when he first ran away, but he can't remember. "Those years missing," he says. John didn't have his first paid job until 1973. By then he'd worked for almost 10 years for white men for free. What amazes me about John is that he's still open-hearted, not bitter or angry, though he'd be more than justified. He wants to share his story, wants to invite outsiders to his land, wants different peoples to understand each other.We walk along flat, open country, red dirt and spinifex grass, a few short trees, along a Rain-Maker Dreaming. "Old Man wakes up hungry," John says, and his arm raises up, showing far back, dreamtime. "He asks two girls, his wives, to get him some yams and other bush tucker â witchetty grubs and other things, and have a feed. They go out and gather a lot of tucker, but they decide to build a fire and eat it all themselves. The old man is watching from on top a hill, though. He sends rain for them, a big storm, lot of water, and they run, but the earth becomes soft and they sink in, like quicksand. They have that here," John points off to our side, "like quicksand."We walk on through flat land, and John shows me where a group of kangaroos has taken advantage of a fallen tree as a windbreak. "Big mob," he says, "stay the night." I can see their distinctive tail tracks all around, and droppings, and the red earth dug up where they lay down. Then John shows me scorpion diggings. "Not a good place to camp," he laughs.John tells another story for this place called Ambalindum. "See those mountains, the woman in front, and two men." I see smaller hills in front of a large mountain. "Baby crawls away from mother, goes a long way off. Night and day that baby would crawl. Crawls to the waterhole for a drink. Baby smelling water. That's where the old men was eating frog. They see that kid coming along and they took off with it. Mother followed the track. Mother been chasing. Big battle with them two. She gives them a beating, takes that child back. Story from thousands of years, was told, dreamtime story."Then John squats down and draws in the dirt, shows how aboriginal art tells the story. He draws a circle for Ambalindum, a homestead in the Northern Territory, and a larger circle around it for this country. Then three fingers, spread, to draw three wavy lines coming to the circle. "This here is the river." The ends of four fingers to make dots all along the banks of the river. "These the possums, all along here, going for a drink." Then he draws half circles facing the river. "These the people, sitting by the river, looking." Then John stands and scuffs out the painting with his boot."Why do you always erase?""Don't want people looking," he says. "Come along behind, see what I draw."We come to a large riverbed lined by the largest red river gum trees I've seen yet, root-bases 10ft wide. "Crow Dreaming up here. Water-hole, important story, crow come and take a drink. Let me ask Old Ken and then I'll tell you."When we arrive at the rock hole, Ken and Frankie are waiting. A fire is going. It's almost noon. "We have a feed," John says, "then take a rest."I'd like to hear the Crow Dreaming story, of course, but I eat lunch and wait, and we sit for a long time. When it seems we're leaving, though, I ask, "Is it OK to tell the story here, for the rock hole? Is it a public story?"John talks with Ken in Arrernte while Frankie looks on. "I don't think there's a story," Ken finally says. "Just a name. Angerle. Crow." So Ken has said no. As kwertengwerle, he's decided John can't share this story.We drive to the other end of the valley, to another boundary of John's land. "A sacred place," Ken says. "I'll show you. A women's place." We walk along a cattle fenceline. "Rain-Maker Dreaming all through here," John says, and he shows it with a sweep of his arm. I can't help thinking of a thousand generations ago, their ancestors following this same dreaming, crossing this same open plain.We come to a lone tree. "Red river gum usually in creeks," John says. "Unnatural here. Far away from any creek."Ken begins to sing. A low, beautiful song, similar to Native American songs, three beats higher and four lower, almost a call and response, but one singer. He sings and watches me, points to a round water hole, dry now, reddish plants in the yellow spinifex. "Old man here, this tree," he says. "Women come across from there, want to take him away, want to get married. But old man want to stay here. Women all around this water hole. He struck by lightning." Ken points at how the two trunks divide, an old lightning strike. "But old man, he never leave." Then Ken sings the song again, and encourages me to try.I stumble over the words. "Just try to get the tune," John says, and I try my best to sing with the men. The open landscape, the incomprehensible sweep of time, these men who have something none of the rest of us have, a continuous tie to songs, to stories, to art, to law, to a country and a path all going back at least 40,000 years. No other humans can claim this. It's difficult to believe that anything can pass down unchanged, though, for a thousand generations. Is that really possible? I also have trouble disengaging my modern critical mind. They've shared this song because it's "women's business" and therefore not as sacred. All the stories have been warnings to women. Don't lose your baby, don't keep anything from your husband. I think I'm wanting too much.We drive on next to a hill of dark, exposed rock called "black hair", where dreamtime ancestors passed through, coming all the way from the Port Augusta area, on the way to where Darwin is now â thousands of miles, naming everything along the way, every hill and rock, every bush, every tree, every rock hole and watercourse, remembered still.And there is a story, but it's a story I can't hear. Part of me wishes they would tell it, because I'm afraid otherwise it may be lost, and what if it is an ancient story? With roads, cars, alcohol, genocide, the destruction of a land and a group of peoples, I'm afraid it will all go away. I doubt anyone walks a full songline or dreaming track any more. I doubt they travel a thousand miles or even walk the full extent of their section of a dreaming, to their boundaries. John's told me he doesn't, and that no one he knows does. As Herman Malbunka, another Aboriginal elder, has told me, "It's tough to walk that songline now." I don't believe the songs can remain intact if they're not walked. The story is in the landscape."We should do a longer trip," John says. "All the way from Port Augusta. This just the middle of the dreaming. We should start at the beginning." We'd have to get permission from all the families for 2,000 miles, and John says there are gaps, some places where the families haven't passed down the stories. He knows the trip is probably impossible, but he wants to do it anyway, before it's too late.AustraliaAustraliaSocial historyguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
March 6th, 2010
Europe's 100 sexiest summer villas
France
March 6th, 2010
20 best family getaways for Easter
Havenât booked your Easter holiday yet? If youâre desperate for some sun after such a harsh winter, you may have come a cropper.
March 5th, 2010
Top 50 child-free holidays
Cool hotels
March 5th, 2010
Secrets of Stieg's Stockholm
Some people go to Stockholm to wonder at the royal palaces and the Vasa, the 17th-century warship that is one of Europeâs archaeological treasures. Not us. We have been touring the crummy part of town for hours, knee-deep in snow, looking for a woman who goes by the description of a âtattooed bisexual computer hacker with intimate piercingsâ.
March 5th, 2010
Spa Breaks: New Hall Hotel and Spa, Sutton Coldfield
FROM Morocco and Malta to quintessentially English countryside retreats, we take you to the world's most glamorous, pampering places.
February 16th, 2010
