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Apr 2009
A Tale of Three Households, Part 1: Ripley Castle
30/04/09 11:36 Filed in: England
There’s a good chance your living room features a ’70s era portrait of your dad sporting stalker glasses and a moustache. That’s, like, sooo vintage, man! 
Try Ripley Castle in North Yorkshire, England, where the ancestral paintings span 700 years. The breathtaking property - now open as a museum, has been continuously inhabited by the Ingilby family since 1309. The current Ingilby is Sir Thomas (see portrait, below), who still lives in an apartment within the home.
The rest - including 2,000 acres of land - is open to the public. So much for the days of hunting, fishing and sneering away the afternoon.
“The aristocracy has changed so much in the last 60-70 years,” guide Eric Campbell tells me. “He’s inheriting a business, really.”
On the upside, everyday paupers like yours truly now get to drink in all the splendour. Ripley Castle is loaded with neat features such as the library,
which includes a 1559 medical handbook called....do you have a few minutes?.... The Secrets of the Revered Master Alexis of Piedmont Containing Many Excellent Remedies.
I climbed in.
I got bored.
But I suppose that’s nothin’ to complain about when you consider Francis’ fate. His Catholicism was eventually exposed...and so were his guts: he was hung, drawn and quartered (it’s 16th century England, what did you expect, 15 hours of community service?!)
Try Ripley Castle in North Yorkshire, England, where the ancestral paintings span 700 years. The breathtaking property - now open as a museum, has been continuously inhabited by the Ingilby family since 1309. The current Ingilby is Sir Thomas (see portrait, below), who still lives in an apartment within the home.
The rest - including 2,000 acres of land - is open to the public. So much for the days of hunting, fishing and sneering away the afternoon.
“The aristocracy has changed so much in the last 60-70 years,” guide Eric Campbell tells me. “He’s inheriting a business, really.”
On the upside, everyday paupers like yours truly now get to drink in all the splendour. Ripley Castle is loaded with neat features such as the library,
Another curiosity lies in the lovely wood-panelled Tudor Room: the PRIEST HOLE, a hiding place for those turbulent times when it was illegal to be Catholic in England (Francis Ingilby was a covert priest, you see).Bald? It prescribes “Take three frogs, fry them alive in a pot and apply to your head.” (Thinking I might have to patent this formula, if only so I can brand it FROGAINE).
I got bored.
But I suppose that’s nothin’ to complain about when you consider Francis’ fate. His Catholicism was eventually exposed...and so were his guts: he was hung, drawn and quartered (it’s 16th century England, what did you expect, 15 hours of community service?!)
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The Man in the Khaki Hat
25/04/09 17:21 Filed in: Gear | On the Road With...
Want to hear about a hat trick? Alex Tilley turned a single hat into a travel wear empire that spans 18 countries and 2,600 stores.
In 1980, Ontario-born Tilley was just an amateur sailor with a thorn in his side: his hat kept hitching a ride in the wind.
So, purely as a hobby, he set about designing his own stay-put headwear.
He teamed up with a milliner, a seamstress and a sail maker. The original Tilley Hat was born and before long other sailors wanted one, too.
Tilley also designed a pair of sailing shorts with a reinforced rear, but those were a bit of a flop. But then a man asked him to create a similar pair of pants - not for sailing, but for travel. From that moment, it was anchor’s aweigh for Tilley Endurables.
Now there are six family-owned Tilley-brand stores in Canada (the flagship store is on Don Mills Road) and the hats come in 30 styles, 9 fabrics, 13 sizes and 24 colours.
The Star recently sat down for a chin wag with the man in the khaki hat. Read More...
Ask the Mask
25/04/09 17:15 Filed in: Gear
$30 at www.mytagalongs.com
From my weekly travel gear column in
Operation: Unfrump
21/04/09 20:31 Filed in: Gear
By Reb Stevenson
(Photos by Billy Reid)
Fashion: it’s a dirty word amongst “Real” Travellers.
Real Travellers rise above the vanity. Real Travellers pack light. Real Travellers don schlubby khaki shirts as they focus on virtuous things like broadening cultural horizons.
Real Travellers look like crap.
Lest you think I’m judging from the sidelines, let me tell you about the time I alternated between two pairs of pants for six months.
The low point was Rome. Sleek Italian women graced any old sidewalk with the style prowess of Iman on the catwalk while I clomped around in hiking shoes and droopy cargo pants that - after two months of continuous wear – were starting to serve as a scrapbook of souvenir stains from my trip.
Even the men looked prettier than me. Ouch.
Then again, nobody wants to be that ditzy fashionista who packs a wardrobe-on-wheels for one night of camping.
Practicality counts. Hidden compartments, zip-off sleeves and quick-drying fabrics are beneficial.
But the fundamental problem with purpose-made travel clothing is that it usually makes you look like you’re either on safari or kayaking.
However, there’s good news: nowadays travel togs can be both flattering and functional. You just need to know where to look and how to pack. Read More...
Reinventing Yourself Through Travel
17/04/09 09:19 Filed in: Books | Active Travel
You can’t afford the trip.
Giraffes scare the bejeezus out of you.
Adventure travel is for young men with six-pack abs.
Go on…make all the excuses you want. But Carol Patterson won’t buy them.
The Calgary-based author of a new book called Reinventure: How Travel Adventure Can Change Your Life, Patterson urges you to tackle risks head-on.
Why? Not so you can flaunt a stamp-riddled passport or show off a new Turkish carpet at your next neighbourhood gathering.
For Patterson, the true reward of travel is something intangible: personal growth. Read More...
Jet Pack Mentality
13/04/09 14:40 Filed in: Gear
$79.99 at Capital City Luggage (1337 Wellington Street West in Ottawa) or online at www.lugtravel.com
From my weekly travel gear column in
Cadbury Secrets
09/04/09 09:38 Filed in: England
By Reb Stevenson
It nests temptingly near cash registers, fits neatly in the palm of your hand, and incubates a satisfying embryo of goo.
The Cadbury Creme Egg: like clockwork, the ubiquitous Easter confection reappears each Spring.
But, despite its dependability, there is still a shroud of mystery surrounding the Creme Egg: just what is that filling? Why does it vanish after Easter? And is there a chocolate hen involved?
You’ll find the answers at Cadbury World in Bournville, England.
Read More...
White Knuckling at Carrick-a-Rede
08/04/09 05:32 Filed in: Ireland
It’s a lovely 1km walk along the blustery coastline to reach the bridge. If you enjoy 10,000 shades of green, dramatic cliffs and noisy gulls, you’ll be in heaven.
Luckily, with ropes on either side, the fear factor is significantly reduced these days. Mind you, when the wind swoops in and greets the bridge with a mighty blast, it does make you wonder whether YOU’LL be the next thing that’s fished out of the salty depths.
The Friendly Giant's Causeway
05/04/09 15:28 Filed in: Ireland
The Giant’s Causeway was crawling with average-sized folk this afternoon. And, I must say, this unique natural phenomenon does have HUGE appeal.
Those bizarre, hexagonal basalt columns are a result of ancient volcanic eruptions.
(Traveller’s Tip: The site is near the town of Bushmills, which boasts a quirky Inn with nooks and fireplaces and mashed potatoes and all that nice cosy stuff.)
Escape From L.A.
05/04/09 14:35 Filed in: USA
By Reb Stevenson
LOS ANGELES–Los Angeles is like its own surreal theme park.
There's valet parking at the iHop. Surgical procedures are advertised as casually as haircuts. Pedestrian? What's that? Is it a new SUV model? It's amusing, there's no doubt about it. But if you're not the type who shoots Botox for breakfast, all of the above can leave you spinning.
Good news: the escape route to nature is closer than you think. The next time you're in L.A. and gasping for air, leave the smoggy circus behind for the day and start rolling up the coast.
Read on HERE...
Ramble on (The South Downs)
02/04/09 19:03 Filed in: England
This past Sunday, I had the pleasure of rambling to from Lewes to Glynde (about 1 hour) with my English friends Julian and Andy Thomas. Andy is a presenter on Rocket FM and journalist Julian practically lives on the Downs, rambling for hours almost every day when he’s not sojourning in Hong Kong.
The roast lunch offers a choice of turkey, beef or lamb with roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding (oooh yeah), carrots, broccoli, cabbage and other assorted veggies on the side. And it’s all smothered in a pool of gravy.
For more on rambling, visit www.ramblers.org.uk or watch my video from last September.