There’s a llama nuzzling my chin. Her name is Truffle, she’s just turned 16-months-old and I’m about to take her for a walk.

I first became aware of the phenomenon of llama treks last year, over in Ireland watching a travel programme about a trip to a B&B in the countryside. Where they had llamas. And people took these llamas for a walk and it was calming, and it was restful, and it looked wonderful – a new form of mindfulness (being in the moment with a llama) and a more interesting way of meditating (thinking about a llama while walking). I googled llama treks and found a few places around Ireland that offered them. I read up on them all, then returned to London and did nothing more about it.
But the llama universe was clearly looking out for me. Because just six weeks later I had an invite from the Merry Harriers Inn in Surrey – not too far from where I live – for an overnight visit. And they had llamas…

I meet all ten of the llamas before we set off on the trek. Mungo is coming with us – he’s a few years older than Truffle and he’ll be walking with Fi – she’s a human (who says she has the best job in the world, leading llama treks year-round, weather permitting). I also meet Lorenzo, the baby of the family, just 8-months-old and too young yet for treks.
Llamas are friendly creatures, curious and loving and beautiful to look at. They are the stuff of viral videos. And they smile. Kittens – so over!

The only thing is, because they have three stomachs, they really like to eat a lot, spend 16 hours a day feeding – and don’t intend to stop just because they’re walking. So, I spend a substantial amount of the time trying to coax Truffle out of the hedges and away from foliage as we walk. With my inordinate charm? No, with a box of carrots, literally dangling a carrot in front of her to move her along. It’s quite a treat having her snuffle them out of my open palm though. Llamas, it turns out, also have ridiculously soft faces.
Treks take a couple of hours through the fields and countryside paths behind the Merrier Harriers inn. Or you can make a real trip of it and take a picnic (the llamas will carry the picnic basket and you can even have champagne).
When I’m not hanging out with llamas, I’m chilling in my shepherd’s hut or hobnobbing with the locals in the bar. There are five luxury huts set up in a field across the road from the inn and if this is a shepherd’s life, sign me up for a flock and crook now.

The inn also has accommodation in rooms over the pub or in pretty garden huts out the back (with views of the llamas). The inn itself is a 16the century pub – watercolours of it hang in Tate Britain – and serves food all day, with much of the produce sourced locally (some of it from their own garden).

The nearest station is Milford and trains run every hour from Clapham Junction, journey time is 40 minutes and then it’s a 10-minute taxi ride to the inn. If you’re driving, it’s off the A3 – follow the signs Milford and Haslemere.
The Merry Harriers is located in Hambledon in the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is rather outstandingly beautiful. But mainly, there are llamas.

OWN YOUR OWN LLAMA (mug): And now, the smiling llama has become immortalised in ‘mug’ – as part of a fundraising appeal to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support, set up by Lenses of Croydon. Photographer Robert Wilson Jr is a member of the group and donated this fabulous llama pic as part of the project. Read more and buy the mug here. (Other mugs are also available!)

I also wrote about the experience for The Scotsman – you can read the article here (it’s on page 2 – don’t panic

The Merry Harriers, Hambledon Road, Surrey GU8 4DR; phone 01428 682883; email enquiries@merryharriers.com. Inn rooms from £115 per night, garden rooms £110, shepherds’ huts £195, B&B

Photos copyright Rob Wilson Jnr at Fluid4Sight and Merry Harriers

It’s August and you haven’t booked to go away? No need! Opt for a staycation on the Isle of Wight instead – just a short trip on the ferry to this island off the south coast, you’ll feel you’re leaving the country without having to pack your passport. It’s the perfect destination for a short holiday, with great beaches, plenty of activities, interesting places to visit and a very good chance of fine weather. Or, if you’re close to the south coast, with crossing times of just 25 minutes on the brand-new Red Jet passenger ferry, it’s a day trip option as well.

The Isle of Wight is a beautiful spot. In 1963 half of the island was designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and 1974 its north west coast was recognised for the unspoilt natural beauty of its soft cliffs, woodlands, farmland and creeks and defined as the Hamstead Heritage Coast. It includes the National Trust land of Newtown National Nature Reserve and Forestry Commission woodland of Bouldnor Forest, and is a haven for wildlife, including the native red squirrel.

The opposite coast, with its rugged clay and sandstone cliffs was named as the Tennyson Heritage Coast. It includes the Needles chalk stacks and is a fossil rich coastline, well known for dinosaur footprints, chines and lighthouses.

Needless to say, this natural paradise is a big attraction for walkers and a coastal path winds its way around the island, accessed from Bouldnor near Yarmouth or Thorness near Cowes, with other footpaths from Newtown, Shalfleet and the surrounding areas leading across the fields and woodland to the coastline. Altogether there are 64 miles of coastal paths to rocky coves and dramatic clifftops and over 500 miles of footpaths on the island to suit both the gentle stroller and experienced hiker.

Isle of Wight: top things to do

1. Take a guided walk to discover local wildlife and landscapes or uncover the island’s dinosaur heritage on a fossil hunt. The island is often called ‘England in miniature’ and a walk will allow you to explore the very best of the English countryside, from sand dunes and coves to thatched villages and sailing towns. ‘Rambles by Bus’ have been developed by the Isle of Wight Ramblers and Southern Vectis to allow visitors to follow walks that start and end on a bus route.

2. Hire a bike once you land on the island – most ferry terminals are near a cycle route and the majority of routes are off-road, so suitable for all the family. There are over 200 miles of cycle tracks and off-road bridleways on the island and lots of cycle-friendly accommodation if you want to make this the focus of your visit. Some local businesses offer baggage transfers so you can cycle unimpeded from place to place.

3. Pay a visit to Queen Victoria’s former home, Osborne, with its own private beach. The monarch’s former home was owned privately and kept as a summer home and place of retreat for herself, Prince Albert and their family. Writing about it she said, “It is impossible to imagine a prettier spot”. Now owned by English Heritage, it is one of the island’s most popular tourist attractions, its grand rooms, including the family’s private apartments, still full of their possessions, including many of the gifts Prince Albert gave his wife. Outside the extensive grounds house a beautiful Victorian walled garden, the Swiss Cottage built for the royal children and woodland that runs down to a private beach. Admission is £15 for adults, £9 for children under 15, more information here.

4. See Carisbrooke Castle, where the deposed king Charles I was incarcerated before his beheading. The castle is over 1,000 years old and began life as an Anglo-Saxon fortress, built to provide refuge from the Vikings. As well as a prison, it has also been used as an Elizabethan artillery fortress and royal summer residence. Today, as well as its fascinating history, you will find donkeys working the 16th century treadwheel and an Edwardian-style Princess Beatrice Garden, designed by TV presenter and award-winning garden designer, Chris Beardshaw.
Adults £8.80, Children £5.20, more information here.

5. Visit the spectacularly sited clifftop fort and Victorian coastal defence, the Needles Old Battery for the best views of the iconic Needles, one of the island’s landmarks. You can explore its history through exhibitions, displays and memorabilia and take a trip into its underground tunnel for more spectacular views.
Adults £7.50, children £3.75, more information here.

6. Travel back in time on the island’s west coast, where you’ll find Stone Age burial tombs – long barrows – around Freshwater Bay and above the village of Mottistone. Barrows are also strung out along the tops of the downs at Headon Warren and Brook Down.

7. Go on a dinosaur hunt. Rapidly becoming known as Dinosaur Island, the cliffs and beaches around the coast are full of animal and plant fossils, with the oldest rocks formed back when dinosaurs walked the earth. The yellow, brown and grey rocks exposed in the bays of Compton, Brook and Brighstone contain fossilised tress and dinosaur bones and giant casts of dinosaur footprints in stone are a famous feature at Hanover Point.

8. Hang out on the beach – there are plenty to choose from. Most popular are Sandown beach, Whitecliff Bay, Shanklin (pictured above), Brightstone and Gurnard.

For more information on all of the attractions above, see Visit the Isle of Wight website

Stay
Haven Hall on the west coast, overlooking Shanklin beach, is one of the most stunningly-located hotels on the island, a haven of 5-star luxury and just recently opened. Read all about it here.

Eat
Thompson’s in Newport is run by the youngest chef ever to win a Michelin star, Robert Thompson, and offers classic cooking with a modern touch, using lots of the island’s superb local produce. The Waterfront at Totland Bay has amazing views and great food.
The Isle of Wight is a bit of a foodie paradise, don’t leave without buying some of the wonderful local produce, including its famous garlic. Yes, it even has a garlic festival.

Drink
Fisherman’s Cottage at the end of Shanklin beach has outside tables that are just a few feet away from the sea. It also does very good food.

Getting there

Red Funnel runs a regular passenger (travel time 25 minutes) and car (travel time 1 hour) ferry service to the island from Southampton (including a free shuttle bus from Southampton train station), see details and timetables here.
It’s a dog friendly service – read more here.
Red Funnel has also produced a Days Out guide, with suggested itineraries for day trips and four self-guided day trip tour packages including Queen Victoria’s Osborne, Carisbrooke Castle and Newport, Olde-World England, around Godshill and Shanklin, and Dinosaur Isle & the Isle of Wight zoo. Packages include travel to and from the island and cost £29.95 per person and there is also a cycling package for £28 per person, including bike hire.
You can also take the Wightlink ferry from Portsmouth and Lymington or Hovertravel from Southsea.

After a week of wind and rain and a storm called Brendan (Brendan, seriously?), the hip replacement playing up (sometimes I wonder if they actually left the old one in) and general January “bleh”, Sunday’s glorious sunshine was like a bolt of energy from a beautiful blue sky. The weather called for a walk – and a proper walk, none of your urban strolling around a city park.

I went to Woldingham – 15 minutes from East Croydon on the train. Mainly because I like the name (it also happens to be the next station after Upper Warlingham, try being the announcer on that train with a hangover). But also because looking at the map of the area surrounding Croydon, Woldingham is on the edge of a big green bit.

I downloaded the All Trails app before I set off so I could follow a walking route – it was useless. I could see an overview of a possible route but to download the detail would have cost me a year’s subscription fee. So I did it the old-fashioned way and printed – yes, printed – the Woldingham Countryside Walk.

From information board outside Woldingham station, turn right along Church Road. Just before Church Road Farm, turn right over railway bridge and left towards Marden Park Farm. Continue up gently sloping bridleway, taking in views across the valley.

This is proper countryside – glorious vistas and sweeping views, made all the better by that huge expanse of blue sky and sunshine. There’s still signs of this morning’s frost, as well last week’s rains and God is that ‘gently sloping bridleway’ muddy. Don’t try this with trainers.

Bear right on tarmac road and then left through iron gates on to Horse Chestnut Avenue. Worth a look back to see view of 19th century mansion, once part of the Marden Park estate, established by Sir Robert Clayton, Lord Mayor of London.

Right, so I can’t see any sight of the 19th century mansion but it’s still a very nice view. Lord Clayton was a local 17th century politician, owned a bank and rebuilt St Thomas’ Hospital in London, though clearly had nothing to do with the mansion, which is now Woldingham School.

At South Lodge, bear left and then turn immediately left through squeeze gap into Marden Park. Climb steep 200m section of path with care.

It was steep but the view from the top of the hill was worth it – looking over Godstone and Bletchingley and, according to my map, views as far as the South Downs on a clear day. Which was news to me. I thought I was in the South Downs. But no. Turns out this is the North Downs.

The North Downs, according to my info, has inspired the likes of JM Turner, Jane Austen and Charles Dickens. Winston Churchill and Charles Darwin both lived nearby. The North Downs Way runs 153 miles from Surrey into Kent, following the Pilgrims Way to Canterbury Cathedral. Being fond of a cathedral, I like the idea of walking to Canterbury. But that’s for another day.

For now, I’m veering off my guided walk, 3 miles in. There’s another 3 miles to go if I want to stay on this route and end up back at Woldingham station. But a wander back down the hill to South Lodge leads me to “ancient woodland”.

Then this.

No, I wasn’t expecting that either. But then this.

So I follow the path down the road towards the vineyard, walking into clear blue sky.

And I come to this!

Result! Godstone Vineyard, a winery, cafe and wine shop bang in the middle of my healthy countryside walk. In the sunshine. So I take off my mucky boots, sit outside in the sunshine and a very nice lady brings me a cream tea.

The vineyard was set up in 1985 and currently produces about 15,000 bottles of local sparkling wine every year from its 10 acres. I had a small sample of both wines they produce – the white (excellent) and the rose (even more excellent, fine bodied and not the slightly wishy washy liquid rose can often be). Then I sat for another while in the sun, sipping a glass of sparkling wine, and thinking how much I love countryside walks. No wonder they’re so popular. I’m really looking forward to my next one.

(Just to finish off, I should probably say that after tea and a scone with jam and a glass of wine, plus a couple of small wine samples, I couldn’t face the next 3 miles to complete the walk – especially since I’d wandered off the route to the vineyard. So I got an Uber to take me the couple of miles to Caterham station, and from there got a bus to East Croydon. Countryside walks. Fabulous.)

Day 1

It’s the day after the hottest day of the year. Two Uber drivers have just cancelled my booking, so I take my walking stick and my suitcase and haul myself and it onto the bus. I arrive at East Croydon train station, knowing already I’ve missed the train I wanted to catch.

It doesn’t matter. The heat is still melting overhead lines and the train schedules are up the walls. Eventually I get on one, arrive at Horsham exactly one hour later than planned and jump in a taxi for the 20-minute drive to the Simply Healing Retreat, where I’m about to have nothing except juice for 3 days.

A call on my mobile from the engineer who’s arrived to fix my internet, claiming he’s outside my house getting no response to the bell – I know my flatmate is in there – means I arrive in a cloud of expletives, trying to reassure the man he will get in, calling my flatmate to see where the hell he is, phoning my upstairs neighbour to see if she’s around and scaring the taxi driver, who drives off quickly after leaving me at the door.

I stand outside a rather lovely red-bricked country house surrounded by gardens and rolling fields, shouting into my phone as somebody tiptoes out of the house, picks up my suitcase and takes it inside, smiling and nodding at me, telling me to take my time.

I hang up and take a deep breath. Here the heat isn’t as oppressive as in London, there’s a gentle breeze and rustling leaves. There are sunloungers and sculptures in the gardens and a hanging swing under some trees. I step inside to a quiet peaceful space with couches, take another breath and think, wow, I’m glad I didn’t come shouting in here.

Later, after I’ve checked into my room – a gorgeous light-filled space with views of the garden – changed into my robe and padded back down in my slippers to the treatment room for my body scrub, I feel totally relaxed.I’ve left bad Uber drivers, messed up trains, mixed up internet appointments and my grumpy self behind. And because I had a big hunk of bread and blue cheese before I left the house, I don’t yet feel hungry.

At 4.30 there’s ‘afternoon (herbal) tea’ at reception (just tea, no sandwiches, cake or scones sadly) and I meet some of my fellow ‘inmates’ who’ve been here a few days. Two of them say they’ve done nothing but sleep for their first full day and I think, good on you, sleep is hugely underrated in this life. There are 8 of us here for the weekend, everybody has their own story, all of us wanting to detox and relax for one reason or another.

It’s a great place to swap stories and information and most people here have come on personal recommendations so I hear many positive Simply Healing success stories. The guests who’ve been here for a few days are already looking refreshed and glowing – ‘honestly, you wouldn’t believe the difference in her since she arrived’, one man tells me about a fellow guest, and I wonder if I’ll be radiant too when I leave. Then I go out to the garden and spend half an hour swinging on the lounger under the trees.

At 5.30pm I have my first juice – something green with celery – and then meditation at 7 – a guided journey led by Vivien, the shamanic healer who runs the retreat. And I’m delighted to find that at 7.30 we have soup! Detox soup albeit – pea, lettuce and mint – but soup nonetheless. My teeth fall excitedly on shreds of lettuce and two whole peas, chewing enthusiastically.

I don’t start to feel hungry until around about 9pm, back in my room, tucked up for the night. There are TVs and DVD players in our rooms – with lots of DVDs to borrow from the big book-filled sitting room downstairs – but we’re encouraged to keep the volume low to allow others to rest, with everything turned off by 10.30pm. Mobiles are not allowed in the public areas and we’re reminded to speak softly when using them in our rooms.

My stomach is rumbling uncomfortably but – prepared for hunger – I’ve brought the latest Jo Nesbo thriller with me, Knife. If the antics of his depressed alcoholic detective Harry Hole can’t keep my mind off food, nothing can.

Day 2

I’ve gone to sleep starving, fantasising about juicy burgers smothered in fried onions and blue cheese. I rarely eat burgers, much less blue cheese, my detox seems to have uncovered my inner burger fan. But I wake up at 7am feeling okay. Not hungry. Not full. Just normal.

There’s hot water with lemon at reception where we detoxers discuss our night’s sleep (up every hour to pee, recounts one – toxins clearly coming out). There should have been a walk around the deer farm and through the fields this morning but, unlike yesterday’s searing temperatures, today is grey and wet.

Then it’s time for juice at 8.30am, which is served communal style in the large dining room. I spotted a biscuit barrel in the corner as soon as I walked in here yesterday – sadly empty (natch).

There’s a nice social aspect to the retreat, as we all gather together to drink juice, but it’s easy to have as much time as you want to yourself also – everybody has their own schedule of timed treatments.

There’s an exercise room with power plates and a chi machine, which is an interesting piece of equipment. Big with the Japanese, it works by moving the legs gently from side to side to circulate blood efficiently around the body, helping cells to absorb oxygen and remove toxins. Chi is the Chinese word for ‘life force energy’ and our life force energies can do with a helping hand from time to time.

I have reflexology at 9am, a lovely treatment that establishes I have no major issues with my body parts – replaced hip aside. I find reflexology fascinating. A sort of foot massage for the soles of the feet, it claims that every part of the body is connected to the bottom of the foot and by working on each section of the foot, therapists can help to heal the related body part. Sound crazy? I’ve had very accurate diagnoses from it, so don’t rule it out even though Wikipedia will tell you there “is no convincing evidence that reflexology is effective for any medical condition”. And I’m told I look “blissful” by one of the other guests after my treatment – so don’t tell me there is no benefit to this!

Then it’s juice at 11, 1 and 2.30, afternoon tea at 4.30, more juice at 5.30, meditation at 7 and carrot and sweet potato soup at 7.30. I also have a manual lymphatic drainage massage at 1.30 so it’s a packed schedule here – no lazing around detoxing for us! It does help to keep hunger at bay for a while – all that wandering down to the dining room, going for treatments, strolling out to the garden to sit on a sun-lounger. And all that drinking of juice – all freshly prepared, a different recipe each time. And I probably should point out that nobody else on the retreat feels hungry as they are all taking supplements with their juices to help with their cleansing. Just me then…

I’ve practically been put into a coma by my lunchtime massage, so deeply relaxing is the experience, so have to indulge in a half-hour nap back in my room. Where they’ve thoughtfully replaced yesterday’s velvet throw with a snuggly fur one in deference to the weather.

But despite it all, I’m still hungry by early evening, with the beginnings of a slight headache. I’ve had to stop reading the second book I’ve brought with me, Is Butter A Carb? Unpicking Fact from Fiction in the World of Nutrition. All that talk of proteins and fats is making me salivate.

I go for a walk with a few of my companions around the next-door deer farm to keep my mind off it. No deer in sight. Probably just as well. I can’t stop thinking about venison. There’s a slight uphill incline on the way home which has us all puffing slightly and for some God unknown reason, we’ve talked about nothing but food on the entire journey.

Still, that night I turn on the lamps in my bedroom, cosy up with my fur blanket on the couch, and let Harry Hole take my mind off everything again.

Day 3: the final day

I’m definitely hungry when I wake up on day 3 but also happy, looking forward to the salad I will be having for lunch. Yes, it’s my last day today and I get to have a salad before I go, introducing my body back to solids gradually. Vivien, who runs Simply Healing, recommends that we introduce light food gradually once we leave, stick to the juicing and carry on drinking the four bottles of water we’re encouraged to take every day. We’re all issued with water bottles with our names on them on arrival and I’ve been carrying mine with me everywhere.

Vivien is an interesting person. A trainer healer and shaman, she has run the Simply Healing Retreat in Sussex for the past 20 years and counts celebrities and Royal Families among her guests. She has worked all over the world, starting in California where she introduced her juice retreats 30 years ago, after using the technique to manage her own health issues. She’s run healing clinics all over the UK and Ireland, led pilgrimages to sacred sites in Peru, Egypt and Mexico and still leads tours to meet the shamans of Manu Picchu every year.

The Sussex retreat has a massive 68% visitor return rate and there’s no doubt from leafing through the visitors’ book at reception that guests have experienced amazing benefits from their time here. With people returning for the second, third and fourth times, comments describe the programmes as “life-changing”, “heart-warming”, “mind-opening” and “amazing – didn’t want to leave”. “I lost my weight and found myself” says one poignant entry.

Guests also pay tribute to the support they receive from staff – all of the therapists are highly qualified and experienced and have worked with Vivien for many years, because “they like it here”, she explains. Running the retreat with her daughter, she bought the house to open it to others and carry on her healing work. In addition to the prescribed detox and weight-loss programmes, additional treatments, including one-to-one sessions with Vivien herself, are available as add-ons. Groups are kept small, 12 guests is the maximum number the house can hold but 10 is the average – the weekend I visit, there are just 8 of us.

And while our bodies have sophisticated mechanism for detoxing themselves – namely our liver, kidneys, gut, skin and lungs (as my nutrition book Is Butter A Carb? reminded me before hunger drove me to put it down) – it really does help to step out of our busy lives occasionally to take a good look at how we’re eating and how we’re living. It’s easy to get into bad habits when life is too rushed, too fast, too stressed – and it’s of no help at all to our guts, liver, kidneys and the rest to live like this.

Having a routine is a good way to make a change and I enjoy the regular juice times during the retreat, vowing to stick to something similar back at home. Most of my days kick off to an erratic start, with lots of rushing around. Making time in the morning to take some juice, eat a mindful breakfast and fill up a water bottle is a much better option – it will just take a bit of organising.

And now it’s time for me to leave. I’ve had my detox massage after my morning juice, taken a stroll around the grounds, drank more juice, rocked in the swing, eaten my lunch-time salad and had a quick chat with Vivien – she gives each guest a personalised one-to-one consultation before they leave, offering advice on incorporating elements of the detox diet into everyday life.

Okay, I admit it, I had a bar of chocolate as soon as I got to the train station for the journey home. And it tasted glorious. But since I’ve been back I’ve continued to juice every morning, keep a water bottle beside me to sip from throughout the day and am eating lots of fresh vegetables and fruit.

My skin looks clearer and my eyes are brighter. I feel a bit lighter, less bloated. But more importantly, I have a healthy routine now which fits in easily with my everyday lifestyle. While our bodies don’t constantly need to go through the extremes of detoxing, it’s certainly useful to take a step back and re-adjust bad habits. It has certainly helped me.

Read my Simply Healing review in The Scotsman

The Simply Healing Detox Retreat, West Sussex, offers 5, 7 or 10 day detox and weight-loss programmes, as well as weekend retreats; for more information visit www.simplyhealingcentre.com, call 01403 822117 or email info@simplyhealingcentre.com

It’s not enough to hold a current UK passport when you visit the USA, you will also need prior authorisation, either through a visa, a Permanent Resident Card, or the Visa Waiver Programme. Most passport holders can get an Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA) through the Visa Waiver Programme, which means you don’t need to go to the bother of applying for a full visa. The ESTA allows travel to the US for up to 90 days and covers tourism, certain types of business trips and transit to another country.

You can apply for the ESTA online and it may take up to 48 hours to process, however you may also receive confirmation immediately after application. The US Customs and Border Patrol recommends that you apply at least 72 hours before departure.

If you are a UK residents you will most likely quality for the Visa Waiver Programme if you meet the following criteria:

your passport describes your nationality as a ‘British Citizen’
your passport is an ePassport
you haven’t been arrested for a crime, have a criminal record or have previously been refused admission into, or have been deported from, the US
you aren’t a dual national of Iran, Iraq, Sudan or Syria
you haven’t travelled to Libya, Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Syria or Yemen since March 2011
you can show that you have enough funds available on arrival to support yourself during your stay, even if you’re staying with family and friends

The situation is the same for holders of Irish passports who are described as ‘Irish Citizens’.

Watch out for travel scams

But beware! You should only apply for the ESTA through the official website. Searching on Google for ‘US visa’ will bring up a number of seemingly reputable websites advertising ESTA applications. All use a variety of different web addresses including words such as ‘visa-express ‘, ‘evisa’, ‘online-visa-us’, etc, and advertise ‘fast processing’, ‘affordable rates’ and ‘dedicated support’.

Most look like official US government sites, to the extent of including the US Customs & Border Protection logo. They will ask all of the questions you would expect to be asked, regarding your travel plans, length of stay, address in the country, etc. These are legitimate questions, in fact they have all been copied from the official ESTA website. But when it comes to paying for your visa, you might notice the price is not clearly stated and it is only after you fill out your card details for payment and submit your webform that you are told you will be charged anything up to $100 US dollars for your visa application. A standard US visa through the official channels costs $14, so you are being considerably ripped off.

These sites are not ‘scams’ in the traditional sense of the word however. They will actually process your application and secure your visa. But the fact remains that you could have done this yourself, probably quicker, as it may take up to 48 hours to hear from these ‘rogue’ sites and you will quite likely have an answer from the embassy immediately. And you can certainly do it cheaper by doing it yourself. Why pay up to $100 dollars when the actual price is only $14?

Doing a quick Google search and clicking on to one of these sites – the perils of doing anything in a hurry with your mind half on something else! – I was completely taken in by it. The US Customs & Border Protection logo sitting reassuringly in the top left hand corner convinced me that I was on an official site. It was only when I submitted my application and received a notice telling me that I would be charged $90 for it, that I realised I had been ‘had’ – knowing the cost of a visa was actually only £14.

Cursing myself for rushing through the process and not taking the time to check out the site credentials, I quickly Googled the site and found lots of people in the same situation as me. However, taking heart from the number of people who said they had contacted the site’s customer services and demanded a refund of their money, I did the same. Within a few minutes I had an email saying that my application would be cancelled at my request and my money was refunded in full.

I was lucky – though I’m not sure all other visa providers would be so quick to refund. It did waste a lot of my time however, as I then had to go to the official site and fill in my application again. I also had the worry of not knowing whether my original application had been sent to the official ESTA processing system before I cancelled it. You can only apply for one visa at a time – the last thing you want is to have several visa applications pending as ESTA  may become suspicious and refuse your application.

So I could have saved myself a lot of time and angst had I just gone straight to the official site to begin with. As I say, these ‘express sites’ are not typical scams, just services chancing their arms but best avoided for peace of mind. Also, do you really want to share your bank or credit card details with a slightly dubious online practitioner? Don’t be fooled!

Why we should all visit America right now

Visiting the US: 18 top things to do in Boston

Cape Cod: where to go and what to do 

Image credit: Photo by Rob Wilson Jnr, Fluid4Sight

If you’re taking a staycation this year, you may end up taking the train at some point, on a long-distance cross country journey or short hop around your chosen city. And while we all like our journeys to be straightforward and problem free, the reality is that sometimes they’re not and we get held up and delayed.

If that happens to you, bear in mind that you might be entitled to a refund for some or all of the ticket price. Each train company operating in the UK has slightly different policies when it comes to refunds but in general, if your train is more than 30 minutes late, you’re entitled to some, or occasionally all, of your money back. Some companies will allow you to claim once you are 15 minutes delayed. According to Moneysaving Expert, two thirds of us simply don’t bother claiming if we’re delayed – that’s an awful lot of money left with the train operators!

Here’s what you need to know

Every train company has a Passenger’s Charter, which lays out the service you can expect to receive when using their stations and train services. This charter also outlines the company policy in relation to compensation for delays and cancellations. For your convenience, we have provided a direct link to every UK train company’s charter at the end of this feature.

Are you entitled to compensation?

Whether or not you are entitled to compensation depends on a few things – which train company you travelled with, what type of ticket you have and how long you were delayed for – ie what time did you actually get to your destination versus the time you were supposed to arrive. You can check the length of a delay on the Recent Train Times website – it will show you when every train travelling in the last 3 months actually arrived.

How do you claim for a refund?

When it comes to making compensation, some companies offer cash refunds, others may issue vouchers for future travel. Be aware however that even if the company offers vouchers, you are fully entitled to ask for a cash or card refund. From 2016, the National Rail Conditions of Travel say that passengers must be offered at least one form of monetary compensation for a delay, such as a bank transfer, cheque or refund to your card, although companies can still offer rail vouchers as well.

To make a claim for compensation you will need to show your ticket and provide details of the journey where the delay occurred. Most claims can be made on a form which you can pick up from any station and post to the company, enclosing your ticket. You can also make the claim on the internet by filling out the company’s online claim form and emailing a scan of the ticket. Claims will need to be made within 28 days of the delay occurring.

How much can you expect to receive?

As a guideline, the compensation below is what many train companies offer, though you do need to check with the individual operators for their specific policies:
Delays of 15 to 29 minutes: 25% of single fare
Delays of 30 to 59 minutes: 50% of single fare
Delays of 60 to 119 minutes: 100% of single fare
Delays of over 2 hours: 100% of single or return fare
If you hold a monthly or annual season ticket, you may also be able to claim a discount when you renew their ticket if you have experienced what is called ‘sustained poor performance’.

However, the bare minimum that companies HAVE to do, is not very much – and only comes into force after delays of one hour that are directly the fault of the train company. Most companies, as we have said, will do more. You can read the minimum requirements in the National Rail Conditions of Travel.

What’s the new Delay Repay scheme?

Many train companies now offer a simplified compensation scheme called Delay Repay, where passengers with various types of tickets, from daily to season cards, can claim for delayed journeys as and when they occur, even if the delay was not the train company’s fault. A few companies still operate the original Passenger’s Charter formula, where the arrangements differ for holders of monthly and longer season tickets and you may need to be held up for 60 minutes to claim a refund.

Which companies will let you claim for delays of 15 minutes?

Train companies that will allow you to claim for a delay of 15 minutes include Southern, South Western, Thameslink, Gatwick Express, London Northwestern Railway, West Midlands and Great Northern. Virgin Trains offer a 30-minute Automatic Delay Repay for advance tickets booked online. A train company called c2c, operating from London to Southend and other Essex destinations offers a two-minute delay repayment scheme for smartcard holders.

When is a delay deemed to be the fault of the train company?
Failure of points, signal power, track circuits, telecoms, overhead line problems and buckled or broken railway tracks are all classified as faults which the company is responsible for. Companies who operate the Delay Repay scheme will pay out for strike action if you are delayed the required time (up to 15 or 30 minutes, depending on the company’s policy). London travellers should note that TfL doesn’t pay out for delays caused by strike action.

When is a delay not classified as the train company’s fault?

If the delay is caused by acts or threats of vandalism or terrorism, suicides or passenger accidents, gas leaks or fires not caused by the train company, line closures for emergencies, severe weather conditions or riots, this is not considered to be the rail company’s fault. They are not obliged to provide compensation in such cases, but many do.

What else do I need to know?

If your train is delayed, you should be able to get the next one or take a different route using the same ticket, though you should check with station staff first, as the alternative route may be run by a different train company.

If your train is delayed or cancelled late at night, there is no way for you to get to your destination and this is the fault of the train company, they should be able to provide you with alternative transport, such as a taxi, or cover the cost of your overnight accommodation.

If you find out that your train is going to be delayed or cancelled after you’ve bought your ticket and you decide not to travel, you are entitled to a full refund from the train operator. This rule applies even if your train is delayed for only a few minutes.

If you apply for compensation due to delays or because you were not happy with the company’s level of service (under the Consumer Rights Act, your company is required to provide its service with ‘reasonable care and skill’) and you are not happy with the company’s response, you have a number of options. You can get in contact again with the company and quote the Consumer Rights Act. If this doesn’t work, you could then take your complaint to an industry watchdog such as Transport Focus. If you still don’t have any luck, you will need to take the company to court.

Passenger Charters – click on the company to read their policy on delays and cancellations

Arriva Trains Wales, c2c, Caledonian Sleeper, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Trains, Grand Central Rail, Great Western, Great Northern Rail, Greater Anglia, Heathrow Express, Hull Trains, London Northwestern, London North Eastern Railway, London Overground, Merseyrail, Northern Rail, Scotrail, Southeastern, Southern, South Western, Transport for London, Thameslink, TransPennine Express, Virgin Trains, West Midlands Railway

The best and worst named and shamed

Which has published a list of the best and worst train companies in the UK, ordered by passengers’ ratings for punctuality, reliability, value for money and more. Best are Grand Central and Translink in Northern Ireland, worst is Southern, which has been hit by strike action for the past 3 years. Also rated highly are the Heathrow Express, Merseyrail and Chiltern Railways, while Thameslink, South Eastern and South Western are all at the bottom of the table.

‘The Isle of Wight is how England was 40 years ago.’

So says David Barratt, my host on the island and owner of the very beautiful Haven Hall.

Forty years ago. 1978. Labour was in power, James Callaghan was Prime Minister and people stopped hunting the otter as it became a protected species. May Day became a bank holiday, the world’s first IVF baby was born in Oldham and bakers and the BBC went on strike. The Bee Gees’ ‘Night Fever’ was number one for two months and Annie Hall won the Oscar for Best Film.

But I can’t really pass judgement on how England was back then. I was a 9-year-old in the west of Ireland, just discovering Top of the Pops but already an aficionado of Blue Peter and – previously – Play School. So I had plenty of English cultural references, but from the far side of the Irish sea.

But I can tell you how the Isle of Wight is right now.

Good. In a word.

Or in two words. Very good.

If by ‘England 40 years ago, he means a slower, steadier, calmer pace of life, then yes, that’s spot on. It’s a place where people chat to you on buses and the buses take you on scenic drives through beautiful countryside. It’s not the most efficient way to travel – my half-an-hour drive from West Cowes, where the Southampton passenger ferry docks, to Haven Hall at Shanklin beach takes almost two hours on two buses.

But if you’re happy to sit back and take in the scenery, the picture-perfect villages with thatched cottages and trailing roses, the green fields stretching away to golden beaches, and you’ve got a leisurely day to spend, then why would you rush through it? This is slow living at its best.

But you can do it faster. The total journey time from London Waterloo to Haven Hall is two and a half hours if you take the fast ferry to the island and on to Shanklin by train. A new Red Funnel passenger ferry has just been launched, which is lighter, more efficient, more manoeuvrable, quieter and smoother. It takes just 25 minutes to speed across from Southampton and if you arrive by train, a free shuttle bus will take you to the ferry terminal with ferries running every half hour. If you’re driving, the car ferry crosses every hour from Southampton to East Cowes.

If you’re coming from London or the South East, it’s a quick and easy journey – and, at the end of it, here you are on the edge of an island with cliffside walks to the beach. Two acres of beautifully planted landscaped gardens overlook the sea and local resident Alan Titchmarsh voted this the Best Commercial Garden 2017 for Isle of Wight in Bloom. The Hall’s other celebrity fans include actor Colin Firth, who has visited with his family twice, footballer Peter Crouch and his wife Abi Clancy and comedian Jimmy Carr.

There’s an outdoor swimming pool that’s solar heated to a comfortable 26 degrees on the day I visit, grass tennis courts, sunloungers on the lawns and a pergola that is more in the nature of a beautiful piece of sculpture, set in the gardens looking out to sea. And there’s a cliffside walk to the beach where you can eat at Fisherman’s Cottage, sitting at an outside table, just a few feet away from the waves lapping on the sand.

The hall has 14 bespoke bedrooms with sea views, which includes seven apartments, all individually designed by David’s wife Arielle. The couple bought the property, a run-down Edwardian mansion built as a private home in 1908 and run as a hotel since the 1950s, because of its location and their dream of what it could become. But not without a considerable amount of work. Its last incarnation, a hostel for school children in the 1970s, saw its grand spaces converted into a warren of tiny rooms stacked with bunk beds.

“The contractor said year and a half to complete it and we were reasonably happy with that and the budget that was allocated for it,” said David. The project went on to take four and a half years to finish at almost four times the original budget.

“You take the wallpaper down and the plaster falls off the wall, you discover the wiring is terrible and if you’re re-doing the wiring, you might as well re-do the plumbing. If you’re doing that, then why not add air conditioning, and soon you find you’re taking most of the roof off as well,” he explains ruefully. “I fired the first two project managers and ended up doing the job myself. At any one time we had up to 55 workmen on the site, 3 people working full time renovating period furniture and 11 shipping containers storing everything we were buying at auction to kit it all out.”

And while they might not have had to move heaven to achieve their dreams, they certainly had to move earth – several hundred tonnes of it, completely remodelling the grounds to make the most of the stunning location and its spectacular view.

The couple lived on the property through the renovations, “either in a sea of mud or a cloud of dust,” says David. But he is no stranger to complex building projects.

Originally from Newcastle, he spent all of his working life in California and Hawaii, running his own property companies. He left England, he explains, because he didn’t want to live in the shadow of his father, the man who built Britain’s largest building company, Barratt Homes. Sir Lawrie Barratt was “a hard act to follow,” says David.

“He lived through the war, built his own billion-pound company and was knighted by the Queen. He valued working for yourself, so he didn’t want me to work for him or anybody else. He gave me enough money to set myself up so I went to the US and made all of my own mistakes.”

But he still missed the UK. “I enjoyed the US but there were parts of England I was always yearning for, like Radio 4 and intelligence.”

Moving back to the UK when his father was ill, he ended up divorcing when his daughter went to university and meeting Arielle while he was living in London. An art graduate from Yale and the Slade School – whose keen eye for design is evident throughout Haven Hall – the pair wanted to find a home together, looking at various parts of the south of England and then – as he describes it – “discovering” the Isle of Wight.

Describing this period as the next stage of their lives, he explains that they had to find what they wanted to do. “I didn’t want to just be someone on the golf course who used to do something. Both of us are do-ers, we’re both creative and we love meeting new people.”

Now he’s combined his passions. An island haven that is home, where he can entertain people from all over the world. They’ve been coming since the start of the year when the hotel opened its doors – from international worlds of culture, politics, business and entertainment; CEOs, high court judges and Colin Firth. And in this picture-perfect setting perched high over the ocean, no doubt it will continue.

For more information and to book visit www.havenhall.uk, phone 07914 796 494 or email info@havenhall.co.uk

Where to go and what to do on the Isle of Wight – see our top recommendations here