Travel Special (06 May, 2018)

TRAVEL special THE MAIL ON SUNDAY | May 6 • 2018 what the brontes – and britain –need to learn from the beatles 4-13 coolest cruises From Italy to icebergs and Vietnam to Vienna – the most amazing ocean and river voyages for you to choose from. 14-15 anneka ahoy! The TV star sets sail in her own private yacht. 16 marvellous malta Small really is beautiful. 18-19 ferry exciting The easy way to enjoy France and Spain. 20 It’s got the x factor Alesha Dixon finds her dream resort in Greece. 21 rockies road trip Head for the wilds of Canada in a motorhome. 22-23 the other orlando It isn’t just rollercoasters. 24-25 the rights stuff On the road in Alabama. 26 going for goa Rachel Johnson in India. 27 high life in mauritius Discover the island’s mountains and jungle. 28 paradise island Sun and fame in Antigua. 30 windies wonder Barbados’s breezy side. 31 the healthy option Top trip insurance tips. travel special Contents Pictures: Cover image: Peter Unger/ Lonely Planet Images/Getty Images. Alamy, Andreas Sfyridis, AWL Images , 4Corners Images, Corbis, Getty Images, James McDonald, Redferns, Tony Ward/Scope Features, SeaWorld, ShutterStock, Wenn.com J ane Austen has become syn- onymous with the city of Bath, even though she visited for only relatively short periods and was never very enthusiastic about the place. Part of her dislike can be blamed on the fact that her aunt was arrested in the city on a trumped-up charge of shoplifting; hap- pily, thechargewas thrownout, but only after a lengthy stay at Taunton Gaol. There is a worldwide fascination with Austen and her works, so it is not surprising thousands of visitors – par- ticularly from the US and Japan – visit Bath every year, anxious to commune with the spirit of their heroine. What is surprising is that until recently there was very little for Austen fans to see when they arrived: a few blue plaques on houses where she stayed, and the grave of her father George at St Swithins Church. In 1999, however, a former school teacher – aware of the city’s lack of a major Austen attraction – filled the void by creating a new place for Austen pilgrims. The Jane Austen Centre on Gay Street is housed in the sort of elegant Georgian property the author might have lived in and features such hard- to-resist attractions as a regency tea room. There are displays and films that offer accounts of Jane’s life and work – simple stuff, but then again, nobody is coming here to complete a doctoral thesis. Visitors to Bath wanted some- thing connected to Jane Austen that was worth seeing and, eventually, they got one. Similar thinking applied when the Sherlock Holmes Museum opened in London’s Baker Street. Tens of thou- sands visit London each year hoping to see something linked to the famous detective (more than a few visitors believe Holmes was a real person). With the aim of giving visitors what they want, in 1990 someone bought 239 Baker Street and, with the permis- sion of Westminster Council, gave it the number of Holmes’ fictional resi- dence: 221B. The place was furnished in the style described by Dr Watson in Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories. The museum was a huge success and has remained popular, with queues down the street. It’s all a bit of fun, but none the worse for that. Giving people what they want is no bad thing. You would be surprised at how this simple doctrine seems to be eluding the UK’s tourist business. The home of the Brontës – the Haworth Parsonage in Yorkshire – ought to be one of the most visited literary places in the UK. The story of the three Brontë sisters: Charlotte, Emily and Anne (and their brother Branwell) is stranger than fiction. The sisters effectively revolu- tionised the 19th Century novel and in doing somassively advanced the cause of feminism. Their place in the world of literature was recognised more than 100 years ago with the formation of the Brontë Society, which in the 1920s acquired the Parsonage so that it could become a museum. So far, so good. Theproblemscamewhenthemuseum eventually had to decide whether its priority was to become a tourist attrac- tion or to tend the sisters’ literary flame of immortality. The two things are not necessarily mutually exclusive, but the Brontë Society seems to have been rather nervous about catering to the mass-market tourist. So the museum operates more as a Millions flock to the UK to pay homage to our stars, says Frank Barrett , literary legends: The Brontë sisters whose home was in Haworth, far right