Chris Leadbeater

1 week ago | telegraph.co.uk | Chris Leadbeater

None of these descriptions can readily be applied to the Oberoi Philae - blithely moored at the same dock. Along with its sibling Oberoi Zahra, it is one of two luxury river-cruise vessels owned and operated by the Indian hotel group in question (although a pair of new "dahabeya" sailboats, Oberoi Melouk and Oberoi Malekat, will join this mini-fleet before the end of the year). It seems almost to hover above the water - its sides, blue and white, gleaming under the cloudless sky.

1 week ago | telegraph.co.uk | Chris Leadbeater

A cynic might suggest that, far from being a brief moment in the calendar, "awards season" never ends. If it is not the film industry doling out statuettes, then it is time for sporting tributes, art accolades, or the shiny gongs that draw pop stars to black-tie events. So it should be no surprise that the travel world has been wearing its fanciest outfits in the last few days - via the Visit England Awards for Excellence.

1 week ago | yahoo.com | Chris Leadbeater

A cynic might suggest that, far from being a brief moment in the calendar, “awards season” never ends. If it is not the film industry doling out statuettes, then it is time for sporting tributes, art accolades, or the shiny gongs that draw pop stars to black-tie events. So it should be no surprise that the travel world has been wearing its fanciest outfits in the last few days – via the Visit England Awards for Excellence.

1 week ago | telegraph.co.uk | Chris Leadbeater

This is not the only hint as to the northerliness of my location. There at the lake's south edge, Fort William Henry is a timely link to American literature. It was built in 1755; a British bastion in the colonial push into the higher reaches of North America, designed to stymie France in its identical ambitions. In this, it failed.

2 weeks ago | telegraph.co.uk | Chris Leadbeater

For all its significance, the Battle of Naseby can be difficult to trace in the fields where so many came to grief Naseby does not look ready for a fight. On a warm Saturday morning, this genteel Northamptonshire village is a picture of rural calm. The tower of the Grade II*-listed All Saints' Church is casting an angular shadow in the early light, and the Royal Oak pub is yet to open its door to those who would sharpen their weekend with a pint of English ale.