Inspiring
FEEL-GOOD FACTOR
Shake things up with our pick of inspiring days out and small ways to make a big difference.
WORDS BY ANN WALLACE, PICTURES BY DREAMSTIME
DISCOVER FOSSILS
1. JURASSIC COAST
The Jurassic Coast in Dorset is a great place to find fossils, especially around Charmouth and Lyme Regis. The Jurassic clays here created perfect conditions for preserving the shells, bones and even soft tissues of prehistoric creatures. As the coastline is eroding, more and more fossils are being exposed in rocks that date back 185 million years. Chris Pamplin has been a fossil-hunting guide for 11 years. Join him for a family fossil-collecting expedition at Charmouth, or take a guided group fossil walk or residential course. Prices from £5 for a two-hour public walk.
RUN FOR CANCER
2. COUNTRYWIDE
Challenge yourself and help others at the same time by taking part in one of Cancer Research UK’s 10K runs held at unique venues across the country. Every pound you raise in sponsorship helps Cancer Research UK find more ways to diagnose, prevent and treat cancer. The website has plenty of training tips and advice, so dig out those running shoes!
BE A CHEF
3. LE MANOIR AUX QUAT’SAISONS, OXFORDSHIRE
The Raymond Blanc Cookery School is for everyone who has a passion for food and wants to have fun preparing it. Completely unique, it is the only cookery school in the world to offer visitors the chance to watch, learn and practice their skills in the kitchen of a two-Michelin-star restaurant. There is a variety of one-day courses to choose from, including learning to cook, creating a dinner-party menu, fusion cuisine, nutrition, fast and simple dishes, and bread-making. Keen cooks can join the four-day residential course, which covers how to select, prepare and present meat, fish, seafood, starters and desserts in a programme designed to educate and inspire. From £295 per person for a one-day course.
A WELSH WONDER
4. PORTMEIROIN
This year the iconic TV series The Prisoner returns in a reinterpretation
of the 1960s cult hit that starred Patrick McGoohan. The original series was filmed in Portmeirion, the mystical Italianate village in Gwynedd, on the coast of Snowdonia in Wales, that was created from a collection of derelict architectural gems and overgrown gardens by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis between 1925 and 1975. He breathed new life into the buildings to create the architectural mix-and-match that is Portmeirion, with gardens full of exotic trees from all over the world. It’s a real delight to visit.
