To say that it’s been a challenging 12 months is an understatement. For most people around the world, international travel has sadly been largely off-limits for much of the past year. Don’t let that put you off travel, though. Throughout the pandemic, we’ve been posting just as frequently on A Luxury Travel Blog, in addition to starting a new series of travel guides which we hope is providing you all with plenty of inspiration for when travel fully resumes.
In the meantime, I’d like to share with you some ideas of products that you could be enjoying now, or at least very soon.
Strike Force HD MAX from Browning Trail Cameras
One of the few upsides of successive lockdowns here in the UK has been that it’s been good for the natural world. It’s been well documented that less traffic on the roads and fewer people out and about – both in cities and the countryside – has been good for wildlife, but what better way to see this for yourself than with a trail cam?
I’ve been trialling one of the leading cameras on the market – the impressive Strike Force HD MAX camera from Browning Trail Cameras. It comes with 18 MP picture quality, an adjustable 0.3-0.7 second trigger speed and a video processor that produces incredible quality 1600 x 900p HD+ video clips with sound. See it for yourself with this clip of two deer that I managed to capture close to the shore of Windermere. Thanks to its infrared LED illumination at night, the camera will even record activity at night as this short clip I also captured testifies.
Water Wear Salopette from Helly Hansen
One thing that can be enjoyed in times of lockdown is swimming – even when gyms and leisure centres are closed, if you get out and embrace the outdoors. Outdoor swimming has enjoyed a renewed resurgence in recent years, particularly here in the Lake District and this versatile, women’s neoprene salopette is ideal for a variety of watersports. Not only that, but it’s also easy to mix and match with other waterwear item from Helly Hansen.
Developed together with the Norwegian National Sailing Team, the all new collection of HH® neoprene products deliver great functionality, versatility and comfort. Combine it with the ideal top for the conditions you are entering, or with nothing at all on warmer days. We’ll have more information on the full range from Helly Hansen in a later article.
Canvas prints from The Canvas Print Studio
Can’t travel just now but want to cherish memories from past trips? There are few better ways to do this than by having one or two of your favourite photographs from your travels enlarged and put on your wall. And there are few better places to go for this than The Canvas Print Studio. Not only were they entrusted with printing the canvases for past winners of the cazenove+loyd Leica Travel Photographer of the Year competition, but they also enjoy a phenomenal record of reviews on Trustpilot (97% Excellent, 3% Good) – far higher than most in the industry.
Motorhoming book from Brit Stops
The UK government has announced that you will hopefully be able to spend the night somewhere other than home from 12th April 2021 and, whilst it remains uncertain at this point in time as to whether this will encompass hotels as well as holiday rentals, it seems likely that anyone that has invested in their own motorhome could stand to benefit. Right now, your own motorhome provides you with the ultimate experience when it comes to social distancing from others not in your bubble, it gives you the freedom to go where you want when you want, and it allows you to avoid the inevitable prices hikes that demand is likely to generate, not to mention the current heightened risk of cancellations, etc.
We upgraded our campervan to a motorhome last year and were glad we did because they seem to be highly sought after at the moment! Anyway, I digress… if you have your own motorhome, don’t leave home without a copy of Brit Stops. This invaluable guide lists country pubs, farm shops, vineyards, breweries and more where you can stay the night with your motorhome in a safe environment completely free of charge! The 2021 version of the book is out now and, at just £28 plus P&P , you’ll very quickly cover the cost of your investment.
Ultimate Bath Set from Aman Skincare
Can’t easily travel just yet? Missing that special spa experience from your luxury hotel stay? Create the ultimate spa experience at home and achieve the sense of peace for which Aman Resorts in renowned. The Ultimate Bath Set from Aman Skincare nurtures healthy, glowing skin while renewing energy levels to give you the ultimate at-home spa experience. Included in the set is: Purifying Auric Cleanse Bath Salts, Nourishing Golden Body Serum, Nourishing Body Mist and Grounding Smoked Body Butter.
If you have a product you’d like to see featured in the ‘Luxury travel treats’ series on A Luxury Travel Blog, please contact us.We also post occasional gift round-ups. If you have a luxury travel product that you’d like to see featured in one of those, make sure you sign up on this mailing list in order to receive an alert when we are compiling the next one.
Paul Johnson is Editor of A Luxury Travel Blog and has worked in the travel industry for more than 30 years. He is Winner of the Innovations in Travel ‘Best Travel Influencer’ Award from WIRED magazine. In addition to other awards, the blog has also been voted “one of the world’s best travel blogs” and “best for luxury” by The Daily Telegraph.
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11 Comments
I know that it’s really sad but one of my little pleasures in life is using the toiletries I pick up from hotels on my travels. Not surprisingly, not having been anywhere, I ran out months ago. The Aman set could fill that gap in my life nicely.
Some nice ideas here. I think little treats have been a key to getting through this and it’s going to be a few more months before we’re likely to be able to travel. I’ve found that making more of everyday routines and rituals helps. Using the Aman pack would certainly make shower time special.
Thanks, Sally and Maggie… glad you like the suggestion. It’s the closest many of us will come to a spa experience in the immediate future, but hopefully that will all change soon.
My brother is one of those annoying people who really does have everything. Buying birthday and Christmas presents is always a nightmare but lately when you can’t even take him out for a meal it’s even harder. He’s got a large rural garden and a trail camera would be ideal for him.
I can highly recommend it, Stephen. And being his own garden, he can just leave it out for weeks at a time and occasionally check it for any interesting footage. The badger I captured was also in a large rural garden, but the deer was in a private location that is not frequented by many people. Even so, I was a little nervous as to whether it would still be there when I went to retrieve it (even though it was probably perfectly safe). Thankfully all was well – as expected – and I had the footage of the deer to make it worthwhile!
I bet the swimming salopettes do well. You’ve only got to look at some of the posts on wild swimming on A Luxury Travel Blog that there are a lot of people getting into swimming outdoors. If you’re going to do it seriously you need the gear.
Indeed, Karen… it’s become incrdibly popular in the UK in the last few years, especially here in the Lake District. I was at the lake shore only a couple of mornings ago, around 7am, and there must have been around 20 swimmers over a short 100-metre stretch of Windermere. I’ll be writing more about this in the near future so do come back soon!
Although I’m not the world’s best photographer I have got a few photos of our Kenya safari which I quite like. It would be fantastic to have some good quality pictures made of those few photos. They would be a sign hoping for better times ahead.
Hi Sharon – give Ben at The Canvas Print Studio a shout. He is sure to look after you and advise you on what would work well for your pictures.
Travel treats are much needed in 2021. It’s been almost 1.4 years and we are sitting at home going nowhere to travel. It’s really frustrating. But I hope the better days will come soon, and we’ll get a chance to enjoy our luxury travel treats. Yours are awesome, as we can enjoy a few of them even in lockdown.
I’ve been trialling one of the leading cameras on the market – the impressive Strike Force HD MAX camera from Browning Trail Cameras. It comes with 18 MP picture quality, an adjustable 0.3-0.7 second trigger speed and a video processor that produces incredible quality 1600 x 900p HD+ video clips with sound. See it for yourself with this clip of two deer that I managed to capture close to the shore of Windermere. Thanks to its infrared LED illumination at night, the camera will even record activity at night as this short clip I also captured testifies.
Water Wear Salopette from Helly Hansen
One thing that can be enjoyed in times of lockdown is swimming – even when gyms and leisure centres are closed, if you get out and embrace the outdoors. Outdoor swimming has enjoyed a renewed resurgence in recent years, particularly here in the Lake District and this versatile, women’s neoprene salopette is ideal for a variety of watersports. Not only that, but it’s also easy to mix and match with other waterwear item from Helly Hansen.
I’ve been trialling one of the leading cameras on the market – the impressive Strike Force HD MAX camera from Browning Trail Cameras. It comes with 18 MP picture quality, an adjustable 0.3-0.7 second trigger speed and a video processor that produces incredible quality 1600 x 900p HD+ video clips with sound. See it for yourself with this clip of two deer that I managed to capture close to the shore of Windermere. Thanks to its infrared LED illumination at night, the camera will even record activity at night as this short clip I also captured testifies.
Water Wear Salopette from Helly Hansen
One thing that can be enjoyed in times of lockdown is swimming – even when gyms and leisure centres are closed, if you get out and embrace the outdoors. Outdoor swimming has enjoyed a renewed resurgence in recent years, particularly here in the Lake District and this versatile, women’s neoprene salopette is ideal for a variety of watersports. Not only that, but it’s also easy to mix and match with other waterwear item from Helly Hansen.
Developed together with the Norwegian National Sailing Team, the all new collection of HH® neoprene products deliver great functionality, versatility and comfort. Combine it with the ideal top for the conditions you are entering, or with nothing at all on warmer days. We’ll have more information on the full range from Helly Hansen in a later article.
Canvas prints from The Canvas Print Studio
Can’t travel just now but want to cherish memories from past trips? There are few better ways to do this than by having one or two of your favourite photographs from your travels enlarged and put on your wall. And there are few better places to go for this than The Canvas Print Studio. Not only were they entrusted with printing the canvases for past winners of the cazenove+loyd Leica Travel Photographer of the Year competition, but they also enjoy a phenomenal record of reviews on Trustpilot (97% Excellent, 3% Good) – far higher than most in the industry.
Motorhoming book from Brit Stops
The UK government has announced that you will hopefully be able to spend the night somewhere other than home from 12th April 2021 and, whilst it remains uncertain at this point in time as to whether this will encompass hotels as well as holiday rentals, it seems likely that anyone that has invested in their own motorhome could stand to benefit. Right now, your own motorhome provides you with the ultimate experience when it comes to social distancing from others not in your bubble, it gives you the freedom to go where you want when you want, and it allows you to avoid the inevitable prices hikes that demand is likely to generate, not to mention the current heightened risk of cancellations, etc.
We upgraded our campervan to a motorhome last year and were glad we did because they seem to be highly sought after at the moment! Anyway, I digress… if you have your own motorhome, don’t leave home without a copy of Brit Stops. This invaluable guide lists country pubs, farm shops, vineyards, breweries and more where you can stay the night with your motorhome in a safe environment completely free of charge! The 2021 version of the book is out now and, at just £28 plus P&P , you’ll very quickly cover the cost of your investment.
Ultimate Bath Set from Aman Skincare
Can’t easily travel just yet? Missing that special spa experience from your luxury hotel stay? Create the ultimate spa experience at home and achieve the sense of peace for which Aman Resorts in renowned. The Ultimate Bath Set from Aman Skincare nurtures healthy, glowing skin while renewing energy levels to give you the ultimate at-home spa experience. Included in the set is: Purifying Auric Cleanse Bath Salts, Nourishing Golden Body Serum, Nourishing Body Mist and Grounding Smoked Body Butter.
If you have a product you’d like to see featured in the ‘Luxury travel treats’ series on A Luxury Travel Blog, please contact us.
We also post occasional gift round-ups. If you have a luxury travel product that you’d like to see featured in one of those, make sure you sign up on this mailing list in order to receive an alert when we are compiling the next one.
I know that it’s really sad but one of my little pleasures in life is using the toiletries I pick up from hotels on my travels. Not surprisingly, not having been anywhere, I ran out months ago. The Aman set could fill that gap in my life nicely.
Some nice ideas here. I think little treats have been a key to getting through this and it’s going to be a few more months before we’re likely to be able to travel. I’ve found that making more of everyday routines and rituals helps. Using the Aman pack would certainly make shower time special.
Thanks, Sally and Maggie… glad you like the suggestion. It’s the closest many of us will come to a spa experience in the immediate future, but hopefully that will all change soon.
My brother is one of those annoying people who really does have everything. Buying birthday and Christmas presents is always a nightmare but lately when you can’t even take him out for a meal it’s even harder. He’s got a large rural garden and a trail camera would be ideal for him.
I can highly recommend it, Stephen. And being his own garden, he can just leave it out for weeks at a time and occasionally check it for any interesting footage. The badger I captured was also in a large rural garden, but the deer was in a private location that is not frequented by many people. Even so, I was a little nervous as to whether it would still be there when I went to retrieve it (even though it was probably perfectly safe). Thankfully all was well – as expected – and I had the footage of the deer to make it worthwhile!
I bet the swimming salopettes do well. You’ve only got to look at some of the posts on wild swimming on A Luxury Travel Blog that there are a lot of people getting into swimming outdoors. If you’re going to do it seriously you need the gear.
Indeed, Karen… it’s become incrdibly popular in the UK in the last few years, especially here in the Lake District. I was at the lake shore only a couple of mornings ago, around 7am, and there must have been around 20 swimmers over a short 100-metre stretch of Windermere. I’ll be writing more about this in the near future so do come back soon!
Although I’m not the world’s best photographer I have got a few photos of our Kenya safari which I quite like. It would be fantastic to have some good quality pictures made of those few photos. They would be a sign hoping for better times ahead.
Hi Sharon – give Ben at The Canvas Print Studio a shout. He is sure to look after you and advise you on what would work well for your pictures.
Travel treats are much needed in 2021. It’s been almost 1.4 years and we are sitting at home going nowhere to travel. It’s really frustrating. But I hope the better days will come soon, and we’ll get a chance to enjoy our luxury travel treats. Yours are awesome, as we can enjoy a few of them even in lockdown.
I have one of those trail cams. The exact same one, in fact. Managed to capture an otter with it, in fantastic detail.