Roger Hermiston

In Amsterdam, there’s nothing quite like messing about in boats to get the measure of the place. So, on a cold, grey, but mercifully dry, winter’s morning, we took to the water for a fresh introduction to the sights, sounds and past glories of this fine city. We would cruise on an eco-friendly, electric powered canal boat with our friendly skipper Stephen, or ‘Captain Nemo’ as he is otherwise known in these parts, at the helm.

Put your Ashes disappointment to one side. For a cricket fan steeped in the history of the game, there can be no more exciting place to stay than the Dorset Square Hotel in central London. This is cricketing nirvana, with the boutique establishment sitting at the site of the original Lord’s ground, built by Yorkshireman Thomas Lord back in 1787 just as the great game was putting down roots.

It’s the wild tales about celebrity guests that have helped give The Portobello Hotel in Notting Hill London its raffish, alluring reputation. Within these walls, the legend goes, Johnny Depp and Kate Moss bathed in a Victorian tub filled with 36 bottle of champagne. Here too, Alice Cooper smuggled his boa constrictor into his room, feeding it with live mice bought from a nearby pet store.