Burnished rays give their last hurrah over Dangriga

Find out more about the dizzying diversity of this often overlooked country – at once Caribbean and Central American – in my new guidebook Belize: A Great Destination – part of the Explorer’s Guide series, available for pre-order on Amazon.

Get yourself a copy and get acquainted with little-known Mayan ruins,
unexplored villages, and secluded nature reserves as well as hip hotspots and hotels. Inside, you’ll find the back-story on Belizean history and contemporary culture to get under the skin of this eclectic nation. It’s replete with advice for adventure addicts and inspiration for your own explorations of reefs, cayes, waterfalls, and winding jungle trails. Watch this space for regular tasters – from photography to video clips – and information on my London launch.

The ultimate guidebook to authentic adventures

Simon turns stylist for the Chastleton peacock

In this case, the only way forward is to exercise your imagination. Think of it as horticulture’s answer to cloud watching, a whimsical art-form eloquently explained by Britain’s eccentric Cloud Appreciation Society. Allow your mind to grant these misshapen forms another life as a bald eagle, a moor hen, or a generous-hipped bumble bee. No wonder Chastleton House’s best garden is always such a talking point.

Don’t forget to stroll along the vegetable patch where foodies visualise summery recipes for succulent cabbage, marrow, brussels sprouts, yellow courgettes and all manner of loveliness springing from the soil. Plump peaches line the lichen-clad walls of the kitchen garden that is fringed by fruit trees bearing apples and plums. Combine that with delicately-scented English roses, and a little birdsong, and your senses have really sampled the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of this potent season. Peruse this selection of photographs to get your creative juices flowing:

Take a wander outside these honeyed walls

Chastleton House gardens, near Moreton-in-Marsh, guard atypical topiary, manicured croquet lawns, fragrant fruit trees and a well-tended vegetable patch.

Visitors strolled around its chief botanical attractions – including a lovely show of lavender and scented roses – at the annual NGS open day last Sunday.

Take a peek at some of Chastleton House’s horticultural highlights in the heart of the Cotswolds.

Topiary is tantalising for perfectionists, control freaks, and impatient sorts. Guilty on all counts. What other form of gardening offers instant results and the chance to bend nature to one’s whimsical design in a matter of hours? Me and Buxus sempervirens are becoming bosom buddies.

But staying true to the ethos of this 17th century property, and its sprawling grounds, is the most powerful motivator. Head gardener, Anna Derrett, ensures we grow in the right direction as aspiring National Trust horticulturists.

Cross-checking with the Trust’s photographic archive, an eight-strong group of volunteers is restoring these wildly overgrown hedges to their original form as far as possible. When shrubs have evolved beyond recognition they become new creations, inspired by what they most closely resemble today. Thus a geometric shape is now a squirrel, an erstwhile goblin (now headless) may become an octopus. And this one-time bijou cockerel is now a monstrously fat chick.

Confident croquet players

Croquet players got competitive at Chastleton House – the sport’s apparent Cotswolds birthplace – under the watchful eye of a gaggle of garden-lovers this Sunday (11 July).

National Trust volunteers enjoyed a round of this exquisitely English summer pastime during the annual National Gardens Scheme open day.

Sport historians trace croquet to mediaeval France but National Trust archives suggest the game’s codified rules were devised at this Jacobean merchant’s mansion near Moreton-in-Marsh.

Click here to visit the gallery.

Click here to download the Spanish original pdf.

Click here to download the Spanish original pdf.

Click here to download the English text.

Click here to visit the gallery.