The Wrap
Our journal of all things cashmere

“Are you here for the yoga?” asks the car park attendant. Puzzled, I reply that no, I am there for the lavender. “You’re in the right place then,” he says with a grin. I am indeed. Cadwell Farm has been farmed by five generations of the same family for more than 100 years. Lavender was introduced in 2000 and nearly 15 years later, the hillside is swathed in clouds of purple. On a sunny day, this perfumed corner of Hertfordshire looks more like Provence than the Home Counties. Not only are visitors welcome, they are encouraged to pick a bunch of lavender to take home.

Bodrum is often called Turkey’s St Tropez. Like its French counterpart, this chic seaside town on the Aegean has a marina filled with smart yachts, a quay lined with restaurants and bars, and a warren of narrow streets crammed with jewellery shops, boutiques and artisan outlets. It sits on a coastline of pristine beaches and quiet coves. The main difference is that Bodrum has never had much in the way of luxury hotels. But all that has changed recently. Aman arrived in 2012, Mandarin Oriental opened a luxury resort here just a few weeks ago, and a Four Seasons is on its way. So at last, the Beautiful People have somewhere suitably fabulous to lay their beautiful heads. These are the hotels currently making St Tropez establishments look, frankly, a little lacklustre.