Blog posts
We are delighted to announce the latest addition to our tempting menu of destinations is …. Greece! We have been fans for a long time, then Alexander Oliver joined the ECT Travel team bringing with him a degree in ancient – mostly Greek – history and even better, a lifelong connection to the country. It was the inside knowledge we were waiting for. We will publish the programmes soon, but in the meantime, we asked Alex to share some details to whet your appetites – beginning with that family history.
Life-long quilter Herma de Ruiter is bringing her textile art project Going Round in Circles to Quilt Festival Noord Groningen 2023. We can't wait to see it in person so we asked her for a quick preview....
We are committed to creating fabulous holidays that are good for both people and planet and our newly opened holiday to the Swiss village of Arosa delivers on every level.
Lucerne’s most recognisable landmark is the 170-meter-long covered wooden footbridge zig-zagging across the River Reuss. Read on to discover more about this medieval gem.
Our Incredible India holidays are supported on the ground by Sita Travels, India’s leading Destination Management Company. Read on to find out why.
A tiny, remote kingdom nestling in the Himalayas between India and China, Bhutan was almost completely cut off from the rest the world for centuries. The country opened up to outsiders in 1970s, but it still fiercely guards its ancient traditions and remains a place that is mysterious, magical and utterly unique. Here are 10 fascinating facts about this inimitable country.
Fleuramour is one of Europe’s most prestigious floral events and has been a highlight of our tour programme for many years. We have missed it over the last two years and can't wait to return in 2023. Here Judith Blacklock, founder of the eponymous school and Fleur Créatif's UK Editorial Advisor, explains what makes this Belgian show so special.
Terry travelled with us to Kerala & the magical Malabar Coast in January 2023. We caught up with him when he returned to the UK to hear his holiday highlights.
There is lots of time to explore the vibrant Texan city of Houston on our tour to the International Quilt Festival and its Museum District is one of America’s cultural highlights. There are 19 different institutions to choose from, all of which are worth visiting, but here are our top three:
Brian Dykhuizen is a contemporary textile artist, based in the United States. His beautiful, abstract quilts are a celebration of colour, design and stitching. One of his latest creations will be showing at the European Patchwork Meeting in Alsace this September, and we are thrilled to announce that he will be travelling to see it with us. We caught up with him to find out more.
All aboard the Zillertalbahn! Breathe the smell of the coal, listen to the rhythmic hissing of the cylinders and immerse yourself in the atmosphere of a bygone era!
Award-winning textile artist and author Anne Kelly will be joining the line up of internationally acclaimed makers at Pour l'Amour du Fil in 2023. We got together to find out more about how she tells layered, patched, stitched and embroidered stories of home and away.
The hotel group CGH Earth was founded on the idea of offering guests the opportunity to experience nature in its most pristine form. We caught up with the group’s founder and CEO Jose Dominic to find out more.
High in the Eastern Himalayan forests of the Singalila National Park lies Habres Nest, a research hub and wildlife tourism centre dedicated the conservation of the Red Panda. We spoke to its Director and Head Naturalist Shantanu Prasad to find out about his work, what it is like to stay in this extraordinary location and how by doing so, you can be part of sustainable change.
Set beside the Noordoostpolder, the longest and most colourful bulb route in the Netherlands, is a beautiful private garden created by Jan and Elly Giesen. Named Pegasushof Garden, it is a beautiful celebration of spring.
Natacha travelled with us on our Austrian Christmas Markets tour – and arrived home full of festive cheer. As we look forward to setting off the the twinkling towns again, we caught up with her to ask why she went and what she loved.
Home to seven million spring-flowering bulbs and popularly known as the ‘Garden of Europe’, Keukenhof Garden is the largest flower garden in the world. As the first of 2023's bulbs go into the earth, we take a look at our favourite spring garden.
Our tour managers are at the heart of every ECT Travel holiday. For this week’s blog, we sat down with one of our longest serving TM’s, Josef Scheerder, freshly back from the European Patchwork Meeting in Alsace, to talk tours, downtime, and the secret of success.
Twinkling fairy lights, wooden chalets, the air heady with the scent of ginger and cloves - Bath's brilliant Christmas Market is back and we can't wait!
The National Quilt Museum in Paducah is home to around 650 works of quilting art, all of them made in, or after, 1980, making it one of the best collections of contemporary quilts in the world. Opened in 1991, it was founded by quilting enthusiasts Bill and Meredith Schroeder to celebrate the work of contemporary quilters and bring it to a wider audience. We spent five minutes with the new CEO, Matt Collinsworth.
Bath is a double UNESCO World Heritage City, famed for its thermal waters, Roman remains, elegant Georgian architecture and association with the novelist Jane Austen. But the city has other things to boast about too – including five fascinating firsts.
As the temperatures rise, why not take a cooling break from the sunshine with our celebration of Innsbruck's magical Christmas markets?
Magic awaits all who arrive at Swarovski Crystal Worlds. Rather than a revolving door, you enter through a giant’s head and immediately find yourself inside the Chambers of Wonder. Designed by a roster of internationally acclaimed artists, designers and architects, these are places of sparkling fantasy, guaranteed to amaze and enchant.
European Patchwork Meeting is back!. Our tour guide – and keen quilter - Graham Parker explains why he’s a fan.
The next edition of Quilt Festival Noord Groningen will be live! We can't wait to experience this unique quilt festival which, as regular exhibitor Hilde van Schaardenburg explains, really is something special.
The RHS Chelsea Flower is open! It is uplifting to see this festival of flowers and gardens blooming in May once again, and we are thrilled to be off there ourselves on Thursday as guests of the Swiss Sanctuary Garden.
In the fourth interview of our Talking Textiles series, we spoke to Frank Bennett, CEO of the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky, home to one of the best collections of contemporary quilts in the world.
The second in-person edition of the India International Quilt Festival will open in January 2023. We spoke to Varsha Sundararajan, one of the three founders, about the festival’s origins, India’s age-old quilting tradition and what we can look forward to.
We caught up with quilter Herma de Ruiter ahead of next year’s Quilt Festival Noord Groningen to talk about workshops, windmills and the sheer joy of making
The Gardens of Appeltern is Holland's biggest park for gardening ideas. We sat down with its inspiring founder Ben van Ooyen to find out more.
Bath is home to internationally renowned jeweller Nicholas Wylde, one of the few jewellers to have his own, unique, diamond cut. We caught up with him in his flagship store to talk about getting started, being a shop keeper and why diamonds are the stone of true love.
The gates to the international horticultural exhibition Floriade Expo 2022 open in Almere - Amsterdam in April. We talked to the landscape architect Niek Roozen about planting 2,500 trees, alphabetical perennials and his pioneering green city philosophy
As 2021 draws to a close, our CEO Theresa McDermott says farewell to an extraordinary year, and a hope-filled 'hello' to 2022
When it comes to languid strolling, there is nothing like a bridge and Bath is home to one of the most beautiful in the world.
Saint Lucia’s lush, vibrant landscapes, mountainous interiors, dense rainforests, and palm-fringed beaches are the ideal setting for bird watching. The island has six endemic species – the highest in the Eastern Caribbean region. Read on to meet them…
Fleuramour is back! As we look forward to taking you to the 25th anniversary of this fabulous celebration of contemporary floral art in 2022, we asked Sara-Marie Andrews from the Academy of Floristry to take us back to the 2019 edition and remind us just why this floral extravaganza is so spectacular.
Christmas Markets
Nothing says ‘Christmas’ quite like a glass bauble and there’s no place better to find them than Krakow
Leading Dutch floral designer, Heleen Valstar has been chosen as chief arranger for the ‘Experiential Greenhouse’ in the greenhouse complex at Floriade Expo 2022. We caught up with her to find out what she has planned.
Ahead of our fabulous Fleur Créatif Floral Workshops in Germany this November, we caught up with the three designers and also with Nicola Fink, Press Officer of the German Florist Association, for an insight into their work, their inspirations and the programme’s very special location.
2022 is the 200th anniversary of the Mauritshuis Museum. The celebrations begin, rather fittingly, with an exhibition dedicated to flowers. We asked the show’s curator Ariane van Suchtelen, to tell us more.
The international horticultural exhibition Floriade Expo 2022 will be a feast of flowers and all things green and natural. With so much to see, we are selecting a few highlights - number two on our 'must-see' list is the Arboretum
The international horticultural exhibition Floriade Expo 2022 will be a feast of flowers and all things green and natural. With so much to see, we are selecting a few highlights, beginning with the Flower Art Project, 'Classics & Future Moments'
Home to rare varieties of palm, azaleas and geraniums, The Royal Greenhouses at Laeken are a plant lovers delight, but they should be on every architectural fan’s bucket list too.
The history of Floraliën Ghent stretches back over 200 years. As the 2021 digital iteration, The Green Six Days, opens, the festival's General Manager Pieter Toebaert tells us what we can look forward to in 2022.
Kate Hebert is the Chief Curator of The American Museum & Gardens in Bath, home to one of the finest collections of quilts in the UK. In the fifth interview of our series, we sat down with her in our home city to find out more
Back in the dark days of January 2021, we invited floristry students from colleges across the United Kingdom to send us their designs on the theme of 'springtime'. We were overwhelmed and uplifted by the response - the future of floristry is looking bright indeed. Here we speak to the winners and runners up about their creations, what they are studying and their most favourite blooms.
With a year to go until the gates open on the 23rd AIPH world horticultural exhibition and the seventh Floriade, we spoke to one of the show’s fans Sarah Hills-Ingyon, Chair of UK Floristry Judges Guild, about why this once-in-a-decade expo is a must-visit for floristry and horticultural students
In the third interview of our Talking Textiles series, we speak to our exclusive tour guide and very own quilter Graham Parker about how he got started, taking short cuts and the joy of quilting clubs
As specialists in floristry holidays and travel, we are incredibly proud of our long-standing friendship and partnership with the National Association of Flower Arrangement Societies – or NAFAS as it is known. We have recently renewed this partnership and, to mark the occasion, we sat down with the organisation’s Chief Executive Steven Lane to talk about why NAFAS matters and how he plans to ensure it enjoys the brightest of futures.
Renowned as one of London’s finest florists, Lavender Green Flowers has been creating innovative and imaginative floral artworks for weddings, parties and corporate events for more than 30 years. In the fifth installment of our TALKING FLOWERS interview series, we spoke to Managing Director Colin Gray to find out more.
In the second part of our TALKING TEXTILES conversation with author, photographer and Indian quilt expert Patrick J Finn, he told us the fascinating story behind the very first Kantha quilt he bought.
We sat down in cyberspace with Patrick J Finn, photographer, author and Indian quilt expert, to find out more about a passion that has taken him across India, from bustling cities to remote villages.
In the fourth of our Talking Flowers series, Emma Rees-Oliviere of Bath-based florist Myrtle Mee Flowers discusses her style, trends and the joys of having a high street shop
In the third instalment of our Talking Flowers interview series, we chatted with Sarah Wilson of Compton Garden Flowers about her life as a British flower farmer and florist
For the second in our Talking Flowers interview series, we caught up with Robert Hornsby, Creative Director of In Water Flowers to find out more about the work of one of London’s most innovative wedding, event and corporate florists
In the first of our Talking Flowers series, we sat down with flower farmer and artisan florist Justine Scouller of Far Hill Flowers to talk about growing and working with organic cottage garden flowers
Following the UK’s departure from the European Union, the way we travel to Europe has changed. We’ve had a read through the new rules and regulations and here is our digested check list of what you need to know before you set off on your next European adventure.
As 2020 draws to a close, we take a look back at this most demanding of years - and look forward to a brighter future
Two months into her new role as Chair of the National Association of Flower Arrangement Societies, we caught up with Katherine Kear – on Zoom of course – to ask about her life in flowers, the pleasures of teaching and her ambitions for the next two years.
This small village, 30km from Jaipur, has been associated with the art of block printing for over 400 years.
Award-winning Dutch architect and urban planner Winy Maas, Founding Partner of MVRDV, is overseeing the development of Floriade Expo 2022. We caught up with him to find out more about this living laboratory where urbanism and nature meet.
We knew there were lots of fabulously talented floral designers out there, but we were still amazed by the response we had to the launch of our first ever virtual International Flower Festival! Flower lovers from Cornwall to Manchester, Ireland to Italy, Australia, Barbados and Canada sent us images of their designs, all them beautiful and with a story to tell. We asked five of them to tell us about their entries.
As our virtual flower festival opens for submissions and the Flower Council of Holland launch their ‘Fill the Distance with Beauty’ campaign, we caught up with Chanel de Kock, the FCH’s UK Country Manager to talk about the hottest floral trends for 2021 and spreading the joy of flowers.
We knew there were very many wonderfully creative quilters out there, but we were still amazed by the response we had to the launch of our first ever virtual International Quilt Festival! Quilters from Aberdeen to Exeter, Australia, Kenya, Germany, France, Italy, The Netherlands and the United States sent us images of wall hangings, cushions, bed covers and bags, all of them beautiful and all them with a story to tell. We asked four of the makers to tell us about their entries.
New Zealand's many hours of sunshine and high rainfall give the country a lush and diverse flora, about 75% of which is unique. Read on to discover our top 10.
Meet the Japanese quilt artist whose quilt of Bath took first prize at the International Quilt Festival, Houston 2019
Fresh from his hugely successful tour to WAFA India earlier this year, NAFAS President-elect Michael Bowyer MBE has teamed up with us once again, this time on a tour to discover the glorious gardens of Ireland in Springtime. We caught up with on the phone from his home in Salisbury to discover more.
Looking after you & Looking Ahead: how an independent travel company copes when no one is travelling
In this week's blog, our very own CEO Theresa McDermott writes about how we are looking after our customers in the current situation and looks towards a brighter future.
Floristry Tours
Floralia Brussels is a spectacular annual exhibition of spring flowers set in a park surrounding the 17th century Castle of Groot-Bijgaarden, a few kilometres outside the Belgian capital. As we look ahead to next Spring, we bring you five reasons why everyone should visit.
As the actual doors to the world's greatest cultural institutions closed, the virtual ones opened, allowing everyone with a WiFi connection to access their treasures. We visited two gems in the Netherlands.
We may not be able to explore our beautiful and exciting world in person at the moment, but we can conjure memories of past adventures and dream of those to come through shared pictures. Here are some of our favourites from WAFA India 2020. Enjoy!
Deep under the earth, 14km south of Krakow, the Wieliczka salt mine is one of the wonders of Poland. Dating back to the Middle Ages, this subterranean labyrinth of tunnels and chambers has morphed from an industrial plant at the heart of the Polish economy into a world-famous tourist attraction, event location and a health resort. Read on to discover 10 fascinating facts about this UNESCO World heritage site.
Sarah Payne is a freelance quilting teacher, designer and TV demonstrator. We caught up with her while she was prepping samples for her next show to talk about her passion for fabric and the lure of the quilt festival.
Tutor and award-winning floral designer Jo Smith spends her days “spreading the joy of flowers.” We caught up with her at Blooms of Borrowdale to talk inspiration, seasonality and workshopping with Belgian designers.
When Sarah Ashford isn't making quilts, she is writing, Instagramming and podcasting about them. We met up with her to find out more.
Textile artist Chitra Mandanna scooped five awards at the India Quilt Festival 2019. Ahead of our tour to the 2021 edition, we caught up with her to find out more about her work and how it all began.
Singapore's extraordinary Jewel Changi Airport was designed by a consortium of internationally renowned architects, including world-class global engineering and consultancy practice BuroHappold. We caught up with Karl Lyndon, Global Aviation Sector Leader based at the company’s Bath office, to find out more.
Belgian floral designer Moniek Vanden Berghe's spectacular natural floral displays have brought her international acclaim, while her workshops attract aspiring arrangers from all over the world. Ahead of her latest workshop with us, we asked her to tell us why she likes teaching, how she got started and to explain her love of weeds....
Dotted with ancient, candy coloured towns that seem to have sprung straight from the pages of a children’s story, Alsace was made for Christmas. Small wonder then that this northeastern region of France is home to some of the best Christmas markets in Europe. Our Christmas Markets in Alsace holiday takes you to five of them.
The Esplanade Zagreb Hotel is one of the Croatian capital’s most famous and elegant buildings. First opened in April 1925, this 5* hotel has a fascinating - and rather glamorous -history.
Internationally acclaimed floral artist Atsushi Taniguchi fell in love with flowers as a child. We caught up with him at his beautifully scented store in Paris to talk roses, workshops and the beauty of nature
Singapore is famous for its street food - think the spicy noodle soup known as laksa, chicken rice and, of course, char kway teow, the smoky noodle stir fry that’s pretty much a national staple. Today these cheap and tasty dishes can be found in Hawker centres across the city, but hawker food has its roots in the itinerant food vendors of colonial Singapore.
Singapore's shophouses are architectural icons reflecting Singapore's multi-cultural influences
As our Tour Manager Steve Hartnell prepared to fly home from the 45th edition of the Houston International Quilt Festival, we asked him to send us a few pictures of his favourite artworks
Grace Meijer is one of the textile artists exhibiting work at the Quilt Festival Noord Groningen next June. As she prepares, we asked her to tell us a bit about her work and why this festival is a must see
"I do teach lots of technical tricks and tips in my workshops," says Fleur Creatif designer Annick Mertens, "but they are also a time to for people to unwind surrounded by beautiful flowers, laugh together, work together and finally return home with a feeling of deep satisfaction." As you can see from the photographs, our group did all of that and more.
Malaysian garden writer and award-winning blogger Elaine Yim will be giving a guided tour of Kuala Lumpur’s Secret Garden 1-Utama as part of our Singapore Garden Festival & Malaysia tour with Liz Bishop. We asked her to tell us why she loves this hidden green gem.
Reputed to be the largest display of tropical orchids in the world, Singapore’s National Orchid Garden is home to over 60,000 orchid species and more than 2,000 hybrids.
If you are interested in embroidery, then the Kutch region of North Western India is the place for you
As we launch our 2020 Fleur Créatif workshop adventures, we caught up with Lieven Hemschoote, Managing Director of the magazine’s publisher Rekad, to find out more about this fabulous floral publication
Eleanor Griffiths is a NAFAS member from Frodsham & District Evening Flower Club in Cheshire, an area judge and teacher of flower arranging. She has had a successful and inspiring summer, as we found out.
With only six months to go until WAFA2020, and with just days until registration closes, we caught up with the show’s President Kavita Poddar to find out more about the Grand Floral Affair
If you like shopping, then you will love Nantes. Here are some top spots.
Last month, the historic walled city of Jaipur was named as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. As well as recognising Jaipur’s extraordinary architectural heritage, the UNESCO office in New Delhi also cited the city’s status as ‘an exceptional example of a late medieval trade town’ and associations ‘with living traditions in the form of crafts that have national and international recognition.’ All of which means that the Pink City is a shopper’s paradise! Here are four must-visit stores:
The 2019 edition of the European Patchwork Meeting is only weeks away. We asked one of its biggest fans, our Tour Manager Adge Secker, to give us five reasons why this festival should be on everyone’s bucket list.
Sarah Matthews has just returned from several weeks as a guest yoga teacher at the Spa Village Resort, Tembok. We sat down with her to find out how she shares her love of yoga and why this tranquil 5* resort makes the perfect yoga space.
The Flower Dome at Singapore's Gardens by the Bay is the largest glass greenhouse in the world, and this month it's full of roses.
Linda Smith, NAFAS Area Demonstrator and independent teacher, has just come back from our Fleur Creatif Workshop Adventure. She talked to us about working with test tubes and the lure of European floral design.
In 2006, international landscape architecture consultancy Grant Associates was appointed to masterplan the first, and largest, of the three gardens at Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay. A fusion of nature and technology, the garden is home to two giant conservatories, spectacular horticultural gardens and, of course, the iconic Supertree Grove. We caught up with Founding Director Andrew Grant at the firm’s Bath office and find out more about these extraordinary structures.
The city of Singapore may be a global financial centre, but it is also filled with lush green spaces. Discover our top three
Assistant gardener and horticultural student Shaun Ward has just come home from a trip to the Netherlands. He talked to us about planting schemes, production lines and miles and miles of tulips....
Quiltmania's renowned showcase of all things patchworked, quilted, embroidered and knitted is an ECT favourite, and the 2019 tour was a treat from start to finish. Here's a flavour of the tour in pictures:
There's something special about Bali, a gentle spirituality and a barely perceptible shift in time that takes you back to a more tranquil time. No wonder then that we’ve chosen it as the location for our luxurious new wellness breaks.
Winding through 96km of breath taking landscape from India’s northern plains up to the hill town of Shimla, the Himalayan Toy Train is one of the world’s greatest train journeys.
Our tour manager Steve Hartnell led two of our recent Spring textile programmes and discovered that extraordinary quilts are just the beginning
Our new Singapore Gardens and Malaysia tour gives you the chance to commune with nature in three of Asia’s greenest locations
With less than a year to go, and registration about to open, preparations for WAFA India 2020 are entering their final phase. Michael Bowyer MBE and Tom Hodge travelled to India last week to meet the team and get a taste of our wonderful WAFA tour programme first hand. As he headed for the Diggi Palace, Michael sent back this report.
Jaipur is a city of patterns. Here local resident, pattern book creator, architect, town planner and clothing brand founder Renu Bhagwat talks to us about her work, her city and her love of print and pattern
Derek Armstrong is the Event Designer for NAFAS’ Diamond Anniversary celebrations. He took five minutes out of his very busy schedule to give us a taste of the festivities to come
As NAFAS turns 60, we caught up with the current Chairman Jan Law, whose own relationship with NAFAS began in 1963, for a quick history lesson
Contemporary quilt artist Jana Štěrbová is Managing Director of the Prague Patchwork Meeting, the international textile exhibition she helped to found in 2005. We caught up with her ahead of this year’s show.
Annick Mertens is one of the inspirational Fleur Créatif designers we’ve teamed up with on our Autumn Workshop Adventure. We asked her to tell us how she got started and why workshops are so important to her practice.
You may have noticed some exciting new tour categories have arrived on our Home page...
At 15, Susie Edwards received an invitation to travel to Australia with Constance Spry. We asked her to tell us how it came about and led her to spend a life in flowers
Fresh back from the Houston International Quilt Festival, and ahead of Pour L'Amour du Fil, we caught up with Rachael 'Blue Mountain' Daisy to talk quilts, flowers her new book
Established in 2006, the bi-annual Singapore Garden Festival has become one of the most important flower and garden festivals in the world. We asked Festival judge and editor of Fusion Flowers Alison Bradley why a visit here should be on every flower fan’s bucket list.
Floral artist Liz Bishop of Junglebloom accompanied our 2018 tour to the Singapore Garden Festival and Malaysia.We asked her to share her highlights.
Pat Cherrett has recently returned from a bespoke group tour to Ireland. We asked her to share her highlights.
Florist Astrid van den Berg has been running creative workshops as part of ECT's tours to the Netherlands for over a decade. We caught up with her to ask her how she got started and why she still loves teaching.
Our tour manager Ifor Griffith has just come back from a Beautifully British floral adventure in Lincolnshire with floral designer Jonathan Moseley. Here he tells us about taking part in his first floral workshop.
Every Spring Haalem's Frans Hals Museum opens its galleries to leading floral designers - with spectacular results. We caught up with the Monique van Royen to find out more.
Quilting Tours
Quilter's Guild
Graham Parker is not only one of our most experienced tour managers, he is a keen quilter too – an interest that gives his tours a unique flavour. We caught up with him in his garden (complete with quilt!) to ask how he got started and why he loves quilt travel.
WAFA
Our CEO Theresa McDermott travelled to India on a research trip ahead of our incredible programme celebrating WAFA 2020. She was entranced by the historic,vibrant culture, beautiful sites and gracious hospitality.
Young Florist of the Year Kay Willis shares her impressions of her floral adventure in the Netherlands travelling with ECT; seeing live flower auctions, visiting Dutch flower growers and enjoying a floral workshop.
What makes a good tour great? Tour organiser Simon Smith gives his top tips.
Kanchipuram, an ancient city is southern India's Tamil state, is famous for the production of hand-loomed silk. Textile expert and hand-loom advocate Sabita Radhakrishna gave us a quick history lesson....