THE DEBRIEF

It is not as sensational as the news that Anthony Blunt, former keeper of the Queen's pictures, was the Fourth Man in the Burgess, Maclean, Philby spy scandal - a story that broke 29 years ago tomorrow. But Les Trois Vallées, known for its network of ski runs, has been harbouring a Fourth Valley. The Maurienne Valley behind Val Thorens offers uncrowded off-piste skiing, according to Purple Ski (www.purpleski.com ), which gives a day's free ski guiding to customers who book a chalet holiday this winter.

HOT SPOT

Finding out about the birds and bees at 50-plus might sound a bit late, but according to Saga it's time to wake up and smell the honey. In response to the dive in British honey production - down by 50 per cent this year, apparently - the holiday company for busy-bee oldies is offering “Beekeeping for Beginners Experiences” next year. The residential courses at Littlecote House, a Warner hotel in Berkshire, are taught by an apiarist and include getting honey and wax from the hive, candlemaking and how to deal with a swarm. Veils on, everyone! www.saga.co.uk/warner

How to take the family skiing on the cheap

HELLO, SHIPMATES

What better way to celebrate the bicentenary of Charles Darwin than introducing the children to the giant tortoises and blue-footed boobies in the Galapagos Islands? A family of four can sail for a week aboard My Grace, the honeymoon yacht of Princess Grace and Prince Rainier of Monaco, for £20,000 with Bailey Robinson (www.baileyrobinson.com). If that sounds a bit pricey, take the kids on a virtual voyage on HMS Beagle, navigating your way around Darwin: Big Idea, Big Exhibition at the Natural History Museum in London, which opened yesterday. A family ticket costs £24 from www.nhm.ac.uk

SITE OF THE WEEK

www.hostelworld.com

A useful place to look for credit crunch-friendly budget accommodation with more than 18,000 hostels in 170 countries, from less than £5 a night. More than a booking site, there are city guide podcasts to download, reviews and hostels are rated for character, security, location, staff, fun and cleanliness.

THE ROYAL TOUCH

Never mind dancing with a man who's danced with a girl who's danced with the Prince of Wales, as the old song goes. Join the queue to be pummelled by the hands that pummelled the back of Prince William. Nearing the end of his 1,000-mile motorcycle jaunt - sorry, charity ride - across Africa last month, Wills unwound with a back, neck and shoulder massage at the Katberg Hotel & Mountain Spa (www.katberghotel.co.za) in South Africa, costing only £12. The masseuse with the magic fingers, Liesel Coley, declared the future king “a very well-built man”.

Caroline Hendrie

BOOK IT

The adventurer and writer Ben Fogle will be signing copies of his books at the Ellis Brigham outdoor suppliers shop at the new Westfield shopping centre in West London at 3pm next Saturday. The event will raise cash for the Gurkha Welfare Trust.

END OF THE PIER SHOW

The North Somerset Museum in Weston-Super-Mare has launched an exhibition on the seaside resort's Grand Pier, which was destroyed in a fire this summer.

ANCIENT GOOGLE

Google Earth has created a 3-D version of Ancient Rome, complete with more than 6,700 buildings.

BEE GOOD

The Travel Foundation, a sustainable tourism charity, has created “e-cards” to send as Christmas presents - with proceeds going to projects such as honey-making in Mexico. The cards cost from £5. A spokeswoman said: “Albert Einstein famously told us that if the bees disappeared Man would have no more than four years to live.”

GALLIC GLEAM

The French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni were spotted recently at the Oberoi hotel in Delhi, where they had been staying in the Koh-i-Noor suite (named after the famous 186-carat diamond in the Queen's coronation crown). The hotel's rack rate could buy a few diamonds: £3,080 a night.

BOGNOR STANDARDS

A new 200-room “contemporary style” hotel with an “art spa” will open at Butlins in Bognor Regis next year. The resort has also introduced wireless internet.

EXCELLENT, MOST

Condé Nast Johansens, the hotel directory, says that Rylstone Manor in Shanklin on the Isle of Wight offers the “most excellent value for money” of more than 1,300 hotels inspected annually in Britain. Rooms cost from £55 B&B.

Tom Chesshyre

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