***20 December 2023: Please note that applications for these positions are now closed*** Trufflepig as a company was started by Trip Planners and is run by Trip Planners, and in a world of distractions and fads we maintain a single-minded focus on our core objective: planning great trips. Trufflepig’s Trip Planners are destination specialists and […]

Our man Anton lives at the pace of a cruising bike in the grand city of London England.  There is something special about the pace of a free-wheeling bicycle – it allows you to float past the riff-raff, watching life roll by, almost unseen. The bike, since its invention, has barely evolved, a perfect invention […]

There was a time period at the end of the 70’s, when rock and roll belched up 15 minute ballads sticky with hairspray, and the efficiency of a 2-4 beat and counterculture got lost in the woods and egos of stadium shows. We ended up with “Paradise By The Dashboard Light”. Fortunately punk rock and […]

Here’s the thing about cider (or hard cider); it’s incredibly simple to make and anyone can do it. I have been consistently making average to disappointing cider for the last five years, but that’s not the point. You don’t need any special equipment or ingredients other than apples.  You crush them, squeeze them and then […]

I am a fan of rooftop London. To be honest, I am a fan of rooftop anywhere, but after lockdown was over, I swiftly sought out all of London’s rooftops – to go out, go up and drink in that skyline view. It was like a balm to the soul after being stuck inside for […]

Sometimes, when doing research you can kinda get lost in the prosaic, asking the same questions at each hotel you encounter on a site visit–how many rooms does the hotel have? Do you have interconnecting suites? Is there a 24hr gym? Is wifi included in the rate? It is important to shake free of these […]

Holidays are lurking and with it, more Coronavirus cases and renewed lockdowns. It’s all been enough for anyone to reach for the bottle. As we hunker down for the winter, we asked around our planning team to see who’s got the bartending chops in the Trufflepig farm.  Below are some road-tested recipes that came back […]

One of the main pleasures in my life is jumping on my bike (she’s called “Joyce”) and exploring my beloved London. I am lucky enough to pretend that part of this is for work: I am seeking out cool stuff for our clients to see when they come to the Big Smoke. It’s true that […]

We’ve been out on the road this year…. a lot. At half-time on 2019, our trotters are worn smooth, and it’s time to take stock. The pictures above flooded my inbox when I naively wrote to our planning team to ask for a few shots from recent research trips. I was struck by the awesome […]

I had heard that Scotland had some of the best driving anywhere. I generally take statements like these with a pinch of salt but I’ve always been partial to a good road trip. So when my wife and I were in Scotland for a family celebration, we took the opportunity to tack on a wee (I’m not […]

My first tag was in Bangkok (I write that as if I did more, but there was only one lame attempt). It was premeditated, illegal, and fun as hell.  It was lame because I couldn’t even come up with my own tag idea, I bought a book of pre fab stencil tags in the Hong Kong airport and […]

There are many hidden places of history in London –  it is a city of layers that is to be discovered on foot through its higgledy-piggledy lanes and streets. No grid system here. There are, however, many cul-de-sacs and crescents that confuse and confound. Cycling lanes end where cobbles begin and then suddenly you discover […]

Henry VIII seems to be endlessly fascinating; there is no shortage of books or programs about his reign and his many brides. Katherine Parr, the last of his six wives, is buried at Sudeley Castle & Gardens—the only private castle in England to have a queen entombed within its grounds. Today visitors can explore the […]

I sometimes find it a little strange that graveyards are also tourist attractions. A place where we bury our dead is also, weirdly, a rather pleasant place to walk on a sunny Sunday afternoon. I guess death is very much a part of life, so why the hell not? Things can turn sinister when the […]

There is nothing quite like avoiding the multitudinous crowds when visiting a popular attraction. Something about being among a throng and herded around gets my goat. So it was with some delight that I recently visited the sanctified stones of Stonehenge for an hour with just nine others. There was no herding around, and you […]

There’s another big kid on the block in London’s ever-growing high-rise City. Officially known as 20 Fenchurch Street, unofficially and widely known as the “Walkie Talkie” due to its shape, the building is a gleaming edifice rising over lovely Leadenhall Market. The 37-storey building by world-renowned architect Rafeal Viñoly has a distinctive shape in that it widens […]