Travelers who have had their fill of...

Travelers who have had their fill of tours are escaping to the boonies for life on a farm in Britain. Scattered across England, Scotland, Wales are hundreds of farmhouses offering hospitality for as little as $35 a day. A chance to get acquainted with locals while ringing down the curtain on stress. Cattle, chickens, vegetable gardens, miles of pasture land slide into focus on these peaceful British farms. I spent a couple of pleasant days several years ago on a farm in a village near Tauton (southwest of London). The couple in charge churned butter, tended their cattle and garden, canned berries, prepared huge meals for their guests. The menu ran the scale from pheasant and spring lamb to milk-fed pork, duck, turkey, fresh salmon, scallops, garden fresh vegetables, fruit with clotted cream. Tables groaned with steamed puddings, apple crumble, scones, cookies and other good things.

I met an Austrian couple at another farm who had booked a room for six days and wound up remaining three weeks, which gives you an idea of how addictive farm life in Britain can be. Some farms feature swimming pools/game rooms. Tea kettles hum in the kitchen. Fires crackle in the lounge. At another farm I visited, honeysuckle vines crawled a split-rail fence, and the air was as fresh as the stream that flowed through the property. No pressures, no schedules, no commitments. Each farm has its own profile. Horses/ponies for riding. Trout streams. Picnics in verdant valleys (or hillsides covered with heather, wildflowers, gorse).

For a wrap-up on farm holidays, get a copy of “Stay on a Farm” from the British Travel Authority, 350 S. Figueroa St., Suite 450, Los Angeles 90071, (213) 628-3525. Other details from your travel agent. British Gifts (800-882-7885) stocks helpful publications on accommodations. Inquire about the book “Discover Britain” (names 1,300 properties, many of them farms).

London Planner: For those beginning their trips in London, a 30-page pocket-size booklet produced by the British Tourist Authority contains information on shows, concerts, art exhibits, sports. Another section on sightseeing activities (river/canal trips, motor-coach tours, guided walks, suggested day trips out of London). The booklet lists theater offerings, comedies, musicals by the National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Theatre Company. Other pages are devoted to opera, ballet, jazz/rock concerts. For free copies of the “London Planner,” contact the British Tourist Authority listed above.

Olympic Fever: Olympic fever is growing in Albertville (420 miles southeast of Paris). This is headquarters in France for the Winter Games (Feb. 8-23). Our advice is to take the swift TVG train from Paris. Other service from Lyon/Geneva. For a memorable meal in Albertville, try the Hotel Million. Michelin gives it two stars. Current room rates: 500/600 francs per couple per night. Prices are expected to be hiked during the Olympics. While opening/closing ceremonies will be held in Albertville, most events will take place out of town. As a result, thousands of visitors will be put up in inns/hotels in picturesque villages throughout the Alps. Free bus service (for ticket holders) will be provided from Albertville to the Olympic sites. If you book accommodations in Albertville, take the bus. Traffic is expected to be a nightmare. With a rental car, there will be the risk of getting stuck in traffic jams as well as the irritating prospect of applying chains.

Don’t miss a visit to nearby Grenoble and Annecy (known as the prettiest village in France). France’s top ski resort, Courchevel, will be the site of Nordic ski-jumping competition. Meribel will host hockey teams. Those taking part in luge competition will be based at La Plagne (bobsled runs up to 80-90 miles per hour). Other Olympic events will be held in Val-d’Isere, Les Arcs, Tignes.

Alpine Centers: American Express has opened service centers throughout the French Alps for Olympic visitors. Courchevel will house the largest office. Travel/financial assistance will be provided to thousands attending the Games. Other offices at the Lyon and Chambery airports, Moutiers (for regional train/bus service to Olympic events), Albertville, Meribel, Val-d’Isere. Nearly 1 million visitors are expected to attend the 1992 Games. Besides regional offices, American Express will operate a mobile travel office to serve visitors at other Olympic sites.

Weekender: Twenty-five miles south of San Francisco, the Goose & Turret B&B; in Montara (eight miles north of Half Moon Bay) is planning Swedish weekend celebrations, Jan. 17-18/Feb. 21-22. Swedish films, Swedish meals. The schedule calls for four-course breakfasts, afternoon teas, buffet dinners. Guests will play golf, go whale watching, riding, visit art galleries. Lazy types can snooze, play games and read by the fire. The all-inclusive price for the weekend will range from $330-$363 per couple for two teas, two dinners, two movies, lodging for two nights, breakfast for two. The Goose & Turret is operated by Emily Hoche-Mong.

Goose & Turret B&B;, P.O. Box 937, Montara, Calif. 94037-0937, (415) 728-5451.

Snowflakes in Purgatory: New nonstop service from LAX to Durango, Colo., is scheduled to begin Jan. 22. Flights will operate Wednesdays/Sundays through March 8. Round-trip air fare, $239. Plenty of action is expected at Purgatory-Durango Ski Resort. Sportours charter service offers a variety of packages. An all-inclusive three-day vacation includes the round-trip flight, lodging for three nights at Purgatory-Durango Ski Resort, a three-day lift pass, transfers/taxes for $399 per person (based on double occupancy). Purgatory maintains 62 trails, nine lifts. Also offers sleigh rides, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing.

Sportours at (800) 660-2754 (Southern California) or (800) 423-7243 (nationwide). Other details from Purgatory-Durango Central Reservations at (800) 525-0892.

Baja: Whale-watching season in Baja begins this month, continues into mid-March. Some interesting trips by Baja California Tours. Travel by motor coach/four-wheel-drive. Cruises/air packages. Destinations include Guerrero Negro, Scammon’s Lagoon, San Ignacio Lagoon, Magdalena Bay. These are the breeding/calving grounds for gray whales that travel thousands of miles from the Bering Sea. Taking part in the tour program are hotels at Puerto Nuevo (south of Rosarito Beach) and Ensenada. One tour company sets up camps at San Ignacio Lagoon/Magdalena Bay. Baja California Tours is featuring a six-day package that includes sightseeing along the Baja peninsula together with whale watching. We’ve had good reports on BCT.

Call Baja California Tours at (619) 454-7166.

Potpourri: A 120-page directory listing 2,000 volunteer jobs in national parks, forests, other public lands is available for $5 from AHS/Helping Out, P.O. Box 20160, Washington, D.C. 20041-2160 . . . A five-day package New York-Finland (including air/hotel) is available for $569 during February by calling Finnway, Inc., at (800) 526-4927 . . . Copies of the ’92 schedule for British Columbia ferries are being mailed by B.C. Ferries, 1112 Fort St., Dept. L&L;, Victoria, B.C., Canada V8V 4V2 . . . Trips to 40 countries worldwide are described in a free 48-page catalogue produced by Journeys International. Call (800) 255-8735 . . . For a New Hampshire vacation kit containing a ski map, call (800) 944-1117 . . . A deluxe junior suite with champagne, free parking and breakfast in bed is offered as a Valentine package for $147 by San Francisco’s Villa Florence Hotel (800-553-4411) . . . Ask your travel agent about a two-for-one round-trip flight by Alaska Airlines, LAX to Toronto, for $423.

Reader Recommendations

Hawaii--Pat Boyd, Torrance: Enjoyed tours with Island Bicycle Adventurers, Inc., P.O. Box 458, Volcano Village, Hawaii 96785, (800) 233-2226.

Missouri--June and T.E. Foreman, Riverside: “Enjoyed The Winter House B&B;, 3522 Arsenal St., St. Louis 63118. Rates: $65.”

Greece--Lois Gordon, Santa Monica: Praise for OPA Tours Greece, 9345 Glory Ave., Tujunga 91042. “One of the best tours my husband and I have ever taken.”