Win a luxury break at Minster Mill in the Cotswolds worth £1,200

I’m on the trail of an uncommon man — someone who you might say was the ultimate high-achiever. In particular, I’m looking for traces of his obscure childhood and early adult years, and I’m working backwards.

My friend is with me, but only in the physical sense — and often not even that. So it is that he disappears when I make my first stop, at a house my subject moved to in his thirties. It’s now a museum and a city’s tourist office. Has Friend gone to admire the cathedral’s colourful ceiling nearby? No. He returns munching cakes. Giving me a defiant look, he declares it a right royal feast.

The second stop is 15 miles west-southwest of the first as the cannon ball flies. A small town, named after a saint, it was once home to an important cloth market. My subject lived somewhere in this town before moving to the city, and is commemorated here by a rare statue. Friend wrinkles his nose at it. “Tawdry,” is his judgment.

The third stop is four and a half miles west of the statue. We’re on a bank of the same river that flows alongside our other stops, on the southern edge of a second town. It’s where my subject was born and raised. At last Friend is excited — but only because a French-sounding chocolate brand has a factory here. There’s an outlet shop too.

“Coming?” Friend asks. “Of course not,” I tell him. “I’m not here to snack. I want to see the subject’s school.” Friend looks away at the river, oozing disdain. “You’re such a Puritan,” he growls before marching off.

1. What is the name of the second town?2. What is the name of the river?

The winner and guest will stay for two nights, B&B, in a junior suite at Minster Mill in Oxfordshire. Set in 65 leafy riverside acres on the outskirts of Minster Lovell, this honey-stoned complex is handy for day trips to Blenheim Palace, Oxford and Bicester Village as well as serene walks in the Windrush Valley.

Back at base, guests can relax in the Garden Spa, play croquet or take a fly-fishing lesson before heading to the beamed Mill Bar for wine or cocktails. Dinner is served in the three-AA-rosette restaurant, where the chef, Andrew Campbell, mines a rich vein of seasonal and local ingredients with dishes such as truffled Westcombe ricotta and Cotswold venison loin. For details see minstermill.co.uk.

The prize includes dinner for two (excluding drinks) on both nights. The prize must be taken between October 4, 2023, and March 27, 2024, subject to availability and excluding Mondays and Tuesdays (when the hotel is closed), as well as the following blackout periods: December 23-January 2, February 14 and March 12-16.

The answers are Laphroaig Distillery and Kidalton Cross. Alan Rowark of Cheshire wins a luxury break in Crete worth £1,800 at the Domus Aulus Elounda.

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