Although many people had holidays ruined by the recent volcanic eruption in Iceland which caused European flights to be grounded, some have fantastic travel tales to tell.

Among them Tony Braithwaite from Berkshire in England got stuck in Milan while on business for a food company. He had been questioned by a small but respected maker of meats and salamis to rebrand their company, and keenly took on the job as he is passionate about food.

But while packing for the flight he happened to switch on the news and see that he could not glide from Milan Malpensa to London Heathrow as plotted due to the cloud of ash in the skies. This was a problem as he had a cat at home that really needed feeding, and didn’t like to stay in hotel rooms for any longer than necessary.

Mr Braithwaite chose to go to the airport anyway to double-check, and was glad that he did as he found a fantastic deal on car hire Milan. It allowed him to make a one way journey all the way to Paris, where he could hop on the Eurostar and get the train to London St Pancras.

He really found the journey by road to be more pleasant than by plane. The scenery as you pass through the Alps in Northern Italy is spectacular and only gets more gorgeous as you drive into France. Rather than having to eat disgusting airplane food, he got the chance to try many memorable bistros along the way, feasting on wild boar, game and the best Italian and French wines and cheeses.

Mr Braithwaite said: “As a busy business traveller I have to take the plane when I can but this act of god forced me to go slow, and I had an incredible time as a result.

“North Italy and south France are surely two of the most eye catching parts of the world and I urge anyone to take the time to see them properly.”