Cultivated by the Raj, these Ceylon fields are a hillside paradise … but you’ll need a cuppa after the journey

AS we neared the town of Nuwara Eliya in the highlands of Sri Lanka my mood was black, my backside numb. I was soaked in sweat (the air-con packed up after the first hour, just after we got a puncture), and my nerves were jangling as we crashed through one horrendous pothole after another.

No matter how fabulous the famous Tea Factory Hotel looked in the brochure, I was seriously doubting the sanity of the trip I had eagerly planned at my kitchen table in Perthshire.