scotland and the south—east and west of england. now on bbc news the travel show... wow! welcome to the travel show. this week, i'm in tuscany, in the mountain town of volterra to find out all about the delights of this region. check these guys out behind me. they're called the spandera torri. but first up, we're off to the azores. and if you're not familiar with them,

they're an archipelago far out in the atlantic ocean, about 1,500 kilometres off the coast of portugal. now, we sent cat moh to san miguel, the largest of the islands, to see how they're using volcanoes to power up and keep tourism going amidst rising energy prices. cat: adventurers have long been drawn to these nine volcanic islands jutting out in the middle of the atlantic. they've been called �*the hawaii of europe', and it's easy to see why on san miguel. this intense greenery is a result of regular rainfall and mist. i mean, just look at all of this. now, locals say you can experience four seasons in one day, and right now, it's pretty misty. but that could change at any moment. hiking in the forest, i almost forget that san miguel was borne out of volcanoes erupting. but there's no getting away from it in the valley of

furnas. it's, in fact, a huge volcanic crater and a hot spot of geological activity. that's boiling and the mud boiling, so... 0h! bubbling and gurgling we are in an active dormant volcano. so the magma below us... the smell! ..even if it's crystallised magma, it releases temperature and gases. that heat produced by the volcano can be used to make energy to sustain life on the island. it's a good position to be in at a time when the rest of europe is struggling with high gas and electricity prices. but what's it really like living in an active volcano? would you say that the azores is a safe place for people to live and for tourists to come and visit? ok. i usually say... there was a pause there! yeah! but, usually i say that we live in the centre of the world.

of course, that from a seismic and volcanic point of view, we need to be aware that we live in volcanic — active volcanic systems. what is important is that we monitor the sites. if this is done, i think we are in a safe place if we follow the rules. unsurprisingly, the locals have been making the most of having these natural steam pots around. these bubbling ones near the lake are perfect for cooking in. how hot is it inside? it varies between 60 to 97 degrees. 60 to 97 degrees celsius inside! and how long's it going to stay in there for? seven hours. tourists chatter these cooking holes act like a steam oven for the island's

most iconic food — cozido das furnas. and i'm definitely not going to pass up the opportunity to try some. so we have chicken, we have beef and pork, sweet potato, yams, everything. sweet potato... carrots, cabbage. ..carrots. i see everything here. is this pork? this is pork. just pulls apart. 0k. mm! good! the meat�*s really soft and tender. you can tell it's been cooked for a very long time. just like... the juice, the juices you see is from the product. 0k. 0k, all in the produce. and that is cozido! that is cozido! with over 500,000 visitors a year — that's four times

the island's population — san miguel needs all the energy it can get. just a 30—minute drive from here is one of the island's two geothermal plants. i want to find out how they're harnessing volcanic energy to produce electricity, reducing the island's dependence on oil and gas. this is where everything starts. a geothermal well is drilled inside the reservoir. oh, my goodness! i can feel the heat coming up. exactly, because deep inside, at between 500 metres to 1,000 metres, there is hot water at 240 degrees. wow! it's notjust geothermal energy that's used here. the island has been taking advantage of all its natural resources to increase its green credentials. between geothermal, hydro and wind, we already are able to fulfil almost 60% of the needs of the island. and this is important because this allow us to be a little bit self—sufficient. if we have situations like a war or something that makes the prices go very high of energy, this allow us to a source to be a little bit less dependent on what concerns energy.

that's no small feat at a time when global events have made electricity bills shoot up to record levels elsewhere. energy independence, sustainability and wild beauty combined in one small island. and what better way to finish off than to come here — the crater of sao miguel�*s largest volcano. some come to hike, whilst others do this. i can't believe i'm kayaking in a crater! it's so calm and serene here. it's incredible to think that this was once the site of a very angry volcano.

and i'm going to be getting to grips with a great big hunk of cheese but what makes this weekend special is the palio dei caci, a downhill obstacle course, racing cheese. and i'm taking part. oh, my days! look how steep this is! oh, my! i'm struggling just to control my chair. oh, no! ok, so maybe i need a masterclass. ade. nice to meet you. all right, let's see. jeez, he's off at pace! pace! this is going to be carnage.

the rules are simple — guide the cheese around the hay bales as quick as possible. the winner moves through the rounds till you're left with one champion. applause the cheese rolling is a pretty strange tradition. how did it begin? so you must be one of the best, yes? so you're the champion?

you're the reigning champion? the best cheese roller in the whole of italy? si! champion! that's what i'm talking about. so, should i be wearing a helmet and some kneepads and gloves? no. no? ijust need tough skin, yeah? 0k! 0k. one last practice run. come on, come on, come on! come on! come on, come on, come on! laughs broke through the barrier! good? good! good, man. come on! right — well, i've learned from the best. there's nothing more i can do here until the race. so i've been told if you want to truly understand what the cheese race is all about, well, the time has come. the medieval costumes all add to the experience as this race is also in part an historical re—enactment. the contestants come

from all over volterra, having been specially selected to represent their village or district. uno, due, tre... so this is our guy, davide. go, davide! shouts of encouragement cheering almost there! cheering and applause so i clearly didn't win the prized cheese. but i found the man that did. grazie! it's my first time trying this. wow! that's actually really good.

good? multo bono? buono. buono! multo buono! wow! hello there. it's bitterly cold out there at the moment. once again, it wasn't so bad earlier on if you did have some sunshine. we've seen a lot more cloud, though, earlier across scotland that's been bringing some more snow in, especially for eastern parts of the country, some very slippery conditions. over the next few days, we stay in cold air. we're going to find some more wintry showers leading to some icy stretches. and by the beginning of next week, maybe a bit more freezing fog around as well. mind you, across some parts of the country, here in norfolk, for example, we have seen gray, foggy skies, keeping it cold that's

tending to move away. and with clear skies, temperatures should be dropping rapidly overnight. we've got this band of rain, sleet and snow moving down across scotland. fewer wintry showers for northern ireland, wales, western parts of england, but some icy conditions here. so too potentially in the midlands with the cloud bringing a few wintry flurries here as well. another widespread frost, of course, lowest temperatures with the clearer skies in southeastern parts of england and also in northern england, minus seven or so. but some sunshine for these areas. we are going to stay quite cloudy, though, through the midlands. again, a few wintry flurries in there, more sunshine coming out in wales, the showers becoming fewer in south west england and more sunshine i think on sunday for northern ireland and scotland away from the far north. some sunshine for northern england as well. but sunshine or cloud, it's going to be cold for all of us.

temperatures maybe i to 3 degrees at best. now we're keeping an eye on developments in the south east of england on sunday night. the potential is still there for some snow in particularly kent and parts of essex. but we are also going to find some fog forming in some areas of east anglia through the midlands, other parts of southern england. elsewhere, clear skies, a widespread frost on sunday night and in northeast scotland could be —i2, the coldest night of the year. sunshine, though, across scotland. some showers in the far north of the country, sunshine for northern ireland, showers through the north channel and in the irish sea across england and wales, some sunshine but at best cloudy skies across parts of the midlands, east anglia in the southeast, at worst, some freezing fog, the snow flurries tending to die out. and again, another very cold day. that's monday. and really through the rest of the week, we stay in cold air. the winds light to begin with, hence the risk of freezing fog from the middle of the week onwards, we get that arctic wind back again, blowing away the fog, bringing some more snow in the north.

three people are confirmed dead, and others are missing, after an explosion destroyed a block of flats injersey. the blast happened at about four o'clock this morning. some residents had yesterday reported smelling gas in the area. specialist equipment has been brought in from the mainland to help