Olney Pancake Race 2026, Bucks, UK
While people around the UK are celebrating the approach of Lent by tossing pancakes in the warmth of their own kitchen, the gentlefolk of one Buckinghamshire town take to the…
Travel Topics
While people around the UK are celebrating the approach of Lent by tossing pancakes in the warmth of their own kitchen, the gentlefolk of one Buckinghamshire town take to the…
It’s never too old to fall in love, nor to show you love that special someone. So, to provide some romantic inspiration, Travel Begins at 40 has rounded up a few…
There is something in our DNA about feeling a need to rehydrate, rejuvenate and restore not only after an indulgent Christmas but also the dark days of winter. What better…
In recent years, the Roundhouse has done a little mid-winter shapeshifting. The great Victorian hemisphere in Camden Town, now one of London’s most cherished rock venues…
If someone uttered the words ‘road trip’, you could be forgiven for automatically thinking of America’s Route 66, or Australia’s East coast. However, we shouldn’t forget the amazing offerings on…
Roger Hermiston and Eileen Wise fill their boots on local history while staying and dining at The Swan at Lavenham in Suffolk, as well as enjoying the most blissful spa…
Fans of the silent screen should virtually head to Bristol this March for Slapstick Festival 2025, a celebration of silent and vintage screen comedy, and much more. The initial Slapstick…
February is the perfect time to visit the city of Derby, regardless of the state of the local football team Derby County’s fortunes. The 16th CAMRA Derby Winter Ale Festival…
The prize and the gallery that were both named for artist J M W Turner will be brought together in 2019, when the Turner Contemporary Gallery…
Part of a packed programme of events held each year on the island to the south of England, this year the Isle of Wight Mardi Gras will have the theme of the story of the carnival…
On a weekend jaunt to the depths of Somerset, Eileen Wise discovers in Babington House a luxury retreat familiar to many a star. A country retreat set in 18 acres…
Irene Caswell takes a micro-break to the Midhurst Spread Eagle in the West Sussex market town and discovers a hotel steeped in history that is truly fit for a Queen…
Writer and musician Anthony Joseph has said of his project Windrush: A Celebration, ‘How do we look at 70 years of musical and cultural impact?’ Indeed, so deeply entwined are…
There really is only one place to go for some fun for the family in the UK capital in the build up to Christmas, the Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park London. The fair is free to enter…
On his annual Isle of Wight holidays Mark Bibby Jackson takes a step back in history, as well as visiting a few familiar haunts. The Isle of Wight has always…
A highlight of the festive season, Winchester Christmas Market opens on 22 November. Since 2006 the market has been recognised as one of the leading Christmas Festivals…
Mark Bibby Jackson takes a stroll down memory lane in London’s South Bank, visiting the transformed Borough Market and popping in on the Tate Modern…
Southwest Wales will be getting deep, down and meaningful when the Tenby Blues festival comes to the Pembrokeshire town between 9-12 November, 2023. This year sees …
Seeing age as no barrier, John Sutcliffe donned his walking boot and took to the wilds of Britain on an epic journey that would take him from cape to cape…
The EFG London Jazz Festival held in November is the leading jazz festival in the UK capital. This year it will include Imelda May, Pat Metheny, ANOHNI and Meshell Ndegeocello…
With more than 100 Thai recipes, Busaba Bangkok Thai Cookbook brings the taste of Thai cuisine direct to your kitchen. Coral Glennie reviews what treats you have in store. The…
A medieval market town littered with fine examples of Georgian architecture, Mark Bibby Jackson discovers that Beverley is steeped in tradition with the Beverley Minster…
A new exhibition, Orlando at the Present Time, launched at the Charleston Farmhouse marks the 90th anniversary of Virginia Wolf’s seminal novel, Orlando…
On a trip to the North York Moors, Mark Bibby Jackson encounters in the Farmhouse a wonderful conversion with breathtaking views and great food that will eventually lead to Switzerland…
The UK has so much to offer with its rich history, galleries, theatres and concert halls, its commercial and scientific enterprise and its varied and undeniably scenic countryside.
UK National Parks
There are 15 National Parks in the UK, ranging from coastal areas to mountainous regions in England, Wales and Scotland. There are currently none in Northern Ireland. Unlike National Parks in other countries, in the UK parts of the designated, protected areas can be owned by private landlords. Such areas as the Lake District, Yorkshire Moors, Pembrokeshire Coastal Path, Snowdonia and the Cairngorms draw hikers and naturalists to them like a magnet.
UK Weather
The British never tire of the weather as a talking point. Broadly speaking it is a temperate climate, although winters are becoming wetter and summers warmer, probably from climate change. Warmer in the South, wetter in the West and colder in Scotland and Northern Ireland, the UK climate can be subject to diurnal change on a sudden basis, although, with the advent of satellites, the weather forecasts are more accurate. It is wise to take a waterproof with you on an extended trip.
Northern Ireland
Since the Good Friday Agreement brought greater stability to this previously troubled land, visitors are on an increase. The Titanic Museum displaying memorabilia regarding that renowned disaster and Ulster Museum looking at 3,000 years of Irish culture and history, are well worth a visit. Outside of Belfast, the Mountains of Mourne in County Down and the Giant Causeway, 60 miles outside Belfast, are not to be missed.