Advice

The Lake District isn’t all about energetic outdoorsy activities on the fells or water. It can also be a place to just kick back and let yourself be pampered in a spa. Even better, some of the area’s spa hotels combine treatments and relaxation areas with stunning views, whether of lakes and hilltops or peaceful

Why would anybody go on a cruise, especially with Covid to contend with? At the start of the pandemic I wrote a detailed account of how one luxury vessel, the Diamond Princess, cruising Asia, became known as “the Corona plague ship” after there were nearly 700 cases on-board, leaving passengers then staff quarantined on-board for

It has been a hectic fortnight at the UK’s international airports, with flight cancellations and delays affecting thousands of British holidaymakers over the half-term break. And even now, after the children have returned to school, the chaos continues. Understandably, the public has been browsing the internet to find the answers to their most pressing holiday

I should be arriving in an Aston Martin DB5. The journey from Preveza, twisting through the oak-draped mountains and deep gorges of Epirus, has me humming one of 007’s portentous theme tunes. Thick forests offer occasional glimpses of secret bays and mysterious villages, until a lone eucalyptus at a nondescript junction provides the signal for

While the west coast of Mallorca gets the most attention, and you certainly have to dive off the rocks of Deià after a seafood lunch at least once in your life, the southeast of the island is arguably more beautiful. Avoid the resorts of Cala d’Or and stay inland at Santanyí, a golden stone town

So here it is – the big “off”. I’ve assembled my supplies and the forest stands waiting. It’s seven in the morning in Macapá, a small Brazilian city in the heavily forested state of Amapá, which lies on the north bank of the Amazon. Already here on the equator the dank smell of vegetation rises

First there was the travel ban. Then there was the stop-go brinkmanship of the traffic-light system. That was followed by the stress and confusion of the ever-changing testing and vaccination rules. And now… now we are finally free of virtually all restrictions, what do we get? Chaos.  The last week has seen the greatest shambles

It’s a truth universally acknowledged – most families don’t want to fly before 7am. Waking up in the middle of the night, then travelling with wired toddlers or grumpy teenagers is not the best start to a holiday.  This is why we deliberately booked a Ryanair flight at 1pm on our recent short trip to

Picture yourself on the quays at Bordeaux: before, the Garonne idles powerfully past. Behind, there’s the 18th-century magnificence of France’s noblest riverfront. And, beyond, in the city’s heart, monumental buildings and open space. The grandiose Palais de la Bourse has long suggested that Bordeaux was a capital city in search of a country to rule.

St Tropez is, quite simply, the most famous resort in Europe – and it was attracting the artistic and dissolute long before Brigitte Bardot’s time. The pointillist Paul Signac led them in from the late 19th century and, by the Forties and Fifties, the village was a summertime extension of the Parisian Left Bank: Juliette

With its sleepy thatched villages, lushly wooded valleys and fresh clean air, a spa break in Devon chills you out before anyone’s even so much as laid a hand on your chakras. This vast county, which is flanked by two epically beautiful coastlines, has a raft of warm-hearted spa hotels guaranteed to relax even the

The football soap opera never ends. No sooner will the whistle blow on today’s Champions League Final than our attention will turn to another season and another showpiece event. We are now less than six months away from what may prove to be the most controversial tournament in the sport’s history: the 22nd men’s World

Everyone knows about York’s Roman and Viking history, but not so many people realise it has a wealth of luxury boutique accommodation and a thriving cultural scene, with cool neighbourhoods full of independent shops, restaurants and cafés, as well as countless museums, theatres and attractions. York is an ideal size for exploring on foot, and

Here we go again. After the Easter holidays were marred by staggering airport queues and a raft of flight cancellations, half term has also kicked off with a large dose of stress for holidaymakers.  Last Friday, easyJet cancelled 240 departures up until June 6, while British Airways axed 140 scheduled flights from Heathrow (though many

No other city in the world straddles two continents; nowhere else has been the capital of two empires. This vibrant metropolis of 15 million people, sprawling across the European and Asian sides of the Bosphorus Strait, is unique. Founded by the Greeks, later capital of the Christian Byzantine Empire, Istanbul blossomed anew at the heart

You know if there’s a southwesterly blowing when you’re standing at South Stack. The promontory at the west end of Anglesey, Britain’s fifth largest island, pokes into the Irish Sea as if to taunt onshore winds. Other landmasses – Scotland, Ireland, the Pembrokeshire peninsula – provide a buffer when the weather comes from different compass

The Queen’s royal tours have always packed a diplomatic punch. Over the course of Her Majesty’s seven decades on the throne, marked this year with the Platinum Jubilee, many of her subjects have not only been enthralled by the exotic locations she has visited and the rare glimpse her travels have provided into her private

Heading to London for Wimbledon? Thanks to the unique buzz that surrounds the oldest tennis tournament in the world, June/July is always a fantastic time to visit the wider South West corner of the capital and its leafy surrounding areas. At the desirable heart of the action and with an eclectic mix of rustic pubs, chic

Flight cancellations and delays continue to affect British holidaymakers, as easyJet warns flights could be disrupted due to IT problems, advising customers both in the UK and Europe to check the status of their trip before travelling to the airport. Passengers on a Wizz Air flight due to depart London Gatwick were also hit by

‘I don’t wanna talk, about things we’ve gone through.” The opening line of Abba’s forlorn 1980 break-up hit The Winner Takes It All always sounded hopelessly unrealistic. Few musical acts have held the public’s affection or interest quite as firmly as this celebrated (largely) Swedish pop quartet. Even now, half a century on from their