Across Cumbria local communities, businesses and grassroots organisations are being mobilised to map out ways that they hope will help it become the UK’s first carbon-neutral county. The county has targeted 2037 to decarbonise, an ambition initially supported by £2.5m of national lottery funding, which was awarded last August and will be drip-fed over the […]
Read MoreCategory: Travel
Havana: a virtual tour through food, music, films and books
A 1950s highway, bleached to sepia by the Caribbean sun, leads from Cuba’s Santa María beaches through palm and hibiscus. It passes close to the fishing village of Cojímar, crests a small rise and there is Havana, sweeping frontage wounded but upright against the turbulent waters of the Florida Straits. During Havana’s first centuries, its […]
Read More
Despite Pandemic, IHG Avid Brand Continues Growth With “Just Right” Value Focus
avid hotels has more than 200 hotels in its global pipeline. IHG Hotels & Resorts Launched in 2017, the midscale “avid” brand from InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) is one of the company’s newest and continues to expand including the recent groundbreaking of a property in Canada and its second hotel in Mexico. There are 25 […]
Read MoreBleary eyes and chaste kisses at Heathrow as passengers beat air corridor deadline
The glamour of international travel long ago fell victim to baggage searches and belt-removals, retail-saturated terminals, low-cost airlines and long queues at passport control. The arrival of Covid-19, mask-wearing and the fiendish paradox of social distancing on cramped airliners has only added to the generally tedious business of getting from one country to another. Now, […]
Read MoreFrom dolphins to rewilding: 11 environment-aware holidays for 2021
Rewilding centres The idea of rewilding – moving away from current forestry and agricultural techniques and allowing nature to thrive – is gaining ground. One exciting new project is Wild Ken Hill in north Norfolk, where alongside pioneering regenerative farming and traditional conservation practices, a 400-hectare (1,000-acre) area is being returned to the wild, with […]
Read More‘It tastes of somewhere else’ – two meal kit reviews | Jay Rayner
Berenjak, berenjakbazaar.com. Meal kits £25-£45 Pizarro, josenationwide.slerp.com. Tapas £3.50-£9.50; larger dishes £18-£37; desserts £4-£15 A single red onion has been delivered to me. It arrives in a brown paper bag alongside taut-skinned tomatoes, a lemon and some plastic gloves. I am instructed to slice up the onion, then dress it with the juice of half […]
Read More
Fancy a Malta visit — here’s our guide to the tiny capital of Valletta — effectively one giant castle
THERE is no harm in planning a break for when we swap locking down for touching down. That is why we are taking a look at some of our readers’ favourite destinations – and revealing why they deserve to be your next holiday hotspot. 8 Malta’s tiny capital, Valletta, is effectively one giant castle This […]
Read More
Head beyond Havana and discover the stunning town of Trinidad
HOLED up in a bar in the Cuban town of Trinidad, I sip a mojito and listen to a nearby church bell ring nine times. On the final peal, the salsa band waiting patiently in the square below begins to play. 5 The Cuban town of Trinidad is the perfect place to watch your worries […]
Read MoreI got cabin fever in lockdown … so built my own beach hut
It started with a chance comment from York hotelier Simon Cowton during an interview. “I was getting depressed in lockdown,” he said. “I realised I had to have a project.” Simon’s solution was to start a building project. He set about redesigning his hotel garden as a magical support bubble-friendly outdoor restaurant. When I got […]
Read More
Animal therapy & eco skiing — enjoy an amazing wellness holiday in Europe
WHEN we finally get to travel again, we will want to make the most of every minute of each trip. The experts at easyJet Traveller — the low-cost airline’s inflight magazine — have come up with their best travel experiences in Europe to enjoy once the borders open up. 8 Start planning your next wellness […]
Read More
This Music Video Made With Ocean Plastics Is An Ecological Call To Arms
Skies may have looked clearer last year than in 2019 due to COVID-related lockdowns and a drop in air travel. But just because we were all locked inside, doesn’t mean our ecological problems suddenly vanished. Forests around the world continued to get cut down, protected lands continued to be threatened, and that island of plastic […]
Read More
What is a travel corridor and what are the new coronavirus restrictions?
BORIS JOHNSON has stopped all travel corridors with other countries to try to contain the spread of coronavirus. Here is what you need to know about the new travel restrictions. 2 All travel corridors are now offCredit: Reuters What is a travel corridor? Last year, the government introduced new travel rules which let Brits travel […]
Read More‘I don’t know what I’d have done without it’: the hobbies helping people through lockdown
The stile world cup started as a joke, but now has 120 contenders It all started three years ago as an antidote to the angry, inflamed opinions on Twitter. I just thought, let’s make something nice here so I started posting photos of stiles that I’d taken on my daily fell runs in the Lake […]
Read More
Disneyland Has Cancelled All Annual Passes And Will Suspend The Program Indefinitely
Shh, listen — can you hear that? It’s the faint sound of a million Disney nerds in Southern California who are absolutely losing it right now because Disneyland just announced that it is putting an end to its Annual Pass program and will be canceling all currently active passes. I don’t care if you live […]
Read More10 of the best virtual travel experiences: readers’ tips
Winning tip: A bird’s eye view of Norway One of my joys of travelling is listening to music on a train while watching a new country spool by outside the window. During lockdown I discovered how to replicate this experience while confined to the house: by watching drone footage of faraway places on YouTube. My […]
Read MorePongal is comfort food for south India’s harvest season – plus the recipe
I stand in my kitchen, in the liminal light between dreams and dawn, trying to contain my delight. Normally, I am a late and grouchy riser but today is Pongal – the harvest festival celebrated across southern India, particularly Tamil Nadu, in mid-January – which gives me the opportunity to eat its namesake food, one […]
Read More
Insect Market To Explode: EU Gives Green Light To Eating Mealworm
Mealworm burgers have been on sale in Swiss supermarkets since 2017 AFP via Getty Images Yellow mealworm is soon to appear on European menus, in bars, smoothies and burgers, after the EU decided that they are safe for human consumption. It’s just the first insect that will be hitting supermarket shelves–the EU is likely to […]
Read MoreHow intention turns a walk into a pilgrimage – plus 5 British pilgrim trails
When we are set free from our confinement, what are the safe options for venturing out? Last year was the year of walking outdoors, so perhaps – and I may be biased – 2021 will be the year for pilgrimages? To lay the ground for rediscovery, in summer 2020 the British Pilgrimage Trust (BPT) launched […]
Read MoreRyanair and Virgin Atlantic rated the worst airlines at dealing with refunds in 2020
Ryanair and Virgin Atlantic have been rated the worst airlines for customer service by people who tried to get a refund after their flight was cancelled. Both airlines scored “abysmally low” in a survey conducted by Which? Travel, with eight out of 10 customers saying they were dissatisfied with the refund service they received after […]
Read More
Travel Pros Share How They Hope To See Travel Change, Post-Pandemic
It might not be fully safe to travel again in 2021. Sure, vaccines are rolling out in some countries (including this one), but not always with a great sense of urgency. Meanwhile, it’s grown clear that even a negative COVID test might mean you can still asymptomatically spread the disease (and therefore possibly kill people), […]
Read MoreUK private Covid test companies accused of failing to deliver
Private companies have been accused of cashing in on the coronavirus pandemic by offering expensive Covid tests to customers with urgent travel plans, then failing to deliver. Most countries now require travellers to be tested up to 72 hours before they fly and dozens of unregulated companies have sprung up offering DIY swabs or on-site […]
Read MoreNegative Covid test required to enter England from Friday
International travellers will need to present a negative Covid-19 test to enter England from 4am on Friday. The government confirmed the start date on Tuesday morning after announcing the plans last week. Passengers will be required to take a test in the 72 hours before departure by plane, train or ferry, and provide evidence of […]
Read More10 of the best virtual travel experiences for 2021
See Amsterdam’s Canal district as never before Starting from their artisanal chocolate shop in the De Wallen red light district, husband-and-wife team Ian and Salomé have devised a tour of Amsterdam that, right now, shows its canals quieter than you’re ever likely to see them in person. The tour is organised through Vancouver-based ToursByLocals, which […]
Read MoreSemi-solo hiking brings me the gift of time alone, and the joy of reuniting
On my 13th birthday, my sister gave me a pale pink card with a cat playing a harp. There was a halo above its head and the words “My sister, the angel.” I smiled and opened the card to read the message inside: “Always harping on about something”. I laughed because it was true: I […]
Read MoreFestivals, holidays, Euro 2020… will summer’s big events still go ahead?
As Covid-19 cases rise across the world, hopes that life could get back to some semblance of normality by summer are fading. What chance do we have of going to a festival, flying off for a holiday or attending a major sporting event? Sport Doubts are growing about the wisdom of going ahead with major […]
Read More15 wellbeing retreats and detox breaks – for better days ahead
The Clover Mill, Worcestershire Reopening in the spring, this ayurveda retreat in a converted 17th-century water mill in the rolling hills near Malvern offers two-, three- and five-night retreats throughout the year that combine ayurveda treatments, meals, nutritional advice and cooking demos with yoga. Its Rest and Digest retreats in particular are aimed at helping […]
Read MoreThe Garden at Corinthia, London: ‘The food is good, the pricing brutal’ – restaurant review
The Garden at Corinthia, Whitehall Place, London SW1A 2BD (020 7321 3012). Starters £11-£14.50; mains £24-£30; desserts £10-£12 and wines from £48 If wealth has any purpose, it is to make things easier, which is to say less effortful. The Garden at the shiny Corinthia hotel on London’s Whitehall Place has this sewn up. There, […]
Read MoreHolidays on the moon: out of this world package deals from the 60s
Before anyone had even landed on the moon, the Observer Magazine was already thinking way ahead with science correspondent Gerald Leach’s travel guide for the first holidaymakers there in 30 years’ time (‘Wish You Were Here’; 13 July 1969), though it was sensible enough to counterbalance this with a report on the dangers of space […]
Read More
From bonking in the loo to ‘hot or not’ games, airhostesses’ sauciest confessions
BONKING on Boeings, dealing with an in-flight death and playing passenger “hot or not” – there is more to being an airline attendant than just asking if people want tea or coffee. Here, James Ellis brings you some cabin crew tales from down the years . . . 8 Airline attendants share their sauciest secretsCredit: Alamy AT the […]
Read More
From coral reefs to 4×4 adventures, why sunny Queensland should be top of your post-Covid travel bucket list
BEING in lockdown need not stop you planning a dream holiday. That is why we are taking a closer look at some of our readers’ favourite destinations and seeing what makes them so incredible. Today’s candidate for your first post-vaccination holiday is sunny Queensland in Australia . . . 10 Queensland in Australia is a great choice for your […]
Read MoreKangaroo Island: a place of empty beaches and hidden history
Islands and islanders hold a special place in the imaginations of many people. Lighthouses, shipwrecks, hardy fishermen, lonely beaches, wildlife and good food are common to the Bass Strait islands. Kangaroo Island is no different, it has them all and to a very refined degree. It also has an Aboriginal past but, unlike the wine, […]
Read More