Leisure & Travel / Features
Good for your soul: 10 of the best reasons to travel
Why travel? Well, that’s what I want to share with you here because there are so many reasons to travel! I only have to hear the word ‘travel’ to get all starry-eyed and excited. For as long as I can remember it’s all I’ve ever wanted. Since childhood, I’ve yearned...
Chic glamping: Top 10 beach and coastal campsites in France
Kick off your shoes at these campsites along the coast of France, staying in a tent on the dunes, a posh tipi or a cool cabin right on the beach. Le Club Farret Vias Plage, near Béziers, Languedoc Yelloh! has campsites across France and is popular with young families...
Carry on camping! 10 of Britain’s best vintage caravan stays
Here’s why retro caravans with original features and wild surrounds are one of the coolest camping options around. The Scrumpling, Somerset Owners Ralph and Lucy found this 1950s caravan at the bottom of a field, where it had been abandoned. They restored it and...
Travel on a shoestring: Nine of the best budget holidays in Europe
From beach breaks to bear spotting, here are ideas for trips to inspire without breaking the bank. Plus, top tips for cutting costs on trips. Adventures: Hike hut-to-hut on Austria’s Eagle’s Way In 1829, the German poet Goethe arrived in Tirol. Perhaps he was gazing...
The perfect blend: How coffee farms in Costa Rica are mixing wildlife, agriculture and tourism
A new crop of farming co-ops are finding ways to safely open up untouched landscapes and exotic wildlife to visitors - and grow superb coffee. At the beginning I thought we were in a Bob Dylan song, one of his epic Latino ballads. We drove down gravel roads where the...
From festivals to glamping: 20 great UK campsites with a difference
With summer pop-ups, nature, water-sports and foodie options, these sites with a twist will appeal to even the most reluctant campers. For active people Rock climbing, ShropshireWild Contentment is a small, off-grid campsite in a meadow at the far end of a dairy farm...
Off the Mersey beat: A tour of Liverpool’s unsung cultural treasures
A magical mystery tour of the city reveals brilliant art, architecture and stories - with only minimal Fab Four interludes. At a Liverpool city council meeting in 1974, in response to an application for the installation of the first Beatles sculpture in Mathew Street,...
The London neighbourhood that’s got it all: 10 reasons why you need to live in stylish Stratford
East London’s Stratford has been on the up ever since the Olympic Games transformed the area - and it’s only getting better. Rhiannon Evans, who has lived there for six years, tells us why it’s the place to be. It’s been 10 years since the magic of the Olympic Games...
What the world wants to do for a living: Fascinating map reveals the most popular jobs around the world
A PILOT is the globe's number one dream job in 2023, from the USA to the UK and Australia. On the map - generated using 12 months of Google search data - country names have been supplemented by the jobs theirresidents most want information about with a view to a...
Worthy holidays: 10 of the best charity holiday stays in the UK
Book into one of these brilliantly located cottages, apartments, bothies and hotels and you’ll be contributing to a worthy cause too. Ten Hill Place, Edinburgh, Midlothian The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh has fingers in pies with a surprisingly broad range...
Waterfall weekender: My wild swimming adventure in the Brecon Beacons
A walk amid cinematic landscapes to five south Wales waterfalls - and a cosy pub - proves the perfect substitute for a holiday abroad. It had been a tough month for several reasons and I needed a break. I initially thought a holiday abroad would be the only antidote....
Grey gap year: The over-60s with a taste for travel on a budget
Boomers are eschewing the traditional cruise holiday in favour of exploring the world with a backpack or in a camper van. David and Viv Boardman have just arrived in Germany after a long bus-ride between Lille and Dusseldorf. They’re in the middle of a five-month...