Money & Work / Tips & Advice
Cheese, cider & cycling: A tasty tour of the West Country
Following the Somerset Food Trail by e-bike offers the chance to meet growers and makers, enjoy beautiful scenery, and sample delicious local produce. What more do you need than good cheese and a glass of cider?” I’m at Batch Farm, in the Somerset village of East...
Scorchio! How to prepare your garden for the potential drought
Worried there might be a hosepipe ban on the horizon? There are some things you can do to protect your garden now. After the blistering heatwave and more warm weather coming our way, we could be set for a drought. Most of England (except for the North West) has moved...
Frugal food: 9 tips to make food last longer as prices soar
Keeping produce fresher for longer will hopefully help you cut down on trips to the supermarket. The cost of living crisis means many of us are feeling the pinch. We’re looking to make savings wherever we can - particularly as data from Kantar suggest Britons are set...
Rubbish gardens: How to create a sustainable garden out of old junk and rich planting
Cement mixers, radiators and other throwaways can have a place in the garden. TV gardener Frances Tophill, a regular on BBC Gardeners’ World, is well qualified to advise on how to reuse, reclaim and recycle. She’s just won Best Show Garden at BBC Gardeners’ World Live...
Future food security: The surprising green innovations that could revolutionise food production…and help with rising costs
You might not give much thought to the way your potatoes have been grown when you're doing the weekly shop. But with costs rising for farmers and shoppers alike, what goes on behind the scenes across farms and production lines can have a big impact not only on the...
Europe on a shoestring: 14 of the best budget city breaks
We’ve found the budget breaks across Europe that won’t break the bank, from Balkan hotspots to Barcelona. Various factors enable a great budget break in Europe. Flights - and not to an airport 50 miles away - shouldn’t break the bank, and nor should a good-quality...
Growing pains? How to stop yourself getting injured while gardening – from essential exercises to the perfect posture
Bending to dig, twisting to prune and carrying heavy loads can all mean gardeners end up with unnecessary aches. Here are some expert tips to keep you healthy as your garden blooms. One of the reasons gardening is such good exercise is that the sheer joy of it...
Relationship charity releases vegetable themed condoms for over-65s
A new campaign has brought the topic of sexual health among the over-65s to an unexpected environment… the garden centre. Silver Surfers reports that according to research conducted by the relationship charity Relate, more than half of those over 65 consider...
‘I call it sauna head – your ego disappears’: how the UK got hooked on heat
From a hut by a Welsh river to a converted horsebox on the beach, saunas are appearing in unlikely spots all over the country. It’s a chilly morning in Walpole Bay, Kent, and I’m waist deep in the sea. Unable to stand it any longer, I wade out and sprint across the...
Poll: Most people over 50 feel their health is the same or better than before 2020
Despite the pandemic's terrible toll on older adults, a new national poll shows that most people over 50 still say their health is as good as it was before March 2020, or even better. But a sizable minority - 20% of those in their 50s and early 60s, and 14% of those...
Lost lanes of the Midlands: Five great cycle routes in the heart of England
Taking in backcountry from Leicestershire to Shropshire, these 30 to 50- mile routes, included in a new book, feature beautiful villages, countryside and places to stay. Stilton and pork pies, High Leicestershire Start / finish: Melton MowbrayDistance: 34 miles This...
Garden longevity: Could you extend your life and drop your stress by taking up the pursuit, too?
Dan Buettner has studied five places around the world where residents are famed for their longevity: Okinawa in Japan, Nicoya in Costa Rica, Icaria in Greece, and Loma Linda in California and Sardinia in Italy. People living in these so-called “blue zones” have...