Travel

“Mum! I’m taking the boat out …” For a fraction of a second I hesitated … it would take more than a few days to shake off my city-dweller nerves about letting my child roam free. But that was exactly why – after the first lockdown – we’d come to …

Picnic in Greenwich park by Elise Wortley It had been months since the six of us had got together for our weekly after work drink, typically in a crowded central London pub, where we’d be shouting to hear each other above the noise. Nervous with excitement, and desperate to see …

Alexander House, Perthshire Nestling under the scots pines, two lorries have been converted into cosy cabins with a claw bath, toilet and kitchenette. They’re ideal for two, although small children can be squeezed into what was the lorry cab on a rollaway bed. Outside is a hot tub, picnic area …

“The great surprise of the Moon Under Water is its garden. You go through a narrow passage leading out of the saloon, and find yourself in a fairly large garden with plane trees, under which there are little green tables with iron chairs round them. Up at one end of …

Winning tip: John Ruskin’s home, Lake District Sail from Coniston in the Lake District to arrive at Brantwood by ferry. Zigzagging your way up the hill through the seven deadly sins, arriving at the seven graces, going from Dante’s hell to paradise. John Ruskin’s house and garden mirrors his polymath …

Sun spangles the tide, shells dot the shore and the pale beach stretches for miles in both directions. I am by the sea at Chapel St Leonards once more. The Lincolnshire coast is in my head all the time, waiting to be revisited. Just a few steps from the village …

Elise Wortley: I immersed myself in the world of Nan Shepherd in the Scottish Highlands For more than 30 years, Scottish writer and explorer Nan Shepherd’s The Living Mountain lay untouched in a drawer, rejected by publishers at the time. Today, the book is celebrated as one of the greatest …

Glebe House, Devon Inspired by agriturismos, this former vicarage in the Coly valley, east Devon, is being turned into a smallholding, guesthouse and restaurant. There are five bedrooms and a self-contained annexe (due to open on 12 April), plus three dining areas and two living rooms. The house sits in …

It seems spring has finally sprung! Across the UK in parks, fields and woodlands seasonal blossom and spring flowers have started painting the landscape. From flashes of crocuses, to daffodils and cherry blossom, it’s a welcome sight after winter lockdown. The National Trust has launched a project that aims to …

While our lives have mostly shrunk to our own four walls – besides the sneak peek of others’ homes glimpsed via Zoom – we can still step into other worlds virtually. Stately homes and fortresses, from Blenheim Palace to Bran Castle (of Dracula fame) have opened digital portals allowing anyone …