Just above the horizon, wild horses gallop around a white domed building while, within petting distance, a small donkey munches on wild poppies and purple periwinkle. We are pausing to take in the view, before we cycle back after a day of hiking and swimming surrounded by forests of pine …
Read More »A pilgrim’s (rather slow) progress on Sicily’s most recent long-distance trail
“Sola?” “Si, sola.” Wherever I went, I was asked the same question: are you alone? When I replied in the affirmative, people were shocked and disapproving. Lone female travellers are still rare in Sicily’s hinterland, and those on foot are rarer still. I was walking the Magna Via Francigena – …
Read More »10 of the best UK wildlife weekends
Rewilding retreat, Cairngorms Discover the richness of Scotland’s wildlife on a week-long tour, focusing on the rewilding programmes that are opening up across the Highlands. The trip offers the chance to see red kites – recently reintroduced to the region – bottlenose dolphins and ospreys, as well as watching pine …
Read More »Hidden Spain: where to stay and what to do off the beaten track
A lot of us have been rather surprised to discover how much we like being in nature and all that outdoorsy stuff over the past couple of years. Of course, we all still love our city breaks – nothing like an exhilarating weekend in Madrid, Barcelona or Valencia to pep …
Read More »A riverside walk to a great pub: the John O’Gaunt Inn, Hampshire
Rivers are marked in blue on maps, but close up, they often disappoint, their water an opaque mud-brown. But chalk streams look like rivers in a child’s picture book, sparkling and shallow, with gravel beds and lush water weed bathed in sunlight shining through limpid water. They owe their resemblance …
Read More »Disabled passengers bearing brunt of travel disruption, say charities
Disabled people are experiencing stress and degradation because of “truly appalling” service failures caused by the ongoing travel disruption, charities have said. Airline cancellations in recent weeks and longstanding rail problems have been difficult for everyone, but campaigners say that because the transport industry treats disabled people as the lowest …
Read More »‘Everyone is happy’: readers’ favourite beaches in Spain
Winning tip: Isla Canela beach, Huelva Not well known among British visitors, the 7km of Isla Canela beach’s golden sands on the western tip of the Costa de la Luz are an indulgent joy. This is where the Spanish go to holiday, usually in the intense heat of July and …
Read More »Grounded! What to do in an airport if your flight is delayed by one, three, six or 12 hours
This was supposed to be a glorious summer. With Covid largely diminished, it was going to be the first year since 2019 where we would all get to pack our suitcases and jet off to warmer climes. Clearly, that hasn’t happened. There are several factors at play here. The cost …
Read More »10 of Europe’s best destinations for LGBTQ+ travellers this Pride season
It’s 2003 and my boyfriend and I are hovering nervously at a hotel reception in Woodbridge, Suffolk. We can sense the frosty contempt of the fiftysomething male at the desk when we ask for a double, not a twin room. After we check in, we’re both tetchy: I’m annoyed at …
Read More »I took the train to Düsseldorf – here’s my guide to the city
Düsseldorf’s residents call their home “the 10-minute city”, because it rarely takes longer than that to get wherever you want to go. That’s a big claim for somewhere that boasts no fewer than 50 stadtteile (mini districts), but it’s backed up by a transit system of U-Bahns and S-Bahns that …
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