Travel

Warm your cockles in Southend The cockle chowder served in a cottage loaf at The Peterboat in Leigh-on-Sea, Southend, is to die for (£19.95). The prawn and chorizo linguine at £17.95 equally so! Fabulous location, right on the sea wall, and the service is always excellent. It’s so easy to …

We were sitting under a giant sweet chestnut at the top of a steep field tumbling down to the River Dart, like a rivulet of mercury winding north to Totnes and beyond to Dartmoor, whose crooked granite tors look like approving thumbs. Greenfinches chirred and a song thrush went through …

City of Architecture and Heritage This museum offers a tour of France’s most sensational buildings, from the middle ages to the present. It sits across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower in the eastern wing of the Chaillot Palace, which was built for the International Exhibition of 1937 and features …

It’s 5am and I awake to the sound of a gaggle of greylag geese heralding the morning outside my bell tent. The dawn chorus is in full swing, and shortly after I get up to enjoy it, I come face to face with a wild hare and spot a muntjac …

Spain is one of the most visited countries in the world – something that’s been causing a bit of unrest among locals in some of the country’s more popular cities and resorts this year. But there is no shortage of off-the-beaten-track places to visit and experiences to be enjoyed in …

Food We are spoiled for choice in Galway: there’s great pizza at Dough Bros; burgers at Handsome Burger or Bótown; Wa Café and Kappa-ya are great for an authentic Japanese experience; Ard Bia and Kai are longtime champions of local Irish produce, as are the more recently opened Rúibín and …

Søndervig, Denmark Sun-seekers and sea-dippers have been heading to Søndervig – known as the Gateway to the North Sea – for more than a century, drawn to its silver-gold sand and grass-tufted dunes. There are good facilities – mini-golf, tennis, trampolines and Segways are all available close to the beach, …

Guéthary, Basque coast Between the glamour of Biarritz and the tuna boats and half-timbered houses of Saint-Jean-de-Luz lies a surprisingly peaceful stretch of the French Basque coast, with relatively few tourists even in high summer. “It’s the crashing waves of the Atlantic that save us from the invasions,” says Amaia …

It’s always good to be back in Périgueux. Though the administrative capital of the Dordogne lies in one of the French regions best known to British holidaymakers, it manages to remain relatively innocent of tourism. Yet this sleepy flâneur of a town, built on limestone quays above the River Isle, is full …

At Chantelle village, 40 miles north of Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne, the organic butcher and deli offers game, pâtés, and wine, while fresh croissants await every morning at the boulangerie. The abbey, brocantes (secondhand shops) and bar are also popular with visitors, mostly from France. Visits here are made even …