Travel

Kevin smiles from ear to ear at the sight of a common periwinkle. This pretty and striated mollusc, clinging to a sandstone where the Solent laps the peach sands of St Helens beach, speaks to Kevin of something pleasingly enduring in the natural world. Like most members of our 12-strong …

Driven by increasingly expensive car hire and an appetite for sustainable tourism, visitors to Ireland are discovering the lure of public transport. Fares on Irish public transport were cut by 20% in April until the end of this year and halved permanently for those aged 19 to 23, the first …

You don’t have to go to museums or galleries to see great art. The cities of the world are filled with brilliant examples of street art. So whether it’s Banksy in Bristol, Blek le Rat in Paris or even an artist whose name you don’t know, we’d love to hear …

The monumental facade of Helsinki’s main railway station has an elegant symmetry. Four giant, granite men, each one holding a lantern, are there to greet me. It is before seven on a quiet Saturday morning and I am here on an eastbound mission, heading for the only passenger railway in …

British Airways has suspended ticket sales on short-haul flights from Heathrow until 8 August after the London airport’s decision to cap capacity and tackle widespread disruption and cancellations. The airline said the sales suspension on domestic and European destinations was designed to allow existing customers to rebook flights when needed. …

A new ranking of British holiday parks has placed mainstay Pontins last out of 19 competitors, and big names struggled while Norfork-based Potters Resorts claimed the crown. The table, compiled by Which?, was created by surveying 1,355 members on how they rated their stays at holiday parks throughout the UK. …

When Jack Brabant set up Digbeth Dining Club, an independent street-food venue on the edge of Birmingham city centre, 10 years ago, he and his team felt they were going out on a limb. “We were doing it out of the back of an old refurbished taxi-repair unit and we …

Food You can find really good Saxon food in Leipzig, which means very hearty dishes often incorporating dumplings (called Klöße or Knödel) served alongside meat and fish, especially carp and trout. At the Ratskeller, near the new town hall, you can get almost anything from traditional spiced meat to Saxon …

Hotel Cortijo del Marques, Albolote Set in the mountains north of Granada and surrounded by olive groves and oak forests, this picturesque estate has been restored into a charming, 15-room bolthole. Combine mornings at the Alhambra – Granada is just half an hour’s drive away – with afternoons by the …

Yachting, Amalfi coast First-time sailors can explore the Amalfi coast on this four-day yachting trip from Amalfi to Procida via Capri. There are opportunities for swimming and snorkelling, including a dip beside the Blue Grotto on Capri, plus time on land for exploring. Living conditions are fairly cramped – eight …