Travel in Scotland

This Mother’s Day, treat your Mum to the luxurious wellness retreat she deserves so she can be the healthiest version of herself. With Mother’s Day on 10th March, Health and Fitness Travel, the wellness holidays specialists recommend the top retreats to take Mum away to. With a luxurious stay in Lithuania from £370 to an awe-inspiring adventure to Austria valued at £1,700, there are healthy breaks to cater for a range of budgets for all Mums to enjoy this Mother’s Day. So, whether it’s a serene snowy retreat in a captivating treehouse resort nestled in the Dolomites of Italy or a lavish spa experience in the sunny Algarve of Portugal, these unforgettable destinations are perfect for each and every mother.

Looking for a cool way to vacation in Canada this summer? How about a road trip hitting all the highlights of Alberta, the big Western province where the prairie meets the Rocky Mountains.

A 14-part adaptation of David Nicholls' best-selling novel 'One Day' has been a surprise smash for Netflix, with viewers hooked on the 'will-they-won't-they drama between two friends.

I’ve always been obsessed with the food around festivities. I adore breaking ‘rules’ set around cooking, but there is something so lovely about the simplicity of celebrating with a certain dish to link you to a culture. Food around Scottish festivities is not a widely known tradition; the most habitual celebratory food we would eat would be a steamy tower of haggis, neeps, and tatties on Burns Night, surrounded by poetry and whisky. But I can’t really think of many others off the top of my head.

EF Go Ahead Tours, a leader in experiential and educational travel, has launched a President’s Day Flash Sale offering up to $1,000 in savings for trips during late spring and summer 2024.

Swimming coach Emma MacDonald set up Wild Hebridean Swimming in 2022 after moving back to Mull. The company offers holidays for open water swimmers, but also retreats for those who can only tread water or do a bit of doggy paddle. These involve short dips in the clear waters of the Inner Hebrides, where there are seals, underwater kelp forests and waterfalls. Longer swims can be arranged on request. The programme also includes a guided walk on Iona, the burial place of 48 Scottish kings including Macbeth. Guests stay at Achaban House, which has woodburners and a wood-fired hot tub, where there is a choice of activities, including yoga and massage. From £895 including all meals and wine, next retreat 8-11 March, wildhebrideanswimming.com

Maybe it’s the nation’s glut of centuries-old cellars and tunnels. Or perhaps it’s the world-class bar scene, which led the way with speakeasy-style drinking dens when they were trending a few years back. Either way, the UK today is full of quirky places to say ‘cheers’ at a subterranean level. Whether your preferred tipple is wine, beer, whisky or a mixologist-crafted cocktail, these celebrated bars from London to Edinburgh will serve it to you amid atmospheric underground vibes.

In January 2023, Geotourist and Dr Keith Dinnie, from the University of Dundee, launched a shared project to identify and assess Geotourist’s economic and social benefits to Scottish tourism. With over 60 applications from Scotland’s Destination Management Organisation and tourism-related organisations, 21 partners were invited to onboard the project. Each partner brought one or more multimedia trails to the Geotourist platform, showcasing their destination or brand, and were granted access to Geotourist’s data dashboard for analysis and review.

The world outside my sleeper-train compartment was black and white: trees with feather-like branches silhouetted against snowy fields; the grey stretch of the A9 and then the sleek steel of a river; white candy-floss clouds against an ever paler sky.

Transoceanic voyages may be among the most romanticized cruise itineraries. With their vast scope and leisurely pace, gliding across gaping seas, these epic sailings evoke the adventure and glamor of the “Golden Era of cruising" when star-studded transatlantic crossings were the epitome of luxury travel in the early 1900s.

Skies above the UK could soon be filled with the dancing Northern Lights thanks to a period of extreme space weather in the coming weeks and months.

I visited 30 countries while I was in my 20s.

Extreme weather events have been causing travel chaos across Europe this winter.

TikTok may have helped make destinations like Lake Bled in Slovenia and overcrowded nightmare, but the video sharing site has also given us an off-beat alternative: destination dupes. These are places with a similar aesthetic and attractions to the honeypot spot but with fewer crowds.

Over the years, Disney has dressed Scotland in fiction, overlaying its land and cityscapes with films and fables, and the nation has delivered a magical performance every time. Its varied landscapes, the architectural design of its largest cities, and the drama of its wildernesses have allowed filmmakers to create almost any world they choose within Scotland’s borders. From medieval fantasies to gritty sci-fi to tickertape parades in the Big Apple, the decades-long relationship between Scotland and storyteller has resulted in some of the most striking images in Disney’s deep catalogue.

Michael Bonsor introduces the Chancery Rosewood, due to open in 2025 in Grosvenor Square in the building that was formerly the U,S. Embassy in London. Bonsor, whose career incorporated the Four Seasons and Claridge’s spent 10 years at the Rosewood London as its General Manager.

From wildlife, stargazing, historic castles to magic, there are plenty of great ideas for days out in Scotland to keep kids of all ages entertained this half term. Also, with accommodation to suit all budgets, why not make a week of it? Wrap up warm, but bring sunglasses, and remember to refer to the Scottish Outdoor Access Code when out and about. Outdoor fun

Many adventure travel companies focus on hiking, walking, and biking, along with a smattering of local culture, history, and cuisine. There are far fewer that elevate science to the center of an adventure trip.

Trying desperately hard to loosen my grip on the leather reins, while resisting the urge to cling on for dear life, I attempt to reason with my horse. Negotiating with a nervous 1,000lb animal would be challenging on a flat surface. On a boulder-strewn 45-degree slope, it’s almost impossible. Fortunately, Jonathan ‘Yoni’ Zapata, an accomplished gaucho, comes to my rescue. A few quiet words of reassurance and my horse is putty in his hands. 

A surprise trip to Paris is usually the stuff of romance novels. However, for more than a thousand air passengers on Sunday, a very unexpected trip to the City of Love read more like a horror story.

Extreme weather events have been causing travel chaos across Europe this winter.