Skytrax has released its annual ranking of the world's best airports — and if you're a frequent flyer it may come as little surprise that none in the US made the top 20.
02.04.2024 - 11:27 / theguardian.com
Two of the great prologues of literature begin on the same seeping bank in the village of Slad. Start the circular Laurie Lee walk from where the infant was dropped from a cart in Cider with Rosie and from where the adolescent loped off to Spain in As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning. A well-managed schedule can see you enjoying the singular hospitality of the Woolpack Inn before and after your five-mile jaunt. Head clockwise or reverse to find primrose-bounded paths, skylark-serenaded pasture and slope-clinging beech trees. The ramble is punctuated by posts inscribed with poetry by the valley’s most celebrated son.
Mathew Page
In south Devon I recommend a coast walk starting from the car park in the village of Ringmore. Begin by heading down to Ayrmer Cove. On the beach, which faces the channel, you might spot mermaids’ purses and other treasures. Next, walk to Westcombe beach along the cliff tops, then back through the woods, past the house with the dog bowl recalling a heroic doggy deed to help a hermit. Or, from Ayrmer Cove, walk the other direction towards Bigbury-on-Sea, with fabulous views of Burgh Island and its art deco hotel. Toilets and ice-cream are available at Bigbury – always a must on a family walk.
Victoria
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A sure sign that spring has arrived in the Lake District are the Dancing Daffodils of Derwentwater – it really is a walkers’ paradise. Last year a local birdwatcher made my day by giving me a tip about a secret walk, away from the crowds. He directed me to the woods above the pretty village of Brigsteer, tucked away from tourists amid the Lyth Valley and Morecambe Bay. It was a sensual stroll, wandering among lovely Lent lilies, wild garlic and beautiful bluebells, chasing a profusion of natural perfumes, which cast their spell into the spring breeze. I wandered to my pleasure, but never felt alone as I was surrounded by nature at its best.
Ann
A spring walk in the inner-city Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park, one of London’s “magnificent seven”, may not be an obvious choice, but if you download a map and follow the well-marked heritage trail, you’ll find an abundance of spring blooms. There are clumps of blue and white bluebells, cowslips, primroses, cow parsley, wild garlic and many more species. Towards the end of one visit, we came across a path lined with bright-red tulips, which stood out among the blues and yellows. Entrance is free and an audio trail introduces you to the plants and their connection to people.
Helen Jackson
There’s no better
Skytrax has released its annual ranking of the world's best airports — and if you're a frequent flyer it may come as little surprise that none in the US made the top 20.
A transport company is offering £2 tickets for coach trips across the UK to be taken up to May 12. With a £1 service fee, that means travellers planning journeys can book long-distance tickets from £3 on the FlixBus website or app.
It’s a relief to lay my rucksack down, plunge hot feet into the cool stream and pause to revel in the fairytale surrounds. Foxgloves stand tall against a cornflower-blue sky, ferns look almost luminous, the water glints in the early summer sunshine. A patch of moss-covered ancient forest provides shade, a cuckoo calls in the distance, mountains layer on the horizon.
Brought to Japan as a six month old baby from Thailand, the elephant Miyako has spent 50 years living in cramped, solitary confinement at the Utsunomiya Zoo about one hour outside of Tokyo.Unlike elephants in the wild who live in extended family groups and wander for miles on a daily basis, Miyako spends her days standing listlessly on a small concrete platform amid her own feces. And when she’s not exhibited on that platform for zoo visitors, Miyako is locked in small, dark indoor space.
The “Great North American Eclipse” is over—now prepare for the “Greatest American Eclipse.”
Sarah Faith is a content and values writer at activist travel company, Responsible Travel.
With additional reporting by Sarah Allard
William Grant & Sons is a behemoth in the world of scotch. Founded by its namesake patriarch in 1887, the company actually remains in the hands of his descendants to this day. For whisky connoisseurs, the portfolio’s liquids are most commonly associated with high end single malt. Indeed, The Balvenie and especially Glenfiddich helped popularize the style on a global scale.
There’s always a moment in the journey from Dublin to London – which I make every month or two, taking the land-and-sea route via Holyhead instead of flying – when I stop what I’m doing – reading or writing or chatting to the person next to me – and think: you don’t get to enjoy this from 40,000ft.
A total solar eclipse is coming to the U.S.—but not everyone is invited. On Monday, April 8, the moon will be close enough to Earth to appear just larger than the sun as it crosses its disk, casting a shadow that will move across the planet at about 1,500 mph.
It’s being hailed as the “Great North American Eclipse.” The longest since 1806, in fact, the best since 2017 and the last until 2033 in Alaska, and 2044 in Montana and the Dakotas.
The magic of hospitality is staying in a place that isn’t anything like home. A castle, a treehouse, a farm, a yurt: all such places promise an escape from the every day, especially when combined with luxury flourishes that boggle the mind. I am still wondering how ice showed up in the Gobi desert at the Three Camels Lodge in Mongolia or how blueberries came to be served at breakfast at the Explora Lodge on Easter Island. Or, in the case of the Four Seasons in Madrid, how a hotel combined seven historic properties into one sensational art destination.