Pedal the low road: cycling coast-to-coast across southern Scotland

With the Rugby World Cup taking place in France this September, rugby fans from across the world are descending on the land of Liberté, Egalité and Fraternité for the biggest event in rugby. Each of the 20 teams participating in the world cup has chosen a basecamp at a different location across France. For the UK and Ireland, Scotland is based in Nice, Wales in Versailles, Ireland in Tours, and England in the glamorous coastal resort of Le Touquet.

Software developer Victor Varlamov logs in every morning to work on a sunny Spanish island off the coast of Africa after the prospect of steep heating bills and a winter made harsher by the Ukraine war drove him to leave his adoptive home in Poland.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Wednesday, April 12. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

I'd been living in London for just under a year when my parents came to visit in January 2020. 

Pitching a tent far from civilisation, where the only sounds come from the birds and the whistling of the wind through the trees, makes for a restorative break for anyone who enjoys spending time in nature. But wild camping is for the most part illegal in England and Wales without the landowner’s permission — save for in Dartmoor National Park, where access rights were recently restored. 

A Viking Cruises employee died after falling from a ship on Friday, BBC reported. The incident occurred at the Port of Cromarty Firth in Invergordon, Scotland. 

A woman said she flew 3,000 miles to attend a wedding in Scotland only to end up at the wrong reception where the bride and groom, who were complete strangers, invited her in for a drink anyway.

The owners of an English farm are begging visitors to quit posing for naked pictures in its sunflower field. 

Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland’s fertile southwest corner, has historically attracted only a tiny proportion of the visitors who push north to Edinburgh and the Highlands — but those who do stick around are rewarded by an area rich in history, culture and, crucially, food and drink. In 2002, Castle Douglas, a thriving market town at the heart of the county, branded itself ‘Scotland’s Food Town’. It’s a well-deserved title, given it’s home to more than 50 independent food businesses — pretty impressive for a place of just 4,000 people.

Torbjørn Pedersen has always dreamed of being a famous adventurer. He spent his childhood building dens in the woods, pretending to be his hero, Indiana Jones. Even as an adult, he couldn’t shake the sense that he was destined for greatness.

Alfred Wainwright’s coast-to-coast trail through Cumbria and North Yorkshire over mountains and moorland is one of the UK’s most popular long-distance walks, with an estimated 6,000 people completing the whole 197 miles each year, and lots more walking shorter sections. In August 2022 the government announced it would become England’s newest national trail. About the same time, the Borrowdale Royal Oak hotel in Rosthwaite, near Derwentwater and right on the route, reopened after a £1.3m refurbishment with a sustainable focus (and free cake).

My Instagram feed is full of couples getting engaged at swoon-worthy spots across the globe, from Rome's Trevi Fountain to candlelit beaches in Mexico.