Day trips tips

Fore Adventure runs outdoor activities on and around Studland Bay on the Jurassic coast, offering half-day kayak foraging around Old Harry Rocks (£65), is suitable for vegans and vegetarians, focusing on harvesting wild plants and seaweed. Fishing and foraging (£70) adds fishing for crustaceans and fish such as black bream, sea bass and mackerel; and foraging and feasting (£140) adds a two-course meal. The company also runs two-day wild camping, sea kayaking and coastal foraging adventures (£290).Next kayak foraging trip 15 October, foreadventure.co.uk

With the majestic domes of the Royal Pavilion as its backdrop – lit in magical neon colours if you go after dark – this real ice rink is a popular highlight of Brighton’s yuletide offering, and the only one in the UK powered by renewable energy. Families are warmly welcomed, with penguin skate aids available for £5 and a beginners’ rink where young skaters can safely build confidence on the ice. Rinkside, a covered bar and café and outdoor terraced areas offer mulled wine, mince pies, cakes, snacks and a decent children’s menu – and a great place to sit and watch if you don’t want to risk the ice yourself.Adults and children aged 12 and over £18, concessions £15, 12 and under £14, royalpavilionicerink.co.uk; family room, B&B, from £179, queenshotelbrighton.com

“We,” says the Brocher, face lit by fire and dark with soot, “have creosote in our blood.” In their blood, on their hats, on their boots, down their backs – the Brochers, and in particular the Clavie Crew, have creosote everywhere, except in their whisky. They take that with water, a substance they otherwise disdain as being fine for quenching a thirst but a terrible thing to allow near a bonny flame.

In the gloom caused by the loss of many rural bus services and Rishi Sunak’s shameful rollback of environmental pledges, there has been one gleam of (green) light. The bus fare cap, now set at £2.50 across England, will run until 30 November 2024. The cap doesn’t apply to buses in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, but there are still some reasonable fares, so here are 10 great sightseeing routes across the UK.

Two books bestrode my childhood, and made me the man I am: The Magic Bridle, a collection of British and Irish myths retold by the folklorist Forbes Stuart, which ignited my six-year-old imagination in 1974, and Mysterious Britain by Janet and Colin Bord, published two years earlier, and part of a then burgeoning bookseller phenomenon of often unreliable Earth mysteries compendiums. Nonetheless, they set this particular boy off, seeking out ancient sites whenever possible. Now everything has wilted but I still have calves of iron, and I can identify the outline of a hilltop earthwork from a moving car on a motorway as surely as a falcon seeing a field mouse 500 feet below.

Ale’s Stones in Sweden’s far south (Ales Stenar) may resemble Stonehenge, but instead of being surrounded by roads, Ale cleverly put his stones on cliffs, providing visitors with spectacular views. Ponder the competing theories of what the stones are: a burial monument, a sun calendar? After a decades-long dispute, including a court case, the county agreed to let the opposing theory (sun calendar) also have a sign. Today, the area is a nature reserve. Easily accessible from Ystad (Wallander country), and an hour’s drive south-east from Malmö, it’s perfect for a day trip. Enjoy local food in the superb Kåseberga Fisk, a very Swedish shop/cafe beneath, which includes a vegan fish option.Åsa

As a child I can remember trying to swim out to a wrecked fishing boat off the beach at Camber Sands on the Sussex/Kent border. I stared at the horizon until the whole universe felt blue. It felt like the most exotic place on Earth. The south-east coast clearly made an impression, as I later settled in Kent and I am raising my own family here.

Celebrating its 10th birthday this year, Glow Wild at Wakehurst, Kew’s more rural botanic garden in the Sussex countryside, will feature a huge illuminated whale and a projected version of Catherine Nelson’s colourful Planet Wakehurst, one of the UK’s biggest outdoor artworks. There will be thousands of lanterns as always, crafted by local volunteers, community groups and artists. This year’s shapes include buzzing pollinators, leaping fish, raindrops, thunderclouds and tiny seahorses. Wakehurst boasts the UK’s tallest living Christmas tree, a 37-metre-high giant redwood decorated with 1,800 bulbs. There’s an interactive puppet show near the marshmallow-toasting firepit and wishing stars to hang in the trees.Various evenings from 23 November to 1 January, adult from £18, child from £11.50,kew.org

The V&A’s new blockbuster exhibition is the first in the UK dedicated to the French couturier Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel – and it is selling out fast. The show is fully booked until Christmas, but at the time of writing there was still plenty of availability in January and February. The exhibition charts the history of the House of Chanel, from the opening of Coco’s first millinery shop in Paris in 1910 to her final collection in 1971, and her legacy today. There are almost 200 looks on show, including a piece from 1916 and outfits designed for Lauren Bacall and Marlene Dietrich, plus accessories, jewellery and perfume. Until 25 February, £24 adults/£16 children/under-12s free, vam.ac.uk

Several years ago I was asked to judge the homemade wines at a local agricultural show. I have written to tight deadlines at World Cups and delivered a speech in the Long Room at Lord’s; neither filled me with quite the same feelings of pressure and anxiety. I knew how seriously such competitions are taken, the strength of feelings they evoke. I had nightmares of being strangled with a siphoning tube. Fortunately my co-judge was more experienced and sanguine. She also held the old-fashioned opinion that swirling the wines around your mouth before spitting them in a bucket was uncouth, and so following her lead I drank a small glass of each. There were more than 20 entries, and after half an hour my fears had dematerialised into a fuzzy summer glow.

A line of London buses is crossing Salisbury Plain. It looks like someone has taken a red pen to the map. At the wheel of the leading bus is Peter Hendy, AKA Lord Hendy, AKA the boss of Network Rail. He’s a great man for old Routemasters, owns two, and is the driving force – literally – of this annual jaunt to the abandoned village of Imber.

I’ve spent my working life as bookseller, book marketer, publisher and now author, so it was probably inevitable that I would lean heavily on literature for my book Real Dorset. Luckily for me, writers have frequently turned to Dorset for their inspiration.

The fortunes of this estuary island are linked to the tides

It has the same chalky soil as the Champagne region and its wine has the same protected status – and often beats French fizz in blind tastings. Now Sussex has launched a plan to attract many more visitors to its 138 vineyards, aiming to increase the value of wine tourism from £25m today to £283m by 2040.

The Fisherman’s Trail in south Portugal is magical. We started from Porto Covo and ended in Lagos, walking 140 miles in 12 days, staying overnight in rustic villages, cobblestoned towns and surfer spots. Those short of time can walk a smaller section of the trail. The walk has breathtaking views, rugged cliffs, wild beaches with crystal-clear waters, pine forests, vineyards, and meadows of wild flowers. Lots of wildlife can be spotted – lizards, storks, cormorants and countless other birds – and the wine and seafood in the restaurants along the way is a treat.Miana