Wales tips

Picturesque Wales has long drawn holidaymakers to its unspoilt countryside, rugged mountainous terrain and long, lonely coastline. Whether you’re after a dream-like hike or scenic drive, beautiful views aren’t hard to find. Here are some of our authors’ favourites – walks, nature reserves, beaches, railway journeys and much more – taken from new Rough Guide to Wales.

For five days of the year each summer, the somewhat soulless exhibition centre in Earls Court is transformed into a giant pub (pictured above). Or at least that’s what it feels like. Gone are the trade stalls and suited delegates, replaced by an army of (mostly bearded) volunteers manning hundreds of kegs, dispensing beers few people have ever heard of to thousands of squiffy punters – a lot of whom are wearing traffic-cone hats or sombreros for no apparent reason.

Britain is a nation bursting with song. While this most musical of islands has nurtured numerous world-class singers and bands, it almost bursts with festivals and concerts all year round. Here's five favourite escapes for music fans. Add yours below.

From cricket at Lords to darts in Lakeside and boxing in London, here's ten of our favourite British sporting breaks. Share your own below.

Who wants to drive for hours on winding Welsh roads, or take one of those tiny local stopping trains, when you could hop on the back of a dragon and make the journey between Snowdonia and the Brecon Beacons in just 32 minutes?

Everybody knows the Isle of Man, Guernsey, Skye. But what about the other 6000-odd British Isles? Yes, we did say 6000. From the chunky Shetland Islands in Scotland’s far north to the sunny Isles of Scilly slung out from the coast of Cornwall, the British Isles are made up of islands of all shapes and sizes. Pick the right one and you could even have it all to yourself.

Whether you want to keep fit while on holiday, or just explore new corners of the UK on foot, Jen and Sim Benson – authors of the new Wild Running: 150 Adventures on the Trails & Fells of Britain – have compiled their five favourite running routes in Britain.

The Ridgeway really is as old as the hills — well, almost. For over 5000 years, travellers, farmers, soldiers and, more recently, cyclists have followed this 87-mile-long trackway (pictured above) between Avebury in Wiltshire and Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire — part of an ancient trading route that once stretched from the Dorset coast all the way to Norfolk. The chalky downland ridge that comprises the Ridgeway's western half is open to cyclists all year round, and provides a moderately challenging 42-mile ride.

If you fancy indulging your inner artist on your next British break, try one of these excellent galleries and art spaces across Britain.

There’s no better way to dust off the yuletide cobwebs than with a Boxing Day swim. Here are some of Britain’s barmiest spots for a festive dip, ranging from pirate outfits in Tenby , to nudism in the Isle of Wight , to a gentle “run-and-swim” in North Norfolk .

Get up close to nature with our pick of the ten best wildlife sites across the UK, and let us know your own top British wildlife experiences below.

For a small country, Wales offers incredible diversity – so much so that it's one of our top travel destinations. Even better, many of Wales' (beautiful) landscapes and experiences remain surprisingly undiscovered. From pristine white-sand beaches and rolling, quintessentially Welsh valleys to tucked-away villages, here are the most beautiful places in Wales you really should visit.

With lockdowns starting to gradually lift across Europe, travellers everywhere are looking to the future. The question on everyone’s lips: will I be able to take a summer holiday? The short answer is (probably) yes – though it might be sensible to set your sights on somewhere a bit closer to home. And it almost goes without saying that while you’re away you’ll still need to respect all government and local regulations.

How well do you know England? Like many of us, perhaps not as well as you’d like. To inspire you to explore beyond your normal boundaries this year, we’ve created a list of three cities in England with additional experiences within easy reach, so you can enjoy the best of both town and country in a weekend away. Here’s part one of these suggestions for a satisfying «microgap» – a chance to disconnect and discover something new without travelling too far; three destinations centred on the ever-varied landscapes of the south, east and west of the country.

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the publication of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. That means Mad Hatters and Cheshire Cats will be everywhere from London to Manchester this spring. But Alice's story finds its heartland in the villages of Cheshire, where the author was born, and in a seaside resort in North Wales, where he often visited and saw the real-life inspiration for Alice at play. Here, David Atkinson takes us through the looking glass with a guide to following the Alice trail across England and Wales.

Banish boredom and the are-we-nearly-home-yet blues with five of our favourite British experiences for children, including safari parks,underwater adventures, and a healthy dollop of monkey business.

From Marc Bolan and free milk to stadium rave and boutique festivals, this damp isle has long been a fine place for a party. It may have nothing quite as hot as Valencia's Benicassim or as far-out as Nevada's Burning Man, but this wild bunch — from Butlins-brewed indie to Wiltshire-based world music, with stopoffs for classic metal and avant-garde electronica on the way — should satisfy anyone's hunger for music and thrills.

Britain's more remote fringes are perfect for getting back to nature. Here's seven our our favourite wild and remote spots drawn from travel bible Make The Most Of Your Time In Britain.

Of course Britain has more than its fair share of world-class art galleries and exhibitions, but sometimes it's more interesting to find artwork out and about in public spaces. Here's a few of our favourite al fresco pieces, drawn from travel bible Make The Most Of Your Time In Britain.

With over 5000 miles of coastline on mainline Britain alone, it's no wonder the nation has an almost endless array of watery destinations to explore. Here's twelve spectacular spots that are very much worth a detour.

Britain is so packed full of historic homes and houses it can be difficult to know where to start. Here's a few of our favourite homes open to the public across the country.