UK holidays
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Top 10 secret gardens in the UKAll eyes may be on Chelsea for the flower show next week, but for a more peaceful day out, check out our selection of lesser-known oases around the UK
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The Bull & Swan, Stamford, Lincolnshire: hotel reviewSet in a town oozing 16th-century charm, this historic pub offers rooms with wow factor – but the food could do with a bit of an upgrade -
Alight here? Britain's railway request stopsAs Paul Merton concludes his TV series Secret Stations, the author of the book that inspired the show says there are many more obscure stations to visit -
Once more on to the beach: how Britain’s seaside towns bounced backFor years our coastal resorts have been in decline. But now bookings are on the rise, and over half of us will go to a British beach this year. So what has changed?
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Take the kids to … the York DungeonA blast with the past at the reopened attraction that offers screams and ghouls, full-blooded acting and technical wizardry
accommodation
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Sands Hotel, Margate, Kent: reviewMargate has been on the up since the opening of the Turner Contemporary five years ago – and this cool hotel on the beach fits right in with the town’s burgeoning confidence
top 10s
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Top 10 budget cafes and restaurants in BelfastBelfast is bursting with options for good, affordable food – from fish and chips and Tex-Mex to southern Indian and modern British. Updating our 2011 guide, here are great places to eat for under £10 a head
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Top 10 craft beer pubs in BelfastBelfast’s growing craft beer scene puts the spotlight on small, local breweries and enthusiastic staff. We pick 10 pubs and bars where you can get a modern taste of the city
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10 of the best places to photograph wildlife in the UKYou don’t need to go on an African safari to take great wildlife photographs. Photographer Andrew Marshall, whose new photo-location guidebook gives advice on how to capture UK wildlife, selects 10 picture perfect spots
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Heavenly stays: top 10 church and chapel conversions in the UKLord it up with stays at former chapels and churches, from north Scotland to Cornwall, that provide a rich, historic slant to a short break escape
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Museums at Night 2016: the highlightsLook at culture in a different light with our pick of 20 of the best events happening all over Britain this weekend as part of the 2016 festival
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Take the kids to … the National Museum of Flight, ScotlandTwo huge hangars in East Lothian, east of Edinburgh, have been given a multimillion-pound refurb to bring aviation history to life. And there’s a Concorde, too
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Family-friendly festivals, fun and adventures for the May Day weekendSave yourself from a mayday this May Day bank holiday with our roundup of day-trips and attractions in the UK
budget holidays
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Celebrating 50 years of mountain bothiesIn more than 100 wild corners of the UK are free shelters – bothies – for use by walkers. As the charity that runs them turns 50, Phoebe Smith, author of Book of Bothy, picks eight favourites
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Igloo Hybrid ho[s]tel, Nottingham: hotel reviewOur reviewer usually shuns youth hostels, but he finds this new Nottingham pad a much better budget option than many big hotel chains
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Let’s go to … PontypriddThe town’s fabulous 1927 lido is reopening after a multimillion pound refurb – but that’s not the only reason to drop in on this Taff valley town
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Let's go to … WindermereA trip to the Lakes to join the celebrations for Beatrix Potter’s 150th birthday will make for family fun – and provide a chance to tuck in to some fine food and drink
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Let’s go to ... BuxtonMusic lovers are in for a fine time with an eclectic array of concerts on offer in the Derbyshire spa town – and you’ll find plenty of great ales and cocktails for pre- or post-show drinks
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Let’s go to … Pendle Hill for HalloweenFew places are as ghostly and ghoulish as the Lancashire beauty spot where the notorious coven was rounded up 400 years ago for the Pendle witch trials
sport holidays
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'Peckham Beach' Lido crowdfunding project launchesLocal campaigners, and the Thames Baths architects, are hoping to turn the disused south London lido into an Olympic-size pool and community attraction
restaurants
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The Ship Inn, Elie, Fife, Scotland: hotel reviewNew owners have smartened up this seaside pub and added six bedrooms, but it still offers a local welcome, freshly caught seafood and, at low tide, a cricket pitch on the beach
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Edinburgh city guide: what to see plus the best hotels, bars and restaurantsDodge the tartan and tour groups with Vonny Moyes’s guide to Edinburgh’s contemporary culture, bars brimming with personality, and great-value places to eat and stay
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countries
coast & country
London visitor numbers hit record levels