A brilliant and bonkers day out: how art and spectacle transformed a former Durham mining town Bishop Auckland is abuzz with culture and family fun, thanks to the vision of Auckland Palace’s owners – and the new Kynren show featuring birds of prey, Viking raids and mythical beasts, which opens next week Booming Hans Zimmer-style […]

Not just for weekenders: the new Wiltshire country hotel that’s a hit with the locals The owners of Teffont House are aiming for modern rural hospitality that puts guests at the heart of village life Walking into the Orangery at Teffont House during the golden hour, the restaurant is glowing. Sunlight falls across cocktails the […]

Cycling Scotland’s lost highways and byways: a two-wheel odyssey in the wilds of Sutherland In his new book, Jack Thurston cycles the quieter roads and forgotten hill tracks of Scotland, exploring Britain’s most remote and rugged terrain There aren’t many roads in Britain where you can pull over to cook breakfast and finish it without […]

‘The landscape offers the same russet and ochre hues as the Bayeux tapestry’: walking the 1066 trail in East Sussex With the British Museum’s blockbuster Bayeux tapestry exhibition opening soon, we follow in the footsteps of William the Conqueror and King Harold’s armies around Battle and Rye ‘Uh oh, look at these!” I call to […]

Art trails, swimming spots and punt safaris, all easily accessible from Cambridge’s new train station With Cambridge South about to welcome its first passengers, it’s an ideal time to explore some of the university city’s lesser-known treasures on foot or by public transport Flat fields of poppies and ox-eye daisies stretch out to a wide […]

Cycling in the tracks of Britain’s camping pioneers from Oxford to Surrey Britain’s Camping and Caravanning Club started as a cycle camping club 125 years ago. I cycle from its birthplace to one of its oldest campsites to see if its free-wheeling spirit survives Skylarks call out a cascading trill as I pedal between the […]

From Sussex to Scotland, my road trip through four centuries of British holidays A 1,600-mile journey to the wild peaks of Scotland, via Llandudno’s Victorian promenade and the bright lights of Blackpool proved an eye-opener in more ways than one One of my favourite recent photographs is of me (unusually), perched on the bonnet of […]

‘I’m hoping to meet a river goddess’: a wild journey through Britain’s mythic waterways Follow the folklore and you will discover a landscape full of wonder and powerful women – from a fearsome Scottish warrioress to the first queen of a united England It’s just past midday and I appear to be inside a rain […]

‘I don’t think we’ve ever felt closer’: five writers on their most memorable family holidays Rallying the kids can be chaotic and frustrating, but from Interrailing all the way to Turkey to Vespa rides in Naples, these trips brought families together Finland has been named the world’s happiest country for nine years running, but arriving […]

An almost wild camping trip: alternative family fun in the Peak District Over one weekend, we hiked, swam, slept in a woodland cabin and camped on a hillside – while also supporting community-run projects The children were asleep in the little tent behind us, wrapped in two sleeping bags, each with an extra helping of […]