Travel

With frequent direct trains from London Paddington, heading to Bath for a relaxing break could be just the ticket for stressed out Londoners in search of a city break with spa facilities. Location and Decor: I arrived in Bath on a lovely sunny day dazzled by its magnificent limestone Georgian terraces gloriously lit up in a blaze of late Winter sun. Great Pulteney Street runs from Pulteney Bridge to the Holburne Museum and is fantastically situated mid-terrace in this impressive...

Sometimes it's important to get away London for a weekend away.  With Aberdeen just an hour’s flight away, it's the perfect antidote to the hustle and bustle of the big city. We booked a trip for the Easter break and organised a stay at Meldrum House Country Hotel and Golf Course. The 56-bedroomed hotel dates back to the 13th century and has an excellent reputation locally for a luxurious stay and excellent food - and we were excited to give...

Planning a trip to the US might be a bit of a challenging task: flight arrangements, accommodation options, what cities you want to visit and how to travel between destinations… To help you sort things out, we have narrowed down the essentials in this guide. Personal documents required when traveling to the US Passport. It is imperative that you have a valid passport which does not expire during your stay. Visa: You only need it if you are not from...

A quick train ride away from Lisbon, the resort town of Cascais is the retreat of the affluent classes of Portugal, though it’s firmly on the international map now too. Cornering the Atlantic and making the most of its unbroken ocean views with a long promenade and seafront villas, you’d think that its location was its main draw. But look further inland, and a new slew of a reasons to visit makes itself known. Here are just seven ways to...

A new study from Bott and Co suggests New York is the world’s best foodie city. Having created a useful tool to showcase the world’s 50 best food scenes, Bott and Co’s research covers cities with a population of over 1 million and ranks them based on different national cuisines celebrated in restaurants throughout the city. The interactive map also highlights the top rated restaurants for each national cuisine in each area. With 94 national cuisines on offer, New York...

The National Trust – formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty – is one of the UK’s most cherished charities and membership organisations. As the owner of hundreds of heritage properties, hundreds of miles of coastline and hundreds of thousands of hectares of land, the National Trust really does live up to its pledge to “look after special places throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland for ever, for everyone.” Here’s our pick of some of...

By Isolde Walters What is there not to love about Tuscany? With its rolling hills, endless olive groves, hilltop villages and world-famous wine on tap, Italy’s heartland has all the charms of the English countryside but with far better food and the promise of dependably sunny skies. Desperate to escape the grey drizzle of London, I flew out for a relaxing weekend in the region’s Serchio Valley, located between the Apuan and Apennine Alps. An unexploited corner of tourist-friendly Tuscany,...

When Spring arrives in Seville, temperatures can go from 15 to 30 degrees in 24 hours. Orange trees blossom overnight. And as flowers begin to bloom, the locals do too. At the beginning of April, stunning Spanish Señoritas in traditional, vibrant dresses appear across the city - often alongside dashing men on noble white steeds, with beers in hand. Streets stream with open-top, horse-drawn carriages, as high society families parade by, fanning themselves in the sun. Everyone is heading to...

Semana Santa, Seville (March 2018) As Easter celebrations go, Seville’s Semana Santa (Holy Week) is certainly one of the most spectacular. Every year, for one whole week, the centre of Spain’s fourth largest city comes to an almost complete standstill. As thousands of women, children and men in pointy hats march through the streets with giant floats carrying life-sized figurines of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary. What is Semana Santa? A week of processions (religious parades), dating back to...