Travel

When the UK summer starts, after weeks of biting cold, you should be able to ditch the coat. But it’s August and I’m still donning a winter wardrobe. With that depressing thought in mind, it makes the time we spend away from our desks even more precious. The weekend getaway is fast becoming our ‘go to’ option and just the medicine we need to cheer us up. And rather surprisingly, you don’t have to venture too far in order to...

The InterContinental London at the O2 opened just over six months ago on the Greenwich Peninsula, London’s rejuvenated historic, entertainment and financial gateway. It’s surrounded by impressive architecture, maritime heritage, state-of-the-art entertainment venues and spectacular views of the River Thames, Canary Wharf and iconic London landmarks. With the hotel incorporating the local heritage, this 5* luxury hotel is well-suited for cosmopolitan guests, and is an ideal resting place for visitors of the O2, travellers and business stays. Location The hotel...

The first thing to say about the trip was that there was a huge mistake, caused by yours truly. I am born and raised just up the road from Seaham Hall, in Newcastle, and I always get the rapid three-hour train journey home. For some reason me and Mrs TLE and I drove…seven hours later we arrived, missing out valuable hours at this luxurious venue. Seaham Hall is a spa hotel nestled beside the wild North Eastern coastline. The impressive...

Brand new for summer 2016 is The Sheep, handily located on Sheep Street, the main road of Stow on the Wold. The Gloucestershire village is typical of the Cotswolds in that there's as many cute cafes as people. Which, in this case, is quite a lot. Curious to check out this new accommodation, myself and a lucky pal packed up our overnight bags to see whether this 22-room B&B was worth bleating about. Heh. The area An easy couple of...

Land-locked, football mad, the eternal rival to Barcelona, Madrid has a lot more to offer than boulevards and the beautiful game. Here, Rosie Benson takes at look at five must-dos in Spain’s capital city… What to drink… Nobody drinks sangria in Spain anymore, it’s all about Tinto de Verano. The perfect prelude to an afternoon siesta, this drink is made up of cool red wine and lemon soda, served on ice with a slice of orange. Admittedly very similar to...

World-class freerunners Ryan Doyle and Will Sutton were let loose aboard a docked DFDS ship last Friday. The pair had the run of the vessel while it was moored at Newcastle and performed a variety of stunts and tricks gliding through passenger restaurants, accommodation and vast outdodeck spaces. A video of the stunt has become an online sensation having reached more than 100,000 people through views, likes and shares across social media channels. Max Foster, Passenger Director at DFDS commented: “We were thrilled to see...

The traditional British holiday has had its day in the sun, according to new research. A study of 2,000 families exploring old and new holiday pastimes revealed that games like beach cricket and wheelbarrow-racing are in decline. Just a third of families played I-spy on their last family holiday, less than that sat in a deck chair and under four per cent used a beach hut. Smartphones may have all but killed off the postcard as we happily snap 81 photos on...

Today's kids are part of a "lost generation" of campers because parents are not prepared to take them on trips. A new study has revealed that despite nearly two thirds of British parents camping in their youth; more than a third (37 per cent) have never given their own children the same opportunity to make family memories on a holiday in the great outdoors. The research has highlighted parents’ attitudes towards camping, with more than half avoiding trips because of the unreliable British weather, not...

Packing for a long weekend away can be a highly stressful experience but packing for a festival where you need to include all necessities for the unpredictable English weather means you need to step up your packing game. This handy infographic from Ready Steady Store provides this summer’s ultimate festival packing guide.     Featured image by Stinkie Pinkie from Ocean Grove . CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)