The Tour des Écrins in the Hautes-Alpes is one of Europe’s finest long-distance walks, and offers a chance to reflect on how best to live alongside nature I first learned about the Écrins national park in relation to a specific nature reserve within it. The réserve intégrale du Lauvitel was established in 1995 to “monitor…
Euphoria on a moped in Indonesia, orcas off Argentina and the chance to ranch, surf or simply be the person they always wanted to be are among our readers’ wonderful memories After a 10-year slog at work, my boss agreed to my taking a year-long sabbatical. We used this to revisit south-east Asia – not…
Our tipsters savour the season’s bounty, from orchard tours to pumpkin picking Our family’s favourite place to visit in autumn is Tulleys Pumpkin Farm in West Sussex (its pumpkin festival runs until 31 October). The pumpkin fields are impressive, with an astonishing variety in all colours, shapes and sizes. The kids love exploring and picking…
Fancy a seasonal getaway? From cosy inns to restaurants with rooms, we’ve found the best boltholes – all with menus as enticing as the scenery Glenfinnan House Hotel, overlooking Loch Shiel and the Jacobite monument, is one of Scotland’s most celebrated properties. On a clear day, you can see Ben Nevis from here, too. Glenfinnan…
Scratch beneath the surface of these once well-connected but now overlooked towns and their grand civic buildings and streets reveal a rich seam of history, legend and memory • Where tourists seldom tread, parts 1-11 Ports, rivers, canals, railways, pilgrims’ pathways: these oft-overlooked, deeply engaging towns grew around transport and, as they expanded, created local…
From Orkney to Brighton, independent stores are treasure troves for vinyl hunters and a great way to while away a holiday afternoon I still remember the excitement of buying my first vinyl aged 11, Duane Eddy’s great 1962 single (Dance With the) Guitar Man, and that bug has been with me ever since. There’s nothing…
From Japanese acers at Westonbirt arboretum to the pines of Loch Ard, our tipsters share their top woodland days out Autumn is often wet – so why not embrace this, and visit one of Britain’s temperate rainforests in Borrowdale, near Keswick. Such forests are rare globally as well as in Britain. Not only can you…
Our writers find enchanting and secluded places to stay in the forests of England, Scotland and Wales There are days when a walk in the woods is the best option. This includes days when the cloud ceiling is barely above chest height and there is a rowdy wind driving the rain in your face. I…
Pull on your walking boots and immerse yourself in magnificent scenery on these long-distance trails, chosen by our tipsters The best ever walk I’ve been on was actually two weeks of walking, along the GR11 on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees from Candanchú to La Guingueta d’Àneu. We got the train to France, packed…
From the Surrey Hills to the Hebrides, hostels offer affordable lodgings in some of the UK’s most beautiful landscapes. Here are our readers’ top picks Four decades after my previous visit to Eskdale YHA (a scary night-time descent from Scafell), a nostalgic multi-day trek saw me back in one of Lakeland’s quieter hostels. The building’s…
