Room2 Hammersmith: Home From Home?
En route to Istanbul, Mark Bibby Jackson checks into the room2 Hammersmith, sister property of room2 Southampton, a new concept in hometels, to see if a hotel truly can feel…
Travel Topics
En route to Istanbul, Mark Bibby Jackson checks into the room2 Hammersmith, sister property of room2 Southampton, a new concept in hometels, to see if a hotel truly can feel…
Mal Tattersall samples the delights of the Saddleworth Whit Friday Band Contests, to discover much to enjoy in Yorkshire brass band contests. There’s an intriguing sign hanging on a red…
Wish you could dance, sing or play an instrument, but don’t know where to start? Whitby Folk Week this August may be just what you’re looking for. There are more than three hundred events…
Chilli Fest Waddesdon Manor promises to be the hottest event of the summer. The manor house built for the Baron de Rothschild in the 1870s to entertain guests and exhibit…
Mark Bibby Jackson takes time off from his Speyside whisky tour to celebrate the delights of the Balmoral Hotel’s Brasserie Prince by Alain Roux, and savours every moment of the…
Mark Bibby Jackson takes an overnight spa break at Champneys Henlow Grange for a pampering experience that leaves him feeling thoroughly rejuvenated. My previous experience of visiting a spa or…
Set in the heart of England, Studley Castle is Warner Leisure Hotels’ first new venture in 20 years. Mark Bibby Jackson accepts an invitation to see what all the hype…
Taking a short break from their native Suffolk, Roger Hermiston and Eileen Wise discover a plethora of things to do in Harwich, a surprisingly historic town with links to the…
Travel Begins at 40 gives the run down on this year’s WOMAD music festival, which is staying true to its global roots. Every summer in late July musicians, poets, actors, artists, thinkers and even cooks…
One of the foody highlights of the South Coast, the Lymington Seafood Festival occurs each summer. The Lymington Seafood Festival must be one of the most picturesque…
Could there be a more appropriate setting for The Times and The Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival than the historic Regency spa town of Cheltenham ? Originally held in…
Robert Spellman visits Stanley Kubrick: The Exhibition at the Design Museum London, an extensive retrospective on the work of one of the twentieth century’s greatest filmmakers. The phrase “he’s done…
Irene Caswell stays at the Holiday Inn Winchester and finds it an eminently reasonable place to use as a base for the final Winchester Festival. Winchester festival events are held…
On a cricket-inspired trip to Hampshire and the docks of Portsmouth, Mark Bibby Jackson reminisces at the Hilton at The Ageas Bowl on cricketing feats past. I have to confess…
The Dorset town of Lyme Regis, immortalised in John Fowles’ novel The French Lieutenant’s Woman, will once more be the setting for the seventh Food Rocks this September…
Now a veteran of the UK food festival circuit, the first Ludlow Food Festival was held in 1995 when members of the local Chamber of Trade and Commerce decided a food festival would be a…
On 14 May, the world-famous Blackpool Tower celebrated its 125th anniversary, having opened for business way back in 1894. This celebration will in turn draw attention to one of the…
Meat lovers should head to London’s Tobacco Dock from 29 August to 1 September for Meatopia, the celebration of sustainable, quality meat. Founded by Josh Ozersky in the States, Meatopia…
This September will see the Abergavenny Food Festival with more than 190 exhibitors and producers lined up to attend, in addition to chef demonstrations and food talks. Created in 1999…
Balham Comedy Festival 2025 roars into The Bedford’s intimate Club Room from 4–12 July, proudly presented by Banana Cabaret. Across eight nights and 12 shows, expect 24 acts — including…
Mark Bibby Jackson travels to Hampshire where he learns of cricketing tales of yore, seafaring adventures and discovers a most poignant reminder of man’s follies in the D-Day Story. Although…
Roger Hermiston and Eileen Wise spend a night in London taking in Covent Garden and the West End before dining at Simpson’s in the Strand. Despite living the life of…
Held in Walpole Park, the Ealing Beer Festival each July is a highlight of the London borough’s series of summer events. This year marks the 33rd anniversary of what is the UK capital’s…
The Chelsea Fringe, an alternative garden festival that has become a staple of the horticultural calendar, will return for a 12th year in 2023 with nine days of celebrations scheduled…
The UK has so much to offer with its rich history, galleries, theatres and concert halls, its commercial and scientific enterprise and its varied and undeniably scenic countryside.
UK National Parks
There are 15 National Parks in the UK, ranging from coastal areas to mountainous regions in England, Wales and Scotland. There are currently none in Northern Ireland. Unlike National Parks in other countries, in the UK parts of the designated, protected areas can be owned by private landlords. Such areas as the Lake District, Yorkshire Moors, Pembrokeshire Coastal Path, Snowdonia and the Cairngorms draw hikers and naturalists to them like a magnet.
UK Weather
The British never tire of the weather as a talking point. Broadly speaking it is a temperate climate, although winters are becoming wetter and summers warmer, probably from climate change. Warmer in the South, wetter in the West and colder in Scotland and Northern Ireland, the UK climate can be subject to diurnal change on a sudden basis, although, with the advent of satellites, the weather forecasts are more accurate. It is wise to take a waterproof with you on an extended trip.
Northern Ireland
Since the Good Friday Agreement brought greater stability to this previously troubled land, visitors are on an increase. The Titanic Museum displaying memorabilia regarding that renowned disaster and Ulster Museum looking at 3,000 years of Irish culture and history, are well worth a visit. Outside of Belfast, the Mountains of Mourne in County Down and the Giant Causeway, 60 miles outside Belfast, are not to be missed.