Best of British

Our latest travel news, reports and photos of holiday destinations in the British Isles

Super ideas for Valentine's getaways

A touch of nostalgia  On the Devon coast, the privately owned Burgh Island – actually only separated from the mainland at high tide – is the site of Burgh Island Hotel. This fine art-deco...

A German Christmas market in the Midlands

You don't need to travel to Germany to get a taste of authentic German Christmas traditions: our own city of Birmingham has been a partner city to Frankfurt for nearly half a century, and in the run up...

The gastronomy of Spain's Navarre region comes to London

Navarre – or Navarra as the Spanish call it – is a region way up in the north east of Spain, on the border with the French region of Aquitaine. Best known outside the country for its capital...

The Elvis influence

The link between Liverpool and Memphis goes way back to the days of the cotton trade, but, as the exhibition Elvis and Us clearly demonstrates, it didn't stop then. This first-of-its-kind, interactive...

Leonardo in London

Under the title 'Leonardo da Vinci: Painter at the Court of Milan', the exhibition draws together paintings from collections around the world in an unprecedented display of the rare surviving works of...

Europe's spectacular natural heritage

Dramatic mountains – the vast Durmitor massif in the eponymous national park in northwestern Montenegro, the volcanic mass of Mount Teide, and the dramatic Dolomites in the Italian Alps where green...

The best of British

There are lots of places of cultural and natural heritage around the British Isles that UNESCO considers to have outstanding universal value. They range from the great megalithic blocks of Stonehenge and...

"More stars than there are in heaven"

They're all here: Clark Gable, Marlon Brando, James Dean... Elizabeth Taylor, Greta Garbo, Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe... the gods and goddesses of the silver screen brought to London in an exceptional...

Five-star train-spotting!

The Blue Train Ranked among the very best hotels in the world, not only for the luxury and exclusivity of the accommodation and the quality of the service, but also for the chance to travel back...

Edinburgh – even better in summer

Scotland's second most populous city lies about fifty miles north of the English border, between the Firth of Forth and the Pentland Hills. With its fine castle perched high on a rocky crag, the medieval...

'Glamping': putting the glamour in camping

Forget about wet feet and tangled guy-lines: times have changed. The new trend for 'glamping' – as a the name suggests, it combines glamour and camping – let's you get up close and personal...

Which summer festival will you choose?

Veranos de la Villa – Madrid's Summer in the city One of the year's top diary dates in the Spanish capital. Dance, theatre, zarzuela (Spanish operetta) and concerts are all performed on stages...

Ascot: a day at the races

You may have missed Royal Ascot itself, but there's no reason why you shouldn't visit the world's most famous race course for one of the other meetings and try your luck. And this year there's...

Ten places in the lives of the royal couple

Notting Hill, London  Do you remember the photos of the late Princess Diana with William the schoolboy on his first day at school? He was dressed in the long dark socks and short trousers of a typical...

Spas fit for a future queen

Spa by ESPA, Gleneagles Hotel, Scotland   This fine hotel with its award-winning spa is close to St Andrews, where Kate Middleton and Prince William met when they were students. For just £135...

Hollywood settings in the English countryside

While you're waiting for the return to your screens of the aristocratic Crawleys in the period drama Downton Abbey this autumn, you can visit the setting for many of the upstairs scenes at Highclere Castle,...

The (very stylish) art of travel

Starting in London with a private viewing at the National Gallery, Venice, Paris and Bath are the destinations for these unique journeys in classic trains, each in the company of an expert guide. With...