Things to do around the UK this weekend

Sunday, 11 May 2008

1. Alresford in Hampshire hosts its annual Watercress Festival today, kicking off a week of bicentenary celebrations of the plant industry (watercress.co.uk). Antony Worrall Thompson demonstrates new dishes and steam train rides will take place on the Watercress Line.

The complete guide to The Isle of Man

Saturday, 10 May 2008

24-Hour Room Service: Cameron House, Loch Lomond, Scotland

Saturday, 10 May 2008

Cameron House is coming to the end of a full-flung facelift: no surreptitious botox injection for this one-time 18th-century mansion on the banks of Loch Lomond, it's the entire skin-stretching, eye-watering, knock-20-years-off operation. Through a door off the grand hallway you can just make out a swirly carpet gambolling gamely up a staircase. Its days are numbered.

Flat out on the Suffolk coast

Sunday, 4 May 2008

There really is nowhere else like Orford Ness in Britain. Closed to the public for much of the 20th century, this shingle spit in southern Suffolk is tied to the mainland by a tendril in the north but accessible only by ferry across the River Ore. Its history is entwined with the military, which used it to develop the first parachute and conduct many other military experiments. Yet, this activity took place upon one of the most magnificent wildlife reserves in the country. Protected by just about every wildlife designation you could name, Orford Ness is a globally significant habitat, known as coastal vegetated shingle and home to many rare birds and flowers.

Orkney’s St Magnus Festival: Sound of the summer

Saturday, 3 May 2008

Residents of Orkney do a good line in self-deprecation. When asked to pinpoint their island home, the traditional response appears to be: "The bit under the big black cloud on the BBC weather map." What they don't mention is that when the sun shines – and it does, frequently – this beautiful archipelago off the north coast of Scotland is a glorious place to visit. After all, if it were so grim, why would everyone, from Stone Age man to the Picts, the Vikings and the Scots, all have wanted to live here? While Nordic raiders fought over its fertile soil, visitors today are drawn by the promise of unspoiled beaches, castles and cairns, abundant birdlife and delicious food, including fresh salmon and Orkney beef.

Is the tide about to turn for Southport?

Sunday, 27 April 2008

Tired of Tuscany? Prague palling? Caribbean carbon-consuming? All right, yes, this is one of those breezy pieces about the delights of the British resort. But this is not about just any resort. No: this is about Southport.

Hold the tartan! This new look scores a hole in one

Sunday, 27 April 2008

Is it possible to be intimidated by bricks and mortar? It is when they form the shape of Gleneagles Hotel, the grand old lady of the Scottish Highlands. I was almost shaking in my shoes as I approached the entrance, and not just because of the grandeur of this faux French chateau; I was also a little nervous of the guests I might find inside, cobwebbed to the furniture.

Around The UK

Sunday, 27 April 2008

1. Make a pit stop at London's Lower Regent Street today, when it will be transformed into an A1GP World Cup of Motorsport grid, between 11am and 5pm. Other highlights include interactive competitions (a1gp.com).

Trail Of The Unexpected: Unsullied star-gazing in Northumberland

Saturday, 26 April 2008

It was past midnight and the moon scattered light upon the hilltop of Black Fell. The spruces shook with a bitter wind from the south but the breeze had cleared the skies of remnant clouds. The shine from the moon threatened to bleach out the planets and stars that seemed to shower the black sky, but I was lucky enough to have a good telescope to compensate. Having said that, if I'd been in the same place yesterday I would have been even more spoilt – the opening of the Kielder Observatory would have meant that I could have kept warm at the same time as I gawped at the galaxy.

If you want to be cool, head to Northumberland

Sunday, 20 April 2008

The fact that north-east England has been named one of the 30 up-and-coming destinations for 2008 in Lonely Planet's prestigious annual Bluelist should come as no surprise. This often overlooked region is packed with attractions, stylish towns and cities and miles of pristine sands; its coastline was revealed to be one of the lesser culprits in the Marine Conservation Society's recent survey about the increase in litter on Britain's beaches.