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The Complete Guide to: Great british bike rides

Inside UK

24-Hour Room Service: The Vincent Hotel, Southport, Merseyside

Saturday, 7 June 2008

As I sit in the bar at The Vincent Hotel, sipping the house cocktail (a rather delicious chilli martini), I feel that I'm in good company.

Families: 'We want a big celebration in Scotland'

Saturday, 7 June 2008

Q My stepfather and I would like to organise a surprise family holiday to celebrate my mother's 70th birthday next year.

A short climb up some long stairs on the Grand Union Canal

Sunday, 1 June 2008

Britain's passion for waterways is exemplified by Foxton Locks. This 10-lock staircase, on the border of Northamptonshire and Leicestershire, links the Northampton Union and Grand Union canals.

Around the UK

Sunday, 1 June 2008

1. Head for Bletchley Park in Milton Keynes today, where a 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' event will celebrate the centenary of the birth of author Ian Fleming. There'll be plenty of family activities, not least the chance to win a ride in the original car (visit southeastengland.com).

Shacklabank: The farm for free rangers

Saturday, 31 May 2008

Ask an average British farmer to think back to 2001 and the reaction won't be pretty. The UK's first outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease for 20 years, which began in February seven years ago, is estimated to have cost the agricultural industry alone close on £1bn. Scratch a little deeper, however, and the picture isn't as relentlessly dark as it first appears. Post-2001, with their traditional livelihoods looking shakier than ever, many farming families were forced to diversify. And, while no-one would welcome such a catastrophe, what it has done is radically transform the UK's rural landscapes, generating myriad innovative businesses that wouldn't otherwise have existed.

To find a great beach, head for the Hebrides

Sunday, 25 May 2008

When people go island-hopping, they usually try Greece. Few try the Outer Hebrides. Yet, when the sun comes out, the turquoise halo surrounding Harris and Lewis stretching down through the Uists to Barra renders them as jewel-like as any cluster of islands in the Med. Admittedly, even in high summer, the sun is a wayward presence. But there are compensating pleasures for a traveller willing to stop and look.

Around The UK

Sunday, 25 May 2008

1. London's Regent Street will close to traffic today as dancers attempt a new Guinness world record for a flamenco dancing display. From 12.30pm, a day of festivities will kick off the two-week A Taste of Spain 2008 event (tastespain.info).

Bath: Splash out for the weekend

Saturday, 24 May 2008

Your first sight of Bath is the sweetest. It is an architecture buff's heaven, a perfect Georgian city surrounded by steep green hills. When you look at it, you just know that it has been civilised for thousands of years. If Radio 4 was a place, it would be Bath. I was as excited as Catherine Morland, the heroine of Northanger Abbey, when I alighted from the train: "She came to be happy and she felt happy already."

Families: 'What activities can we do for free in London?'

Saturday, 24 May 2008

Q. In a bid (for me) to save money for the summer holidays, my seven-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter will be staying at home in London this half term. However, they – and I – don't want to stay indoors all week. Is there anything we can do that won't cost money, such as free activities or events?

Foodie heaven is just off the A15

Sunday, 18 May 2008

I'm heading through Lincolnshire on the A15 towards Scunthorpe and thinking about food. In fact, over the past couple of days, all I've been thinking about is food; bacon and pork, venison, beef, endless displays of bright, fresh vegetables and even a bottle of pungent homemade Jamaican "jerk" sauce purchased from Lincoln's farmers' market.

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