Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email At sterling’s 21st-century peak in 2008, £1 was worth over US$2 on the foreign exchanges. During the calamitous premiership of Liz Truss, the pound sank almost to parity against the American dollar in October 2022. The...
Category: Travel
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UK’s best hidden gem beaches including ‘mesmerising’ secluded cove
Fed up of fighting for a patch of sand at the beach? Luckily, the UK has some incredible hidden gem beaches where tourists won’t need to worry about crowds. The travel experts at holidaycottages.co.uk have rounded up a list of some of the UK’s best lesser-known beaches. From Northumberland to North Wales, many of the...
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Tourist claims Europe’s top holiday destinations are ‘too crowded’ to enjoy
A tourist has taken to Reddit to express their shock at the tourist crowds in some of Europe’s top holiday destinations. Reddit user ‘Addicted_2_tacos’ said they visited Europe in October, travelling to a mix of cities, towns and rural areas. They said: “I was astounded at how crowded some cities were! I even overheard someone...
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UK’s top ‘hidden gem’ attraction is tucked away in Birmingham
Tripadvisor is a great resource to help plan holidays and days out, and now data compiled from the travel review website has revealed the UK’s “top hidden gem”. The data, gathered by the travel experts at Bounce who analysed Tripadvisor reviews, found that a tiny museum tucked away in Birmingham is considered to be the...
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UK landmark named attraction with biggest price hike – ‘it’s worrying’
The cost of a day out in the UK has “risen by astronomical amounts” according to new research by the team at Which?. The consumer experts looked at the cost of attractions compared to when the magazine first launched 50 years ago. In 1974, Britons could enjoy a visit to the Tower of London for...
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UK named among ‘unhappiest countries in the world’
Since 2020, the world is certainly a different place and according to a Global Mind Project’s fourth annual Mental State of the World report (conducted by Sapien Labs), some nations have been left feeling more unhappy than others. Within touching distance of the top of the list is the UK, beaten only by one other...
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Europe’s underrated city break that’s just an hour and half from the UK
France is one of the UK’s top holiday destinations but while many Britons head to Brittany or the south, Lille is woefully underlooked. The northern city, close to the Belgian border, is one of France’s best cheap city breaks and Britons won’t even have to fly to get there. On the Eurostar, British tourists can...
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The Top Travel Destinations Inspired by TV and Movies in 2024
Forget everything you know about revenge travel. The trend of getting on a trip as a way to “flip it” to the pandemic is not what we’re doing anymore. In 2024, travel is much more dreamy than ever—so much so that one might say it feels like a movie. Spoiler alert: It’s because this year,...
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The 10 best websites for a last-minute holiday
Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email With spring in the air and summer just on the horizon, many will be starting the search for suitably affordable last-minute trips abroad. But organising a holiday at short notice is often easier said than done,...
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Rail travel on UK’s top business routes almost nine times greener than driving
Travelling by train on the UK’s top 100 business routes is almost nine times ‘greener’ than travelling by car, according to a new report from the Rail Delivery Group. The membership organisation which works on behalf of the rail industry goes further, claiming that some journeys by rail will produce almost 20 times fewer carbon...
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The beautiful city that’s crowned UK’s best weekend city break
Glasgow has been named the UK’s ‘best weekend city break’ with its fantastic pubs, bars and scenic walking routes. The Scottish city may not be the official capital, but it is the largest and offers a wealth of attractions. Art lovers should visit the Burrell Collection, which reopened a few years ago and boasts an...
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UK’s best staycation destination named as historic city
A staycation gives Britons the chance to explore a new area of the UK and avoid the cost of a flight. But where are this year’s most popular destinations? According to a survey by National Rail, the beautiful Isles of Scilly are the UK’s top bucket list destination. However, Edinburgh took second place in the...