Recipefiesta

Opened in Jane Austen’s lifetime and recently saved from demolition, Cleveland Pools will welcome swimmers for a short autumn season before making a big splash next spring

‘Enjoy your swim,” says Cleveland Pools chair Paul Simon, and a wave of spray rises from the water as a small tide of people leap into this historic open-air pool in the centre of Bath. Almost 40 years since it closed, the site is reopening after a £9.3m renovation – and these swimmers , selected in a prize draw, are the first in the water. When they come up for air, they break into applause.

Among them are Jenni and Alan Hinds, who came by bus from nearby Bradford on Avon. Both remember swimming here as children. “Getting dressed in the changing rooms brought it all back,” says Jenni. “I remember visiting with my brothers. It’s wonderful. I want to come all the time!”

Built in 1815, the Grade II-listed Cleveland Pools is the UK’s oldest public outdoor swimming pool. The country’s many revamped lidos were mainly built in the 1920s and 30s, so are whippersnappers compared with this one. Hidden from general view, the pools (there are two – a main 25m pool and a children’s splash pool) are set within a walled garden and reached via an unassuming footpath between two houses on a quiet residential street. The feeling of otherworldliness is enhanced by a caretaker’s cottage and changing cubicles shaped like Bath’s Royal Crescent in miniature, and the pools’ lagoon-like position along the River Avon.

The soft, warm colours of the season infuse vistas on these outstanding walks from the Orkney Islands to Montenegro, via Winnie the Pooh’s 500-Acre Wood
Scroll down to read the winning tip

It’s hard to beat Montenegro’s big hitter for autumn colours: Biogradska Gora national park, one of Europe’s last remaining virgin rainforests. You will find numerous hiking trails under the bronze canopy, glacial lakes, very rare flora and fauna and stunning views of the surrounding mountains. Once you leave the insta-fave lake near the entrance to the national park, you’ll barely see a soul all day. Stay in Kolasin, one of the local eco villages or a quirky mushroom-shaped “art” apartment.
Kate Copeland

Five years after wildfires tore through its woods, an inland area between Porto and Lisbon is still working to restore its ecosystems – and is open to offers of help from visitors

The gently sloping valley floor beneath the village of Ferraria de São João is so green and lush that you could imagine insects having to queue to take their turn in its Arcadian abundance. Birds sing, bees buzz, and meadow grasses shoot up towards an azure sky.

It wasn’t always so. Antonio Zuzarte recalls how, five years ago, a raging wildfire reduced the landscape to a scorched, blackened wasteland. Everything was burnt to a crisp, he says – trees, crops, animal life.

Exclusive: a further 35,000 flights have operated almost empty, with climate campaigners calling the revelations ‘shocking’

More than 5,000 completely empty passenger flights have flown to or from UK airports since 2019, the Guardian can reveal.

A further 35,000 commercial flights have operated almost empty since 2019, with fewer than 10% of seats filled, according to analysis of data from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). This makes a total of about 40,000 “ghost flights”.

Rail boss says St Pancras has only avoided chaos seen at Channel ports because of services being cut

Post-Brexit border checks have slowed the speed at which Eurostar passengers pass through London St Pancras on their way to Paris, reducing the terminal’s capacity by one-third, according to the cross-Channel rail company’s boss.

The rail operator’s chief executive, Jacques Damas, said central London had only avoided the kind of chaos and queues seen at Channel ports this summer because Eurostar was running fewer trains.

The Long Distance Walkers Association turns 50 this year. Our writer joins a ‘challenge’ trek to learn about the appeal of timed walks – and how it all began

Under the pewter light of an overcast sky, we walked fast through the forest. Eighteen hikers in trail shoes and lightweight backpacks, filling the air with excited chatter. “We’ve only got 12 minutes left,” shouted Hannah, “we cannot be this close and fail. Come on!”. Our pace quickened.

Despite appearances this wasn’t a race. There were no medals to claim, or cheers of supporters waiting at the finish. This was just a regular Saturday for members of a local group of the Long Distance Walkers Association (LDWA) in Surrey, whom I’d joined for a 26-mile “challenge walk”.

Share a tip on a visit to a mainland Europe institution that you particularly enjoyed – the best tip wins £200 towards a Sawday’s stay

We would like to hear about your favourite museums and art galleries in Europe. Whether it is a world-renowned institution in Paris or Vienna or an underground gem in a smaller town, tell us about an art gallery or museum you love and why, for your chance to win a Sawday’s voucher.

Please do not include details of a UK gallery this time; we’ll save that for another time.

Airline unveils ‘roadmap to net zero’ strategy focusing on sustainable fuel and more efficient planes

EasyJet is to stop offsetting carbon emissions by its planes as it unveiled a “roadmap to net zero” emissions by 2050 including introducing hydrogen-powered jet engines.

Other elements of easyJet’s new strategy include using sustainable aviation fuel, more fuel-efficient planes and carbon capture to reach the target.

It’s possible to walk for hours in this rehabilitated landscape with its space for endangered birds, rare beetles, tantalising pathways and a Buddhist retreat

“Watch!” Mick Oliver, my guide, takes a big jump on the scrubby ground. To my surprise, the earth ripples beneath our feet. “Did you see the heather vibrate? Just below us the peat is about 95% water,” he says. “We are literally walking on water.”

I’m at Hatfield Moors, 13 miles east of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, to explore rare habitat – the UK’s largest lowland raised mire. Oliver, a passionate, active octogenarian and former mining surveyor, is part of a management group responsible for the moors’ conservation. He’s sharing some of his profound knowledge of flora, fauna and mycelium – gained over 30 years of walking, working on, studying and, at times, fighting for this land – before I explore the 1,400 hectare (3,500-acre) wetland.

Oyster farmer Olivier Laban shares tips on sailing stunning bays, rich greenery and jumping nightlife

Everyone in Arcachon is proud of our magnificent covered food hall, an example of the Baltard style of architecture found in markets all over France, which was restored to its former glory 10 years ago.

Charming places to stay among some of Britain’s most stunning landscapes

With sweeping views to Dunkery Beacon – the highest point on Exmoor – Selworthy is a glorious place to visit. Sunshine-yellow thatched cottages, many owned by the National Trust, light up the village green. The Periwinkle tearoom serves cake and cream teas, and the gift shop is packed with local crafts. Outside the village you’ll find epic walks through the 12,000-acre Holnicote Estate: woodland behind the medieval church takes you over streams, through wooded combes, past Exmoor ponies to Selworthy Beacon. From there you’ll have commanding views of Exmoor on one side and on the other the slopes of south Wales across the Bristol Channel. Stay in the heart of the village at the 19th-century Selworthy Farmhouse: it sleeps nine, perfect for large family groups.
From £1,399 for seven nights; nationaltrust.org.uk. For somewhere smaller, there’s Ivy’s Cottage, which sleeps two and is right on the village green. From £599 for seven nights; nationaltrust.org.uk

It may take longer and cost more, but travelling over land and sea is always a richer experience, as these thrilling trips prove

Sitting on the deck of the Smyril Line ferry between Denmark and the Faroe Islands, I watched a gang of kids playing tig. Another group were playing football in the netted enclosure. The parents were in the observation lounge reading books. My son Conor and I were taking turns at the port-side telescope, examining the distant outline of Muckle Flugga lighthouse in the Shetland Isles. We wondered why the Faroes and Shetland had never joined as a political unit, given that they are reasonably close neighbours. A history book was required. Next to us, hunkered down in a deck chair, a woman was scribbling furiously into a diary, the margins exploding in hurried sketches.

As foot passengers on a ferry, we were certainly saving on CO2 emissions, producing around 19 grams per kilometre per head, as opposed to 156 on a short-haul flight. But it was the other benefits that I was noticing: the time to read books, write diaries, play tig or simply look around.

A gorgeous cycle path through sand dunes on the west Jutland shore helps our writer shake off last-minute challenges as he sets off on his epic trip

A week before departure everything is ready: the polished bicycle laden with four carefully packed panniers, the ferry and train journeys all booked, the accommodation and campsites reserved. Cycling to Iceland is a complex business: ferry to Amsterdam from Newcastle, trains to Aarhus, cycle up through Jutland to the port of Hirtshals, close to the northern tip of Denmark, ferries onward to the Faroe Islands, which I will explore by bicycle before embarking for more cycling around the east of Iceland. Three weeks in total and no flights involved. One small sacrifice for the climate emergency, but also a chance to alert everyone to the wonderful adventures that can be had without flying.

But four days before departure, I find myself in hospital staring at a very sick person who cannot be left. Weeks of planning and preparation are in jeopardy. Departure day passes, but then the miracle of intravenous antibiotics happens and I realise I can still travel, catching up with my own itinerary if I make a few changes.

Cyclists and walkers may be able to avoid the post-Brexit ferry nightmare next spring if this sail-powered startup can catch a fair wind

Crossing the Channel from England to France has had some bad press this summer – huge queues at Dover, trains stuck in tunnels, ferries being cancelled. But a new startup, SailLink, aims to offer an eco-friendly alternative – a pioneering wind-powered catamaran option for cyclists and pedestrians from Dover to Boulogne-sur-Mer – that it hopes to launch next year.

SailLink plans to start running its return daily foot passenger service from spring 2023 to late summer, with a crossing taking four hours. The one-way fare likely to be £85, which is nearly three times the price of P&O’s 90-minute Dover-Calais crossing. Additional routes from Ramsgate to Dunkirk and potentially Newhaven to Dieppe may follow. “This would be a new form of public transport,” said SailLink founder Andrew Simons, “and a serious sailing experience at the same time.”

Walk along sea cliffs, dip steeply into sandy coves, and then refuel in a 400-year-old pirates’ inn

I should have set out on this walk at dawn – it’s shaping up to be a warm day, and as I leave the car park of the Old Point House I’m thankful for the shade of the trees on either side of the Pembrokeshire Coast Path.

I head towards Angle Point and the low cliffs above the Milford Haven waterway, one of the deepest natural harbours in the world and described by Admiral Nelson as “the finest port in Christendom”. The waterway has been in service for thousands of years: Vikings sheltered here from Atlantic storms; armies fought in and over it; whaling ships, fishing boats and ferries set sail from the harbours in Milford Haven and Pembroke Dock; and in recent times oil refineries and liquefied natural gas terminals have sprung up on its shoreline.

From apple tasting in Erdigg to foraging in the Highlands, our tipsters reveal the best of British foodie gatherings. Scroll down for the winning tip

The best producers from across the south-west head to this gorgeous seafront setting to showcase their food and drink at the Eat Festival. It’s free to attend, so bring the whole family – even the dog! After sampling the wares and enjoying the entertainments, including jugglers and DJ sets, finish your visit off with a walk along the cob or roll up your trousers and have a paddle (weather permitting).
Martin Scott

With its Unesco-protected mills, rolling dales and outstanding pubs, Derby is one of the Midlands’ most underrated cities

Browsing Derby’s new Museum of Making, my guide ushered me over to her favourite object: a copy of John Flamsteed’s Atlas Coelestis, a fat catalogue of stars, instrumental in fixing longitude. Flamsteed was appointed as the first Astronomer Royal in 1675 and started his astronomical life here in Derby before moving to Greenwich. “What if he’d kept his old calculations? We might have Derby Mean Time!” said the guide.

Though often under the radar, this east Midlands hub has long been a key player in Britain’s technological advancement. The Museum of Making itself is built on the site of what’s widely regarded as the world’s first factory (opened in 1721). Inside now is a trove of eclectic treasures illustrating Derby’s creative legacy, from a seven-tonne Rolls Royce engine to a Midland Railway pen holder – and it’s all very hands on. “It’s like an open storeroom to which we’ve given you the key,” says my guide.

Last month’s inaugural event, featuring Keralan, Palestinian and Italian treats, was inspired by a proud domestic culinary tradition

County Cork has always enjoyed a reputation for serving the best food in Ireland. Buoyed by great local producers such as Ballycotton Seafood and the Jameson whiskey distillery, along with the city’s English market, its modern culinary scene started in the 1960s when Myrtle Allen pioneered field-to-fork dining at Ballymaloe House. In the 1970s, Arbutus Lodge in Cork city became the first Michelin-starred restaurant in Ireland. Over the years, the city’s food scene, influenced by an influx of international chefs, has evolved impressively, mixing traditional Irish food with something more innovative.

Now in the English Market alongside seafood, butchers and poultry counters are Japanese food stalls, charcuterie and kombucha stands. On the city’s docks, the Marina Market (established during lockdown) is a container city of hipster booths serving smoothie bowls at Young Plant, Mexican food at Burittos & Blues, and Korean fried chicken at Poulet-Vous. Fifteen restaurants in the county are listed in the Michelin guide, among them the Turkish Dede in Baltimore, which has one star, while across the city diners battle for tables at Michelin-listed restaurants such as Ichigo Ichie (one star), Greenes, Da Mirco and Goldie, which has a Bib Gourmand award.

If you’ve hiked a great route in Europe, including the UK, and enjoyed autumn colours, please tell us about it – the best tip wins £200 towards a Sawday’s stay

September heralds cooler temperatures, longer shadows and subtle changes in nature’s colour palette. It’s a great time for walking even before the greens meld into oranges, golds and reds later in the season.

Whether you’ve sauntered for a couple of miles in the South Downs, enjoyed a picnic in the Black Forest, or hiked the length of the Pyrenees in autumn, we’d love to hear about it. If you have a relevant photo, do send it in – but it’s your words that will be judged for the competition.

The latest UK tour of aquatic documentaries highlights the beauty and fragility of the blue planet – and human interaction with it

This summer, many families had their first holiday abroad since the pandemic began. But as autumn sets in and the cost of living crisis deepens, that week or two by the sea may soon seem a distant memory. Perfect timing, then, for the Ocean Film festival’s UK tour. Nell Teasdale, the tour director, says audiences can “dive into a night of wild seafaring voyages and astounding marine life, without getting their feet wet”.

An offshoot of the Banff Mountain Film festival, the Ocean Film festival started in Australia in 2012 with the hope of inspiring people to enjoy, explore and respect the sea. This is the ninth year the festival has been touring the UK; over the next two and a half months, there are screenings at venues from Inverness in the Highlands to Truro in Cornwall. The tour will raise money for two charities that help to protect the oceans: the Marine Conservation Society and Surfers Against Sewage.

Brendon Prince in Circumnavigate. Photograph: Will Reddaway

This ancient Baltic port is the epitome of brick gothic. Local restaurateur Tristan Wilken shines a light on its many charms

Schiffergesellschaft is the oldest restaurant in town, founded 500 years ago by captains of the Hanseatic League, who met there to debate, eat and drink. Soak up the maritime atmosphere at the long, weathered dining tables and try the famous northern dish Labskaus – beef stew with sweet-and-sour garnish, fried quail’s egg and chopped salted herring. It may look a bit strange but it tastes great. In the winter months, traditional pork and kale plates are a speciality.

From Boulogne to Brittany, these jewels within striking distance of the northern ports offer a total immersion into French culture

One of the most picturesque spots on the Normandy coast, Honfleur’s picture-perfect harbour is lined with townhouses dating back to the 16th century. It’s just the place for long, sunlit lunches and dinners of fish and seafood pulled from the sea earlier in the day. Dip into the Eugene Boudin museum to discover the town’s rich artistic history, with works by artists including Monet, Dufy and Boudin, and take a walk across the breathtaking Pont de Normandie, a vast cable-stayed bridge, which reaches 7,000ft and has wonderful views across the Seine estuary. Stay at Le Manoir, a lovely 18th-century manor house with an excellent restaurant (doubles from £167 B&B, sawdays.co.uk). Ferry from Newhaven to Dieppe, dfds.com.

Felicity Cloake recommends oysters in Whitstable, porridge and whisky in the Highlands and fish and chips everywhere

Autumn sees a bumper crop of UK food festivals, in Devizes, Abergavenny, Aldeburgh and Melton Mowbray, among others. The Dartmouth Food Festival, which takes place on the waterfront, boasts chefs and speakers including Matt Tebbutt, Prof Tim Spector and … ahem, yours truly. And once you’ve sampled your way around the many stalls, tasting events and workshops, you’re well placed for the area’s other edible attractions, including South Devon Chilli Farm, with its display tunnel and shop, the Manna from Devon wood-fired cookery school, and Riverford Field Kitchen (lunch from £29.50), as well as the Sandridge Barton vineyard. Notable restaurants include Mitch Tonks’s Seahorse (mains about £30) and, down the coast, Hope Cove House (mains about £16) and Jane Baxter’s Wild Artichokes in Kingsbridge (feasting menu £45). Or you could just get takeaway fish and chips (£9.95) from Tonks’s Rockfish and sit on the harbour wall. The chef-owned Brightham House B&B (doubles from £150) is just down the coast in Salcombe.

There’s more to the food of Wales than laverbread and cockles, great though they are. These four hiking and driving tours savour its broad range

Traditional Welsh food has for some time suffered something of an image problem, even among the Welsh themselves. Despite Richard Burton calling laverbread the “Welshman’s caviar”, when Welsh patriot Annie Haden put on a traditional menu in a 2009 episode of Come Dine With Me in Dylan Thomas’s childhood home, the guests were distinctly unimpressed.

Things are changing however, as Wales’s peasant foodways get rediscovered. From laverbread (seaweed) to ewe’s cheeses, oysters and cider to salted butter and saltmarsh lamb – and umpteen different ways with oats – the hallmarks of this peasant cooking are quality ingredients, prepared well.

This lowlands route imbued with centuries of English history leads through fragrant wildflower meadows to a reborn pub

Rabbits chase each other around the grassy hummocks. Buzzards wheel overhead. The nibbled turf is a delicate tapestry of bedstraw, wild thyme and salad burnet, milkwort and speedwell. I am walking across Great Wilbraham Common, one of Cambridgeshire’s biggest surviving areas of biodiverse grassland. It’s an early highlight on a route that’s rich in wildlife and history. There’s a converted windmill, a medieval moat, an Anglo-Saxon earthwork and thatched cottages.

This circular walk from Great Wilbraham, where the Carpenters Arms reopened in April, loops through villages and ancient meadows, big-skied farmland, orchid-studded wetlands and flowering woods. After the common comes Fulbourn Fen, a patchwork of habitats that feels far bigger than its 31 hectares (76 acres). There is a web of paths across meadows that have never been ploughed or treated with chemicals.

Flights will be halted for half an hour so aircraft noise does not disrupt two minutes’ silence

Flights to and from Heathrow will be halted for half an hour on Monday to ensure the two minutes’ silence at the end of Queen Elizabeth’s funeral is not disrupted by aircraft noise over London.

Britain’s main airport will also halt arrivals in the early afternoon to avoid planes coming in to land over the west of the capital during the procession of the Queen’s hearse, and stop take-offs later to not disturb the ceremonial procession to Windsor.

11.40am–12.10pm: no take-offs or landings from Heathrow, around the two-minute silence at the end of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral.

1.45–2.20pm: no arrivals to support the procession of the Queen’s hearse.

3.05–4.45pm: no departures.

4.45–9pm: reduced departure rate during the service.

From the gardens of Cádiz to the brutalism of Belgrade, our tipsters reveal the European cities and towns that got their senses buzzing. Scroll down for the winning tip

Padua is full of fascinating places to see. Saint Anthony’s Basilica, with a magnificent silver sarcophagus housing the saint’s body, easily rivals Saint Peter’s in Rome. The nearby botanical gardens, filled with plants and flowers, are a delightful way to pass a few hours. In the morning, hit Piazza della Frutta and Piazza delle Erbe, for buzzy markets selling everything from strawberries to sneakers, or pop into the Palazzo della Ragione with its impressive frescoes. At night, both squares become open-air bars and restaurants for sampling local cuisine. If you have time for a day trip, Verona and Venice are less than an hour away by train.
Berni G

Now in its 25th year, this event features an eclectic mix of cuisines and venues. Here we pick our favourites

Oldham Street’s self-explanatory Cocktail Beer Ramen + Bun is a buzzy, Northern Quarter hang-out where gangs of mates wolf karaage chicken and slurp tonkotsu until late. The same team are co-instigators of 10 Tib Lane, but this is a far more grown-up affair – a candle-lit, date-night joint which, with its distressed walls and natural wine list, has the feel of a Parisian neo bistro. Its menu of sharing plates is an idiosyncratic global journey. Expertly cooked hake topped, tandoori-style, with spiced yoghurt, served with a cucumber mint salad, sits alongside a Korean-inspired soy pork chop or a southern European dish of chicory, sherry, almonds and chanterelles.
Plates £6-£20, 10 Tib Lane, 10tiblane.com

Developers are planning a giant $5bn replica of the Earth’s closest neighbour, offering tourists ‘low-gravity’ moonwalks, lunar-rover taxis and … er … a wellness spa

Name: The moon.

Age: Yet to be born. But it could happen in as little as five years.

Ruling on Maya Bay, on Ko Phi Phi Leh, comes decades after local authorities filed lawsuit over environmental harm

More than two decades after the Hollywood film The Beach was shot at Thailand’s glittering Maya Bay, the kingdom’s supreme court has ordered officials to press ahead with environmental rehabilitation work.

The 2000 adventure drama, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, drew criticism for the impact of the shoot on the once pristine sands of the bay, located on the island of Ko Phi Phi Leh in southern Thailand.

The elegant town of Moffat in Dumfries and Galloway proves a great base for exploring nearby rewilded landscapes, beautiful gardens and wildlife – with astronomy a bonus

At the top of the gorge, strings of Tibetan prayer flags flutter between trees, a waterfall cascades over rock, the white dome of a stupa peeps through the foliage. I watch the water-driven prayer wheel, mesmerised, and nod hello to Dawa Sherpa. I may be in Scotland but it feels as if I’ve been transported to deepest Nepal.

Craigieburn Gardens & Nursery, two miles outside the pretty town of Moffat, is just one of the surprises on a trip to this corner of Dumfries and Galloway. While part of the garden is formal, some of the woodlands have been transformed into a Himalayan scene by green-fingered Dawa, who moved here with his family having met Craigieburn’s owner Janet Wheatcroft back in 1995 (he saved her from drowning – but that’s another story).

It’s the season for brilliant gastro fests. Please tell us your favourite – the best tip wins £200 towards a Sawday’s stay

There are now more than 100 food festivals across the UK, from last weekend’s long-established Ludlow festival with more than 180 food and drink suppliers to this week’s Manchester’s food and drink festival and London’s VegFestUK in November. All celebrate home-grown produce and delicious flavours. There are festivals dedicated to garlic, chillies, watercress, oysters, lobsters and street food. And they all give you a day off from being a slave to the stove. We’d like you to tell us about a favourite temptingly tasty food festival that you have enjoyed. If you have a relevant photo, do send it in – but it’s your words that will be judged for the competition.

Keep your tip to about 100 words

A new trip from Split makes the most of the stunning coastline and islands with regular stops for swimming, hiking and plenty of seafood

In Trogir’s Benedictine monastery, I spotted a sculpture of the Greek god Kairos, one of the two words the ancient Greeks used to define time. Chronos – chronological – is the obvious one, but Kairos signifies a time in between, when something special happens. A critical or opportune moment to grasp before the opportunity slips away. I was about to be bombarded by such special moments.

I had a day to spare before boarding the MS Emanuel in nearby Split for Sail Croatia’s seven-night hiking cruise in central Dalmatia. Rather than join the crowds in Split, I opted to spend time in this Unesco-listed island town, which is connected to the mainland by bridge. Wandering Trogir’s marble lanes, I could see Croatia’s many layers of history, from the ancient Greeks to the Habsburgs via the Venetians. The town’s Romanesque-gothic-Venetian-Renaissance cathedral was a good place to start, its magnificent portal demanding a lingering look at the sculptures’ extraordinary detail.

From the best kimchi to buzzing galleries and gardens, restaurateur Manuela Gonçalves Tavares shares his insider tips

Dutch food was once all meat, veg and potatoes, but in the 1950s migrants from all over the world started arriving and created the food culture we now have. A popular tourist market is Markthal with about 100 vendors, including Natamania, which sells delicious Portuguese pastéis de nata.

Relax and draw breath close to some of the country’s loveliest cultivated spaces

Fans of the great garden writer Christopher Lloyd will know his home here as a place of pilgrimage. It was conceived in partnership with the architect, Lutyens, 100 years ago, with the latter’s stone and tile framework giving each garden “room” its own dynamic. A fanfare of blossom, foliage and scents, Great Dixter reflects Lloyd’s natural exuberance and dislike of naked soil. This romantic garden remains an inspiration for many. Stay at the George Inn, a former 18th-century coaching inn four miles away in Robertsbridge, from £99. Refuel at the onsite Loggia Café.
The garden is open until 30 October, £13; greatdixter.co.uk

‘Creativity is a precious thing’ – our writers discover the fun in going back to the classroom to learn new skills including bushcraft and map-reading

My arms ached from hours of pinching, squeezing and rolling, my legs were stiff after the previous afternoon’s mountain hike, but I felt great: clear-headed and well slept. And the reason? Art – a subject I’d been a failure at at school, and avoided for decades.

A Which? survey has found that Wales has the best scenic railway, the Ffestiniog, plus two more in the top 10, which beats Switzerland and Norway

The train steams across the Cob embankment: on the right are the peaks of Snowdonia and on the left glitter the waters of Tremadoc bay. The smartly painted locomotive, Merddin Emrys, built in 1879, puffs towards the undisputed European capital of scenic railway journeys: Porthmadog. “It’s a stunning panorama,” says local resident David Jones, “The best possible start or finish to any railway journey.” Jones is chair of Great Little Trains of Wales, a group that promotes a dozen heritage lines around the country. It comes as no surprise to him that, according to a new survey by consumer body Which?, Wales is home to three of the 10 most scenic railway lines in Europe. “I think we could have filled the entire top 10,” he says.

The survey sampled the opinions of Which? members on aspects of Europe’s most picturesque lines, from views to comfort, cleanliness and value for money. The result is a star-studded array of Europe’s finest, including Switzerland’s spectacular Glacier Express and Norway’s vertiginous Flam Railway, which climbs 867 metres from fjord to mountaintop on one of the steepest standard-gauge tracks ever constructed.

Four medieval churches, a maze of dykes and a pub last renovated in the 1870s are the stars of this atmospheric stroll in a timeless corner of England

If ever a pub was destined to be haunted by a friendly ghost, it’s the Red Lion. Regulars swear that the spirit of former landlady Doris Jemison lingers in this inn that has been a landmark in Snargate, a hamlet on Kent’s Romney Marsh, since the 1540s.

Doris, who died in 2016, is buried in the graveyard of Saint Dunstan’s church, just up the lane. “But she’s very much here rather than there,” says her daughter Kate, who now calls time from across the marble-topped bar. Paintings, photos and other Doris mementoes take pride of place in the Red Lion, whose museum-like interior has changed little in over a century.