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Here’s why retro caravans with original features and wild surrounds are one of the coolest camping options around

A quartet of caravans are in a wildflower meadow and copse in the grounds of an old rectory near Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire. They are Gertie, a rare 1930s model; Sybil, a handmade 1940s van; Monty, a second world war military wagon; and Elsie, a 1950s van. All have original features and outdoor seating; three have wood burners and Monty has a private deck. There are communal showers, toilets, a summer kitchen and campfire, and an honesty shop selling farm produce, ice-cream and cider. Guests can hire individual vans or the site, and pitch a tent next to their van at no extra cost.
From £200 for two nights for four people, vans sleep two to five, maddogsandvintagevans.co.uk

Share a tip on your favourite rural festival – the best one wins £200 towards a Coolstays break

Summer is prime time for country fairs – where farmers parade their animals, giant marrows win prizes, local produce is for sale and fairground rides add to the fun. We want to hear about the best rural festivals you’ve been to, whether in the UK or a similar-style event on the continent. The top tip will win a holiday voucher.

If you have a relevant photo, do send it in – but it’s your words that will be judged for the competition.

Dartmoor National Park Authority had appealed against January high court ruling that outlawed practice

Wild camping is once again allowed on Dartmoor after the national park won a successful appeal against a ruling in a case brought by a wealthy landowner.

Camping had been assumed to be allowed under the Dartmoor Commons Act since 1985, until a judge ruled otherwise in January. It was the only place in England such an activity was allowed without requiring permission from a landowner.

There’s a lot to see just a short rail journey from Edinburgh. Don’t miss out on these stunning Scottish countryside delights – including one of Attenborough’s ‘wonders of the world’

Of the half million annual visitors to the Edinburgh International Festival (running from 4-28 August this year), the vast majority don’t leave the city. Which is understandable given the cultural smörgåsbord on offer, and that it takes place in (arguably) the UK’s most attractive city. But it’s also a wasted opportunity given that this is the capital of one of the most beautiful countries in the world, with a wealth of stunning scenery on its doorstep.

The really epic stuff is up in the Highlands, several hours away, but you can get a taste of Scotland’s unique wild beauty on a day trip from Edinburgh. Here are three suggestions easily reached by public transport that take in a hill walk, amazing wildlife and a famous loch.

Get arty with the children this summer at these top 10 inspiring destinations

With curved architecture and a multicoloured mural encompassing the exterior, Towner Eastbourne is an eye-catching stalwart of the south coast’s art scene. This year it celebrates its centenary with Towner 100: The Living Collection, which has accompanying text panels helping youngsters to learn their way around the exhibits. A 20-minute stroll west leads you to Holywell Retreat, a shingle beach with rockpooling and a tea chalet offering breakfast or lunch with a view.
Admission free, townereastbourne.org.uk; family room, B&B, from £146, lansdownehotel.co.uk (gallery visitors to the hotel can claim a £20 discount)

Over crumble and custard on our short break in Yorkshire, Dad wondered if it was worth him getting into Instagram

I’ve got a bit of a thing for my elders. As a kid I wouldn’t leave my great-aunt alone. In my early 30s, I went on six coach holidays with a load of strangers twice my age for my book, The Gran Tour. So it won’t come as a surprise to learn that I recently dragged my old man to Scarborough for a mini-break. When I say dragged, I’m only half-joking. He didn’t fancy the coach ride, for a start. For the first hour of the journey north from Portsmouth, Dad behaved like a hostage, but by the time we’d reached Reading he was leaning across the aisle to help a couple with the crossword.

It surprised me that he knew the answer to 4 down was “saturnalia”. And the fact that it surprised me showed how relatively little I knew of the man. I knew his outline well enough – born 1952, shipwright in the dockyard, 12 years sober and counting, ever so kind – but not the full picture, not the finer brush strokes. I hoped that Scarborough might fill in some gaps.

We both like to be busy and are good at holidaying together as long as no one else comes with us

My mum is not a sun bunny. She likes active holidays: walking about interesting towns, gazing at historical things (churches, art, gardens), plus non-spicy food and, possibly, some water to paddle in.

When my brother and I were young, our summers involved much traipsing through National Trust properties and banging seaside windbreaks into blustery British beaches. Before that, my parents travelled quite a bit: they drove round Europe in a Mini, even making it to Russia. But my dad can’t really manage a holiday these days, so my mum’s options are more limited. Day outings with her book group, occasionally further afield with a friend. And sometimes she goes on holiday just with me.

Parents and adult offspring reveal how going on holiday together gives them the time and space to forge fresh, often deeper, bonds

For many of us, there comes an age (typically around 16) when holidays with our parents become anathema: “Not a static caravan in Aberystwyth again Dad, I want to stay at home with my mates and drink Monster and play Fortnite!” (or, per your author, listen to the Doors and paint gloomy gothic tableaux). As we mature into adulthood, Britons most commonly plan holidays with friends and partners and later with our own kids, who will in turn become embarrassed by trailing around beach resorts with their cringey sun visor-sporting parents.

But a novel travel trend is upending this accepted cycle of holidaymaker life. Bonding holidays (one-on-one intergenerational breaks involving a parent and adult offspring) have emerged since the pandemic, says Tom Barber, co-founder of Original Travel. The tour company recently launched itineraries to cater for these holidaymaker duos, including a five-night biking and food tour to Catalonia.

From package cruises to beach bars, the holiday gig circuit is a way of life for some performers. But does the sun, sea and security satisfy them creatively?

Sloppy Joe’s Bar stands on the corner of Greene and Duval, Key West’s main drag, where much of the Florida island city’s commotion takes place. On an early Saturday evening in April, the mayhem was already well under way: barefoot bachelorette parties, zigzagging golf carts, all of the boisterousness, board shorts and muscular calves so particular to the American vacation spirit.

In the former fisher’s bar, once beloved by Ernest Hemingway, the crowd was in holiday mode – sun-pinkened and half-dressed, ordering more pitchers of beer to buffer their fried pickle chips and conch fritters. At 5.30pm, Gerd Rube took to the stage – as he does most Saturdays at Sloppy Joe’s. He had a look that recalled the soft rock scene of the 1980s: hair bleached and long, skin deeply tanned, T-shirt consummately faded.

Readers reveal favourite places for family trips in the UK and mainland Europe. Scroll down to see the winner

Last year, we hired a lovely property sleeping eight two miles from Lake Garda. It was in a hamlet with two gorgeous Italian restaurants and a shop selling seemingly everything. We drove from Lincolnshire with our two dogs, in our motorhome. Our three grown-up children and their partners joined us there. The property owner arranged a pasta cooking day with local wine, meat and cheeses. We barely left the villa and the time spent just talking and playing games was priceless. Having nothing but time to chill and talk proved to be our best holiday.
Cath Delsignore

With festivals, clubs and courses galore it’s a great time to try your hand at an open-air activity or sport – from rock climbing to canoeing or birdwatching

It happened at an indoor wall for the sport of “bouldering”. I was standing watching some athletic young men conquer a tricky route that was beyond my abilities, half-listening to their banter, when I suddenly understood what they were discussing. A proposal to climb outdoors. They had never done it. They dreamed of it, but were uncertain how to go about it.

It’s not only rock-climbing that has this issue. Throughout the UK, there is fresh, unused kit sitting under beds, in lofts and in garden sheds, a testament to thwarted dreams. I am guilty myself. The fishing kayak that has never been wet hangs from the shed roof where I winched it on ratchet straps. I was apprehensive about using that impulsive lockdown purchase.

A new style of holiday offers off-grid seclusion in a rented campervan, with Devon just one of many places pairing UK landowners with nature-loving travellers

Early morning on Dartmoor, and as I lie in bed all I can hear is the trill of birdsong, punctuated by a distant cuckoo’s call. I open the campervan door to take in the scene. There’s no one around, no buildings in sight, just fields glittering with dew in the sunlight and sheep grazing nonchalantly on the hillside.

While coffee is brewing I study the map and plan the day’s walk up on to the moors. The last time I came to Dartmoor was for a three-day wild camping adventure, hiking and carrying all our kit and food on our backs. This time, I’m enjoying the comforts of a campervan for a few days with my friend Isabel, but, thanks to Wild With Consent, a new company that connects campervanners looking for off-grid seclusion with landowners (mostly farmers) who give permission to “wild camp”, we’re still hoping to tap into a sense of full nature immersion.

Alicia Kearns backs calls for the government to advise against travel to the Greek island

Travel firms that continue to fly tourists to Rhodes have been accused of “profiteering” by a senior Conservative, as ministers faced pressure over official travel advice for the island, where 10,000 British tourists have been stranded.

As flights rescuing holidaymakers began arriving in the UK on Monday, calls continued for a change in the Foreign Office’s stance on the categorisation of Rhodes to enable tourists to get a refund for their trips through their travel insurance.

Don’t forget Funchal, but explore away from the capital for lush vistas, hiking trails, whale-watching and cocktails to blow your socks off

A statue of Cristiano Ronaldo towers over a crowd of admirers as they queue to have their photos taken with it. One young man with a leather satchel thrown over his shoulder giddily takes his turn. I’m watching from the roof of the Pestana CR7 hotel in Funchal, Madeira.

This CR7 is less like a hotel and more like a safari into the mind of a narcissist. Ronaldo is everywhere. Signed shirts from his appearances for Manchester United, Real Madrid and Portugal adorn the walls. There’s Ronaldo’s face on the facade, bathroom mirrors, on the door of the main suite and above every bed. This is Ronaldo Island, after all. Even the airport is named after him.

An endless bounty of riches awaits travellers in France. Tell us about your favourite places – the best tip wins £200 towards a Coolstays break

With so much to explore, every trip to France brings new pleasures. There are so many ancient towns and cities to enjoy as well as countryside ranging from stunning peaks to great beaches – a fresh discovery lies around every corner for the inquisitive traveller. Please share details of your favourite – it could be a cafe, cycle route, mountain hike, museum, secret cove or restaurant … whatever it was that makes you want to share it with others.

Places that are less frequented by tourists are more likely to make the shortlist.

Grand designs will feature in a major expansion of the Paris Métro, but there is plenty of theatricality, beauty and swagger on show at existing stations

One aspect of the Paris Métro is minimalism. Most stations are simply white subterranean vaults with no surface building to sully the beauty of the streets. Sometimes, a station entrance is indicated by art nouveau iron flowers of no known genus (except possibly triffid), and these – the creations of Hector Guimard in the early 1900s – signify the flamboyance that coexists with the minimalism.

The sheer theatricality of some stations reflects a society that accords engineers a high status (the UK has no real equivalent of the elite engineering school École Polytechnique) and encourages them to make bold statements. This kind of swagger is evident in the Eiffel Tower and the Pompidou Centre. It will also be manifest in the huge new stations of the Grand Paris Express scheme which, between now and 2030, will double Métro mileage. But here are some fine examples on the existing network.

Queen Victoria loved it there, and so have generations of seaside holiday-makers ever since

If picturesque cycling, coastal walks and simple seaside pleasures float your boat, make the Isle of Wight your first port of call. Home to Queen Victoria’s summer retreat, Osborne House, the island has 20 beaches and a series of unspoilt coves. A network of cycle and walking trails covers 17 miles of coastline and countryside. Famous for the Cowes sailing regatta in July and August, the 147-square-mile island also offers every water sport going, from kayak surfing and windsurfing to paddle-boarding and parasailing.

We explored by bike, our wheels borrowed from Foresters Hall, an impeccable, 14-bedroom Grade II-listed boutique hotel. Situated on a cobbled street in Cowes old town, Foresters is a five-minute walk from the Red Jet terminal – the journey to East Cowes from Southampton Quay takes 28 minutes.

The coast defines these islands and holds priceless memories for almost all of us, including these writers, who share their favourite beaches, islands and secret spots

The fortunes of this estuary island are linked to the tides

The ‘loveliest skies in Europe’ cliche really is justified

Tourists are choosing milder destinations such as Ireland and Denmark as the heatwave over southern Europe leads to sea temperatures of up to 30c in Spain

Repeated heatwaves and growing fears about the climate crisis may spell the beginning of the end for the Mediterranean as a holiday destination, according to a report published by the European Travel Commission.

“Mediterranean destinations have seen a 10% drop in visitors aiming to travel there from last year,” the report says. “On the contrary, destinations like the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Ireland and Denmark are experiencing a surge in popularity. This can be attributed to travellers seeking out less crowded destinations, and milder temperatures.”

Our tipsters revel in stretches of coast from Shetland to Cornwall offering wilderness, history and nostalgia

For low-tide loveliness, the coastline between Alnmouth and Cresswell in Northumberland takes some beating. With the tide out the beaches and skies are overwhelming, especially on a sunny day. The coast is vast, so if you like solitude you’ll find it here. You have the bonus of a wander into the beautiful village of Warkworth and the small town of Amble. Access to public transport in this area is pretty good too, considering its remoteness.
Barry Peaden

The three big names and dozens more artists will be taking the reins in the home of horse racing for the largest contemporary art exhibition in the UK this year

Newmarket in Suffolk is the home of British horse racing, with equine attractions aplenty. There are the two race courses, the Rowley Mile and the July Course; the gallops where the horses are exercised; the National Stud, where they are bred; and Tattersalls, where they are bought and sold. There is plenty of art, too, but it is largely of a horsey nature – the Packard Galleries of British Sporting Art are full of paintings by George Stubbs and Alfred Munnings, and depictions of hunting, hawking, shooting and, of course, racing.

A new airport and new routes may take pressure off creaking buses – but at what cost to a valuable wetland for flamingos and other birds?

Black smoke billows from the front of the bus. With no air-conditioning besides the sympathetic wafting of a folded map from another passenger, I’m five hours into a bus journey from Tirana to Sarandë. Has the engine exploded? I’m not too sure. But judging by the groans of the driver and other passengers, this is far from ideal.

For many visitors, this is the reality of travelling in Albania. Buses and car hire are the primary methods of transportation – so incidents like these are pretty regular. The only two cities accessible by international flights are Tirana and Kukës in the north, leaving mid and south Albania fairly inaccessible unless travelling by bus or car. However, Albanian transportation is shifting. Flight routes to Albania are increasing, and not everyone is happy about it.

The world is stressful, so an adventure holiday is the last thing you need. Instead, hotels are offering fancy sleep suites and AI-powered beds

As my wife – and all my exes – will attest, I’m really good (at staying) in bed. I’m not one of those weirdos who jumps out from under the sheets at the crack of dawn, ready to seize the day: my modus operandi has always been to remain horizontal for as long as possible, screeching “five more minutes” to anyone who tries to rouse me. Some may call it laziness; I call it self-care. After all, sleep is restorative. Quality sleep adds years to your life and is great for your mental health. Why wouldn’t you snooze for as long as you can?

Because you have a job that requires you to get up early, that’s why. Or because you have anxiety-induced insomnia. Or because you have a child who won’t let you sleep a minute past 6.49am. As I have come to realise, sleep is a luxury item. I used to take slumbering for granted, but now that I’m the mother of a hyperactive toddler (is there any other kind of toddler?), sleep is something I would pay a pretty penny for.

It is 50 years since this prehistoric thoroughfare in southern England became a national trail. We take a two-day walk with highlights including Uffington White Horse

I’m settled in the shade of a hawthorn bush at the edge of the trail. Banked cow parsley waves in the breeze, elderflowers are breaking bud and the white chalk line of the footpath draws the eye on through the landscape. As I sit, a hare hops out of the hedge just metres away and pauses on the path. For a long moment it is still and calm, eyes shining golden. I hold my breath. Then it notices me and bursts into action, launching off the track and through the undergrowth to the field beyond, quicker than my eyes can follow. I exhale. Walks are made for moments like these.

I’m walking a stretch of the Ridgeway national trail across the high chalklands of the North Wessex Downs, an area of outstanding natural beauty. Sometimes known as Britain’s oldest road, the whole route is 87 miles between Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire and Avebury in Wiltshire.

Turkey is a brilliant place for a trip but many areas of this vast country remain unknown to visitors – the best tip wins £200 towards a Coolstays break

Beyond the areas that were devastated by the earthquake earlier this year, Turkey is very much open for business and keen that visitors keep coming. Away from the tourist hotspots of Istanbul, Antalya and the Cappadocia region, there are still vast parts of the country that remain relatively little-visited. We would like to hear your tips on a hidden Turkish gem, somewhere that is off-the-beaten-track and ideal for a holiday. 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

This cross-border journey through fenlands and small towns is so idyllic our writer breaks up this short trip with overnight stays

What makes a fine rail journey? We all have our own ideas on this, but I find it’s best not to dash and to retain an element of spontaneity, taking the chance to stop off here and there along the way. So, last month I ended up taking three days for a train journey of only 200 miles.

It’s possible to travel from Hamburg to Esbjerg by train in four to five hours with a single change of train at Niebüll, a small town in northern Germany just short of the Danish border. Yet, with fine early summer weather, this was a chance to dawdle. Except for short electrified stretches at either end – for the first 40 miles out of Hamburg and then again on the final few miles into Esbjerg – the route relies on diesel trains and for much of the way has all the character of a lightly used secondary railway. The appeal of the journey is in the delicate beauty of the flatlands and the fine small towns along the way.

Post-Brexit passport checks will significantly lengthen delays as peak holiday season gets under way

Cross-Channel ferry passengers will face waits of up to two and a half hours at Dover this weekend, the port has warned, as the peak holiday season gets under way.

Post-Brexit passport checks will significantly lengthen delays as holidaymakers head for France, despite a number of mitigation measures put in place by the port.

Football feuds and pandemic pain have been replaced with walks, hilltop feasts and culture in these rival cities, making them superb places to enjoy an active Lombardy holiday

Wearing a crimson and sunshine-yellow flower crown, the young man is surrounded by his family, before there is the pop of the vino frizzante and the royal blue cups are filled for a merry toast to celebrate his graduation.

The fading afternoon light dances on this scene taking place near the small central Fontana Contarini in Piazza Vecchia, in Città Alta in Bergamo, the medieval upper part of the city. With its 16th-century Venetian walls and flourishing restaurants under large stone archways, the area invites people to pour in from every direction.

Country does not seem to get its fair share of tourists or money, despite so much spectacular mountain scenery and coastline

Any summer’s day on top of Yr Wyddfa you may be forgiven for thinking all is well with Welsh tourism. People are queuing to touch the summit cairn, the cafe is rammed and the railway fully booked.

But the Welsh affairs committee at Westminster this week voiced serious concerns. It pointed out that in 2019, international visitors spent about £515m in Wales, less than 2% of the £28bn they spent in the UK overall. Closer scrutiny revealed other worrying signs: in 2022, there were almost 2.8bn day trips taken by British residents but only 6% happened in Wales, and on those visits people spent less than elsewhere in Britain.

With its restaurants with rooms, gastro pubs and farmers’ markets, the whole area is foodie heaven

The Rectory Hotel, Crudwell An idyllic weekend retreat, this Georgian rectory with picture-perfect, bloom-filled gardens has been converted into an 18-room hotel, oozing classic country-house style. Guest rooms boast claw-footed baths, goose-down bedding and rich fabrics, but it’s the rooms below where the magic really happens. Award-winning chef Rob Weston presides over the kitchen, with the lovely conservatory-style restaurant opening on to pristine lawns. Expect creative twists with classic local ingredients – cured trout with blood orange and English wasabi or guinea fowl with wild garlic spatzle. Doubles from £160 B&B; therectoryhotel.com

From scenic hotels to coastal inns, woodland retreats to country camping, these places are more than happy to welcome your canine companions

On a Saturday morning in the Lake District, perhaps at the base of a popular fell or along the shores of a placid lake, you might think you were at a countryside Crufts. The region’s footpaths are bustling with spaniels, labradors and golden retrievers – and the ubiquitous cockapoo, of course – all in procession, dragging their owners up hills or along forested trails, tongues out, tails wagging, noses poised to sniff the behind of anything they might pass.

The Lakes often sells itself as the dog-friendly capital of the UK – and for good reason. I challenge you to find a Cumbrian pub that doesn’t have a jar of treats on the bar. But there are plenty more places for the UK’s increasing population of dog owners (29% of UK adults at the PDSA’s last count) to spend their holidays besides the Lakes.

Unite says members who carry out roles such as baggage handling and check-in will take action

About 950 workers at Gatwick airport will take eight days of strike action beginning later this month in a dispute over pay.

Gatwick said airline contingency plans should allow flights to operate but the news of strikes affecting schedules, on top of air traffic control issues, will raise fears of another difficult summer after the labour shortages of 2022.

This stroll past beach huts, wartime ruins and wildfowl cuts through Southend and ends in a 16th-century boozer

Why is the Essex coast so underrated? Close to London, and arguably as pretty as any other, is it because there’s something unchanging about it – perhaps even conventional? And yet stepping off the train at Shoeburyness – the last stop on the capital to coast railway from Fenchurch Street – feels gently discombobulating.

There’s always a romantic quality about the end of the line, and just a few minutes’ walk away there is a vast estuary foreshore with rocky outcrops under an expansive Essex sky.

These tips on the country’s best dog-friendly beaches, hotels, bars and country parks will get plenty of tails wagging

Woolacombe Beach is where soft sand meets the wild Atlantic and is perfect for our pooches. It consists of a wide, three-mile long sandy stretch from Barricane Beach down to Baggy Point, but dogs are restricted in certain areas. Parts of it are surfing areas and some kiosks even offered boards and lessons for dogs, though I didn’t want to embarrass Bob and Bertrand – our lovely Beagles – by insisting they try. Other pet owners were not so bashful. There are lots of dog bins and the cafes have bowls of water for four-legged friends. The Barricane Beach cafe is run by animal lovers, has great coffee and great-value curry nights.
Gayle