TRAVEL

A YouTuber set himself a £100 challenge to discover just how much food, drink, accommodation and entertainment he could squeeze into a night in Benidorm

The seemingly endless cost of living crisis is making even our weekly shop a major budgeting challenge. So it’s no surprise that some of us have given up on luxuries like holidays. With that in mind, YouTuber Ed Chapman set out to see how far £100 could take a holidaymaker in one of the most popular Spanish resorts.

Benidorm is renowned for “The Strip”, a street lined with garishly neon-lit English pubs and restaurants promising a traditional fried breakfast. It’s the ideal spot for a cheap and cheerful stag or hen weekend, but just how cheaply can you spend a night there?

Armed with €116 (£100), Ed scheduled a night out, a stay in a one-star hotel and a fun activity for the following day.

A key part of his plan was tracking down a hotel that wouldn’t leave him out of pocket. Ed explained that while he could have saved a bit of cash by opting for a hostel, he’d rather have a proper hotel room to himself.

And given what he paid for it, he said the room exceeded all expectations: “Believe it or not, we have a balcony,” he said. “I was sort of shocked by this for the price.”

The hotel bathroom also came as a welcome surprise: “This is a nice big modern shower. I was really shocked about this. You’ve got a toilet here. You’ve even got a little sink at the side as you’d expect, and a bathroom hand dryer in a holster,” reports the Express.

The room, which set Ed back just £62, was something of a revelation, he said: “I didn’t expect such a good shower situation. And it is a very powerful shower as well. I’ve been really impressed with this for one night.”

For his evening meal, Ed nipped into a bar-restaurant called the Bulldog and went for a wallet-friendly jacket potato. For €6 – just over a fiver – he tucked into a perfectly decent jacket potato with baked beans, served alongside a side salad which, as he rightly noted, “no-one ever eats.”

Washed down with a “massive” pint of cider that brought his total spend to £9, it was a hearty and satisfying meal that set Ed up nicely for a bar crawl.

Spending an evening solo on Benidorm’s notorious “Strip” could have been quite a daunting prospect, but Ed says he had a brilliant time. Settling down with a pint of cider in one particularly “friendly” bar, he recounts how a complete stranger wandered over and planted a kiss on his ear: “Bit friendly, bit familiar,” he said.

Ed spent a couple of hours strolling around Benidorm, noting that while it’s widely regarded as a destination for a “lads’ holiday”, the ratio of men to women meant that romance was unlikely to be on the cards.

He did clock one club hostess, however, stripping a gleeful punter and giving him a smack on the bottom with a leather tawse, which was about as close to romance as the evening got.

With his night’s entertainment wrapped up, Ed headed back to his hotel room before venturing out the following morning for a fry-up, which set him back a very reasonable £5. However, after forking out on two bottles of water with his meal, the total breakfast bill came to £7.

Technically, the “entertainment” element of Ed’s getaway pushed him marginally over budget. His session at a water-park assault course set him back €16 (roughly £14).

Featuring Ed’s efforts to balance on some oversized vinyl beach balls and a go on a soggy trampoline, it proved a somewhat chaotic conclusion to the trip: “No one ever does this on Total Wipeout, do they?” Ed said, admitting that he’d spent £101 of his £100 budget.

I wasn’t exactly in “Sunday best”, but I had made some effort. Well, I’d changed my underwear for the first time in a couple of days and given myself a baby-wipe bath. Still, as we filed into the chapel at Alkavare, I felt more a member of an expedition than a congregation. We sat on the low wooden benches, waterproof jackets rustling and leather walking boots stamping on the flagstone floor to keep warm. Fortunately, the priest, Mogens Amstrup Jacobsen, appeared to be a “man of the Gore-Tex”, as well as a man of the cloth, as he unzipped his own black rain jacket to reveal his dog collar. As the service began, the Arctic wind whipped through cracks in the dry stone walls, insulated only with reindeer hair, and candles flickered in their brass sconces.

I had hiked to Alkavare following the Präststigen, or “Priests’ trail”, a 37-mile (60km) route from Kvikkjokk that could stake a claim as Europe’s wildest pilgrimage route, and certainly one of its most beautiful. The Präststigen follows the path that priests would once have taken to the chapel, built in 1788, to perform a service each summer, and today, on the last weekend in July, intrepid hikers and perseverant pilgrims can attend that same service.

Alkavare sits on the western border of Sweden’s Sarek national park, home to many of the country’s highest mountains and steepest valleys, yet with no campsites or tourist huts and only scant sections of the more famous Kungsleden trail. There are no other marked paths and to hike here means wild camping, a heavy backpack and a sense of adventure. It was described by famed Swedish diplomat Dag Hammarskjöld in 1926 as vår sista stora vildmark – “our last great wilderness”.

“I hate it when people use the term ‘wilderness’,” Christian Heimrot from Laponia Adventures, a local guiding operator, told me, as I joined him on the research exhibition for a new Präststigen group trip launching next year. “This is a living landscape, people have lived, worked and shaped this land for thousands of years.” Indeed, Sarek national park, (as part of the wider Laponia region), was recognised as a Unsesco World Heritage Site in 1996 for both its cultural and natural value.

The Sami, Europe’s last Indigenous population, have braided themselves into these landscapes as tightly and beautifully as the thread of pewter in their traditional handicrafts. The Sami word for the Laponia area is Sápmi, the same word they use to refer to themselves, highlighting the indelible link between people and their environment. Sarek sits on the Sami’s traditional reindeer herding grounds. While they might now use motorcycles and snowmobiles to follow and herd the reindeer, their knowledge of and kinship with this landscape remains undimmed.

So, not wilderness, then, but certainly wild. To even reach the start of the Präststigen, I had crossed the Arctic Circle on the road north from Luleå, met with Christian at his warehouse in Jokkmokk (home to the famous Sami winter markets each February) to load up our rucksacks for the six-night trip, and journeyed an hour farther west to the town of Kvikkjokk. From there the trailhead was a short boat ride across Sakkat lake.

The first section of the trail climbed steeply, switchbacks tightly coiled in birch woodland; wild blueberries and cloudberries littered the path. Eventually we left the woodland and reached the ridge for our first proper view of Sarek. Away to the north was the cloud-covered summit of Bårddetjåhkkå, where in 1911 Swedish geologist Axel Hamberg built an observatory to conduct meteorological and glacial studies.

We slept soundly, as we eased into the rhythms of wild camping – water collected from a gin-clear lake, a hearty supper of reindeer stew, and an eye mask to keep out the midnight sun. The next day we hiked deeper into Sarek via the Vállevágge, the skies the blue of the Swedish flag, the silence only disrupted by the occasional breath of wind.

We were following the guidebook Priest’s Path by Hans Fowelin (currently only published in Swedish), and while there was no marked trail, Fowelin had plotted a path of cairns we were supposedly to follow. While some were solidly built square towers, most were little more than one rock propped up against another, mere whispers of waymarkers in a landscape of scree and moraine.

Alongside the familiar buttercups and heather there were bright blue blossoms of mountain gentian, red ptarmigan berries and otherworldly looking wild angelica, a source of vitamin C for the Sami. Sarek was visited by botanist Carl Linnaeus during his epic expedition through northern Sweden in 1732, and the first part of the Priest’s trail is sometimes referred to as Linnaeus’s trail.

On our fourth day of hiking Alkavare chapel appeared on a bluff above the glacial blue waters of Alggajavvre lake, surrounded by high peaks and valleys. It was utterly beautiful. I had a grin on my wind-burnt face for most of the day, one that even wading across rivers (a common feature of hiking in Sarek), shin-high in glacial meltwater, failed to dim.

After rowing across the Miellätno river, using one of the rowing boats left on each bank by the park rangers, we climbed up to the chapel late on Saturday evening where Jacobsen greeted us with a beaming smile.

Over tea, he told us he had been dropped off by helicopter at Alkavare with his family on Friday morning and this was his first time leading the service here. Others in the diocese no longer volunteered. “It is physical, hard work and the days are long,” he said, before heading off to re-tar the chapel’s roof and fix one of the rowing boats that had come loose and floated away down the river – returned, later, swinging beneath a helicopter.

Sunday mass began promptly at 11am the following morning for our small band of pilgrims (we numbered 11 in total, including the priest). The altar had a simple wooden cross and cloths on loan from the church in Jokkmokk. They were in the poster paint palate of traditional Sami clothing and a reminder that it was for the Sami that the chapel had been originally built – not an act of benevolence, but as part of the forced Christianisation and eradication of their shamanistic beliefs in the 18th century.

After the service we sat outside for coffee and pastries, before beginning our hike home. Christian was keen that we hiked via Sweden’s point of inaccessibility or otillgänglighetspunkten, just over the border from Sarek in the Padjelanta national park. This is the country’s point furthest from any road or town, about 31 miles (50km) in fact, and is often cited as western Europe’s remotest too. Marked with no cairn or monument, just a circle of quartz stones and a trio of reindeer antlers, it felt no more or less remote than most of the previous week’s hiking. And I was struck that what made Sarek and the Präststigen special wasn’t just the scenery, as beautiful as it was, it was the people – the Sami, Hamberg and Linneaus, and the motley congregation we’d briefly joined, and it was a route firmly deserving of more visitors. “I told you,” Christian said, grinning, “It isn’t a wilderness.”

The trip was provided by Laponia Adventures, which will lead a guided, small-group trip along the Priest’s Path to Alkavare in July 2027, and offers equipment rental and advice for independent hikers. For more information on Sarek national park and northern Sweden, visit arcticsweden.com

“You’ve left everyone here stranded. You could’ve cancelled this flight hours ago which would’ve given many vulnerable people here half a chance,” one passenger wrote on X

British Airways has been accused of leaving passengers stranded in Italy after thousands of flights were cancelled across the UK.

Tens of thousands of people were impacted on Tuesday after a technical issue by National Air Traffic Services (Nats) grounded flights.

Among the carriers affected by the air traffic control issue was British Airways (BA) – with a number of passengers taking to social media to complain about the situation.

Among them was Simon Weeks, who said he, along with others, had been left stranded in Italy for hours without any update from the airline.

Sharing a letter he received from BA late in the evening, the Brit claimed “all hotels” in the port city of Brindisi were now “fully booked”.

He added: “You’ve left everyone here stranded. You could’ve cancelled this flight hours ago which would’ve given many vulnerable people here half a chance.”

BA said it was forced to cancel or divert more than 100 flights on Tuesday, which had impacted “tens of thousands of customers”.

Passengers received a letter from the carrier apologising for the inconvenience, but were left to find a place to sleep themselves.

The statement read: “We’re sorry that your flight has been delayed overnight… We don’t underestimate the inconvenience this will cause.”

It continued: “We’re sorry, but we’re unable to provide you with accommodation, and you need to make your own arrangements.”

“You can submit a claim to us with your receipts and we will reimburse reasonable accommodation costs.”

The disruptions, expected to continue into Wednesday, impacted travel at airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and Stansted.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander is set to speak with Nats’ chief executive officer Martin Rolfe on Wednesday before she addresses MPs in the Commons for the second reading of the Civil Aviation Bill.

Rolfe has said he “always accept(s) full responsibility” when asked if he was considering his position after the incident.

He told Sky News: “I am the CEO of a piece of critical infrastructure, so it is my job to take responsibility for that.

“What I absolutely take responsibility for is keeping people safe and delivering the best service we possibly can on a day like today.

“You will understand my focus is entirely about how we actually resolve this issue, get things back to normal, help our airlines, our airport customers and the travelling public.”

BRITS are being caught out by visa rules which is seeing thousands banned from their flights.

While UK holidaymakers can (currently) travel to Europe without needing a visa, other countries do not have such rules.

A new study by Confused.com found that more than 2,800 Brits were stopped at the border between 2023 and 2025 to just two destinations.

When it came to the US, this saw 242 refusals in 2014, followed by 1,451 last year.

All UK travellers need a an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) to visit the US, which was launched back in 2008.

Confusion often comes when travelling via the US as a layover – an ESTA is still required , even if in America for a few hours without leaving the airport.

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ESTAs currently cost $40.27 (£30), a steep jump from $21 (£15.38) last year.

But a large number of Brits were also refused entry at the Australian border too.

An eVisa is required from all UK travellers visiting Australia for holiday purposes which lets you stay up to three months in a 12-month period.

Thankfully, this is free although it must be applied for being travelling.

According to Confused.com, more than 300 people were refused entry to Australia because of travel document problems between 2023 and 2025.

Some places have recently scrapped visas, such as China until the end of 2026.

And Sri Lanka has scrapped ETA visa fees, which were usually $50 (37), although you will still need to apply for a free one.

From next year, Brits will need an ETIAS to visit Europe, which is a visa-waiver similar to the American ESTA and will cost £18, lasting three years.

In response, Confused.com has launched a new visa checker tool which helps you find out what you need for your travels.

Tom Vaughan, travel insurance expert at Confused.com said: “Being turned away at border control is something no traveller expects, but it’s a real risk if you’re unsure about the entry requirements for your destination.

“Visa rules can be complex and vary between countries, so even small mistakes can result in people being refused entry and losing out on their holiday.

“And it’s worth knowing that if you’re refused entry, it may not be covered by standard travel insurance.”

Ten years ago, Walt Disney Imagineering announced what was widely perceived by the public as a risky — and ill-advised — project: Disney California Adventure’s Twilight Zone Tower of Terror would be remade into a ride featuring Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy.” And it would open in just a few months, ahead of the 2017 summer tourist season.

Fans, to say the least, were not happy. They saw the makeover as a marketing move, done solely because a new movie in the franchise was being released. They were also skeptical of the tight timeline.

Retired Imagineer Joe Rohde, who led the project, heard the complaints.

“They look at the schedule and go, ‘You can’t do anything in that amount of time. There’s nothing you can do that is worth doing in this short amount of time, so we think this is going to be bad,’ ” says Rohde, whom I chatted with at the recent Disney fan convention D23.

Rohde‘s new book, “Floating Mountains: The Art of Imagining the Impossible,” is out this week and in it, he demystifies the creative process, heavily touching on his four-decade career at Imagineering as a jumping-off point on how to stay inspired and find art in the everyday. In a revealing chapter on what became Guardians of the Galaxy — Mission: Breakout!, Rohde writes about creating art out of a series of limitations.

Famed retired Disney Imagineer Joe Rohde, whose book “Floating Mountains: The Art of Imagining the Impossible” demystifies the creative process.

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

He notes that the new “Guardians of the Galaxy” film was not the reason for changing the drop tower ride — rather, the motivating factor was giving the Disneyland Resort something new to promote for 2017 and to begin to bring Marvel into the parks.

When assigned the project, Rohde initially pitched a Dr. Strange-inspired attraction, believing the hotel facade of Tower of Terror could quickly and easily translate to a mysterious sanctum. Execs, however, rejected the concept, arguing Dr. Strange wasn’t popular enough. They told Rohde and the team to focus on Spider-Man.

Now it was Rohde’s turn to say no. “Spider-Man needs room to swing,” Rohde writes in his book. “We only go up and down. There’s nowhere for Spider-Man to be!”

Bringing Marvel superheroes into a theme park, Rohde tells me, is something of a challenge.

“Marvel is a character brand,” Rohde says. “When we watch these movies or read the comics, our primary investment is in the psychology of the character. Spider-Man is a great example of this. Spider-Man’s life is a constant emotional crisis of one kind or another. It’s almost more of a soap opera format.

Guardians of the Galaxy — Mission: Breakout! is today the dominating structure of Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

“So, you have an art form — the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Marvel Comic Universe — in which settings are disposable and are disposed of in order to drive character development. That works great in a film, but when it comes to place-making, it is difficult to lock yourself on the experiences of places, which is part of what makes theme parks theme parks. All through your day in a theme park the primary actor you engage with is the architecture and the landscape.”

With Spider-Man out, “Guardians of the Galaxy” was the compromise everyone could agree on. Only now the clock was ticking. Rohde notes that the team had to stop viewing the Tower of Terror as a hotel, and instead look at it as something of a blank page — an empty canvas that just happened to be in the shape of a blocky silhouette that jolts guests 190 feet in the air. Remove the hotel signage, and suddenly the mass resembled many things: “a grain silo, a fortress, a bank, a storage facility, possibly a prison,” Rohde writes.

Arguably, the facade for Mission Breakout! represents a bit of each of those. In “Floating Mountains,” Rohde says he began reimagining the building by taking inspiration from Marvel comic artist Jack Kirby, but he has also spoken of finding influence in architect Renzo Piano, who worked on France’s Centre Pompidou. The end result is a retro sci-fi building with high-tech-like pipes drawing one’s attention.

The chapter documents a frantic race against time. The star of the ride is an audio-animatronic of the Rocket Raccoon character, but it wasn’t always clear the figure could be finished by the deadline. And instead of using just one ride profile like the Tower of Terror, Mission Breakout! aimed for four, but Rohde writes the team had two as a fall-back plan (ultimately, they prevailed with their original intent).

Rohde notes that to get it done, a concession was made: limited reviews but a fixed, unchangeable budget with a strict deadline. And the team had to make a decision and commit. Little tinkering.

Guardians of the Galaxy — Mission: Breakout! is now considered one of the most popular attractions at Disneyland.

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

“You have to allocate a certain percentage of time and energy to prepare for a review, and that can be two weeks of energy,” Rohde says. “In this case, the most crucial thing about this project was its opening day. If you back out of that opening day just with production time, it becomes clear there’s no time to change. There’s no time to ask someone if they like it or don’t like it. So we have to decide we’re going to do it, and we’re going to do it for this much money, and you can look at it once before we start, and once before we build.”

Guardians of the Galaxy — Mission Breakout! opened on time, and with enough budget left over to create an “after dark” version during the Halloween season, which is currently running. And those fans who initially viewed the project with skepticism? Many were quiet after opening day, as Mission Breakout! is considered one of the Disneyland Resort’s most popular attractions.

Aside from replacing the former tension with chaotic elevator maneuvering, the makeover was a success because it’s not a rehash of a scene from the film. Rather than rely heavily on plot, it focuses on one frantic moment — a prison breakout — to create a zany, screwball comedy feel. In short, it’s a singular work of art, one that stands apart from its cinematic counterparts.

And that’s key to the appeal of “Floating Mountains,” as throughout Rohde makes the case that theme parks — often derided as commercial entities — are indeed vital spaces. He speaks of art as living on a spectrum. On one end, “art for art’s sake,” and on the other, “utterly commercial enterprises with no purpose other than to harvest value out of an intellectual property.”

“Theme parks,” says Rohde, “rocket somewhere in the middle of this.”

“I do believe that their social impact alone should argue for the fact that, no matter what you think of high art, of low art, something is going on here that people find very affecting,” he says of theme parks. “I think it is an art form.”

This week in SoCal theme parks

Inside Kingswell skate shop is a wall documenting the building’s history as the first L.A. outpost of what would become the Walt Disney Co.

(Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times)

• A Disney history celebration. Walt Disney launched his animation career in Kansas City, Mo., in 1920. But when his Laugh-O-gram Studio failed after only about two years, he decided to move west. Here in Los Angeles, Walt and his brother Roy would in 1923 rent a small studio space on Kingswell Avenue in Los Feliz, near where he was staying with his uncle. They called their operation the Disney Bros. Studio, and it was officially the formation of what would become the Walt Disney Co. In September 2024, a small strip on the corner of Kingswell and Vermont avenues was designated the Disney Bros. Cartoon Studio Square. This Sunday, the space will host a mini-block party from noon to 5 p.m., with photo ops, events and skating demonstrations courtesy of the Kingswell skate shop,
• Welcome the Lucas Museum. The long-awaited Lucas Museum of Narrative Art has arrived in L.A. and is welcoming members for previews. The space officially opens Sept. 22, and its emphasis on pop culture and “Star Wars” likely means there’s many an overlap with the Disney fan community. The Times has a bevy of coverage, including an architecture review as well as an analysis of its collection and how it deviates from typical art gallery fare.
• Meow Wolf taps dozens of L.A. artists for new venue. Meow Wolf is getting closer to unveiling its Los Angeles locale. When doors open — the company is targeting late 2026 — expect a walk-around, floor-to-ceiling experience that pays homage to the art of cinema with a sci-fi, psychedelic-like bent. And to bring that vision to life, the Santa Fe, N.M.-based experiential art collective will be working with nearly 40 L.A. artists across multiple mediums. Meow Wolf last week unveiled its roster of artists with ties to the L.A. region.
• A new Magic Mountain coaster is on the way. Six Flags Magic Mountain, garnering headlines tied to the safety of its X2 coaster, is looking ahead to 2027 and teasing a Thursday announcement for its next big thrill ride. The park last week posted a video to social media hinting at more info to come this week on what is expected to be a glider coaster with bike-like seating.

Ride report

An actor performing as Ozzy Osbourne during a haunted house at Universal Studios Hollywood’s Halloween Horror Nights.

(Scott Strazzante / For The Times)

This week’s ride report is actually a haunted house report. Of the eight spooky mazes at Universal Studios Hollywood this year, there were two clear standouts for me: the “Sinners” maze, which I documented last week, and Ozzy Osbourne: Prince of Darkness. This walk-through attraction, which Halloween Horror Nights mastermind John Murdy has described as something of a passion project, is a filled with cartoonishly sinister imagery in an homage to the recently deceased heavy metal legend.

Murdy says he didn’t have any hesitation about crating a haunted house based on Osbourne’s solo career so soon after he died last summer. “It hit everybody really hard,” the lifelong Osbourne fan says of the artist’s death. “It hit his fan community really hard. We needed to do something for the fans to celebrate this guy’s legacy.”

A giant animatronic bat in a haunted house inspired by the music of Ozzy Osbourne.

(Scott Strazzante / For The Times)

In an unique twist, nearly every scare actor is performing as some embodiment of Osbourne. The attraction is also filled with little nods to Osbourne’s life and legacy, including pictures donated from the family and a toy cow as a nod to an early job of Osbourne’s in a slaughterhouse. Murdy estimates the house features about 20 songs from Osbourne’s solo career, bookended by “Crazy Train” and “See You on the Other Side.” A train, of course, figures heavily into the maze, and an early ride scene appears to take us straight to hell.

It gets demented, but in a silly way that feels all-in-good-fun rather than anything frightening. Case in point: A centerpiece of the attraction is a giant animatronic bat, which is holding the severed head of Osbourne, only here the musician is depicted as a werewolf. Osbourne, says Murdy, was also heavily religious, so the walk-through culminates with the artist on a church-like throne. But it’s no ordinary cathedral, as jetting our from under Osbourne’s chair is a blue dragon, a nod to the tattoo the singer had on his chest.

It’s a love letter to Osbourne, and Murdy’s appreciation of the artist runs deep. He notes that as a seventh- or eight-grader in the early ‘80s, he wrote a term paper defending the artist. “I didn’t like the fact that people were condemning things when they hadn’t even bothered to read the lyrics and know what they are about,” Murdy says. “Take ‘Crazy Train.’ It’s about the Cold War. It’s about a fear that society is going off the rails. At an early age I was already going, ‘Don’t trust things that you hear at face value.’ ”

Tell us your stories. Ask us your questions.

Have a theme park tale to share? Whether it was a good day or less-than-perfect day, I would love to hear about it. Have a question? A tip? A fun photo from the parks to share? Email me at todd.martens@latimes.com. I may feature your note in an upcoming newsletter.

Ride on,

Todd Martens

P.S.

I can admit when I was largely wrong. Last week I expressed concerns about the way Halloween Horror Nights was adding the character of Nikki from “Obsession,” worrying a hyped incognito approach could open up the actor — or regular paying guests — to being uncomfortably approached by attendees. But while Nikki is not easy to find, she’s far from anonymous, all bloodied up and holding a brick. Plus, she’s accompanied by multiple handlers who keep folks from crowding the performer’s space.

There is a game-like aspect to this. Those who speak a password, released via social media, receive a fake business card, which does mean many a guest is standing there shouting a password at the actor. This is slightly awkward, and where I still have some reservations.

An actor as Nikki from “Obsession” interacting with guests during Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood.

(Scott Strazzante / For The Times)

But many who find Nikki may discover it’s a highlight of the night. I’m not someone who seeks out characters at theme parks, largely because they’re there more for photos than to completely interact. Nikki is different. Nikki is in full immersive theater mode, responding entirely in character and pushing guests to talk about their devotion — to her, to another, to anything. In my minute with the actor, she aggressively quizzed me on my nonexistent love life, forcefully walking toward me so I had to gently stumble backward, which she lightly mocked.

Despite the unnerving tone of the actor’s questions, I was charmed. More of this type of interacting and play is always welcome. Now, I just wonder why she was so consumed with the health and age of my cat.

LONDON — More than 400 flights were canceled Tuesday due to a technical issue in Britain’s air traffic control system, reported the flight monitoring website Flightradar24.

Britain’s National Air Traffic Services said a problem had been identified in its flight processing system and engineers were urgently working on the issue, which affected flights across the U.K.

In an update, it said it had “implemented a fix and our flight system is starting to recover.”

About 425 flights to and from U.K. airports, including Heathrow, were canceled, affecting services operated by multiple airlines including British Airways, EasyJet, KLM and Lufthansa.

The affected airports, which also included Stansted and City in London, as well as airports in Manchester, Birmingham and Scotland, said the technical issue caused disruptions. They warned passengers to check the status of their flight with their airline.

Budget airline EasyJet said some of its flights were “unable to operate” and that the system failure caused “delays to flights across Europe.”

Some passengers took to social media to complain about being stuck on the tarmac for hours. Many expressed frustration about a lack of communication from airlines.

Heathrow’s website showed that many short-haul flights departing for European destinations had been canceled or delayed.

Arriving flights did not appear to be affected. It was not immediately clear what caused the technical problem.

HUNDREDS of flights have been grounded across the UK following a major ATC failure.

Here is everything you need to know if your flight has been delayed or cancelled.

What is happening right now at UK airports?

Airports across the UK are experiencing huge delays and cancellations with passengers reporting being stuck parked at gates due to Air Traffic Control outages.

It comes after NATS experienced a technical issue just after 1pm today according to multiple sources, halting departures at UK airports.

NATS stated: “We have identified that the issue was in our flight processing system.

“Our engineers are on site and working urgently to resume normal operations as quickly as possible.

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“We recognise the ongoing disruption to travel, for which we sincerely apologise.

“Flights are still departing and airspace is open, but recovery will take some time. We will provide further updates as soon as possible.

“Passengers should check the status of their flight with their airline. We will provide further updates as soon as we have confirmed information, at http://www.nats.aero and on X at @NATS.”

Are flights being affected?

Flights are being impacted across UK airports London Heathrow, London Gatwick and Manchester.

More than 50 flights departing London Heathrow have already been cancelled.

Manchester Airport has advised passengers to “check the latest status of their flight with their airline” amid the turmoil caused by the air traffic control failure.

The airport said it would “Continue to monitor the situation and share further updates as more information becomes available.”

At Luton Airport a Ryanair flight to Dublin scheduled to leave at 4.10PM is now estimated to leave at 7PM.

And a Jet2 flight to Alicante scheduled to leave at 4.25PM, is now estimated to leave at 6PM.

What are my rights if my flight is delayed or cancelled?

Airlines have a duty of care they must offer passengers affected by delays or cancellations.

The Civil Aviation Authority states: “If your flight is delayed, and UK261 applies to it, your airline must look after you while you are delayed.

“This includes providing you with food and drink based on how long your delay is, and accommodation if you are delayed overnight.”

If your airline doesn’t provide these and you end up paying for food, a hotel or transport yourself, keep all receipts so you can claim back reasonable expenses later.

If your flight is cancelled, they must also offer a refund or an alternative flight, even with another airline.

If you accept a refund, they no longer need to offer you any additional forms of care, such as hotels or food vouchers.

Can I claim compensation?

Airlines are not required to offer any compensation if the situation is deemed “extraordinary circumstances”.

This can mean anything out of the airline’s control like extreme weather – or air traffic control failures.

As a result, the current NATS technical outage is classed as an “extraordinary circumstance”.

In the last major NATS outage in 2023, travellers did not receive compensation.

The Civil Aviation Authority revealed that around 700,000 passengers were impacted by the last outage.

This included 300,000 people by cancellations, 95,000 by delays of over three hours and a further 300,000 by shorter delays.

Flight compensation rules

A look at your rights if a flight is delayed or cancelled, when your entitled to compensation and if your travel insurance can cover the costs.

What are my rights if my flight is cancelled or delayed?

Under UK law, airlines have to provide compensation if your flight arrives at its destination more than three hours late.

If you’re flying to or from the UK, your airline must let you choose a refund or an alternative flight.

You will be able to get your money back for the part of your ticket that you haven’t used yet.

So if you booked a return flight and the outbound leg is cancelled, you can get the full cost of the return ticket refunded.

But if travelling is essential, then your airline has to find you an alternative flight. This could even be with another airline.

When am I not entitled to compensation?

The airline doesn’t have to give you a refund if the flight was cancelled due to reasons beyond their control, such as extreme weather.

Disruptions caused by things like extreme weather, airport or air traffic control employee strikes or other ‘extraordinary circumstances’ are not eligible for compensation.

Some airlines may stretch the definition of “extraordinary circumstances” but you can challenge them through the aviation regulator the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

Will my insurance cover me if my flight is cancelled?

If you can’t claim compensation directly through the airline, your travel insurance may refund you.

Policies vary so you should check the small print, but a delay of eight to 12 hours will normally mean you qualify for some money from your insurer.

Remember to get written confirmation of your delay from the airport as your insurer will need proof.

If your flight is cancelled entirely, you’re unlikely to be covered by your insurance.

ALL departing flights from UK airports including both Heathrow and Gatwick are majorly disrupted due to an “air traffic control failure”.

Thousands of passengers have been stranded across the country as flights are grounded.

The country’s air traffic control service NATS has a “technical issue” causing widespread chaos for departing flights.

Planes arriving into airports are not impacted.

A Heathrow spokesperson said: “The air traffic control service NATS is experiencing a technical issue which is affecting departing flights at UK airports.

“Arriving flights are not currently impacted.

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“We are supporting our local NATS team in their efforts to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.

“We will provide updated information when we have it.

“We apologise to those disrupted and advise passengers to check with their airline for the latest flight information.

“This is affecting all UK airports, not just Heathrow and Gatwick.”

Fuming passengers told The Sun they’re stuck abroad because their flights are unable to leave over the issue in the UK, and have been warned they may have to get hotels for the night.

A National Air Traffic Services spokesperson said in a statement: “We are investigating a technical issue which is causing some disruption to flight departures.

“Our engineers are on site and we will provide an update as soon as we can.

“We apologise for the delay this will cause to journeys, passengers should check with their airline on the status of their flight.”

Are you affected? Email emily.davies@thesun.co.uk

It said in an update: “We have identified that the issue was in our flight processing system. Our engineers are on site and working urgently to resume normal operations as quickly as possible. 

“We recognise the ongoing disruption to travel, for which we sincerely apologise. Flights are still departing and airspace is open, but recovery will take some time.

“We will provide further updates as soon as possible. Passengers should check the status of their flight with their airline.

“We will provide further updates as soon as we have confirmed information, at http://www.nats.aero and on X at @NATS.”

Airport management at Heathrow said all outgoing flights have been temporarily halted.

Belfast City Airport also warned of “some disruption” to flights.

Manchester Airport Group, the company that operates Manchester Airport, Stansted Airport in Essex and East Midlands Airport in Leicestershire, said flights from all three had been affected by the air traffic control issue.

In 2023, thousands of passengers were left stranded by another major air traffic control failure.

It grounded 500 flights across the UK and Brits were stuck for hours on a Bank Holiday.

The “one in 15 million” event led to thousands of flights being cancelled and delayed.

An investigation launched by NATS revealed that a flight plan error resulted in the failure, which meant the air space was forced to close down – and only resumed 10 hours later.

In the aftermath, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said NATS could raise the amount it charges airlines by 25 per cent to ensure “safety and quality service”.

The fee increased from £47 to £64 per flight, an increase of 43p per passenger to £2.08 on average.

Sarah, from Manchester, said that people were left “confused and upset” by the chaos while at Lisbon Airport.

She told Sun Travel: “We arrived at the correct time for our 4.30pm flight to Heathrow but were then told our flight was four hours delayed.

“The queues are backing up at the BA check in desks with confused and upset people and crying babies.”

A spokesperson for Jersey Airport said: “UK air traffic control is currently experiencing issues which is impacting flights across the UK including services between Jersey and UK.

“Passengers are advised to check the latest flight information directly with their airline.”

Gatwick Airport added: “We are aware of a NATS technical issue that is currently affecting a number of UK airports, including London Gatwick.

“Passengers are advised to check with their airlines for more information regarding their flights.”

Disgruntled travellers have flocked to social media following the disruption.

One said: “Still stuck next in line on the runway at LHR. 90 minutes in.”
Another said: “BA 742 back to engines off and waiting.  Approaching 2 hour mark in 15 minutes.”

Another person posted on X: “We are currently sat on Alicante tarmac going to Manchester and this is affecting us. Not just London!”

A third said: “Luton airport too! We’re stranded on the actual plane.”

A HUGE new underground attraction will open next year in a popular European city with immersive experiences and thousands of fossils.

The new Natural History Museum in Copenhagen, Denmark will open on March 6, 2027 after a huge project.

The biggest part of the £200million project is eight new galleries all underground.

The eight new exhibitions will be Universe, Earth, Life, Denmark, Arctic, Biodiversity, Humans, and Ocean Hall.

Light gets to the underground galleries through skylights and is designed to “engage all the senses”, according to the architect Lene Tranberg.

The new museum will connect the Botanical Garden – which sits above the galleries – the historic buildings and the new architecture.

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Inside the underground galleries, visitors can expect a concrete interior with curved staircases.

The museum is home to 14million items which have been collected over 400 years, such as fossils.

Included in the collection are a number of dinosaurs including a 17-metre-long Diplodocus skeleton and T-Rex skeletons.

Visitors can also try out interactive touchscreen tables where you can rotate and zoom in on 3D scans of specimens.

Plans for the new part of the museum were first revealed 17 years ago with building works starting back in 2019.

The original targeted opening date was in 2014, however this was delayed due to planning permissions and funding issues.

Christine Wiberg-Lyng, Foundation Director, Aage og Johanne Louis-Hansens Fond said: “The new buildings create a sensory and inviting setting that supports the museum’s core purpose.”

In the Botanical Garden, you will find a living museum with 13,000 plant species, alpine rock gardens and walking trails.

There’s then also the Palm House and Butterfly House which is inside a Victorian cast-iron glasshouse built in 1874.

Tickets to the Botanical Garden are free and tickets to the museum cost £13.22 per adult and £5.75 per child aged between three and 17-years-old.

A MUCH-LOVED ride has closed at Disneyland Paris ahead of a huge makeover.

Crush’s Coaster at Disney Adventure World is now closed until summer 2027 as it undergoes its biggest upgrade in 20 years.

The coaster, which takes riders through the East Australian Current, will have technical elements replaced as well as sections of the track.

In the second phase of the refurbishment, the coaster will be tested to ensure it functions properly before reopening.

Of course, the upgrade will refresh the ride’s show elements as well, such as repainting and repairs.

Crush’s Coaster was last closed in 2015 for six months but this project will be the biggest in the ride’s history.

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Many people have taken to social media to express their excitement about the upgrade: “I’m happy about the refurb but I’ve booked for November. Massively underrated ride.”

Another person added: “Glad to see this happening.”

There are a number of other closures taking place at the theme park including Peter Pan’s flight, which is closed until September 19.

Pirate’s Beach is currently closed and will be until October 23 for a safety inspection as well as replacement of the ground padding.

Mad Hatter’s Tea Cups will be closed between September 21 and October 2 to repaint the floor.

La Tanière du Dragon will close on October 5 until the middle of the month for servicing.

Foreign Office has updated its travel advice for all UK nationals heading to Thailand

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has updated its travel guidance for all UK nationals travelling to Thailand.

The south-east Asian country is enormously popular with Brits and other tourists alike, largely owing to its vibrant culture, cuisine, warm weather, and breath-taking beaches and islands. Approximately a million travellers make their way to Thailand from the UK each year. In a fresh new issued on Tuesday, September 8, the FCDO confirmed that a significant travel rule for Thailand is set to change.

The latest guidance refers to tighter restrictions on visa-free stays coming into force from September 15, 2026. This represents a departure from the previous rules, which allowed visa-free stays of up to 60 days for tourism, business engagements, and urgent work, with the option to extend for a further 30 days.

Those intending to work, study, retire, or settle in Thailand must obtain the relevant visa prior to travelling. If you entered Thailand before September 15, you will generally be permitted to remain for the duration granted upon arrival.

The updated guidance highlights that British nationals have been refused entry for failing to demonstrate sufficient funds or proof of return travel. Border authorities may request evidence of at least 10,000 Thai baht per person (or 20,000 Thai baht per family), as well as confirmation of onward travel.

The FCDO has also revised its safety guidance concerning Thailand’s rainy season. While the general timeframe remains May to October for the majority of the country, and November to March for Koh Samui and south-east Thailand, the updated advice notes that “weather patterns have become increasingly unpredictable and periods of intense rainfall can occur across Thailand.”

It continues: “Heavy rainfall can cause flash flooding, landslides and disruption to transport, particularly in northern, north-eastern and mountainous areas. Conditions can change rapidly and may result in road closures and local travel disruption. Lakes, caves and waterfalls are particularly at risk of dangerous flash flooding.”

Holidaymakers are urged to heed local authority guidance and keep a close eye on the Thai Meteorological Department for weather warnings.

FINDING a brilliant UK hotel that is stylish, comfortable and in a top location for under £100 can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Luckily, we’ve scoured Tripadvisor‘s UK hotel data to find incredible Brit hotels that are top-rated and budget-friendly.

All of these UK hotels are winners of the Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice award, which puts them in the top 10 per cent of listings on the site based on real guests’ rankings and reviews.

Plus they all have a 4.5/5 rating or over, as well as an average nightly rate of below £100.

We found everything from forest hotels with roaming wild ponies to secret Scottish ‘gaming rooms’ with video-game cheat codes etched into the furniture.

From retro American-style motels to seaside escapes with cabaret entertainment, here are ten of Tripadvisor’s top-rated and affordable UK hotels.

Mollie’s Motel, Bristol

If you’re into all-American style diners and neon-lit motels, you’ll love a stay at Mollie’s.

Just off the M5 at Cribbs Causeway, this retro hotel is hard to miss, with its glowing red sign and zig-zag shaped exterior.

Inside you’ll find a classic diner, with shiny tiled floors, booth seating and a swanky bar, with plenty of stools to sit and sink back a bottled beer.

After chowing down on your burger, hot dog or steak (best washed down with a milkshake, of course) head upstairs to a modern room with scandi-style wooden decor, warm lights and crisp, white linen.

Each room comes with fancy rainfall showers, high-end Cowshed toiletries, fluffy towels, and Dyson hairdryers. You can even borrow some GHD straighteners from reception.

The hotel is rated 4.6/5 on Tripadvisor, with many praising how comfortable it is to stay in.

One reviewer even remarked: “If I could take the bed home with me, I’d be tempted!”

You can book a stay from £68 on Booking.com.

Hotel Indigo Dundee by IHG

This swanky Scottish hotel is set inside a former 19th-century mill, but has been decorated with a modern twist.

Industrial touches like brick walls and iron columns still remain, but inside you’ll find modern, quirky themed rooms.

The Dundee Cake room is decorated with marmalade in mind, while the Comic Room has decorations inspired by “Black Bob” – a comic about a Scottish Border Collie.

Perhaps the coolest part is the Gaming Room, where there are books about Dundee’s rich video game history.

There are even secret GTA codes are hidden within its walls, a nod to the fact that popular game Grand Theft Auto was invented in the city.

You can book a stay from £56 on Booking.com.

EasyHotel Oxford

If you want to explore Oxford without entirely draining your bank account, easyHotel Oxford is a wallet-friendly budget, no-frills pick.

You won’t find fancy hotel bars or luxurious extras here. Instead, it offers exactly what it says on the tin: a clean, practical, and easy place to crash after a day of sightseeing.

The hotel offers clean and comfortable double and twin rooms, but if you want the absolute cheapest rate possible, you can opt for a windowless room.

That way you can secure a room from as little as £26 a night during off-peak times.

When you’re ready to explore Oxford, there’s a bus stop right outside the hotel that will whisk you straight into the city centre and the university colleges in around 10 minutes.

You can currently book a room from £31.50 per night on the easyHotel website.

The Telegraph Hotel, Coventry

The Telegraph Hotel is the #1 ranked hotel in Coventry on Tripadvisor, with a score of 4.5/5 stars.

Once the home of the Coventry Evening Telegraph paper, this building now serves as a stylish hotel, with plenty of nods to its journalistic past.

Inside you’ll find a glamorous, marble-floored lobby with emerald green plush sofas and warm golden chandeliers.

You may spot typewriters, old newspapers, pigeonholes, photos of the original 1960’s newsroom dotted around inside.

Rooms are spacious and on-theme with black and white artwork and those same emerald-coloured chairs.

Rooms start from £65 per night on Trip.com.

The Melbreak Hotel, The Lake District

Named after the Lake District’s Melbreak fell which you can see from the property, this family-run hotel offers a friendly base right on the border of the rugged Western Lake District and Cumbrian coast.

Rooms come with big comfy beds, traditional wooden furnishings, and plenty of space to unpack after a long day of hiking.

They come with all the essentials like free Wi-Fi, flat-screen TVs, and en-suite bathrooms. Many of the executive rooms offer gorgeous, sweeping views over the surrounding countryside.

After spending the day exploring the nearby peaks, head to the hotel‘s conservatory restaurant for generous portions of hearty pub classics.

For a relaxed drink, the cosy lounge bar is the perfect spot to sink into a leather chair with a pint of local Cumbrian ale.

Plus stunning spots like Ennerdale Water, Bassenthwaite Lake, and the market town of Cockermouth are all less than a 20-minute drive away.

Rooms are available from £79 on Booking.com.

The Templestowe Hotel, Torquay

The Templestowe Hotel in Torquay delivers big on old school seaside town charm – plus it has a whopping 4.7/5 stars on Tripadvisor.

The excellent evening entertainment includes a massive ballroom and dance floor, plus a stage where you’ll find nightly acts such as cabaret, singers, dancers and comedians.

When it comes to food and drink, forget tiny tasting menus – this hotel is all about generous portions of classic British meals.

You can expect hearty multi-course dinners featuring roast meats, pies, and comforting puddings – plus a traditional cooked breakfast each morning to set you up for the day.

One Tripadvisor reviewer commented: “The entertainment was very good every night”, and that there is “a free bar from 19.00 – 23.00” where “there was never a long queue & you just had to return your empty glasses to get another drink & show your room card”.

Another said: “Great atmosphere. Entertainment was at a very high standard. Great content. A great hotel for the more mature people.”

You can book a stay from £93 per night on Booking.com.

Woodlands Lodge Hotel

This country house hotel is tucked into Hampshire’s New Forest, where you’ll find endless pretty woodland walks and might even bump into a few of the forest’s 5,000 free-roaming wild ponies.

Originally built as a royal hunting lodge in the 1750s, this woodland retreat makes for the ideal countryside escape to return to to take off your muddy boots and laze back by the log fire.

There are 17 bedrooms here, including options with grand four-poster beds and dog-friendly options.

For food and drink you can tuck into some tender lamb or a juicy steak, or sit down to a delicious, homemade afternoon tea with a view of the hotel gardens.

With an impressive 4.5/5 star rating on Tripadvisor, one guest commented “it was a pleasant surprise to find such an idyllic little country house tucked away within the cattle grids and Forest”.

Another said “Our room was lovely. A walk across the back lawn through a gate takes you into the forest where we experienced several horses galloping together, into the shade of the trees.”

You can book a room from £80 per night on Booking.com.

The Crown Hotel Boroughbridge

Once a historic 16th-century coaching inn, The Crown Hotel in Boroughbridge is full of historic charm.

This cosy Yorkshire hotel has low oak beams, roaring fires and comfy rooms with tartan furnishings.

But the best thing about this hotel is the on-site leisure club, where you’ll find a heated indoor pool, hot tub, steam room, sauna and gym to unwind in.

Once you’re suitably relaxed, head to the hotel’s traditional bar and restaurant where you can tuck into pub classics like fish and chips, washed down with a pint of local Black Sheep ale.

The hotel sits on the doorstep of the spectacular North York Moors and Yorkshire Dales. Plus you’re also just a 20-minute drive from Harrogate, the cathedral city of Ripon, and the family-friendly rides at Lightwater Valley.

Rooms start from £74 per night on Hotels.com.

Super 8 by Wyndham Chester East

If you’re looking for a cheap and convenient pitstop that feels significantly cooler than your average roadside hotel, the Super 8 by Wyndham is a top pick.

This is an American budget brand’s first foray into the UK, which arrived at the Chester motorway services in 2023.

But forget the dingy US motel stereotype – this place feels slick, modern and boasts fancy rooms that punch high above their price tag.

Rooms have sleek wooden finishes, mustard yellow details and cityscape artwork that reflects the brand’s American roots.

You also get brilliant tech upgrades that you wouldn’t typically expect from a motorway stay, including large smart TVs, ultra-fast free Wi-Fi, and plenty of USB ports.

The en-suite bathrooms are spotless and feature large walk-in power showers to wake you up before you hit the road again.

But this hotel isn’t just a pit-stop for road-trippers. It’s a 10-minute drive from shopping at Cheshire Oaks, plus Chester Zoo and Chester city are easily accessible from here for a day out.

Rooms are available from £38 per night on Expedia.

Cedar Court Huddersfield Hotel

This hotel in the village of Ainley Top in Huddersfield is in the prime position for exploring the Peaks (only 20 minutes’ drive), plus you can easily nip into Halifax to visit the Piece Hall or the interactive Eureka! children’s museum.

The hotel has a bright, modern and airy feel, thanks to its floor-to-ceiling windows which let the sunlight pour through and look out to well-manicured gardens.

There are 113 rooms here, which have recently been refurbished with sapphire blue, brick and wood decor.

When you’ve spent the day stomping across the Peak District, you won’t want fussy fine dining. Thankfully, here you’ll find familiar favourites like pizzas, chicken and chips plus that all-important buffet breakfast.

And for when you need to unwind, there’s an underground health club complete with a fully equipped gym, sauna, and steam room.

You can book a stay from £45 on Hotels.com.

AROUND 25 EUROSTAR journeys to and from two popular cities have been cancelled tomorrow due to a nationwide strike.

Industrial action across the Netherlands means there will be no public transport in destinations like Amsterdam and Rotterdam.

Tomorrow there will be no services on trains, buses, trams or metros across the Netherlands – including Eurostar services.

The strike is being held by the country’s largest trade union for staff who operate public transport with the walkouts scheduled for 2am on Wednesday and 2am on Thursday.

According to next Wednesday’s Eurostar schedule there are usually five direct services to Amsterdam from St Pancras each day and nine indirect routes with Eurostar.

As for return trains there are usually five direct routes and six indirect back to London.

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When it comes to Rotterdam there are usually five direct services and eight indirect routes scheduled mid-week.

Returning to London are five direct routes and six indirect.

But none of these will be running tomorrow due to the strike action.

Due to the early hours of the strike ending, services on Thursday morning could be affected too with several Eurostar journeys in showing as ‘Not available’.

On its website, Eurostar said: “No national or international trains will be able to run on the Dutch network on that day.

“There will also be some disruption on the evening of Tuesday September 8 and the morning of Thursday September 10.”

It continued: “If you’re due to travel with Eurostar, you can check whether your journey is affected by the strike on our live train info page.”

“We’ve also contacted all affected passengers whose contact details we have.

“If you have a connecting journey, please get in touch with the relevant train company for more information.

“We know how important your travel plans are and we’re sorry for the disruption this strike will cause.”

The operator added that if your Eurostar train is no longer running, you can either change your booking for free, cancel your booking and get an e-voucher or cancel your booking and get a full refund.

In Amsterdam, metros, trams, buses and ferry services will all be suspended.

In Rotterdam, the metros, trams, buses will be suspended as well, and in The Hague, trams and buses will not be running.

A Eurostar spokesperson told Sun Travel: “Following the national public transport strike on Wednesday 9 September 2026 from 2AM until the 10^th of September at 2AM in the Netherlands, no Eurostar trains will be able to run on the Dutch network on Wednesday.

“Affected passengers have been notified and can obtain a reimbursement or change their tickets free of charge. We apologise for the inconvenience.

“Trains on the other Eurostar routes are running normally.”

FAMILIES can save even more on holidays this month with a new deal that lets kids fly for FREE.

Turkish Airlines Holidays, the holiday brand of Turkish Airlines, has launched an offer that allows children under 11-years-old to fly for free.

The offer is available on specific holiday packages booked up to September 29.

And it includes some exciting holiday destinations such as Turkey, Mauritius, the Maldives and Dubai.

The offer is for any holiday departing between now and March 30, 2027.

Other offers include 15 per cent off Economy Class basic fares or 20 per cent off Business Class fares.

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You’ll also get complimentary seat selection as well on eligible flights.

For example, you could head to Istanbul in Turkey from £249 per person for two nights.

You’d stay at the four-star Darkhill Hotel, close to all the city’s main attractions.

The hotel also has its own rooftop bar with views across the city.

Alternatively, you could head to Dubai for three nights, costing from £769 per person.

You’d stay at the five-star Paramount Hotel Midtown, with breakfast included.

In the hotel there are a number of restaurants and bars including a rooftop terrace with a huge screen and views across the city skyline.

Want to splash out? Well, you could travel to Mauritius and stay at the five-star Maritim Resort & Spa for five nights, from £1,369 per person.

The new offer brings Turkish Airlines Holidays in line with other tour operator such as TUI and easyJet holidays.

SAN DIEGO — As dusk approached San Diego’s seaside enclave of Ocean Beach, its Sunset Cliffs bustled on a recent Friday evening.

Two engaged couples posed for wedding photos in between joggers, dog walkers and sightseers who clamored around Osprey Street to enjoy the day’s majestic sunset.

It was a deceptively idyllic setting for what authorities say is continued lawbreaking and peril, which authorities just can’t seem to quash.

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The lawbreakers were gathered this day on a cliff and a nearby arch, a crowd of around 50 young people — 14- to 20-year-olds, mostly males. Buoyed by a youthful sense of invincibility, they dared one another to leap, waiting for another to move, like emperor penguin chicks before a first arctic plunge.

After a few minutes, there was a dive off the arch, followed by a cannonball from the next person, a backflip from a third and then other more spectacular and daring stunts from the flock.

The cliff divers, drawn to the thrills of the illicit jumps amplified by social media, reveled in dozens of leaps.

No one was injured that day, but that hasn’t always been the case.

People jump into the water at Sunset Cliffs. San Diego officials urge visitors to avoid jumping, but that doesn’t stop tourists and thrill-seekers.

At least three individuals were rescued after suffering injuries this summer at Sunset Cliffs, leading police to ramp up enforcement as locals debate the need for safety versus the merits of youthful rites of passage.

California dreaming

Back home in Iowa, Marcus English said he’d probably be hosting bonfires or hitting up local pools in mid- to late August. Instead, the 17-year-old was at the cliffs enjoying his last few days off before beginning his senior year of high school.

“There are some places to jump, some lakes in Iowa,” he said, “but nothing like this.”

English wangled a stop during a weeklong family trip to California that included national park visits to stop by Sunset Cliffs, which he saw on social media.

The vistas and cool breezes represented quintessential California to the Midwesterner, equal parts “what I saw on Instagram and a movie.”

English spread out his arms, squatted and then leaped before taking a roughly 15-foot plunge from the arch into the shallow waters. He jumped multiple times on consecutive days.

“It’s just so freeing,” he said of his leaps. “There’s nothing like it.”

‘Hopefully I can walk again’

Jumping happens at several places throughout the cliffs.

The most common launch point is from the arch, with drops ranging from 15 to 20 feet depending on the water level, said a San Diego Police Department spokesperson.

The more exotic and dangerous plunges happen from the adjacent cliffs, with youngsters jumping from 20 to 40 feet, and some as much as 50 feet.

What makes the latter leap more treacherous is a rock ledge that juts out about 10 to 15 feet from the cliffs. Jumpers have little room to run and gain momentum (unlike at the arch) and must clear that formation before hitting the water.

This summer’s safety debate reached a fever pitch in late July. A 17-year-old jumper, according to social media footage, struck the ledge with his backside and crashed into the water.

The incident was covered extensively by San Diego media and resulted in increased policing near the bluffs.

For his part, the unnamed 17-year-old said in a since-deleted social media post that he suffered six fractured vertebrae and a badly bruised tailbone and needed nine stitches in his foot. The Times could not independently reach him.

Spectators watch people jump into the water from the arch at Sunset Cliffs.

“For everyone who wants to tell me I’m an idiot for doing that, trust me, I’m aware,” he said. “Hopefully I can walk again, but I’m just trying to take it slow.”

Sunset Cliffs have attracted visitors and tragedies

Injuries and deaths from jumping at the cliffs date to the 19th century, San Diego Reader noted earlier this year.

A schoolboy named Waldham slipped off the cliffs after a scrum with friends and broke his arm in 1881. One of the earliest deaths came in 1926, when a 3-year-old wandered from his home on Narragansett Avenue and fell to his demise.

Police and lifeguards were unsure as to the most recent jumping fatality, with one official pointing to the 2019 death of 15-year-old Anthony Womack, a National City resident.

The Sweetwater High School sophomore was reported to have jumped from nearby Pappy’s Point after skipping school with friends.

Brook Hjelm, the mother of 23-year-old Brian Wilson, who died swimming at Sunset Cliffs in 2015, told the local CBS station she would like to see photos of those who had died posted along with danger signs in the area. “Put signs up of our young men and women that we lost,” Hjelm said. “Let them see the face of something that associates them with what truly is at stake.”

Tracking the action

Attention surrounding Sunset Cliffs injuries ebbs and flows much like the current, according to Frank Gormlie, a longtime San Diego County resident who tracked incidents more than a decade ago.

Gormlie, the founder and editor of Ocean Beach’s online newspaper, OB Rag, scoured media archives and spoke with residents.

He published a list in his October 2015 article “Death and Distress at Sunset Cliffs – 2005 to 2015,” which he described as “incomplete” because of unreported incidents.

“It had gotten so bad that I wanted to chronicle what was going on,” Gormlie said.

His research documented 11 deaths and dozens of injuries during that time span. Those statistics came from jumps, along with vehicular, climbing and health incidents.

Some incidents had little to do with jumping, such a surfer smashing into the rocks. But a 43-year-old woman slipped and fell to her death in 2015, while two jumpers needed crane-assisted rescues after suffering serious injuries, according to Gormlie.

The Sunset Cliffs siren’s song

“People have been visiting the Sunset Cliffs for years because it has a beauty that shocks,” Gormlie said. “But I think social media has found its way to the next generation of adventure seekers who don’t know about the dangers.”

The Sunset Cliffs area is Instagram-ready, and social media has drawn some visitors looking to brave the leap.

Gormlie said swimming and diving are local rites of passage. He noted that Ocean Beach residents commonly “shoot the OB pier” — surfing under that the town’s pier — a risky stunt that Gormlie did as an 18-year-old before shipping off for college.

Gormlie jumped from the cliffs in 2014, shortly after turning 65.

He wrote about his experience through an anonymous post, saying he “did it for all those guys and women my age who drive by every day and secretly wish they could jump off too.”

“It’s irresistible,” he said of jumping.

Police and lifeguard efforts

The teen’s accident in July was one of three incidents and subsequent rescues over a 15-day period, according to the San Diego Union Tribune.

All rescues involved San Diego Fire-Rescue Department lifeguards and personnel. The department shares jurisdiction of Sunset Cliffs with the San Diego Police Department and rangers with the city Department of Parks and Recreation, said Candace Hadley, Fire-Rescue public information officer.

Hadley wanted to remind potential jumpers that the act of leaping from the cliffs violates a San Diego municipal code and could result in fines of $100 or more. Frequent fliers could be smacked with $1,000 fines.

“Cliff jumping isn’t just illegal in San Diego, it’s extremely dangerous,” Hadley said. “One misstep could lead to a life-altering injury or worse.”

Her office tends to offer education on the dangers of jumping, she said, while San Diego police dealout penalties.

The problem of jumpers at Sunset Cliffs has been part of achallenging summer for the lifeguards, who have made 5,480 rescues across the 17 miles of San Diego coastline they patrol from June 1 to Sept. 1. Extreme heat has driven more people to the beach, and high surf fueled by Pacific tropical storms has added to the dangers.

The rescues have mostly been of swimmers not properly judging the strong currents. In a normal year, Hadley said, the lifeguards make about 7,500 to 8,000 rescues.

Sgt. Saum Poorsaleh, San Diego police public information officer, said his department had issued more than 50 citations at Sunset Cliffs and dispensed about 350 warnings, written and oral, since mid-June.

But he said the department is short-handed, and increasing enforcement permanently is not feasible.

“There are warning signs all over the cliffs noting the dangers, but people still jump,” Poorsaleh said. “Mix in social media — which is drawing in tourists from all over the country — and a young person’s feeling of invincibility and there’s a chance for trouble.”

Visitors have been jumping at the Ocean Beach location for decades. One local said he jumped after turning 65, calling it “irresistible.”

San Diego City Councilmember Jennifer Campbell, who represents Ocean Beach, recently issued a statement reminding visitors “to prioritize safety and not jump from the cliffs.”

“The cliffs can be unpredictable,” she said, “and changing tides, strong currents, rough surf, and hidden rocks can quickly create life-threatening conditions.”

A longtime local tradition

Lyne Miller has lived all her life in Ocean Beach, where saltwater runs in locals’ veins and it’s not uncommon to see residents toting surfboard as they ride a bike or golf cart to the beach.

From a young age, Miller, 80, said she promised her mom that she “would never jump.”

Miller says the number of teens arriving at the beach, likely driven by social media, “is more than ever.”

But she acknowledged that locals had been jumping at Sunset Cliffs since at least the 1950s in surf-centric Ocean Beach.

“This is a playground for those who love the water, who love the ocean,” she said. “I hope if there’s a crackdown on jumping, it’s not harsh.

“I don’t necessarily feel negative about the jumpers,” she added. “I just wish they would be smarter and jump from safer spots at better times.”

George Lucas and Mellody Hobson want their massive spaceship of a museum to be an experience. Across 300,000 square feet and 11 acres of park space, there’s a lot to take in. Staring up at the 90-foot-diameter oculus four stories above the entrance plaza makes one feel like a speck in the galaxy.

Instead of trying to conquer everything on a first visit — there are more than 1,300 works — hit our highlights below. If you aim to walk around the striking building to view a mishmash of masterpieces, children’s illustrations, movie memorabilia that’s heavy on “Star Wars” and comic strips, you’ll have a good time. If you’re hoping to learn about what’s on display or how adjacent pieces relate, curb your enthusiasm. It’s almost as if the museum is making a statement: you don’t need some analysis to connect with the works. If you complain about the collection, the co-founders don’t care. “Is it fine art? It’s finer art because it’s actually telling a story,” Lucas said at a museum party last week.

The 90-foot-diameter oculus provides unique viewing from the fourth-floor gallery.

(Ariana Drehsler / For The Times)

The gee-whiz elevators at the entrance of the museum.

(Ariana Drehsler / For The Times)

Whoosh up in the glass-tube elevators to the massive fourth floor to begin. Best to explore the bulk of the galleries when your gas tank is full. Then head up a floor to see the murals. Take a break at the rooftop Skywalker Grill before ambling to the library and grounds. Skip the first floor’s “History of Narrative Art.” The exhibition is mostly screens, projections and reproductions, with a handful of great works from the 16th and 17th centuries and feels superficial at times. If you care about whether something is an original or a copy, check the gallery labels. Hungry for more detail? There’s a $30 exhibition catalog in the gift shop.

Prepare to get your steps in and feel a little turned around once it opens Sept. 22. Admission is $25 for adults, free for kids.

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1. Palm Canyon Drive. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times) 2. A metal sculpture of a serpent by artist Richard Breceda. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

This lonely San Diego County desert town, about 50 miles from the nearest Starbucks, deserves the attention of anyone who really wants peace and quiet. It’s home to perhaps 4,000 year-round residents, star-struck by night, startling at dawn, surrounded by the largest state park in California, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.

Dark skies, aimless days and spring wildflowers draw many people. But fall visitors can hike the park’s Borrego Palm Canyon Trail (3 miles round trip) or the narrow canyon known as The Slot. Keep an eye out for bighorn sheep and dozens of metal artworks by sculptor Ricardo Breceda scattered around town, especially the 350-foot-long sea serpent (along Borrego Springs Road), which has become a community mascot.

Check out: The town’s biggest party of the year, Borrego Days, is coming Oct. 17-18. And its seasonal Farmers Market returns to Christmas Circle Community Park on Nov. 6.

Distance: A 4-hour drive from L.A. (154 miles from L.A. City Hall, via Google Maps).

A woman was left gobsmacked when she was taken for a ‘full body search’ at the airport after she set off the security scanners twice with her hand luggage. She was dumbfounded by the reason

Airport security is stressful enough without triggering a major alert. Between removing your belt and wrestling electronics out of your bag, it’s easy to feel flustered.

But one woman is warning travellers to avoid a simple pre-flight habit that got her pulled aside by security not once, but twice. George, a lawyer who posts on TikTok as @awomancalledgeorge, was travelling with just a carry-on when she became the subject of a “double security alert.”

After her bag was pulled from the scanner, she was surrounded by security staff. She explained: “The scanner seemed to have picked up traces of something that could be dangerous.” The subsequent swabs of her hands and bag also came back positive.

“It’s a double problem,” she said. “When you know you haven’t got anything, you still feel guilty. I’m a lawyer, and I was standing there thinking I know I haven’t done anything wrong, but you still feel guilty.”

The alert led to a full-body search, and security staff had to unpack and swab every single item in her bag.

George shared that she’d “never seen anything like it” when her “hand luggage bag got pulled,” and people appeared and were talking “really seriously” to her.

She recalled having to go off and have a “full body search” and they “had to unpack every single thing” in her bag. Staff “swabbed most of it”, before letting her go.

What caused the drama at airport security?

It turns out that what had set it off was “hand cream and body lotion”. George had a shower before heading to the airport and slathered herself in the really nice creams.

But she urged others to take the “life lesson” from her and not do the same thing. She explained: “It turns out the glycerin in hand cream and body lotion can trigger the security systems.

“Who knew? I certainly didn’t know. Having gone through that, I shaln’t be doing that again”.

What are swabs at the airport checking for?

Security swabs primarily test for trace chemical residues associated with explosives.

Staff wipe a small area of a passenger’s hands, bag, shoes, or electronics, and analyse the sample for microscopic particles. Because these chemicals can transfer from harmless everyday sources – like lotions, soaps, or certain fertilizers – a positive swab doesn’t automatically mean you’ve handled anything illegal.

Less commonly, depending on the country and situation, swabs can also be used to detect drug residue or other prohibited substances.