cleanest

I spent my childhood in Spain, and while many UK travellers opt for the likes of Majorca and Tenerife, there’s one northern town that’s a true hidden gem.

I spent a large chunk of my childhood and teenage years in Spain, having moved from Argentina when I was just six. Marbella was the first Spanish city I called home – and it was absolutely delightful. It offered warm weather, stunning beaches, and plenty of options for outdoor play with other children.

Relocating from Marbella to the Mediterranean town of Denia during my teenage years might not seem like a significant shift, as both places offer similar conditions. However, sandwiched between these two coastal locations, I spent a few years, specifically from age eight to 12, in the pristine northern town of Oviedo.

Northern Spain is quite distinct from the southern holiday hotspots or the island resorts of Mallorca and Tenerife. For starters, the north is much cooler, greener and culturally more reserved, with locals still deeply rooted in their traditions. That’s why Oviedo, while less famous than most regional capitals, possesses such an enchanting allure.

Oviedo’s public spaces are well-kept, virtually free of litter and brimming with unexpected historical landmarks. One such sight is the imposing Cathedral of San Salvador, which is considered one of Spain’s most significant Christian pilgrimage sites, even predating Santiago de Compostela’s rise to prominence.

It’s one of the traditional stops for pilgrims taking the Camino Primitivo, the oldest known route of the Camino de Santiago.

Due to its characteristically wet climate, Oviedo boasts lush greenery throughout, featuring numerous parks and the cherished central Campo de San Francisco, where locals love to wander leisurely and meet for coffee.

Asturias’ capital also represents a culinary paradise, offering substantial fare in warm, inviting establishments perfect for recuperating after adventures like ascending nearby Monte Naranco to discover pre-Romanesque structures whilst gazing over the city, or exploring the Las Ubiñas-La Mesa natural reserve.

The region’s most celebrated dish, Fabada, consists of a substantial bean casserole (fabes) accompanied by meat, sausage and morcilla.

Though served in remarkably abundant, satisfying portions, diners frequently follow it with cachopo, an enormous breaded veal creation stuffed with cheese and ham.

Tierra Astur restaurant has earned recognition over many years for delivering exceptional cachopo.

Whilst southern Spain attracts European visitors as a renowned beer hotspot, Asturias revolves around cider traditions.

Oviedo’s Calle Gascona earns recognition as the “Boulevard of Cider” where unpretentious, tavern-style sidrerías provide genuine sidra (cider), served from an elevated position using the traditional “escanciado” technique.

Establishments Casa Fermín, Casa Lobato and Del Arco rank amongst the city’s finest dining venues for experiencing local specialities, whilst NM by Nacho Manzano specialises in sophisticated, contemporary Asturian gastronomy with meticulous craftsmanship. Asturias, a farming region, is renowned for its top-notch homegrown produce, including over 40 varieties of cheese (most notably Cabrales, a potent blue-veined type with DOP status), high-quality beef reared on mountain pastures, and artisan preserves made from local apples, pears and wild berries.

Local bakeries and desserts provide another reason to wander the old town – Asturian treats may be rustic in appearance but they’re extraordinary in taste. The carbayón, a rich almond-filled puff pastry glazed with syrup, typically found at Camilo de Blas in Oviedo, is the most iconic.

Another local favourite is the moscovita, a delicate almond biscuit coated in chocolate, originally from the historic Rialto bakery. Restaurants often serve rich, homemade options such as a local, creamier version of rice pudding, casadielles (deep-fried pastry rolls filled with a mixture of walnuts, sugar, and aniseed), and frixuelos, a crêpes-style dish typically filled with sugar, jam, or cream and rolled up.

The Old Town (Casco Histórico) is ideal for a walking holiday, with the Cathedral and Calle Uría offering the city’s hustle and bustle. For quieter stays, consider places slightly off Calle Mon or Postigo Bajo.

Shetland has been named the cleanest place in Scotland, with almost 99 per cent of public spaces across the archipelago being litter-free – and the main town has plenty to offer tourists

Scotland is battling a significant litter issue, reportedly worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic. Urban areas have been hit hardest, with Dundee and Glasgow topping the list of Scotland’s most littered cities, as per a recent report from Keep Scotland Beautiful featured in The Herald.

However, other parts of Scotland are being praised for their cleanliness. Shetland has earned the title of Scotland’s cleanest place. The new data reveals that an impressive 98.7% of public spaces on the archipelago are predominantly free of litter – the highest percentage in the country.

This honour allows Lerwick, Shetland’s main port, to boast the title of Scotland’s cleanest town.

As the largest settlement on the island group, housing around 7,000 residents, it serves as the perfect starting point to discover this remote part of Scotland.

Situated almost halfway between Bergen in Norway and Aberdeen, Lerwick offers a unique culture.

Its quaint lanes and laid-back atmosphere make it an ideal holiday destination – with top attractions including the Iron Age broch of Clickimin and the Shetland Museum, reports the Daily Record.

Visitors can also enjoy orca watching in the nearby seas or stay on land to explore the captivating marine life around the islands. Lerwick even boasts its own beach, Bain’s, just a stone’s throw from the town centre.

If you fancy a bit of solitude, there are plenty of beaches scattered around the Shetland Mainland.

Sumburgh, situated at the southernmost point of the island and just a half-hour drive away, is famed for its breathtaking white sands.

Also nestled in the southern region of the island is Spiggie Beach. Its pristine waters have been likened to those of a Greek island, albeit with a cooler climate.

After a day of adventuring, unwind with some grub or a drink at one of Lerwick’s pubs or restaurants.

The Lounge Bar, which holds the top spot on TripAdvisor, provides live music for its guests.

For a bite to eat, No 88 Kitchen and Bar comes highly recommended. This local gem dishes up an intriguing blend of Scottish, British and Philippine cuisine.

Masked federal agents are snatching up immigrants. It’s been less than two weeks since the U.S. bombed Iranian nuclear facilities. President Trump’s long-threatened tariffs could finally kick in next week.

Given all that, most people probably aren’t focused on climate change.

But they should be. Because Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which passed the Senate this week and was poised to clear the House early Thursday, would do more than gut Medicaid, cut student loan relief and increase funding for deportations. It would kill federal support for solar and wind power, undoing President Biden’s historic climate law and punishing Americans with deadlier air, more lethal heat waves and higher electric bills.

I’m usually a climate optimist. But it’s hard to find reasons for hope right now.

The Senate bill would eliminate tax credits for solar and wind farms that don’t come online by the end of 2027 — a brutal deadline for projects that take years to permit, finance and construct. That would slam the brakes on new development and also jeopardize hundreds of projects already in the works — not only solar and wind farms, but also factories to build solar panels, wind turbines, lithium-ion batteries and other clean energy technologies.

Solar and wind farms that start construction by June 2026 would get tax credits no matter when they come online, a last-minute concession to the handful of Republican senators with a modicum of sense.

As if needing to counterbalance that concession, Republican leaders added lucrative tax credits for metallurgical coal, an incredibly dirty fossil fuel that’s mostly shipped to China and other countries to make steel.

The bill would also end tax credits for rooftop solar, electric vehicles and energy-efficient home upgrades — while reducing royalty rates for coal mined on public lands, and requiring more oil and gas leasing on those lands.

“The fossil fuel industry helped pay for this government, and now they’re getting their reward,” Bill McKibben, the preeminent climate author and activist, wrote in his newsletter.

That’s part of the explanation. Another part, I think, is that most voters aren’t paying close attention.

Polls consistently show that an overwhelming majority of Americans want cleaner energy, and climate action writ large. But polls also show that climate ranks low as a priority for most Americans.

Wind turbines in the California desert, seen from Highway 58.

(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

So when it comes time for Trump and his allies to pay for their deficit-ballooning tax cuts — which mostly benefit the rich — clean energy is an easy target. They can tell outrageous lies about solar and wind being unreliable and expensive, and many people will either believe them or not care enough to seek out the truth.

Indeed, Trump wrote on social media last month that renewable energy tax credits are a “giant SCAM.” He claimed that wind turbines “and the rest of this ‘JUNK’” are “10 times more costly than any other energy.”

That’s not even remotely true. Authoritative sources, including the investment bank Lazard, report that solar and wind are America’s cheapest sources of new electricity, even without tax credits. Those low costs help explain why solar, wind and batteries made up 94% of new power capacity in the U.S. last year. Even in Texas, they’re booming.

For now, at least. John Ketchum, president of Florida-based NextEra Energy, warned the Trump administration in March that shelving renewables and battery storage would “force electricity prices to the moon.”

Lo and behold, research firm Energy Innovation estimates the Senate bill would cause average household energy costs to increase $130 annually by 2030. The firm also predicts 760,000 lost jobs by 2030.

“Families will face higher electric bills, factories will shut down, Americans will lose their jobs, and our electric grid will grow weaker,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, president of the Solar Energy Industries Assn.

The point about the grid growing weaker is key. North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, one of three Republicans to vote against the bill, mentioned a global turbine shortage that’s slowing the construction of gas-fired power plants. He stated plainly what energy executives know: that renewables and batteries are needed for a reliable grid.

“What you have done is create a blip in power service,” Tillis told his colleagues.

Here’s a question: If clean energy is so cheap, and in such high demand, why does it need subsidies?

For one thing, solar and wind projects require big upfront investments, after which the fuel, be it sun or wind, is free. Gas plants are often less expensive to build, but they can subject consumers to huge utility bill swings when fuel costs soar — during geopolitical turmoil, for instance, or during climate-fueled weather disasters.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s Eland solar and storage plant, located in Kern County, generates electricity for a record-low price.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Also relevant: Fossil fuel subsidies are so deeply entrenched in the U.S. tax code that they rarely make news. Coal, oil and gas benefit from tens of billions of dollars in subsidies every year, by some estimates.

And that’s without accounting for the bigger wildfires, harsher droughts, stronger storms, hotter heat waves and other harms of fossil fuel combustion, including air pollution that kills millions of people worldwide each year. Oil, gas and coal companies don’t pay those costs. Taxpayers do.

So, yes, solar and wind still need a leg up. But even under Biden’s climate law, the U.S. hasn’t been reducing heat-trapping emissions enough to help keep global warming to less-than-catastrophic levels.

And now, under Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” the U.S. will be moving backward instead of forward.

So if you care about the climate crisis, what can you do?

I wish I could say California was doubling down on climate leadership, like it did during Trump’s first term. Sadly, Gov. Gavin Newsom hasn’t prioritized clean energy as he readies a possible presidential run. Again and again, he and his appointees have yielded to the fossil fuel industry and its allies — on plastics recycling, oil refinery profits, emissions disclosures and more.

Other Golden State leaders are doing no better. This week, lawmakers passed an awful law pushed by Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) that will pause new energy efficiency rules for homes until 2031. Meanwhile, a potentially transformative “climate superfund” bill — which would charge fossil fuel companies for their pollution and use the money to help Californians cope with climate disasters — is languishing in Sacramento.

The landscape is bleak. But we’re not doomed.

The planet will almost certainly warm beyond an internationally agreed upon target of 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. But 2 degrees is a lot better than 2.5 degrees, and way better than 3 degrees. Climate change isn’t a game we win or lose. Every bit of avoided warming means safer, healthier lives for more people.

Yes, the U.S. is a climate train wreck right now. But global warming is just like immigration or healthcare: Nothing will change if most of us do nothing. So don’t tune out. Don’t surrender to despair. Bring up climate when you talk to your friends and call your representatives. Make protest signs about it. Let it guide your vote.

As McKibben wrote: “Our job from here on out … is to make ourselves heard.”

“It may not work tomorrow. It may not work until we’ve gotten more decent people into office. But it’s our job, and not to be shirked,” he wrote. “And in some sad way it’s an honor: We’re the people who get to make the desperate stand for a country and a planet that works.”

This is the latest edition of Boiling Point, a newsletter about climate change and the environment in the American West. Sign up here to get it in your inbox. And listen to our “Boiling Point” podcast here.

For more climate and environment news, follow @Sammy_Roth on X and @sammyroth.bsky.social on Bluesky.

TikTok users are raving about this ‘underrated’ UK seaside town – and it’s no wonder why. The destination boasts two beaches, a charming lighthouse and an award-winning bakery

The prospect of a sunny summer has many Brits contemplating a staycation this year instead of jetting off overseas. Staycations, which became exceedingly popular during the Covid pandemic, are proving to be just as enjoyable and sun-soaked as trips abroad – and they often come with less hassle and a smaller price tag.

With summer around the corner, it’s the perfect time to discover some of Britain’s finest beaches, perhaps visiting a coastal town that’s new to you? TikTok influencer and travel expert @lotteboo3 took to the platform to shine a light on what she considers an “underrated” seaside treasure.

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Southwold, hailed as a “classic seaside town” by the Express, is nestled in Suffolk and ticks all the boxes for a quintessential British staycation.

The town is home to two inviting beaches, Southwold Pier Beach to the north and Southwold Denes Beach to the south. Holiday-goers will be greeted by rows of quaint, brightly coloured beach huts that line the shore, injecting vibrant butter yellows, whites, and blues into the scenery.

The TikTok user posted footage of an “award-winning bakery”, overflowing with delectable sausage rolls, gingerbread men, croissants, and assorted pastries.

She also highlighted a “charming lighthouse” – perfect for those holiday photos – and a magnificent pier where visitors can leave their mark by adding personalised plaques.

The official Southwold Pier website even offers a Pier Plaque Creator, giving tourists the chance to craft their own plaque as a “great gift, a wonderful surprise or a memento of your visit”.

Holidaymakers heading to Southwold are in for a treat, with the chance to meander through its picturesque streets dotted with colourful abodes, discover distinctive independent boutiques, and relish traditional coastal pleasures such as ice cream.

Lotte’s TikTok showcase of Southwold has captured the imagination of social media users, racking up nearly 32,000 likes and over 3,200 saves.

The post has sparked some serious wanderlust, prompting more than 1,000 shares as people plot their next escape. Admiring comments flooded in from fans of the town, with one user, @Goodgriefisthatthetime, professing: “Worked at scores of seaside towns all over the UK. By far the cleanest, well looked after.”

Meanwhile, Laura Marsh joined in the chorus, saying, “We live down the road from Southwold, definitely one of our happy places. Great beer and fish and chips.”

Numerous commenters labelled Southwold as their “happy place”, including Bethany who revealed, “I absolutely love it here I go every year, it’s like a second home”.

Adding to the endorsements, Caitlin Harvey shared her six-year working experience in Southwold, concluding: “Worked here for six years. Can’t deny that it’s actually a lovely place to visit.”