A woman has shared a ‘hidden gem’ in the Lake District, as she takes her viewers on a tour of the picturesque and stunning trail she found while visiting the area
The cave is a magical sight nestled in the UK(Image: Getty Images)
There are so many hidden gems in the UK, and with the rise of staycations, people are sharing their travels across the country.
Now one woman has taken to TikTok to walk through a ‘heavenly’ cave in the Lake District. Posting under the username @ adventureamore1the TikToker shared her trip, as she took viewers along the scenic route to the cave nestled in Little Langdale in the Lake District.
The cave consists of a network of abandoned tunnels and chambers which all find themselves tucked away amongst the rural beauty of the Little Langdale, which offers a tranquil setting to observe the history and geology.
In the video caption, the TikToker said: “This trail takes you on an epic adventure into one of the lake districts most beautiful spots .. cathedral cave. This otherworldly cave is famous for it’s heavenly light that spills down into the cave from a huge opening above.
“This spot can be viewed from from the opening or from the bottom. I recommend seeing it from the bottom first to get the real sense of wonder. Suitable for dogs and kids, this amazing spot is definitely one to add to your list.”
However she noted that for those wanting to visit, “Parking isn’t the easiest and we ended up having to Google a small car park around a 20 mins walk from this entrance but it was worth it.” She noted how the trail “takes you to somewhere you won’t forget” and called the middle of the cave a true “hidden gem”.
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People were loving the video, and one person who had also visited commented: “been there, amazing place … peaceful beautiful,” while a second chimed: “This was on my list when I visited last year but didn’t have time for it. More reason to return to the Lakes!” A thid said: “That’s a nice hidden gem indeed.”
Also known as Cathedral Quarry, the site was once used to extract green slate. This slate is still used today to build walls and roofs throughout the local area. According to LakeLovers, throughout the nineteenth century, the site provided slate to aid in the boom in house building, drilling the rock and using explosives to source the material.
“In 1929, the quarry was purchased by world-renowned author Beatrix Potter. Beatrix gifted the site to the National Trust, who ensured quarrying continued until the 1950s.
“Nowadays, the site is preserved and maintained by the National Trust as an important place of geological interest and history in the Lake District,” the site added.
In an overstuffed workshop in East L.A., Chris Francis reached out a heavily tattooed arm and pulled a single shoe box from one of the floor-to-ceiling shelves lining the walls.
“Anjelica Huston,” the shoemaker and artist said. “Let’s see what’s in here.”
Removing the top of the box, he revealed two carved wooden forms known as shoe lasts that cobblers use to make their wares. Beneath those were strips of yellowing shoe patterns and a tracing of the actor’s foot with a note written in loopy cursive:
To Pasquale My happy feet shall thank you — Anjelica Huston
The Di Fabrizio collection includes shoe measurements for stars like Nancy Sinatra, Kim Novak, Joe Pesci and Madeline Kahn, all adorned with green, white and red striped ribbon.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
“Cool, huh?” Francis said, gazing reverently at the box’s contents. “Every time I open one it’s amazing. It’s like Christmas all the time.”
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For the last three years, Francis has been surrounded by a sprawling archive of famous feet originally amassed by Pasquale Di Fabrizio, the late shoemaker to the stars. From the early ‘60s to the early 2000s, Di Fabrizio created custom footwear for the rich, famous and notorious out of his humble shoe shop on 3rd Street.
The shoes went to his customers, but his voluminous collection includes shoe lasts, patterns, drawings, correspondences, leather samples and handwritten notes from thousands of clients, all stored in cardboard shoe boxes that the Italian immigrant trimmed with green, white and red striped ribbon.
The names, written in bold Magic Marker on the front of each box are a who’s who of entertainers from the ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s and beyond: Liza Minnelli, Tom Jones, Richard Pryor, Robert De Niro, Sarah Jessica Parker, Bea Arthur, Arsenio Hall, Nancy Sinatra, Ace Frehley. The list goes on and on.
Francis found foot measurements, wooden shoe lasts and a shoe in progress that Pasquale Di Fabrizio made for Ginger Rogers in a box marked with her name.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
“Shoe Machine” is one of Chris Francis’ art pieces that he has shown at museums.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
“So many great people stood on these pieces of paper,” Francis said, looking at the stacks of boxes around him. “Roy Orbison. Eva Gabor. Stella Stevens. Lauren Bacall. I could pull these down all day.”
Francis never met Di Fabrizio, who died in 2008, but in 2022 he traded two pairs of his sculptural shoe-art pieces to Di Fabrizio’s friend and fellow shoemaker Gary Kazanchyan for the entirety of the Italian shoemaker’s archive. Three years later, Francis is still making his way through it all.
The amount of material is overwhelming, but he is committed to preserving Di Fabrizio’s legacy. Ultimately, he wants to find a space where he can share it with others.
“I never want to be without it, but I’m realistic that it deserves to be appreciated by more than just myself,” he said. “If my life’s work ended up in somebody’s hands, I don’t think I’d want them to just keep it for themselves forever.”
A shoemaker’s journey
Francis isn’t just cataloging L.A.’s shoemaking history, he’s helping to keep it alive.
Over the last decade and a half he’s made a name for himself as a custom shoemaker, creating handmade bespoke footwear for rockers like former Runaways guitarist Lita Ford and Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols, as well as sculptural art shoes that are displayed in museums like the Craft Contemporary, the Palm Springs Art Museum and SCAD FASH in Atlanta.
Wooden shoe lasts hang from the ceiling as Chris Francis works on a shoe for the singer Lita Ford in his garage.
(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
In his East L.A. workshop, he eschews modern technology, focusing instead on traditional methods of shoemaking, often with hand tools.
“The handmade shoe is alive and well in this shop,” he said, dressed in pressed black slacks and tinted sunglasses, chunky gold rings gleaming on his fingers. “There’s no computer here, and even the records half the time are vinyls or 78s.”
Making shoes by hand is time-consuming and expensive work — Francis doesn’t sell a pair of shoes for less than $1,800 — but for his mostly musician clientele, a sturdy, custom-made, comfortable shoe that also boasts over-the-top style is well worth the price.
“At my price point, my customers are buying something that’s really a tool,” he said. “It’s part of their look, but it also has to hit 27 guitar pedals, keep all of its crystal, be beautiful, last multiple tours and they have to be able to stand in it all night.”
Francis, who has a certain aging-rocker swagger himself, never expected to become a shoemaker.
After going to art school and hopping freight trains for several years, he moved to Los Angeles in 2002 originally to join the Merchant Marines. Instead he found work hanging multi-story graphics and billboards on the side of hotels and high-rises on the Sunset Strip and at casinos in Las Vegas. “That gave me the same thrill of riding a freight train,” he said. “Being on a high-rise building and rappelling down.”
Francis found fabric samples and designs for shoes that Pasquale Di Fabrizio made for a Broadway production of the musical “Marilyn: An American Fable.”
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Shoemaker and artist Chris Francis makes shoes the traditional way in his workshop in East Los Angeles.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
He discovered he had a knack for pattern making in 2008 when he began creating hand-stitched leather jackets to wear to the Hollywood parties he had started attending with his now-fiancee. One day a stranger approached him and said she knew someone who would appreciate a jacket like the ones he was making. She was a stylist for Arnel Pineda, the lead singer of Journey. Commissions from Mötley Crüe and other rock bands followed.
A few years later he became interested in making shoes, but although he knocked on the door of several shoe shops in town, he couldn’t find a mentor.
“They didn’t have time, or they’d say, ‘You belong in a rock and roll band, you’re not one of us,’” he said. “But I would say, ‘Just teach me one thing, one trick.’ And everyone had time to teach one trick.”
It was an education in much more than shoemaking.
“Almost every shoemaker I met had immigrated to the country,” he said. “So I learned how to make shoes from the Italians, from guys from Armenia, Iran, Iraq, Russia, Syria, from everybody. And while doing so, I learned about all these different cultures.”
‘He was the king’
As Francis dove deeper into the history of shoemaking in Los Angeles, one name kept coming up again and again: Pasquale Di Fabrizio.
The late Pasquale Di Fabrizio, a cobbler to the Hollywood elite, photographed in front of his collection of shoe lasts, circa 1982.
(Bret Lundberg / Images Press / Getty Images)
“I started asking other makers about him, and they were like, ‘Oh yeah, we remember him,’” Francis said. “He was the king.”
For more than 50 years Di Fabrizio was the most sought after shoemaker in Los Angeles. He made Liberace’s rhinestone-encrusted footwear and shod Mickey Mouse, Goofy and Donald Duck for touring productions of Disney on Parade. He was the go-to shoemaker for country western stars, Vegas showgirls, Hollywood movie stars, gospel singers and casino owners. The Rat Pack helped put him on the map.
“My best customer is Dean Martin,” Di Fabrizio told The Times in 1972. “He buys 40 pairs a year.”
Sporting a thick, bristled mustache and oversize glasses, Di Fabrizio had a tough reputation. He once kicked a movie star out of his shop because the star brought back a pair of patent leather shoes that he claimed were defective. Di Fabrizio accused him of missing the urinal and peeing on them at the Oscars.
“Never come back here again,” he said in his thick Italian accent.
The shoemaker occasionally made house calls, but his customers mostly came to him. In his workshop on 3rd Street near Crescent Heights, he would trace their bare feet on a piece of paper and measure the circumference of each of their feet at the ball, around the arch, the heel and the ankle. Then he would customize a pre-carved wooden last from Italy, adding thin pieces of leather 1 millimeter at a time to more perfectly mimic the unique shape of the client’s foot.
The size and shapes of the lasts varied wildly. He once told a reporter that it took “half a cow” to make shoes for Wilt Chamberlain, who wore a size 15. In his archives, Francis found a petite high heel shoe last roughly the length of his hand.
Francis holds a foot tracing and shoe lasts made for Robert De Niro by Pasquale Di Fabrizio.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
“Di Fabrizio did lots of shoes for little people,” Francis said. “He really offered an important service for that community. They could have formal footwear rather than having only the option of wearing kids shoes.”
The same lasts could be used over and over again to make several pairs of shoes, as long as the heel height was the same. Each last went in its own box decorated with a ribbon in the colors of the Italian flag.
“It’s so simple, but he claims his territory with that ribbon,” Francis said. “He cared enough to take one extra step. It’s what really made that collection iconic.”
A legacy preserved
Francis first encountered Di Fabrizio’s archives in 2010 when Kazanchyan offered him a job at Andre #1 Custom Made Shoes on Sunset Boulevard. Kazanchyan inherited the shop from his uncle, Andre Kazanchyan, who once worked with Di Fabrizio and became his good friend.
Gary Kazanchyan and Di Fabrizio were close as well. When Di Fabrizio retired in the early 2000s, Kazanchyan hired all of the guys who worked at his shop. Di Fabrizio was at Kazanchyan’s wedding and when the older shoemaker was in a nursing home at the end of his life, Kazanchyan visited him every day.
For years Kazanchyan stored as many of the ribbon-trimmed boxes as he could fit in his Hollywood shop, but just before COVID he moved his shop to his garage in Burbank and transferred Di Fabrizio’s archives to his backyard. “At one point, my whole backyard was this mountain of shoe lasts,” he said.
Chris Francis, left, and Gary Kazanchyan at Palermo’s Italian Restaurant in Los Feliz.
(Deborah Netburn / Los Angeles Times)
Kazanchyan started a renovation on his house in 2022 and could no longer store Di Fabrizio’s archive in his backyard. He’d sold some of the most famous shoe lasts at auction — a bundle of Di Fabrizio’s shoe lasts for Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. went for $4,375 in 2013 — but he still had several tons of material stacked on pallets and covered in tarps. He remembered that Francis loved the collection, so he called him and asked if he wanted it. Francis did.
Francis didn’t have the money to purchase the collection in cash, but he offered Kazanchyan two art pieces that he’d exhibited and Kazanchyan accepted. The first carload of boxes Francis took to his studio included lasts for Wayne Newton, Paula Abdul, Ginger Rogers, Burt Reynolds and Sylvester Stallone.
“My excitement was on fire,” he said.
Francis spent a few weeks sorting through the archive and discarding lasts and shoe boxes that were too covered in mold or deteriorated to be worth keeping. Just before a rainstorm threatened the rest of the collection, he brought thousands of shoe lasts to his studio but even now regrets that he was unable to save it all.
“I tried to grab the big names, but there was so much I couldn’t keep,” he said. “It was heartbreaking.”
The boxes hold stories — and life lessons
Living and working among the Di Fabrizio collection has taught Francis a lot more than just the art of making shoes.
“I’m constantly seeing the obituary of a celebrity who has passed and I go to the workshop and there’s their box,” he said. “It really lets you know that life is for the living. It’s up to you to be responsible and live your life when you’re alive. Be yourself, teach others, leave something behind.”
Hanging onto the collection has not been easy — but Francis believes he was chosen from beyond to care for Di Fabrizio’s archive and to share it with others responsibly.
He’s still not sure what that will look like, but he’s determined to try.
And in the meantime, he is also determined to keep the traditional art of shoemaking alive in Los Angeles.
If you look around his workshop, you’ll spot several boxes adorned with red, white and blue striped ribbon.
Francis is making those boxes his own.
Working with hand tools, Chris Francis makes a custom pair of shoes for musician Lita Ford.
Ibiza Final Boss Jack Kay looks completely unrecognisable in an unearthed snap that was taken before his incredible rise to fame on social media over the summer
Ibiza Final Boss Jack Kay shot to fame on TikTok(Image: Jack kay Instagram)
Ibiza Final Boss Jack Kay looks completely unrecognisable in an unearthed snap that was taken before his incredible rise to fame. The 26-year-old construction worker, who hails from Newcastle, has become instantly known thanks to an eight second video posted on TikTok that has landed him a Channel 4 documentary and a multi-figure brand deal.
The viral social media star is known for his famous haircut, but in a newly-resurfaced photograph, the influencer looks totally different with a style that is worlds away from his signature look.
Standing on the right end in a snap taken in a pub, Jack can posing in front of a pint and is sporting with a much-less defined fringe whilst his beard and chain are nowhere to be seen.
Speaking about his incredible rise to fame, he said: “Where I’m from is like a council estate. Not much happens round there for people like me. People like me don’t get the chance to make it to this level, do you know what I mean? To make it to this level is like a dream, honest to god!”
On August 3, Jack was dancing at a party when he caught the attention of clothing label Zero Six West Ibiza. He had black and gold sunglasses on to match his black vest and massive gold chain. His muscled arms were on display and his now iconic bowl haircut had been shaped to perfection. The clothing label posted an eight-second clip of Jack dancing, and asked: “Does anyone know this absolute legend coz we’ve got 2 free guestlist with his name on it!”
On TikTok alone, the video has had almost 30million views and Jack became a meme, dubbed the Ibiza Final Boss. He captured the attention of many and soon signed with a talent agency and embarking on a club appearance tour, which one PR expert estimated could earn him £1k-5k per night. With at least eight appearances under his belt, that is an estimated earning of anywhere between £8k and £40k from club appearances.
The new film follows Jack as he adjusts to life in the spotlight and tries to find longevity in his newfound career as an internet personality. When asked why millions went wild for his unique look, Jack said: “I think why people love that video because it’s just my aura.
“I think no one has seen us before. When I’ve just stepped in the dance, looking the way I’m looking with my shades and my hair. My tattoos, my muscles, my beard and stuff. People think, ‘Who’s he?’ That’s what I think.”
He went onto reveal that he now goes to the hairdresser three times a week to keep up his look – and spends nearly £80 weekly.
“Before the fame, it was twice a week but now it’s three times,” he said. “I’ve got to keep myself on point.
“Three, four years ago, I had long hair, like a slick-back. I got sick of it and changed it to a Scouse trim. It’s basically just a low fade. Brush my hair to the side, put a bit of hairspray on. It’s got to be spot on.”
He added: “It looks fresh doesn’t it? Everyone loves it. Especially the birds. They loved it before the fame and now.”
HE was the down-to-earth Yorkshireman with one of the most famous gestures in sport.
The way cricket’s most famous umpire Dickie Bird gave batsmen their marching orders — lifting his arm, oh so slowly, index finger outstretched — became his trademark.
The former cricketer became a legend at Yorkshire CCCCredit: Shutterstock Editorial
Miner’s son Dickie, who has died at the age of 92, was as much a part of British summers as, well, the sound of bat on ball.
He will be remembered as the man whose popularity broke down the divide between the game’s officials and players — also winning him a huge army of fans way beyond the boundary rope.
Generation after generation watched as Dickie, real name Harold Dennis Bird, umpired 66 tests and 69 one-day internationals, including three World Cup finals, with fairness and humour while reining in the most cantankerous of players.
Dickie, who never married, is expected to leave his multi-million- pound fortune — most of it made when he published his autobiography in 1997 — to children’s hospitals which he often visited.
After his death was announced by Yorkshire County Cricket Club, tributes flooded in for the lord of LBW — when umpire adjudges ball to have hit leg before wicket.
A club statement read: “Dickie Bird enjoyed an illustrious career as an international umpire, writing his name into history as the most famous and popular official in the game’s history.
“He is synonymous with Yorkshire cricket, where he has been one of the most loyal supporters.”
The club named the former Yorkshire batsman as its president in 2014 and said it was a role he held with “pride and distinction” as the club won two country championships during his tenure.
It added that Dickie, awarded an MBE in 1986 and OBE in 2012, had become known “not only for his umpiring excellence but also his eccentricities and warmth”.
The legendary opening batsman said of the umpiring great: “Dickie was a character, always fun. He was respected, admired and loved. A cricket icon.
“He was brilliant because he made a lot of good decisions but also he had humour and a firmness. He could handle players.
“You could talk to him. He would listen. But chatting him up did not change his mind. No chance. He would laugh with you instead.
“He would never be officious. He just had a way of defusing situations. That was his strength, why he was rated all over the world as the best.”
Boycott first met Dickie in 1955, when they played for Barnsley Cricket Club — and the pair were also friends there with another Yorkshireman who later found fame, the late TV host Sir Michael Parkinson. The three would remain pals for life.
He added of Dickie’s cricket: “I was slightly in awe, nearly every time he went out to bat he would score a 50.
“I was shocked when he would come up to me and say, ‘Put my gloves on for me, Gerald’. I would say, ‘My name’s not Gerald, it’s Geoffrey’. It made no difference because he would say, ‘OK, put the gloves on for me Gerald’. He called me Gerald for years.
Former England captain and opening bat Graham Gooch also has fond memories of Dickie — and the time one of his shots struck him during a match against Australia at Old Trafford in 1985.
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Dickie after being hit in the ankle by a Graham Gooch shot in 1985Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
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Dickie with Sir Michael Parkinson and Sir Geoffrey BoycottCredit: Shutterstock Editorial
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Dickie once said his afternoon with Queen Elizabeth was the best day of his lifeCredit: Dickie Bird
Gooch told talkSPORT: “He tried to get out of the way of the straight drive but it hit him on the ankle. He wasn’t averse to making a bit of a song and dance about things — and he had to go off for treatment.”
Dickie was also in the middle when Gooch played his most famous innings — scoring 333 against India at Lord’s in 1990.
But Gooch added: “Things always happened to Dickie in the field. At Headingley, once they had a leaking pipe, right where he was standing, coming up like a sprinkler. It could only happen to him.”
BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew said of Dickie: “He was a terrific umpire, the players loved him.”
Others taking to social media to pay respects ranged from ex-Prime Minister David Cameron to former Liverpool and Nottingham Foreststriker Stan Collymore.
Dickie was born in Barnsley — where he still lived before his death, although he swapped a two-up, two-down terrace with outside toilet for a luxury 16th-century four-bedroom cottage on the edge of the Pennines.
His dad Harold worked in the coal mines from the age of 13 until 65, but wanted better for his son.
Dickie was a character, always fun. He was respected, admired and loved. A cricket icon.
Sir Geoffrey Boycott
Dickie said: “My father would not let me go down the mine. ‘No way!’ he said. He instilled in me that I would play sport for a living.
“He would get up at four each day and go to the pit and when he came home in the afternoon, although tired, would spend hours with me playing cricket and football.”
Dickie’s teenage years at Barnsley Cricket Club were happy ones, as were the friendships he made with Boycott and Parkinson.
He wept as he recalled his final conversation with Parky, the day before his friend’s death in August 2023, aged 88.
Dickie said: “We cracked a few jokes together, we had a few tears in our eyes and we said goodbye, goodbye to each other at the end of the phone call as if we had this feeling that we wouldn’t see each other again and we said goodbye and that was it.
“It was so sad when I heard the news [of his death]. I slumped in my chair and shed tears.”
Another childhood pal was Tommy Taylor, the England and Manchester United centre forward, who died in the Munich air crash of 1958.
Two years earlier, Dickie had made his first-class debut for Yorkshire as a right-hand batsman.
Fervent royalist
He left the club after three years, and spent three more years with Leicestershire before a knee injury forced him to hang up his bat and he switched to umpiring.
He became the first umpire to attract queues of autograph hunters and was so popular with the females that women hung pairs of pants on his statue in his home town.
So popular was he in Barnsley that a local car dealership gave him a motor emblazoned with his name, urging drivers to follow him to their showroom. On the driver’s side they painted him sat at the wheel in his umpiring whites.
Dickie was a fervent royalist who met Queen Elizabeth II 29 times and remembered the time he had lunch with her in 1990.
He also told how he was so nervous about lunch that he turned up at the gates of Buckingham Palace more than four hours early.
He said: “The Queen laughed when I told her and said, ‘You better have a drink’.
“Prince Edward joined us, we had a magnificent lunch, and then it was just the Queen and I in the lounge all afternoon.
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Dickie officiated in 66 Test matches and 69 One Day Internationals, including three World Cup finalsCredit: AFP
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Dickie in 1985 match against Australia at Old TraffordCredit: Getty
“She had a lovely sense of humour. We talked about cricket and horse racing. She said, ‘We think the world of you and we think you do a good job’. That were the best day of my life.”
The pair then kept in touch. “I had a letter from her a fortnight before she died,” Dickie said after her death in September 2022, aged 96.
“She asked about my health, ‘How are you keeping?’, I used to write back and say, ‘You need to keep going, Ma’am. You’ve got to get there — 100 if you can.
“She was the rock of this country. Magnificent.”
It was just the Queen and I in the lounge all afternoon. We talked about cricket and horse racing. She said ‘We think the world of you and we think you do a good job’. That were the best day of my life.
Dickie Bird
Dickie was an ambassador for the Children’s Heart Surgery Fund at Leeds General Infirmary and is expected to leave his money to kids’ hospitals after being reduced to tears during visits across the UK.
It is not known how big his estate is but humble Dickie — who counted a £5 glass of wine at his local restaurant as a treat — donated £35,000 to London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital, £70,000 to Barnsley Hospital and £30,000 to the children’s fund at Leeds General.
He said: “When I visit these hospitals and see sick little babies needing surgery, or cut from their groin to their neck after heart operations, I break down in tears. I am not ashamed to admit it.”
His money-spinning, self-titled autobiography sold more than a book about Princess Diana, after her death the same year.
But ever-modest Dickie said: “Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would go to the bestsellers’ list, and beat even Diana’s book.”
His devotion to cricket left little time for much else, and he admitted he regretted never marrying and having children.
He said during the Covid lockdown: “If I miss having something in life, it’s having a family. I’ve had girlfriends. I nearly married twice. But I never married because in cricket you are never at home. I thought it would never work.
“It would have been wonderful to have a lad and watch him play. I missed that. But you can’t have everything. I gave myself to cricket, and it has given me a real good life.”
CELEB TRIBUTES POURED IN
Graham Gooch: “We all remember him as a brilliant umpire, respected all over the world. He got on with all the players. We didn’t always agree with his decisions but he was a good umpire if you were a batter. You had to be a plumb for him to give you out [LBW].”
David Cameron: “So sorry to hear that the great Dickie Bird has pulled stumps. He was a national treasure and I was fortunate to have shared some hugely enjoyable times with him over the years. At 92, he had a good innings. Farewell, friend.”
Stan Collymore: “For several generations his name simply meant cricket, such was his association with the sport he served so well and loved so much. Rest in peace, Dickie.”
Jonathan Agnew: “Mishaps would occur. Bad light would always come when Dickie was umpiring. The pitch flooded one time because there was a problem with the drainage system. He took players off once because it was too light at a Test match at Old Trafford as sunlight was shining off the glass roof.”
Piers Morgan: “He loved the game with a rare all-consuming passion and the game loved this brilliantly professional, ebullient, emotional and perfectionist Yorkshireman.”
She was one of the most successful comics of her time in Britain and was once dubbed the “funniest woman in the world”
Hylda Baker died penniless(Image: ITV)
Hylda Baker, a beloved BBC actress and comedian, sadly passed away penniless despite her decades of fame and a successful stint on the hit ITV sitcom Nearest and Dearest.
The talented Hylda first graced the stage at the tender age of 10 and was already producing her own shows by the time she turned 14.
She became a household name after appearing on the BBC show Good Old Days in 1955, which paved the way for her own television series, Be Soon, in 1957. This was followed by her own sitcom, The Best of Friends, in 1963.
Hylda stood out as one of the most successful female comics in Britain during an era dominated by male comedians. However, she is perhaps best remembered for her portrayal of Nellie Pledge in Nearest and Dearest from 1968 until 1973.
Despite her incredible fame, which included roles in films like Saturday Night and Sunday Morning and the musical Oliver!, Hylda tragically didn’t have a penny to her name when she passed away. Known for bringing joy to others through her performances, her personal life was unfortunately filled with hardship, reports the Daily Record.
One BBC star died without a penny to her name(Image: ITV)
Hylda married Ben Pearson in 1929, but their marriage fell apart after Hylda suffered two ectopic pregnancies. The couple legally separated four years later in 1933, according to the Express.
Tragedy struck again for the actress when she was hit by a passing car in 1961, leaving her injured. After suing the driver for damages, she was awarded just over £4,000 in 1965.
In 1971, six years later, her chauffeur nicked £2,500 of her money and legged it, only to be nabbed three months later with a mere £45 left of the stolen cash.
At the age of 67, Hylda began showing signs of cognitive decline.
She had to rely on cue cards to remember her lines for the later series of Nearest and Dearest, and her acting career came to a halt when she broke her leg after a fall on set and decided to take legal action against production company LWT following the injury.
Hylda was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and moved into Brinsworth House retirement home in 1981 when she was 76.
She died in 1986 at Horton Psychiatric Hospital in Surrey from bronchial pneumonia.
Despite all her fame and success, she tragically spent her final years penniless and “lonely and forgotten”, according to Pride of Manchester, with fewer than 10 people reported to have attended her funeral.
As the most westerly village in the UK, this Cornish village has a claim to fame that is enough in and of itself to have visitors flocking to its doors
Sunset on the beach at Kenidjack Valley(Image: Getty)
As Britain’s most westerly village, this Cornish settlement boasts a unique distinction that alone draws countless visitors to its shores.
Blessed with a temperate climate, exotic gardens, and miles of stunning coastline dotted with independent retailers, St Just offers a full day of exploration and attractions.
Situated close to Land’s End and merely eight miles from Penzance, this picturesque spot is also rich in heritage, having once served as the heart of the tin mining trade.
At St Just’s core stands Plain-an-Gwarry, a theatre that staged performances during medieval times.
Today it plays host to the Lafrowda Festival, according to Cornwall Guide, reports the Express.
Free-roaming ponies in Nanjizal Bay(Image: Getty)
Within the grounds of St Just Church, visitors will discover magnificent exotic gardens that have thrived in the Roseland peninsula’s gentle climate.
Hailed as one of Britain’s most stunning churchyards by poet John Betjeman, it descends towards an enchanting creek.
The location also sits alongside Cape Cornwall, which seafaring navigators of yesteryear mistook for ‘Land’s End’, marking where the English Channel and St Georges Channel converge.
Heinz Ltd purchased the cape for the nation in 1987 before gifting it to the National Trust to commemorate the firm’s centenary, according to Visit Cornwall.
Local residents have nicknamed the coastal rocks “General De Gaul in the bath” due to their distinctive silhouette when seen from the mainland. Every year, a swim event takes place covering the mile between the rocks and the cove.
If you’re up for a dip in the sea, you might spot some grey seals frolicking in the waters.
The South West Coast Path is a treasure trove of hidden beaches waiting to be discovered. Many of these picturesque spots were featured in the BBC’s hit series Poldark, which delves into the area’s smuggling history.
The cliffshide ruins of the engine house of Botallack tin mine(Image: Getty)
Locations include Botallack, Levant and Geevor.
According to Tripadvisor, you can embark on a tour of these filming locations.
One visitor shared their five-star experience: “We had such a lovely day with Becky. She was so knowledgeable not just about Poldark but about the history and culture of Cornwall. We also had a stop at the Minack Theater which was fantastic and although not related to Poldark was a unique piece of Cornish history that was so fun to explore. 10/10 would highly recommend.”
Botallack mine is another must-visit site, earning high praise on Tripadvisor. The stunning views offer a glimpse of a jagged and dramatic coastline.
Another visitor gave the experience five stars, saying: “Incredible views of the remains of the Crowns, Cornish engine houses perched on the cliff edge. Right on the SWCP coast path, a path leads down to the engine house or there are benches at the top of the path where you can have a picnic and enjoy the view.”
They added: “Nearby Botallack Counthouse (National Trust) is a café which serves home made pasties and cakes and has games to entertain children. Large car park (pay and display, National Trust members free). A fabulous place to visit in any weather, in hazy summer sun or in passionate winter storms.”
Gheorghe Hagi, who played for the Romania national team for 17 years, bought the IAKI Conference & Spa Hotel in 1999 and has given the hotel a big makeover since then.
Now, it has 122 spacious rooms and apartments with rates starting at €60 (£52.04).
Thanks to its location on the Mamaia strip, the hotel has either seafront or lake views.
The hotel has a first-class spa with a hot tub, yoga room, room for spin classes and a wet and dry sauna.
There are outdoor and indoor pools too and even access to a private beach.
Take a bite out of Romania – there’s much more to it than the legend of Dracula
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It has a private beach with plenty of sun umbrellasCredit: Alamy
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There’s a first class spa with beds to lounge on as well as a hot tub and saunaCredit: iaki.ro
The IAKI beach has 220 sun loungers and umbrellas and a volleyball court.
The IAKI has three dining areas too, the Coriolis is open all-year round, has traditional Romanian food including plenty of seafood, and meat like beef tenderloin and lamb chops.
The Ballroom restaurant is where buffet meals are served for guests during the summer period.
IAKI Casino is usually reserved for special occasions, like birthdays, weddings and baptisms.
As for where to get a drink, guests can check out the Piano Bar, Sunrise Bar as well as the bar on the beach.
As the hotel is owned by a former footballer, there is of course a football pitch where both staff and guests can play.
On Tripadvisor, the hotel is rated number one in Mamaia.
One guest wrote: “It has been our 4th visit here and, as usual, the view towards the sea was magnificent, the room was prepared in advance with a baby cot for our daughter, food was excellent.
“I had the chance to see the owner in person again: Gheorghe Hagi, the best Romanian footballer of all time!”
Another added: “Our best memory represents the fact that we met “the king”- Gheorghe Hagi at the front desk and at the hotel’s bar. We took a photo with him and he gave us an autograph.”
It’s easy to get there too, with Wizz Air, you can fly direct from London Luton to Constanta Kogalniceanu from £23.
Crime+Investigation UK will debut Laura Whitmore on Britain’s Killer Teens on Monday, 8th September at 9pm, delving into some of the nation’s most disturbing teenage murder cases. The host will examine Britain’s most harrowing youth crimes as she seeks to tackle the pressing question of why these tragedies occur.
Featuring exclusive chats with family members alongside experts and investigative teams, the documentary series will also explore whether measures can be taken to prevent future devastating killings. Across five episodes, each programme will spotlight a different case.
Laura Whitmore investigates some of Britain’s killer teens including a Dexter copycat killer as she returns to screens(Image: Crime+Investigation)
From a Dexter-inspired murderer to a teen who slaughtered his own parents before departing on holiday whilst leaving their corpses behind, reports OK!. But who exactly is Laura Whitmore?
Celebrity spouse
Laura Whitmore is married to comedian Iain Stirling, who is renowned for providing the voiceover for the hit Love Island reality programme. Their relationship flourished in 2017 when reports emerged of the pair enjoying a “secret relationship”.
Following months of rumours, it was finally confirmed the duo were flourishing as a couple, with both taking to their social media platforms to become ‘Instagram official’.
Since that time, they frequently share sweet photographs of themselves and their family. In 2018, Laura and Iain took the plunge and moved in together, documenting their moving journey online.
Speculation was soon rife when Laura was seen sporting a ring on her finger. The dynamic duo have been spotted working together on Love Island and also launched their own podcast, Murder They Wrote as their relationship goes from strength to strength.
Laura and her husband Iain Sterling(Image: Getty)
Secret Wedding
It wasn’t until 2021 that Laura dropped a bombshell that left fans stunned. She posted on Instagram: “A year ago Iain asked me to marry him and we had the most magical, perfect ceremony.
“We loved having it to ourselves. We had been planning the perfect celebration and I will forever be so thankful that’s what we got. We have never spoken publicly about our engagement or wedding.
“Back at the time we never felt the need to say anything as it’s all such a personal experience. We also were too busy enjoying it! We’ve never shared this picture before now but a lot of people have contacted us and congratulated us the last month with good intentions so here’s to good news!””
OK! previously reported that Laura shared an unseen wedding photo on her anniversary which featured the stylish shoes she wore to walk down the aisle. The monochrome snap showcased the Jimmy Choo heels she donned on her big day, simply captioned: “11.11”.
Laura Whitmore will return to screens with a brand new true crime series(Image: Karwai Tang/WireImage)
Private Family Life
Despite her high-profile career, Laura keeps her family life away from the spotlight. She occasionally shares snippets of her private life with her followers on social media, including the birth of their first daughter in 2021 and glimpses into their uniquely decorated home.
In a humble Instagram post announcing the arrival of their daughter, Laura expressed: “thanks for all the kind messages at this time. We are in love.”
As previously reported by Mirror, their stunning home is filled with distinctive designs and vibrant patterns, creating a light and airy atmosphere. During lockdown, fans were treated to a look inside their main residence when the couple appeared on Celebrity Gogglebox, offering viewers a glimpse into their off-screen lives.
Presenting Career
Laura Whitmore is a well-known Irish broadcaster, author, and actress. Fans will remember her from her time as the presenter of Love Island before she stepped down in 2022, as well as her role on I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here! Now!
The star also hosted her own radio show, The Laura Whitmore Show, and podcasts Murder They Wrote and Castaway. Now, Laura is set to present the brand new series Britain’s Killer Teens, aiming to give a voice to victims and their families.
Laura Whitmore on Britain’s Killer Teens, starts Monday 8th September 9pm on Crime+Investigation.
The Bake Off contestant has over 400k followers on TikTok thanks to this unusual hobby, which may soon feature in the hit show
The Great British Bake Off returns to screens tonight, with a new batch of 12 contestants all ready to be introduced in the first episode. While this will be the first step into the spotlight for most of the bakers, one is already famous thanks to his peculiar hobby.
Iain Ross, 29, is a baker from Belfast who only started baking in his early 20s but has already amassed over 400k followers on TikTok. In his videos, which have attracted millions of likes, Iain paints musicians’ faces and album covers onto his bakes using edible foot colouring.
Taylor Swift, Queen, Oasis and more have all been painted on to a variety of baked goods, but most commonly bread. “It’s a really fun hobby to have a clash of worlds,” Iain told BBC Radio Ulster. “I have my baking and my love of music so I try to marry the two together the best I can.”
Bake Off contestant Iain Ross paints musicians onto his bakes(Image: Instagram)
After he posted the news that he was joining the next series of Bake Off to his Instagram and TikTok, Iain’s fans flocked to the comments to share their excitement. One wrote: “This is so epic, I’ve been following you for so long, congrats!”
Another commented: “Best music taste to ever touch Bake Off and you’re amazing at baking.” Many also asked Iain to bring his signature artistic decoration to the show.
However, it’s not certain Iain will make it to Bread Week, as the teaser for the first episode shows a struggle for the Irish baker. In the ‘first look’, Iain is trying to mend his cake, which has fallen apart in the tent.
Reacting to his chocolate cake, he’s heard saying: “Oh God! Urgh! It’s just fallen apart.” He is then shown to scrape bits from the tray in an effort to put the cake back together.
Cake Week on Bake Off is a rough start for some(Image: ITV)
When the footage was shown on Lorraine Kelly’s talk show, the presenter teased that it looked like something she would bake and that it hasn’t started well for the baker.
Iain himself has described his time on the show as “chaotic”, telling the BBC that he thinks it will make good TV.
“The main word from my experience is chaotic,” he said. “I have a lot of plates spinning at a lot of times and if there’s one thing about me it’s that I’m not very good with multiple plates spinning, but I think it’ll make for good viewing.”
Luckily for Iain and his fans, it seems many of the contestants may have struggled in tonight’s episode. The teaser for Cake Week promised wonky cakes, over-baking and cake that Paul Hollywood says “looks like it fell out of a tree”.
Alison Hammond encourages viewers to be supportive of Bake Off contestants(Image: Channel 4 / Love Productions)
Before the show began, Bake Off host Alison Hammond asked viewers to be supportive of the bakers, as it can be difficult when bakes go wrong. In a video message, she told fans: “It’s a magical experience they’ll never forget. What you don’t see at home are all the hours of hard work they put in behind-the-scenes.”
“So when something goes wrong in the tent, it can really hit hard. They’re all real people with real feelings who love baking and they’re just trying their best. So please, remember – it might look easy from the sofa at home but in the tent, it’s a whole other story.”
The Great British Bake Off returns tonight on Channel 4 at 8pm.
The picturesque village is home to miles of sandy beaches and stunning coastal walks, as well as a number of historical sites that have been featured in artwork
Heysham Village is a stunning coastal town that has a fascinating history, dating back to Viking times(Image: James Maloney/LancsLive)
This quaint seaside village is located less than two hours from a major city – and you might recognise it from this very famous album cover.
Heysham, a seaside village less than two hours’ drive from Liverpool, is a hidden gem that music fans will find familiar. Nestled just a stone’s throw away from Lancaster, this small but mighty village boasts stunning sandy beaches and a rich history.
Despite its size, Heysham offers sprawling grasslands, lush woodlands, and dramatic coastlines that have graced artwork and even a famous album cover. One of the most visited spots in Heysham is St Peter’s Church, a historical marvel dating back to the Saxon period. Believed to be one of Lancashire’s oldest churches, it’s a must-see for history buffs.
Heysham is less than a two hour drive from Liverpool(Image: Robert Czyzewski via Getty Images)
Open throughout the week, the church provides free guided tours from Monday to Thursday between 11am and 3pm. It also houses significant artefacts, including the Viking gravestone known as the ‘Heysham Hogback’.
Just a short stroll from St Peter’s Church, you’ll find Heysham’s rock-cut tombs. These water-filled stone-hewn graves were famously featured on the artwork of Black Sabbath’s Best of Black Sabbath album in 2000, reports the Liverpool Echo.
Thought to have been created around the eleventh century, these graves served as the final resting place for high-status individuals.
These graves are located adjacent to the ruins of St. Patrick’s Chapel, which overlooks the breathtaking coastline of Morecambe Bay.
The village featured in an album cover(Image: Robert Czyzewski via Getty Images)
The chapel holds a Grade I listing in the National Heritage List for England, signifying its importance and the extra protection it receives due to its age and condition. Despite this, the site, managed by the National Trust, welcomes visitors.
According to local folklore, Ireland’s patron saint, St Patrick, was shipwrecked and established a chapel here in the fifth century. The striking sandstone building is believed to have been constructed at least two centuries after the original.
Apart from its captivating history, the village boasts stunning coastal views that are ideal for a seaside stroll.
The National Trust suggests visiting its coastline to witness the breathtaking sunrises and sunsets as the sky transitions from blue to vibrant oranges and pinks.
British landscape artist JMW Turner was reportedly inspired by the village’s remarkable scenery when he painted ‘Heysham and Cumberland Mountains’ in 1818.
The coastal village provides all the expected amenities, including independent cafes and restaurants.
A SEASIDE town made famous by former world heavy-weight boxing champ Tyson Fury is on the ropes.
Gritty ITV cop drama ‘The Bay’ attracts five million viewers, but has done nothing to restore Morecambe’s fortunes as a tourist and holidaying hotspot.
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Graffiti covers the Outdoor Market space in MorecambeCredit: NB PRESS LTD
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A man lays smoking with a can next to himCredit: NB PRESS LTD
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Morecambe has long been a popular beach destinationCredit: NB PRESS LTD
Dilapidated buildings, boarded up shops, closed hotels, and vandalised shopping arcades blight the Lancashire seaside resort.
And homeless down-and-outs, swigging cans during the day, plague the streets.
Morecambe FC has been besieged with talks of going under after 105 years, with the beleaguered club enduring a chaotic summer since being relegated from League Two, with staff and players not even paid.
Some football club workers have been offered food parcels. As it stands, the National League club is on the brink of extinction, though takeover talks continue.
Eden Project Morecambe – a sister to the popular Eden bio-spheres in Cornwall – is hoped to breath new life into the area and bring tourists flocking back to the resort. But that is at least three years away.
Crime and unemployment rate in Morecambe
Morecambe is the second most dangerous medium-sized town in Lancashire and among the top 20 overall in England and Wales, according to CrimeRate.
The most common crimes in Morecambe are violence and sexual offences, with 45 reports per 1,000 people – which is 1.87 times the national average for the 12 months up to May 2025.
For the same period, Lancashire Police recorded 475 reports of criminal damage and arson in the town – or 13 per 1,000 people.
And the crime rate for drugs is 1.26 times the national average at 3.87 reports per 1,000.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate in Lancaster and Morecambe, sits at 4.4 percent, three percent higher than the average for North West England.
Brother and sister Liam, 14, and Lola, nine, were visiting Morecambe from their native Canada and were drawn to the vandalised and graffitied former shopping arcade, which is fenced off to the public due to a rusted and collapsing roof.
They were accompanied by their aunt and nan Kay Robinson, 73, who remembers the good old days of the seaside resort.
It used to boast such attractions as the Super Swimming Stadium lido, the pleasure park Frontierland and sea life centre Marineland.
“It’s gone down hill since the 1970s,” said Kay.
“There used to be fairgrounds, illuminations, an amazing swimming pool, there used to be everything. We liked coming here better than Blackpool.
Tyson Fury, 36, claims he will ‘NEVER’ return to boxing just weeks after announcing comeback and hints at new career
“Even the outdoor market has gone now. Everything has gone or is going now.
“You can’t go round the pubs like you used to, it used to be a great night out around Morecambe, but not now.”
Visitors love taking selfies beside the statue of the late comedian Eric Morecambe, which was unveiled on the promenade by Queen Elizabeth II in 1999.
Holidaymakers Paul and Alison Johnson, from Glossop, posed with grandson Ralphie, eight, as they enjoyed the summer sunshine.
Paul, 59, who has visited Morecambe over the years, said: “It seems to be getting cleaner, now this sea front has been done up.
“We have a caravan near here.”
Alison, 51 said: “It’s lovely in the sunshine.”
But directly opposite the iconic bronze tourist attraction stands reminders of the resort’s decline.
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Closed shops and rundown buildings blight the townCredit: NB PRESS LTD
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Rubbish piled outside closed cafe Martin’sCredit: NB PRESS LTD
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The shuttered up Bayside EmporiumCredit: NB PRESS LTD
Standing side-by-side, Eric’s Cafe and the Tivoli Bar, are closed down at what should be the height of the summer season.
And the town centre, just a streets from the prom, is lined with abandoned shops, closed down pubs and eateries and empty banks.
A homeless rough sleeper was slouched by the entrance to the tired Arndale Centre, which stands beside a boarded-up pawnbrokers and opposite empty shops and the shell of the former Santander bank.
In a shaded doorway down a run-down street a couple of scruff-looking men, one sitting beside his crutches, were swigging from cans of super-strength Oranjeboom beers, as parents and kids walked past.
Back on the sunny promenade where the popular outdoor swimming pool, which used to be home of the Miss Great Britain beauty contest between 1956 and 1989, John and Lynda Ritchie were taking a stroll.
“This is where they are going to build the Eden centre, if it ever gets off the ground,” said John, 80, visiting with wife Lynda, 80, from Kendal.
“It can’t come soon enough. It’ll hopefully save the town.”
“We used to bring our lads here to swim in the pool, but it is such a shame what it is like now,” said Lynda.
“Hopefully things will change when the Eden Project comes, but I wish they’d hurry up, I’d like to see it.
“The place has very much gone down hill, as many seaside towns have since people started to go abroad.”
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First-time visitors David and Lynn Buswell, from LeicestershireCredit: NB PRESS LTD
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Canadian visitors Liam and LornaCredit: NB PRESS LTD
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Festival Market trader Karen Brown, 66, has been running her stall The Beauty Box for 50 yearsCredit: NB PRESS LTD
First-time visitors David and Lynn Buswell, from Leicestershire, were walking their Staffie Tyson – aptly named as Morecambe is the home town of former world heavyweight champ Tyson Fury – along the prom after parking up their motorhome.
“Never been here before. I’m here because my mum and dad had a photo taken with the Eric Morecambe statue and we want to recreate it,” said David, 64, a music producer.
“It looks like an average, typical English seaside town, nothing special. Okay for the kids, but not us.
“We will be parking up the motorhome for one night – not for two though. I think we will be moving on.”
Lynn, 69, said: “We have just come down from the Lake District, which was beautiful. This is a stark contrast.”
South of the town centre, the Cumberland View pub is boarded up.
Beside the former almost seafront railway station – closed now and turned into a pub – is the Festival Market.
Trains, no longer full or excited holiday makers and day trippers from West Yorkshire, now pull in to a dowdy wooden platform next to a boarded up former restaurant 500 yards of more inland.
Festival Market trader Karen Brown, 66, has been running her stall The Beauty Box for 50 years, and has seen the decline of the town. “The place has gone really down hill since the glory days. The job is tougher now,” said Karen.
“I don’t do too bad in summer with the tourists. They come to buy things. But, in winter, the locals don’t tend to to use the market. They should do, they’ll whinge if it goes.
“The visitors come round saying what a lovely market it is and they appreciate it, but the locals, not so much.”
Fellow market trader Julie Norris, 58, has run sweet stall, Sweet Tweets, for five years.
“I’m finding trading in Morecambe alright because all the other sweet shops are shutting down,” said Julie.
“The kids are coming here for their holiday treats. And we also do well from people coming here to buy snacks and sweets before going to the cinema next door.
“They don’t want to pay rip-off cinema prices so stock up here before going to see a film.
“I love working here and if the Eden Project comes it will be fantastic. It’ll be very family orientated.”
Tyson Fury
Fury is arguably the town’s biggest name, living in the area with his wife Paris and their seven children there.
Speaking last year, he told TNT: “17 years, it’s become my home. A new home, away from home. I actually cast myself now as from Morecambe, I don’t say I’m from Manchester anymore.
“It’s been keeping me grounded – I have always likened Morecambe to Alcatraz island… because if you go 200m that way you hit the sea, and if you go a couple of miles that way you hit the M6 motorway, and you’ve got to drive an hour to get to any city.
“It’s a big island, there’s not much distractions, there’s not much stuff to do, you can’t spend your money here because there’s nothing to spend it on, apart from Asda… That’s it, really, it’s a good place for a fighter…
“It’s kept me grounded, away from all the limelight.”
He added that locals are very respectful and leave him alone when he goes for runs. “If I go to any other city in the world, oomph Elvis has landed.”
The “Gypsy King” has previously expressed interest in buying Morecambe FC and told talkSPORT: “I was thinking I invest X amount of millions in them. Basically throw it at them and keep them going up. I’ve been offered to buy Morecambe Football Club.
“I own all the training facilities anyway and the training gym. So who knows? You might be looking at a football club owner.”
The Tyson Fury Foundation sits in the north-east corner of the football club’s Mazuma Mobile Stadium.
However, theTelegraphhas claimed that Fury currently has no interest in buying the Shrimps.
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Fury running along the promenade at Morecambe in 2022Credit: Alamy
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The seafront is often packed with tourists in the summer
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A sunken boat on the beachCredit: NB PRESS LTD
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Lynda and John Ritchie were taking a stroll along the promenadeCredit: NB PRESS LTD
A general view shows the Perito Moreno Glacier in Los Glaciares National Park, southern Argentina, in 2016. The glacier, one of Patagonia’s top tourist attractions, is entering a phase of rapid retreat that experts say is irreversible. Photo by EPA
Aug. 22 (UPI) — Argentina’s iconic Perito Moreno glacier, one of Patagonia’s top tourist attractions, is entering a phase of rapid retreat that experts say is irreversible.
For decades, the massive ice formation was considered an exception. While most glaciers in the region were shrinking, Perito Moreno held a fragile balance. Its towering wall over Lake Argentino and dramatic ice ruptures — which attract large numbers of tourists from the city of El Calafate — made it one of the region’s most famous natural landmarks.
But a study published in Communications Earth & Environment has raised alarms. Led by German and Argentine scientists, the study found that the glacier has been retreating rapidly since 2019 after remaining nearly stable until then.
Between 2000 and 2018, its thinning rate was about 1 foot a year. That rate jumped to 18 feet a year between 2019 and 2024. In some areas, the glacier has retreated more than 2,600 feet in just five years.
The Perito Moreno glacier, located in Los Glaciares National Park, spans about 97 square miles, nearly one and a half times the size of Washington, D.C. Between 2018 and 2025, it lost about 0.7 square miles, equivalent to roughly 320 soccer fields.
Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981, it is one of the few glaciers in the world easily reached by land. That accessibility, along with its dramatic rupture and lake-damming events and the infrastructure built around it, has made it a major tourist attraction.
The study — which combined satellite data, airborne radar surveys and sonar measurements from the lake — also found that the glacier is losing contact with a subglacial ridge that historically provided stability. If the separation continues, the glacier could collapse and retreat several miles, driven by water building beneath the ice.
From a tourism perspective, the shift means the glacier’s iconic ruptures — the massive icefalls once thought eternal — could become more frequent, but now with the melancholy of knowing the spectacle may not last.
Scientists say the retreat is part of a “delayed response to climate change,” resulting from decades of warmer temperatures and reduced snowfall. Over the past three decades, average summer temperatures in the region have risen by 2.2 degrees Fahrenheit. The 2023-24 summer was the warmest in 30 years, reaching 52°F.
Los Glaciares National Park held about 150 active glaciers in 1850. By 2015, only about 26 remained.
A gorgeous UK beach dubbed one of the best in the world and frequented by travel influencers has had its public access cut off due to health and safety concerns
This popular beach has had its public access closed off(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
A Cornish beach once dubbed among the best in the world and which featured in BBC’s Poldark has had its public access cut off.
Situated in the far west of Cornwall, Pedn Vounder is known for its turquoise waters, secluded cove and unofficial capacity as a nudist beach. However, tourists and swimmers looking forward to enjoying its pristine waters during the heatwave were met with a rope cordoning the beach off.
A red sign by the National Trust, which manages the path down to the beach but not the beach itself, reads: “Danger. No Access.” According to the National Trust, the path has been closed off due to erosion, which has made the path unstable and has now resulted in a “near vertical” six-metre climb down.
Access to Pedn Vounder has been closed off due to safety concerns(Image: Getty Images)
It also added the sea at the beach is “dangerous due to rip currents” and that there have been “regular serious incidents involving the emergency services”.
Pedn Vounder has long been notorious for its difficulty to access, with a long walk from any parking spots followed by a steep pathway down.
The beach’s closure during the peak summer period has been met with dismay by locals in the nearby village of Treen, who said the beauty spot has been drawing a large number of visitors in recent years.
It was recently voted one of the top 10 most beautiful beaches in the world by EnjoyTravel.com, and has been a favourite stop for travel influencers.
Meanwhile, this July, the annual Times and Sunday Times Best UK Beaches guide featured it amongst its best beaches in the south west and it was also named the sixth best nudist beach in the UK, according to KAYAK.
The beach also featured on TV screens as the fictional Nampara Cove in the BBC’s historical drama Poldark, starring Aidan Turner. Rebecca Ley, 46, who visited the beach recently and grew up nearby, told The Times that the closure was “a real shame.”
She said: “Getting down was always a bit challenging, it’s definitely not one for flip flops, but I can’t say I noticed a massive difference from when I was a child.” She added that her nine-year-old had made it down “without difficulty”, as had about 100 other visitors that day.
A National Trust spokesperson told The Mirror: “Due to increasing coastal erosion, an unofficial and steep pathway across National Trust land leading to Pedn Vounder beach (not cared for by the National Trust) in Cornwall has become increasingly unsafe and is now temporarily closed.
“This decision has been made due to the significant increase in potential for serious injury and has been made in consultation with local authorities, emergency services and other partners.
“We understand this closure may disappoint visitors and the local community and have not taken the decision lightly. As a charity that promotes access to nature and culture we always try and maintain access wherever it’s possible to do so, but due to the increasing erosion undercutting the cliff we have made the difficult decision to close it.
“In the meantime, we encourage visitors to use nearby Porthcurno beach and to follow all local signage and safety advice. ”
Alnmouth in Northumberland is a beautiful seaside village with a dog-friendly beach, independent shops, and wildlife – and it’s just a stone’s throw away from Alnwick
The village is known for its colourful houses(Image: Getty)
A stunning coastal village mere minutes from the renowned Northumberland town of Alnwick has been praised by tourists for its peaceful shoreline, delightful independent retailers, and abundant wildlife.
Alnmouth is nestled within one of the county’s Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and its canine-friendly coastline ranks among most visitors’ preferred destinations.
Adventure seekers can enjoy rambles along St Oswald’s Way and Northumberland Coast Path, where a varied collection of wildlife can be observed.
The shoreline’s sand hills provide an excellent spot for birdwatching, and the location has even featured in Robson Green’s Weekend Escapes.
Alnmouth has also been captured on television as the imaginary settlement of Mardle in the ITV detective series Vera, reports the Express.
Dogs are allowed onto the beach, which visitors love(Image: Getty)
History enthusiasts can explore the Ferryman’s Hut in Alnmouth, recognised as the tiniest museum in Northumberland.
The Old School Gallery, dubbed a “hidden gem” and situated in a renovated village schoolhouse from 1872, displays fine art, printmaking, and illustrations.
Tourists celebrated the serenity of the coastline, with one posting on TripAdvisor: “Really lovely beach! Was nice and quiet when we went so was so peaceful. Great place to chill on a day out. Good fun wading in the water!”.
Another said: “Picturesque and peaceful beach. Great place for a long stroll on the beach and a walk round the village. Always love visiting here!” A third described it as an “amazing expanse of beach”, adding: “You can enjoy a lovely bracing walk along the sands. There are some great birds among the rocks at one end.”
Someone else posted: “We recently had the pleasure of stopping in Alnmouth for a week. We walked our dog every day on Alnmouth beach, the beach is simply stunning. It is one of the most beautiful I have ever been to, the sand is very soft and the scenery is amazing. It really is a great beach for dog walking and is dog friendly all year round.”
St Cuthbert’s Cross overlooks the estuary in Alnmouth(Image: Getty)
Alnmouth is also renowned for its row of vibrant houses, called Lovaine Terrace, which prove irresistible to photographers.
The village’s railway station provides a picturesque glimpse of these homes as your train arrives in Alnmouth, whilst you can also travel to Berwick-upon-Tweed from the station or catch a train southbound to Newcastle for a day out.
The high street features coffee shops, eateries, pubs, and gift shops whilst the Alnmouth Golf Club sits close by in Foxton Bay.
It was founded in 1869 and ranks as England’s fourth oldest golf club.
The famous town of Alnwick lies nearby, where tourists can explore its castle, the Alnwick Garden, and the archway of Bondgate Tower.
Alnwick also hosts a farmers’ market which takes place in the town square on the last Friday of every month.
A top five-star London hotel has been named the third best place to stay in the world – and it’s had guests such as the royal family and A-list celebrities come to stay
Important heads such as Queen Victoria and Kate Moss have stayed at this luxury London hotel(Image: Getty Images)
London is full of allure and charm so it’s no wonder one of the oldest and grandest hotels is a go-to favourite fit for royals and celebrities.
Claridge’s hotel in Mayfair still ranks as one of the world’s top places to stay – and named as one of the 50 greatest luxury hotels on Earth by luxury lifestyle guide Robb Report.
It’s the only UK hotel to make the cut, and came in impressively at third place, just behind Florence’s Collegio alla Querce in second, and Rosewood Amsterdam in first place. The historic five-star hotel was opened in 1821, and has been home to many iconic names including Queen Victoria and Kate Moss.
The hotel has 269 rooms, all fit for royalty, as well as a subterranean spa, a fancy gym and two very prestigious restaurants, making it a seriously luxurious place to lay your head.
Robb Report said: “This grande dame of the London hotel scene is a beloved, determinedly British institution that’s been part of English life for decades, yet it retains a youthful vigor.”
Claridge’s has one of the most expensive suites to book in London called the Royal Suite. A one-night stay in the regal room will set you back a staggering £21,600, but it’s your chance to live like royalty for the day. The Royal Suite does luxury in an old-school way, decked out with regal and historical motifs throughout.
From design elements reflecting the coronation of the late Queen Elizabeth II, to an original Gilbert and Sullivan grand piano in the lounge, and hand-painted national flowers by the artisans of de Gournay lining the dining room.
There is also a round-the-clock butler for all your needs during your stay. For a regular balcony room, prices start from around £1,269 per night, and while it’s pricey, guests have rated it an impressive 9.6 star rating.
One visitor said: “This was our first time at Claridges. Everything was top notch, our room 521 was stunning, a massive room with a really good size balcony. It’s not cheap, but, treat yourselves. Life’s short. We have already started saving again for another visit.”
A second commented: “The best place on earth. Luxurious, yet warm and welcoming. Staff and service like no other! 2nd to none!!”
And a third said: “We had a wonderful 2-night stay. The hotel was superb and the staff were impeccable. The experience we had in the hotel restaurants and bars was amazing.”
A woman who lives on one of Scotland’s most visited islands and shares her everyday life online has opened up on how it may not match what many tourists imagine
A woman who lives on Scotland’s most popular island has shared how it’s not always as nice as tourists think (file)(Image: Westend61 via Getty Images)
Scotland is renowned for its breathtaking terrain featuring peaks, such as the Scottish Highlands and Loch Ness. Countless visitors flock to the nation to experience its natural beauty and scenery, alongside attractions like historic castles.
The country is equally celebrated for its cultural heritage, made up of its diverse selection of whisky, tartan kilts, bagpipes and the traditional delicacy haggis. Scotland is believed to provide a tranquil retreat from England’s bustling cities, but one woman has revealed the stark truth about living on the nation’s most sought-after island, the Isle of Skye. Stretching 50 miles in length, it’s the biggest island in the Inner Hebrides, distinguished by its striking landscape and charming fishing communities.
Niamh Mackinnon, 22-years-old, documents her island life through clips on TikTok and YouTube.
In a recent TikTok upload, the Scottish local explained: “I live on the most popular island in Scotland and the reason we’re so popular is because of specific landscapes, one of them being the Old Man of Storr, so I thought today I would show you what it’s like at the height of summer because it might not be the picturesque, tranquil, peaceful dream that you are being sold online sometimes but we’ll see, let’s go.”
The Old Man of Storr is a soaring rocky formation on the Trotternish Ridge that is considered the most iconic hike on the Isle of Skye.
Niamh prepared for her journey to the beloved landmark, bundling up in several clothing layers, waterproof trousers and hiking boots.
As she arrived, Niamh was faced with rows of parked cars and dreary weather, prompting her to say: “I’m not trying to just complain in this vlog but the midges are so bad. I need to get a move on and look how busy it is.”
She embarked on the trek up the Old Man of Storr, but the conditions were far from ideal – grey skies, rain, fog, and a muddy path surrounded by grass.
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The young vlogger reflected on the changes over time: “I’m not even that old and there was a time when I was younger where you would come up here and know every single person that you passed. Tragic.”
Sitting amidst the bustle, Niamh shared her mixed feelings: “I’m just sitting here like looking at how busy it is and everything and I don’t know, this is when I start to feel a bit like hypocritical or like bad about how much I post Skye online because it also makes me sad seeing this place so busy when I remember a time when it was so quiet and peaceful.”
She continued, grappling with her emotions: “And of course it’s nice for other people in the world to get to experience this and it’s on my doorstep so I don’t wanna be greedy but yeah, it’s a weird feeling to be honest.”
Although the Old Man of Storr was the focus of her video, the fog meant it was barely visible.
Niamh concluded her video early, opting to head back down due to the wet conditions, crowds, and limited visibility of the Storr. She pointed out that this is “just the reality of Skye sometimes.”
Niamh’s TikTok video has racked up an incredible 2.4 million views, alongside thousands of likes and comments. A shocked viewer asked: “This is…the HEIGHT of summer???”
Another user shared their experience: “I know this weird feeling. It’s the same here in the Swiss alps.
“As a kid you knew almost everyone you met on a hike. Now it’s packed and most tourists don’t even say hello.”
A third remarked: “A lot of places seem to struggle with excessive tourism having a negative impact. Hope that a happy balance can be found for the area you live in.”
This beach isn’t everyone’s cup of tea — but there are plenty who love it
This one spot is one of the most overrated(Image: Oliver Strewe via Getty Images)
It just goes to show you can’t please everyone. One of the globe’s most celebrated beaches has been branded by some as actually being among the world’s biggest letdowns. Through examining over 100 internationally recognised coastal destinations via traveller feedback, Ibiza Summer Villas discovered that Bondi Beach leaves many visitors feeling underwhelmed.
Each location received ratings based on visitor comments, online search popularity across Google and TikTok, plus yearly precipitation levels at the destination.
The study uncovered that Australia’s Bondi Beach tops the charts for disappointment, with holidaymakers branding it “overrated” and “disappointing”.
Bondi can get very crowded(Image: imamember via Getty Images)
This shoreline claimed the crown for most underwhelming when comparing critical feedback against search popularity, though the figure remained modest at just 2.7% of reviews describing it as “disappointing” or “overrated” alongside 447,000 TikTok searches, reports the Express.
Excessive crowds, heavy commercialisation, and visitor exhaustion feature prominently in complaints, securing its position at fifth place on the overhyped rankings.
Bondi Beach is famous for its waves, coastline and naturally, the countless holidaymakers who descend upon this golden stretch in Sydney annually.
The area boasts tidal pools, a thriving food and drink scene featuring numerous cafés and pubs, plus an array of boutique and chain retailers.
The tidal pools at Bondi(Image: EyeEm Mobile GmbH via Getty Images)
Yet despite its stunning appearance, this destination doesn’t suit all tastes.
Tourists expressed frustration with the masses, with one individual posting on Tripadvisor: “I got the feeling that everyone who comes here comes for ‘been there, done that’ experience only. Crowded and overrated.”
One disgruntled visitor remarked: “Probably the most over rated beach on the planet. Crowded full of arrogant people and feels like everyone is in a bad mood.”
Another added: “I can’t see anything attractive about Bondi, except possibly closeness to the city. The place is so heavily overpopulated, with apartments everywhere you look. Concrete is everywhere. Where is the nature?”.
However, not everyone shared this sentiment, with some tourists being completely taken aback by the beach’s beauty.
One such tourist enthused: “It’s a vibrant, busy beach which is perfect for surfing and swimming. There are plenty of places to eat and drink along the beach and different walks that you can take along the coastline.”
Another penned: “Bondi Beach is an absolute icon! The golden sand, rolling waves, and buzzing atmosphere make it a must-visit in Sydney.
“The surf is amazing, but it can be dangerous if you don’t follow the flags and listen to the lifeguards-they’re there for a reason!”.
The BBC’s hit children show The Broom Cupboard saw the birth of many iconic presenters – now Josie D’Arby’s career has taken a surprising turn away from the cameras
Josie D’Arby found fame on the hit BBC show
In a tiny, cramped booth nestled away in the BBC studios, a whole host of famous TV presenters kicked off their careers.
Children’s TV show The Broom Cupboard began in 1985, replacing the shaky voiceover and still slides linking CBBC shows with real-life presenters.
Despite its practical beginnings it soon became a hit in itself, with the likes of Phillip Schofield, Debbie Flint and Zoe Ball all forging their famous TV personalities on the show.
Iconic characters Edd the Duck, Otis the Aardvark and Gordon the Gopher even joined in on the fun, with letters and drawings from viewers plastered across the walls of the tiny studio room.
Many of the programme’s stars look completely different these days, with brand new careers – and Josie D’Arby is no exception.
Jodie D’Arby went on to present shows like Top of The Pops(Image: Channel 5)
After her stint in The Broom Cupboard, Josie went on to become an award-winning presenter, becoming a well-known face on the likes of Songs of Praise, Top of the Pops, Inside Out and Cardiff Singer of The World.
In 1999, the 52-year-old star from Newport, Wales, became the youngest British woman to have her own chat show, titled Josie, on Channel 5.
Josie’s media ambitions didn’t stop there and she soon pivoted to acting, where she starred as Alisha Adams in Holby City and made guest appearances in Casualty and Doctor Who.
She’s even tried her hand as a quiz show contestant, appearing on Richard Osman’s House of Games and Pointless in 2022.
More recently, Josie ditched the cameras for a career that’s worlds away from presenting. The star has been pursuing her artistic talent, even showcasing her painting in a show at the Newport Museum Art Gallery in 2023.
Josie D’Arby and fellow TV presenter Vernon Kay in 2000(Image: Daily Record)
The BBC star started to take art more seriously after winning a televised art competition, South Wales Argus reports. The painting was called Less, which Josie said was “about how little it can take to make people happy.”
“Art is for everyone and I am happy if my piece is just a tiny little reminder that public galleries can be a space and a time to press pause, and enjoy a lovely space if you’re in the city,” she explained.
Before her TV career took off, Josie was said to be in a relationship with Hollywood actor Gerard Butler – known for iconic roles in 300, Law Abiding Citizen and London Has Fallen. The pair apparently briefly dated in 2005.
Andy Crane also has a different career nowadays(Image: BBC)
And Gerard isn’t her only celebrity flame, as Josie reportedly went on a date with actor Joseph Fiennes – the brother of Harry Potter legend Ralph Fiennes – in 2006.
Josie isn’t the only Broom Cupboard presenter who took a different career path. Andy Crane, 61, has been brightening up people’s days on Greatest Hits Radio since 2019 and he looks very different from his days on the CBBC show.
He is now residing in the picturesque location of Lake District. Andy, who was born in the seaside town of Morecambe, Lancashire, presents three hours of the best songs from the 70s, 80s and 90s on Greatest Hits Radio, including The Top 10 at 10 and Midnight Music Marathon.
Before hitting the radiowaves, Andy also presented children’s show, Motormouth, for ITV on Saturdays. He also featured on What’s Up Doc? and Challenge TV.
Netflix fans will spot a familiar face in the latest episode of its Trainwreck documentary series
Netflix fans will spot a familiar face in the latest episode of its Trainwreck documentary series(Image: NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Netflix enthusiasts will recognise a familiar face in the latest Trainwreck documentary series.
The anthology of Netflix’s Trainwreck revisits some of the most terrifying and peculiar incidents that once ruled mainstream media. The series and films, from their viewpoint, delve into everything from disastrous festivals and political scandals to and horrific cruises and reality TV catastrophes.
Today’s episode (July 22) was the Trainwreck P. I. Moms, which takes viewers back to 2010 and a reality TV show about a private investigation agency run by soccer mums. Commissioned by Lifetime Networks, the mums were a group of mothers who trained as private investigators for Chris Butler and it was set to air on TV.
The group investigated everything from exposing unfaithful husbands to insurance scams. However, the show never made it to air, reports the Mirror US.
Fans will recognise actor Carl Marino(Image: Lea Suzuki/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
In the documentary, cast and crew reveal the reality TV show and how Chris Butler was subsequently arrested on multiple felony charges.
At the conclusion of Trainwreck, it states: “On May 4 2012, Chris Butler pleaded guilty to selling drugs, extortion, robbery, and planting illegal wiretaps. He was sentenced to eight years in prison.”
According to Netflix’s Tudum: “In 2010, Lifetime commissions a reality TV series about a private investigation agency staffed by soccer moms. Everyone is convinced they have the next big hit on their hands, until the production crew starts to notice something is off.
“The moms’ investigations keep falling apart, leading to allegations of sabotage. At the same time, a mysterious informant accuses the agency’s boss of running an illegal drug operation on the side, abetted by a corrupt cop. For both the TV series and the criminals dealing drugs, it is only a matter of time before things fall disastrously apart.”
Trainwreck: P.I. Moms hears from Joanna Pernia and Theresa Moore-King(Image: Netflix)
Viewers will recognise a familiar face in the latest episode of Trainwreck. Actor Carl Marino, who was alleged to have “ruined” the show before it had the chance to get off the ground, makes an appearance.
But where might viewers have seen Carl Marino before?
Carl Marino portrayed a young Joe Kenda on Homicide Hunter. Homicide Hunter follows Lt Joe Kenda who spent 23 years in the police department where he caught criminals and solved hundreds of homicide investigations – and he shares his memories on the show.
However, fans will likely recognise Carl Marino from the Trainwreck documentary. One fan expressed their surprise on Reddit, saying: “I’m shocked and disappointed in Joe Kenda.”
Trainwreck: P.I. Moms is available to stream now on Netflix
