It was after Liverpool‘s 4-1 defeat by PSV Eindhoven at Anfield in November that Steven Gerrard said his old team just kept on “bleeding”.
A ninth defeat in 12 matches was inflicted that night, but Liverpool have stemmed the painful flow and are now 10 games unbeaten since being embarrassed by the Dutch champions.
With a spirited display in Thursday’s goalless draw against leaders Arsenal, Arne Slot’s side became the first visiting team to take a Premier League point at Emirates Stadium since Manchester City in September.
Conor Bradley’s first-half effort which struck the crossbar was the closest either side went to scoring, while Liverpool were the better team in the second half with 66% possession.
Without a recognised striker, however, they lacked a focal point to their attacks.
Had Hugo Ekitike been fit enough to feature, the visitors could perhaps have taken the win, though this was still a decent night for Liverpool.
After poor showings in recent draws against Leeds and Fulham, last season’s champions delivered a performance from which Slot can take plenty of positives.
Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch were solid in midfield and Milos Kerkez had arguably his best game for the club as he dealt superbly with the threat of Bukayo Saka.
Defensively, Liverpool prevented Arsenal having an attempt in the second half until stoppage time. Mikel Arteta’s side have now failed to score against Liverpool in both games this season.
“I think Arne Slot will be absolutely delighted with the performance of the players,” said ex-Reds forward Daniel Sturridge on Sky Sports.
“You’ve got to give him credit for his game plan. They weathered the storm for the first 20 minutes. After that, their work rate, how tenacious they were, it was a very experienced performance and they showed why they are champions.
“They lacked the cutting edge up front but had very positive moments. Jeremie Frimpong was a threat all night but missed the final pass. Florian Wirtz was very good, picked up a load of pockets and was very clean tonight. The list goes on. The defence was magnificent.
“They stopped attacks all night and I think the manager and players should be very proud of themselves. They performed exceptionally.”
AN expert has revealed how you can plan a Cotswolds staycation without breaking the bank.
More than 23million tourists visit the Cotswolds every year, so its no surprise that includes a few celebrities along the way.
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Arlington Row is popular in BiburyCredit: AlamySezincote House is a grand country house in the CotswoldsCredit: Alamy
Beyonce, Kourtney Kardashian and even Kamala Harris have all been spotted in recent months, while the Beckhams are known for having a house there.
But despite this, there is still a way to do it on a budget as well as away from the crowds.
Local Amanda Stecker, who founded Unique Cotswold Cottages, explained: “There’s a perception that the Cotswolds is reserved for the wealthy.
“But you can stay in charming self-catering cottages or friendly B&Bs for a fraction of the cost of high-end hotels, and still enjoy the villages, countryside, and experiences that make the area so special.
“Even smaller towns and lesser-known attractions have a charm all of their own, and often a story you’ll remember far longer than the postcard-perfect spots.”
Here are some of her top tips.
Stay in less well-known villages
She explained that while Bibury and Bourton-on-the-Water are the popular spots, there are nearby villages that are just as beautiful but far more affordable.
Amanda said: “Look at towns such as Moreton-in-Marsh, Stow-on-the-Wold, or Chipping Campden.
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“These locations still offer charm and convenience but at much lower rates.”
Not only did she say this could save as much as £300 for a three-night stay, but cottages mean you can head to the nearby deli for some groceries and cook yourself, saving you even more.
Visit during shoulder season
If you try and visit the Cotswolds during the summer holidays, expect huge crowds.
The same is during school half terms as well, especially in the spring and autumn.
But the villages are just as beautiful off season, usually November, January and February.
Not only is accommodation cheaper but you won’t be stuck in queues at the car park or the cafe.
Make the most of the free attractions
Just walking through many of the villages and towns feel like they are from a postcard, which is a great free activity.
Not only that, but heritage trails and even attractions like Broadway Tower are free to visit.
The Oxford Museum, Witney Museum and Swinford Museum are just some that are free too.
Amanda advises checking some of the local stately homes which can be affordable especially with a National Trust or English Heritage membership.
Otherwise there are often farmers markets or fairs which you can explore without spending a penny.
According to Amanda, this could save as much as £50 per person during a long weekend.
Check the local transport
Many of the small villages have train stations so you can hop between many of them.
For example, try the Cotswolds Line, which runs from Oxford to Kingham, with stops in Hanborough, Finstock, Charlbury and Shipton along the way.
Otherwise bus routes connect many of them as well, saving you on expensive car parking.
Amanda suggests this could save as much a £30 a day.
Sadio Mane’s equaliser earned 2022 champions Senegal a 1-1 draw with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in their heavyweight Africa Cup of Nations clash on Saturday.
Cedric Bakambu had given the Leopards the lead just after the hour mark in Tangier, but Al-Nassr forward Mane replied soon after, and the result ensures Senegal stay on top of Group D with one round of matches still to play.
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Both teams have four points, but Senegal have a superior goal difference before their final group match against Benin on Tuesday.
Benin have three points after a 1-0 victory earlier Saturday in Rabat against Botswana, who are bottom without a point or goal scored.
Sebastien Desabre’s Congolese side were seeking revenge after a dramatic defeat in the last meeting of the nations, in World Cup qualifying in September.
Senegal came from 2-0 down to win that encounter 3-2 in Kinshasa, a result which allowed them to go on and top their group to secure a place at next year’s finals in North America.
DRC were therefore forced to settle for second place, but can still make the World Cup if they win a one-off playoff against either New Caledonia or Jamaica in Mexico in March.
Senegal, fresh from beating Botswana 3-0 and seen as perhaps the biggest threat to Morocco’s chances of winning the title on home soil, had more of the possession and more chances on the day.
However, the Leopards took the lead in the 61st minute when Theo Bongonda – scorer of the only goal in their opening win against Benin – had a shot at the end of a fine move parried by goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, and Real Betis striker Bakambu pounced to convert the loose ball.
But Senegal were only behind for eight minutes, their equaliser coming after a superb run by teenage substitute Ibrahim Mbaye.
The 17-year-old Paris Saint-Germain winger Mbaye, who was born in France and represented them up to Under-20 level, recently committed his international future to Senegal, for whom he qualifies through one of his parents.
He replaced Ismaila Sarr just after Bakambu’s opener, and made the leveller from a penetrating run down the right.
Mbaye burst away from Arthur Masuaku, who appeared to injure himself going to tackle, and then saw his shot blocked by Lionel Mpasi, but Mane was on hand to score.
It was a 10th AFCON goal for former Liverpool superstar Mane, who is appearing at his sixth tournament.
Benin record first AFCON win in their history
Yohan Roche scored a deflected winner as Benin claimed a first-ever victory at the Africa Cup of Nations finals, with a 1-0 Group D success against Botswana in Rabat on Saturday.
Benin move to three points from their opening two games, level with Senegal and the DRC in the table, who meet in their second pool fixture in Tangier later on Saturday.
Benin took the lead in the 28th minute when Roche played a one-two in the box with captain Steve Mounie, and his shot from 9 metres (10 yards) took a wicked deflection off a defender and into the net.
Benin finally celebrated a victory at the continental finals on the 16th attempt, following their debut in 2004, and despite the fact that they were quarterfinalists in 2019. They also have five draws to go with 10 defeats.
Botswana offered little going forward, though Mothusi Johnson struck the crossbar with a curling free-kick that beat the goalkeeper but not the frame of the goal.
Benin had several chances to add to their score, though Botswana goalkeeper Goitseone Phoko made an excellent low stop to deny Tamimou Ouorou.
Dodo Dokou then worked an excellent shooting chance 11 metres (12 yards) from goal in added time at the end of the game, but fired over the bar with the goal gaping.
Botswana become the second team, after Benin, to lose their first five Cup of Nations matches after three defeats on debut in 2012 and an opening 3-0 loss to Senegal this year.
They meet DRC in their final pool game on Tuesday, while Benin face Senegal at the same time.
The top two teams in each pool, as well as the four best third-placed sides across the six groups, qualify for the Round of 16.
Conor McDermott-Mostowy would like to compete at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games. And he certainly has the talent, desire and ambition to do so.
What he lacks is the money.
“You could definitely reach six figures,” David McFarland, McDermott-Mostowy’s agent, said of what the speedskater needs annually to live and train while chasing his Olympic dream.
In the last year, finding that money has been increasingly difficult because McDermott-Mostowy is gay. Since President Trump returned to the White House in January, bringing with him an agenda that is hostile to diversity, equity and inclusion, sponsors who once embraced LGBTQ+ athletes and initiatives have turned away from the likes of McDermott-Mostowy, with devastating effect.
“There’s definitely been a noticeable shift,” said McFarland, who for decades has represented straight and gay athletes in a number of sports, from the NFL and NBA to professional soccer. “Many brands and speaking opportunities that previously highlighted LGBTQ athletes are now being pulled back or completely going away.”
“And these aren’t just symbolic partnerships,” he added. “They’re vital income opportunities that help athletes fund training, fund their competition and their livelihoods.”
The impact is being felt across a wide range of sports where sponsorship dollars often make the difference between winning and not being able to compete. But it’s especially acute in individual sports where the athletes are the brand and their unique traits — their size, appearance, achievements and even their gender preferences — become the things that attract or repel fans and financial backers.
“What’s most frustrating is that these decisions are rarely about performance,” McFarland said. “They’re about perceptions in the LGBTQ community. And that kind of fear-driven retreat harms everyone involved because, beyond the human costs, it’s also very short-sighted. The LGBTQ community and its allies represent a multitrillion-dollar global market with immense buying power.”
Travis Shumake, the only openly gay driver on the NHRA circuit, ran a career-high five events in 2022 and said he once had deals with major brands such as Mission Foods, Procter & Gamble and Kroger while using a rainbow-colored parachute to slow his dragster.
Kroger is the only one whose support has yet to shrink and as a result, Shumake had to keep his car in its trailer for the final eight months of the year.
And when he did race, his parachute was black.
Travis Shumake competes at the NHRA Nationals at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in November 2024.
(Marc Sanchez / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
“It was looking very optimistic and bright,” said Shumake, who spends about $60,000 for an engine and as much as $25,000 for each run down the dragstrip. “Being the only LGBTQ driver would have been very profitable. I ended last season with plans to run six to eight races. Great conversations were happening with big, big companies. And now it’s, I did one race, completely based on funding.”
“When you’re asking for a $100,000 check,” he added, “it’s very tough for these brands to take that risk for a weekend when there could be a large backlash because of my sexual identity.”
A sponsorship manager for a Fortune 500 company that had previously backed Shumake said he was not authorized to discuss the decision to end its relationship with the driver.
Daniel T. Durbin, director of the Institute of Sports, Media and Society at the USC Annenberg school, said there could be several reasons for that. A shrinking economy has tightened sponsorship budgets, for example. But there’s no doubt the messaging from the White House has had a chilling effect.
“It certainly makes the atmosphere around the issue more difficult because advertising and promotion tied to social change has come under fire by the Trump administration,” Durbin said.
In addition, corporate sponsors that once rallied behind diversity, whether out of conviction or convenience, saw the election results partly as a repudiation of that.
“We may be pissing off 50% of the population if we go down this path. Do we really want to do that with our brand?” Durbin said of the conversations corporations are having.
Backing away from causes such as LGBTQ+ rights doesn’t necessarily mean those corporations were once progressive and are now hypocritical. For many, the only color of the rainbow they care about is green.
“You’re trying to give people a philosophy who don’t have a philosophy,” Durbin said. “And even if they believe in causes, they’re not going to self-destruct their company by taking up a cause they believe in. They’re going to take it up in part because they think it’s positive for the bottom line.
“That’s the way it works.”
As a result, others have had to step up to try to help fill the funding gap. The Out Athlete Fund, a 501(c)(3) organization, was recently created to provide financial assistance and other support to LGBTQ+ athletes. McDermott-Mostowy was the first to get a check, after a November event in West Hollywood raised more than $15,000.
“We’re here to help cover their costs because a lot of other people aren’t doing it,” said Cyd Zeigler, a founding board member of the group and co-founder of OutSports, a sports-news website focused on LGBTQ+ issues.
That kind of retrenching, from deep-pocketed corporate sponsors to individuals giving their spare change, is threatening to derail the careers of athletes such as McDermott-Mostowy, who relies on his family and a modest U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee stipend for most of his living and training expenses. And since he’ll turn 27 before the Milano Cortina Olympic Games open in February, he may not be able to wait for the pendulum to swing back to have another chance at being an Olympian.
“I’m 99% sure I qualify for [food] stamps,” said McDermott-Mostowy, who medaled in the 1,500- and 500-meter events in October’s national championships, making him a strong contender for the U.S. heading into the Olympic long track trials Jan. 2-5 in Milwaukee. “What really saves us every year is when we travel. Almost all of our expenses are paid when we’re coming [with] the team.
“If I didn’t make the World Cup one year, I would be ruined.”
McDermott-Mostowy’s past success and his Olympic potential are what he pitches to sponsors, not that he’s gay. But that’s what makes him stand out; if he qualifies for Milano Cortina, he would be one of the few gay athletes on the U.S. team.
“I have always been very open about my sexuality. So that wasn’t really a debate,” he said.
“I have definitely heard from my agent that, behind closed doors, a lot of people are like ‘Oh, we’d love to support queer athletes. But it’s just not a good time to be having that as our public face.’”
The debate isn’t a new one, although it has evolved over the years. Figure skater Amber Glenn, who last year became the first out queer woman to win the U.S. championship, remembers gender preferences being a big topic of discussion ahead of the 2014 Games in Russia, where public support for LGBTQ+ expression is banned.
“At that point I wasn’t out, but I was thinking, ‘What would I do? What would I say?’” Glenn said. “Moving forward I hope that we can make it where people can compete as who they are and not have to worry about anything.
“Figure skating is unique. We have more acceptance and more of a community in the queer space. That’s not the case for all sports. We’re definitely making progress, but we still have a long way to go.”
Conor McDermott-Mostowy hopes to be competing for the U.S. in speedskating at the Milano Cortina Olympic Games in February.
(Dean Mouhtaropoulos / Getty Images)
In the meantime, athletes such as McDermott-Mostowy and Shumake may have to find ways to re-present themselves to find new sources of support.
“It’s not like I’m going back in the closet,” said Shumake, who has decided to rent out his dragster to straight drivers next year rather than leave it parked and face bankruptcy. “It’s just that maybe it’s not the main storyline at the moment. I’m trying a bunch of different ways to tell the story, to rebrand.”
“It’s been weird to watch,” added Shumake, who once billed himself as the fastest gay guy on Earth. “I know it will swing back. I also fear, did I make the right choices when I had a partnership with Grindr and I had rainbow parachutes? Like did I come on too strong?
“I’ve chosen to go the gay race car driver route and it’s just a little bit of a slowdown. I don’t think I need to blame myself. It’s just a fear people are having at the moment.”
A fear that’s proving costly to the athletes who can least afford to pay.
The call came Monday morning, just six days before USC was slated to play its final nonconference contest. In light of the deadly shooting on Brown’s campus, its men’s basketball team wouldn’t make the trip west. If Eric Musselman hoped to test his Trojans again before the new year, he and his USC staff had less than 24 hours to find a replacement.
Which is how USC found itself facing UC Santa Cruz, a 6-6 Division III team with losses to Chapman, Redlands and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, on Sunday. USC had no trouble overwhelming the Banana Slugs in a 102-63 victory. But given the scrambling it took to schedule Santa Cruz, the seamless victory was a welcomed one.
Musselman hoped, at first, that USC could find a D-1 program to take Brown’s place. But rules limiting the amount of regular-season games a D-1 program can play narrowed that list considerably. It left USC’s coaches counting by hand to decide which teams would fit.
They first considered all the local schools, only to find that none would work. They looked into the teams facing local schools — and couldn’t find any there, either. They even looked at Hawaii’s schedule, since schools that face Hawaii receive an exemption to allow for an extra game.
Only “a select few” schools fit any of the criteria, one person inside the program told The Times. Those teams could make it work because they had faced a D-II or D-III team at some point during the season which didn’t count against its games limit. That also meant, in some cases, buying out their game contract with that school.
“We couldn’t get them to do it,” Musselman said.
That was hardly the only complicating factor. By playing a Division I team, Musselman said, USC also ran the risk of impacting his team’s strength of schedule come tournament time. A worse matchup in its place Sunday — or even a smaller margin of victory — could mean paying the price.
So why not just cancel the game?
Awaiting USC after a brief holiday break are road trips to No. 2 Michigan and No. 6 Michigan State. Musselman didn’t want to start that gauntlet coming off an extra four days away.
“From a basketball standpoint,” Musselman explained, “we could ill afford tonight to start our break.”
The staff spoke with scheduling experts who agreed that there was one option that made sense for USC: Find a team from the lower ranks of college basketball who was willing to take a beating for the Trojans to fill out their non-conference schedule. That way, the game wouldn’t even register on USC’s tournament resume.
It was with all that criteria in mind that Musselman and his staff settled on Santa Cruz. But the Banana Slugs didn’t just roll over. They came out firing from three-point range, hitting eight in the first half alone. They would hit just eight shots inside the arc the entire game.
With seven minutes remaining in the first half, Santa Cruz was down just three points.
But eventually, USC’s advantage in every other category except outside shooting would catch up to Santa Cruz. The Trojans slammed home one alley-oop, then another, then another. They hit 18 of 19 to open the second half and dominated the glass, finishing with a 36-rebound advantage.
Leaders from Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso are hoping to find a way to repel advancing fighters linked to al-Qaeda. Al Jazeera’s Laura Khan explains what’s at stake at an Alliance of Sahel States summit in Bamako.
PHOENIX — Camdyn Glover used to be a quiet conservative. She worried what her teachers would think or if she would lose friends over her convictions. But she said something changed when Charlie Kirk was assassinated in September, and she started crying in her classroom at Indiana University while other students cheered and clapped.
“We can’t be silenced,” Glover decided.
Now she’s visiting Phoenix with her parents and brothers for this year’s Turning Point USA conference, the first to take place since Kirk’s death. Although the organization became a political phenomenon with its masculine appeals to college men, it’s also been expanding outreach to young women like Glover. The shift is poised to accelerate now that Turning Point is led by Erika Kirk, Charlie’s widow, who has embraced her new role at the helm of a conservative juggernaut with chapters across the country.
If successful, the organization that helped return President Trump to the White House could narrow a gender divide that has been a persistent challenge for Republicans. Turning Point offers a blend of traditional values, such as encouraging women to prioritize marriage over careers, and health trends pushed by online influencers.
Glover, 18, said discovering Turning Point in high school gave her an appreciation for dialogue when she felt like an outcast for her beliefs, such as being anti-abortion. At her first conference, she feels like she’s found a political and cultural home for herself.
“They want to promote a strong independent woman who does hold these values and can go stand up for herself,” she said. “But it’s also OK to do it in heels, put some makeup on, wear a dress.”
‘If Erika can do it, I can do it’
One of Glover’s classmates, Stella Ross, said she stumbled upon Charlie Kirk on TikTok in the months before the last presidential election.
She already felt like her perspectives were being treated differently on campus and thought she was receiving unfairly low grades in her political science classes. A devout Catholic, Ross said she was inspired by how Charlie Kirk wasn’t afraid to weave his evangelical faith into his political arguments.
She also noticed how many women posted comments of appreciation on Erika Kirk’s videos, and she joined Indiana University’s Turning Point chapter in the same month that Trump won his comeback campaign.
“I was like, wow, if Erika can do it, I can do it,” Ross said.
Ross has career aspirations of her own — she interns with Indiana’s Republican Party and aspires to be a press secretary for a governor or president. But she hopes to have flexibility in her job to be fully present with her children and believes that a traditional nuclear structure — man, woman and their children — is “God’s plan.”
When she thinks of Erika Kirk, “it’s really cool to see that she can live out that balance and it makes me feel like that could be a more realistic future for me because I’m seeing it firsthand.”
A new messenger
Erika Kirk often appeared alongside with her husband at Turning Point events. A former beauty pageant winner who has worked as a model, actress and casting director, she also founded a Christian clothing line and a ministry that teaches about the Bible.
In a recent interview with The New York Times, she said she had fully bought into “boss babe” culture before Charlie showed her a “healthier” perspective on life. Now she leads the multimillion-dollar organization, which she said at a memorial for her husband would be made “10 times greater through the power of his memory.”
The political gap between young men and women has been growing for years, according to a recent Gallup analysis. Not only have women under 30 become more likely to identify as ideologically liberal, they’ve also embraced liberal views on issues such as abortion, the environment and gun laws.
The schism was clearly apparent in the last presidential election, where 57% of male voters under 30 supported Trump, compared to only 41% of women under 30, according to AP VoteCast.
Turning Point has been working to change that, hosting events like the Young Women’s Leadership Summit and urging attendees to embrace traditional family values and gender roles.
Charlie Kirk said earlier this year that if a young woman’s priority is to find a husband, she should go to college for a “MRS degree.” Matthew Boedy, a professor of rhetoric at University of North Georgia, said Erika Kirk could be a more effective messenger because she was focused on her career before meeting her husband.
“I do think her story resonates more because she tried it out and can tell them it is not for them,” he said.
Some conservative women are turned off by this approach. Raquel Debono, an influencer who lives in New York City, described the event as a “Stepford wives conference,” featuring women in pink floral dresses.
She said Turning Point’s emphasis on being traditional wives “leaves out a lot of women who work,” she said, “and I think they’re going to lose all those voters, honestly, in the next election cycle if they keep it up.”
Debono founded her own organization, Make America Hot Again, where she throws parties intended to make voters feel welcomed into the conservative movement and allow them to get to know people who share their politics.
‘Big time’ growth for some chapters
Aubree Hudson had been president of Turning Point’s chapter at Brigham Young University for only two weeks when she visited nearby Utah Valley University for an event with Charlie Kirk.
She said she was standing only about six feet away when he was fatally shot. She ran to find her husband, who was at the back of the crowd, and they fled to her car.
Hudson, 22, is from a rural farm town in southwestern Colorado. Her conservative convictions are rooted in her family’s faith and patriotism. A copy of the U.S. Constitution hangs in her parents’ home, and her father taught her to value God, family and country, in that order. Her mother stayed at home, telling her children that “you guys are my career.”
Since Kirk’s assassination, Hudson said the number of people — particularly women — getting involved with the organization jumped “big time.”
Emma Paskett, 18, is one of them. She was planning to attend the Utah Valley University event after one of her classes, but Kirk was shot before she made it there.
Although she wasn’t very familiar with Turning Point before that point, Paskett said she started watching videos of Kirk later that night.
Paskett considers Erika Kirk to be a “one in a million” role model, and her role as a leader was a driving factor in signing up.
“That’s exactly what I want to be like,” she said.
Govindarao writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux contributed to this report from Washington.
FOR these streets across the UK, it’s Christmas all-year round.
From mentions of Santa’s reindeer to the festive day itself, Sun Travel has found some of the most Christmassy road names from all over the UK.
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All over the UK – like in Surrey – are streets with very Christmassy namesCredit: Alamy Stock Photo
Christmas Pie Avenue, Guildford
This one takes the biscuit (or pie), really. You can’t get more festive than Christmas Pie Avenue.
Found in the village of Normandy in Surrey, the residential street, Christmas Pie Avenue, sits in the south of the village close to Wanborough Station.
The little village has a shop, café and there’s plenty of countryside too, with the closest towns being Farnborough and Guildford.
Talking to SurreyLive, Jack Kinder, vice chairman of the Normandy Historians, said: “The name comes from the family of Christmas who were prominent landowners in the 17th and 18th century.
“The Pie part comes from the Saxon word pightle – meaning a field. There was, up until the houses were built around in the 1950s, a field called Pie Field – a triangle field near the crossroads.”
Rudolph Street, Bolton
Seven minutes from the town of Bolton is Rudolph Street.
It’s residential with around 15 addresses, so apart from houses, there’s not much going on here.
Of course, just minutes away is a whole other story with plenty to do in Bolton, from exploring the Jumbles Country Park to Smithills Open Farm.
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There are also plenty of museums, like the Bolton Steam Museum, the art gallery and huge market on Ashburner Street.
There are lots of pubs too, like Pine Tree Farm, Red Lion and Elephant and Castle, which are some of the highest-rated on Tripadvisor.
Some are even named after Santa’s reindeerCredit: Google Maps
Dasher Gardens, Ardrossan
Another reindeer-inspired street name is found in Ardrossan, a town on the North Ayrshire coast of Scotland.
Santa of course has nine reindeer, but this one is named after Dasher.
The little cul-de-sac sits just off Dalry Road and is minutes from the coast, where you’ll find the historical landmark of Ardrossan Castle – or rather, what’s left of it.
The little island has mountains, rolling hills and sandy beaches.
There’s a new sauna on the island too, called Stonethrow, which is right on the sand and is great for having a steam before plunging into the chilly water.
Tinsel Lane, Nuneaton
Just outside of the market town of Nuneaton, Warwickshire is a street called Tinsel Lane.
Despite its festive name, there won’t be many lights on this one, as it’s a country lane surrounded by rolling green fields.
Nonetheless, if you’re ticking off spots with Christmassy names in the UK, you really can’t leave this one off the list.
As for what to do in the town, popular attractions, Nuneaton Museum & Art Gallery, historic Arbury Hall, and Hartshill Hayes Country Park.
Just minutes away from Durham’s city centre is Mistletoe StreetCredit: Alamy Stock PhotoMistletoe and Holly Street sit just one road away from one anotherCredit: Google maps
Mistletoe Street, Durham
Heating up the romance at Christmas is the mistletoe, and this road is named after it.
Found in Durham, Mistletoe Street is minutes away from the city centre and is filled with red-brick houses.
To make it even more festive, the street right behind it is named Holly Street, so it makes for two Christmassy corners.
Durham itself is known for its top university, huge cathedral, historic cobbled streets and the River Wear.
There’s also an open-air museum called Beamish, which was a hit with Countryfile presenter Matt Baker.
“Basically what they do is take down buildings in the North East and put them back up at Beamish, and go around on all old trams, there’s old villages, farms – you can even stay there now and have a historic stay over at Beamish.
“It’s like Disney World for history buffs – that’s the only way I can describe it. You get transported back in time, it’s a proper immersive experience.”
Just outside of Ware is a hamlet called ‘Cold Christmas’Credit: Alamy Stock Photo
Cold Christmas Lane, Hertfordshire
In Hertfordshire is Cold Christmas Lane, which leads to a hamlet called Cold Christmas in Thundridge.
While the name is very festive, there isn’t much Christmas cheer about it.
In fact quiet bleakly, the name ‘Cold Christmas’ refers to a period of high child mortality during harsh winters.
However, just around the corner is the Hertfordshire town of Ware, which is all dressed up for Christmas, and there you’ll find plenty of pubs, like the Waterside Inn by the river.
There are also independent coffee spots, shops, and florists.
Angel Lane is in the Cotswolds town of Chipping CampdenCredit: Alamy Stock Photo
Angel Lane, Chipping Campden
The Cotswolds are known for their beauty, so it’s not too much of a surprise that you’ll find one of the prettiest street names there – Angel Lane.
Houses on Angel Lane are just as you’d imagine, made from the classic Cotswold stone and have plenty of countryside character.
If you fancy a plot on Angel Lane then you’ll have to pay a premium as the average property price is over £600,000.
Of course, the village itself is worth a gander too, with a preserved High Street from the 14th to 17th century.
Here there are gift shops like Dandelion as well as The Bantam Tea Rooms & Guest House and the Bromley’s of Cotswolds coffee shop.
