LIVE the alpine dream in a national park, says writer Siobhan Ludlow.
The Yorkshire Dales is the perfect destination for great views and tranquility.
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Step back in time at Bolton Abbey; dig into The Devonshire Arms’ menuCredit: Getty Images/Collection Mix: SubSoak up views of the Yorkshire Dales National Park from the cosy Swiss Ski Station Pod at Catgill FarmCredit: Supplied by PR
You’ll find chic alpine decor at every turn at the Swiss Ski Station PodCredit: Supplied by PR
This beaut is decked out with cute alpine touches and comes complete with a ski-lift gondola to sip tipples and snuggle up in, a wood-fired hot tub and a three-in-one fire pit/barbecue/pizza oven.
Lap up more lush countryside vistas from the master bed, while kids will love the bunks.
From spring, Cat’s Kitchen serves up frothy cappuccinos, £3.50, and bacon butties, £5, alongside giant Jenga and Connect 4, and there are walks aplenty from the doorstep.
Don’t forget to pop by to pat the farm’s friendly alpacas, too.
EXPLORE
You’re only a 15-minute walk from the Bolton Abbey estate and majestic Priory ruins, which date back to the 12th century.
If you’re brave enough, take on the stepping stones across the River Wharfe, then follow the fun “welly walk” with its obstacles and balance beams.
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This beaut is decked out with cute alpine touches and comes complete with a ski-lift gondola to sip tipples and snuggle up inCredit: Supplied by PR
Travel back in time (which your tummies will thank you for) with a full English aboard a vintage steam train on the Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway.
Meanwhile, a five-minute walk from Catgill, Hesketh Farm Park is brilliant for little ones, with its giant sandpit, tractor rides and plenty of animals to pet and feed.
Tickets cost £8 for everyone over two and it reopens in spring (Heskethfarmpark.co.uk).
REFUEL
Reward yourselves for hikes with a mouth-watering côte de boeuf with triple-cooked chips, seasonal greens and red wine jus, £95 for two people, at The Devonshire Arms, just 15 minutes’ walk away (Thedevonshirearms.co.uk).
Meanwhile, Tea On The Green in Bolton Abbey village offers great coffee and traybakes, but the soup with a home-made cheese scone, £9, is an absolute winner (Teaonthegreen.org).
Dig into The Devonshire Arms’ menuCredit: The Devonshire Arms/ instagram
And don’t leave Yorkshire until you’ve been transported to ’50s America at nearby Billy Bob’s Parlour.
Kids will have a riot in the brilliant playgrounds, and you’ll all love its Round The Campfire fluffy pancakes, £10.25, topped with rocky road and Kansas toffee-crunch ice cream, toasted marshmallows, mallow fluff and shards of cinder toffee.
Oh, and not forgetting the dollop of hot fudge sauce, too (Billybobsparlour.com).
BOOK IT
Stays in the Swiss Ski Station Pod at Catgill Farm cost from £189.99 per night (Catgillfarm.co.uk).
BTW
Find 24 acres of woods, a rose garden and Love Brownies tea room at Parcevall Hall.
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IF the life of Spain is calling you and you’re tempted to ditch the UK, then there is one city that has been named one of the best for expats.
it might be tempting to try out the larger cities of Barcelona and Madrid.
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The Spanish city of Valencia is named one of the top Spanish spot for Brits ditching the UKCredit: AlamyValencia often beats Barcelona and Madrid as an expat spotCredit: Alamy
But an alternative city that often comes out on top for happy expats is Valencia.
Not only does it have 300 days of sunshine, but it has been raved about by other expats.
According to couple Alastair and Alison, who moved to Spain themselves and give their advice online, it is one of the best ones.
They said: “Valencia City is significantly cheaper than Madrid and Barcelona in terms of rent and daily expenses.”
Not only is there a big English speaking community, but they also said it is “big enough to have urban amenities but small enough to be manageable”.
Another 2024 Expat City Ranking also ranked Valencia as the no.1 Spanish city for expats, praising it for its good quality of life.
And a Reddit forum of expats talking about where they moved – Valencia was often praised.
One wrote: “I’d recommend Valencia, I’ve lived in 8 different countries and it has the best quality of life. Security, beautiful park and beach.
“Sunny all year around, mild winter and long summer. Not as hot as the rest of Southern Spain thanks for the sea close by. It’s also a very multicultural city.”
Another said: “I can’t recommend Valencia enough. If you are retiring Valencia is great.”
According to figures from Numbeo, when it comes to renting, an average one bedroom flat can range from €840 to €1100 (£741-£970) depending on location.
For living costs, things like a monthly gym membership are on average €36 (£32) while bills can be around €127 (£112).
Last year, Valencia was named the best city in Europe byConde Nast Traveler.
However, we spoke to some Brits who left the UK for Spain on some of the big no-nos when it comes to trying to blend in.
It is a beach city so you have the best of both worldsCredit: Alamy
Johnny, who left the UK with his wife Sarah in 2003, told Sun Online Travel: “Brits tend to underdress in Spain.
“Spanish people dress quite smartly, while Brits can sometimes show too much flesh.”
She also added the Brits need to expect things to move a bit slower, such as supermarkets.
She explained: “You might be in a short queue at the supermarket, but the person who is being served is more interested in having a conversation with the cashier than packing theirshoppingaway and paying.”
Steve Parker, president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space, and Security, provided a general update on the MQ-28 program at a media roundtable ahead of the 2025 Dubai Airshow in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), at which TWZ was in attendance. Boeing officials had said on various occasions earlier this year that the AMRAAM shot could come in late 2025 or early 2026.
A Royal Australian Air Force MQ-28 seen during earlier testing. Australian Department of Defense
At the Avalon Air Show in Australia in March, “I talked about doing a weapons shot off the MQ-28 later this year, or early in 2026. We are on track for next month,” Parker said during his opening remarks. “This weapon shot is something we’re really excited about.”
In addition to being a first for the MQ-28, the planned shot also looks set to be a first for any CCA-type drone, at least that we know about.
“It’s an air-to-air missile, and if you were to guess it was an AMRAAM, AIM-120, you would be correct,” he added later on during the roundtable when asked for more specifics.
A stock picture of an AIM-120 AMRAAM. USAF
The test itself will be carried out over the sprawling Woomera Range Complex (WRC) in southern Australia and reflect “a tactically relevant scenario,” according to Parker. The MQ-28 will attempt to down a real airborne target with the AIM-120.
An MQ-28 at Woomera. Royal Australian Air Force
Parker did not offer any specific details about how the engagement might be prosecuted, including how the drone would find and track the target. The MQ-28 is a highly modular design intended to allow for the ready integration of various munitions, sensors, and other payloads. The entire nose can be swapped out. It is worth noting here that at least two of the RAAF’s initial batch of MQ-28s have been spotted with an infrared search and track (IRST) sensor in the nose, which would be very relevant for this upcoming air-to-air weapons test.
A quartet of MQ-28s, the two in the middle having IRST sensors on top of their noses. Boeing
Broadly speaking, IRST sensors offer a valuable means of spotting and tracking aerial threats, especially stealthy aircraft and missiles, which can be used as an alternative and/or companion to radars. IRSTs have the additional benefit of being immune to electronic warfare attacks and operating passively, meaning they don’t emit signals that could alert an opponent to the fact that they are being stalked.
“I’m not going to get ahead of the customer here, but we’re well positioned for this,” Parker continued in his response to the question about the AIM-120 shot at the roundtable. “We’ve been sort of testing out some of these capability demonstrations. You would know that the Wedgetail [Boeing’s E-7 airborne early warning and control aircraft] has already controlled two live MQ-28s with a digital, virtual MQ-28 in the pattern, as well, [and] with a target. We’ve already been doing this. So, we’ve already been doing a bunch of multi-ship activities.”
Boeing announced the MQ-28/E-7 team testing back in June. This was one of a number of Ghost Bat capability demonstrations that the company conducted in cooperation with the RAAF this year, as you can read more about here.
A rendering of an RAAF E-7 Wedgetail flying together with a pair of MQ-28s. Boeing
“This program is really hitting its stride,” Parker said.
As noted, the RAAF has already acquired eight MQ-28s, all pre-production prototypes, also referred to as Block 1 Ghost Bats. The service has also awarded Boeing a contract to deliver at least three more examples in an improved Block 2 configuration. The Block 2 drones are seen as a pathway to an operational capability, though when that might actually materialize is unclear. Australian officials have also raised the prospect in the past of an expanded family of Ghost Bats, which might include versions that are substantially different from the baseline design. Boeing itself has hinted at the potential for the drones to get significant new capabilities down the road, including the ability to refuel in mid-air.
Regardless of how the MQ-28 itself evolves, Boeing clearly sees potential opportunities for sales beyond the RAAF, as well. The U.S. Air Force has utilized at least one Ghost Bat in the past to support test work related to its Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) drone program, which is structured around multiple iterative development cycles. Boeing did take part in the initial stages of the first phase of that program, or Increment 1, but was cut last year in a down-select. The company could compete in the next cycle, or Increment 2, with the MQ-28 or another design.
In September, the U.S. Navy announced it had hired Boeing, as well as Anduril, General Atomics, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman, to develop conceptual designs for carrier-based CCA-type drones. Boeing has so far declined to share specifics about what it is working on under that contract, but the Navy has said that there is “strong interest” in the Ghost Bat in the past. Boeing has previously pitched a carrier-capable version of the design at least to the United Kingdom, as well.
Yesterday, ahead of the opening of the Dubai Airshow today, Aviation Week reported that Boeing now sees an emerging market for CCA-type drones like the MQ-28 in the Middle East. There is a burgeoning interest in drones in this general category elsewhere globally.
“I think our Ghost Bat is uniquely positioned here, both from an air-to-air [and] air-to-ground perspective, as well as all the things we’ve already talked about, from an EW [electronic warfare] payload, radar, and so forth,” Boeing Defense, Space, and Security CEO Parker said at the roundtable. “The cold, hard facts of the matter are the customers are still trying to determine how they will employ these CCAs, and tactics, and what you need.”
TWZroutinely highlights the many questions that any future CCA operator has to answer when it comes to basic force structure, as well as structured, as well as how the drones are deployed, launched, recovered, supported, and otherwise operated, not to mention employed tactically.
Boeing has also been increasingly touting the MQ-28 as a particularly good uncrewed companion for the F-15EX. The company has reportedly been actively pitching the two aircraft as a paired purchase to Poland. For years now, TWZ has been highlighting how well-suited the two-seat tactical jet is to the airborne drone controller role, in general. At the roundtable, Boeing’s Parker again highlighted the ability to control CCA-type drones as being among the F-15EX’s key features.
Take a peek into the future.
With the F-15EX’s future manned-unmanned teaming capabilities supported by an advanced cockpit system, communication networks and two-seat configuration, the superior fighter could serve as a battle manager and joint all domain command and control. pic.twitter.com/07oRhGdIjV
With the planned AIM-120 shot next month, the MQ-28 is now set to take another important step toward a real operational capability for the RAAF, and potentially other operators.