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California prison towns made a grim bargain decades ago.

They built their economies around an industry that relied on an ever-growing prison population, mostly from California’s major metropolitan areas. Then, about 15 years ago, legislators changed sentencing laws in ways that caused the prison population to drop, and the prisons started going away.

Gov. Jerry Brown oversaw massive reductions in California’s prison population in the 2010s. Gov. Gavin Newsom has closed five prisons since taking office in 2019. Now, some of those towns face difficult choices if they’re going to survive. One prison town is still fighting the closure, one is betting on businesses to make up its losses and a third — the town of Susanville — is remote, isolated and in deeper trouble than the rest.

Perched on one of the last major stops before Reno and the desert deep in the Lassen National Forest, Susanville has always been the kind of place California puts the things it doesn’t want to see, hear, smell or really even think about.

“Prisons in communities are not popular, so they tend to be located in areas that are desperate economically,” said Dan Newton, who worked for the city of Susanville for 20 years and was its city manager until recently. “That would describe this area.”

The city’s management was informed in 2021 that the prison was scheduled for closure. They went to court to challenge the closure, arguing the state’s environmental review process hadn’t taken into account the prison closure’s impact on the town. Newsom had a solution: A budget bill that exempted correctional facility closures from the environmental review process.

“There was initially a lot of panic,” said Susanville Mayor Mendy Schuster. “Houses went on the market. People left town. State jobs are good jobs with a good income, and they were going to leave.”

Since the closure announcement, the population of Susanville has fallen from a peak of about 16,000 in 2021, the year Newsom announced the prison would close, to 14,000 in 2024, the last year for which American Community Survey data were available.

Not all of the 1,100 former prison employees left town. Some transferred to a nearby prison, and some retired and stayed in the area. The elementary school lost 10% of its enrolled students between 2021 and the 2025-2026 school year.

The town’s remoteness is also one of its attractions. The surrounding area offers some of the most stunning vistas in far Northern California, sweeping views from highway lookout points over miles of desert rimmed by the mountains of the Cascade Range where it meets the Sierra Nevada.

The history of this area is one of the state or federal government telling its residents that it needs them — to mine for gold, to cut down trees for timber, to guard all the people they sent to prison — and then coming along later to tell residents that their services are no longer needed.

Susanville, the spot on the map, is an immutable intermingling of unique geologic formations. Susanville, the incorporated city, is running out of time.

“We’re heading toward insolvency,” Newton said before he resigned as city manager to take a position in Tehama County government.

The prison building boom

When the state’s three-strikes law still imposed mandatory life sentences on anyone with two or more prior convictions for violent felonies, California needed places like Susanville to put its skyrocketing prison population.

According to Brown University’s Prison Proliferation Project, states and the federal government operated 511 prisons in 1970. By the end of the prison building boom in 2000, that number had risen to 1,663.

The prison guards who lived in Susanville coached Little League and bought bread at the bakery downtown. They had steady jobs with top-tier health and retirement benefits; today experienced correctional officers earn $9,650 a month in base pay.

The town benefited from carceral policies that pulled prisoners hundreds of miles from their families, even as Lassen County counted those inmates as residents until 2022 and built around a prison boom that showed no signs of ending.

Until, of course, it did.

In 2006, overcrowding forced some of the state’s 170,000 prisoners to sleep in hallways and multipurpose rooms. But sentencing policies changed in the early 2010s to put more people in jail than prisons, and when people went to prison, they went for shorter sentences. Now, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is down to 90,000 prisoners, and has 8,000 more beds available than it has people in custody.

An emergent field of research in the last 15 years has focused on the era of the “prison bust,” when prison closures have outnumbered prison openings. Criminal justice policy researchers have found that the proposed economic benefits of prisons to small, rural communities were probably overstated to begin with.

“A large portion of prison jobs (were) filled by residents of neighboring towns,” wrote the authors of a 2024 article in the journal Punishment & Society. “Even those who moved to the area for prison jobs often settled in adjacent communities, providing little direct benefit to the local economy.”

Not only might prisons not be engines of economic growth, according to a seminal 2010 study from researchers at Washington State University, they might have stymied the development of other industries warded off by the presence of the prison.

Brown University associate sociology professor John Eason, whose book “Big House on the Prairie” focused on a prison in the rural South, found that the economic fate of prison towns is most closely correlated to when they were built, more than where they were built.

“Towns that adopted prisons earlier in the prison boom received a short-term boon compared to those that did not build, but the effects were not lasting,” Eason wrote.

Towns that built a prison early in the boom saw increased median home values and median income, Eason wrote, with reduced poverty and unemployment, but those effects did not last longer than a decade, which he called “a decay effect.”

But the residents and leadership of the city of Blythe, where the shuttered Chuckwalla Valley State Prison was built in 1987, are certain that their economic problems began and ended on the day in 2022 when the prison closed down.

Desert town tried to keep prison open

“We still haven’t got nothing from the state,” said Blythe Mayor Joseph DeConinck. “I hate to say it, but Blythe’s in the middle of nowhere, we’re the furthest from Sacramento, I just hate to say it again, we’re only a few votes out here.”

The mayor of the small desert city in Riverside County near the Arizona border watched the failed lawsuit over the Susanville prison closure and decided against filing their own litigation after Newsom ordered the Blythe prison closed just before Christmas 2022.

Instead, Blythe chose honey over vinegar and launched a lobbying effort to convince state legislators and the governor that the town needed some kind of economic rescue.

It has, so far, failed to produce results.

“We took these prisons when nobody else wanted them,” DeConinck said. “And we adapted to them because they became a strong economic generator for our area.”

Blythe’s population of 18,000 in 2022 had fallen to 17,400 by 2024, the last year for which census statistics are available. A drop of just 3% of the population might not sound drastic, but Blythe was in trouble long before the prison closed.

The population has been dropping since a peak of about 20,000 in 2010. A Riverside County civil investigation in June 2022 found that the city can’t pay its bills, its population is fleeing to Phoenix or the Coachella Valley, and neither the city nor its residents have bright prospects.

Six months after that investigation, Newsom announced the prison closure.

DeConinck said city leadership flew to Sacramento and tried, in vain, to get any traction. He recalled one meeting between the Blythe city manager and representatives of the governor in which he said the city itself was promised direct financial assistance.

The era of sweet-talking the state is over now, DeConinck said.

“They wouldn’t even have a conversation with us,” said Vice Mayor Johnny Rodriguez. “They’re not doing anything to assist us because they have this political mantra that all prisons are bad.”

Rodriguez said the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the Department of General Services sent representatives to a meeting on the future of the shuttered prison site. It didn’t go well.

“We had just one meeting with a potential developer who had some interest in it, and all the state provided was, what you can’t do, what they won’t do,” Rodriguez said. “They won’t give a timeline when they would start talking about it, so what’s that going to do?”

Newsom’s office referred questions to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Will Matthews, a corrections spokesperson, said in a statement after this article first published that the state sent $995,000 to the Riverside County Workforce Development Division in August 2024.

“State representatives met with local leaders in July 2024 to discuss these resources and other available assistance,” Matthews said. “There was no commitment to providing direct financial assistance to the City of Blythe.”

Matthews said until the Blythe prison site’s infrastructure is separated from neighboring Ironwood State Prison and its bond obligations are resolved, the property can’t move through the state’s process for dispensing with surplus property.

In a March hearing before a Senate budget subcommittee, Corrections Secretary Jeff Macomber said he’s eager to end his agency’s control over closed prison sites.

“I don’t want to hold on to closed facilities,” Macomber said. “Believe it or not, I have to provide a little bit of staffing. It’s unpopular, there’s security risks. We have people break in because who doesn’t want to run in, to break into a closed prison?”

Newsom began closing prisons with the deactivation of the Deuel Vocational Institute in Tracy, followed by the prison in Susanville, and then a prison in Blythe near the Arizona border. The state also ended its contract with a private prison in Kern County, a site now being operated as an immigrant detention center. A prison in Norco, also in Riverside County, is scheduled to close in October.

More prisons probably will close. The Legislature this year passed a budget that called for the state to shut at least one more. Its passage reflected Democratic lawmakers’ desire to save money — about $150 million a year per prison — by eliminating underused correctional facilities.

And some state prisons have astronomical deferred maintenance bills. The state auditor recently released a report estimating that five of them need repairs that would cost $2.4 billion.

Rodriguez is still fighting for a prison on the shuttered site. He has plans to pitch the federal government on opening a women’s prison there to account for the closure of the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, which closed after 10 guards were charged with sexually abusing the prisoners.

“Closing Chuckawalla was a mistake,” said Assemblymember Jeff Gonzalez, a Coachella Republican. “For our rural communities, these facilities are critical employers that support local families and local economies.”

Ready for change on edge of Bay Area

If any town was prepared for a prison closure, it was Tracy.

Optimism abounds, even on the city website, which promotes it as “one of the fastest growing suburbs of the San Francisco Bay Area.” The city has for decades been a bedroom community for commuters to the East Bay Area and San José.

The offers are pouring in to fill the abandoned prison site, said San Joaquin County Supervisor Robert Rickman, who was mayor of Tracy from 2016-2020.

“We’ve been in contact with folks in the agricultural industry, the education industry and even some of them who are interested in opening a casino,” Rickman said. “I would say [the prison closure] was neutral. The property isn’t sitting forgotten. South county is a very prosperous portion of our county.”

Prison guards and support staff mainly transferred to the California Health Care Facility in Stockton, Rickman said.

“I guess you’re never really prepared for a closure,” Rickman said, “but the good thing is that nobody lost their jobs.”

Tracy has the advantages that Susanville does not: It’s next to Interstate 5 along a busy commercial corridor in a populated and growing section of the state. Tracy also doesn’t have the drawbacks of Blythe and the Inland Empire desert — the weather never gets too hot, and there is reliable access to water.

Instead of challenging the state government like Blythe, Rickman gets to play host and pitch man to businesses.

Back in Susanville, it’s been a struggle to get any business to return calls.

Hard choices in Susanville

“For the last two years, we’ve adopted deficit budgets,” said Newton, the erstwhile city manager. “We’re deficit spending in order to fill public safety vacancies, and expenditure increases are outpacing our revenue increases.

“It’s going to start eating at our cash reserves.”

The town is hoping some industry — any industry — can come in and save it. City leaders have little hope for state assistance. But the city also has its own limitations.

First, Newton said, it’s hard to make a businesses on the border of California and Nevada choose California, with its higher taxes and stern regulatory environment. That choice in finance terms is known as regulatory arbitrage.

Second, industry needs power, and Susanville doesn’t have a lot of power on the grid, nor the infrastructure to support it. A bad thunderstorm can knock out the lights to half the city. The city’s transmission lines can’t handle the wattage demanded by heavy industry.

Third, the city and county’s limited population is working against it. Prisons force people to work and live in an area, and the state supplies the workforce. But there is no big workforce base on which to draw for any industry. When the prisons close, the guards transfer to new locations or retire and leave the rural, geographically isolated area.

The pandemic didn’t help. Downtown businesses were already struggling when people started buying more retail goods online, a trend that didn’t abate when lockdowns ended, Schuster said.

Now, some of the largest tax generators in town are on sales from online shopping and fuel taxes — people stop in town to get gas because Susanville has the only gas stations for 20 miles in any direction.

A baseball grandstand burned down last year, and in March, a lumber mill that employed about 30 people caught fire. No one was injured, but the mill burned to the ground.

Now the 8,000 people in this remote corner of California have to ask themselves what more they can wring from the land, what more they can take and what more it can yield. One idea includes a new truck stop.

Whatever salvation comes for the town, if any salvation comes at all, won’t be at the hands of the state government that built a prison and then took it away, Newton said.

“No one is coming to save us.”

This article was updated to include information that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shared after publication.

Duara writes for CalMatters.

A SEASIDE funicular is set to finally reopen next year – after being closed for a decade.

Folkestone’s Leas Lift first opened in 1885, but was forced to close back in 2017.

However, a long campaign has finally see restoration works start, with it planning to reopen by 2027.

The £6.6million works will restore the main systems, which connects the top of the cliff to the beach.

Not only that but the cafe is also being restored, along with the waiting room and addition of an outdoor terrace.

It remains one of the oldest in the UK, and one of just three of its kind left, being a water-balance funicular.

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It has since carried more than 36million people since it opened.

It had hoped to reopen by this summer, although this has since been delayed to next year.

But its great new for families visiting the seaside town, as it makes the cliff and beach much more accessible.

Chair of the Leas Lift Build Committee Jo Streeter said in regards to works starting: “We wanted to be absolutely sure that as well as getting value for money – which is vital for our funders and supporters – we selected a company that understands what the Lift means to Folkestone.”

Folkestone even had two other lifts – The Metropole Lift and the Sandgate Hill Lift – although these no longer exist.

And the seaside town has recently surged in popularity, with it being less than an hour from London.

It was even named one of the best places to live in the UK.

But the Leas Lift is not the only funicular reopening in the UK.

Saltburn Tramway recently reopened after an eight month closure.

The 142-year-old funicular – the oldest of its kind in the UK – is open to the public with tickets from £1.50

A BELOVED UK seaside town is set to get a new, faster train to London – slashing journey times by 15 minutes.

Visitors and commuters travelling to and from the coastal area will soon be able to make it to London in just over an hour.

The new rail service will connect the capital with the East Sussex town of Hastings and its set to launch in December of this year.

Hastings boasts a charming shingle and pebble beach and plenty of pubs, cafes and restaurants.

Journeys from London to the quaint seaside town can currently take as long as 1 hour and 47 minutes.

The new Southeastern Railway service will connect the two locations with a train that takes just 1 hour and 18 minutes to get to London Bridge.

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The new service will depart from London’s Charing Cross before calling at Waterloo East, London Bridge, Tunbridge Wells, Battle, St Leonards Warrior Square before arriving in Hastings.

The new transport project has been described as being in a “pilot” phase – and demand for the service will have to be shown for it to be made permanent.

It comes as part of an upcoming timetable shakeup that aims to better connect South East London, Kent and East Sussex.

The new service will run to London once in the morning, with a further return journey scheduled in the evening.

The morning train is set to depart Hastings at 8:05am and arrive at Charing Cross at 09:33am.

The evening train journey will set off from Charing Cross at 4:11pm and arrive in Hastings at 5:42pm.

Speaking about the introduction of the speedier service, Helena Dollimore, MP for Hastings, Rye and the villages, said: “Securing a faster train service for our town has been one of my top priorities as our local MP. When we are almost the same distance from London as Brighton, why should our train take twice as long?”

Highlighting the importance of the trains that serve both commuters and tourists, she added: “This new service is great news for commuters and for our local shops, hotels, pubs, and restaurants that rely on tourists coming down to visit us.

“This new fast train will be a pilot service. If we want it to stay, we all must use it to show the demand.”

KFAR RUMMAN, Lebanon: Hundreds of people in south Lebanon gathered on Tuesday to mourn two Hezbollah members and their family, among them a three-month-old infant, killed by an Israeli strike a day prior.

The two brothers’ coffins, draped in the Iran-backed group’s yellow flag, portraits of them in camouflage fatigues fixed to the front, led the procession through the village battered by repeated conflict over nearly three years.

Another 10 coffins were covered in Lebanese flags, indicating that the rest of the Farhat family killed when Monday’s strike levelled their home were civilians.

Israel has launched airstrikes and a ground invasion in south Lebanon during the Middle East war, which erupted with joint US-Israeli attacks on Iran and spread to Lebanon after Hezbollah targeted Israel in support of its backer.

The fighting in Lebanon had calmed since a US-Iran memorandum of understanding and a framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon were both agreed in June.

But Beirut still reports recurring Israeli strikes, which it says have killed more than 4,300 people in total since March, and Israeli forces continue to occupy what it calls a “security zone” in the south.

A separate strike on Kfar Rumman on Monday killed an 18-year-old rescuer with the Risala Association, linked to the Hezbollah-allied Amal movement, the organisation said, who was mourned alongside the Farhat family on Tuesday.

“We have 13 killed including grandfather and grandmother, husbands and wives, and their children including a three-months old infant,” deputy mayor Nureddine Nureddine told AFP from the funeral.

“Someone put an end to these crimes,” Nureddine said, adding that the strike that killed the Farhat family “occurred at night, while they were sleeping”.

“There was no military activity, nothing.”

An AFP correspondent saw people marching to the cemetery, waving Hezbollah flags as women dressed in black wept, holding pictures of the dead as an Israeli drone flew overhead.

“Death to America, death to Israel,” mourners yelled.

– ‘A shred of honour’ –

The Israeli military said on Monday that it had struck Hezbollah “infrastructure sites” across southern Lebanon after the launch of two explosive drones towards its troops, as well as “several terrorists” it said were transferring weapons.

“The claim that several uninvolved individuals were harmed as a result of the strikes is being reviewed,” it said, adding that the military “will continue to operate to remove threats while remaining committed to the ceasefire agreement”.

Since Friday, at least 28 people have been killed in Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.

Standing next to a picture of his own son, a Hezbollah member killed by Israel, Ghaleb Baalbaki slammed the Lebanese government for continuing direct talks with Israel.

“If they have even a shred of honour, the first thing they should do would be to stop the negotiations,” he said.

The lull in violence that began in June had allowed hundreds of thousands of displaced people to return home.

“Kfar Rumman was coming back to life, there were more than 1,400 people” in the town before the latest escalation, Nureddine said,

“Now, they can be counted on your fingers.”

1

2

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

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

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

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

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

The Victorians’ love of seaside resorts inspired a developer to try and build a ‘mega resort’ for the rich and powerful of the time, but many of the plans for this seaside town never came to fruition

Victorians loved the seaside. Time at the beach was the perfect antidote to the dirty, smoggy cities that were rapidly expanding, and the sea air was touted as a cure for everything from respiratory problems to exhaustion.

Another thing that was expanding at the time was Britain’s railway lines, and entrepreneurs were quick to build seaside resorts to accommodate Victorians’ love of beaches. One such visionary was Sir Robert Perks, a politician who looked at a stretch of Kent coast and decided it would make an incredible resort for the wealthiest in society at the time.

The spot was given the name Littlestone-on-Sea, named after a nearby headland called Little Stone, and initially it comprised of a home for Robert, accommodation called the Grand Hotel, a church, and some terraced houses. However, the Grand Hotel didn’t turn out nearly as grand as planned, and it was just the first project that didn’t quite live up to the vision.

Robert teamed up with a surveyor named Henry Tubbs to launch Littlestone Golf Course in 1888, which is still open to this day, and at one end there’s a distinctive local building the Littlestone water tower, which was supposed to supply fresh water to the golf course and the impressive seaside town that was envisioned.

Unfortunately, the water from the 120ft tall tower was too salty to use, and over time it was abandoned. However, in the Second World War, the structure found a new purpose. It became a lookout post that protected Kent’s shores, and the addition of platforms meant guards could keep lookout from many levels. Nowadays, it has been turned into a unique home.

Other plans for Littlestone included a large housing development, a lively promenade, and a favourite of Victorians – a pier. However, parts of the design for the pier were eventually used in Eastbourne, so it wasn’t a total waste of time.

Nowadays, Littlestone is far from the bustling resort that was imagined by the Victorian entrepeneurs, but it certainly has its own charm. Its vast shingle beach is lined with colourful beach huts, and the long flat promenade is popular for families and dog walkers.

From the shore you can spot the Mulberry Harbour Phoenix Caisson, a temporary breakwater that was built during the D-Day Normandy landings in World War 2. Few of these structures remain, making it a popular site for those interested in military history.

The town itself has a handful of shops, cafés, and restaurants. There’s a small selection of seaside hotels, as well as a caravan park that’s much loved by families looking for a peaceful break at the seaside.

So, while Littlestone may not have become a playground for the rich, it developed its own character over time and is still much-loved by visitors who want a more low-key seaside experience.

Have a story you want to share? Email us at webtravel@reachplc.com

THE Portuguese love a summer spent in the Algarve as much as the rest of us.

But instead of the better-known Albufeira, Faro and Lagos, they head to the quaint fishing town of Tavira.

On the eastern end of the famous coastline, it has calmer, cheaper and more cultured experiences than its neighbouring tourist hotspots.

And with easyJet having launched new routes from the UK this summer, it’s the perfect time to explore new Algarvian shores.

WHY SHOULD I GO?

Put simply, for the numerous beaches. Tavira is a paradise within the Algarve, which was last year crowned the World’s Best Beach Destination 2025.

These numerous wild, sandy stretches are largely unspoilt and crowd-free, even in peak season.

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Notably, they include the beautiful Praia da Ilha de Tavira, which spans eight miles, leaving plenty of room for your beach towel.

Here, the sea is famously warmer as it is more sheltered from the chilly expanse of Atlantic Ocean.

STREETS MADE FOR WALKING?

To reach Praia da Ilha de Tavira, you will need to take a ferry or, if you feel you like splashing out, a water taxi.

From Tavira, the easiest place to hop on is at the town’s pier.

Ferries, which operate between March and October, take 20 minutes and cost around £2 for a return trip.

Back on dry land in central Tavira, however, the town’s winding, cobbled streets can be easily explored on foot.

Make sure to stroll along the picturesque Gilao river, which runs through the centre, flanked by traditional tile-covered buildings.

And linger to take in the live music at golden hour on the old Ponte Romana bridge.

Want to rest your legs? You can travel past the town’s key landmarks on a traditional hop-on, hop-off “tourist train”.

ANYTHING FOR THE BUCKET LIST?

For those who like to relax on holiday, the port town’s beaches include the option to rent sunloungers, as well as surfboards, and enjoy beach club drinks served while you sunbathe.

While you’re between the sandy dunes and saltwater lagoons, you may even see the flamingos, dolphins and turtles that call this area home.

If you often get itchy feet and like to immerse yourself in the local culture — or need to walk off the traditional dessert of a freshly baked pastel de nata — then this is a Portuguese spot rich in history.

The ruins of a Moorish castle can be found in Tavira, and they are free to explore.

Plenty of architectural evidence also remains of the sailors and fishermen who came to inhabit the town in the Middle Ages.

WHERE SHOULD I EAT?

Given its proximity to the coast, seafood is the most popular choice here.

Try Mesa Farta, which has a modern take on traditional Portuguese food, including homemade sourdough and mackerel, as well as fresh chocolate mousse.

Special occasion? You can’t beat A Ver Tavira. Situated near the castle and with the best views in town, it is one of only seven Michelin-starred restaurants in the Algarve, with mouthwatering dishes that take culinary inspiration from the local area.

A particular favourite of the locals is Restaurante Pedro, in the nearby village of Cabanas de Tavira.

I FANCY A DRINK

There are no shortage of bars in Tavira. One popular option is Arcada, positioned on the main square, which serves freshly-shaken cocktails.

Meanwhile, the Black Anchor is an Irish bar with a terrace that overlooks the river, with the Portuguese beer Sagres on the menu — or even a Guinness on tap if you must.

If you are more of an early bird than a night owl, the town is brimming with cafes where you can get your caffeine fix for less than a couple of euros.

Flat white or matcha more to your taste? Then head to speciality coffee shop, The Table.

WHERE SHOULD I STAY?

For complete tranquillity, head to the 4* Quinta dos Perfumes, with its rooms and pool area nestled in an oasis of orange and avocado trees.

It is less than a ten-minute drive from the centre, a 15-minute walk to the boats at Cabanas de Tavira and close to Benamor golf course.

ONE of the UK’s last remaining seaside funiculars has reopened after an eight month closure.

The Saltburn Tramway shut back in January 2026 ahead of major restoration works.

It has since reopened, with guests able to use the funicular between the town centre and seafront.

Some of the works included restoring the carriages, by both modernising while keeping the historic style with oak interiors and larger windows.

Safety improvements include new brake systems and buffers.

The funicular dates back more than 140 years, having opened in 1884.

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It is also the oldest of its kind in the UK, being a water-balanced cliff funicular.

A spokesperson for the attraction said: “What an incredible day as we welcomed passengers back to the Saltburn Cliff Tramway for the first time following its refurbishment.

“Seeing the tramway back in operation and filled with smiling passengers once again was a proud moment for everyone involved in the project.

“Thank you for your patience during the refurbishment works and for giving such a warm welcome to the tramway’s beautiful new handcrafted carriages.”

Tickets cost £2.10 for adults or £1.50 for kids aged between 4-15 years old.

Kids under three go free while dogs and bikes cost 20p each.

Saltburn-by-the-Sea, or simply Saltburn, is more of a traditional seaside town due to its lack of arcades or rides on the promenade.

Earlier this year, the town saw a huge surge in interest according to Trainline, with bookings up 133 per cent.

Northampton chairman Kelvin Thomas said: “This has been a detailed and rigorous process, involving significant scrutiny of the proposed investment, the ownership structure, financial sustainability, and the suitability and financial standing of those involved.

“The successful completion of both the IFR and EFL processes represents an important milestone for the club and should provide supporters and stakeholders with further confidence in the proposed investment and the foundations being put in place for the club’s future.

“We would like to thank both the EFL and the IFR for their professionalism, diligence and thoroughness throughout their respective processes.

“As supporters will see from their varied backgrounds, there is a genuine passion for football within the group. A number of the investors have already visited Northampton, spent time at the club and attended matches.

“They will bring a strong blend of football, corporate and financial expertise to the club and with significant Brazilian representation within the group we also hope they might bring a little Brazilian excitement and flair with them.

“Now the regulatory processes have been completed we move towards completing the remaining documentation and finalising the investment. Full details regarding the investment, structure and the principal investors involved will be announced upon completion.

“We thank the fans for their patience, but it is reassuring that these in-depth processes are in place for football.”

Ukraine carried out one of its farthest uncrewed surface vessel (USV) attacks from Ukrainian shores, striking the Nefrit, a multipurpose offshore vessel, in the Russian Black Sea resort city of Sochi. The seaside getaway is located about 350 miles on a direct line from the nearest Ukrainian-held territory, but the trip is a lot longer if originating from Ukrainian-held shores.

This marks the first known USV attack on this city that Russian President Vladimir Putin often visits. As we have reported in the past, it has been attacked several times by Ukrainian aerial drones.

The Ukrainian Navy said it carried out the attack as part of the country’s campaign against Russia’s energy infrastructure. The Nefrit supported that infrastructure, the Ukrainian Navy claimed.

“The multipurpose support vessel, flying the Russian flag, was hit by an unmanned naval vessel of the Ukrainian Navy,” the service said on Telegram. “A powerful explosion and smoke were observed in the area of the vessel.”

“The NEFRIT is part of Russia’s maritime and energy infrastructure, providing support for oil and gas operations, servicing offshore facilities, transporting cargo and personnel, and carrying out underwater technical work,” the Ukrainian Navy explained. “Its activities directly supported the enemy’s war economy and financed the criminal aggression against Ukraine.”

“The damage to the NEFRIT is a blow to the enemy’s logistics, special capabilities, and military-economic infrastructure,” the Ukrainian Navy added. “The Ukrainian Navy continues to deprive the enemy of resources and capabilities for waging war, and once again demonstrates that even Russian territory is not a safe haven.”

While the Ukrainian Navy claimed the Nefrit was damaged, the extent of that is hard to determine from imagery emerging on social media.

Some video, shot from inside the city, shows a large explosion at the port.

A still picture shows smoke wafting from the Nefrit; however, the quality of the image makes it hard to determine the vessel’s condition.

Sochi: footage of this morning’s USV raid on the seaport.

The likely target was a Multipurpose Supply Vessel (MPSV) used to support offshore oil and gas operations. pic.twitter.com/Ndr5bRAYV5

— Exilenova+ (@Exilenova_plus) September 3, 2026

There is also video of one of the USVs being destroyed before it could reach its target.

Starting at about 6 a.m. local time, Sochi Mayor Andrey Proshunin declared an emergency.

“ATTENTION! THREAT OF A USV ATTACK IN SOCHI,” he warned on Telegram. “All forces and resources are working to defend the city. Take shelter in a safe place, remain calm.”

About a half hour later, Proshunin issued an all-clear notice, but did not provide any details about what happened.

There was no immediate response from the Kremlin.

Ukraine has carried out long-distance USV attacks on Russian Black Sea targets in the past, including one in 2023 on the Ropucha class vessel Olenegorsky Gornyak, located in Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. A major Russian port on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, it sits roughly 420 miles from Ukrainian-held shores. Sochi is about 110 miles southeast of Novorossiysk, meaning the USVs in today’s attack would have had to travel an even longer distance if launched from Ukrainian-held shores. However, the launch point of the Sochi USV strike is not publicly known and there is always the possibility that a mothership could have been used.

The attack occurring during broad daylight is also interesting, as Ukraine has often taken advantage of the cover of darkness for USV strike operations on port facilities.

You can see a video of that strike below:

The strike on the Nefrit is the latest in Ukraine’s long-running drone boat campaign in the Black Sea. This onslaught has already kept Russia’s Black Sea Fleet (BSF) at bay, forcing it to retreat from Crimea to Novorossiysk. Ukrainian USVs have also damaged enemy military facilities in occupied Crimea and the Kerch Bridge.

The Houthi rebels of Yemen actually pioneered the operational use of kamikaze USVs years ago. We first reported about this capability in January 2017, when an explosive-laden Houthi USV struck a Saudi frigate. Before that, Iran developed various crude kamikaze USVs and those capabilities soon migrated to their Houthi proxies, which put them to use in the Red Sea for the first time.

In July, the U.S. military used USVs as combat weapons for the first time, striking Iranian targets in Bandar Abbas. The following video shows that attack.

Yesterday, using multiple one-way attack surface drones, CENTCOM forces successfully struck a submarine and ship maintenance facility in Iran. Three Corsair unmanned surface vessels hit the port at Bandar Abbas Naval Base, marking the first time American forces have employed sea… pic.twitter.com/bOM2kmgRxz

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 13, 2026

It may be a day or so before we get a better picture of the extent of the damage to the Nefrit. Regardless, the attack itself is another sign that Ukraine can reach targets with sea drones far from its own shores.

The Latest

All across the battlefield, Ukrainian forces are largely holding off continued Russian attacks or are making small advances. Overall, in August, “Russian forces advanced or infiltrated into about 123.53 square kilometers — an average pace of 3.98 square kilometers per day,” according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). “Russian forces’ main territorial gains in August 2026 have been in the Fortress Belt area, Donetsk Oblast. Even there, Russian forces managed to achieve only marginal tactical gains and have thus far failed to complete the seizure of Kostyantynivka.”

Here are some key takeaways from the ISW assessment.

• Kharkiv: Russian forces continued offensive operations in northern Kharkiv Oblast and the Velykyi Burluk direction on September 1 and 2 but did not advance. Russian forces also continued offensive operations in the Borova and Kupyansk directions on September 2 but did not advance. However, Moscow’s troops continued attempts to secure and expand the bridgehead on the left bank of the Oskil River to enable further infiltrations into Kupyansk.

• Donetsk: Ukrainian forces recently defeated a Russian infiltration mission in the Slovyansk direction. They also recently maintained positions or advanced in the Dobropillya tactical area. Russian forces continued offensive operations in the Novopavlivka direction on September 1 and 2 but did not advance. Neither Ukrainian nor Russian forces reported ground activity in the Oleksandrivka direction on September 2.

• Zaporizhia: Russian forces continued offensive operations in the Hulyaipole direction on September 1 and 2 but did not advance. Russian forces continued offensive operations in western Zaporizhia Oblast on September 1 and 2 but did not advance as Ukrainian forces counterattacked west of Orikhiv.

• Kherson: Neither Russian nor Ukrainian forces reported ground activity in the Kherson direction on September 2.

MORE 🧵(1/3): ISW has observed evidence to assess that Russian forces consolidated positions in or seized about 90.35 square kilometers of territory in Ukraine in August 2026, averaging 2.91 square kilometers seized per day. Including Russian infiltrations, Russian forces… https://t.co/0RlwRfBdhs pic.twitter.com/Cp2Knry2Du

— Institute for the Study of War (@TheStudyofWar) September 2, 2026

Air traffic around Moscow continued to be disrupted on Thursday as Russian authorities responded to another large-scale Ukrainian drone operation, according to EU Today. The disruptions came two days after President Volodymyr Zelensky warned international airlines and insurers that Russian airspace was becoming increasingly unsafe for civilian aviation due to Ukrainian drone attacks.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that 548 drones had flown towards the wider Moscow region between 8 a.m. on Wednesday and midday Thursday local time. However, Russian authorities claimed that most were intercepted before they could reach the Moscow area while 143 were destroyed on approaches to the Russian capital.

“Temporary restrictions were again imposed at Moscow’s principal airports,” EU Today noted. “Vnukovo and Domodedovo stopped arrivals and departures for periods during the operation, while Sheremetyevo handled flights under additional restrictions. The measures produced cancellations, delays and diversions extending beyond the periods in which individual airports were formally closed.”

The disruption “had already become extensive on Wednesday,” the publication added. “Flight-tracking data showed 21 cancellations and 235 delayed services at Sheremetyevo, Russia’s largest airport, while Vnukovo recorded 22 cancellations and 94 delays.”

⚡️ Moscow airports cancel flights after Zelensky’s ‘closed skies’ warning

“Temporary restrictions on the arrival and departure of aircraft have been introduced,” Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) said.https://t.co/BAlAASaDv5

— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) September 3, 2026

Putin on Thursday said there is a chance of resolving the “Ukrainian conflict” but Kyiv’s campaign to shut down Russian airspace is “complicating the negotiation process.”

Russia and Ukraine themselves must reach an agreement, while other countries can only support and assist, the Russian leader added, according to a translation from former Ukrainian government official Anton Gerashchenko.

Russia is in contact with the White House and President Donald Trump “is committed to positive and constructive engagement,” Putin proclaimed. “Russia has many friends in the United States. One of them is Steven Seagal, the ‘best envoy of peace.’”

Putin said there is a chance of resolving the “Ukrainian conflict” but Ukraine’s threats to shut down Russian airspace are “complicating the negotiation process.”

Comment from me: Putin’s orders to attack Ukrainian energy infrastructure aren’t complicating anything, it seems… https://t.co/QYJ3AKXjou pic.twitter.com/C1NKz3V7cH

— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) September 3, 2026

A Russian drone strike on an Odesa apartment building injured at least 17 people, including three children, Zelensky stated on X.

In Odesa, emergency services continue working at the site of a drone strike on an apartment building. Damage to apartments from the 10th through the 17th floors left 17 people injured, including three children. Efforts are also ongoing to deal with the aftermath of the strikes in… pic.twitter.com/FWAmFNJSYp

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) September 3, 2026

Overall, Ukraine says its air defenses downed or suppressed 135 of 163 Russian drones launched overnight, including Shahed-type UAVs, about half of which were jet-powered. Russia also used S-8000 Banderol, Gerbera and decoy drones. Hits were recorded at 15 locations and debris fell at four.

Ukraine says air defenses downed or suppressed 135 of 163 Russian drones launched overnight, including Shahed-type UAVs, about half of them jet-powered. Russia also used S-8000 Banderol, Gerbera and decoy drones. Hits were recorded at 15 locations and debris fell at four.… pic.twitter.com/JyxTS6QBzL

— NOELREPORTS 🇪🇺 🇺🇦 (@NOELreports) September 3, 2026

Russia has been increasingly using jet-powered drones to attack Ukraine. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry released video it says shows troops from the 208th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade downing one of those drones. The jet powered Shahed-like one-way attack drones fly higher and faster than their propeller-driven cousins, making them harder to intercept by more cost effective and plentiful means, such as Ukraine’s many drone interceptors. Instead, much more expensive and increasingly scare missile must be used in some circumstances.

What appears to be the first video of Ukrainian troops using Cold War-era Leopard 1 tanks with turrets swapped out for the Rheinmetall Skyranger 35 short-range air defense system has emerged on social media. The @deaidua X account that tracks German war materiel donations to Ukraine said the 1020th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment recently took delivery of this system, designed to be a highly mobile counter to a range of aerial threats.

The Skyranger 35 “is equipped with a KDG 35/1000 revolver cannon in 35 mm x 228 caliber with a firing rate of 1,000 rounds per minute,” according to Rheinmetall, which began delivering these to Ukraine in January. “It has an effective range of up to 4,000 meters and a high degree of commonality with the Oerlikon Revolver Gun Mk 3. Thanks to AHEAD technology, the Skyranger 35 is airburst-capable. In the future, it will also be possible to equip it with modern guided missiles.”

It seems that Ukraine’s 1020th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment which belongs to the Ground Forces has taken delivery of the first Skyranger 35 SPAAGs mounted on a Leopard 1 chassis made by @RheinmetallAG.

A contract for the delivery of the Skyranger 35 SPAAGs was signed in H2 of… pic.twitter.com/VRWhGx1LCa

— GAU (@deaidua) September 3, 2026

A new documentary about Ukraine’s use of the combat-proven National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) air defense system debuts tomorrow.

“Sky Defenders is a new documentary taking audiences inside the increasingly critical battle to protect the skies of Europe and Ukraine,” according to the film’s producers. “Launching globally on Apple TV and Amazon Prime on Sept. 4, the 50-minute film explores the people, technology and strategy behind modern air defense and the race to stop missiles and drones before they reach their targets.”

SKY DEFENDERS | Official Trailer

A new video shows a Russian soldier being attacked by three Ukrainian kamikaze drones simultaneously, underscoring just how dense the drone threat has become to troops near the front.

That kind of attrition is also visible around Pokrovsk, where Ukrainian kamikaze drones are increasingly coordinating strikes against individual Russian infantrymen and small assault groups.https://t.co/HfKBCW7ZOm

— ZSU News (@ZSUNews) September 3, 2026

It’s been more than three years since the Russians captured the town of Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk region after a long battle that incurred a tremendous toll on personnel and equipment on both sides of the fight. New drone video has emerged showing the city remains in ruins, with blocks and blocks of vacant and destroyed buildings.

A harrowing new video from Bakhmut, filmed in the summer of 2026. The Ukrainian city was captured by the Russians three years ago and has lain in ruins ever since.

In this once-vibrant city of 72,000 inhabitants, there are no longer any shops, schools, kindergartens, cafés,… pic.twitter.com/clFfLu5jkq

— Jürgen Nauditt 🇩🇪🇺🇦 (@jurgen_nauditt) September 3, 2026

That’s it for now. That’s it for now. We’ll update this story with new details when they emerge.

Contact the author: howard@twz.com

Crime rates, long-term unemployment and poor health outcomes have long plagued a town that is now under threat from rising sea levels and has attracted “dark tourists”

“On a sunny afternoon, it feels like a ghost town. I feel like I am in a film about a lost time,” explains Christopher Moss, having visited what is probably the UK’s most maligned seaside town.

The travel writer has spent decades exploring the UK in an effort to unearth parts of the country that most either miss or ignore altogether, to then put a spotlight on those places. The results have been turned into a newly published book, Where Tourists Seldom Tread.

Among the two dozen towns featured in the book is Jaywick, a seaside spot in Essex that regularly comes in for a real kicking. It has been officially ranked as England’s most deprived neighbourhood four times running (2010, 2015, 2019, and again in 2025) by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Crime rates, long-term unemployment and poor health outcomes have long plagued a town that is now under threat from rising sea levels. The town has become something of a punching bag, with YouTube “dark tourists” regularly turning their cameras on Jaywick and even a US Republican congressional candidate using a photo of neglected housing and potholed roads in an election ad warning American voters about economic decline.

In his 1983 classic travelogue, The Kingdom by the Sea, Paul Theroux dismissed Jaywick as being like an “Argentinian shanty town”. The Channel 5 documentary series Benefits by the Sea was filmed here in 2015.

Chris does not sugarcoat what he found on his trip to Jaywick, but instead lifts up the intriguing, unique and beautiful parts of the town that are easy to miss amidst the damning headlines.

“I was taken by how beautiful it is to be on the waterside there,” Chris told the Mirror. “It has this golden beach and this feeling of being in a foreign country. It was very calm and warm. Sedate even.”

The feeling of being somewhere other than England is added to by the chalets that make up most of the housing stock in Jaywick. The town was founded about 100 years ago when property developer Frank Stedman bought 24 acres of flood-prone marshland near the popular resort of Clacton, and flogged it in small parcels to Londoners looking to escape the city for the weekend. They were encouraged to build their own homes from kits, with suggested models costing just £52, although these were made of “rough cast asbestos” bricks.

The promise of a lake and sports centre never materialised, but what did was a curious housing estate in the shape of a car radiator grille with roads named after old vehicle manufacturers.

The destruction of East London during WW2 led many to move into their Jaywick homes full-time, not just for the holidays. “Eighty years later, materials and decor and fixtures have changed, but they are still weekend-sized and vulnerable to floods, time and family budgets,” writes Chris. While some of the homes are “stoved in”, others are well looked after and kept looking fresh.

As well as the strong Essex/London hybrid accent, what remains in Jaywick are the Martello Towers. The squat structures were built in large numbers along the coasts of Britain and other parts of the former British Empire, mostly during the early 19th century, primarily to provide a defensive base should Napoleon launch a land invasion.

The design was inspired by a round fortification at Mortella Point in Corsica, which British forces attacked in 1794. A small garrison there put up unexpectedly stiff resistance against Royal Navy ships, inspiring the Brits to steal the idea.

Jaywick’s tower is still intact and now plays host to an arts, heritage and community centre. It was saved earlier this year when an Essex County Council plan to cut £90,000 of funding prompted a local backlash. Part of it is given over to residents’ poems that both sing Jaywick’s praises and reckon with its challenges.

One from Anna Mae reads: “Sirens blazing, blue lights flashing, drunkards fighting, eau de weed pervading, boom boxes blaring, foxes screaming way into the night. Seagulls screeching their morning calling, school kids running, mums beckoning, voices straining, muted threatening, coaches arriving, mobility scooters racing, cars parking, buckets and spades unloading, excited cries, tired of eye spying, children clamouring eager to see the sea, new land dredged from marshes keep on sinking, sea will continue claiming what is hers.”

It is this constant and growing risk of inundation that adds to the place’s strange atmosphere, as does the feeling of a community bonded by a world that is against them.

“Put-downs can spread the shame, but not here; people defend the right to be proud of their homes,” Chris concludes.

“All I’m saying to readers is it’s okay to accept the headlines, but go and see and say hello. Most of these places are not as bad as the press presents.”

Where Tourists Seldom Tread is available in hardback for £19 and ebook for £12.99 on bookshop.org.

A woman has shared a video of her trip to a charming seaside town, where she said ‘time slowed down’ and visitors feel like they’ve stepped back in time

One Norfolk spot is one of those classic British seaside towns that has managed to hold on to its old-school charm. Set on the North Norfolk coast, it offers far more than just a day at the beach, with historic attractions, independent shops, local food and plenty of scenic walks.

A surprising attraction in Sheringham is hidden beneath the waves. The Cromer Shoal Chalk Reef, which runs along the coast just offshore, is described by North Norfolk tourism authorities as the longest chalk reef in the world, stretching for around 20 miles.

Sheringham sits along the coastline, just an hour’s drive north of Norwich.

At first glance, it might seem fairly ordinary, with a population of just 7,100 residents, according to the 2021 census. But most visitors quickly change their minds, with countless tourists claiming they feel as though they’ve stepped back in time upon arriving in this delightful town.

There’s no shortage of things to do, with an award-winning beach, breathtaking nature and parks to explore, as well as local and military museums to visit, reports the Express.

A traditional seaside beach

Sheringham’s Blue Flag beach is a big draw, with a long promenade, colourful beach huts and plenty of space to enjoy the coastline.

At low tide, patches of sand appear between the pebbles, while the rocky shoreline is ideal for rock pooling. The town has a much more traditional seaside feel than some of Britain’s busier resorts, with fishing boats, cafés and independent shops lining the streets rather than rows of large amusement attractions.

Ride a steam train

One of Sheringham’s best-known attractions is the North Norfolk Railway, also known as the Poppy Line.

The heritage railway runs between Sheringham and Holt, taking passengers through the Norfolk countryside on restored historic trains. With its old-fashioned stations and steam locomotives, it’s a particularly appealing way to see the surrounding area and adds to the town’s nostalgic charm.

A fishing town at heart

Sheringham’s roots can be traced back to its days as a fishing village, and that heritage is still visible today. Small fishing boats continue to operate from the town’s slopes, with crab and lobster among the catches associated with the area.

For anyone wanting to find out more about the town’s past, Sheringham Museum is well worth a visit. Its collections explore everything from fishing and farming to local life and the lifeboat service, alongside fossils and prehistoric discoveries from the surrounding coastline.

Taking to TikTok, one woman decided to share her experience of visiting the charming coastal town, describing it as a place ‘where time slowed down’.

“Sheringham – a cosy seaside town where time slows down. Colourful cottages, fresh sea breeze, and the sound of waves – it’s the kind of place that makes you want to stay a little longer,” she wrote in the caption of the video.

She went on to post her clip, which opened with a woman, dressed in a blue dress and wearing a sunhat, strolling along the platform at the train station. The footage was filmed from inside a vintage train, which immediately created the sensation of having stepped back in time.

The TikTok creator went on to share brief clips from their visit to Sheringham, highlighting the delightful high street decorated with colourful bunting strung above, before capturing a procession of older women dancing and parading through the town centre.

They then shifted their focus to the beach, where visitors were enjoying the scenery and taking part in various activities in the blue waters, despite the grey skies above.

Viewers were quick to rush to the comments section to share their thoughts, with many expressing their joy at how peaceful and beautiful the Norfolk town looked.

“I love Britain one of my favourite countries,” one person wrote.

Another viewer said: “This is not just a video. It’s like opening up to a brand new dimension of extraordinary power!”

Argentina midfielder Exequiel Palacios has become the first World Cup winner to sign for Ipswich Town after joining from Bayer Leverkusen.

Palacios, 27, left the Bundesliga club for an undisclosed fee and has signed a four-year contract with the Premier League newcomers.

He was part of the Argentina side that both won the World Cup in 2022 and reached the final this summer while he also won the Copa America twice with his country.

“This is a club with great ambition and I am excited to play football in England and compete against some of the best clubs and players in the world,” Palacios said.

Palacios, Ipswich’s 11th signing of the transfer window, started Argentina’s 3-1 win against World Cup debutants Jordan in the group stage in his only appearance at the 2026 tournament.

Ipswich manager Gary O’Neil added: “He is a player who has had real success at the top level of the game, winning the biggest prize of all in the World Cup, as well as major trophies at club level.

“That experience will be vital for us as we continue to work to improve the squad this summer.”

Locals say overcrowding and soaring property prices have made it a “nightmare” to live in the town

One historic seaside town on the Yorkshire coast, loved for its dramatic coastal views, traditional seaside charm and fascinating history has been hit by a mass of tourism. Research by HeyDiscount previously ranked Whitby among the UK’s most overcrowded tourist spots.

In a town with just 13,000 residents, Whitby has an estimated 3,275 commercial holiday lets, according to research carried out for the town’s Neighbourhood Plan. So it is no wonder that this has had an impact on housing and affordability.

Why is Whitby famous?

The town is perhaps best known for Whitby Abbey, the striking Gothic ruins perched high on the East Cliff overlooking the harbour and coastline.

Visitors can reach the abbey by climbing the famous 199 Steps, one of Whitby’s best-known landmarks and a popular spot for taking in views across the town.

The history of the site stretches back to 657 AD, when the first monastery was founded there. The medieval abbey that later stood on the site was eventually destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century.

Meanwhile, Bram Stoker visited Whitby in 1890 and drew inspiration from the town for his famous novel Dracula. Its Gothic links have since become a major part of Whitby’s identity and appeal.

Alan Cuthbert, a lifelong Whitby resident and fisherman said: “You can’t walk down the street without bumping into someone with a camera or a bag of fish and chips.

“For us locals, it’s a nightmare. Traffic’s worse, parking’s a joke, and the peace we used to have is long gone.”

Tourists and second-home purchasers have driven property prices to new heights, forcing locals to move out.

Mr Cuthbert added: “Houses that used to be for families like mine are now being snatched up as holiday lets or second homes. Prices have gone through the roof. I’ve got friends who’ve had to move out of Whitby altogether because they can’t afford to live here anymore.”

Former Mayor Linda Wild told MailOnline: “Where I live, 90% of the neighbouring houses are holiday lets or second homes. Every Friday night, I can hear the rattle of suitcase wheels on the pavement.”

According to Rightmove figures, the average house property price in Whitby is £239,777.

The majority of properties sold in Whitby during the last year were semi-detached properties, selling for an average price of £227,143. Terraced properties sold for an average of £234,090, with detached properties fetching £336,614.

Tourism

Despite these challenges, tourism undeniably brings benefits to local businesses.

Between one and two million tourists visit Whitby each year, according to the BBC.

Sarah Bennett, a café owner in the town centre, acknowledges that tourism has been crucial to her livelihood. She said: “My café gets more visitors, which helps keep the business going year-round, not just in the summer.”

Yet she is equally candid about the downsides, particularly the strain placed on local services. She added: “Tourism has definitely put pressure on local amenities. It can be harder to get a doctor’s appointment or find a spot in local schools. The challenge is making sure that the benefits of this investment reach everyone, not just the tourists.”

While some residents cash in on the tourism boom, others are left picking up the pieces.

Neil Swannick, a Labour councillor for Whitby Streonshalh ward, summed up this rift, saying last year: “There are certainly people that have done well out of tourism in Whitby, but that benefit hasn’t been evenly spread across the residents of the town.”

North Yorkshire Council has identified parking, transport and housing as some of the key challenges facing Whitby as visitor numbers continue to grow.

The council now plans to limit new holiday lets and has drafted a Neighbourhood Plan which proposes a Principal Residence Policy. This means new open-market homes could be used as permanent residences rather than second homes or holiday lets.

Meanwhile, traffic and parking is another issue. The council says Whitby’s historic streets were not designed to cope with the volume of traffic brought by the town’s popularity, particularly during busy periods. Improving parking is therefore among the priorities outlined in its emerging Town Investment Plan.

There are also plans to make Whitby more pedestrian-friendly, with proposals to routinely pedestrianise the Whitby Swingbridge and surrounding harbourside.

North Yorkshire Council says the changes could improve safety during busy tourist periods, reduce pollution and make it easier for pedestrians to travel between the two sides of the town.

My dream holiday is a trip back in time. Not to see the results of seismic Pompeii or 15th-century Machu Picchu – although I love both – but somewhere created specifically between the mid 1950s and 1970s, when cities were getting weird. I love postwar architourism, exploring urban planning at its most frenzied and optimistic. I have relished trips to Niemeyer’s Brasília and Le Corbusier’s Chandigarh in India, where the monumental and visionary modernist architecture and interiors are at odds with the minimal population. So La Grande-Motte, the retro futurist folly of a resort town on the southern coast of France, a 30-minute drive from Montpellier, had long been on my “must visit” list.

The tourist board of this Occitanie seaside town likes to flag up some superficial parallels between it and the aforementioned cities, but this isn’t a high-concept capital city or administrative hub. It was built in the late 1960s and early 1970s purely to persuade the French to stop going south to the Costa Brava in Spain. As part of an initiative by the French government, a stretch of windswept mosquito-infested coast between Montpellier and Perpignan, including Gruissan and Port Leucate, was reimagined as an alternative to the Côte d’Azur with several new-build beach towns. La Grande-Motte would be the weirdest project. It was made for fun. It’s also well positioned to visit the nearby salt marshes and 13th-century walled-in town of Aigues-Mortes, for when you want to feel as if you’ve ticked a few more holiday boxes.

The mastermind behind the town’s architecture, Jean Balladur, took inspiration from temples and Mesoamerican pyramids from the first century, imagining what the 21st century would look like in the 1970s. Why shouldn’t modernist apartments be arranged in the shape of a Maya pyramid, or an intergalactic curve? I rented a tiny studio with my husband in the Incas building for part of my trip, and while there was nothing in the way of high design about the interior, being on that terrace immersed us in a timewarp.

Walking around Point Zéro (named for being the site of the earliest construction), home to La Grande-Motte’s main beach, all looks fairly standard: families playing on the sand, couples drinking cocktails outside cafes. The beach gained a Blue Flag award for environmental management and water quality in 2025. But the place is unique: the ferris wheel is solar powered and the buildings suggest you’re on another planet entirely – there are no rectangular blocks and few right angles to be seen. The urban planning has been driven by pedestrian pathways and cycle routes, punctuated by thousands of trees.

On the beach there are concrete sculptures by artist Joséphine Chevry, which look like the tips of the wartime sound mirrors in Dungeness, Kent. Chevry created them to help shape the dunes (AKA “the big mound”) but also to serve as functional wind breakers and shade when Point Zéro was created. They’re now mostly buried in the sand. Time has moved on but they will for ever be core to the town’s concept.

The place has had cyclical fortunes. As with many seaside towns, it fell from grace in the 1980s. It was gauche. In 2014 the fashion designer Simon Porte Jacquemus created a nostalgic collection and book in homage to the town and talked to AnOther Magazine of its “trashy reputation”, but he also said he found it “inspiring and exciting” and remembered his holidays there as a child. And it seems a renaissance is under way as the grandchildren of people who first bought apartments here are discovering it.

I’d recommend the fabulously vintage three-star Hotel Le Quetzal (doubles from €114 room-only) as an interesting base. It feels brilliantly 1970s, being part of the original wave of development in the town, but was refurbished a few years ago so the essentials are fresh and modern. Its design is as interesting as anywhere in town: the balconies jut out like theatre boxes and create an optical illusion of the building being slanted. There’s no restaurant but people microwave meals in the lobby or bring back a margherita from nearby L’Atelier de la Pizza to have on their balcony.

A couple of days by the pool here are great, fending off seagulls from your pain au chocolate at breakfast and watching stray cats wander around the loungers; the same families have been coming for years. Nearby, L’innatendu is a better restaurant than anything on the seafront (I particularly recommend the squid with black rice), although the most enjoyable meal I had was a bunch of simple marinated skewers at La Guinguette des Alizés, opposite the seafront carousel on Avenue du Couchant that looks like a piece of pop art.

Strolling around La Grande-Motte’s apartment blocks was as fascinating to me as a visit to the Colosseum. I walked through the open-air theatre that looks like a derelict World’s Fair site but is used for shows regularly, around the elegant white bow shape of Saint-Augustin’s church, down to the water and the Big Pyramid apartment complex facing the yachts on the dock, and to the low and curved buildings of Le Couchant. I spent hours photographing stairwells and walkways, and the hundreds of balconies that make the town the sum of its geometric parts – graphic beauty reminiscent of the Bauhaus, Saul Bass posters and Verner Panton furniture. La Grande-Motte is a sunny, gleaming white vision of a future that we could never live up to. Or perhaps deserve.

When you’re a Hollywood icon, everyone in town has a story about you. But with Dolly Parton, so do visitors of a 160-acre Tennessee theme park.

I waited for what felt like my entire life to see Dollywood. As a theme park journalist, it was the absolute summit of my professional bucket list — always close yet somehow out of reach. Pigeon Forge, Tenn., like many regional gems, thrives from its proximity to nearby towns but is a haul and a half to get to from Los Angeles. (Consider it no coincidence that Delta Airlines canceled our flight there on two separate occasions.)

My friends and I wore Dolly and Mickey Mouse T-shirts for the occasion.

(Carlye Wisel)

After a failed attempt in 2025, my crew of friends rallied to at long last make the successful pilgrimage to the country crooner’s compound earlier this spring. Once we checked into our Lincoln Logs rental cabin and reality hit that we’d actually made it — cowboy boots on the ground! — we realized all four of us were unusually clueless about what came next.

As Disney obsessives, my friends and I know theme parks, but had no barometer for what to expect from … a celebrity-themed one. Would it feel worn-down and somewhat sad? Would they smell the coastal elite media bias on us? Was the cinnamon bread actually that good?!

Of course, it was all perfect. Gloriously lush, vast and yet somehow deeply quaint, it was jarringly unexpected in the best of ways.

The 12,000-pound Dollywood Eagle is the mascot for the park’s winged roller-coaster, the Wild Eagle.

(Amy Harris / Invision / AP)

Mornings at Dollywood were spent wandering the now-relocated bald eagle sanctuary and crafting village, afternoons were spent riding black bears, coasters and log flumes. We watched candle-dipping artisans at work with wide eyes, heard the screaming whistle of the authentic steam locomotive train, and perused each room of the Dolly Parton Experience museum with glee. By the second day, one friend was walking arm-in-arm toward the cinnamon bread grist mill with its cashier. There was a palpable kindness that emanated throughout, as though every employee was working in her honor, whether performing in a show alongside her blood relatives or selling bedazzled tank tops.

The glorious cinnamon bread at Dollywood.

(Carlye Wisel)

Standing in front of the Grist Mill, a.k.a., the home of the cinnamon bread.

(Carlye Wisel)

And then there were the rides. As for enduring monuments, Elvis fanatics have Graceland, Beatles obsessives have Abbey Road, but Dolly? Dolly acolytes have a wooden-steel coaster so intense it can pop your boob right out of your bra. (In retrospect, my friend’s incident was a perfectly unintended homage to the busty star.)

With funnel cakes in the shape of her beloved butterfly and fashion exhibits with eye-popping heels and wigs, Dolly Parton’s theme park has history, entertainment, reverence. She was inviting us into her figurative and literal home — the tour bus she resided in for over a decade, with an overzealous guide to boot. In fact, most employees couldn’t wait to talk about Dolly, and neither could we. To be here is to be close to Dolly Parton, but to work here seems almost spiritual.

The Lightning Rod roller coaster is intense.

(Carlye Wisel)

At some point between the blacksmithery heat, second loaf of cinnamon bread and feeling my soul leave my body aboard a haunted coal mine coaster, it hit me that this simply will never happen again. The splintering of mass media, the confluence of a cultural icon whose priorities are so admirable — the zeitgeist will simply never again support someone so pure of heart. Who else could pull off an eponymous theme park without it feeling brazenly self-serving?

After all, Dollywood isn’t just a pile of rides in the Great Smoky Mountains. Rooted in authenticity, service and philanthropy, they’re honoring Appalachian culture by forging iron and blowing glass in their Craftsman’s Valley, while inviting you in to do the same. The Imagination Playhouse, a live musical staging of children’s books, promotes her literacy initiative and its work gifting hundreds of millions of free books. Even the property’s most expensive hotel room is a low-key fundraiser for the Dollywood Foundation. In the era of budget cuts, corporate consolidations and layoffs, it feels like a respite from the fiscally overwhelming sides of America’s other theme parks these days, but that’s always been its objective. Dolly’s original investment in Silver Dollar City, the park’s predecessor, was purely to give back to the community and support jobs in the area.

Dollywood’s Palace Theater has hosted iconic shows through the decades.

(Amy Harris / Invision / AP)

Until her death Tuesday at age 80, Dolly was the closest thing we had to a modern day Walt Disney mixed with Mr. Rogers’ kindness and Miss Piggy’s flair. A true Renaissance woman who pulled herself out of a state of poverty that for many seems unimaginable (until, of course, you overstay your welcome ogling the exhibit of her two-room Tennessee Mountain childhood home, which I obviously have).

Dolly Parton was a living testament to what’s important in life: treating others the way you want to be treated, while also looking hot as hell. How unbelievable it is to have been alive at the same time as such a remarkable woman, and to have a place we can forever visit to celebrate her.

All I can do after the end to such a historic run is to urge you: Don’t wait as long as I did to experience Dollywood’s magic firsthand. Make the pilgrimage. Go there and see it yourself, in her honor.

And maybe, just maybe, wear a more supportive bra on Lightning Rod.

Fans gathered at Dollywood after she died at the age of 80.

(Melissa Sue Gerrits / Getty Images)

This is one of the country’s best-preserved medieval towns.

The UK has no shortage of amazing historical towns and villages. One in particular is famous for looking frozen in time after its primary industry collapsed, leaving the homes preserved as they looked in the 16th century.

Lavenham in Suffolk is one of the most important wool towns, and back in the 15th century, it was one of the wealthiest settlements in England thanks to the booming wool trade. Wealthy merchants built large, opulent homes in the town and used their cash to fund the late-Gothic Church of St Peter and St Paul.

However, in the late 16th century, the wool industry was decimated by cheap foreign imports and heavy taxation.

The formerly wealthy people of Lavenham saw their money disappear overnight, and people could no longer afford to rebuild or modernise their homes.

These same timber-framed Tudor homes have stood in place for centuries, untouched and now are an iconic sight on the town’s high street.

More than 300 of them are listed as historic structures, and hundreds lean at odd angles due to the warping of the timber over the years.

On Instagram, a visitor said: “This 1,000 year old village feels frozen in time!”

One of the must-sees of the village, aside from its history-lined streets, is the spectacular Lavenham Guildhall.

This 16th-century building is now managed and maintained by the National Trust.

Throughout the building there are displays you can read and admire which tell the story of the village through the centuries as well as the people who called it home.

As you wander through the town, keep an eye out for the famous Crooked House, thought to be the inspiration behind the nursery rhyme “There was a crooked man, who lived in a crooked house”.

Keen-eyed tourists might recognise the De Vere House on Water Street, which was used as a shooting location for the Harry Potter franchise.

Now, the house is a luxury accommodation where tourists can spend the night in four-poster beds, admiring the wooden beams that are an emblem of the style of architecture.

THE seaside town of Brighton isn’t exactly off the radar – but it could be become a new hub for tourists.

In terms of its artsy scene, the coastal city has been said to potentially ‘rival Margate‘ with a new attraction.

With buildings covered in beautiful murals, handmade trinkets being sold at markets and the fact that it’s home to many creatives, it’s surprising that Brighton doesn’t have an art gallery.

But that could be set to change as a development plan has revealed one could open on the seafront.

This isn’t too dissimilar to Margate in Kent which is home to the world-class Turner Contemporary.

The Black Rock area in Brighton next to Brighton Marina is set to be developed – while there are no official plans, it could become a gallery.

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According to Time Out, the local council are in talks with a major London art institution. 

That isn’t the only part of Brighton getting a new look – another part of the town’s redesign is on the seafront.

The council are looking to update the King’s Road paddling pool and play area.

The local council are currently looking for proposals that must have a “high-quality family play area and paddling pool that will remain free for residents and visitors to enjoy.”

The hope is that the existing pool, play area as well as surrounding facilities will be upgraded and modernised.

Speaking of pools, Brighton just a few years ago opened a seafront lido called Sea Lanes which sits right by the seafront on Madeira Drive.

The 50metre swimming pool has six lanes and is heated to 19C year-round.

On the day sessions are £11.90 per adult and £7.60 for concessions.

Thanks to several businesses being open on-site, Sea Lanes is a great spot to grab a drink and bite to eat.

One such place is a cafe called Fika, which boasts about serving “an epic brunch and damn good coffee“.

Think re-fuelling smoothies and enormous breakfast and brunch sandwiches.

There’s barbecue restaurant Wood x Coal, which “captures the essence of Brighton and Hove’s spirited soul” by serving “smoky flavours with modern culinary twists”.

Among its best loved options are its pizzas, which are served overlooking to beach.

Bison Beer meanwhile is a local craft beer company and has two bars, with 14 different draft beer options as well as spirits, wine and cocktails.

Another part of Brighton set to be upgraded is its historic arches along the King’s Road.

The seafront arches are home to independent shops and beachfront cafes – and are set to undergo a £22million investment.

Later this year, the nearby Grade II listed Madeira Terrace will reopen  following a £750,000 revamp

The Grade I-listed estate invites families, friends and history buffs to explore its stunning architecture, formal gardens and rich history

One UK spot feels almost too extraordinary to be real. Tucked away in the Lincolnshire countryside, just outside Grantham, Harlaxton Manor rises dramatically from around 300 acres of parkland and gardens.

With its towers, ornate stonework and imposing silhouette, it feels less like an ordinary country estate and more like something lifted straight from a storybook. The manor was built in the 19th century for Gregory Gregory, with construction beginning in 1831 and the building completed around 1851.

But Gregory wasn’t interested in creating an ordinary English manor.

Inspired by his travels throughout Britain and Europe, he brought together a remarkable collection of architectural influences, creating something theatrical, extravagant and completely unique.

Elizabethan and Jacobean architecture, Gothic details and Baroque grandeur all come together within the same extraordinary building.

Approaching Harlaxton, you can almost imagine a horse-drawn carriage disappearing around the corner, a mysterious figure watching from one of the upper windows, or an old family secret hidden somewhere behind one of its grand doors.

Today, the manor has a very different role. It is owned by the University of Evansville in Indiana and is home to Harlaxton College, a study-abroad campus where students from around the world live and study.

Yet despite its modern purpose, the manor has lost none of its extraordinary character, reports Lincolnshire Live.

Nearly two centuries after Gregory Gregory first imagined it, Harlaxton still feels like a place where reality and imagination meet.

The estate has been nicknamed ‘Lincolnshire’s hidden Hogwarts’ and is set to throw open its doors to the public later this month.

Over the August bank holiday weekend, Harlaxton Manor, will be hosting its summer open house event — a rare opportunity for visitors to discover one of the county’s most captivating and secretive estates.

On Sunday, August 30 and Monday, August 31, visitors can step inside the Grade I-listed manor, stroll through its formal gardens and soak up the atmosphere of the estate.

Harlaxton is located nearby Grantham and is an underrated market town.

Grantham is nestled along the River Witham close to the Lincolnshire–Nottinghamshire border.

With roots stretching back to Saxon times, the town developed into an important market centre by the 11th century, growing in wealth through the wool and leather trades.

Bethan Watson, events manager at Harlaxton Manor, said: “We are absolutely delighted to once again welcome visitors to Harlaxton Manor for our Summer Open House this upcoming August Bank Holiday.

“It is always a pleasure to share this remarkable estate with the public and give people the opportunity to experience the history, architecture and beautiful surroundings that make the manor so incredibly special.”

Ms Watson continued: “Guests often remark that Harlaxton Manor is simply magical, like a hidden version of Hogwarts nestled in the Lincolnshire countryside, and it’s easy to see why.

“From exploring our magnificent interiors and strolling through the gardens to relaxing with live music throughout the day, we hope families, friends and history buffs will make a day of it and create lasting memories steeped in splendour under the late summer sun.”

Those planning to attend are encouraged to secure their tickets ahead of the event, which will be open from 10am to 5pm across both days.

THE sun was beating down on the harbour walls where parents and their children were perched, gawping down into the water.

One youngster was giggling with delight at her bucket, which was filled with scuttling crustaceans from her succesful attempts at crabbing.

Holidays in the UK don’t get much better than this.

And with Britain basking in weather as hot as the Med over the past few months, there’s been even less of a need to fork out on flights abroad.

I was in Wells-next-the-Sea, a quaint Norfolk town home to trendy boutiques, quayside pubs and a pretty beach backed by rows of colourful beach huts.

As a large family of five, we’d decided to ditch the pricey hotel in favour of Pinewoods Holiday Park, which occupies a gorgeous perch, set a short way back from the ocean.

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It was the first time in a while that a place had exceeded my expectations.

When we arrived at our six-person lodge, I heard a swift declaration of “I could live here!”

The spacious Saltmarsh Lodge — there was ample room for our group, plus the dog — embraced its position near the coast with its wooden panelling and white slatted ceilings, and its three cosy bedrooms were spotlessly clean.

The master bedroom came with a kingsize bed, spacious en-suite and chic dressing area while the other two had twin beds and a separate bathroom.

My favourite part was the open-plan dining, kitchen and living area, where light poured in from the glass doors, large windows and skylight.

We spent most of our evenings in here, settled on the squishy sofas and armchairs playing cards and board games in front of the coal-effect fire.

Afternoons were spent on the wraparound deck, which was delightfully cool thanks to the trees that offered shade from the sun.

The fact it was all enclosed was a big selling point as it meant our furry friend could pad about freely with little chance of escape.

And as we sat on the decking with a tipple, we couldn’t believe how quiet and peaceful the setting was.

Apart from the obvious visual giveaway, you’d never have guessed that there were more than 100 pitches surrounding us.

Around the corner from our lodge was an on-site playground, an allotment (reserved for holiday home owners) and a shop for all the essentials. We’d stocked up on everything we needed for tasty breakfasts, such as pastries, eggs and condiments.

When in Norfolk, you have to buy the locally made Krusty Loaf bread, which is baked fresh every day and raved about in the area.

The white loaf, with lashings of butter and scrambled egg, went down a treat.

After an indulgent first breakfast, we took a mid-morning stroll to the beach where the dunes are backed by brightly decorated beach huts and, beyond that, a pine forest.

With the sea reachable in just ten minutes, it meant that the dog could be frolicking in the water in no time.

You could easily spend a whole day here, with a pit stop at the Wells Beach Cafe, which serves up cracking bacon butties and frothy coffee.

It also has a pizza corner and an ice cream bar, as well as soft and hard drinks, including Prosecco.

But if you’re not much of a beach lover, the main town centre on the other side of the holiday lodge is well worth a potter around.

The port town has a history dating back more than 400 years and is still renowned for its fresh seafood.

I was drawn more to its trendy shops than the fish, though — Glitter & Mud does some excellent trinkets, from homeware to clothing.

Make sure to pop into The Golden Fleece for a pint, too, which we enjoyed on its small patio while seagulls squawked overhead.

Before we knew it, three nights had rolled by and we had to wave goodbye to our cosy lodge.

But we couldn’t leave until we had ticked off one British seaside staple: fish and chips.

A lengthy queue forms outside Plattens every evening — and for good reason.

Its batter is wonderfully crispy and its curry sauce packs a punch.

Like I said earlier, holidays in the UK don’t get much better than this.

As a teenager before he was even allowed to vote, Charlie Comfort organized for then-Sen. Barack Obama in his hometown of Oskaloosa, Iowa.

Now he’s a Republican.

Meet Charlie. He lives in Waterloo.

He’s 23 and this will be his third presidential caucus.

Charlie’s first foray into politics was during the 2008 campaign. He met Obama at the Smokey Row Coffeehouse, one of the most popular stops for candidates in Oskaloosa, on the Fourth of July in 2007.

Obama campaign volunteers. (Handout)

It was Malia Obama’s 9th birthday, and the shop’s staff put the candidate’s daughter’s name up on the marquee inside.

After Obama spoke, Charlie ran home excited and ready to help.

He wasn’t old enough to vote but dedicated hours to organizing his neighbors, teachers and anyone else who would listen. The Obama campaign said Charlie, a high school student, made more phone calls than any other volunteer in town.

His hard work — at age 15 — earned him a prime spot next to the candidate in this group photo.

The Comfort family was the subject of a front-page story in the Washington Times the morning of the caucus.

Why?

They clearly illustrated the divided nature of the state: Martha Comfort backed Hillary Clinton, Keith Comfort preferred John Edwards and their son was traveling all over the region to put up Obama lawn signs instead of finishing his homework.

Here they are, eight years ago.

Martha Comfort, a legal assistant in town, was working as a Clinton precinct captain. Keith Comfort, a banker, was a little more passive about his support for Edwards, who would ultimately come in second in the caucuses (and later drop out of the race).

Here’s a semi-awkward clip where I tried to get them to pretend they were in a caucus.

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Eight years later, Charlie is a Republican.

Before we get to how that happened, it’s important to note the teenager used the skills he built as a political organizer to run for office himself.

At the age of 19 in October 2011, he became the youngest school board member in Oskaloosa’s history after unseating a 17-year incumbent and getting all his friends to vote.

His interest in education policy had an unintended consequence — he didn’t like that Obama, for whom he’d worked so hard to get to the White House, had not revamped the No Child Left Behind Act as promised. He found himself intrigued by the Republican candidates coming to town in the hopes of winning the Iowa caucuses and challenging Obama in 2012.

In the 2012 Iowa caucuses, he was a Newt Gingrich precinct captain.

But he changed his mind on the way in, and his first caucus vote ultimately went to ex-Sen. Rick Santorum. “I appreciate he spent so much time in Iowa,” Charlie says now.

Once Mitt Romney won the nomination, Charlie set out to help the GOP in the swing state.

That fall, he appeared in a piece by “PBS NewsHour.” (About four minutes into the piece, interviewed at the Smokey Row coffee shop, of course.)

Fast forward four years, and he’s got a tough choice to make.

Charlie has moved from Oskaloosa to Waterloo and is working in marketing. He spent his weekend “chasing the candidates around” because he was undecided as the long campaign for the caucuses comes to a close.

Like most Iowans interested in this quirky process, he’s met many of the hopefuls as they make their way across the state. He even introduced former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush at an event at Smokey Row in October. But that didn’t really help him make up his mind.

“I am disappointed by all the anger, rhetoric and hatred that has been spewed by the party this year,” he says. “I am disappointed that the candidates who would support more moderate values have balked on that to try and get more of a conservative base turning out and I don’t think the Republican platform has been expressed as well as it could.”

Martha and Keith Comfort are still Democrats.

But they also are still split on their preferred candidate.

Keith Comfort gave his first-ever political donation, to Sen. Bernie Sanders. Martha Comfort isn’t working on Clinton’s behalf this time, but she’s still in her corner — probably.

“Now I’m on the fence and I may lean towards Bernie,” she says. “I like what he stands for and I look at Hillary and she really does have the experience but she does have some baggage. But I guess everybody does.”

Then again … “I’m leaning to Hillary because she’s realistic about what she’s promising. She knows what takes place in the office of the president and the process to get things through Congress.”

She says she’ll be resolute in her choice before walking into her neighborhood caucus meeting Monday night: “Nobody is going to persuade me there, even if my husband is across the room.”

As for Charlie, he’s made up his mind.

Iowa caucusgoer Charlie Comfort and presidential hopeful Carly Fiorina

Charlie Comfort and Carly Fiorina. (Courtesy of Charlie Comfort)

He didn’t even need the whole weekend.

“This is who I plan to caucus for,” Charlie said Saturday via Facebook Messenger.

It wasn’t intended to have dramatic effect, but the photo didn’t come through for several minutes.

But there he is, smiling next to former Hewlett-Packard Chief Executive Carly Fiorina, considered a long shot in Iowa and nationally.

“She seems genuine, authentic. She has a business background and has experience with policymakers, whether it be domestically or foreign. Ultimately, I think she is in it for the right reasons — to help fix America,” he said.

“I am very impressed with her secretary-to-CEO story. Only in America.”

For more, go to www.latimes.com/politics

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This charming town offers all the charm of the Cotswolds without the crowds

The Cotswolds might be one of Britain’s most recognisable countryside escapes, but its popularity can make a summer visit feel very different from the peaceful rural holiday many tourists picture when they visit. The area is famous for its charming villages, cobbled streets and of course, its traditional stone cottages – but this fame is a double edged sword.

It might make the area famous – but it also means that the Cotswolds are frequently swarmed by tourists. For anyone hoping to enjoy a slower-paced weekend, battling through crowds can quickly take the shine off a trip. Luckily, you don’t have to give up the quintessentially British village experience altogether.

There are plenty of gorgeous places in the UK to explore that don’t involve doing battle with crowds. In fact, one place offers all the beauty of the famous Cotswolds, including the iconic stone cottages and flower boxes – but you don’t have to spend your holiday dodging crowds.

Travel experts at Parkdean Resorts have revealed this North Yorkshire town as the perfect Cotswolds dupe.

Set in the Yorkshire Dales, it has a traditional cobbled centre surrounded by some of the country’s most impressive countryside. The village square is a natural starting point, with independent businesses and places to eat clustered around its historic streets.

It’s got all the stone cottages, the flower boxes and historic pubs just like the Cotswolds – but you won’t find it teeming with tourists. This charming village is so beautiful it was picked as the main filming location for the fictional village of Darrowby in All Creatures Great and Small.

It’s Grassington in North Yorkshire – and it’s the perfect place to explore for a weekend.

The high street is packed with independent shops where you can pick up home made art and jewellery as well as delicious sweet treats and books.

Grassington is particularly appealing for tourists who want their break to combine sightseeing with walking. Rather than spending the day squeezing through a packed tourist centre, visitors can explore the village before heading out into the surrounding Dales.

If Yorkshire doesn’t tickle your fancy, the experts at Parkdean Resorts do have another destination that they think gives Cotswolds charm without the crowds.

Rye in East Sussex is another destination that rewards visitors who are prepared to look beyond the usual summer hotspots.

The town is packed with historic streets and distinctive old buildings, while independent shops and places to eat make it easy to spend a leisurely day exploring without needing a packed itinerary.

Its biggest advantage, however, could be its location.

Rye provides easy access to the Sussex coast, meaning a short break can include both an atmospheric old town and a day by the sea. Visitors can explore the historic centre in the morning before heading towards the beaches and coastline nearby.

It’s an appealing option for anyone who can’t decide between a countryside escape and a seaside break.