town

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.

WAIL OF A TIME

I drove Irish Route 66 with deserted golden beaches and pirate-like islands

TEMPTED?

Tiny ‘Bali of Europe’ town with stunning beaches, €3 cocktails and £20 flights

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

ALSO:

Everything you need to know about the Iowa caucuses and why they matter

From west to east, Iowa voters have starkly different realities and fears

How Martin O’Malley could decide who wins the Democratic caucuses in Iowa

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.

If you were once a child dragged to the British coastline, seemingly regardless of the time of year or weather, then you too will know how beautiful but also bleak it can be

Bleak or beautiful? When it comes to the UK coastline, it can be difficult to know what you’re going to get.

Camber Sands, Morecambe and Cromer are all picture-perfect places that belong on a postcard when the sun is shining and the chippy fryers are bubbling away.

But, when the clouds roll in and the temperatures drop, leaving the prom deserted but for the hopeless sound of ignored arcade machines, such beauty is replaced by a bleakness.

If you were once a child dragged to the British coastline, seemingly regardless of the time of year or weather, then you too will feel this particular brand of wist deep within yourself.

Inarguably, the bleak jewel in the Dungeness crown is its twin nuclear power plants, which once whipped a patch of nearby sea into a whirlpool but have lain dormant and decommissioned for the past 19 years.

The unique feel of the place has been best captured by artist, filmmaker, gay rights activist, and gardener Derek Jarman, who turned his home into Prospect Cottage—a point of pilgrimage for his fans and those who love the way he carefully manicured the garden into a concentrated miniature form of Dungeness.

But not everyone is a fan. In fact, many are left cold by Dungeness’ charms.

“Bleak is an understatement,” one detractor of the place recently wrote on Reddit. Another added: “Bleak to Dungeness is like ‘a wee bit cold’ in Antarctica. The missus loved it though…” A third wrote: “I find it dismal down there. Old nuclear power station for a view.”

Others love Dungeness and how different it feels from other parts of the UK.

The science writer Ben Goldacre recalled his experience of riding through Dungeness on the small railway that takes day-trippers down the coastline.

“The Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway has a strange, dreamlike existence, on the border between fantasy and reality. You leave toytown in a cute miniature train, surrounded by excited children. But Disney, this is not. Suddenly, you’re riding through real life: past clothes lines, collapsing breezeblock walls, an abandoned washing machine in a back garden, chuffing along behind a miniature steam train. Finally, you’re ferried across a beautiful, windswept shingle peninsula, spotted with railway carriage houses and abandoned shipping containers. Then you are delivered to the foot of a nuclear power station,” Ben wrote.

“This meeting of toy train sets and grim industrial purpose is what makes the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway so perfect.”

Ben is not alone. Dungeness was named the seventh-best beach town in the UK in Which?’s survey of the British public last year. The consumer organisation surveyed more than 3,800 people about their experiences of UK seaside destinations and their opinions on beaches, scenery, food and drink offerings, accommodation, tourist attractions, and value for money.

The elevation of Dungeness into the top ten is a major scoop for the Kentish settlement, which languished in 35th place the year before.

A street located in a popular UK seaside town has been deemed totally “magical”. In fact, people think it’s so beautiful, they’ve compared it to “being in Italy”

There are so many popular seaside towns in the UK, but a certain location has captured the attention of many. In fact, the beauty spot in Wales has been widely celebrated for homing a street deemed totally “magical”.

Indeed, many visitors reckon it’s so charming it feels as though you’ve walked straight into a postcard, and it’s just one of numerous Welsh gems that people simply can’t get enough of. It previously came to wider attention on TikTok after UK Hidden Gems posted a video of the area, showcasing just how breathtaking it can be to wander around in Pembrokeshire.

It’s not the only Welsh location to have set tongues wagging recently either. Just a few months ago, visitors also raved about a stunning beach too.

Alongside the clip, UK Hidden Gems wrote: “Hidden just steps from the harbour, this narrow cobbled lane is lined with colourful doors, flower boxes and twinkling lights that feel absolutely magical as the afternoon light softens.

“Even though it’s one of Tenby’s best-kept secrets, walking here makes you feel like you’re wandering through a postcard.”

Unsurprisingly, Tenby is a wonderful place to explore in general, as the seaside town remains enormously popular. There’s a wealth of sights to take in and savour throughout the town.

Pembrokeshire’s Hidden Gem: The Magical Cobbled Lane in Tenby

Dozens of individuals have left comments since the footage was posted, eager to share their opinions and suggestions. The clip has also been watched thousands of times.

One person said: “Love Tenby. It’s a beautiful place. Last visited 15 years ago. So happy it’s not been ruined. Will now consider going again.”

Another added: “Oh wow, it’s like a little Italy.” A third replied: “OMG! I was there only last week.

“I came out purely by mistake to the back entrance of a gift shop and stumbled on this purely by chance. I was amazed. Great find.”

Meanwhile, a fourth also commented: “This is a beautiful place to visit and even more stunning in person.”

One more also chimed in with: “We go tomorrow. It’s one of the most beautiful places I’ve been to.”

How to Find Tenby’s Picture-Perfect Street Off Lower Frog Street

UK Hidden Gems shared some information for those who fancy a visit. It was pointed out it’s situated off Lower Frog Street, Tenby.

They describe is as a “quiet nook with instant cosy vibes and tonnes of photo charm”. It’s reportedly an especially picturesque location to check out during golden hour or just before sunset.

This is when the lane is said to glow “in the best way”. It certainly appears to be the ideal place to discover and wander through on a bright day.

Indeed, many confessed they adore Tenby as they consider it so stunning. It’s difficult not to agree.

The area frequently pops up in rankings of the best places to live, but its beaches have a dirty secret, with an average bacteria score that’s over twice as high as the national average

A district that includes one of the UK’s best places to live, and home to an iconic seaside town, has been named as the local authority with the ‘dirtiest’ sea water in England in a recent ranking.

The study carried out by online tour operator Exoticca.com looked at the Environment Agency’s publicly available bathing water statistics for all designated coastal swimming spots across England. The Environment Agency has an online tool where anyone can check the quality of beach and bathing water.

Water quality scores are based on two types of bacteria – Escherichia coli (E. coli) and intestinal enterococci – which can be an indicator of faecal contamination on beaches. Using this data, the study was able to rank local authorities across the country, and a surprising spot had the highest mean bacteria score.

The local authority with the highest mean bacteria score was Folkestone and Hythe, with a mean bacteria score of 3.273. Across all beaches in the study, the mean was 1.033, meaning bacteria levels on its beaches appeared to be three times higher than average.

Included in the study was Littlestone, which had a score of 8.213, making it the third dirtiest beach in England, while Dymchurch had a score of 4.173 and came in tenth, meaning both these beaches were rated poor by the Environment Agency.

However, the area did have two beaches where the waters were ranked as excellent; Hythe and Seabrook scored 0.627 and 0.504 respectively.

A Folkestone & Hythe District Council spokesperson said: “We continue to champion the district as an extraordinary place to visit – whether that be our stunning coastline, breathtaking countryside or world-class creative and cultural scene.

“This council believes there should be out-of-season testing (between October and April) to try to establish the reasoning behind the deterioration of bathing water classifications. We continue to make this case to the Environment Agency and Southern Water.”

Folkestone beach itself ranked at number 20 in the list of individual beaches with potentially contaminated sea water in England. That comes as a surprise, given the seaside town has seen a surge in popularity in recent years. In 2024, it was included in the Times’ 2024 Best Places to Live guide, ranking as the regional winner of the best place to live in the South East of England.

Despite its appearance on the list, Dymchurch was once named best beach in the south east in The Sunday Times best beaches guide back in 2022. In the same year, it was one of the Kent beaches to receive the Seaside Award from Keep Britain Tidy, which according to the BBC “is presented to the best beaches in England and is used to celebrate the quality and diversity of resorts”.

A spokesperson for Exoticca.com said: “It’s important to remember that a local authority’s overall average doesn’t always tell the whole story for a specific beach. Coastal water quality can change a surprising amount in just a few miles.”

They added: “In Folkestone and Hythe, the local authority with the dirtiest water on average. Here, Seabrook’s water is classed as excellent with a score of 0.504 and Littlestone, which is just nine miles away, has the third dirtiest water in the entire country with a score of 8.213. A local authority average gives a great idea of a region’s water cleanliness, but it’s always best to look at the specific numbers for the exact beach you plan to visit.”

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

Taybeh, occupied West Bank – Underneath a painting of Jesus and his disciples, Sandra Basir brought out what she and her husband, Roland, now keep to protect their home: a couple of fire extinguishers.

They keep them because the last time Israeli settlers set fire to a neighbour’s car outside their house, no one else came. “Civil defence – when did they even show up? After everything was already over,” Roland says.

The couple’s nightly routine in their Palestinian Christian town is now similar to the majority-Muslim rural Palestinian communities besieged by settler attacks and nighttime military raids for years. Sandra checks the doors more than once before bed. They got a dog to stay outside to alert them of any trespassers. Sandra is, by her own description, always half-awake – listening for whoever might be coming for her four small children while they sleep.

Their seven-year-old son has stopped playing outside, Sandra says, and for months, the little boy told his father not to go to work – scared he might not return. “That’s what our life has become,” says Sandra, who was on the verge of tears throughout the conversation. “A child that age should just be playing.”

For more than 20 years, Roland built up a stone quarry and concrete-block factory on the edge of town, investing an estimated $5m in the business. After employing 40 local Palestinians, he has found his life’s work snatched by marauding settlers, both armed adults and some barely teenagers.

In the past three years – and with the situation deteriorating even more severely this past year – he and his workers were frequently chased off by settlers at gunpoint, with his quarry’s heavy-machinery equipment set on fire. The most brazen attack came in March, when Roland says some 30 to 40 settlers stormed the quarry site in a coordinated mass incursion. Videos and photos show them raising Israeli flags over the grounds and performing prayers on the land. Before leaving, they smashed his office, destroyed electrical panels, and pulled cameras from the walls.

Roland documented everything on video, filed complaints with the liaison office, the police, and every institution he could reach. All his efforts to mobilise help to protect his land, however, were for naught. The settlers were back the next day, with their attacks continuing ever since.

Meanwhile, Roland showed Al Jazeera donation pages online for the settlers that he says carried out the attacks. He also alleges that stone taken from his land was registered under a settler’s name and resold.

This past week, he finally stopped trying to continue operations, leaving his stone quarry business all but abandoned.

“They’ve taken the quarry, taken the factory, taken the land,” Roland says. “What’s left for them to take? My children? My house?”

A once-safe haven now in the crosshairs

A few years ago, nobody in Taybeh thought trouble like this was coming their way.

Madees Khoury, who runs the Taybeh Brewery her family founded in 1994, lived in Taybeh through the second Intifada, the Arab Spring, and every war on Gaza – but none of it ever really touched the quaint town filled with centuries-old churches, well-built homes, and street-corner statues of Mother Mary and Jesus. “Taybeh was always safe, untouched – never, never, never did I imagine it would come to this,” says Madees.

The town is traditionally identified with biblical Ephraim – the place Jesus is said to have withdrawn to before his final journey to Jerusalem – and is the last Palestinian town left in the West Bank whose population is entirely Christian, home now to roughly 1,200 people and to the ruins of the fifth-century Church of St George, one of the oldest Christian sites in the Holy Land.

Things began to change as Israeli settlers, after driving Bedouin and herding communities from areas to the east, increasingly turned their attention to the hills around Taybeh itself, commencing attacks within the town last year. Mayor Suleiman Khourieh estimates roughly seven settler outposts now surround the town – four or five, by his count, sitting directly on Taybeh’s municipal land.

The attacks that followed mirror those taking place across the rural West Bank, with Sandra – who says her mother’s arm was broken by a settler during last year’s olive harvest – and Roland showing Al Jazeera photographs and videos of the frequent settler incursions within the town’s central confines.

Repeatedly, settlers graze cattle, sheep and camels on private agricultural land. Last year, Christian leaders say fires were deliberately set near the church and its adjoining cemetery. A couple of months ago, armed settlers set large fires along the village’s farmlands and prevented firetrucks from reaching them, according to local residents who drove to the scene.

Residents of Taybeh now face routine restrictions on accessing their farmlands and resources, including the now depopulated Ein Samiya spring. The spring supplies all the water to Taybeh Brewery and other Palestinian communities in the area, but settlers have since taken control of it.

Madees Khoury remembers one morning, in February this year, when a group of settlers walked into the centre of town claiming to search for a horse that didn’t exist – while her cousin’s actual horse and its foal, kept in a small structure on her father and uncle’s land for years, stood a few metres away. When she and her family called Israel’s Civil Administration to have the settlers removed, she says the officials who arrived instead walked in alongside them, broke open the door, and helped carry the horses out. “Instead of removing them,” she says, “the officials who came walked alongside the settlers onto my father and uncle’s private property … took the horse and the foal, and walked out.”

The newest outpost, established just last week, sits on the western edge of town, in Area B of the West Bank – nominally under Palestinian civil administration, though security in these hills has long since fallen to whoever is willing to enforce it on the ground.

On his own land in Area B, Mayor Khourieh has watched a settler take over his vineyard and its well over the past month, following the establishment of a settler outpost nearby. Sitting in his office, Khourieh described the settlers cutting his locks, bringing sheep there to graze, at one point pitching a tent by the well and furnishing it with sofas, and even bathing in the water meant for his vines.

According to the mayor, the army eventually removed the settlers’ tent, but the settlers still come back daily to water their flock from Khourieh’s own well. “We still don’t know whether I’m even allowed to go to my own vineyard or not,” says the town mayor inside his office.

Israeli officials have, at least on paper, acknowledged the problem. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier this year that outposts established in Area B should be evacuated. But despite reported pressure from career military officials to remove the outposts over security concerns, enforcement has frequently been blocked amid opposition from officials in Netanyahu’s far-right government. By Peace Now’s latest count, of the approximately 390 illegal outposts and farms across the West Bank, at least 21 sit in Area B.

Al Jazeera has reached out to the Israeli authorities for comment on the attacks on Taybeh, and the accusations that their response has not been sufficient, but has yet to receive a response.

Hollow protections from the state

Following attacks in the area – including the invasion of a then-empty home of a Taybeh family on August 5 – on August 9, the Israeli army declared Taybeh, along with the neighbouring village of Rammun, a closed military zone.

The order itself has confused almost everyone tasked with living under it. It bars entry to Israelis and foreigners without a specific connection to the village, and the army has offered little clarity on the terms and enforcement. “It’s unclear,” Madees Khoury says. “The whole thing was strange.”

What almost no one in Taybeh believes is that the order will actually keep settlers out. Especially in the past year, such closed military zone orders have been issued in cases where settlers are attacking local Palestinians – only for those orders to be enforced selectively to remove activists attempting to offer protective presence to local Palestinians, while doing little to remove the violent settlers themselves.

Instead, the removal of visitors adds to the town’s growing isolation.

“The decision hasn’t amounted to anything practical,” the mayor says, “because the settler is still exactly where he was.” Father Bashar Fawadleh, priest of Taybeh’s Christ the Redeemer Church, put it more bluntly: “We don’t feel that they’re actually forbidding the settlers from coming to Taybeh.”

According to Roland, the day the military zone closure was announced, settlers broke into his office at the stone quarry and smashed cabinets, equipment, and anything they could reach inside. The following morning, he tried to go back to what remains of his quarry, but settlers confronted him again. He called the police; two and a half hours later, he says, they arrived, but the settlers had already left.

‘The cross we have to carry’

Emigration of Palestinian Christians has been an issue in Taybeh and elsewhere for years, as the Palestinian Christian population has shrunk to about 40,000 in the West Bank, or just more than 1 percent of the entire population. But under the pressures of severe restrictions on land access by Israeli authorities and settlers, movement restrictions, and the threat of unchecked settler attacks, in Taybeh, the quiet of emptiness is being replaced by a quiet borne of fear.

Madees Khoury says people avoid the roads now because no one wants to risk a checkpoint that might swallow four hours of their day, or a stretch of road where a settler’s car might slow down alongside theirs.

Tourism is gone; a well-known hiking trail that begins at the brewery sees almost no visitors any more. Among a wider economic depression and skyrocketing export costs imposed by Israeli authorities, Taybeh Brewery’s revenues are down 80 percent compared with before October 2023, according to Madees Khoury.

Fifteen families have already left Taybeh in the past two years, according to Father Bashar, along with dozens of individuals who left parents behind and moved on alone, mostly to the United States and Europe.

And yet almost no one who spoke to Al Jazeera described leaving as a real option for themselves. “Where is there to go?” asks Roland Basir, reiterating a common refrain heard across the West Bank these days.

“This land is ours,” says Father Bashar. “We cannot leave it easily … we want to resist by staying rooted in this land, to be part of this land, for dignity, for security, for peace, and for justice.”

Mayor Khourieh, whose own vineyard now sits behind a settler’s fence, put it in starker terms. “We are Palestinian Christians,” he says. “We have been in this town since the Lord Christ walked in it. This is our town. We will not leave it. Even if we die, we’ll be buried in it, because it’s holy ground.”

These days, Father Bashar frames the threats to this bastion of the wider Palestinian Christian community in the context of the suffering that Jesus endured. “For me, our cause, our problems, are the cross we have to carry on our shoulders,” he says.

He pauses before offering the line he says he carries into every house he visits after a new attack: “In the midst of this cross, in the hardest time, still we have hope. Inside our hearts, we have to put hope instead of the fear.”

THE UK isn’t short of pretty market towns, but while everyone else is fighting for parking in Cornwall or the Cotswolds, there’s a gorgeous alternative without the massive crowds.

Tavistock in Devon is a historic market town sat on the edge of Dartmoor National Park.

And it has a rather big claim to fame…

The town is where the cream tea was invented, with the earliest recording of the tradition dated to 11th century at Tavistock Abbey.

And, to put the decades-long debate to an end, the monks that created the cream tea in fact did put the cream first and then the jam.

There are so many spots in the town to grab a cream tea but my personal favourite is Café Liaison, where you can sit with your cream tea overlooking the Churchyard and former Cloisters of the Abbey.

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PITCHING IN

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The town itself is a UNESCO World Heritage town, due to the town’s medieval tin mining history as well as 19th century copper and metal production.

Wandering around the town, you’ll notice all the buildings are made of dark grey stone.

You might also spot some Dartmoor granite in the buildings as well.

One top building to spot is the Town Hall, which is in the heart of the town

Make sure to visit the ancient Pannier Market too, which was granted its Royal Charter in 1105.

Inside, you will find traders selling all sorts of different items, that change depending on the day of the week.

For example, on Tuesdays you will find antiques and collectables, whereas on Fridays you will find locally produced goods.

Across the town, you’ll also find a wealth of quaint independent shops.

Make sure to head into Book Stop to pick up a read and check out Inside Out which is the ideal place for gifts.

Depending on when you are visiting, you could also explore the Farmer’s Market which takes place each month on the second and fourth Saturdays.

For a tipple, drop into The Market Inn – inside you will find cosy fire places, maybe some pooches, a friendly atmosphere and delicious pub grub.

And of course, Dartmoor is on your doorstep – which, in my opinion, is one of the most underrated places to visit in the UK.

You can explore towering tors as well as meet numerous Dartmoor ponies.

Just outside of the main town, you can stay at Harford Bridge Park campsite and caravan park.

This is no usual campsite though…

Instead, you pitch your tent right next to the River Tavy – which runs through the holiday park and is gentle and shallow.

When I used to visit the campsite as a child along with my family, we would make sure to have a pitch right next to the river.

Then, in the blazing sun, my sister and I would put up our camping chairs directly in the river and sit with our feet in the water.

It is ideal for families who want to explore Dartmoor but want a few more facilities than wild camping.

On the site there is a heated toilet block as well as hot showers and a laundry room.

If you have forgotten anything, there is also a shop onsite, as well as a games, TV and book room, children’s play park with seesaws and climbing frames and a tennis court.

Dogs are welcome too, with a sprawling meadow for them to roam in.

Make sure to book a ‘grass riverside’ pitch, which costs £24 per night for two people without electricity, working out at just £12 per person.

If you are a family of four, the pitch will set you back £44 per night – working out at £11 per person, per night.

HOT, but not too hot. Relaxing, but not boring

A pool with heating and steps — and not just any old steps, they must be Roman steps.

Local food, but also margherita pizzas on tap. Culture, but not challenging.

Not too far from the sea, airport or supermarket. Not too expensive. Not many stairs . . . 

Trying to plan a three-generation family trip, I realised I wasn’t looking for a holiday home, but a unicorn.

The hunt took our family of five — our sons are a “lively” 11, nine and three — my 70-something parents and my godmother to a villa outside Cavtat in Croatia, a 15-minute drive from Dubrovnik airport (tick).

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Cavtat (pronounced Savtat, I learned after a confusing conversation with a waitress) looked lovely, but could it possibly tick all our boxes?

There were blue skies, and our gorgeous white stone villa had a heated pool, those Roman steps and enough bedrooms for the boys not to kill each other.

Add in a higgledy-piggledy garden with wild flowers and a lemon tree at the bottom of our drive — perfect for the G&Ts — and we were good to go.

After a first day splashing in the pool, we managed a pootle down to Cavtat’s main village, a ten-minute drive away.

To the whole family’s delight, you could park cheaply right on the marina, one of many practicalities we came to appreciate during this trip.

The old town lies on a pretty horseshoe bay in the middle of two small pine- forested peninsulas.

With white stone Dalmatian buildings and narrow alleyways, it looks like a mini Dubrovnik but is thankfully smaller, cheaper and significantly less crowded.

This isn’t a coincidence. Cavtat is often called “Old Dubrovnik” as it was once a prosperous Greek and Roman port which was sacked in the 7th century, sending survivors legging it to what later became Dubrovnik.

Whatever its provenance, with a smooth promenade (tick), a cluster of great-value restaurants where you could get pizza and a beer for 8 euros (tick) and a picturesque 15th century church, it was the perfect place to potter around.

The church also houses masterpieces by one of Croatia’s most famous artists, Vlaho Bukovac, who was born in Cavtat.

Bukovac’s house is just off the marina, and one day we dragged the kids inside — admittedly, largely to escape the sun.

It was a blissfully shady change of pace and with just a few rooms didn’t prompt too much whining. Easy culture? Tick.

We quickly settled into a routine: Activities in the morning, followed by naps (for both toddlers and adults) and then lazy afternoons at the villa.

By day three, we girded our loins and got up early to visit Dubrovnik and take the two-kilometre walk around the legendary city walls.

On one side of the walls, which are six metres thick in places, is the vast azure sea, while on the other you peer down into a maze of terracotta roofs, with tennis courts and allotments nestling next to incredible 15th century architecture.

It’s fair to say my three-year-old was unimpressed (despite getting the best view of all of us, riding on my poor husband’s sunburnt shoulders) but he perked up when we dived inside some of the many cool “hole in the wall” bars for a cola. Be warned, they are pricey.

If you prefer to re-energise with ice cream, Dolce Vita serves the best scoops in town. Try the dark chocolate, pistachio and hazelnut “Domino”.

While Dubrovnik deserves its reputation as a must-see, we were all happy to get back to the chilled atmosphere of Cavtat.

Its only downside as a family holiday destination? The stony beaches. But that was nothing some 5-euro watershoes couldn’t fix. When the pebbles get too much, take a boat trip to Sunj bay, allegedly the best sandy beach in Croatia.

Buckets and spades in hand, we hopped on to a speedboat stocked with beers and cans of Fanta, zooming past Dubrovnik and the most expensive villa in town, which David Beckham and Beyonce have stayed in (not together, or this would be on the front page of the paper).

When we arrived at Sunj bay, we found boats can only stop just off the shore, so the boys jumped in and waded through chest-height sea to the beach.

My poor old dad was a bit less enthusiastic. After a brief stint on the sands, we headed to the Blue Cave on nearby Kolocep Island which, as you approach, looks less like a cave and more like a crack at the base of a jagged cliff face.

Pretending to be far braver than I felt, I jumped off the boat and swam towards a gap just a few feet high, shouting for the kids to follow.

Once inside, it was well worth the claustrophobic entrance. A massive chamber opens up with a high ceiling and striking bright blue water — because the cave is lit from underneath, it filters out the red light, leaving only the blue.

Towards the end of the week, we ditched the kids and escaped on our own — just the parents. That’s the best thing about a three-generation holiday: The built-in babysitters.

A white-tableclothed dinner on the waterfront, watching the sun set, was followed by a gorgeous run to sweat out our hangovers the next morning.

The Cavtat walking trail is excellent for those into fitness, wrapping around the peninsula and deliciously shaded by the Aleppo pines.

So, how did Cavtat stack up for a three-generation holiday? My son’s verdict: 9.5/10. Apparently it lost half a point for the bracing sea water.

To be fair, a warm sea wasn’t on my checklist. 

A POPULAR beach destination in the UK is about to get a huge makeover.

The UK’s first seaside town – Scarborough – will soon have an upgraded train station.

Made Britain’s first seaside resort in the early 17th century after mineral waters were discovered in the town, the train station project is expected to cost millions.

Plans include upgrading the forecourt at the Grade-II listed Victorian station, with new seating, a taxi rank, drop-off areas and a pedestrian area.

There will be a new station roof too, as well as two accessible parking bays, alongside new taxi drop-off spaces.

The redevelopment is being funded by part of the £6.68million Government’s Local Regeneration Fund.

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Plans to upgrade the train station were first submitted three years ago.

Though, the proposals have changed over the years with original plans set to make the entire forecourt pedestrianised.

Parts of the train station have already been upgraded earlier this year as part of a £14million project that included upgrading the ticket office and waiting room.

The roof was also repaired to weatherproof it, including adding new glass.

One of the most recognisable parts of Scarborough Station is the clock tower which was also restored.

Trains from the station head to different destinations including Sheffield and York.

THE US’s largest ghost town is still standing after being abandoned entirely over 20 years ago.

The fenced-off town sits on the edge of a mountain in the middle of a desert, miles from civilization.

Eagle Mountain, California is one of America’s largest and best-preserved ghost towns.

At its peak, the town had a population of 4,000 people, with 400 homes, a mall, swimming pool, and three schools.

The neatly organized blocks with box houses, telephone poles, and paved roads still exist today, 78 years after the town was founded.

Eagle Mountain was built in 1948 by the Kaiser Steel Corporation for workers at the adjacent mine.

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The mine grew into Southern California’s largest iron ore mine, and by 1977, it had shipped 100 million tons of iron ore.

In 1981, facing environmental regulations and foreign competition, the mine was shut down.

The town’s last high school class graduated in 1983, marking the end of an already declining community.

Several attempts were made to repurpose the space.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation converted Eagle Mountain’s shopping mall into a low-security prison.

The prison was the area’s largest employer until 2003, when a riot broke out over viewing the World Series.

Two prisoners died, and the prison was shut down.

The town’s backdrop of boarded-up homes and hulking concrete ruins have occasionally been featured in film and TV, like Christopher Nolan’s Tenet and several episodes of Top Gun USA.

The town was also involved in a long court battle to convert the land into a landfill for waste from Los Angeles County.

The plan died in court in 2013 due to environmental concerns about the effect on Joshua Tree National Park, which is close to the town.

In 2023, a private entity acquired the land for $22.5 million, but no development has happened since and the future of Eagle Mountain is still unknown.

A POPULAR beach has been partially closed for the remainder of the summer holidays.

Sea dredgers will pump thousands of tonnes of shingle onto the beach to extend part of it by 25m and protect the coastline.

A groyne is also being added at Hove beach, located near Brighton, East Sussex.

Hove was described by The Times as one of the best seaside towns in the UK and “far less crowded and chaotic than Brighton with its relentless stream of boozy day-trippers”.

The partial closure, which begins today, forms part of a wider project that started earlier in the year, to add nine new groynes – known as a groyne field – to the beach, which is scheduled to reopen at the end of August.

A spokesperson for Brighton and Hove City Council (B&HCC) said: “The new shingle will extend the beach between the King Alfred Leisure Centre and Second Avenue by around 25 metres out to sea.

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“Helping to protect the area from flooding and coastal erosion, the larger beach will also reduce the amount of shingle washing up onto the promenade, like we see during storms and windy conditions.”

The spokesperson added that the work is scheduled to take around four weeks and needs to be done around high tide. 

“During the work, this section of the beach will need to be closed to keep everyone safe,” they added.

Hove Beach is backed by a long esplanade with a cycle lane as well as a grassy area where visitors can find cafes, an amusement arcade, crazy golf and the King Alfred leisure centre.

As previously reported in The Sun, the leisure centre is set to be demolished to make way for a £65 million “entertainment zone”.

The red-brick building has dominated the seafront of one of the UK’s most popular resorts since the outbreak of the Second World War.

Campaigners vying to save the centre were hoping for a last-minute reprieve from Historic England but B&HCC has now approved the plans.

The coastal spot has been ranked the worst seaside town in the UK by Which? magazine for the second year in a row – but one YouTuber made the 250-mile trip to see if the verdict was really justified

A popular coastal spot has made headlines once more – and not in a positive light. Which? Magazine has just ranked Bognor Regis bottom of its yearly list of Britain’s best and worst coastal spots for the second consecutive year.

The magazine polled more than 5,300 individuals about their experiences visiting UK coastal destinations over the past year, canvassing their opinions across a range of factors including beach quality, scenery, food and drink, accommodation, tourist attractions, shopping and value for money.

The Mirror’s own Levi Winchester, who grew up in the town, has witnessed its gradual decline over the years. “I remember many happy summers playing down the beach in Bognor Regis. At low tide, you could see sand for miles, as the smell of fish and chips wafted through the air,” Levi recalled when asked for her thoughts on a town that once served as a home to George V for three months.

“The town was always buzzing with families enjoying their trip to Butlin’s-and while the seaside resort still attracts large crowds every year, the town itself has lost its heart. The promenade lacks love and is in need of a serious revamp.

“Even under the lights of the pier, it still just feels grey and miserable. Like many other UK high streets, the main town centre is empty now with hardly any shops left. I barely recognised it when I last visited.”

One YouTuber decided to visit the spot last year after its first dismal ranking to see if it truly matches up to the title of being the UK’s worst. James Burton documented his trip on By The Curb channel and kicked it off by paying a visit to Butlin’s.

Butlin’s Bognor Regis Resort is one of the UK’s most iconic holiday destinations and one of only three remaining Butlin’s resorts, alongside Minehead and Skegness.

Over the years, it has undergone significant redevelopment, transforming from a traditional chalet-style camp into a modern family resort while retaining its much-loved heritage.

And after visiting, James believed it showed Bognor has a lot to offer. “Worst seaside town in the UK?” before continuing: “Absolute waffle. It’s lovely. I’m not going to say it’s the best. But it is nice. Yet again, I’ve proved them all wrong, I just come here, walked around and proved them wrong.”

James then enjoyed a beer, remarking: “It was just £4.90, which is not bad value really with that spectacular view.”

Butlin’s Resort Bognor Regis still welcomes over 385,000 visitors each year, with 300,000 staying as overnight guests and 85,000 popping in for a day visit.

James turned up just in time to catch one of the company’s iconic redcoats leading a crowd of delighted youngsters through an energetic rendition of “Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes,” and declared: “I’d have loved this as an eight-year-old.”

Living “life on the edge,” James also ventured into one of the resort’s numerous restaurants: “To be honest it looked a nice restaurant.

“I’ve never seen so many chicken nuggets though, they must go through thousands of chicken nuggets.”

Despite struggling to find his way out of the resort, James left with a positive impression: “I liked it. It looked good.

“I’m going to bring my daughter to a Butlin’s…it’s gone up in my estimation.”

Overall, James concluded that Bognor didn’t deserve its poor reputation: “It’s tidy. The people are friendly.

“It’s got a lovely beach. I know it’s a pebbly beach, but that don’t matter. You’ve got Butlin’s. Butlin’s was great.”

CHRISTMAS is months away for most of us – in the town of Bridlington, they’re already brushing off their Santa hats.

The seaside town in East Yorkshire will celebrate the festive season four months early with Santa’s Grotto and carol singing on the beach.

Between 10am and 4pm on August 5, Bridlington will transform into a winter wonderland – kind of.

Called Bridmas, the day is filled with events, lots of which are completely free.

On the beach is where it’s at with the local choir performing Christmas carols throughout the day.

There will be a festive face painter, an elf and bubble show and Christmas craft sessions.

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Games will be held throughout the day too like Dress the Snowman, Dodge the Bauble, and Flying Reindeers.

Kids can talk about what they want for Christmas this year at Santa’s beach grotto.

On the promenade will be live music from the local brass band and organ player.

Around the town, visitors will find the Christmas market and a Christmas Cracker Trail.

In the local library will be free Christmas Story Time, crafting, a treasure hunt, and festive Lego building.

At Bridlington Spa, visitors can watch the Grinch movie for free at 1.30pm, make sure to book tickets in advance.

Over at Sowerby Gardens is a Mr Bubbles Christmas Show, bubble display, and face painting.

There are prizes to be won throughout the day too, includin:;

• Entry to the House for Fairytales at Christmas at Sewerby Hall and Gardens
• Family day pass to Sewerby Hall and Gardens
• Two tickets to the Edge at South Cliff
• Family ticket to Santa Express
• Family ticket to Bridlington Spa Pantomime Cinderella
• Two tickets to Shania Twain at Bridlington Spa on August 7

For those who get into the Christmas spirit, Bridmas allows visitors exclusive December discounts for the second celebration of the year.

From royal romances and golfing greats to medieval ruins and legendary fudge doughnuts, this coastal town is one of the most captivating towns in Britain

There are few places in Britain that carry quite as much history, charm and quiet prestige as St Andrews. Perched on the rugged Fife coastline of Scotland’s east coast, this small seaside town has been drawing in royalty, scholars, golfing legends and curious travellers for centuries – and once you’ve visited, it’s very easy to understand why.

Home to one of Britain’s oldest universities, St Andrews on Scotland’s east coast is genuinely special.

It’s a place I’ve visited countless times, but each trip reveals something fresh to discover. During a weekend escape to Lower Largo, a small village in Fife, we dropped into St Andrews for the afternoon. From Edinburgh it’s around an hour and a half’s drive, while from Glasgow it’s an hour and three quarters.

A town steeped in history

The town’s story stretches back well over a thousand years. St Andrews became a major centre of Christianity in Scotland during the medieval period, largely thanks to the legend that the relics of Saint Andrew – Scotland’s patron saint – were brought here by a monk named St Regulus in the 4th century.

It’s also a town that has never been far from the corridors of power. Mary Queen of Scots was a frequent visitor, and the town played a key role during the Scottish Reformation of the 16th century.

Where William met Catherine

Fast forward a few centuries and the town’s most famous modern love story unfolded here. It’s where King Charles III’s eldest son, now known as Prince William, first crossed paths with Catherine Middleton while both were studying at the University of St Andrews in the early 2000s. The pair went on to marry in 2011.

The university itself, founded in 1413, is the third oldest in the English-speaking world and the oldest in Scotland. Its ancient cobbled streets and honey-stoned buildings give the whole town an air of class.

The home of golf

Whether you’re passionate about it or not, most people are probably aware that St Andrews is also famous for its golfing heritage. The Old Course, one of the world’s most famous, features an iconic landmark that calls for a photograph regardless of how often you’ve visited. Our first stop on this trip was the Swilcan Bridge, built over 700 years ago and situated on the course’s 18th hole.

The list of golfing greats who have walked across that modest stone bridge reads like a who’s who of the sport – Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Arnold Palmer and Seve Ballesteros among them. Setting foot on the green yourself feels bizarre, and the bridge provides the perfect photo opportunity. You’re bound to encounter other tourists, so you might have to wait a moment for your snap, but it’s well worth it.

It’s also popular with non-golfers, as country superstar Luke Combs was even spotted hitting a few balls there recently.

The Jigger Inn

Just a two-minute stroll away lies the fantastic Jigger Inn pub, which was our next destination for something to eat. Dating back to the 1850s, the Jigger Inn is a warm, inviting pub with crackling fires that looks out over the golf course.

There’s an excellent range of drinks at the bar, or you can settle down and order from the menu, which is precisely what we decided to do. No one will persuade me there’s a finer pairing than a Caesar salad, chips and wine, and the Jigger Inn served up all three superbly.

Exploring the town

Properly fed and watered, it was time to explore the town itself. It’s not the biggest, with most shops and attractions scattered across roughly three main streets, but you could easily wander for hours without getting bored. The medieval history is clearly evident as you walk through its streets – in fact, St Andrews retains much of its original medieval street plan, with the three main thoroughfares of North Street, South Street and Market Street dating back to the 12th century.

One of the town’s standout attractions is the ruins of St Andrews Cathedral, situated near the waterfront. Built in 1158, it was once the largest church in Scotland and a truly awe-inspiring structure.

There’s so much to take in around St Andrews that you could almost forget the sea is right on your doorstep. Just beyond the Old Course lies the renowned West Sands Beach, which famously featured in the iconic opening scene of the 1981 film Chariots of Fire. Had the weather been a bit better, it would have made for a perfect seaside stroll, but with the wind battering us from all sides, we decided to continue exploring the town.

Shopping in St Andrews

St Andrews is packed with fantastic shops, ranging from well-known high street names such as H&M and Jo Malone to independent boutiques and one-of-a-kind retailers you won’t find anywhere else.

As an avid bookworm, I was particularly eager to visit Topping and Company, a beloved family-run bookseller with a small number of stores dotted across the UK.

A whole table of signed first editions greeted visitors at the entrance, while the shelves seemed to stretch endlessly upwards and deep into the shop. It’s the sort of place where you could effortlessly lose hours browsing.

Just one final destination remained, and if you’ve got a sweet tooth, you’ll want to pay attention. No visit to St Andrews would be complete without popping into Fisher and Donaldson.

Founded in Fife in 1919, this beloved family-run bakery is known for one thing above all else: its fudge doughnuts. Widely considered the best in Scotland, these gloriously indulgent treats are packed with fresh custard and finished with an irresistible fudge icing. We picked up a few to enjoy with a coffee later, and predictably, they vanished in no time.

St Andrews is just a wonderful destination for a day trip or even a weekend break if you fancy a more leisurely pace. It’s charming whatever the weather, but on a bright summer’s day, it’s unbeatable.

This popular tourist town started as a small fishing village and is now an iconic British location

Summer is here and the temperature is rising. If you’re like me and live in a city with no easy access to the beach, fleeing the urban sprawl for a seaside town is a very tempting idea. It was this idea that struck my boyfriend and I a few weeks ago when we decided to get out of London for the day and head to the coastal city of Brighton for some fresh air and sunshine.

I had visited before, but never as an adult. On the weekend we decided to take our trip, temperatures in London were forecast to soar above 30°C, and it felt like the perfect excuse to escape the capital and breathe in some fresh sea air.

Brighton may now be one of the UK’s best-known seaside destinations, where millions flock every summer but it didn’t always feel that way.

From fishing village to tourism hotspot

In the 18th century this once small fishing settlement began to become a tourist destination for Britain’s wealthy. At the time, there was a belief that sea air, bathing in the ocean and even drinking seawater could have health benefits – and so Brighton became one of the UK’s first wellness retreats.

It was also a favourite of King George IV who created the Royal Pavilion – one of the city’s most iconic landmarks.

He’s not the only member of the elite who loved Brighton.

The city’s mix of history, creativity and seaside charm continues to draw artists and performers and it is easy to see why.

The city of Brighton has long since been a haven for famous creatives. From DJ Fatboy Slim to Oscar winner Cate Blanchett, Brighton has been home to all sorts of famous people.

When the railway arrived in the 19th century, it became more accessible for people from London (like my boyfriend and myself) which helped Brighton become even more popular now.

Today, Brighton is still an incredibly popular place to visit – and the railway is still letting Londoners flock to the sea in droves, as we found out.

Joining the crowds

The moment my boyfriend and I arrived at London Bridge to catch our train,it became abundantly clear we had no chance of getting a seat. It seemed almost everyone in London had decided to spend the day by the seaside.

The carriages were so rammed that the train bypassed several stops and took us directly to Brighton. As we travelled towards the coast alongside droves of heat-weary Londoners, I quickly realised that spending the day on the beach was not at the top of my agenda.

For one thing, I hadn’t brought a swimming costume. For another, I’m from New Zealand, where beaches are often made up of pristine white sand and, even at the height of summer, can be blissfully quiet.

The prospect of squeezing onto Brighton’s pebbles alongside thousands of strangers held absolutely no appeal.

Instead, we hopped off our train and headed for North Laine.

And escaping them

Tucked away in the heart of Brighton, North Laine is a vibrant maze of colourful streets and winding lanes packed with independent shops, boutiques, cafés and restaurants.

While much of the bank holiday crowd had gravitated towards the seafront, North Laine felt noticeably calmer.

We wandered through the lively streets, dipping in and out of shops as we went. There was everything from jewellery and homeware to driftwood art and vintage clothing, with something to suit almost every taste.

For me, it was the perfect way to while away an afternoon — and a far more appealing alternative to fighting for a patch of pebbles.

After a few hours of browsing, we had worked up an appetite and began the hunt for somewhere to eat.

We settled on Mange Tout, an independent French restaurant tucked away in North Laine.

Having travelled from London during a bank holiday heatwave, we had prepared ourselves for a scramble to find a table or the prospect of being added to a lengthy waiting list.

Instead, we had our pick of tables.

We sat outside in the glorious sunshine, watching the world drift by. It felt worlds away from the mayhem we knew was unfolding on the seafront.

For lunch, my boyfriend ordered a breakfast bun while I tucked into moules marinière. We washed it all down with a couple of drinks — we were on holiday, after all.

Seeing the sea – and the surprise cost

After lunch, we decided we couldn’t visit Brighton without at least catching a glimpse of the sea.

We made our way back through North Laine towards the coast, stopping in several shops we had overlooked during our first walk.

Eventually, the ocean came into view.

I had expected the beach to be busy, but the sheer number of people sprawled across it had to be seen to be believed.

As far as the eye could see in both directions, the pebbled shore was packed with sunbathers, paddlers and groups sheltering beneath umbrellas.

Out at sea, jet skis darted back and forth while one particularly intrepid snorkeller ventured further and further from the shore.

In the distance, the outline of a wind farm stretched across the horizon. Curious to get a closer look, we decided to head down the pier.

Entry to the pier cost £1 each — another surprise — and as we made our way along it, we passed through an enormous arcade roughly halfway down. It was one of two arcades on the pier and, much like the beach, it was absolutely heaving.

The space was dark, deafening and so stifling that I felt as though I had tumbled straight off the pier and into the water below. Horrified, I quietly turned to my boyfriend and asked: “Why does this even exist? Who comes to the beach just to be inside?”

He immediately replied: “How often do you think the weather is actually good here?”

He had a point.

The pier was certainly an experience — although not one I would particularly rush to repeat. That said, if I were seven years old, I imagine it would feel utterly magical.

There were fairground rides, candy floss and doughnuts, all accompanied by the sound of waves lapping beneath your feet. Sadly, I’m 31, and the thrill of a fairground ride is well and truly lost on me.

Will I ever return?

Once we reached the end of the pier, we agreed it was time to make our way back to London.

But not before making one final stop in North Laine for a well-earned end-of-day pint.

Brighton’s beach may be its biggest draw, particularly when temperatures climb above 30°C, but for me, the city’s real charm was found away from the packed pebbles.

And while I may not have been tempted to join the crowds on the beach, I’ll happily return to explore more of Brighton’s vibrant streets.

In a small mountain town you may stumble across hundreds of half-built., abandoned homes that resemble castles. While this development had big dreams, the plans never came into fruition

Imagine living in your very own miniature château, a three-storey villa that had gothic-inspired architecture with turrets and balustrades that made it resemble Cinderella’s castle at Disney World.

One housing developer had this dream, and it was set to build 732 of these unusual homes in a small town not far from Istanbul. But sadly, despite many homebuyers looking to buy into this unique community, it now lies abandoned 12 years after construction began.

While the houses looked straight out of a Disney film, they were actually inspired by Istanbul landmarks including the medieval Galata Tower and the Maiden’s Tower from Istanbul. The name of the development, Burj Al Babas, translates as ‘tower of Babas’ in Arabic, and came from the nearby Babas thermal springs. Each castle was set to have its own pipeline to the waters to create luxurious indoor swimming pools.

But the plans didn’t stop at rows and rows of castles. If completed, lucky residents would have had access to a huge domed complex with a shopping centre, mosque, cinema, and hammam, creating an entire community in the mountains. The relatively cool weather in the area was also seen as a selling point, allowing people from nearby Middle East countries to escape the worst of the summer heat.

The castles were listed in a glossy brochure, with prices ranging from $370,000 to $530,000, about £278,500 and £400,000, a modest sum to live in your own château. But despite half the castles being sold in advance, mostly to buyers from the Gulf states, not a single moving van made it to the complex.

As soon as construction began in 2014, with the aim of finishing in four years, it started to hit several snags. Firstly, contractors complained that the disposal of rubble had breached environmental laws, and a year later, workers protested that they hadn’t been paid. Contractors soon pulled out and started the long legal process of trying to reclaim their lost wages.

Add a failed military coup and bad luck with weather, and the construction soon fell behind schedule. Sales stalled too, due to the country’s instability at the time, and the lack of cash flow soon put the developer into bankruptcy.

Not a single castle was completed as of 2022, and there are 587 half-built castles on the plot, with the exposure to the elements likely causing water damage in many of them as time goes on.

As recently as 2024, there was renewed interest in the development with the Emir of Kuwait visiting President Erdoğan, and it was reported that Burj Al Babas was discussed. The Guardian were also given a tour of the site in the same year by Adem Tekgöz, a representative of developers the Sarot Group, who claimed: “It gets cold in the winter, so we stopped construction. We’re preparing to restart next summer”.

However, as of 2026 there appears to be no trace of the Sarot Group online and still no word as to whether the project will ever be restarted, leaving a ghost town rather than a fairytale village.

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The picturesque town is dubbed the ‘Jewel of the Weald’ and boasts award-winning wineries

If you’re after a UK destination to visit that’s away from the usual tourist trail, look no further than this underrated town. Like many British market towns, this spot has seen businesses come and go, but it has generally remained resilient thanks to tourism and its emphasis on independent retailers.

New cafés, salons and professional services have continued to open in recent years, helping maintain a lively town centre despite the wider challenges facing UK high streets. Its high street is often described as one of the most attractive market-town high streets in Kent.

Rather than being dominated by chain stores, it has retained a strong independent character, with a broad, tree-lined layout that makes it feel more like a promenade than a conventional shopping street.

When it comes to independent shopping you’ll find boutiques, gift shops, bookshops, galleries, jewellers, delicatessens, cafés and specialist retailers alongside a handful of familiar national brands. This mix has helped the town remain a shopping destination for both locals and visitors.

Walking along the high street today, you’ll pass several historic landmarks, including St Mildred’s Church, whose origins date back to the 12th century and the 1792 Town Hall, an elegant Georgian building.

Kent town

Nicknamed the “Jewel of the Weald” by locals, the picturesque town of Tenterden in Kent is easily accessible and boasts arts and folk festivals, restaurants and award-winning wineries and historic architecture.

Although the population is only around 8,200, Tenterden serves a much wider rural area. People from dozens of surrounding villages come into town for shopping, healthcare, banking and cafés, so it often feels busier than its size would suggest.

For a relatively small place, Tenterden has a busy calendar. Annual events include:

• May Fair
• Folk Festival
• Christmas Market
• Classic car gatherings
• Steam railway events
• Food and drink festivals

Many of these take place on or around the high street, making it the perfect spot for locals and visitors to get together.

History

One of Tenterden’s most fascinating stories is its unexpected maritime past. Although the town now lies several miles inland, it was once closely connected to the sea.

During the Middle Ages, ships could sail up the River Rother to the nearby port of Small Hythe, which became an important centre for shipbuilding.

Over time, the river silted up and the coastline gradually shifted, leaving Tenterden inland.

The Kent & East Sussex Railway is one of Britain’s best-loved heritage railways and an integral part of Tenterden’s character.

Stretching 17 km between Tenterden Town and Bodiam, the line takes passengers for “a nostalgic journey” through the scenic Rother Valley to view a 14th-century structure, Bodiam Castle, which is regarded as “one of the best loved and best known castles in England”.

Combining rich railway history with some of the finest countryside in Kent and East Sussex, it remains one of the region’s most popular visitor attractions.

The town is home to Chapel Down Winery, which provides tours and tastings of its award-winning wines, ciders, and spirits, according to WorldAtlas. The town also regularly plays host to arts and crafts fairs and folk festivals, amongst them a free-entry community festival taking place this summer.

Tenterden is a popular base for exploring both Kent and East Sussex, and within 20 minutes, you can also reach:

• Rye
• Romney Marsh
• Bodiam Castle
• Great Dixter
• Sissinghurst Castle Garden
• Camber Sands

A NEW ferry linking a quirky English seaside town with France is setting sail in just a few weeks.

The crossing will take around eight hours with each sailing limited to 12 passengers.

SailLink has teamed up with award-winning sailor Michel Desjoyeaux, who will personally skipper each journey from Shoreham to Fécamp, Normandy.

Mr Desjoyeaux, the only sailor in history to have won the Vendée Globe, a round-the-world sailing race, twice, built the wind-powered catamran from parts of other race boats that had already sailed round the world.

He hopes to prove that regular, wind–powered crossings can become a practical alternative to traditional cross-Channel ferries.

The pilot project will run from September 8-13 .

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Billed as a fishing port and religious pilgrimage site, Fécamp is renowned for its striking chalk cliffs and Benedictine liqueur.

The sailing itself retraces the historic voyage of Charles II, who reached Fécamp from Shoreham in 1651.

Ticket prices start from £220 for a one-way trip, with return journeys starting from £440.

Tom Willis, chief executive at Shoreham Port, said: “We are delighted to see Shoreham Port working with SailLink and the Port of Fécamp to offer this unique cross-Channel crossing experience.

“As global warming challenges the way we travel, wind propulsion offers a compelling alternative.”

Tickets for the pilot project go on sale on August 1.

DEVON has lots of beautiful seaside towns, but when it comes to finding one that is more peaceful than most, it can feel tricky.

Sidmouth in East Devon is home to one of the most beautiful beaches in the UK and, surprisingly, has no arcades or rides.

And soon the spot will be getting a £21million glow-up.

The multi-million pound project will focus on protecting Sidmouth’s seafront.

There will be new offshore breakwaters, a 120 metre beach groyne, flood gates and a number of repairs to existing sea walls.

Ultimately, the upgrades will help to not only protect the seafront, but homes and businesses in the area too.

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When visiting the Victorian seaside town, make sure to head to the Blue Flag-awarded beach, which is known for being one of the cleanest beaches in the UK.

Have a look at the cliffs as well, which form part of England‘s only natural UNESCO World Heritage Site.

As for the town, instead of amusement arcades, loud sports bars and dodgy street food vendors, you’ll find galleries, antiques shops, independent boutiques and tearooms.

Travel reporter Cyann Fielding has previously visited the town and said: “Growing up, I always associated Sidmouth with ‘that place that had donkeys’.

“This is due to Sidmouth being home to the free-to-visit Donkey Sanctuary that has over 100 donkeys that they have improved the lives of.

“Away from the sanctuary, I also visited the beach on occasions growing up.

“Sidmouth is pretty, but I often think people also forget how impressive it is with the dramatic cliffs dating back 200million years.

“They are part of the Jurassic Coast – which is made of vibrant reed sandstone cliffs from the Triassic period.

“They are a wonder to see and within the area, there are many places to go and things to do where families can learn more about the Jurassic Coast.”

A TOWN often compared to the Cotswolds could soon get direct services to the capital.

Locals are calling for a new train service to launch between Bradford-on-Avon and London.

The Wiltshire town used to have a route to London Waterloo, but this was axed in 2021.

Currently, passengers have to change trains at Salisbury or Southampton to get to Bradford-on-Avon.

Locals are also calling for a service between Trowbridge and London as well.

According to Time Out, Wiltshire Council has said it would “strongly welcome” a direct train service between the towns and London.

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South Western Railway (SWR) is now looking into the possibility of launching the service.

Sitting on the edge of the Cotswolds but not quite in it, Bradford-on-Avon currently has direct links to Bristol and Bath, which is only 10 minutes away.

You’ll find lots of quaint cottages as well as picturesque countryside walks.

In the heart of the town, you can head to the Bradford-on-Avon Museum, where you can explore the local history.

To enjoy the architecture of the town, make sure to stop by the Saxon Church, which dates back to the early eleventh century.

Make sure to also visit the 14th- century Tithe Barn, which is an English Heritage site measuring 51.2 metres long.

For a fun activity, make sure to hop on a canal trip along the Kennet and Avon Canal and Avoncliff Aqueduct.

There are multiple different boat trips you can head on, including afternoon tea ones, with tickets starting from as little as £10 per person.

After exploring, if you fancy a bite to eat, head to The Bridge Tea Rooms, where you’ll be served afternoon tea for £13.95 per perso, by people in Victorian costumes.

Or if you want a pint, you won’t be short on pubs with options including The Dandy Lion and Timbrell’s Yard – which you can stay at as well, from £167 per night.

Or you could head to The Hall Estate, which is a 400-year-old Grade-I listed Jacobean mansion, costing from £160 a night.

The town beat well-known destinations like Bamburgh, Brighton, St Ives and Whitstable to be crowned the winner

A coastal town with a population of 60,000 has dethroned other popular destinations as the most charming the UK has to offer.

Bamburgh and Seahouses have seen their days of glory and renown, but now it’s time to give some love to another spot in the North East, which was recently named the most charming seaside destination by Lonely Planet magazine, just nine miles from Newcastle.

Tynemouth is an easy and accessible weekend day-trip destination, recognised for its sandy beaches, scenic walks, lively independent-shop scene, food, and attractions.

For the ultimate day out in Tynemouth, go on a Saturday or Sunday and pay a visit to Tynemouth Market, held inside the old Victorian metro station beneath a striking glass roof. There, stalls sell everything from vintage clothing to antiques.

From there, it’s a short walk to the main attraction – Tynemouth Priory and Castle, a headland ruin dating back to the 7th century that towers over the North Sea.

The place is Tynemouth’s most famous postcard, giving visitors a great view of the sea.

After looking around and learning some of the town’s history, it’s time to head downstairs to King Edward’s Bay, a sheltered cove where you’ll find some of the best seafood in the area, and get to lounge around if you manage to find a spot – it tends to get pretty busy during the summer months.

But for a proper swim, the place locals recommend is Longsands Beach, a mile-long stretch that regularly pulls top marks from visitors.

But if you’re not the sitting-down-and relaxing-by-the-sea kind, you’ll find some more active fun in Hadrian’s Cycleway – a 174-mile coast-to-coast route that begins right here in Tynemouth.

Nearby, the Lord Collingwood Monument offers one of the best free viewpoints in town, described by a visitor on TripAdvisor as having privileged views of “the docks at North Shields, the priory, and the castle.”

Families and people of all ages can also enjoy Tynemouth Park, home to an unexpectedly popular attraction. One online reviewer said they’d “had an enjoyable time playing the 18-hole dinosaur-themed crazy golf courses”.

Then, in July, Tynemouth gets ready for its big event. Every year, almost 100,000 visitors come to town for the Mouth of Tyne Festival, a free event that culminates in an open-air concert staged right at the Priory ruins.

Over the years, iconic headliners have included Sam Fender, Bryan Ferry, Elbow, and Paloma Faith.

You can reach Tynemouth from London in 3 hours and 20 minutes by train, or 5 to 6 hours by car. From Manchester, the journey takes under three hours by either mode. From Edinburgh, it’s about two hours by train or car.