UK holidays
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Take the kids to … HintHunt, LondonIf your idea of hell is being locked in a room, give this enthralling escape game a miss: your team has just one hour to crack the clues and get out of there
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Take the kids to ... Cadbury World, BirminghamIt may not be the Willy Wonka-like experience the writer hoped for but chocolate lovers and kids will enjoy this attraction dedicated to the history and production of the sweet stuff -
The Villa Levens, near, Kendal, Lake District: hotel reviewDespite a mildly corporate feel, this 22-bedroom Victorian pile in the Lakes redeems itself with historic features and our writer’s favourite luxury: TVs in the bathrooms -
It's a bunny thing … Easter days out around the UKFrom egg hunts with online mapping, to farmyard fun, arts workshops, train rides, concerts and feasts, there’s a profusion of appealing activities this Easter, for adults as well as kids
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Let’s go to … PontypriddThe town’s fabulous 1927 lido is reopening after a multimillion pound refurb – but that’s not the only reason to drop in on this Taff valley town
accommodation
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The Ness, Shaldon, Devon: hotel reviewThere is a distinct nautical feel to the decor of this attractive hotel. Unfortunately the cooking is also all at sea
top 10s
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10 of the best alternative club nights in the UKAs Butlins, of all places, prepares to stage a festival of alternative club nights, we round up some of the best parties, from Hip Hop Karaoke to Rebel Bingo
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Top 10 craft beer pubs in south LondonWith London Beer Week about to kick off, it’s an ideal time for a crawl south of the river to savour the burgeoning craft brew scene around Bermondsey, Brixton, Penge and Peckham
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Top 10 craft beer pubs in OxfordOxford’s emerging craft beer scene offers a good mix of cosy, cool and chilled-out city centre pubs and bars
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Top 10 waterparks in the UK and EuropeLeave it up to the kids and they’d probably choose to spend every day at a waterpark. We select 10 of the wettest and wildest in the UK and Europe
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Starry Skies festival: go wild in the countryKids get the run of the Welsh Borders countryside at this small friendly festival, but there are plenty of activities, too, if they tire of all that unaccustomed freedom. Plus five more kids’ festivals
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Butlins Astonishing Family Science Weekend: reviewScience, fun and Butlins collide at this enlightening three-night family resort break that gets the balance between learning and laughter spot on
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Take the kids to … Life Science Centre, Newcastle upon TyneThis fun, hands-on science centre’s 4D motion ride, planetarium and theatre shows make for a jam-packed family day out. Just don’t call it a museum!
budget holidays
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Celebrating 50 years of mountain bothiesIn more than 100 wild corners of the UK are free shelters – bothies – for use by walkers. As the charity that runs them turns 50, Phoebe Smith, author of Book of Bothy, picks eight favourites
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Igloo Hybrid ho[s]tel, Nottingham: hotel reviewOur reviewer usually shuns youth hostels, but he finds this new Nottingham pad a much better budget option than many big hotel chains
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Let's go to … WindermereA trip to the Lakes to join the celebrations for Beatrix Potter’s 150th birthday will make for family fun – and provide a chance to tuck in to some fine food and drink
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Let’s go to ... BuxtonMusic lovers are in for a fine time with an eclectic array of concerts on offer in the Derbyshire spa town – and you’ll find plenty of great ales and cocktails for pre- or post-show drinks
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Let’s go to … Pendle Hill for HalloweenFew places are as ghostly and ghoulish as the Lancashire beauty spot where the notorious coven was rounded up 400 years ago for the Pendle witch trials
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Let’s go to … PeterboroughThe ‘Gateway to the Fens’ is hosting spooky tours in its newly opened 500-year-old vaults, but with heritage trails, classic pubs and food, it’s a fine place to visit year-round
sport holidays
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‘Our best ever family decision: quitting school and jobs, and taking to the road’The Meek family swapped mortgage, work and school for a year of adventures around the UK – their home: a caravan, their classroom: the great outdoors
restaurants
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Top 10 budget restaurants in CardiffCardiff offers great places to refuel on the cheap. Updating his 2010 guide, Tony Naylor picks 10 spots where you can eat for under £10
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The Fish Hotel, near Broadway, Cotswolds: hotel reviewFrom the bedroom with wood-burning stove to helpful staff and a Segway tour, everything was going swimmingly at this revamped hotel. Until the ‘gastro-buffet’ at dinnertime …
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countries
coast & country
Take the kids to … Willows Activity Farm, Hertfordshire