Annie McNamee

Sure, winter has its perks. Cosying up by the fire with a cup of hot chocolate in hand is lovely. Big woolen jumpers are ever-chic. But there’s no warm, fuzzy feeling that comes close to feeling actual warmth. In our eyes, you just can’t beat the sunshine: sitting on a rooftop terrace, ice-cold cocktail in hand… bonus points if everyone back home is stuck with endless grey drizzle. There are plenty of places across the world still basking in glorious sunshine from October to February. Our list of the best winter sun destinations this year spans six continents and five months, giving you 20 recommendations for the very best places you can visit during the winter months. Whether it’s Thai beaches, African safaris or sunny city breaks in Europe, we’ve got you covered. The best winter sun destinations at a glance: 🏖️ Best for beaches: Thailand 🏙️ Best for a city break: Cape Town, South Africa 🌡️ Warmest in Europe: Tenerife, Spain 🐘 Best for wildlife: Namibia 🎭 Best for an arty break: Cartagena, Colombia 🍜 Best for food: Vietnam At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by local writers who know their cities inside out. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines and check out our latest travel guides written by local experts. RECOMMENDED:☀️ Europe’s 10 best winter sun destinations

This list is from 2024. Our latest ranking for 2025 is live here. In 2024, what exactly makes a neighbourhood cool? Craft breweries, natty wine bars and street art are well and good, but the world’s best, most exciting and downright fun neighbourhoods are much more than identikit ‘hipster hubs’. They’re places that reflect the very best of their cities – its culture, community spirit, nightlife, food and drink – all condensed in one vibey, walkable district. To create our annual ranking, we went straight to the experts – our global team of on-the-ground writers and editors – and asked them what the coolest neighbourhood in their city is right now, and why. Then we narrowed down the selection and ranked the list using the insight and expertise of Time Out’s global editors, who vetted each neighbourhood against criteria including food, drink, arts, culture, street life, community and one-of-a-kind local flavour. The result? A list that celebrates the most unique and exciting pockets of our cities – and all their quirks. Yes, you’ll find some of those international hallmarks of ‘cool’. But in every neighbourhood on this list there’s something you won’t find anywhere else. Ever been to a photography museum that moonlights as a jazz club? Or a brewery with a library of Russian literature? How about a festival dedicated to fluff? When communities fiercely support and rally around their local businesses, even the most eccentric ideas can become a reality. And that, in our eyes, is

On March 25, 1925, at London’s Selfridges department store in central London, Scottish inventor John Logie Baird made the first public demo of his latest creation: a way to broadcast visual information from a camera to a screen. A full century later, Baird’s discovery has led to perhaps the most vital, creative and popular mode of artistic expression in the entire world. But it’s only in the past 25 years that television has really fulfilled its artistic potential.  The result has been the so-called ‘Golden Age of Television’, a boom kickstarted roughly around the turn of the century with the rise of shows like The Sopranos and later Breaking Bad, and continuing with awards-winners from Succession to Shōgun to Slow Horses. So while our list of the 100 greatest TV shows may pay tribute to the unmissable programs of yesteryear, you’ll find that the majority hail from our own century – meaning there’s no excuse not to watch every single one. Paring the list down to only 100 was a painful process, so we decided to omit sketch shows, talk shows, news and non-fiction in order to focus on scripted drama and classic comedy. Time to go goggle-eyed. Recommended: 🔥 The best TV and streaming shows of 2025 (so far)🍎 The best shows to watch on Apple TV+ right now📺 The best Netflix original series to binge🎮 The best ‘90s TV shows

This bustling coastal city is absolutely steeped in history, maritime heritage, and of course, there's loads to see. It’s roots date back as far as the Stone Age, and its first ever museum (the Tudor House) remains a top attraction, with gorgeous gardens and guided tours on offer.  There’s plenty of modern-day action too, with a treasured football team, The Saints, and their fans bringing life to the city on match day. Southampton is also only a 20-minute drive away from the New Forest, or a ferry-ride away from the Isle of Wight, there's plenty going on that makes this city worth a visit. Check out our list of top picks for all the best things to do in Southampton.  RECOMMENDED:  🚆The best day trips from London⛰️ The best things to in the New Forest🏖️ The best seaside towns in the UK💕 The best things to do in the UK Annie McNamee is a writer at Time Out UK. At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by local writers who know their cities inside out. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines. This guide includes affiliate links, which have no influence on our editorial content. For more information, see our affiliate guidelines. 

This is about the time when the January blues start to hit pretty hard. It’s dark at 4pm, you’ve got no money left after Christmas and winter feels like it’s dragging on forever. But we’re here to tell you that things are looking up, because 2025 is going to be a corker of a year for the UK.  It turns out that 2025 is going to be a bit of a big one, with a number of landmark occasions being celebrated across Britain. There’s Jane Austen’s 250th birthday in Southampton, as well as the art-packed Folkestone Triennial, a celebration of 200 years of the British railway in York and Bradford’s 2025 City of Culture festivities. Then, there are up-and-coming foodie towns in Cornwall, music scenes that are popping off in Cardiff and Belfast, and the reopening of grand cultural insitutions like the Tate Liverpool.  If there’s ever been a good time to book a trip, it’s now (it might even help keep some SAD at bay). There is so much fantastic stuff happening across the country this year, so read our list curated by local experts of the best places to visit in the UK in 2025, and get stuck in.  RECOMMENDED: 🇬🇧 The 25 best new things to do in the UK in 2025📍The 12 most underrated city breaks in the UK 🏨 The UK’s 13 best new hotels opening in 2025👨‍👩‍👧 6 amazing places to stay with Kids in the UK

If people make Glasgow, music is what fuels it. The city's music scene was thriving long before the rest of it had caught up, with places like the Barrowlands and the Old Fruit Market offering locals good, cheap live music when general attitudes of Glasgow were, let's just say, less than favourable.  But those days are behind us, and Scotland's biggest city is now known across the UK for its vibrant cultural heritage, nightlife, and, of course, its music scene. Whether you're looking for an arena of people to scream along your favourite songs with, or a small makeshift stage at the back of a bar to find your new favourite band, Glasgow's got you sorted. Fair warning though: crowds here are famously rowdy. They're a lot of fun, but don't be surprised if you end up beer-soaked. Oh, and brush up on our local chants. You don't want to be the only person not shouting along with 'here we, here we, here we f'ing go!'. 

History has it that Pollokshaws Road was once home to a merry band of Flemish weavers – known as the ‘Queer Folk’ – who were brought over to work in the city during the 19th century by local landowners. These days it’s still a thriving creative hub, threading down Glasgow’s Southside and linking up the districts of Govanhill, Strathbungo and Shawlands. Rows of sandstone tenements loom over traffic separated by wide pavements, behind which stand ornate townhouses designed by Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson. There’s a juicy chunk of Pollokshaws Road where bars, cafés and boutiques jostle for space; pick it up from Allison Street and wander down past Queen’s Park. Since it’s a largely residential area, there’s a distinct feel of community – something that’s enhanced by the indie businesses that have popped up over the past few years. In particular it’s a brunch haven, with queues leaking out of living-room-sized cafés come rain or shine. You can also expect to find organic fruit and veg at Stalks & Stems, a fresh produce emporium with a florist next door, and (almost) a different coffee shop for every day of the week. It’s not all hipster territory, though. Punters tired of mustachioed baristas and bar staff will be cheered by the decent selection of old man pubs complete with smoked-glass windows. Recommended: Full guide to the best things to do in Glasgow

How easily could you be persuaded to shave off an eyebrow, or take a shot for every stair you climbed? Perhaps you’d feel more compelled if you were half a bottle of ‘Chicken Wine’ deep, 18, and surrounded by new friends that you were trying to impress? If you attended university in the UK you might have an uncomfortable feeling of deja-vu, perhaps being whisked back to the time you were ‘hazed’ as a first year student. If you didn’t, you’ve likely heard the rumours about former prime ministers getting it on with pigs, or rugby teams shoving carrots in places vegetables should never go. Hazing, or ‘initiation’ as it more commonly goes by this side of the Atlantic, is a practice which usually consists of ritualistically embarrassing rookie members of a given group in order for them to prove themselves. It’s also nothing new. There’s evidence of rowdy schoolboys dating as far back as 420 BCE when Plato recounted ‘practical jokes played by unruly young men’ which left both spectators and haze-ees injured. Somehow, this bizarre custom has survived the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, the birth of Jesus Christ, several international plagues and found a home for itself in the modern age on university campuses. But for the past decade or so, hazing’s millenia-long reign has been threatened by a generation who supposedly care more about their physical and mental health than they do about banter and ritual humiliation. Today, hazing has met its match: Generation Z. So what do these

You might never want to leave Edinburgh, and we get it. The Scottish capital is loved the world over for its culture, restaurants and Fringe Festival (to name a few). But if you limit your time in Scotland to just Edinburgh, trust us, you’re missing out.  Scotland is full of gems, but the best part is a whole lot of them can be reached by train or car in just one day – with enough time left to get back in time for dinner. From hilly hikes to wide-open beaches and from pretty towns to full-blown city breaks, these day trips from Edinburgh are not to be missed. Here are our favourites.  RECOMMENDED:🌤️ The best things to do in Edinburgh 🎨 The best art galleries in Edinburgh🏰 The best attractions in Edinburgh🏘️ The best Airbnbs in Edinburgh This guide was updated by Edinburgh-based Arusa Quereshi, and Time Out editors. At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by local writers who know their cities inside out. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines. This guide includes affiliate links, which have no influence on our editorial content. For more information, see our affiliate guidelines. 

What words come to mind when we mention the Olympics? Prestige? Excellence? Medals? Or is it: ‘Grom’?  The Olympic games have been around for nearly three millennia. As the entire planet tunes in to watch as the top sports people compete for those coveted gold medals, there’s some stuff you’ll probably want to get your head around to make the most of your viewing experience: jargon for you normies to weave into your vocab that will have you sounding like proper Olympic pros in no time.  RECOMMENDED:How to watch the Paris 2024 Olympics in the UK for freeHere’s the full schedule and timings for the Summer Games We’ve done some digging and unearthed some 100 percent real words and phrases that will almost certainly be used by professional Olympians and commentators across the next few weeks. What’s more, there’s something inherently funny about words which sound out of place to the average Joe. There’s nothing worth giggling about hearing the word ‘jaeger’ at a bar (especially as it’s usually followed by a friend trying to convince you to neck a shot of sweet battery acid and gone-off liquorice), but watching it earnestly come out of the mouth of a world-class gymnast? Now that’s entertainment. So what are you waiting for? Brush up on your sporty lingo and drop these into convo next time you’re watching the Games to impress your mates. Skateboarding  ‘Goofy stance’: Refers to when a skateboarder has their left foot on the back of the board. Also used in surfing and snowboarding

You remember the days. Assuring your friend that she definitely looks like her older cousin’s co-worker, especially with a ponytail in. Hovering awkwardly around the corner from the off-license as your one 18-year-old pal does God’s work for the rest of you. The pit in your tummy as you recite a fake birthday to the bouncer of a sticky-floored nightclub – remembering your star sign, memorising your imaginary postcode – and the elated relief when he lets you in with a raised eyebrow and a reluctant nod. Finding increasingly inventive ways to get around age-restrictions was half the fun of being 17, but today’s teens seem to be going off going out altogether. ‘You definitely see fake IDs less than you used to,’ says one bouncer at a popular student nightclub in Bristol. When he started working at the venue a decade ago, he’d encounter a load of fakes on any given night – but not so much anymore. ‘The worst one I ever saw had the back on upside down,’ he says. ‘The ones we do see are getting a lot better and it can be harder to catch them. But they’re definitely rarer now.’ Something has certainly shifted. A few weeks ago, as I walked through the Triangle, Bristol’s premier hotspot for stumbling freshers and lovers of three for two Jägerbombs, I noticed that the local Sainsbury’s was busier than all of the clubs combined. Two years ago, dancefloors would’ve been filling up at 11pm on a Monday. This wasn’t a fluke: since that night, two of the clubs in question have closed their

For all of the stick we give the UK – the grey skies, the pigeons, the Greggs sausage roll packets littering the pavements – it’s actually a pretty gorgeous country. In London alone, you can be goggling over the Barbican’s brutalist beauty one moment, the next, you might be basking in the tranquility of Hampstead Ponds. Add the turquoise coasts of Cornwall, the rugged mountains of Snowdonia and the fairytale wonder of Scotland’s highlands and islands to the mix, and you’ve got a country which is as good looking as they come.  When we set about curating this list of the most beautiful places in the UK, we called on our network of expert travel writers. These guys have have personally experienced the pinch-me moment of seeing every place on this list IRL – so we can guarantee you there is no catfishing going on here. Of course, you’ll find the usual suspects – you can’t argue with the magic of the Isle of Skye, after all – but you’ll also find some more surprising beauty spots to add to your travel bucket list. RECOMMENDED:🚂 The UK’s most beautiful train stations🇬🇧 The best things to do in the UK🏝 The most beautiful places in the world🏠 The best Airbnbs in the UK Chiara Wilkinson is Time Out’s UK features editor, based in London. At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by local writers who know their cities inside out. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines. This guide includes affiliate links, which have no influence on our editorial content

Inn Deep is like spending the evening at your mate’s house, only with ten times the energy and fresh pizza available without a delivery fee. The low-lighting and stripped-back interiors create a space you can relax in, but it’s the staff that really make you feel at home.  The prime location – underneath a railway bridge 30 seconds from Kelvinbridge tube station – helps to make this a prime meet-up spot, and provides glorious river views to anyone sitting outside. Add to that a huge (and we mean huge) selection of beers and spirits, and this could become your new West End go-to for ‘a chill one’. Having originally opened more than a decade ago, in recent years the Great Western Road pub has been on a mission to keep things fresh by welcoming new pop-ups to its kitchen every so often. The latest guest is Sub Rosa, a local pizzeria with two permanent locations in the southside, and a delicious marinara sauce.  What should I order? The menu is small for all the right reasons. Sub Rosa knows what it’s good at, and each of the six pizzas on offer play to those strengths. Our favourite was the pepperoni & pickled chili, as the tang and bite of the chilis cuts through the sweetness of the tomato sauce perfectly. Any pizza can be made vegan or gluten free upon request. Sides include chicken tenders in a gochujang honey butter glaze, and a range of chips. If you’re hungry opt for the Mexican loaded fries, but if you just want a snack the regular portions are crispy, salty, and definit

You’ve been here before. Almost.  With a clientele which would be perfect for a Love Island spin-off featuring exclusively people with ‘entrepreneur’ in their bios and a healthy amount of exposed pipework, The Counter is what those in the know would probably call ‘trendy’. Its dim lights, small plate selection, and strategically chipped brick feature wall put it on the verge of parodically hip, but a glance at its menu and a quick chat with any member of its team reveal it to be much more down to Earth than some of its equally Instagrammable peers. If you close your eyes you can almost feel the Istanbuli breeze flowing through your hair The sense of deja-vu you feel may not be coming solely from its open-plan bar though. Chef Kemal Demirasal’s first UK venture, opened up two years ago in Notting Hill to much success. Originally from Turkey, he’s taken much of the charm of the original joint (as well as its most popular recipes and excellent cocktails) and transported it to Kingly Street – and combined it with a series of fresh ideas and a lot of seafood. Fresh is definitely the operative word. The cocktails are infused with real fruit. The tomatoes have been imported from Turkey. There’s sort-of-caviar sprinkled on avocado-topped fish. If you close your eyes and just bite, you can almost feel the Istanbuli breeze flowing through your hair. A series of enthusiastic staff members recommended a variety of dishes to us. Some, like the tomato salad or prawns, were familiar classi

Big things are happening on Europe’s railways. There are ambitious plans to connect every major city with high-speed rails, the Orient Express is making a comeback, and new sleeper services are popping up all the time. Take the new nighttime between Switzerland and Scandinavia, for example, or this one between Barcelona and Brussels. And now we can add another sleeper to the mix: the Euronight EN Carpatiato.  Run by the Polish operator PKP Intercity, the sleeper service will begin in Przemyśl, in southeast Poland, and traverse the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, and Germany. 📍 RECOMMENDED: Discover more of the best new train routes in Europe The train will depart from Przemyśl at 5.51pm, then travel through Krakow to Bohumín in the Czech Republic. There, carriages will separate, with one half going through Bratislava and Budapest, and the other passing Vienna, Linz, and Salzburg, but both will end up back in Bavaria and terminate in Munich at around 10.24am. On the way back, you’ll leave Munich at 6.45pm and arrive in Poland at 10.10am. The route has been designed to make it possible to travel from Poland to three major capital cities without changing trains, and the complete journey will take 16 hours. Unlike some other recently announced services, there is a set start date for the EN Carpatia, which is due to launch on December 14, according to reports from TVP World. As with other EuroNight services, you’ll have to book ahead, and you’ll be able to choose bet

It’s a great time to be a train nerd. There are plans to connect every major city on the continent with a high-speed rail network, the iconic Orient Express is making a comeback, and new sleeper train routes are popping up all the time. Earlier this month, plans for overnight trains between Barcelona, Milan, and Brussels were announced, but the very latest news is the launch of a connection between Switzerland and Scandinavia. Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) is about to release the first batch of tickets for a brand new sleeper service between Basel, Copenhagen, and the Swedish city of Malmö. Trains will run three times a week, and become the first direct rail connection between the Scandinavian nations and Switzerland. 📍 RECOMMENDED: Discover more of the best new train routes in Europe This is being backed by the Swiss government, which says that it is glad to see SBB ‘expanding its international services and making climate-friendly travel to Northern Europe even more accessible’, and adds that the introduction of the link ‘meets the growing demand for sustainable, cross-border mobility’. Each train will have space for 350 people across beds and seats. Although the seated tickets will be cheaper, this is a pretty long journey, so it’s probably worth investing in that full-sized bed and hunkering down for the trip. Trains will leave Basel at 5.35pm every Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday, and won’t arrive at their final destination (Malmö) until 9.35am the next day. That’s a total

A charity in Scotland is embarking on an ambitious project to bring four entire species back to the Highlands. Trees for Life is dedicated to ‘rewilding the Scottish Highlands’, which includes everything from gaining extra protections for forests, to the ‘Missing Species Appeal’ – a campaign advocating for the return of ‘Scotland’s lost keystone animals’ to their rightful homes. Lynx, beavers, red squirrels, and modern-day aurochs, a type of horned cattle that went extinct during the 17th century, are the animals that Trees for Life is fighting for. It says that they all once played a ‘vital role’ in maintaining the Highland ecosystem, and that ‘centuries of persecution and habitat destruction' caused numbers to diminish. Beavers were hunted into near extinction centuries ago, but in 2009 the Scottish Wildlife Trust began to reintroduce them to the nation’s wetlands. Trees for Life says that the Highlands are ‘missing’ them and their dam-building skills. Red squirrels can still be found across Scotland, but they are becoming increasingly rare, and are vacant from entire stretches of Highland scenery. Trees for Life has already begun reintroducing these little creatures to the landscape, but wants to do so at a much higher rate.   Photograph: Shutterstock   The charity reckons that it could help support ‘a breeding population of 250 lynx’. It notes that Scotland is one of the only places the cats are native to that they haven’t been reintroduced to. The modern day aurochs, k

服に流行があるように、旅行先にもブームの波がある。ある場所が「実は知られていない」とトレンド志向の旅行者たちの間で語られ始めると、やがてリゾートが建ち、注目が集まったことで商業化が進む。そして彼らは、また次の新しい目的地へと移り、同じサイクルが繰り返されていく。 アルバニアは、その最新の例といえるだろう。とはいえ、こうした流行の波に左右されず、長い年月を経ても魅力が揺らがない場所も確かに存在する。 こうした「時代に流されない魅力」を持つ国々が、イギリス発の独立系トラベルマガジン・Wanderlustの「世界で最も魅力的な国（Most Desirable Countries on Earth）」ランキングを形作っている。このリストは、20万人以上の旅行好きが投票する「Readers’ Choice Awards（RCA）」の一部で、世界中の最高の旅先・ツアー会社・トラベルブランドをたたえるために設けられたアワードだ。 日本が世界1位に選出 今年、「最も魅力的な国（Most Desirable Country）」のタイトルを手にしたのは、10年以上ぶりに首位へ返り咲いた国、日本だ。 日本では、ほぼどんなタイプの旅でもかなえられる。ビーチに山、何世紀にもわたる歴史や文化の奥深さ、さらに世界トップクラスのテーマパークや世界最大の都市まで揃っているからだ。これだけ幅広い旅行者のニーズに応える国なのだから、多くの票を集めたのも納得がいくだろう。 Photograph: Shutterstock Wanderlustによると、東京や京都といった王道都市の人気は健在ながら、四国の荒々しい海岸線へ足を延ばしたり、金沢の職人を訪ねたり、さらには日本の原風景に近い空気を感じられる離島まで旅行客の関心が広がっているという。同誌はまた、日本に人々が引かれ続ける理由について、「革新、精密さ、伝統が混ざり合った独自性……好奇心を持つ旅人に応えてくれる国」と評している。 タイムアウトによると、日本には「世界で最もクールな街」もある。東京の神保町はそのトップで、古書店が並ぶ落ち着いた街並みは、長年にわたり知識人たちの憩いの場として親しまれてきた。さらに東京は、タイムアウトが選ぶ「2025年世界のベストシティ」のランキングにも名を連ねている。 2位はコスタリカ、3位はカナダ 「最も魅力的な国」の第2位にはコスタリカが選出された。中央アメリカに位置するこの国は、どこを切り取っても息をのむように美しい風景が広がり、豊かな野生動物が国中に生息している。また、タイムアウトが「まだ知られていない世界の旅先」として挙げたオサ半島もコスタリカに属し、旅行編集者グレース・ベアード（Grace Beard）はこの地を「世界最高峰のエコアドベンチャーの一つ」と高く評価している。 3位に入ったカナダも、雄大な自然の美しさで知られる国だ。 Photograph: Margus Vilbas / Shutterstock.com Wanderlustの読者が選んだ、「今世界で最も魅力的な国」トップ10は以下の通り。 日本 コスタリカ カナダ オーストラリア ペルー 南アフリカ アメリカ合衆国 ニュージーランド ブラジル エクアドル 「2025 Wanderlust Reader Travel Awards Winners」の結果は、同誌の公式ウェブサイトで確認できる。 関連記事 『2025年版「世界で最もクールなストリート」発表』 『東京、気の利いた手土産5選』 『幡ヶ谷でしかできない16の

An Oxfordshire nature reserve is about to expand into neighbouring farmland, giving the rare bird species that live there loads more space to roam. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) Otmoor reserve was established back in 1997, and has been a ‘haven for wildlife’ ever since. The 485-hectare site has been slowly transforming from empty fields into rugged wetland, the natural environment for some of Britain’s most at-risk bird species like lapwings, snipes, redshanks and more. With the support of Cherwell District Council, the reserve is set to take over 21 hectares (52 acres) of disused agricultural land and wet-ify it (not a technical term). The area is already being transformed into more floodplain grazing marshes, making way for a second habitat bank; a space dedicated to strengthening biodiversity and allowing for species to thrive.   The whole site, including the habitat bank, will be managed by the RSPB, which is planning to target those rare wading birds and continue to support their population growth. The charity’s chief operating officer James Robinson said that it is ‘delighted’ to help expand Otmoor, one of the largest reserves of its kind in Britain. He explained that the RSPB’s approach to conservation is future-focused and ‘rooted in ecological science’, adding that its habitats are designed to remain in place and benefit local wildlife for decades to come.  Once complete, the site will help the Cherwell district reach a ‘biodiversity net gain’,

Britain may not be the first country that comes to mind when you picture an award-winning, globally-renowned vineyard. You probably imagine the dry heat of southern France, rolling Californian hills or misty New Zealand valleys – but it turns out that you don’t need to venture so far to access world-class wine production. World’s 50 Best Vineyards has just revealed its 2025 list, and two of the entrants are right here in the UK. Created by a panel of industry experts from sommeliers and connoisseurs to tourism boards, hundreds of testimonies and reviews were compiled to determine the final order. There’s no specific set of criteria that judges are looking out for; instead ‘each vote is a nomination for a vineyard experience open to the public that they deem to be truly among the best in the world’. This is the first year the list has been managed by the ‘World’s 50 Best’ brand, so the ranking is bigger and more notable than ever before. Britain’s top ranking entry was Gusbourne in Kent, which came 28th – a huge jump from last year when it came 50th. The vineyard opened just over 20 years ago hoping to produce world-class sparkling wines, but today is ‘a bucket-list destination’ for oenophiles the world over. During your visit you can sample its wine ‘as part of its on-site tasting menu pairing or within a picnic lunch hamper in the picturesque vineyard’. West Sussex’s Nyetimber was a brand new entry for this year, debuting at 32nd. It was one of only 11 first-timers on the 20

Lily Allen fans; breathe a sigh of relief. More concert dates have arrived. A couple of weeks ago, you might have been one of the thousands who tried and utterly failed get tickets to Lily Allen’s 2026 West End Girl tour, but all hope isn’t lost. More concert dates have arrived. The sellout tour followed the success of West End Girl, an album detailing the breakdown of Allen’s marriage complete with affairs, deceit, tennis, and a woman named Madeline. When hundreds of thousands of people signed onto Ticketmaster to nab tickets, it became clear that the 2000-capacity theatres the singer was slated to perform in just weren’t going to cut it. Even a headlining slot at Mighty Hoopla festival in London wasn’t enough to satisfy demand. So Allen is now giving the people what they want – a huge arena tour ‘due to phenomenal demand’. Next June, she will hit nine arenas across the UK and Ireland with ‘Lily Allen plays West End Girl’, where she’ll perform the entire album from front to back. Here’s everything you need to know to make sure you don’t miss out on tickets this time around. When is Lily Allen going on an arena tour in the UK? The first leg of the West End Girl tour is in March, but all of the big arena shows will be in June. The arena shows will begin in Newcastle on June 16, and end in Dublin on June 30. What tour dates have been confirmed so far? Lily will play a total of eight shows in arenas in the UK, and one in Ireland. The exact dates are: June 16: Utilita Arena, New

Thinking of planning an OTT, particularly luxe sort of Christmas dinner for 2025? Luckily for a bunch of Londoners, Mark & Spencer has just announced that it’s opening two brand new food halls in the capital this week, in good time for Christmas prep.  The new food halls are the latest in a slew of new openings for the high-street icon. After closing a bunch of its cafés earlier this year, Marks and Sparks announced that it was investing £300 million into upgrading its supermarkets by doing, among other things, ‘opening brand-new coffee shops offering delicious food and barista-made fairtrade coffee’. Last month, the company unveiled plans to open up six locations in the capital before Christmas with a £90 million ‘London investment’ plan, which also included upgrades to its huge Oxford Street branch. The first three locations launched back in October – read more about them here – and two more are coming this week. The sixth and final shop in Chiswick will appear in early December. So which M&S Foodhalls are opening this week? Fulham Broadway and Clapham Common. The Clapham branch will be 6,700 square-foot large, and will open its doors for the first time today (November 20) with a performance from the City of Stars musical theatre choir – the stars of this year’s M&S Food Christmas advert. Inside, you’ll find a large bakery section selling freshly made pastries, cakes, and loaves, ethically farmed produce, and plenty of meal-deal options. There’s no café, but there is a ‘cof

The National Trust is a custodian of British history, and it’s just announced a significant addition to its roster. Ownership of Ironbridge Gorge, a Shropshire site made up of historic buildings, museums, and artefacts, will be passed to the National Trust next spring. The current managers, Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, hope the change will ‘secure [its] long-term future and prosperity’. Even for the National Trust, which looks after plenty of fascinating castles and magical forests, Ironbridge Gorge is a special place. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site, meaning that an expert panel determined it to be a place of ‘outstanding value to humanity’ thanks to its fascinating history and collection of over 400,000 artefacts. Back in the 18th and 19th centuries, the region operated as ‘the Silicon Valley of its day’, according to its website. UNESCO says that it shows ‘all the elements of progress that contributed to the rapid development’ of the industrial revolution’, from the essential materials that were mined and treated here to the cutting-edge railways that transported them in and out of the area. Many of the original industrial buildings and tools remain in good condition and open to visitors at Ironbridge Gorge. When the National Trust takes over in spring 2026, it will acquire all of the Gorge Trust’s historic properties, including 35 listed buildings, like a huge 1800s furnace, an immersive living Victorian village, and a tile museum.  Image: Ironbridge Gorge Museum Tr

Christmas chaos is about to begin. There are few ways to get around the stress of present-buying, turkey-cooking and constant work-party hangovers, but we can help you with one thing: travel. Just before Christmas, a huge rush of people dash across the country, whether that be back to childhood homes, to spend time with new grandchildren, or meet up with in-laws, but if you plan ahead you can beat the crowds (or trail behind them). There are four critical days in the lead-up to the holiday that tend to be very busy for travel. Here’s exactly when not to travel by rail, road, and sky if you want to avoid crawling up the M6 at a snail’s pace when you should be enjoying a glass of mulled wine. The busiest travel days for Christmas 2025 Train The railways are going to be a bit tricky to navigate this winter. Planned engineering works are going to disrupt a lot of trips, with major stations like Waterloo and Liverpool Street in London shutting in the interim between Christmas and New Year. Have a look at all the major disruptions to London transport this year here. Luckily, most of the work is scheduled for after Christmas, so you’ll still be able to get home for the holidays. According to research from the Independent, Saturday December 20 and Monday December 22 are due to be the busiest days on the rails as people wrap up work and head back to their families. December 27 will also be a popular day to travel, and with work taking place across the country, it could be a pretty cha

Halloween may be long gone, but Italy is having a Frankenstein moment of its own right now. It created a monster that it doesn’t know how to contain: alfresco dining. Although eating a meal outside might not seem comparable to a hulking beast that ravages through town, residents of Florence are starting to see the similarities. They say it’s disruptive and ugly, making it a generally undesirable addition to their city, and are calling on the council to ban it. Florence city council has listened to those complaints, and responded by announcing that from next year, outdoor dining will be banned on 50 historic streets and piazzas. Seventy more spots will be subject to intensified regulations, like limits on barriers and umbrellas, the Times reports. No one seems very happy about this outcome. The locals who initially made the complaints say that it doesn’t go far enough to prevent labyrinths of tables forming on busy streets, and businesses are concerned that these restrictions could turn away potential customers and harm the hospitality industry. One Florence restaurateur even told the Times that outdoor seats are ‘fundamental’ to the success of her business, and many other trattorias. Industry experts are concerned that the push indoors will hit authentic, locally owned restaurants hardest, pushing tourists towards cheap quick fixes and eating into already thin profit margins. Recommended: The best restaurants in Florence, a local’s guide Locals, however, don’t buy it. In a co

Some towns only have one, slightly lacklustre Christmas lights display – a single string of white bulbs, in some cases. In London, though, we’re spoiled for choice: there are literally hundreds, many of which are extraordinary shows of festive illumination. But no amount of Christmas spirit is going to give you the time to see all of the city’s lights displays, so we recommend prioritising only the best. Luckily, Time Out has put together a guide to help you do just that, naming London’s top Christmas illuminations for 2025. This year, Time Out’s Things to Do Editor Rosie Hewitson chose Carnaby Street as the city’s best Christmas lights display. Here’s why.  Carnaby Street does Christmas lights a little differently. Instead of rehashing the same old show (or wastefully creating a new one every year), it has an adaptable display which involves thousands of tin LEDs built into sculptures that twinkle high above the street itself. The display debuted last year, but was created with sustainability in mind so will return every winter until 2030. RECOMMENDED: The best Christmas markets in London for 2025 Carnaby’s 2025 display is titled ‘Into the Light’, with the lights taking the shape of huge Christmas crackers and stars. They’ve also changed colour, adding neon purples, blues, pinks, and oranges to last year’s gold and bringing ‘a welcome splash of colour to the dark winter skies above central London’. The iconic Carnaby Street arches will also be lit up this year. Photograph: