countryside

Spain scraps ‘golden visa’ scheme popular with British expats since Brexit

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[ MADRID – Spain will scrap the so-called “golden visa” programme granting residency rights to British people and other foreigners who make large investments in property in the country, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has said. Mr Sanchez said ending the scheme would help make access to affordable housing “a right instead of a speculative business”. … Read more

five slow train routes that show the UK at its finest

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[ One thing no one ever tells you about Europe’s TGV and AVE trains is that the view through the windows is terrible. Travelling over 200 miles per hour means beautiful Provençal lavender fields and dusty Andalucian sierras become a mere blur. Look out for too long and the brain feels mangled as after an … Read more

Weather record for warmest January temperature set in Scottish Highlands

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[ A village in the Scotland Highlands has provisionally set the record for the warmest ever January temperature, after hitting, the Met Office has confirmed. Kinlochewe in the north-west Highlands recorded the temperature on Sunday. If confirmed, it would also be the record for a winter’s day in Scotland. In a post on X, the … Read more

Nine of the best free things to do in the UK between Christmas and New Year

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[ The time between Christmas and New Year can be a strange, sometime tiresome lull. With children or extended family members to entertain, a week’s worth of days out can get expensive quickly – and sitting at home in front of the television is a recipe for lethargy and quarrels. But you don’t need to … Read more

How I decide if the UK will get a white Christmas, as a Met Office meteorologist

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[ The picture-postcard image of snow-blanketed festive scenes has become synonymous with Christmas thanks to Charles Dickens, Bing Crosby and, frankly, the entire Hollywood festive film output. In the UK, a white Christmas is officially announced by the Met Office – and it is a responsibility they don’t take lightly. Here, Craig Snell, a senior … Read more

the Yorkshire village with community spirit, cosy pubs and poetic links

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[ Surrounded by moorland, Marsden in West Yorkshire is often overshadowed by better-known villages, such as Haworth and Saltaire. Yet it has a similarly Gothic appeal, helped by its 19th-century mills and St Bartholomew’s Church, which has a history dating to the 15th century. There is also an active pagan community that runs events such … Read more