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

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

Believe it or not, it’s been less than a year since Dave’s Hot Chicken made its UK debut. The American fast food joint landed on Shaftesbury Avenue in London last December to riotous success – fans were rumoured to be queuing up to four hours just to get a taste of Dave’s spicy goodness. Ten months later, DHC now has four UK locations and no plans to slow down. A recent deal signed with restaurant group Azzurri sees the brand set out to conquer Europe, and open nearly 200 stores across Britain, Portugal, Spain, and Germany. A second London branch is also on its way, set to open on October 24. If you’re yet to taste what all the fuss is about, we have great news: next week, you’ll be able to sample Dave’s Hot Chicken’s famous goodies completely for free. Dave’s has announced that on Thursday October 23 it will be handing out 69 million of its much sought-after chicken sliders (essentially a fancy chicken burger) on the house. Yep, 69 million.  Photograph: Dave’s Hot ChickenSliders are on the top left How to get free Dave’s Hot Chicken sliders How do you grab one? Very easily, actually. All you have to do is download the Dave’s Hot Chicken app, log in, and claim your free voucher. Then, turn up to any Dave’s UK location next Thursday (October 23) between 11am and 9pm and enjoy your nosh. The figure of 69 million isn’t arbitrary either; it’s been chosen specifically because that is the population of the United Kingdom, meaning that there is very much enough to go around. Be wa

The Eagle and Child in Oxford is one of the city’s most iconic pubs, dating all the way back to the 1600s. The boozer, which was once frequented by authors JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis, shut in March 2020 as the pandemic took hold – but it’ll soon return to its glory days as renowned architectural studio Foster + Partners has been granted planning permission for a huge renovation. For those in the know about pubs or design – or both – this is big news. For those not, we can get you up to speed. The Eagle and Child dates back to the 1600s, but the building as we know it today was constructed around 1840. It’s best known for being the meeting place of choice for the Inklings, an Oxford writing group which included Tolkien and Lewis, and because of its historical significance the pub was awarded Grade II listed status. The pub has now been sitting empty for five years, so it’s welcome news that someone is finally ready to give it the TLC it deserves. Foster + Partners are legends in the world of architecture. No matter who you are, you’ll know of a few Norman Foster projects: Wembley Stadium, the Millennium Bridge, and the Gherkin in London are just a couple of the company’s many, many iconic works.  The vision for Eagle and Child is to ‘preserve the unique character’ of the building whilst modernising it and adding more varied spaces throughout. Gerard Evenden, who is the head of studio at the firm, explained: ‘The scheme is stitched together by a newly landscaped garden and restor

Sometimes climate change can seem like a distant threat, an intimidating shadow being cast by something far away. We know that it’s bad, but it can be difficult to visualise what rising temperatures in the atmosphere will look like from the ground. That’s the gap that a new report from insurance company Aviva report begins to fill in. The report, which is largely focused on flooding, paints a pretty bleak picture for the UK, should climate change continue at its current rate. It reveals the towns that could be at risk of severe flooding by 2050, and exactly how many homes could be at risk of damage to floodwater without intervention. In order to create its report, Aviva’s experts analysed every authority in England, Scotland, and Wales, drawing on ‘a combination of national datasets, climate projections and map-based modelling’. Coastal communities are at the highest risk of flooding, alongside cities built on rivers. This means like hubs like London – which we went into more detail on here – Glasgow, and Liverpool could be partly underwater by the middle of the century. London, Liverpool, Cardiff, and Bristol will all be hit by both rising sea and river levels, putting them in the danger zone. Currently, 2.4 million properties in the UK are at high-risk of coastal or river floods, but estimates suggest this could rise to 3.2 million in 2050. Here are the parts of the UK that may see greater risk of flooding, on a national level and then for Scotland and Wales.   The 10 UK ar

As the days get colder and darker, you might find yourself thinking more and more about next year’s holidays. One of the best cures to the winter blues is getting a summer trip or two booked into the diary, but that requires a lot of planning. If you’re looking for a destination that you’re guaranteed to enjoy, Expedia might be able to help. The booking platform has just revealed where it reckons the world’s top trending destinations are going to be for 2026. It says that the destinations on its list go ‘beyond the crowds’, and is made up of spots ‘where global interest is rising fast, even in destinations that haven’t yet gone viral’. Intriguingly for anyone currently in the market for a staycation, one of the top 10 was in the UK. The Cotswolds was named as one of Expedia’s top trending destinations. Whilst the famously picturesque area of England isn’t exactly a hidden gem or an up-and-comer, it is true that the Cotswolds has gained a lot of international attention in recent years. According to Expedia, there was a 39 percent increase in international interest for the area in 2025 when compared to 2024. And the Cotswolds is popular for a reason. The ideal traditional English countryside getaway, the region boasts countless cute little towns complete with winding cobbled paths, babbling brooks and postcard-perfect thatched roofs. Bibury: The ‘most beautiful village in the world’ in the Cotswolds One Cotswolds town in particular – Bibury – made headlines recently when it was

Foodies based in (or in the market for visiting) Oxford, heads up. In recent months Time Out critics have been eating their way through the city to discover the very best it has to offer, all in the name of overhauling our list of Oxford’s best places to eat.  Named the best restaurant in Oxford for 2025 was tapas joint Arbequina. Described in brief as ‘divine tapas in sexy surrounds’, Time Out writers Ralph Jones and Lauren Corona compared Arbequina to award-winning London tapas chain Barrafina, only ‘way, way cheaper’. Plates at Arbequina start at £4.50 for a bowl of olives, going up to £37.50 for an entire 350g pork tenderloin. The latter is meant for two to three people, though – in general, you’ll be paying between £9-12 per item. Jones and Corona particularly recommend the ‘thick, oozy’ onion tortilla, which, at £7, is another bargain. Photograph: Louise Long Coming in second place was local favourite Taste Tibet, ‘serving street food from the top of the world’. This is another budget-friendly option, as you can get an entire Tibetan ‘feast for one’ for under £20. Menus change up every week, but their momo dumplings are delicious and always on sale. Spiced Roots, ‘a casual-cool Caribbean restaurant’ took the bronze. Check out Time Out’s new list of the best restaurants in Oxford here. This is officially the best restaurant in the UK in 2025, according to Time Out critics Plus: Two of Time Out’s happiest cities in the world are in the UK Stay in the loop: sign up to o

If you’ve been into town recently, you know what’s up. You’ve seen the boarded up windows, you’ve noticed your usual haunts disappearing, you’ve benefited from an ‘everything must go – half off!’ sale once or twice. You can see that it’s a shop-ageddon out there on UK high streets, and it’s showing no signs of slowing down. In 2023, we lost Wilko, and then in 2024 we got it back. Then we said goodbye to a bunch of Marks and Spencers, some Boots, a few Body Shops, and plenty more. In fact, some studies have estimated that Britain lost up to 37 shops a day in 2024. Although we all hoped that 2025 would bring good news for our high streets, it’s looking like this year is more of the same. It’s not all doom and gloom, but it’s useful to know exactly what’s coming and going so that you don’t plan an entire shopping day around a store which has closed its doors for the last time. Here’s an exhaustive list of all the big places shutting up shop this year across the country. All the UK high street closures in 2025 Claire’s  Claire’s Accessories was threatened with administration for much of the summer. While Modella Capital has since swept in to rescue, the following sites could still close:  The Arndale Centre, Luton, Bedfordshire LU1 2LJ Grand Arcade, Shopping Centre, Cambridge CB2 3BJ SU33B, The Sovereign Shopping Centre, Weston Super Mare, Somerset BS23 1HL The Cascades Centre, Portsmouth, Hampshire PO1 4RJ 83 Strand Street, Douglas, Isle of Man IM1 2EN United Kingdom Baxtergat

While it’s been a long time since everything in Poundland cost just £1, earlier this year it was revealed that there was one thing about the chain you could get for just a quid: the shop itself. That’s not a joke. In the summer the entirety of Poundland was sold by its owners Pepco to a US investment company called Gordon Brothers (which used to own Laura Ashley) for a ‘nominal fee’ of a single pound. The low cost was not quite the deal that it appeared at face value – it was estimated that it could cost the new owners up to £100 million to get the brand back on its feet. Following the sale a huge restructuring plan was announced and approved. Dozens of stores were set to close (68 in total) by the end of 2025, and further Poundlands were expected to shut as a result of the brand seeking rent reductions and lease expirations. Before the closures, Poundland employed over 16,000 people across 792 branches in the UK and Ireland.  Pepco maintains that this does not mean that it’s the end of Poundland, stating that it ‘remains a key player in UK discount retail, with millions of customers annually and a well-loved brand and proposition’, and adding that this is simply a move to ‘[simplify] the group and [focus] on our successful Pepco business.’ Poundland managing director Barry Williams said of the closures: ‘It’s no secret that we have much work to do to get Poundland back on track.’ ‘While Poundland remains a strong brand, serving 20m-plus shoppers each year, our performance fo

Halloween fans, avert your eyes. Even though it’s October, we’re already feeling festive and looking ahead to nights full of log-fires, hot chocolate, and getting a little bit too silly at work Christmas dos. It really is the most wonderful time of the year. If you’re as excited as we are, you’ll be starting to make Christmas-related plans which should definitely include at least one trip to a Christmas market. Whether it’s your local one, or you venture further afield to discover something new, it’s a non-negotiable for getting into the spirit. We don’t have too long to wait for the markets to begin opening up – most will start popping up around mid November. Here’s when all of our favourite Christmas Markets in the UK will be open this year, in order of earliest to the latest start. RECOMMENDED:🛍️ The 12 most magical Christmas markets in the UK.🎄 When every London Christmas market returns for 2025. Birmingham Frankfurt Christmas Market Ask a Brummie about Christmas and they’ll excitedly tell you that their market is the biggest German market outside of Germany. That scale is pretty impressive in person, and means that there’s a huge array of bratwurst, beer, and crafts on offer. (Other food and drink options are also available). Opening dates: November 1 to December 24 Manchester Christmas Market Time Out’s pick for the second-best market in Europe is in Manchester. Although it was absent last year, the market is back for 2025 with hundreds of stalls, loads of food, and e

As always, there’s loads on in London this weekend to keep you busy. Whether you’re going to the last bits of BFI London Film Festival, learning about hip-hop history at Somerset House, exploring the brand new Kew Gardens halloween train or getting stuck into the Black British Book Festival, you’ll likely be using public transport to get around. This weekend is fairly heavy in terms of travel disruption in the capital – especially on Sunday, when quite a few different lines are facing part closures or reduced services. The Piccadilly line, Metropolitan line and DLR are among those with parts of the service being shut off for engineering works.  Here are all the planned disruptions to TfL train and tube lines this weekend, and the alternative services you can take instead. RECOMMENDED: The best things to do in London this weekend. London travel disruption and tube closures, October 17-19 District line Sunday October 19 – no service on the Richmond branch, meaning no trains will run between Turnham Green and Richmond. The replacement bus service DL3 hits all the stops which will be affected. Metropolitan line On Saturday October 18 and Sunday October 19 there will be no service between Harrow-on-the-Hill and Uxbridge. A replacement bus – ML1 – will instead run between the two stations, stopping at all the same places except for Ruislip. Instead, it will go past West Ruislip for connections with the Central line. Piccadilly Line On Saturday October 18 and Sunday October 1

There’s no shortage of great entertainment venues in London, but one of the best things about this city is that new ones are still popping up all the time. The latest arrival? A brand-new comedy club in Southwark. The Old Union Yard Arches club, which will open its doors for the first time on Thursday October 16, will become the permanent home of improv group the Free Association. The Free Association has been training up comedians and putting on shows for over a decade now, so it’s about time it had a place to call its own. There’s a big launch event/celebration on Thursday, which consists of an inaugural performance, complete with champagne and ribbon cutting. Then, on Friday (October 17) you can catch This Doesn’t Leave The Room, the troupe’s ‘flagship show’ where the improvisers take confessions and gossip from the audience and turn them into something wonderful. In the past, people like Amelia Dimoldenberg have joined for this particular bill. Over the opening weekend there’s a full lineup of shows ranging from St Doctor’s Hospital, an ‘improvised medical drama’, to Fabled, a ‘fantasy adventure tale’ with a live band playing a soundtrack. As well as being a 104-seater performance space, the venue aims to be ‘a creative hub for performers, audiences, and the wider community’. It will also house purpose-built classrooms to train up the next generation of comedians (alumni include Ambika Mod, Phil Wang and more), and a café/bar area open to the public. Photograph Amy Heyco

At the moment, if you want to get from the UK to Europe by train (and you aren’t in your own vehicle), you’ve only got one option: hop on the Eurostar at St Pancras International in London. However, that might not be the case for too much longer as one of Eurostar’s potential future competitors has revealed further details of its cross-Channel service – with something unique to offer. There’s been a cross-Channel railway arms race going on for a few years now. Several train companies – including Virgin, German-owned organisation Deutsche Bahn, and startup Evolyn – have been gearing up to make bids for access to the Channel Tunnel. Recent updates have seen Virgin gathering locomotives and Uber revealing that its services would be based at Stratford in east London and pass through Ebbsfleet International in Kent. Eurostar trains used to make stops in Kent, but service was halted in 2020. The Kentish people aren’t pleased with this, with 80,000 of them even signing a petition to get their European link back. And their protests have worked; now Italian operator Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane (FS) has also expressed interest in running trains between London and Paris with a stop in the southeastern county. The competitor is the first to pledge to stop at Ashford International Station if it secures a contract. Its plans include a £1 billion investment into the British economy, and the construction of an ‘innovation hub’ at Ashford station, according to the Times. The Italian company

We’re in October now, which means that unless you’re lucky enough to have an early winter vacation booked, the next time you travel will be in 2026. If you’re starting to hunt for holiday destinations, why not consider a spot of set-jetting? In case you’re not clued up, set-jetting is the ‘trend of travelling to destinations inspired by TV shows and movies’, according to travel website Expedia. It’s why Notting Hill has been a tourist trap ever since Hugh Grand and Julia Roberts made their mark on it, and why any Greek island trip can now be described as having ‘Mamma Mia vibes’. And if Expedia’s latest travel trends round-up is anything to go by, the set-jetting craze is going nowhere. Apparently, a whopping 81 percent of Gen Z and Millennial travellers now plan their trips based on what they’ve seen on screen. Next year’s blockbuster film and TV line-up is set to provide great inspiration – but if you book ahead of their releases, you’ll get better deals and fewer crowds. Luckily, Expedia has done all the research for you and compiled a list of the hottest set-jetting locations for 2026. Yorkshire is the top destination for set-jetters next year. It’s the setting for both the highly anticipated Emerald Fennell adaptation of Wuthering Heights, starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, and the final Downton Abbey film, which is already out. Photograph: Shutterstock For something a bit warmer, the Peloponnese in southern Greece will hit the big screen in Christopher Nolan’s T