With its mysterious stones, fairytale waterfalls and dinosaur footprints, Arran is a magical playground for children

As we climb up to Eas Mor waterfall in the south of the island of Arran, I pause to read the words carved into a fallen tree across our path: “Bow your head for you enter sacred and magical lands.” There’s a lot about Arran that is sacred and magical. Growing up in Glasgow, I went to the island several times as a child, played mini golf at Brodick and spent hours combing beaches for perfectly smooth, multicoloured stones. My husband’s family used to decamp from London for long summer holidays too: stories of three-year-olds trudging up Goatfell – the island’s tallest peak at 874 metres – are the stuff of family fable.

We have two children of our own now – Henry, eight, and Isobel, five – and we brought them back to this beautiful Firth of Clyde island in May half-term. Arran is often dubbed “Scotland in miniature”, but that is especially true and pertinent for families. You can be there in about two hours from Glasgow, and the island’s main road is a continuous 55-mile loop around its coast, taking in wild beaches, misty castles, whisky distilleries and looming granite mountains.

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From snorkel trails and seafood restaurants to maritime festivals and a ‘museum of fun’, here’s what’s new and exciting around the UK coast

I love walking in Blackpool. The stroll along the prom takes time and a bit of effort – it’s almost three miles from the South Shore to the Grand Hotel – and takes me past three piers and more than a century of architecture including Victorian, art deco, modern and postwar municipal. In her 2023 novel Pleasure Beach, Helen Palmer pastiches Joyce’s Ulysses: her home town perfectly suits its promiscuous, genre-hopping, list-loving energy. The expanses of sand, big skies and far horizons of the Irish Sea always distract and calm the soul.

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Our tipsters savour delights at cafes, restaurants and pubs by the sea, from Bangor to Brighton

The cockle chowder served in a cottage loaf at The Peterboat in Leigh-on-Sea, Southend, is to die for (£19.95). The prawn and chorizo linguine at £17.95 equally so! Fabulous location, right on the sea wall, and the service is always excellent. It’s so easy to reach on public transport that customers can enjoy a glass of wine from their extensive list.
Carolyn Simpson

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Summer night markets, fairytale villages and painterly beaches feature among our tipsters’ travels

At Chantelle village, 40 miles north of Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne, the organic butcher and deli offers game, pâtés, and wine, while fresh croissants await every morning at the boulangerie. The abbey, brocantes (secondhand shops) and bar are also popular with visitors, mostly from France. Visits here are made even more magical by hikes through the Gorge de la Bouble, lake swims, gourmet farmers’ markets in surrounding villages and plentiful live music all summer. I return every summer, following Anne of France’s footsteps in the 15th and early 16th centuries. She sought refuge here in the abbey, where she could retreat from the politicking of the French court.
Anne Page

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One man is trying to revive zero-carbon cargo routes by sailing produce along England’s eastern seaboard – and taking paying passengers along for the thrilling ride

The water glitters, rippled by a rising wind, and Victorious glides silently on three huge, maroon sails. We’re the only boat in sight, surrounded by grey sea and vast sky. Every direction offers a subtly different picture: patches of blue and fluffy clouds, billowing blue-black clouds, occasional rays of sunshine beaming into the Wash. A flock of Brent geese flies across our bows.

“It just feels like she’s made for these waters. It’s magical,” purrs one of my five fellow sailors, . We’re taking potatoes from the Fenland channel of Fosdyke to make chips in Norfolk, and the hold of our immaculately restored 42ft shrimping smack will be packed with extra goods when we reach King’s Lynn.

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