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What are you looking for, see things differently, welcome to britain.

Discover inventive new experiences and captivating stories in 2024, brought together with a dose of British flair. From exploring film settings and pioneering cultural spaces to countryside trails and relaxing wellness retreats, it’s all happening on our shores and you’re invited!

Join immersive exhibitions as the National Gallery celebrates a landmark anniversary or get a taste for chocolate as Birmingham’s Cadbury World also marks its 200th birthday. Venture off the beaten track for new coastal adventures, exploring new trails and walking routes, or take in sporting action as the world’s best compete in everything from athletics to the Premier League.

Whether it’s getting a feel for our vibrant cultural cities, embarking on a coastal adventure, or discovering locations made famous by film and TV, it’s time to experience Britain differently.

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Spilling the tea on GB

We’re spilling the tea on the hottest experiences – and it’s not just a good old brew that we’re mad about.

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Key sporting moments in 2024

Grab your tickets, or a spot by a screen, and join the atmosphere of brilliant British sport.

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Britain packs a punch when it comes to the eclectic range of destinations within close proximity to London.

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How to see Britain differently

From gastronomic adventures to eco-friendly stays, there’s always more to explore on Britain’s shores.

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An unmissable destination for travellers, London is a melting pot of history, culture and green spaces.

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From palaces to cobbled alleys and even a dormant volcano, this city is a real show-stopper.

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World-class football and a music scene that brought Oasis to centre stage – there’s lots to love about Manchester.

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A quirky seaside city filled with diverse cuisine, vintage shopping and adrenaline fuelled adventure.

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Here’s why Twitter users in the UK can still be jailed for sending ‘grossly offensive’ tweets

Blame out-of-date legislation and odd notions of public morality.

By James Vincent , a senior reporter who has covered AI, robotics, and more for eight years at The Verge.

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It comes as a shock to many, but sending nasty tweets can be a criminal offense in the United Kingdom. Those found guilty can face fines, community service, and even time in jail.

The latest example is the case of 36-year-old Joseph Kelly of Castlemilk, Glasgow, who was found guilty last week of sending a “grossly offensive” tweet about Captain Sir Tom Moore. Moore was a British army officer who raised money for the UK’s National Health Service by walking 100 laps around his garden prior to his 100th birthday, and on February 3rd, 2020 — the day after Moore died — Kelly tweeted: “the only good Brit soldier is a deed one, burn auld fella buuuuurn.” He was found guilty last Monday and is now awaiting sentencing.

That someone could be prosecuted for sending a tweet — no matter how offensive some may find it — is a surprise to many internet users, particularly those in the United States, where robust free speech laws (aka the First Amendment) protect pretty much all types of public speech against government prosecution. The UK has long held different standards, though, and, for two decades, has prosecuted internet users for offensive messages under a bit of legislation known as the 2003 Communications Act.

What exactly are people being charged for?

Section 127 of the Communications Act makes it an offense to send public messages of a “grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character,” which is quite clearly a very broad remit. There’s a lot of ambiguity in this wording — what makes something “grossly offensive” as opposed to plain old “offensive”? — but the best way to get a feel for what is and isn’t covered by the law is to look over some past cases, both successful and not. (A quick warning: legally-defined offensive and grossly offensive language follows.)

• Paul Chambers: arrested for tweeting, “Crap! Robin Hood airport is closed. You’ve got a week and a bit to get your shit together otherwise I’m blowing the airport sky high!!” Chambers’ prosecution in 2010 started a national debate about the use of Section 127, with his trial dubbed the “Twitter Joke Trial,” attracting support from celebrities like Stephen Fry. Chamber’s conviction was eventually quashed by the UK’s High Court in 2012.
• Azhar Ahmed: sentenced to 240 hours of community service and a £300 ($400) fine after posting on Facebook after six British soldiers were killed in Afghanistan. Ahmed wrote : “People gassin about the deaths of soldiers! What about the innocent familys who have been brutally killed.. [...] Your enemy’s were the Taliban not innocent harmless familys. All soldiers should DIE & go to HELL!”
• Joshua Cryer: sentenced to 240 hours of community service and court costs of £150 ($200) for sending racist tweets to footballers. The prosecution argued that Cryer’s messages were not “impulsive” but a “new hobby” — sent “up to seven times over a period of days” — that were intended to provoke a reaction from his targets.
• Daniel Thomas: arrested for tweeting homophobic remarks about UK Olympic divers Tom Daley and Pete Waterfield. Thomas’ message reportedly read : “If there is any consolation for finishing fourth at least Daley and Waterfield can go and bum each other #teamHIV.” In the end, no charges were brought against Thomas, with Keir Starmer (then the UK’s director of public prosecutions) concluding that the message was only intended to be seen by friends and family, not Daley and Waterfield.
• Isabella Sorley: sentenced to 12 weeks in jail for tweeting at feminist writer Caroline Criado-Perez and Labour MP Stella Creasy, who were campaigning for the UK’s next £10 banknote to feature a woman. Sorley told the women: “kill yourself before I do; rape is the last of your worries; I’ve just got out of prison and would happily do more time to see you berried.” She later told BuzzFeed News she was drunk while sending the messages and said: “If you’re putting someone’s life in danger or making them feel scared, that’s different to free speech.”

More example cases can be found here , but these give a broad idea of what messages tend to be prosecuted under Section 127. “The cases that go forward tend to be those that the police and the prosecutors feel [...] there’s some moral line that’s been crossed,” Jim Killock, executive director of the UK’s Open Rights Group, a digital rights advocacy group, explains to The Verge . “These are often cases that don’t quite meet the criminal threshold in discrimination legislation, and so the ‘grossly offensive’ test is claimed instead.”

People are nasty online all the time. Are the UK’s jails full of angry internet users?

Thankfully, no.

It’s hard to say exactly how many cases are prosecuted under Section 127, but it’s clear the figure is a lot smaller than the number of cases that could be. Statistics from England and Wales in 2012 show that some 1,423 individuals were found guilty under Section 127 that year, while more recent numbers from Scotland (which contains less than 10 percent of the UK’s total population) document 644 prosecutions and 567 convictions in 2017-2018 , with those figures trending down from a peak in 2013-2014. So: not everyone being nasty on Twitter in the UK is facing jail time, but hundreds of successful prosecutions every year is obviously still quite significant.

And how do the courts actually decide who is guilty?

This is the big, huge, overwhelming problem with Section 127: its wording is incredibly ambiguous, and it’s hard to say when and how it should be applied. The simplest explanation is that successful convictions hinge on differentiating between what is merely an “offensive” message and what is “grossly offensive,” but that just begs the question: how do you tell the difference ?

“there is a distinct lack of certainty as to whether any given statement is ‘offensive’ or ‘grossly offensive’”

Neil Brown, a tech lawyer with UK law firm decoded.legal, says the threshold “is a high one,” but it’s ultimately up to the courts to determine what meets this standard on a case-by-case basis. “As with the test of obscenity, there is a distinct lack of certainty as to whether any given statement is ‘offensive’ or ‘grossly offensive,’” Brown tells The Verge . “In a sense, this is a subjective test, but it seems that is not necessary for people who actually received the communication in question to have been grossly offended. In other words, a communication can be grossly offensive even if the recipient was not, in fact, offended.”

Looking at past prosecutions, though, it does seem that the context of messages plays a role. In 2012, then-head of public prosecutions Starmer issued guidance on Section 127 . He noted that prosecutors should be careful about what cases they bring to court and that it should be taken into consideration whether those accused were apologetic, if they removed their offending posts quickly, and the intended audience of a message.

So, for example, in the case of homophobic tweets about the UK Olympic divers, charges were dropped in part because the accused hadn’t actually intended for the athletes to see his messages. He seems to have been essentially tweeting into the void before his tweets were found and shared more widely by others. This can be contrasted with the case of misogynistic messages about MP Stella Creasy and writer Caroline Criado-Perez — these were tweets that were sent directly and repeatedly to those individuals.

Official government guidance does carve out lots of space for people to send offensive but-not-that-offensive messages. (It notes that content that is merely shocking, disturbing, satirical, or iconoclastic should not be challenged under Section 127 and even highlights hurtful “banter” — a peculiarly British obsession — as unworthy of prosecution.) But it’s clear that a certain degree of ambiguity is just ... baked into the legislation.

Ambiguity aside, don’t a lot of these cases involve famous people and newsworthy events?

We spoke to a few different experts on this point and got some different answers. Some thought Section 127 cases tend to involve newsworthy people or events simply because these are things that are talked about more in general and so, on average, generate more nasty comments, too. Another suggestion was that it might be confirmation bias: of course, getting prosecuted for insulting or harassing a famous person leads to news coverage, but for every well-known Section 127 case, there are dozens that don’t get written up.

section 127 cases often seem to involve ill-defined notions of public propriety

But, it could also be that people and events being newsworthy is part of what helps define a “grossly offensive” message in the first place. Killock notes that prosecutions under Section 127 often involve “general, social feeling” about what is and isn’t “socially acceptable to say.” So, for example, the case involving a message comparing the activity of British soldiers to the Taliban would, if said loudly down the pub, probably lead to a bit of trouble, even though making the same comparison about combatants in a historical war would be inoffensive. This dynamic certainly seems to be playing a part with the most recent case involving messages about Captain Tom Moore — a figure seen by many in the country (particularly the right-wing press) as a national hero.

Of course, deciding the criminality of speech based on such nebulous notions is incredibly dodgy, to say the least. “It’s not a valid reason in human rights law for somebody’s speech to be curtailed,” says Killock. “You can imagine many circumstances in the past where things have been sent that could be regarded as ‘grossly offensive’ that nevertheless had to be said. For instance, ‘the bible is wrong’ or ‘homosexuality is acceptable.’”

I’ve got it: the law’s a mess. Is there any reason why?

Well, setting aside the general difficulty the world has in deciding how to police online speech, the UK’s Section 127 does have a particularly troublesome lineage.

Precursors of the law were actually drafted in the early decades of the 20th century, when they were intended to stop harassment via telephone and the mail . But, when the legislation was updated to cover new types of “communication systems,” the same standards were applied even though the methods of communication had changed.

In other words, while earlier prosecutors may have preferred a relatively low threshold for what is “offensive” to better convict that idiot who rings you up every day and shouts nasty things at you down the phone, those standards have now become outdated when applied to modern platforms like Facebook and Twitter, which allow rude messages to be blasted into the ether with all the casual malice of a fart.

At the end of the day, it’s a tale as old as time (or, at least, as old as electricity): technology has changed faster than the law can adapt.

And is anyone doing anything about it?

Yes! But also — with less enthusiasm — yes .

In July last year, the Law Commission — an independent body designed to review and reform legislation in England and Wales — scrutinized Section 127 alongside other legislation concerning various “communication offenses.” The commission found that there was “considerable imprecision” in the terms used in Section 127; that such vagueness could lead to “inconsistent policing”; and that, when set against the UK’s ill-defined traditions of free speech, the law revealed “an uncomfortable juxtaposition in English jurisprudence.” In other words: it’s a bad law, and the lawyers don’t like it.

So, in part because of this review but also because of all sorts of general worries about nasty doings online, the UK government is ripping up the rule book and starting again. In fact, it’s doing this for all sorts of legislation used to govern digital spaces and is soon set to introduce what’s known as the Online Safety Bill — a hugely ambitious and controversial law that will redefine all sorts of harmful online content.

Section 127 will soon be defunct, but its replacement might not be much better

We don’t have the time to go into the details of the Online Safety Bill , but suffice to say that Section 127 is going to get the chop. Nasty messages will still be subject to prosecution, but instead of having to be “grossly offensive,” they’ll be judged based on the “harm” they cause. Arguably, this is just as vague as the threshold for criminality as Section 127, but it does at least focus attention not on vague public mores but the actual harmful effects of messages.

“The new offense is still going to be turn out to be quite problematic,” says Killock. “But hopefully, it will at least make people a little more cautious about what they push forward into the courts.”

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VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2022 winners

Discover award-winning places to visit in England

It’s that time of year again when we come together to celebrate the very best of England – the best places to visit with the kids, tantalise your taste buds, spend your days and snooze off in at night.

We’ve received applications from across the country and the rigorous judging has taken place, meaning all that’s left to do now is announce the winners of the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2022. Drum roll, please…

Pub of the Year Award

Wambrook, Somerset

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Gold winner: The Cotley Inn 

At the foot of the Blackdown Hills is The Cotley Inn , which prides itself on its genuinely local produce. Fruit, vegetables, herbs and edible flowers are picked just a few steps away in the kitchen garden, and meat and game are sourced directly from The Cotley Estate. Book in for a long lunch or gourmet dinner with fabulous views of the Somerset countryside. Well-behaved dogs and muddy boots are always welcome, too.

Runners up:

Silver – The Acorn Inn:  Mentioned in Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles as ‘The Sow & Acorn’, this 16th-century coaching inn is nothing short of charming. As well as its huge whisky and gin collection, the rural village pub houses an award-winning restaurant, cosy bar, 10 bedrooms, skittle alley and beer garden in the heart of the Dorset countryside.  

Bronze – The Devonshire Arms at Pilsley:  Just a stroll away from the splendour of Chatsworth House, The Devonshire Arms at Pilsley (owned by the Duke & Duchess of Devonshire) is a village inn with charm by the pint. There’s a wealth of ales, including the renowned Chatsworth Gold, stylish rooms and a restaurant that sources the very best local ingredients, including meat from the Chatsworth Estate and the onsite kitchen garden.

Self-Catering Accommodation of the Year Award

Tenbury Wells, Worcestershire

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Gold winner: Treeopia

An idyllic adults-only retreat, Treeopia  is home to two luxury treehouses, Vivianna and Eathelin, set within the grounds of a working medieval farmstead in Worcestershire. Each treehouse is built around a mature ash tree and comes with a fully fitted bespoke kitchen, super-king beds, a bathroom with a power shower, underfloor heating and fibre Wi-Fi, all without making an impact on the environment. Reconnect with nature in the peaceful surroundings, listen to the hoot of the owls, meditate by the ponds or just relax in the hot tub.

Silver – Glynn Barton:  These multi-award-winning woodland cottages and glamorous safari tents in Bodmin, Cornwall are perfect for a fun-filled holiday with friends or family. As well as breathtaking views, tennis courts, farm animals and an indoor swimming pool, Glynn Barton is also in a central location, meaning it’s great for exploring Cornwall’s many beaches and attractions like the Eden Project. 

Bronze – Pitt Farm Holiday Cottages: Have a family get-together at one of seven traditional farm buildings which have been converted into spacious stays at this Devon-based holiday park . Each cottage has its own garden as well as access to the site’s playgrounds, animal enclosures, zip wires and boules court. The owners, Nick and Rachel Clayson, have embraced sustainability here too, by installing biomass heating and restoring an abandoned woodland. 

Bed & Breakfast and Guesthouse of the Year Award

Torquay, Devon

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Gold winner: The 25 Boutique B&B

This funky five-star B&B , just a short walk from Torquay’s seafront, has six individually designed bedrooms, each with bold décor and contemporary comforts like Amazon Alexa room controls – meaning no getting back out of bed when you’ve forgotten to turn the light off! Home-baked treats await you in your room each day too, giving you something to look forward to after a day of exploring the English Riviera.

Silver – Horseshoe Cottage Farm:  This small, rural B&B in Leicester prides itself on providing guests with a warm welcome and plenty of sustainable touches from cakes made from locally sourced ingredients to solar panels and even an EV charger for electric cars. The owner’s bees also provide wonderful local honey and beeswax for the furniture! 

Bronze – Brightham House Boutique B&B:  Located just outside Salcombe, this hidden oasis has eight boutique bedrooms, spacious communal areas and two dogs that are always around for some cuddles. Breakfast is served in the pretty Orangery, cooked by owner and former chef, Scott, who has an exciting repertoire of dishes up his sleeve, including a tasty Devonshire Full English. 

Camping, Glamping and Holiday Park of the Year Award

Woodbridge, Suffolk

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Gold winner: Secret Meadows

Set inside a nature reserve in Suffolk, this family-run glamping meadow  has nine stylish safari tents and shepherd’s huts, each fitting between four and eight people. Switch off your phone and leave the modern world behind as you get stuck into green-themed activities such as guided walks and rediscovering nature in the surrounding landscapes. After a busy day, you can even take a long soak in the wood-fired hot tub. The local farm shop serves all your breakfast and dinnertime needs or, for an even more relaxed stay, why not treat yourself to a locally sourced food hamper?

Silver – Brook Meadow: This 30-year-old family farm in Northamptonshire is home to plenty of camping and glamping options, including three luxury lodges, safari tents and vintage caravans. Surrounded by 400 acres of fields and a tranquil five-acre fishing lake, there’s plenty of outdoors to explore here, which is made even more exciting by regular cinema nights, farm tours and quad bike safaris.

Bronze – Landal Sandybrook:  Just one mile from the market town of Ashbourne, and close to the dramatic hills of the Peak District, this family-run holiday park has 53 lodges to choose from as well as an indoor swimming pool, restaurant, bluebell wood and tons of family-friendly activities.

Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Award

Falmouth, Cornwall

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Gold winner: Mylor Sailing and Powerboat School

The folks down in Falmouth have good reason to pop the Champagne with this gold win. Open all year round, this Royal Yachting Association-accredited sailing school encourages engagement in sports by removing as many barriers to sailing and powerboating as possible. The staff at Mylor Sailing and Powerboat School  are fully trained and their fleet – made up of dinghies, keelboats and powerboats – includes a wheelchair-friendly powerboat. On top of that, they’ve even installed a hoist to help less-mobile trainees onto the sailboats.

Silver – Alton Towers Resort: Working with Access Able and the British Disability Forum, this Staffordshire theme park has improved many of its services to make them more accessible than ever. As well as expanding changing space facilities, ride access passes and wheelchair hire, and installing quiet spaces to support those with sensory issues, Alton Towers now offers access to even more of their exhilarating rides.

Bronze – Fleetwood Beach Wheelchairs: Run entirely by volunteers, Fleetwood Beach Wheelchairs help everyone to have access to this gorgeous Lancashire beach. Sitting comfortably in one of their sand-friendly wheelchairs, you’ll be able to paddle in the surf and make memories by the sea. All chairs have harnesses and access to specialised cushions, and there’s a hoist available too, should you need it.

Ethical, Responsible and Sustainable Tourism Award

Chichester, West Sussex

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Gold winner: Chichester Festival Theatre 

Created by and for the local community, Chichester Festival Theatre  has been making world-class theatre in West Sussex for nearly 60 years. It is renowned for high-quality productions of plays, musicals and new writing, which sees productions regularly transfer to the West End, and its youth theatre is one of the largest in the UK. The theatre is more than worthy of its first-place win because of its efforts to reduce its impact on the environment, which include planting trees for each production and giving audience members the option to carbon-offset their journey, reusing and recycling props and production materials and using LED lighting across front-of-house and backstage. 

Silver – Pure Outdoor Ltd:  Gear up for an eco-friendly adventure with Pure Outdoor. Based in the Peak District, this outdoor activity centre offers a wealth of experiences from hillwalking and climbing, to caving and mountain biking, all in the unrivalled natural surroundings of the Hope Valley. Not only do they strive to cause as little environmental impact as possible, but they also donate to social and environmental causes through their Pure Outdoor Foundation Fund.

Bronze – West Bay Discovery Centre:  Discover a treasure trove of stories and activities at this unique attraction in Bridport, Dorset. As well as displays covering the county’s wildlife and heritage, West Bay Discover Centre aims to raise awareness of climate change and its effects on wildlife and natural habitats. You’ll also find details on Jurassic Coast walking trails as well as local beach cleaning events and locally made products in the gift shop.  

Experience of the Year Award

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Gold winner: Mylor Sailing and Powerboat School 

A two-time winner at this year’s awards, this Cornish sailing school  is certainly one to shout about. The whole family (from as young as six) can take to the water to learn to handle sailboats and powerboats – from individual dinghies to larger keelboats for groups. The expert skippers will teach you the basics of how all the equipment works, including how to hoist the sails and use them in the wind, before letting you experience being out on the open waters of the Fal Estuary, the third-deepest estuary in the world.

Silver – Pure Outdoor:  Also winning in the sustainability category, Pure Outdoor is committed to providing inspiring year-round adventures in the great outdoors. Turn your hand to bouldering or step into the dark and mysterious world of the Peak District’s caves and mines.

Bronze – All Hallows’ Farmhouse Cookery School:  Get to grips with cooking on your AGA at this cookery school in the historic Cranborne Chase AONB. In small, friendly groups or on a one-on-one basis, you’ll learn a range of culinary skills from vegan cooking to perfecting your Sunday roast, butchery and patisserie.]

Large Hotel of the Year Award

Bath, Somerset

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Gold winner: The Royal Crescent Hotel and Spa

Historic architecture, hidden gardens, an award-winning spa, beautiful bedrooms, and the finest dining around – The Royal Crescent Hotel  is one for your hotel hit list. In the heart of Bath, you don’t have far to go to explore the UNESCO city’s rich Roman history and heritage. Add that to the exemplary five-star service, decadent afternoon teas in the manicured gardens (also home to the hotel’s three rescue hedgehogs) and unbeatable thermal bath experiences, and you’ve got a one-of-a-kind hotel stay.

Silver – Hotel Indigo Durham: Found inside former university offices, Hotel Indigo Durham welcomes you into a world of Victorian luxury. Brass etchings line the lobby walls, stained glass dapples the light in the Rotunda Bar and bespoke prints adorn the walls of the elegant bedrooms. To round things off, there’s a Marco Pierre White Steakhouse onsite, meaning you don’t have to leave the hotel for top-notch grub. 

Bronze – The Langham, London:  The first purpose-built ‘Grand Hotel’ in Europe, The Langham has 380 luxury bedrooms alongside a range of best-in-class restaurants overseen by none other than renowned chef Michel Roux Jr. Tuck into award-winning afternoon tea at Palm Court, sip creative cocktails at Artesian or indulge in a ‘pub luxe’ experience at The Wigmore – they’re all divine. 

Large Visitor Attraction of the Year Award

Chester, Cheshire

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Gold winner: Chester Zoo

One of the world’s leading conservation-based charities, Chester Zoo  is the most visited zoo in the UK outside of London, making it more than worthy of this first-place win. A huge team of scientists, animal experts and environmental policy influencers care for 20,000 animals from 500 threatened species, from rhinos to red pandas, all of which you can see at this sprawling site in northwest England. Visit the Sumatran Orangutans in the Monsoon Rainforest, take a Lazy River Boat trip around the Islands and spot the king of the jungle in the Asiatic Lion habitat – all in a day’s visit.

Silver – Bletchley Park:  Once the top-secret home of the World War Two Codebreakers, Bletchley Park is now a world-class heritage attraction and museum. Step back in time as you snoop around restored codebreaking huts and interactive displays to experience the stories of the extraordinary achievements of the men and women who worked here, in the birthplace of modern computing.

Bronze – Pensthorpe Natural Park:  Eleven miles inland from the north Norfolk coast, Pensthorpe is a 700-acre family-friendly nature reserve full of interactive trails, bird hides and boardwalks that weave through the wilderness, allowing you to get closer to over 1,000 species of wildlife. Let the kids loose in the award-winning eco play area and explore the depths of the reserve on a Pensthorpe Explorer tour.

New Tourism Business of the Year Award

Gwithian, Cornwall

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Gold winner: Three Mile Beach 

Three Mile Beach  is a collection of fifteen luxury self-catering beach houses in Gwithian, Cornwall. Here, doing nothing and doing everything live together in harmony. Inspired by laid-back California beach houses, the interiors are sourced directly from local artisans in Cornwall, Morocco, India and Mexico. Not sure what to add to the itinerary? Upgrade your stay with private surf lessons, coasteering or e-bike hire, and have a night off from cooking with a private chef, a visit to the on-site street food area or a pizza night experience.

Silver – Triple A Food Tours:  Tag along on the northeast’s only on-foot food tour . Uncover Newcastle’s independent food scene and try the best local and sustainable produce in the city, all while soaking up local history along the way.

Bronze – Rowley Farm Holidays:  Escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life at a dog-friendly bolthole in the Worcestershire countryside. With three boutique self-catering cottages, a luxury shepherd’s hut and eco-friendly hot tubs, it’s no surprise visitors arrive here as guests and leave as friends.

Resilience & Innovation Award

Dudley, West Midlands

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Gold winner: Black Country Living Museum 

A major filming location for BBC’s Peaky Blinders , the immersive Black Country Living Museum  offers an insight into the past with original industrial-era buildings, authentic shops and heritage vehicles, Victorian school lessons and street games, as well as historic characters that bring to life the stories of real people who lived in the Black Country when the region was at the peak of its industrial power. It’s won first place in this category, though, because of how it handled the devastating impact of the pandemic. By opening as a major vaccination hub, developing online educational tools and becoming the first UK museum to join TikTok, this popular museum did all it could to ensure its survival.

Silver – Chester Zoo: Another double winner for 2022, Chester Zoo gets runner-up in this category because of its innovative ‘Save Our Zoo’ campaign which attracted global attention and raised millions in donations and adoptions. On top of that, Virtual Zoo Days meant you could experience the zoo from home and, after re-opening, the Zoo put in place top-notch Covid measures to ensure everyone was as safe as possible. It’s a big thumbs up from us!

Bronze – Severn Valley Railway: Experience the golden age of steam aboard a restored vintage steam train. Running through 16 miles of Worcestershire countryside, the Severn Valley Railway journeys between Kidderminster and Bridgnorth, stopping at exquisitely preserved stations. During the pandemic, the Railway adapted by putting on virtual train tours to thousands of subscribers, operated Covid-secure trips (once they were allowed to) and much more, making them more than deserving of their bronze-place win.  

Small Hotel of the Year Award

Seaham, County Durham

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Gold winner: Seaham Hall

A five-star boutique hotel and spa, Seaham Hall  occupies a striking cliff top spot on the Durham coastline. First built in 1791, Seaham Hall has a long and rich history, but it has continued to adapt and evolve too, resulting in a contemporary interior and an eccentric character to the hotel. Also home to an award-winning spa, Seaham Hall offers all the luxuries you could wish for under one roof.

Joint Silver – No.15 by Guesthouse, Bath:  Feel at home at this wonder-filled boutique hotel in Bath . All of the uniquely designed rooms have access to a pantry full of complimentary goodies and house an array of intriguing artworks and objects, from dolls houses to decadent chandeliers. There’s a spa on-site too, should you want to indulge some more. 

Joint Silver – The Idle Rocks:  Anchoring St Mawes' reputation as a desirable Cornish location, this boutique hotel overlooking the water is considered one of the top British retreats. All interiors were designed by the owner, Karen Richards, to reflect her signature style, while the restaurant, led by an ex-Le Manoir chef, focuses on creating outstanding dishes using local produce.  

Small Visitor Attraction of the Year Award

Weymouth, Dorset

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Gold winner: Nothe Fort

Guarding the entrance to Weymouth Harbour, Nothe Fort , now a museum and events space, was originally built in the 19th century to protect the Naval Harbour of Portland. As well as admiring 360-degree views across the Jurassic Coast, you can discover the maze of underground passages, displays detailing the Fort’s military history, guns, ramparts and fun trails to keep the little ones busy. The Fort also has a reputation for being one of the most haunted sites on the south coast, with reports of a ghostly whistling gunner in the passageways.

Silver – Royal Liver Building 360: For the first time ever, you can take guided tours of the West Clocktower of the Grade I-listed Liver Building , which takes pride of place on Liverpool’s waterfront. Experience a world-class audio-visual experience inside the historic clocktower before taking in panoramic views of the city from the 15th-floor viewing platform.  

Bronze – British Music Experience: From The Beatles and Bowie to The Spice Girls and Adele, the British Music Experience  in Liverpool charts the beginnings, rise and influence of British pop from 1945 to the present day. Check out the collection of memorabilia, stage outfits, instruments and footage before learning to play the guitar or keyboard in the Gibson Interactive Studio and dancing your way through the eras in the Dance the Decades Studio.  

Taste of England Award

Liverpool, Merseyside

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Gold winner: Lu Ban Restaurant

Led by Executive Chef, Dave J Critchley, Lu Ban  serves inventive dishes inspired by the Chinese region of Tianjin and the master chefs who lived there. A fairly young restaurant based in the Cains Brewery Village, Lu Ban brings a new dimension to Chinese food in Liverpool. Order from the a la carte or set menus or opt for an exclusive seat at the chef’s table where you can tuck into the likes of braised pork belly with Shaoxing caramel, Ying and Yang hot and sour soup and fresh rock oysters.

Update: Please note that Lu Ban closed permanently on 9 November 2023.

Silver – Moor Hall Restaurant with Rooms:  Overlooking a glistening lake in five acres of gardens, Moor Hall – home of Mark Birchall – is home to seven luxurious rooms alongside a restaurant holding two Michelin stars, a Michelin Green Star and a whopping five AA Rosettes. Mark’s menus showcase his own style of British cuisine, using homegrown ingredients and local Lancashire produce to create dishes like scallops with fermented green tomato and guinea hen with asparagus ragout and truffled honey.

Bronze – Fischer’s Baslow Hall:  Indulge in unique culinary experiences, fine wine and five-star service at this hotel restaurant in Baslow, Derbyshire. The head chef and his team pride themselves on creating imaginative, modern cuisine that tastes as good as it looks on the plate. The star of the show is the 8-course tasting menu, filled with sustainable local ingredients, some of which are foraged on the 900-acre estate.

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Gareth Southgate reveals why Rashford has been cut from England’s Euro 2024 squad

Despite choosing as many as 33 players for England’s provisional Euro 2024 training squad, Gareth Southgate has not included either Marcus Rashford or Jordan Henderson.

The England boss picked a number of fresh faces in his bumper selection, which will be trimmed down to 26 names once the tournament gets underway next month.

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Although the likes of Ivan Toney and Jack Grealish have been included among the forwards, there is no room for Rashford.

The Manchester United star has struggled this season, scoring just eight times in 42 appearances across all competitions.

Veteran England midfielder Jordan Henderson has also been left out in place of youngsters like Kobbie Mainoo and the uncapped Adam Wharton.

The 33-year-old has endured a torrid time since exiting Liverpool last summer, first with his botched stint in Saudi and he has since struggled since moving to Ajax in January.

Southgate said: ‘These are difficult calls, you are talking about players who are very good players who have been an important part of what we have done.

‘With Marcus, I feel players in the same area of the pitch have had better seasons, it’s as simple as that.

‘Hendo has given himself every chance, the determining factor is the injury he picked up in the last camp, he missed five weeks and he just hasn’t been able to get to the intensity in the games since then.’

‘He is a fantastic professional and it was a difficult call to make.’

Rashford wrote on his Instagram story following the announcement: ‘Wishing Gareth and the boys all the best for the up and coming tournament.’

England’s Euro 2024 squad

Goalkeepers:  Dean Henderson, Jordan Pickford, Aaron Ramsdale, James Trafford.

Defenders:  Jarrad Branthwaite, Lewis Dunk, Joe Gomez, Marc Guehi, Ezri Konsa, Harry Maguire, Jarell Quansah, Luke Shaw, John Stones, Kieran Trippier, Kyle Walker.

Midfielders:  Trent Alexander-Arnold, Conor Gallagher, Curtis Jones, Kobbie Mainoo, Declan Rice, Adam Wharton.

Forwards:  Jude Bellingham, Jarrod Bowen, Eberechi Eze, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Anthony Gordon, Harry Kane, James Maddison, Cole Palmer, Bukayo Saka, Ivan Toney, Ollie Watkins.

BBC and ITV snap up heavyweight names for their Euro 2024 coverage

Gareth southgate reveals why rashford has been cut from england’s euro 2024 squad, manchester united star set to miss out on england euro 2024 squad, must read soccer.

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Mass. weather: This New England city hit over 90 degrees on Wednesday

For being spring, it felt like summer in parts of southern New England on Wednesday.

Several cities in Massachusetts hit highs just under 90 degrees as of 4 p.m., according to the National Weather Service in a post on X , formerly known as Twitter.

Worcester reached a high of 86 degrees, while Boston hit 89, according to the post.

But further south, Hartford and Windsor Locks blew past 90 degrees and reached a high of 93, forecasters said.

Forecasters previously anticipated Massachusetts cities like Greenfield and Lawrence would breach 90 degrees, while Hartford originally would have hit a high of 87.

“We should see a few more locations join the 90-degree club before things start cooling this evening,” forecasters said.

Temperatures should stay warm going into Thursday, but forecasters expect a chance of thunderstorms hitting parts of the region between 12 p.m. and 8 p.m. with accumulations of 1 and a half inches looking possible.

As these warm temperatures have hit parts of New England, the weather service’s air quality alerts remains in effect until 11 p.m. on Wednesday. These alerts apply to eastern Hampden and Hampshire counties, as well as Worcester, Middlesex, Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex counties.

©2024 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit masslive.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

President Biden will visit Boston after official trip to N.H. next week

CONCORD, N.H. — President Biden will travel to Boston next week after visiting New Hampshire on official business, the White House said Friday.

Biden will go to the Granite State on Tuesday, then travel to Massachusetts, officials said, promising more details to come.

The trip will mark Biden’s second visit to New Hampshire since he won the state’s first-in-the-nation primary in January, thanks to a write-in campaign , despite skipping the early contest to instead recognize South Carolina as holding the first Democratic presidential nominating contest.

Biden returned to New Hampshire in March for the first time in two years .

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Biden’s plans for an official visit to New Hampshire next week were reported earlier by WMUR , which said the president is expected to hold an official event on Tuesday afternoon in Merrimack.

Steven Porter can be reached at [email protected] . Follow him @reporterporter .

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The life and music of Amy Winehouse, through the journey of adolescence to adulthood and the creation of one of the best-selling albums of our time. The life and music of Amy Winehouse, through the journey of adolescence to adulthood and the creation of one of the best-selling albums of our time. The life and music of Amy Winehouse, through the journey of adolescence to adulthood and the creation of one of the best-selling albums of our time.

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• 94 User reviews
• 120 Critic reviews
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How Marisa Abela Channeled Amy Winehouse

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Did you know

• Trivia Marisa Abela had done most of the singing in this film herself. She trained extensively to mimic Amy Winehouse 's vocals.
• Goofs Blake Fielder-Civil met for the first time Amy Winehouse in 2003. The movie shows that they met at a bar. On the wall, you can see a mural with multiple people and you can see Rihanna with short hair that was her look in 2009. Rihanna's first album came out in 2007.

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• Runtime 2 hours 2 minutes

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Visitbritain/visitengland announces it is opening a new hub office in birmingham, from april 2024.

West Midlands Growth Company

VisitBritain/VisitEngland CEO Patricia Yates said:

“Following many months of careful consideration, we are delighted to announce that VisitBritain/VisitEngland will be opening a new hub office in Birmingham from April 2024. Birmingham has excellent transport links for both our international and Britain based staff and key stakeholders, a broad talent pool and good office space.

“Basing our hub office in Birmingham also brings us closer to our regional stakeholders across England including the West Midlands Growth Company, a Local Visitor Economy Partnership, with whom we already have a strong working relationship.

“We have seen other government departments and private sector companies successfully transition their operations to the city. We are excited about the opportunities and perspectives that having our headquarters in Birmingham will bring, as we continue our work to drive the economic benefits from tourism across the nations and regions and to support the industry.

“We are currently in negotiations on office space in central Birmingham and will announce the site once confirmed. We will keep an office presence in London to maintain our relationships with key government and industry stakeholders.

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We are thrilled to have been recognised for our Accessible North York Moors campaign.

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