Now in its 25th year, The 'Isle of Jura Musical Festival' is a well-established favourite for lovers of traditional music. From the locals Friday night ceilidh right through to the Sunday night concert in the distillery co-operage, enjoy a weekend packed with performances, workshops and sessions.

Having celebrated its 115th Birthday, the 'Wigmore Hall' is livelier than ever, offering music of outstanding quality and an array of activities in the broader community. With its infectious sense of adventure, it consistently captures the public imagination and broadens its audiences’ horizons.

Established in 1890, Gordon’s Wine Bar is thought to be the oldest wine bar in London. The bar is a family affair, owned by Wendy Gordon who is the wife of the late much loved Luis Gordon, and now overseen by Luis’ eldest son Simon. Delicious wine atop barrels and a certain French joie de vivre.

This site explains how to travel comfortably & affordably by train or ferry where you might think air was now the only option.  For help with train travel, ask the 'Man in Seat 61'.

In 1940, after their home in London was damaged in the Blitz, Henry and Irina Moore moved to Perry Green in rural Hertfordshire. Henry and Irina were able to rent half of a former farmhouse, by the name of Hoglands, in the centre of the hamlet.  It's well worth a visit!

Lisbon’s best-known tinned preserves shop has been going for more than 80 years and is now better than ever. Many of the items on sale feature fish and shellfish from Portugal (as they proudly make a point of telling customers). The tins themselves are worthy of eternal storage!

'Corrymoor Mohair' socks are as comfy as they come. A colourful range of socks for all the family. Whatever the activity, whatever the weather; from bedsocks to trainer socks; from over-the-knee shooting socks to lightweight everyday socks, they have your feet covered. Good Christmas present.

La Buvette is a very stylish spot. Its Lilliputian confines are the size of the average e-cigarette shop, and yet manage to contain four small tables, a thin zinc bar, and in the rear, an authoritative-looking wine fridge. Scrawled on a wall-mounted mirror is the menu: an array of tasty nibbles.

Opened by Nuno Mendes (of 'Chilrern Firehouse' fame) in May 2015. 'Taberna do Mercado' reinterprets Portuguese food and flavours whilst championing specially sourced Portuguese ingredients. It captures the true spirit of a market! Taberna has created a pretty excellent outdoor dining experience.

The British Lawnmower Museum has over 300 restored exhibits of garden machinery over the last 200 years. Lawnmowers include that of Prince Charles and Princess Diana. The museum has workshops that restore lawnmowers for the collection and blueprints dating from 1799.

The beauty of Wax Jackets IS that they will last for years if they are professionally cleaned and re-waxed on a regular basis. Butlerz offers a comprehensive cleaning, re-waxing, repair and alteration service on any brand and style of wax jacket, including Barbour, Schoffel  and Outback.

New music, old music, marshes, vast skies and the waves of the North Sea… Aldeburgh  offers much more than you’d expect from a classical music festival. Founded by composer Benjamin Britten and singer Peter Pears in 1948 as ‘a modest festival with a few concerts given by friends' it's now much more!

One Hundred and Fifty Year Old Converted Fisherman’s Huts, directly on the beach front, a must for anyone wanting to try something unique when visiting Whitstable. The huts were formally fisherman stores and have now been converted to offer high quality over night accommodation on the seafront.

As most people correctly know, Borough Market is a cornucopia of world-class ingredients. Reference the Borough Market Cook to ensure you make the most of them. The recipes ‘hero’ the kind of ingredients that Borough Market specialises in: the seasonal, slow and sustaining.

The tale of a former banker and how he and his two friends began a race to shed 40lb and a little ego. A hilarious and brutally honest story of three mighty men with nothing to gain and so much to lose. It’s about learning how to lower their calorie intake without losing their joie de vivre.

Located in an atmospheric townhouse in Bloomsbury’s Lamb’s Conduit Street. The wine list ranges from deliciously undervalued wines by the glass to hard-to-find gems from the worlds leading winemakers. It was the winner of 'Wine List of the Year' 2018, 2017 and 2016 at the National Restaurant Awards.

£20 will buy you a tome of easy baking recipes: foolproof pies, quiches, tartlets and galettes. Higgidy may ring a bell because of those delightful quiches that can be found stacked across supermarket shelves. Recipes for Cheddar ploughman’s tartlets and a melt-in-your-mouth gruyere and ham pie.

‘Sex Drugs and Pinot Noir’, ‘Make Wine Not War’ and ‘Winos With Attitude’. This fantastic magazine covers unicorn wines to the rising states of Burgandy. It’s the home of ‘exciting food and wine writing’. With eye catching designs and pitch perfect journalism. Well worth a read.

Esteemed chef, Angela Hartnett, recently included this in her list of favourite places. It is formed of an original coaching and stands tidily at the roadside. Despite all the culinary attention to detail, it’s not in the least bit stuffy.

Hanham Court is open to the public on the very specific Open Days through the National Garden Scheme. Worth keeping an eye on these: in February there’s the NGS Snowdrop Weeekend, in May there’s an Open Weekend, and in June there’s a Rare Plant Fair with wonderful stalls and nursery experts to hand.

Ruth Roger’s seasonal Italian restaurant that has just celebrated it’s 30th birthday. As far as restaurants go, it’s important – and it knows it. Opening in 1987 it was intended as the canteen for Richard Rogers’ architectural practice – but it has grown into something much, much more.

It’s the most perfectly preserved medieval town in England, and surely the prettiest. Lavenham’s heyday was the 15th century, when wool made it rich, but the fine Tudor buildings have aged gracefully: the higgledy-piggledy houses are painted in vibrant candy-shop colours.

Homemade scones piled on granny’s-house crockery in a historic 15th century timber framed cottage. Come for perfectly iced cakes, tea and coffee in the heart of Lavenham with views across the market square onto the magnificent Guildhall.

On the last weekend of each month the Long Melford Antiques and Vintage Fair takes place at "The Old School" in Long Melford. There are 30 stall holders offering a wide range of Antique goods like jewellery, Victorian furniture and garden items including military collectables.

A repurposed chapel in a beautiful village! Forum Books is an award winning independent bookshop situated in the heart of Northumberland. The pulpit doubles as a reading den and is used for author events. At the weekend they host silent book discos with playlists compiled by visiting authors.