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Times
20 hours ago
- Times
The UK's most glorious riverside pubs where you can stay the night
You can't beat sitting riverside on a sunny day, soothed by the sound of the water and the occasional quack or splosh of a paddle from a passing kayaker, with a cool fizz or local ale in hand. These inns have delightful outdoor spaces and lovely rooms to make a weekend of visiting them, so there is more time to stroll riverside paths or perhaps even get on the water. I've spent a couple of years visiting as many inns such as these as I can to find the best for my new book, Paddle and Pub, covering more than 100 of the best hostelries that you can reach by kayak or paddleboard. Even if you want to stay on dry land they make for gorgeous escapes. This article contains affiliate links, which can earn us revenue Londoners and visitors to the capital looking for an outdoor space along the Thames to enjoy a Pimm's or three en plein air are spoilt for choice, with dozens of inns having existed to lubricate boaters on the river for centuries. One — dating from 1665 and with great, colourful rooms attached — is the Mitre, which once housed guests to Hampton Court Palace, its neighbour. Sit on the waterside Aix Terrace with a rosé, sip a cocktail in the Boathouse or dine on tomato gazpacho and chicken Milanese in the riverside 1665 Brasserie (mains from £20).Details B&B doubles from £200 ( On the banks of the mighty River Thames, the Compleat Angler is a longstanding riverside boozer, although it has morphed from the simple inn it once was into a luxurious hotel with fine dining. It was one of the earliest guesthouses in the country, yet was at risk of overtourism even in Dickens' day — the writer commented in his Dictionary of the Thames that it was often booked out by boating parties. These days there are Sindhu, Atul Kochhar's upmarket Indian restaurant (mains from £19), the Riverside Restaurant fordishes such as chargrilled monkfish (mains from £20) and rooms that are pretty if slightly chintzy — really you're here for the food and the history. Details B&B doubles from £150 ( Ten of the 25 rooms here offer views of an idyllic bend in the River Hodder as it curves around the grounds, with the fells of the Forest of Bowland beyond. Heavy wooden bedheads, unusual framed fabrics and antiques bring country house character to all, and the food — under the chef Jamie Cadman for two decades — has helped to put this quiet corner of Lancashire on the map. Try the fish pie or slow-cooked shoulder of pork with ham hock fritter alongside any one of the 400 wines sourced by the pub's vintners. The pub has four rods for trout and salmon fishing along seven miles of the Hodder, as well as yoga and spa treatments on offer. The Piggeries, its stylish self-catering cottage, has three double bedrooms and a garden leading to the water. Details B&B doubles from£160; three nights' self-catering for six from £1,940 ( • 15 of the most beautiful places in England In a prime spot on the River Tay, known for its salmon fishing, this boutique pub with rooms dating from 1820 has fishing rights and fly-fishing courses, so it's hugely popular with anglers. Even if you're not so inclined, though, it's well worth visiting for the watery views and the food, made with a touch of 'Gallic zest', they say, with ingredients supplied by gillies, farmers and gardeners, plus the in-house butcher. Try a tomato and Crowdie cheese mousse, then a Meikleour venison saddle (mains from £17). Its 11 bedrooms are decked out in floral fabrics and an array of colours, with Arran Aromatics toiletries and sherry decanters on the nightstands. There are also 18 holiday cottages nearby — some with river views in the walled garden of Meikleour House, less than a mile away, another in the local village. Part of the Meikleour Estate, the pub is within reach of Perth, Scone and B&B doubles from £120 ( • Revealed: 100 Best Places to Stay in the UK for 2025 This 18th-century inn on the Harbourne River, a tributary of the Dart three miles south of Totnes, was owned by the flamboyant TV chef Keith Floyd between 1989 and 1996. He spent millions of pounds doing it up, adding eccentrically decorated bedrooms and anchoring fake crocodiles in the water to scare tourists. Now somewhat less wacky, but still with a dining room named for its former owner, the pub is in a lovely spot where the riverbanks are lined with tall trees. The present chef, Anton Piotrowski, jointly won MasterChef: The Professionals in 2012. The six bedrooms, in an adjoining building, are simple, but the owners are planning a renovation. Hire kayaks from Paddle Devon in Totnes and go all the way to Dartmouth, Stoke Gabriel or the Dartington Estate, before finishing with a beer back on the sundeck of the inn (half-day guided kayak trip £47pp; B&B doubles from £80 ( • 19 of the best UK pubs with rooms The idyllic village of Grantchester, south of Cambridge, is on the River Cam, which used to tempt Byron in for a dip, leaving in his memory an adjacent spot named Byron's Pool, now part of a nature reserve. There are a gaggle of pubs here too, including the Blue Ball, a 250-year-old coaching inn with river views, local ales, home-cooked food and a two-bedroom holiday apartment in creamy colours overlooking Grantchester Meadows. Walk a couple of miles north along the river — perhaps joining the wild swimmers for a dip — and you'll reach St John's College and the intricate Bridge of Sighs, which has an arched base similar to its Venetian namesake, as well as the Backs university fields and Mathematical Bridge. Nearby, the Mill Pond is lined with pubs and you can hire a punt here — look out for the Pimm's Punt floating bar. Details One night's self-catering for four from £200 ( • 20 top pubs in the UK to visit by paddleboard, kayak or canoe There are excellent waterside pubs along the River Wye that are perfect stop-offs for boaters and paddlers. One of the smarter options is the Hope & Anchor, near the Welsh border, with a large, busy beer garden on the riverbank and the nearby town full of bookshops and quirky cafés. The pub hosts live music at its bandstand, while the Hut, in its garden, serves wood-fired pizzas and cakes alongside drinks. The food in the main restaurant runs from Wye Valley beer-battered cod and chips and Herefordshire steak burgers to not-so-typical poke bowls (mains from £16). Many of the 12 neat bedrooms have river B&B doubles from £81 ( Gemma Bowes is the author of Paddle and Pub: The Best British Pubs to Get to By Kayak, Canoe or Paddleboard (Bloomsbury, £19.99, pp240). To order a copy go to Free UK standard P&P on online orders over £25. Special discount available for Times+ members Have we missed your favourite? Share your recommendations in the comments
BBC News
03-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Why is there a new Premier League ball?
Puma is the new official supplier of the Premier League match ball after Nike's contract ended in 2025-26 ball - named Orbita Ultimate PL - was revealed on Tuesday, 3 has 12 panels - which will evenly distribute weight and keep the ball balanced - plus long-lasting durability and deeper seams to improve aerodynamics and shape retention."On average, a professional footballer has control of the ball for around 109 seconds every game, so when you have the ball at your feet you need to make it count and create moments that make a difference on the pitch," said Richard Teyssier - Puma marketing Nike's 25-year partnership, the first official Premier League ball sponsor was Mitre - from new ball will make its first appearance in July at the Premier League Summer Series in the United also supplies all EFL competitions, Mitre makes the FA Cup ball and Adidas the Champions League. This article is the latest from BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team. What is Ask Me Anything? Ask Me Anything is a service dedicated to answering your want to reward your time by telling you things you do not know and reminding you of things you team will find out everything you need to know and be able to call upon a network of contacts including our experts and will be answering your questions from the heart of the BBC Sport newsroom, and going behind the scenes at some of the world's biggest sporting coverage will span the BBC Sport website, app, social media and YouTube accounts, plus BBC TV and radio. More questions answered... Why are 1bn euro release clauses becoming more common?When are the 2025-26 Premier League fixtures released?Summer transfer window - your questions answered
Scottish Sun
31-05-2025
- Scottish Sun
I stayed at the English seaside caravan park with private lido, Vegas-like cabanas and cosy pub
You can choose to have the most secluded and private break or throw yourself into eight hours of non-stop activities and entertainment HAVE TO SEA IT I stayed at the English seaside caravan park with private lido, Vegas-like cabanas and cosy pub THE West Sussex town of Selsey famously has just one road in and out of it – but the seaside spot is so fun-packed, the exit lane should be scrapped. My family and I had just spent a long weekend at the Cove's Seal Bay resort, where every lodge, caravan and holiday home sits just a short stroll from the ocean. Advertisement 5 Selsey is a coastal gem and perfect for the whole family Credit: Supplied 5 Some of the lodges at Seal Bay are just steps from the shore Credit: Supplied We were staying in Green Lawns, the most rural of the site's four themed sections, which lives up to its name with a pond and trees that my sons were constantly scaling. Our classic lodge was filled with mod cons, including a deep bath, huge shower, washing machine, dishwasher and classy electric fire. For nearby food, this zone is also home to the giant Viking Bar which, despite looking like an imposing cowboy saloon from outside, is like a warm and welcoming local pub. A little farther away, the burgers, beers and ice creams at Cafe Lido are of bafflingly good quality — yet the 'double burger' is just £9.99 and the classic hotdog not even a fiver. Advertisement We have holidayed on caravan sites for almost 40 years and having affordable restaurants and action-packed activites within walking distance of your home is a huge perk. But only now, after all those years, do I recognise how vital holiday parks might be for little ones with special educational needs, or even younger kids who tire more easily. When long flights, unfamiliar surroundings or sensory overloads might be too much for someone, places like Seal Bay are so important. You can choose to have the most secluded and private break or throw yourself into eight hours of non-stop activities and entertainment. Advertisement A short stroll from our lodge was the White Horse area, offering lots of sporting action. Then there's the Dockyard, which has a stunning lido, with a splash area and swimming pools surrounded by bright-orange cabanas that wouldn't look amiss in Vegas — these come at an extra charge. Martin Lewis gives travel advice about checking your passport Indoors there is a nine-hole crazy- golf course, state-of-the-art climbing wall and a death-defying bounce- playground above your heads. And around the corner is the vast and lush sports field where the Seal Bay Soccer Academy is run by brilliant staff with grade-A equipment — Mitre balls, goals, bibs, cones, hurdles and slalom poles. Advertisement We had a family match against new friends Taylor, Sarah, Mick and Archie, who made the hour fly by. The largest zone in the holiday complex is West Sands, which sits right on the beach. It even has a wave simulator, Wave Rider, open May to September. We had blistering weather so spent as much time as possible on the beach or in the ocean, but the indoor Oasis Bay pool is ideal for wetter weather. We ventured down to this area on Saturday and found a giant TV screen, on the beach rocks, showing the FA Cup Final. Advertisement 5 Surf's up at the wave simulator at the resort Credit: Supplied 5 Have fun ten-pin bowling Credit: Supplied My boys split their time between watching Crystal Palace spring a brilliant upset over Man City and diving into the waves. Then we headed for a BBQ dinner at Smokey's Ocean Bar. Advertisement There, the lads demolished the Pitmaster's Feast of brisket, pulled pork, ribs, buffalo wings, sausage, chilli and sides and somehow had room for ice-cream sundaes. A family of three were stuffed for just over £50. We used our stroll back to base camp to walk off the meat sweats but there is a courtesy bus — that loops around the park, stopping at all the key areas — plus electric bikes and pedal go-karts to hire. On Sunday we finished off with the brilliant Zorbing experience — you strap your child into a giant bubble and let them play crash-test dummies — then another swim and an archery session, before my kids slept the whole way home. Advertisement And I would love to tell you we partied all weekend into the early hours but we were shattered and asleep by 8pm every day, dreaming of the next day's adventure. 5 There's entertainment galore on site Credit: Supplied
Daily Mail
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Meet the FA Cup top scorer you've never heard of: Project manager and dad-of-four Gary Lockyer gets his glory after years of sacrifice - and reveals the secrets to his prolific form
Step aside, Erling Haaland. There's a new goalscoring sensation in town. That's because Gary Lockyer, who plies his trade for eighth-tier Ashford United, has the unlikely honour of being this season's FA Cup top scorer. The father-of-four, 32, works for a telecoms company in his day job but has still found the time to score 10 goals in England's historic competition this season. Through five preliminary and qualifying rounds, the fairytale ending with a third qualifying round exit to Chertsey Town, Lockyer filled his boots with enough goals to put himself on the brink of history. Unless James McAtee, Nico O'Reilly, Eberechi Eze, or Ismaila Sarr score eight in Saturday's final between Manchester City and Crystal Palace, Lockyer will be officially crowned as the standalone Golden Ball Award winner in partnership with Mitre. The FA Cup's top scorer. It's the stuff of non-league dreams. 'It's a very proud moment. Surreal, really,' Lockyer tells Mail Sport from Thomas Tuchel 's seat at Wembley. 'It's something I've been joking around about with my friends. You grow up wanting to play in this competition, the oldest and most magic of competitions. We just dream of getting to the first round. 'We started back in August (against Egham Town, a 3-0 win). I started to take notice of what we could really achieve when I scored four against Three Bridges, which we won 6-1. My aim from there was to get to 10, because that felt a figure no one could really get to.' Ten indeed seemed an optimistic but proven number to aim for - last season's winner, JJ Lacey of Biggleswade Town, also reached that total and was presented with his prize by Dion Dublin at the home of football last season. Lockyer will be at Wembley on Saturday with his wife and two of his boys and will be presented with his award. His daughter would've loved to have been there but is actually playing in a tournament with Brighton's Under-12s. It's a football-mad family (Lockyer's a Manchester United fan), but it didn't start off that way. Lockyer was a late bloomer with this manic game, only getting into it at 10 years old when a friend invited him to watch a game in Kennington, South London. Little did he know that day would birth such a devotion for a sport which can demand so much. The forward had trials at Charlton and Aldershot but never went through the academy system and has instead hardened his spirit with hundreds of non-league games - and all the boggy pitches, squalid changing rooms, and rough play it entails. Lockyer's commitment to his craft has been balanced alongside night shifts and often missing out on a special rite of fatherhood: watching his kids play. 'It's a lot of commitment,' he admits. 'But I want to keep pushing myself and be the best version of myself in terms of football. 'It can be quite tough. I used to go to work at night. I'd train on a Tuesday, work, drive home and get there at six o'clock in the morning, get four hours of sleep, then I'd have to get up. A golden tribute to the top goal-scorers of the 2024/25 @AdobeWFACup and @EmiratesFACup Forged by the hands at @ThomasLyte, each Trophy, is an exact replica of the @MitreSports Ultimax Pro match ball. So we went behind the scenes to find out how these are made.... — Mitre Sports (@MitreSports) May 13, 2025 Can anyone surpass him in the final between Man City and Crystal Palace? 'I don't think so!' 'Credit to my wife, she drives my daughter to Brighton and Hove on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. She's been supportive since day one. I kiss my wedding ring before I take it off to go out and play. 'She followed me home and away right up until she started taking my daughter to football. It's going to be a great day Saturday for her to be here.' Ashford United, in Kent, all the way down in the Isthmian League Division One South East, play in front of an average audience of 389 fans. That's 231 times less than Wembley's capacity. But speaking to Lockyer, a project manager in daily life, his professionalism shines through. There are thousands of players at his level - ones who slipped through the net, ones who the net never caught, ones working every day to catch the eye of a club higher in the pyramid - and you'd be a fool to underestimate their dedication or talent. Declan Howe of Gainsborough Trinity and Harvey Sayer of Lowestoft Town deserve shout-outs; they've scored eight in this season's FA Cup, giving Lockyer a run for his money. The beauty of the FA Cup is that it allows these nearlymen to dream. And to test themselves. To live, for a day, the life of a professional footballer when they get a big away tie. A life they very much live in spirit with how they eat, how they train, how they think about the game. The Golden Ball Award in Partnership with Mitre shines a light on these local heroes and gives them a chance to share the stage with the modern greats. Lockyer only lives a mile or two from Ashford's Homelands Stadium. There, he's an icon. 'You need that psychology of being the best,' Lockyer insists. 'You have to grow up very quick in non-league because it's obviously a bit of a difference to under-23s, under-18s football. The academy people do come out and struggle sometimes. 'You've got you've got fully grown guys that are going to work and give you a bit of stick and you've got to be able to take that. 'You have to have that mindset of, let's get the stats up and try to get a move. Being the best you can.' Someone is clearly having a lot of fun with the sound system at Wembley because our chat keeps being interrupted with motivational music blasting across the stands. On Saturday, as that music plays out, Lockyer will look across the turf and feel a small part of the story. The FA Cup is for everyone. Haaland will be aiming for an eighth trophy at City in three seasons. He'll knock over records like dominoes in the years to come. But will he be able to say that he knocked Gary Lockyer of Ashford United off his perch in the 2024-25 FA Cup campaign? Our striker smiles and his eyes light up. 'I don't think so.'
Hindustan Times
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Trump defends his AI-Generated Pope photo amid massive backlash, claims ‘I had nothing to do with it'
President Donald Trump gave clarification over an AI-generated photo of himself in a papal costume that was posted to his Truth Social account last week. Donald Trump, who is not Catholic, earlier joked with reporters that he would 'like to be pope,' stating that 'that would be my number one choice.' He also promised to make Americans 'more religious.' The White House's official X account later reposted the picture, which featured Trump wearing a white cassock, a Mitre hat, and a big gold cross around his neck. Trump's contentious social media post was made during Novemdiales, the nine days of formal mourning that the Catholic Church observes after Pope Francis passed away on Easter Monday at the age of 88. The public, religious leaders from throughout the globe, and heads of state, including Trump, gathered to his funeral on April 26 in St. Peter's Square. St. Pope Francis' remains were interred in Mary Major, one of Rome's four papal basilicas. Trump, who is not Catholic, earlier joked with reporters that he would 'like to be pope,' stating that 'that would be my number one choice.' He also promised to make Americans 'more religious.' Also Read: Michelle Obama reveals she is in therapy amid marriage woes rumors; 'I've finished a really hard thing…' Trump breaks silence on his AI-Generated Pope photo When a Fox News reporter questioned Trump about the backlash he received from Catholics over the picture at an NFL draft announcement in the White House, Trump said, 'You mean they can't take a joke?' He clarified, 'You don't mean the Catholics,' adding that 'you mean the fake news media. The Catholics loved it. I had nothing to do with it. Maybe it was AI.' According to the Associated Press, local outlets called the tweet offensive and that it was the subject of multiple inquiries during the Vatican's daily conclave briefing on Saturday. In an X post, former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who is currently a senator for Florence, denounced the AI picture of Trump as pope, saying it 'offends believers, insults institutions and shows that the leader of the right-wing world enjoys clowning around.' Catholic Conference of New York State lambasts Trump The Catholic Conference of New York State also denounced Trump's remark, describing it as insulting and demeaning. In an X post, the group wrote, 'We just buried our beloved Pope Francis and the cardinals are about to enter a solemn conclave to elect a new successor of St. Peter. Do not mock us.' On Monday, when a reporter asked, 'The fact the pope image was put out on the White House account—does it at all diminish the substance of the official White House account?' Trump disregarded the inquiry, stating that 'Give me a break. It's fine. You have to have a little fun, don't you?' Members of the College of Cardinals will choose Francis' successor at a papal conclave that is scheduled to start at the Vatican on May 7.
