United Kingdom

Exclusive guide to the best holiday destinations in the United Kingdom, independent reviews from award-winning travel writers

Engawa dishes

Engawa London. Superb Japanese food, a feast for the eyes and tastebuds.

To say the china was as memorable as the food could be a veiled insult when applied to a lesser restaurant. But the spectacular Engawa, filling a niche for high-end Japanese dining in the heart of Soho, is as much a feast as much for the eyes as the tastebuds.

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Caledonian Sleeper1

Caledonian Sleeper. Glasgow to London.

It’s all change for the Caledonian Sleeper that connects London Euston overnight with five Scottish termini: Edinburgh, Glasgow for the lowland sleeper and Fort William, Aberdeen, Inverness for the Highland sleeper.

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Solange Berchemin reviews the Z Hotel Glasgow, right in the city centre. Z Hotels bed1

Z Hotel Glasgow. Discover comfort and urban luxury.

Z Hotel Glasgow is ideally placed for exploring Glasgow city centre, next to George Square, 200 yards from Queen’s station but in spite of being perfectly central and in our case a Friday night, we had the quietest night sleep.

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Like a wee dram? Here is our guide to Scotland's best whisky festivals. 29B0003

Guide to Scotland’s best whisky festivals. Discover a world of whisky wonder.

There’s no better time to head for the Scottish Highlands and Islands than May, especially for lovers of a wee dram. This most picturesque region of the country boats a pair of fine distillery trails where some of the world’s greatest malts emerge from the pot stills as liquid gold.

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Pachamama interior

Pachamama London. Peru comes to trendy Marylebone.

If a preponderance of Peruvian restaurants is a peculiarity of the London dining scene, an even greater peculiarity is that some of the best have non-Peruvian chefs at the helm. At the top end, Coya in Mayfair makes this spicy, colourful cuisine sizzle in the hands of Indian culinary genius Sanjay Dwivedi, while Pachamama London brings a highly affordable, slightly Anglicised version of the genre to an attractively decked-out basement in Marylebone.

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Anthea Gerrie reviews Mottram Hall Hotel in deepest Cheshire, where footballers and WAGS are commonplace. RS4052 028 AIK IMG 0036 HIGH RES EXT NEW

Mottram Hall Hotel. A Brilliant Cheshire Stately Wonder.

You may not get to bend the ear of Beckham, but Mottram Hall offers Britain’s best chance of rubbing shoulders with A-list footballers. The stars of Manchester United and Manchester City play golf while their WAG’s enjoy the spa in this hotel and golf club in Cheshire’s “golden triangle”.

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