1. Ponies and pints, Dartmoor For a hack with a difference, try one of these 20-mile rides via a country pub. Riders arrive early to meet their mounts, before setting off all day across the moors, with a stop for lunch at the local to refuel. The moors offer varied and dramatic riding terrain, from ...

Northumberland by Harry Pearson All the great authorities on romance (Cosmopolitan, Jane Seymour, taxi drivers) conclude that spontaneity is key. In this busy age, however, most of us can really only find time for the unscheduled if we pencil it in for every second Wednesday between 8.15pm and the s...

It was when I found myself being taught to dance merengue by an elderly Colombian woman at three in the morning that I realised I'd had one shot too many of aguadiente. The bar was heaving, and her husband smiled indulgently at my faltering steps. But I wasn't in South America. I was in La Noria, a ...

Family Holidays 1 Swap Corfu for ... Korcula A long-time family favourite, Corfu offers an ideal mix of bustling resorts, long sandy beaches and stunning Venetian architecture in Corfu town. The Croatian island of Korcula, however, can match it on almost every front - wooded hills, unspoilt beaches ...

Fish & Pips, Méribel It was only as I arrived at the rustic-plush Chalet du Guide in Méribel that I realised that in my 30-odd ski trips, I'd never done the shared chalet thing. The group chalet takeover yes, but to the catered, per-room model, sharing mountain digs with perfect strang...

Had a weird night last night.  Got a call from a friend, said she had just broke up with her boyfriend and was having a party, come on out.  Soo... after debating what kind of party she was having, hoping that maybe this would be a little fun, I dress up and go meet her out at the bar.  Her... a...