A website that connects campers with landowners across the UK is opening up green spaces to anyone who fancies an off-grid night or two

The dawn chorus is loud in the woods as I unzip my tent to peer out at the new day and a sea of bluebells. I make tea and drink it slowly, enjoying the peace. It’s a perfect start to the morning after my first solo wild camp.

I had found my slice of the wild via CampWild, a platform that connects campers with UK landowners willing to let people stay. Set up by Tom Backhouse and Alex Clasper last year, it aims to open up wild spaces and encourage more people to try staying off-grid. “We know being outdoors helps mental health. We want to make it easy for people to access wild spaces and connect to nature,” says Alex.

TV presenter and naturalist Steve Backshall finds a camper truck the ideal way to give children an outdoors experience in untamed parts of northern England

Camping trips with a young family can be thoroughly challenging, especially in the UK, when the weather often skips from sunshine to deluge in the blink of an eye. My extra challenge is that my wife, Helen, can’t join us for our Easter break (she’s away training for her fourth Olympic Games – reasonable excuse). My three kids (twins of four, and an older brother not quite six) are a tornado handful at the best of times. I definitely don’t want to be flying abroad with them, but I want to give them a memorable wild outdoors experience. So what to do?

Inspiration comes in the form of Wild Camper Trucks, a small enterprise set up by entrepreneur Andrew Clark, who rents out a fleet of four-wheel-drive campers from bases in Kendal and Inverness. The vans are go-anywhere robust and reliable, but kitted out with enough home comforts that they feel like glamping on the go. Thanks to the additional roof tent, they’re set up to sleep four, but with kids as young as ours we could definitely push it to five. There’s a bijou kitchen and eating area, plenty of lounging and kipping space, and a huge amount of storage, which allows us to take all the outdoor toys we want.

Andrew has teamed up with websites Off Grid Camp and Nearly Wild Camping, which connect 4x4, campervan and canvas wild campers with landowners. Campers subscribe to the websites, and pay their hosts as they would at any campsite.

Popularity of traditional holiday memento hit by smartphones, ‘rude rock’ and rising price of stamps

A trip to the British seaside may not always have been something to write home about, but these days you might struggle even if you wanted to.

At the Little Gems gift shop in Blackpool town centre, all the usual seaside wares are on display – beach towels, plastic buckets and spades, sticks of rock – but one item is notably missing.

Whether it’s a field with minimal facilities or a comfortable site with mod cons, our tipsters pick out enticing spots for enjoying the great outdoors from the Highlands to Cornwall

At the foot of Scafell Pike, England’s highest peak, and at the northern end of one of the Lake District’s most dramatic valleys is the National Trust campsite at Wasdale Head (basic grass pitch from £38 for two nights). As well as standard pitches there are heated camping pods, three tipis, a bell tent and campervan pitches. Great Gable and Pillar, two other famous fells, are a walk away. The location, at the foot of the mountains, with Lingmell Beck flowing past, is brilliant and there are enough facilities to make life easy but not detract from the camping feel. We haven’t climbed Scafell Pike yet, but even without doing that there was still enough for a good active trip.
Emma

Neoprene is made from toxic chemicals, hard to recycle and, with 400,000 tonnes made a year, a growing problem. So can surfers and swimmers find green wetsuits?

I have been hesitating for months. The wetsuit I swim in every week to keep me toasty warm in the winter and safe from jellyfish stings in the summer is riddled with holes. Yet I can’t bring myself to buy a new one because I’ve learned that comfortable, flexible and insulating neoprene is manufactured using some of the most toxic chemicals on the planet.

Neoprene, a synthetic foamed rubber, is made from the petrochemical compound chloroprene. Exposure to chloroprene emissions, produced during the manufacturing process, may increase the risk of cancer, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The Strawberry Line network of paths in Somerset has found a way to speed up planning permission and harness the goodwill of the community

In the past two years, multiple sections of a hoped-for 76-mile rural cycling and walking route spanning Somerset have sprouted up around the small town of Shepton Mallet, seemingly every few weeks.

These new routes are popular. One 300-metre section of path in the heart of the town, for example, uses one of Historic Railway Estates’ bridges for the first time for a cycle route (an organisation usually more given to infilling its structures).

A route tracing the unification hero’s flight across the peninsula in 1849 runs spectacularly over the Apennines then descends to the sea via a string of gorgeous Tuscan towns

Crickets leaping round our feet. A butterfly at the rim of my hat. Burrs on our socks. Smells of fern and pine. The rhythmic rasp of the cicadas. And, ranged around us, a never-ending green. Cypress and cedar. Peaks and parched pastures. The combed vineyards and the dark oak thickets. Moving through it all, feeling right inside it, sticky with it even. Like any other animal. This is what we love and why we do these summer walks.

We set off from the railway station in Ravenna. Heading for the coast. Not the Adriatic, just five miles away. But the Tyrrhenian, on the other side of the Italian peninsula. The remote bay of Cala Martina to be precise: it’s in Tuscany, about halfway between Genoa and Rome.

A year-long celebration aims to start a new chapter for Belfast, forging better connections and conversations within communities through creativity and culture

Belfast did not have the best of starts to 2024. Never mind the mass public sector strikes, the not-unrelated fact of Northern Ireland being without a functioning government (the government returned, the strikes were settled, or suspended … for now), at the end of January, one of the city’s most respected – revered – publicans, Pedro Donald, who over the years had brought us the John Hewitt, La Boca, the Sunflower and the American Bar, announced that he was leaving for Amsterdam. There may not be bombs and bullets any more, he said, but Belfast was “a dump and derelict”. Indeed, apart from a few good years between the Good Friday agreement and the financial crash, the city was in many ways no further on than when he started in the trade in 1984.

Some bridled at the broadside. But walking towards the Sunflower along Royal Avenue, historically the main shopping street, after 6pm sometimes, you would have been hard-pressed to say Pedro had called it wrong. Hard-pressed, too, to say that the people in whose gift was the title of “city of this” or “capital of that” were being entirely unreasonable when they overlooked bids from Belfast in the not-too-distant past.

Most frequent flyers are well-acquainted with airline and hotel loyalty programs. But if you don't travel often, or if you have to book a flight, stay, or car rental with a company you don't typically use, you may not think to sign up for rewards membership (even if it's free).

Sure, you do have to create an account and remember to book reservations under your membership, but as The Points Guy points out, these extra steps can be worthwhile to receive some basic benefits—at no cost—when you travel. While you won't get the perks reserved for those who travel often enough to earn elite status, if an airline, hotel, or rental car company has a loyalty program, you'll still save a little bit of money and time as a basic member.

Rewards accrual and pooling

The main reason to join travel loyalty programs is to earn points and miles, which can be redeemed for future travel as well as other benefits and savings if you don't have a big enough balance for another flight or don't use the airline or hotel often. Most airlines offer better mileage accrual rates to basic members than non-members, and many also allow you to pool your miles with family and friends for better redemption options. British Airways, Emirates, JetBlue, and United allow mileage pooling. Finally, you can take advantage of mileage transfers to partner airlines (and via credit card rewards) and earn points off other purchases (such as Lyft rides when you connect your Delta SkyMiles account).

Hotel rewards programs may seem even less worthwhile than airline loyalty memberships that net you points and miles, but many operate the same way in terms of accruing points toward future stays and improved status. Many hotel brands offer more points earned per dollar spent to members of loyalty programs, and some even offer pooling.

Finally, rental car rewards members generally get points with each booking, which can be used toward discounted or free rentals.

Priority check-in and boarding

Some airline loyalty programs offer the ability to cut the lines during check-in and boarding (as well as customer service calls), which can save time on busy travel days and ensure you get overhead bin space for your carry-on bag. For example, American Airlines AAdvantage puts basic members in Group 6 of 9 for boarding, and British Airways Executive Club members are allowed free seat selection up to 24 hours before departure. JetBlue TrueBlue members can earn early boarding as well.

Free in-flight wifi and perks

Delta Air Lines SkyMiles members get free wifi on most domestic flights, with service expected to be expanded to regional and international routes later this year. Singapore Airlines and Emirates also offer in-flight wifi discounts to rewards members, and Singapore Airlines has discounted baggage and seat selection fees.

Waived wifi and resort fees

Basic members of hotel loyalty programs may also be eligible for free wifi and waived resort fees with complimentary access to property amenities. All Hilton Honors, IHG One Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy, World of Hyatt, and Wyndham Rewards members are eligible for these perks where applicable.

Early hotel check-in/late checkout

Crashing early on arrival day or sleeping in late on departure day can help your hotel stay work for your itinerary. Members of Accor Live Limitless get priority check-in at Fairmont properties; IHG One Rewards members receive 2 p.m. late checkout; and Preferred Hotels & Resorts members get both (when available). Hilton Honors members can check in via app and select their room.

Expedited rental car check-in

The best perk of a rental car rewards membership is the ability to skip the line at check-in, which can save a lot of time at busy airport counters. Hertz Gold Plus Rewards basic members can also choose their preferred car, and National Car Rental Emerald Club members can select any vehicle available on the lot with a midsize reservation.

From biking adventures to city breaks, get inspiration for your next break – whether in the UK or further afield – with twice-weekly emails from the Guardian’s travel editors. You’ll also receive handpicked offers from Guardian Holidays.

From biking adventures to city breaks, get inspiration for your next break – whether in the UK or further afield – with twice-weekly emails from the Guardian’s travel editors.

You’ll also receive handpicked offers from Guardian Holidays.