Saundersfoot and Whitesands have been named among the UK’s top 50 beaches in the 2025 edition of the Times and Sunday Times Best UK Beaches guide, compiled by award-winning travel writer Chris Haslam. The guide is based on visits to 756 beaches across the UK and uses an 11-point inspection checklist, covering water quality, cleanliness, accessibility, parking, lifeguard presence, hygiene, and dog-friendliness. Chris Haslam, chief travel writer at The Times and The Sunday Times, said the guide is designed to help people make the most of the UK’s stunning coastline. "Criteria include water quality, cleanliness, accessibility, car-parking facilities, lifeguard presence, hygiene levels at restrooms and showers, and dog-friendliness." The guide excludes offshore islands and focuses solely on mainland beaches.

reportAS RESOURCE churches expand across the Church of England, a new report suggests that attention must be paid to dynamics of power, which can sometimes be “masked” by the language of generosity. Last year’s Scolding Report into Soul Survivor (News, 27 September 2024) highlighted issues “relevant to the culture of resource churches”. The new report examines how the “virtues” of resource churches can “tip over intoexcess” and calls for “vigilance and discernment”. A 2021 CARU report on the resource church in Portsmouth concluded that city-centre examples may “continue to be financially dependent on the wider Church”. The story of resource churches is “not one of unqualified success”, the new report says.

When Ketu transits here, instead of detachment, we’re invited to experience pleasure with presence, deepen creative expression, and reconnect with soulful partnerships. This period will strengthen bonds that previously felt surface-level.During this Ketu transit, you will feel an inner reset—your highest vision comes into sharper focus. During this transit, ideas that combine art and income—like launching a workshop, creating soulful jewellery, or offering spiritual guidance—feel especially supported. Ketu dissolves blocks caused by fear or "shoulds," clearing space for inspired innovation that brings both enjoyment and financial ease. Old karmic wounds in love begin shifting, making space for evolution and compassion within your romantic life.

The first is Lannacombe of which he says: "Like so many of Britain’s most beautiful beaches, is accessible only after what for many would be a harrowing journey of steep slopes and narrow lanes.

Milford on Sea is among seven South East spots mentioned in the list of the top 50 best UK beaches. (Image: Debs Baker) The 17th annual UK beaches guide is published online now and in print on Sunday (July 13). Milford on Sea is home to spectacular sea views towards Christchurch Harbour and the Isle of Wight. It has an extensive beachfront, with two different locations – Hordle Cliff beach and Hurst Road, known locally as Keyhaven beach. It is home to the colourful Milford on Sea beach huts and the beach is popular with swimmers, kite surfers, and paddle boarders.

My annual circumnavigation of mainland Britain and Northern Ireland presented the perfect opportunity to try to prove that it was not only possible, but, ideally, a breeze to complete a four-week road trip in an electric van. Volkswagen thought so too, lending me an all-electric ID Buzz five-seater van, in two-tone candy white and bay leaf green, for the duration. According to the van, it was going to take two hours and 49 minutes to reach 80 per cent. Fortunately EVs comprise just 4.5 per cent — or 1.5 million — of the 34 million cars on UK roads. Chris Haslam toured the UK in a Volkswagen California campervan (volkswagen-vans.co.uk/california)Have you travelled in an electric camper van, or are you considering it?

THE former Archbishop of Wales, the Rt Revd Andrew John, has said that announcing his immediate retirement in the wake of reported failings at Bangor Cathedral had been a “painful” but “good decision for the future” of the Church in Wales. The Charity Commission, which has received a total of six serious-incident reports relating to Bangor Cathedral, has launched an inquiry. He did not know, he said, about the “drinking culture” recently reported by the BBC to have surrounded the Bangor Cathedral choir. It was a shock to hear about heavy drinking in the diocese.” Reports that people had made inappropriate jokes about children were also “unacceptable”, he said. “It pains me that these things happened under my watch, and I’ll have to live with that.

I headed to the BST festival at Hyde Park on Sunday night to watch the reigning queen of pop music, Sabrina Carpenter. A pre-show selfie (Image: Poppy Huggett)A torrential downpour hit us out of nowhere and left my friend and I drenched from head to toe. Olivia Dean came on at 5.05pm (Image: Poppy Huggett)Olivia is someone I’ve been listening to a lot recently. We sang and danced along to Olivia's super fun set (Image: Poppy Huggett)After Olivia’s set, we had a wander around the festival in search of food. The 'pink' loaded fries (Image: Poppy Huggett)Very on brand for Sabrina, whose staple colour is pink through and through.

Markets recoiled at the news, with the Dow Jones industrial average dropping 1.4%, the Nasdaq falling 1.2% and the Standard & Poor’s 500 sinking 1.2%. AdvertisementTrump hit pause on the crisis by announcing a 90-day suspension of the higher tariff rates, a period set to expire Wednesday. In his letters to foreign leaders, Trump warned that any effort by their governments to retaliate would be met with escalation. She also stated that additional trade deals could be announced soon. Markets recovered within weeks, after Trump reversed course, with the S&P hitting a record high on Thursday.

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When President Emmanuel Macron of France meets Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain in London this week, it could be a case of “misery loves company.” Both men have been humbled at home by political setbacks and stymied abroad by the disruptive ways of Donald J. Trump and Vladimir V. Putin. Yet the extraordinary nature of this rendezvous — the first state visit by a French president since before Brexit and the first summit meeting between the British and French governments since Mr. Trump’s return to power — may be enough to lift them out of their domestic doldrums, at least for a few days. Mr. Starmer hopes to announce more robust cooperation between Britain and France to curb migrant crossings of the English Channel. Both leaders will redouble their support for Ukraine in its war with Russia, meeting at a military base in northwest London on Thursday to continue planning for a European peacekeeping force they established in March, known as the “coalition of the willing.”“State visits are usually stronger on pomp and protocol than substance, but this one may be different,” said Peter Westmacott, who served as Britain’s ambassador to France. “They realize that Britain and France have to take a lead, not least because of the capricious nature of Donald Trump’s commitment to Europe’s defense.”

SynopsisAkash Deep delivered a match-winning performance for India against England at Edgbaston, claiming a remarkable ten-wicket haul and securing India's first Test victory at the venue by 336 runs. His figures of 10/187 surpassed Chetan Sharma's record, becoming India's best bowling performance in a Test match in England.

Three Devon beaches featured in Sunday Times 50 best listNow that the summer holidays have started, these are the best places to exploreThe beach at Woolacombe, North Devon (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto )Three Devon beaches have been named in the top coastal spots to visit in the UK. The definitive list of the top beaches in the UK - all four home nations feature - features in the 17th edition of The Times and Sunday Times Best Beaches GuideIn the South West section, three Devon beaches feature. LannacombeLannacombe beach at East Prawle in South Devon (Image: Derek Harper/Geograph )Lannacombe in Devon is, the report says, "accessible only after what for many would be a harrowing journey of steep slopes and narrow lanes". BanthamBantham Beach in Devon (Image: DevonLive )Bantham is a short walk from "a basic but lovely campsite perched on the hill above" at Higher Aunemouth Farm (pitches from £15; aunemouthcamping.co.uk). WoolacombeWoolacombe in North Devon has been ranked as one of the best beaches in the UK (Image: Peter Cade/ Getty Images )Woolacombe is "getting on a bit, but still capable of taking the crown any time they like.

The Inishowen peninsula in Co Donegal loomed large in the west, and a single freighter painted orange slid along the northern horizon. • Read the full list of our 50 best beaches in the UKThe outflow is protected by storm-battered concrete walls keeping open a channel that is perhaps more important for salmon than shipping. In Wales, it was 75 out of 110; 50 out of 89 in Scotland and 22 out of 26 in Northern Ireland. • The UK’s best saltwater and tidal poolsI expect toilets to be clean and free of charge, showers to work and bins to be emptied. It’s always in the eye of the beholder, but after 17 years I’ve found that the best beaches stay beautiful whatever the weather.

Even with four years of his term to go, there’s a palpable feeling in the air that Mr. Starmer’s time may be coming to an end. Part of the issue, to be sure, is not of Mr. Starmer’s making. And the waning of Britain’s influence on the global stage, of course, long predates Mr. Starmer’s premiership. But Mr. Starmer is grappling with a more existential problem, about his purpose and ability as a political figure. Ironically, this comes from a point of principle: Mr. Starmer apparently despises the use of his personal life as a prop.