David Wickers

Slovenia is no bigger than Wales, with just a 30-mile stretch of coast, but is one of the rising stars of tourism on the Med. To see the country and get to know some of its best regions, go to these four areas: 1 - Bled for swimming and rowing on the lake, and great walks. 2 - The pretty medieval coastal town of Piran. 3 - The beautiful capital of Ljubljana. 4 - The beautiful Soca Valley for rivers, watersports and Kobarid, with its First World War and Farewell To Arms connections (nearby Logar…

Singles holidays are on the rise, with the biggest surge in demand from the over 50s traveller, according to 101 Singles Holidays. The site has 101 suggestions for solo travellers selected by the award-winning travel writer, Cathy Winston. ‘Travelling solo has lost much of the lonely hearts stigma it once carried,’ maintains Winston. ‘Nor is everyone holidaying alone single, with more women leaving husbands and partners at home as they tick items off their bucket lists.’ The most popular destina…

2015 marks 200 years since the opening of the Worcester and Birmingham Canal. Today’s holidaymakers can explore this beautiful historic, 29-mile waterway by canal boat, starting at Drifters’ Worcester base, travelling through the green hills of Worcestershire and reaching city centre moorings in Birmingham’s Gas Street Basin. En route you’ll pass beneath the busy M5 motorway (an interesting contrast to the relaxing 4mph canal boat pace), through several tunnels including Wasthill, the longest at…

The anniversary of the death of Sir Winston Churchill will be marked by a nationwide programme of events in 2015. Here’s how you can get involved and celebrate the life of one of Britain’s most iconic figures from the last century: 1. Ancestral grandeur at Blenheim At Blenheim Palace, visit the room in which he was born in November 1874, the romantic gardens in which he proposed to Clementine and pore over his letters and family photographs in a special exhibition. 2. At home with the family at…

Put Dresden, Germany on your list of European mini breaks. It’s got a lot to offer, says Good Housekeeping Travel Editor David Wickers

Ask anyone to name an Italian island and you’re sure to get Sicily and maybe Sardinia, then the list soon begins to dry up. But there are more than 25 to choose from, and that’s not counting the haunted Italian islands (which also accept guests, but for l

First introduced in the late 19th century, electric bikes are at last becoming the stylish choice of transport for the Lycra-shy leisure cyclist. In China, sales have already topped 120 million, in Germany, they have increased threefold in the past couple of years, with BMW launching its own model and, in Holland, Europe’s cycling capital, one in every eight bikes sold is now electric. Providing all the benefits of a normal bike (exercise, fresh open air, no experience needed, interaction with n…

The Avenue Verte cycle route that follows traffic-free routes and quiet roads between London and Paris, was officially launched last summer but has only recently been fully mapped and described in a new publication from the cycling charity Sustrans (£12.95; sustrans.org.uk). The 247-mile route starts at the London Eye and crosses the South Downs before arriving at Newhaven, departure port for the Dieppe ferry. It then continues across the Channel with a choice of two routes to the French capital…

There’s no enjoying a lie-in when you’re on safari. It was dark and very nippy when we got our wake-up call, and still barely dawn when we greeted our guide around the fire, already blazing in the open pit (known locally as Bush TV). But daylight comes quickly in Botswana’s Okavango Delta. A huge African sun slowly hauled itself above the horizon as we set off in our open-topped Land Rover in pursuit of a lion - one that we had heard roaring in the middle of the night. We tracked its paw prints…

Make your Christmas extra special this year with one of these ten memorable festive breaks. Planning a minibreak, a week in the sun or a luxury long haul trip? Good Housekeeping’s travel team has the perfect solution for every holiday.