United Kingdom
I'm a copywriter, editor and features writer with 14 years' experience and a background in travel. I write features for national titles including the Guardian, Time Out and London Evening Standard, landing pages and product copy for brands like Tu Clothing and Netflights, and marketing collateral for Shell. Email me at [email protected] or tweet me @KatieGregory.
So here we are again. With schools closed to most children for the second time, and no sign of a return to the classroom just yet, many parents are back to the daily juggle of home learning.
Newbury is always reinventing itself. From ancient wool hub to grain-trading hotbed, the town has morphed its way through the centuries - and it's still doing it in 2020. Between grand houses and endless listed buildings, now you'll find up-and-coming indie restaurants, a market that champions emerging designer-makers and buzzy pubs serving a young crowd.
The RSPB's headquarters is in a nature reserve that's free to visit year-round and has great outdoors activities for children. It covers more than 200 hectares (494 acres) of heathland, grassland and woodland.
A former Georgian coaching inn with the wild Welsh countryside on its doorstep, The Angel Hotel makes a great base for a wellness retreat with a difference. Built in 1829, The Angel stands proud in the middle of Abergavenny town centre.
An exclusive Swiss clinic on the edge of Lake Geneva, Clinique La Prairie offers a range of medical and wellbeing retreats for its high-flying clientele, including the age-defying Revitalisation programme and the rebalancing Master Detox.
Found your sea legs? Live out any long-held 'Swallows and Amazons' fantasies by spending the night on a wooden cabin floating on a lake. The Raft at Chigborough is a simple, solar-powered, two-storey home that sits right on the water. You can fish, cook alfresco or relax on the deck, totally surrounded by nature.
This 12,000-hectare (30,000-acre) estate near Skipton, in the Yorkshire Dales, is laced with 80 miles of footpaths that weave their way around the ruins of an ancient Augustinian priory - better known as Bolton Priory - although the real draw is just outside, on the banks of the River Wharfe.
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An intimate 23-room hotel nestled between snow-capped mountains and lake-filled forests, Vila Planinka is the place to go off-grid in the great outdoors. Styled like a luxury Alpine lodge and clad entirely in larch, the property is just under an hour north of Slovenia's capital, Ljubljana, or an hour east of busy Lake Bled.
The latest lifestyle, fashion and travel trends The Jonathan, a cosy spa hotel an hour-and-a-half-away from Latvia's capital, makes a peaceful retreat for Riga city-breakers. A timber-framed property with wraparound wooden decks and a thatched roof, the hotel blends in perfectly with the sweeping forests and glassy lakes that surround it.
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King's Road Playground is right on the seafront, and it's got a paddling pool that's particularly good for younger kids. Or check out the free open-air pool and play area at Hove Lagoon, which has a skate park for teens. It's a short drive away or a quick hop on the 700 bus.
Rockets, a huge planetarium, bags of interactive fun - and a moon landing anniversary to celebrate - make for a stellar day out
Got a junior gamer? A sixteen-year-old scientist? Take your tech-savvy teens and hard-to-please tweens to these Stem-inspired half-term events and workshops in London. Whether they're interested in becoming the next big coding extraordinaire, building and programming a robot or a delicious, science-themed afternoon tea, we've got you covered with an entire week of activities.
Rockliffe Hall hotel is a rare gem in Darlington, County Durham, that caters to children with its Mischmasch play area without sacrificing on grown-up luxury thanks to the Spa Garden. It's proof that you can enjoy a relaxing spa retreat with kids as part of a fun, family break.
Visit this historic city in Yorkshire for medieval streets, modern menus and proper pubs The train from London to York is like a Tardis. Step on in twenty-first-century London, then off again two hours later and around 1,000 years lighter in medieval Britain.
A family-run farm with a 12-acre blanket of lavender that paints one Hertfordshire hillside a vivid purple every summer. From late May to the end of August, the farm's 25 miles of lavender rows are yours to explore. Children can pick their way around the field and take bunches of the stuff home by the bag.
First up Head for the Grade I-listed Guildhall, one of the best-preserved timber-framed buildings in England and the jewel in Lavenham's crown. Don't miss Little Hall, the lovely but time-worn family home-turned-museum around the corner. Soak up the vibes Visit the huge St Peter and St Paul's Church.
Thicket Priory was once a nunnery, and has been restored and reopened as one of the UK's finest private houses available to hire for weddings and special events. Just outside York, the elegant venue is fit for a fairytale. Here's what we thought when we stayed the night.
Looking for your next bottomless brunch destination? Trying to find the best all-day breakfast in London, Cardiff, Bristol or Sheffield? Then look no further - because we've scoured the UK's big cities to find the best places for a bottomless brunch, an all-day brekkie or just a brunch that - quite frankly - blows all the other meals out the water.
The hilltop town of Govone remains firmly under the radar for 11 months of the year. But not in December, says Katie Gregory...
St Ives is no stranger to the limelight. This seaside town on Cornwall 's west coast counts Tate St Ives as its leading act, with a supporting cast of world-class seafood restaurants and big-name resident artists.
Nothing says Christmas quite like a festive market, and there are some amazing Christmas markets happening all over the UK this winter. Wrap up warm, book a coach ticket to save you driving (two words: mulled wine) and hotfoot it to these destinations ASAP. 'Tis the season to be jolly, after all.
Think Cheltenham, think horse racing? You wouldn't be the first to equate this elegant spa town on the edge of the Cotswolds with its most famous calendar fixture. But there are plenty more reasons to visit.
The puppet with a penchant for telling porkies is making one hell of a comeback. We go back to the Italian town where it all began...
From coastal communities to countryside settlements, Britain's villages are as different as they are delightful. Katie Gregory explores...
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Zafferano is an award-winning London events and party catering business bringing its trademark mix food, performance and passion to over 40 London venues.
Venture deep into Africa on a safari holiday and you'll discover it's a playground for nature lovers - from the landscape blanketed in dense scrublands, sprawling deserts, and dramatic national parks, to the glittering lakes and mountain ranges waiting to be explored. However, it's the wildlife that lures most visitors, and you'll soon see why.
Everything you need to know about flying during pregnancy Whether you booked a holiday before you realised you were expecting, or have a baby on the way and want to squeeze a babymoon in before your due date, we've got the answers to all the most common questions when it comes to flying during pregnancy.
Health & Wellbeing
The makings of the modern-day multivitamin stretch back over a century, but Baze has managed to reinvent the traditional model of nutritional supplementation in just five years. Here's how we did it... When you walk into the Baze office in Berlin, the first thing you see is a giant Venn diagram.
Depression is a challenge that many of us could face. We explore 10 positive steps you can take to help with avoiding and preventing depression & anxiety. Depression is a common mental disorder that affects some 350 million of us worldwide. More than just feeling 'a bit low', it's characterized by persistent low mood and feelings of anxiety.
Turn your holiday into a bespoke yoga retreat If you've ever had the pleasure of practising your downward-facing dog in the local park, you'll already know that yoga was made for the great outdoors. But have you ever tried it on holiday?
Food & Drink
What does healthy eating pioneer and world-famous food blogger Ella Mills – AKA Deliciously Ella – eat on her travels? Katie Gregory finds out.
Family travel blogger Katie Gregory recently returned from a short break in the snowy Piedmontese countryside. Here's what she thought of visiting Italy during the festive season... Italy is often considered a summer destination, and I should know.
Sicily is the perfect place to explore by car. This Italian island - the largest in the Mediterranean, which sits just off the tip of Italy's boot - has a good network of well-marked roads that are ideal for road trips.
If catching up with friends over drinks and nibbles after work sounds like your idea of heaven, you're going to want to know about the Italian tradition of aperitivo. It's set to storm the UK food and drink scene for summer 2016 - here's why...
Whether you're planning a bank holiday barbecue to mark the start of National Barbecue Week, or just scoping out barbecue recipes ready for summer, take a look at these recommendations to make sure your food and drink is worthy of the weather. Nothing says summer more than the smell of sausages cooking on the barbie, right?
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In short, I was an idiot. And three years on - sat on the same sofa while my kids take a rare nap at the same time - I can't help but wish someone had taken me aside to explain a few home truths. Granted, I probably wouldn't have listened.
Why is it that when you go away on holiday in the UK - whether that's to a caravan, campsite or cottage - all those boring, everyday things you do at home magically become fun? We took the kids to Yorkshire for a mid-week break last week, and we noticed a few things while we were there.
I'm sorry I skipped the puréed sweet potato stage and went straight to chopped up chicken kievs for tea. I'm sorry that 80% of your wardrobe is hand-me-downs. And that most of them are blue, so people in the park think you're a boy.
UK travel
Enjoy all the top London sights and attractions on our luxury coach. A London Bus Tour is one of the best ways of experiencing all that London has to offer, and with megabus prices starting from £1 you can book your perfect London experience today
I've got a lot of love for Yorkshire. Around this time last year my family and I stayed at an amazing cottage in Skipton, and somehow managed to score a blinding week of April sunshine.
4. White Wolf Yoga studio, Liverpool - for plant-based food and juices White Wolf Yoga studio might not be Liverpool's best-kept secret, but not everybody knows there's also a cracking café here. This is the place to come for fresh soups, raw cakes plus healthy shakes and juices once you've balanced your chakras in the studio.
If you're wondering whether to head abroad or stay home this summer, take a look at these incredible photos. While they may look like exotic scenes from overseas, they're actually all in the UK. Even better, you can reach them with megabus, so you don't even need to step foot on a plane.
Fancy filling your Instagram feed with envy-inducing images, #nofilter needed? Of course you do. And that's why we've cherry-picked 5 of the best places in the UK to take an epic photo and make those friends in your phone green with envy. Naturally, you can get to all of them with megabus...
Already done the likes of London, Edinburgh and Manchester for a UK city break? Looking for an alternative path that's a little less well-trodden? Whether you're organising a UK weekend break or planning a 2017 staycation, you've come to the right place.
Travel with kids
Picture it. You've just settled in for a flight with your children, and all your electronic devices have given up the ghost. Simultaneously. The DVD player battery is dead, the laptop is kaput, the Nintendo DS has run out of juice and the iPad has well and truly checked out.
Sardinia makes an ideal destination for couples and groups, too, so it's perfect if you're looking for an adults-only escape. Romantic retreats are covered - this is Italy after all - and groups of friends are well catered for thanks to a buzzing food and drinks scene and plenty in the way of cultural highlights.
On June 29th every year, the town of Palazzolo Acreide in Sicily comes to life in a huge festival dedicated to the town's patron saint.
Travel: Print features
Normal rules don’t apply when you go away, as KATIE GREGORY explains...
Move over, Cannes – there’s a new name in every A-list celebrity’s little black book, says KATIE GREGORY.
Want your big day to stand out from the crowd? Then Thomson Weddings has you covered...
UK TRAVEL
Christmas and kids are a match made in heaven. But where are the best places in the UK for a festive day out with the whole family? Katie Gregory of family travel blog, There We Go, finds out... 1. Lapland UK, Ascot, Berkshire Billed as 'a magical immersive 3.5-hour Christmas experience', Lapland UK is every inch as theatrical as it sounds.
So you're taking a baby or toddler to Center Parcs? Let me fill you in on some essentials you need to know before you go... We've been to Center Parcs a lot. Like, really a lot.
Travel: General
If you're keen to converse in the local language when you're on holiday, it turns out you're not alone. A new survey carried out by Thomson Lakes & Mountains has revealed that 86% of us aren't scared to try out a few foreign words while we're away - from a quick 'hola', to full-blown sentences - and actively try to give new words a go.
It can be tricky to strike the right balance when there are different groups of friends and family involved, so you'll need to work with the bride or groom to come up with a great guest list. It's not uncommon for hens and stags to have two dos - one that's mother-in-law friendly, and one that's better suited to the go-hard-or-go-home brigade.
It's official: holidays are having a bit of an overhaul. No longer happy with a standard fly-and-flop break in the sun, more of us than ever are switching up our annual getaway in favour of something a little different - and a whole lot more experiential.
Heading off on holiday with a young child who can't sit still? Take a look at these handy tips for keeping them busy on the plane... Let's be honest. Most of us approach the idea of a flight with an under-two with a mild-to-moderate sense of dread.
We're just back from a mid-week break in Skipton, north Yorkshire, and - right at this moment - we're not sure we ever want to holiday anywhere else again. Now, I realise that's a pretty bold statement (and I'm sure we'll change our tune soon enough), but the self-catering cottage really did deliver on all fronts.
Heading abroad for the school holidays? Wondering what to pack for your baby's first trip? Here's a full list of space-saving items for babies and toddlers... I was determined to pack as lightly as possible for my little boy's first foreign holiday this summer.