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Where To Eat Near Canada Water: The Best Restaurants

Joseph Gann
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Where To Eat Near Canada Water: The Best Restaurants

Perhaps we’re stating the obvious here, but Canada Water hasn’t always been the most obvious destination for a decent meal. For years, this corner of SE16 was better known for its vast Tesco and the Jubilee line’s thunderous arrival every three minutes than for any culinary prowess. But times are changing in this former docklands neighbourhood, and fast.

With a £4 billion regeneration project in full swing and new residents flooding in faster than you can say “Overground to Shoreditch”, Canada Water has morphed from transport interchange to functioning neighbourhood. The old Surrey Commercial Docks might be long gone, but in their place, a new wave of restaurants has arrived, serving everything from Tudor-era pub grub to tacos that even a Mexico City street vendor would be proud of.

And the best bit? You’re still only 7-8 minutes from London Bridge on the Jubilee line, meaning you can feast enthusiastically without the Zone 1 premium before your onward journey. Here’s where to eat near Canada Water station and the best restaurants in the area.

The Mayflower, Rotherhithe Street

Ideal for experiencing 400 years of riverside history with your fish and chips…

You know that pub everyone bangs on about being ‘steeped in history’, when really that history (and the steeping, in fact) is just the stale aroma of ten-year old beer in the carpet? Well, The Mayflower actually is steeped in history. This isn’t some Victorian railway tavern masquerading as ancient; it’s been serving pints on this exact spot since 1550 (when it was named the Spread Eagle), back when Shakespeare was still decades away from his first soliloquy.

Standing at the very point where the Pilgrim Fathers set sail for America in 1620, The Mayflower is the oldest pub on The Thames. Perhaps even more importantly, it serves what locals swear blind are the best fish and chips in London. And having demolished a plate of their beer-battered haddock with twice-cooked chips on the creaking wooden jetty that juts out over the river, we wouldn’t bother arguing against that claim. They’ve been seasoned with history, for fucks sake!

At £19 for a portion, it’s not the cheapest in town, and the chips tend towards the anaemic at times, but you’re paying for heritage here, and for views that have barely changed since Pepys was scribbling in his diary. The steak pie, with its fat quenelle of buttery mash and pool of glossy gravy that’s the same mahogany-brown as the pub’s centuries-old beams, is hard to resist too. Or, simply have a Guinness and consider the 210 calories a light lunch.

A word of warning: that riverside jetty operates on a strictly first-come, first-served basis, and on sunny weekends, the queue can stretch back to the bar. Time your visit for a weekday lunch if you can, when you might just have the Thames to yourself, save for the occasional passing clipper and the odd ambitious cormorant.

Website: mayflowerpub.co.uk

Address: 117 Rotherhithe St, London SE16 4NF

Canada Water Cafe, Surrey Quays Road

Ideal for when you want to bookend your day with a strong coffee at 7:30am and a homemade pasta at 9:30pm…

Some restaurants try too hard to be all things to all people, and end up being none. Canada Water Cafe actually pulls it off. By day, it’s where bleary-eyed commuters grab flat whites and pastries (from St John Bakery, no less) before battling the Jubilee line. Come evening, those same formica tables get the candlelit treatment as the kitchen switches from croissant to carbonara.

Indeed, since 2014, this unassuming spot directly outside the station has been pulling off the neighbourhood’s most impressive balancing act. The transformation happens around 5pm, when the espresso machine takes a back seat to the pasta roller, the smell of a thousand fry-ups is shooed out the door, and suddenly you’re in a little Italian trattoria, complete with spent Chianti bottles on candle duty, and a flickering wood-fired oven on constant pizza rotation until close. 

Don’t leave before a big wedge of tiramisu (they do actually make it fresh daily), which provides the kind of comfort usually reserved for cashmere jumpers and log fires. But really, the true comfort here is found in the space and sense of community, because Canada Water Cafe is a wonderfully welcoming, inclusive place, full of warm vibes and good energy. 

Sometimes you want a croissant. Sometimes you want cacio e pepe. Here, wonderfully, you can have both. Hmmm, we’re getting an idea for a hybrid breakfast stuff…

Website: canadawatercafe.com

Address: 40 Surrey Quays Rd, London SE16 7DX

La Chingada, Rotherhithe New Road

Ideal for some of London’s best tacos…

In a corner of Surrey Quays that’s more retail park than restaurant quarter, La Chingada blazes like a piñata at a funeral. 

The fact they import their soft drinks directly from Mexico (that’s that good cane sugar coming through) should tell you everything you need to know about their commitment to doing things properly. This isn’t Cal-Mex nonsense with sour cream and yellow cheese. These are tacos on corn tortillas, the kind that disintegrate if you don’t eat them fast enough, leaving you with deliciously greasy fingers and a strong desire to order more. 

The birria tacos are a highlight, arriving as a glorious mess of slow-cooked lamb, the meat so tender it’s practically a paste, with a cup of spicy consommé on the side for dipping. One bite and you’ll understand why people queue here with such diligent patience.

The al pastor is another winner. With its achiote-marinated pork and caramelised pineapple, it hits all the sweet-savoury notes you want, while vegetarians can console themselves with the mushroom and huitlacoche option that’s earthy and deeply satisfying. At around £8.90 for two tacos, you’ll want to order a couple of rounds. And then, quite possibly, order a couple more…

The space itself is tiny, with colourful murals, mismatched chairs, and a general air of cheerful chaos. When it’s packed (which is most evenings), you might find yourself sharing a table with strangers, but after a couple of their micheladas and a basket of air-pocketed tortilla chips with salsa verde, you won’t mind one bit.

Fair warning: they’re closed Mondays, a fact we discovered the hard way after a 40-minute journey involving two bus changes.

Website: lachingada.co.uk

Address: 12 Rotherhithe New Rd, London SE16 2AA

Read: The best Mexican restaurants in London

The Blacksmith’s Arms, Rotherhithe Street

Ideal for when you can’t decide between a Sunday roast and a pad thai…

Only in London would a Victorian pub with 1930s mock-Tudor styling serve both Yorkshire puddings and Thai green curry, and somehow make perfect sense. The Blacksmith’s Arms has been feeding Rotherhithe since 1793, though we suspect the original blacksmiths would be somewhat puzzled by the tom yum soup.

The cherished institution of the English-Thai pub hybrid has a long and lustrous history, but this particular version came about when the current owners took over and decided to combine their love of British pub food with family recipes from Thailand. The result? You can start with spring rolls and satay skewers before moving on to steak and kidney pie. Or begin with a ploughman’s lunch and finish with a massaman. On Sundays, they serve a traditional roast with all the trimmings, but also offer Thai specials for those who prefer their meat with jaew rather than horseradish.

© Geoff Henson

And as if the offer wasn’t already alluring enough, they’ve only gone and started serving bottomless Yorkshire pudding Sundays, where you get infinite Yorkies with your roast for a very reasonable price of £20 to £24, meat dependent. Combine this with a London Pride or a Singha, swap your gravy for green curry sauce (or, do as we do, and mix them together), and you’ve got the makings of a very satisfying afternoon. The three distinct spaces include a lovely secret garden that comes into its own in summer, though even in February you’ll find hardy souls out there with patio heaters and blankets.

Friday nights bring live music, ranging from adequate covers bands to surprisingly good jazz trios. The Queen Mother apparently favoured a drink at the bar here back in the day, though we can’t confirm whether she ever tried the pad kra pao. With most starters under a tenner and mains rarely topping £20, whichever continent you’ve pitched for, it’s solid value for what is essentially two restaurants in one charmingly confused package.

Website: theblacksmithsse16.com

Address: 257 Rotherhithe St, London SE16 5EJ

Read: Where to find the best pad thai in Bangkok

Pacific Tavern, Redriff Road

Ideal for pretending you’re at a beach club despite being in Zone 2…

When Toby Kidman left his job at Caravan to open Pacific Tavern, people thought he’d lost the plot. A 400-capacity restaurant with an entirely outdoor kitchen? In London? In Rotherhithe? But walk onto the vast decked terrace on a summer evening, with the flame kitchen roaring and bartenders shaking up mai tais, and suddenly it all makes perfect sense.

The concept is deceptively simple: everything gets cooked over fire, and everything tastes vaguely of holidays. The menu hopscotches across the Pacific Rim with the enthusiasm of a gap year student, serving sea bream crudo swimming in coconut milk alongside Korean fried chicken and something they’ve christened a Pacific Sunday Roast (think regular roast but with added chimichurri and charred pineapple).

That seabream crudo, incidentally, is a thing of beauty: translucent slices of fish barely kissed with citrus and chilli, the coconut milk adding richness without overwhelming the delicate fish. At £13, it’s not cheap for what amounts to six slices of raw fish, but it’s a transportive dish that’ll have you on a beach somewhere at the first bite. As Frank Ocean once said, that’s a cheap vacation, although he was talking about spliff to be fair.

The space itself used to be the Quebec Curve pub, and before that a Vietnamese restaurant that we miss but we never caught the name of. Now it’s all sage green paint and botanical prints, with enough plants to stock a garden centre. On busy nights, the noise levels can reach nightclub proportions, but we guess that’s the point. This isn’t somewhere for intimate conversation; it’s somewhere to drink frozen margaritas and eat fish tacos while pretending you’re somewhere else. 

When you do finally decide to leave and you’re confronted with a car park and a Gala Bingo, it can be a little jarring, we have to admit. It’s enough to make you turn on your heel and order another round of those margs.

Website: pacifictavern.co.uk

Address: 100 Redriff Rd, London SE16 7LH

Bone Daddies, Old Jamaica Road

Ideal for when you need ramen and rock’n’roll…

The Bermondsey Beer Mile might be a 15-minute walk from Canada Water, but when you get that very specific craving for tonkotsu ramen that hits us all every few months, you make the pilgrimage. Housed in a railway arch that shakes, rattles and rolls every time a train passes overhead, Bone Daddies leans into the challenging building (it’s fine really, we just need an angle), meeting it with massive flavour and thumping tunes.

The atmosphere hits you first: music loud enough to sterilise equipment, communal benches packed with people slurping noodles like their lives depend on it, and steam billowing from the open kitchen where cooks who look about 12 years old work with real focus. This is not a place for intimate conversation or dietary restrictions. This is a place for pork fat and jammy, obscenely umami-laden eggs.

Their signature Tonkotsu is a beautiful thing; a bowl of cloudy, ivory-coloured broth that’s been simmered for 20 hours until it’s achieved the consistency of liquid silk. The chashu pork belly melts on contact with your tongue, the ajitama egg oozes golden yolk into the soup, and the noodles have just enough bite. They’re made fresh each morning, and it shows. 

Yes, you’ll leave smelling of pork fat. Yes, your ears will ring for an hour afterwards. No, you won’t care.

Website: bonedaddies.com

Address: 27-28, Old Jamaica Business Estate, 24 Old Jamaica Rd, London SE16 4AW

Read: The best ramen in London

Pizarro, Bermondsey Street

Ideal for a rowdy, sherry-soaked Spanish feast…

Chef José Pizarro could probably open a restaurant serving nothing but jamón ibérico and olive oil and we’d still queue round the block. Fortunately, his eponymous Bermondsey Street restaurant offers rather more than that, though the jamón is indeed spectacular and you should absolutely start with it.

Pizarro (the restaurant, not the conquistador) occupies a corner site that catches the afternoon sun beautifully, which is handy because you’ll want to linger here after your lunch, potentially on into dinner. The menu changes daily based on what’s in season, but certain dishes have achieved permanent status through popular demand. The croquetas, for instance, change filling regularly but maintain a consistency that’s crispy outside and molten within, causing third-degree burns to impatient diners since 2011. And causing diners to become inpatients occasionally too…

It’s not all tapas (or ‘pica pica’, as they’re referred to here). Pizarro excels at the larger sharing plates too, whether that’s suckling lamb leg with lettuce and honey, or roast cod with potato rosti and parsley oil. Whatever you go for, there’s a certain trust in anything chef José Pizarro does; you just know that good ingredients will have been cooked with respect and seasoned judiciously, and sometimes, that’s all you really want from your lunch, right?

Then there’s the legendary wild prawns in garlic oil, fried eggs and triple-cooked chips, which is a glorious tangle of surprising precision. The prawns are sweet and plump, the egg is slow-cooked at exactly 63 degrees until the white is just set and the yolk flows like lava, and the chips have been through more processes than a visa application but emerge perfect: crispy, thin but fluffy, and utterly addictive.

There’s a feeling in here that makes you want to order with total abandon, and the entirely Spanish wine list (starting at £34 a bottle) won’t help your restraint. The atmosphere can get pretty raucous, especially when the after-work crowd descends, but the staff handle it all with good humour and surprising efficiency. José himself sometimes appears, usually to deliver plates personally to regulars, making everyone else feel slightly inadequate, it must be said (note to self; must become a regular).

Dog-friendly, child-tolerant, and open seven days a week, Pizarro is that rare thing: a restaurant that works equally well for dates, family dinners, or solo tapas at the bar. And, if you do find Pizarro full, the chef’s more laid back (but equally rammed) tapas bar José is just next door. You might get lucky with a walk-in!

Website: josepizarro.com

Address: 194 Bermondsey St, London SE1 3TQ

Read: Where to eat on Bermondsey Street

Corner Corner, Maritime Street

Ideal for grazing your way through London’s most ambitious food hall…

When Corner Corner opened in April 2025, Canada Water, as a budding, ambitious new neighbourhood of sorts, finally got the food hall it deserved. This isn’t some half-hearted collection of chains in a shopping centre; this is 55,000 square feet of culinary ambition, complete with London’s largest indoor vertical farm growing actual lettuce and herbs on site.

The lineup includes serious players: Chick N Sours brings its hot mess chicken burgers south of the river for the first time, Jou Jou’s Bites does Taiwanese street food with the volume turned up to eleven, and Sireli serves Armenian comfort food of real quality, the lamb kofte with whipped feta, pickles and hummus is outstanding. We have to confess that we haven’t tried the fourth and final food offering here, Masa Tacos, but we’ve heard good things.

That vertical farm isn’t just for show. The microgreens and salad leaves travel approximately 50 feet from growing tower to plate, which must be some kind of record. For a food hall, at least. Watching someone harvest your salad garnish while you wait for your food feels simultaneously futuristic and weirdly primitive, like we’ve gone full circle back to picking vegetables from the garden as and when it’s needed.

There’s a jazz club downstairs that has made Corner Corner something of a focal point of nights out in the area, and locals get 10% off everything if they can prove they live in SE16. It’s this kind of community thinking that stops food halls feeling like soulless tourist traps. Which is, we should say, increasingly the case in London and beyond…

The food hall operates Thursday to Sunday (with the café section open daily), which seems limiting until you realise it means everything’s fresh and the vendors actually get some time off. Revolutionary concept, that.

Speaking of which, we’re off for a well-earned break, too. Enjoy!

Website: cornercorner.com

Address: Maritime St, London SE16 7LL

7 Once-In-A-Lifetime Road Trips Every Adventure Traveller Should Try

Editorial Team
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7 Once-In-A-Lifetime Road Trips Every Adventure Traveller Should Try

Whether it’s the idea of freedom, spontaneity, the great outdoors, or simply the endless Springsteen playing on the stereo, road trips do just feel good for the soul.

That is, ‘road trips’ in the romantic sense. 

Sadly, the reality can sometimes be quite different. In lieu of ‘Born to Run’, your drive is soundtracked by ‘’are we there yet?’’. Instead of vast expanses of the uninterrupted highway, you’re stuck behind a tractor. And rather than putting your pedal to the metal, you’re pulled up on the hard shoulder, desperately trying to find enough signal to call the AA.

And whilst we can’t stop your kids from complaining, nor can we clear the roads for you or steer your car, we can steer you in the direction of some of the world’s most epic road trips.

Anyway, enough of the warnings; we’re beginning to dampen that carefree spirit you’re longing for. Instead, let’s explore what this incredible world has to offer. So, without further ado, here are 7 road trips worldwide that will take your breath away.

Vietnam’s Hai Van Pass

Ideal for a ride through the ‘sea of clouds’.

  • Route overview: A thrilling 20km stretch connecting Da Nang to Hue, winding through the Truong Son mountains at 500 metres above sea level.
  • What makes it unique: The perfect marriage of jungle-clad mountains on one side and sweeping East Sea views on the other, best experienced on a motorbike.
  • Best time to go: March to August offers the driest conditions, though the ‘sea of clouds’ is most dramatic during the misty months of September to November.

For those who prefer their adventure travel to favour quality over quantity, at just 20km the Hai Van Pass in Central Vietnam isn’t a road trip of endurance or expanse, but rather a short, very sweet route that rewards the driver (or more likely, rider) with some of the best views on the planet. 

Sure, you could drive this one in a car, but it’s best enjoyed on a motorbike, allowing for uninterrupted views, the most liberating of sea breezes, and a feeling that anything is possible.

Hai Van roughly translates as ‘Sea of Clouds’ in Vietnamese. Standing at 500 metres above sea level and cutting a swathe through the Truong Son mountain range, riders are flanked on one side by lush jungle and, on the other, by the East Sea. The twists and turns of this part of Vietnam’s National Route 1 only make the ride all the more exhilarating, as each new corner reveals a vista of the sea that will take your breath away. 

No wonder the Top Gear boys, on their tour of Vietnam, once called the Hai Van Pass one of the ‘’best coastal roads in the world’’. 

Photo by Jordan Opel on Unsplash

Australia’s Great Ocean Road

Ideal for experiencing one of the world’s most scenic coastal drives.

  • Route overview: A 250km coastal drive from Torquay to Allansford along Victoria’s southwestern coastline, typically taking 3-4 days to fully appreciate.
  • What makes it unique: Home to the iconic Twelve Apostles limestone stacks and world-class surf breaks, whilst traversing sacred Aboriginal Wadawurrung country.
  • Best time to go: December to March for warm weather and calmer seas, though autumn (March-May) offers fewer crowds and stunning colours.

If you’re looking for a longer, more expansive kind of road trip, that takes in similarly breathtaking coastal views, then Australia’s Great Ocean Road Trip may well satisfy your thirst for adventure.

This legendary road trip traverses a 250 km stretch of road that wraps along the southwestern coastline of Victoria from Torquay through to Allansford and takes in some of the country’s most iconic sites along the way.

The early part of the Great Ocean has particular importance since the road runs through Wadawurrung country, known as the You Yangs, and as such, holds deep spiritual connections to Australia’s Aboriginal ancestors. The You Yangs are hugely important for Indigenous Australian culture in the Melbourne region because this is where, in Australian mythology, the Bunjil, who is the creation ancestor of the wider Melbourne region, first created the Wadawurrung people. Stop off and learn about this history and culture in more detail at Brisbane Ranges National Park.

Make the decision to tackle the whole thing, and you’ll find untouched beaches and unkempt cliff edges aplenty, as well as perhaps the world’s premier surfing mecca, the seaside resort of Torquay. Whilst on this drive, you’ll be able to take in The Twelve Apostles, an incredible collection of rock formations in the ocean which are surely a contender for the most striking natural wonder in the world. Set aside three or four days to truly appreciate this one.

Photo by Victor on Unsplash

Iceland’s Route 1 Ring Road

Ideal for vista after vista of atmospheric landscapes and lagoons.

  • Route overview: A 1,332km circular route around the entire island, requiring 7-14 days for a comprehensive journey through Iceland’s diverse landscapes.
  • What makes it unique: Encompasses glaciers, black sand beaches, geothermal areas, and the magnificent Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon all in one epic loop.
  • Best time to go: June to August for midnight sun and highland access, though September to March offers the chance to see the Northern Lights.

Here in the UK, the idea of an adventure around a ring road feels somewhat farcical. In Iceland, however, ‘fantastical’ might be a more apt description. Because this is a surreal, utterly enchanting drive, make no mistake, with lagoons, glaciers, snow-capped waterfalls and so much more.

The complete circuit of Route 1, or Hringvegur as it’s known locally, stretches for 1,332 kilometres around the entire island nation. Most travellers dedicate between 7 to 14 days to properly explore this Nordic wonderland, though you could easily spend longer getting lost in the countless detours and hidden gems along the way.

Setting off from Reykjavík, you’ll encounter the Golden Circle’s geothermal wonders before the road carries you through the dramatic South Coast, home to the thundering Skógafoss and Seljalandsfoss waterfalls. The journey’s crown jewel might well be the Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon in the southeast, where massive icebergs calve from Vatnajökull glacier and drift serenely towards the sea. As you continue through the remote East Fjords and into the lunar landscapes of the North, stop off at Mývatn’s geothermal area, where bubbling mud pools and steaming fumaroles create an almost Martian landscape.

Do bear in mind that Icelandic weather can turn on a sixpence, particularly in the shoulder seasons. Many adventurous travellers opt for a 4×4 camper rental in Iceland, which provides both the flexibility to explore off-the-beaten-track highlands and a cosy refuge when those infamous Atlantic storms roll in. Petrol stations can be few and far between in the eastern stretches, so fill up whenever you get the chance.

We’re so keen on this particular road trip, in fact, that we’ve written a whole guide to it; check out these 8 places to stop on Iceland’s Route 1 ring road for more on that!

Photo by Gigi on Unsplash

Take In Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way

Ideal for coastline, cliff and castle views.

  • Route overview: A 2,500km coastal route from Donegal in the north to Cork in the south, taking up to 3 weeks to complete in full.
  • What makes it unique: Europe’s longest defined coastal route featuring ancient castles, traditional pubs, and some of the world’s finest seafood.
  • Best time to go: May to September for the warmest weather, though expect wind year-round along this dramatically exposed coastline.

Should you be keen for a freewheelin’ adventure a little closer to home, then the Wild Atlantic Way in Ireland could be just the ticket. The coastal highway stretches all the way from Donegal in the north down to the south coast and County Cork and comprises around 2’500 km of road. There are countless places worth stopping at, including Sligo (which was one of Yeats’ greatest inspirations), Connemara, Galway, and Kinsale. 

Along the way, the local seafood is some of the finest you’ll encounter (and hopefully, eat!) anywhere on the planet, with the local oysters and langoustine particularly revered. You can, in fact, base your whole road trip around eating shellfish, starting at Fishy Fishy in Kinsale, Cork, a critically acclaimed temple of all things landed from the sea. When finishing up in Donegal, Killybegs Seafood Shack boasts incredible views of the harbour and the freshest fish on the plate.

As you can expect to drive as many as 1,600 miles (the whole thing could take you up to 3 weeks to complete!) you’ll need to ensure your car is in good shape. You’ll also want to watch your hat should you get out to admire the view; the Wild Atlantic Way is famously windy!

Photo by Claire Bissell on Unsplash

Scotland’s North Coast 500

Ideal for rugged highlands, ancient castles, and whisky distilleries.

  • Route overview: A 516-mile circular route beginning and ending at Inverness Castle, showcasing the raw beauty of the Scottish Highlands.
  • What makes it unique: Combines whisky distilleries, ancient castles, and pristine beaches with some of Britain’s most remote and dramatic mountain scenery.
  • Best time to go: May to September for longer daylight hours and warmer weather, though booking accommodation well in advance is essential.

Often dubbed ‘Scotland’s Route 66’, the North Coast 500 is a circular route that begins and ends at Inverness Castle, taking in some of the most dramatic scenery the British Isles has to offer. This 516-mile journey winds through the Scottish Highlands, offering a perfect blend of history, culture, and raw natural beauty.

The route takes you through the heart of whisky country, where you can stop off at legendary distilleries like Glenmorangie and Old Pulteney. As you venture westward, the roads become increasingly remote, snaking through the rugged landscapes of Wester Ross, where mountains plunge dramatically into sea lochs.

One of the highlights is the stretch along the northwestern coast, where single-track roads hug clifftops, offering heart-stopping views of the North Sea. The beautiful beaches of Durness, with their pristine white sand and turquoise waters, might have you questioning whether you’re still in Britain at all.

Be sure to plan this trip carefully, though. The Scottish weather is notoriously fickle, and many of the remote stretches have limited mobile reception.

Photo by Colin Horn on Unsplash

From Pakistan To China On The Karakoram Highway

Ideal for mountain magnificence and ancient Silk Road history.

  • Route overview: An engineering marvel stretching from Islamabad to Kashgar, crossing the world’s highest paved border at 4,693 metres.
  • What makes it unique: Passes through the greatest concentration of high peaks on Earth, including views of K2, whilst following ancient Silk Road trading routes.
  • Best time to go: May to October when the Khunjerab Pass is open, with June to September offering the most stable weather conditions.

For those seeking the ultimate high-altitude adventure, the Karakoram Highway – connecting Pakistan to China – offers an unforgettable journey through some of the world’s most spectacular mountain scenery. Often called the ‘Eighth World Wonder’, this engineering marvel cuts through the highest concentration of soaring peaks on Earth.

Starting from Islamabad, Pakistan, the route winds its way through the Hunza Valley, where ancient settlements cling to mountainsides and glaciers glisten in the distance. The road itself is a testament to human perseverance, carved through some of the most challenging terrain imaginable.

As you climb higher, you’ll pass the iconic Passu Cones, a series of cathedral-like spires that pierce the sky. The highway reaches its zenith at the Khunjerab Pass—the highest paved international border crossing in the world at 4,693 metres—where the thin air and sweeping views of the Karakoram Range will quite literally take your breath away.

This isn’t a journey for the fainthearted, mind you. The road conditions can be challenging, especially during winter months when sections may be closed due to snow. You’ll need to sort out proper permits and documentation well in advance, and it’s wise to travel with an experienced guide who knows the route’s peculiarities.

But for those willing to embrace the adventure, the rewards are immense: glimpses of rare snow leopard territory, encounters with Wakhi shepherds maintaining centuries-old traditions, and the chance to travel one of the most remarkable roads ever built.

Morocco’s Marrakech to Essaouira

Ideal for a dazzling desert trip with sweeping views.

  • Route overview: A 500-mile scenic route through the Atlas Mountains via the hair-raising Tizi n’Test pass, descending to the Atlantic coast.

  • What makes it unique: Dramatic elevation changes from Saharan valleys to 2,100-metre mountain passes, with camels and hairpin turns keeping drivers alert.

  • Best time to go: March to May or September to November for comfortable temperatures, avoiding the scorching summer heat and potential winter snow on the pass.

From the gusty to the dusty…

The drive from Morocco’s Marrakech to the coastal town of Essaouira, through the Atlas Mountains and the infamous, frankly terrifying Tizi n’Test pass, takes in some of the most sweeping views you’ll ever encounter, with vistas over the Sahara desert that pay off for some pretty (well, very) hair raising corners.

Sure, you could take the newly-built, more direct route from Morocco’s first imperial city to the Atlantic Ocean, but you’re here for a road trip, so we’ll take the scenic, 500-mile route and enjoy the views, instead. 

As you leave the chaotic roads of Marrakech and settle into your drive, you might be fooled into thinking this is a fairly mundane route, with flat roads and dusty valley plains defining the first hour or two. 

Slowly but surely, however, a couple of hours in, the ascent begins. From then on, until you reach an elevation of 2’100 metres at the Tizi n’Test pass (the point in the Atlas Mountains where Marrakech’s valleys meet the Sahara), it’s a white knuckle drive and a half. 

Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash

The descent into the Souss Valley at the foothill of the Atlas Mountains is just as fun/frightening, with hairpin turns seemingly threatening to throw you into the valleys below, and camels, motorbikes, and runaway taxis all providing you with company on the roads.

From there, the roads level off and before you know it, you’re driving the rugged, alluring coastal road from Agadir and Essaouira, where grilled fish and superb surfing await. 

Whilst not for the faint-hearted, this road trip will certainly take your breath away.

The Bottom Line 

Of course, and rather juxtaposed to that spirit of spontaneity you’re hoping to achieve on your holiday, such road trips do take a lot of planning. From checking your car’s brakes, battery, and fluid levels, to making sure you’ve got a paper map backed for when the 5G packs in, there’s plenty to do to make sure you’re ready for your road trip. 

But once all the prep is dispensed with, all you’ve got to do is enjoy the open road. Do you mind if we join you?

AI Need Not Apply: 9 Careers That Will Always Demand Human Skills

Editorial Team
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AI Need Not Apply: 9 Careers That Will Always Demand Human Skills

As artificial intelligence reshapes workplaces, many of us are questioning its limits and impact. While AI tools can handle increasingly complex tasks, they often fall short in ways that aren’t immediately obvious. Despite bold claims about AI mastering everything from poetry to medical diagnosis, the reality is more nuanced – and often more limited – than the headlines suggest.

Indeed, there are a whole host of careers where human judgment and expertise remain essential, not because these fields are immune to technological change, but because they require capabilities that AI currently struggles to replicate – and may continue to struggle with for fundamental reasons. Here are 9 of them…

Life Coaching

Life coaches work with clients to help them identify goals, overcome obstacles, and make meaningful life changes. While AI can offer generic advice or track progress, effective coaching requires understanding complex human motivations and building trust. A good coach picks up on subtle cues, challenges assumptions at the right moment, and draws on personal experience to connect with clients in ways AI cannot.

How AI might complement this role: AI could handle scheduling, progress tracking, and provide data-driven insights about client patterns and behaviours. When considering whether to train as a professional coach, AI may also offer supplementary exercises and resources tailored to client goals, providing opportunities for coaches to focus on the more important elements of the job.

How AI might hinder it: Over-reliance on AI-generated advice could make sessions feel impersonal and formulaic. There’s also a risk that excessive data tracking might make clients feel monitored rather than supported.

Mental Health Counselling

The therapeutic relationship between counsellor and client is built on human understanding and trust. While AI might help with initial assessments or tracking mood patterns, the core work of therapy demands human presence. Counsellors must notice subtle changes in tone or body language, understand cultural context, and create a safe space for vulnerable conversations.

How AI might complement this role: AI could assist with initial symptom screening and provide between-session support through mood tracking and coping strategy suggestions. It might also help therapists spot patterns in client behaviour over time.

How AI might hinder it: The presence of AI tools might make clients more guarded or less likely to share vulnerable information. There’s also a risk that AI-generated insights might lead therapists to overlook unique aspects of individual cases.

Creative Direction

Creative directors do more than generate visuals or content – they shape brand identity by understanding cultural shifts and human behaviour. Their work combines market insight, cultural awareness, and instinct gained through experience. While AI can generate impressive content, it can’t grasp the cultural nuances that make campaigns resonate with specific audiences.

How AI might complement this role: AI could rapidly generate multiple creative options and provide real-time data about audience preferences and trends. It might also handle routine design tasks, leaving directors free to focus on strategy.

How AI might hinder it: The ease of AI-generated content might lead to creative homogenisation and risk-averse decision-making. There’s also a danger of over-relying on data rather than human intuition about cultural shifts.

Diplomacy

Modern diplomacy requires navigating complex cultural and political landscapes. Diplomats build relationships, interpret unspoken signals during negotiations, and understand cultural sensitivities that AI would likely miss. In 2025, this feels more important than ever. Success often depends on building genuine trust and understanding between parties – something that requires human insight and experience.

How AI might complement this role: AI could provide real-time translation, cultural context briefings, and analysis of historical diplomatic patterns. It might also help track complex multilateral agreements and commitments.

How AI might hinder it: Over-reliance on AI analysis might lead to missing subtle diplomatic signals or cultural nuances. There’s also a risk that AI-mediated communication could make relationship-building more difficult.

Early Years Teaching

Early childhood educators shape young minds through personalised attention and emotional support. They adapt their teaching style based on each child’s needs, manage group dynamics, and model social skills through real interaction. While educational technology can support learning, young children need human connection and understanding to develop properly.

How AI might complement this role: AI could help track individual student progress and suggest personalised learning activities. It might also handle administrative tasks and provide insights about learning patterns.

How AI might hinder it: Too much screen-based learning might reduce crucial face-to-face interaction time. There’s also a risk that AI assessment tools might oversimplify complex developmental processes.

Ethics Advisory

As organisations face complex moral challenges, they need advisers who can navigate grey areas with wisdom and practical experience. This involves understanding competing human needs, building consensus, and considering the real-world implications of decisions. While AI can analyse data points, ethical judgment requires human reasoning and understanding of context.

How AI might complement this role: AI could analyse vast amounts of precedent cases and regulatory requirements to inform decision-making. It might also help model the potential consequences of different ethical choices.

How AI might hinder it: Overreliance on AI-driven precedent might lead to overly rigid ethical frameworks. There’s also a risk that complex human values could be reduced to oversimplified metrics.

Read: How artificial intelligence is transforming the head hunting process

Patient Advocacy

Patient advocates guide individuals through complex healthcare systems, ensuring they receive appropriate care while protecting their rights and interests. This role demands deep empathy, cultural sensitivity, and the ability to translate medical jargon into understandable language. Effective advocates must navigate insurance complexities, coordinate between multiple providers, and stand up for vulnerable patients – often with the help of medical billing virtual assistants to handle administrative tasks. The core work, however, requires understanding each patient’s unique circumstances, fears, and values in ways that technology cannot replicate.

How AI might complement this role: AI could analyse treatment options, track medication interactions, and flag potential billing errors or insurance coverage issues. It might also help advocates stay updated on policy changes and patient rights across different healthcare systems.

How AI might hinder it: Over-reliance on AI-generated recommendations might lead advocates to miss important personal or cultural factors affecting patient decisions. There’s also a risk that automated systems could make the advocacy process feel impersonal during already stressful medical situations.

Social Innovation

Social innovators tackle community challenges by understanding complex human needs and building trust with diverse stakeholders. Success in the field of social innovation requires more than data analysis – it demands cultural sensitivity, political awareness, and the ability to bring different groups together. These skills rely on human experience and emotional intelligence that AI cannot replicate.

How AI might complement this role: AI could help identify patterns in successful social initiatives and provide data about community needs and resource allocation. It might also help track project outcomes and impact metrics.

How AI might hinder it: An over-emphasis on data-driven solutions might overshadow important qualitative aspects of community work. There’s also a risk that AI tools could make initiatives feel too technocratic and impersonal.

Crisis Management

When organisations face crises, they need leaders who can both develop solutions and manage human reactions. Crisis managers must read situations quickly, communicate clearly, and make difficult decisions while considering various stakeholders. This requires experience with human behaviour and reactions that AI cannot fully grasp.

How AI might complement this role: AI could help monitor emerging issues, analyse past crisis patterns, and suggest potential response strategies. It might also help coordinate communication across multiple channels during a crisis.

How AI might hinder it: Over-reliance on AI-generated response templates could make crisis communication feel inauthentic. There’s also a risk that AI might miss crucial human factors in crisis situations.

The Bottom Line

The relationship between AI and human work is complex and often oversold. While AI tools will certainly affect these careers, they’re unlikely to replace the core human elements that make these roles effective. The challenge lies in maintaining professional judgment about when to use AI tools and when to rely on human expertise alone.

Success in these fields will require a careful balance: leveraging useful AI capabilities where appropriate while recognising their limitations and risks. This isn’t about competing with AI or blindly embracing it, but about understanding both its genuine utility and its real constraints. 

The future workplace will likely be neither the AI utopia that some predict nor entirely free from technological influence. Instead, these careers will evolve to require sophisticated judgment about the appropriate role and limits of AI tools – adding ‘AI literacy’ to their list of required human skills rather than being replaced by it.

The IDEAL Guide To Packing & Moving House, Stress Free

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The IDEAL Guide To Packing & Moving House, Stress Free

Someone, somewhere in the world right now is arguing with a loved one about moving house. With every packed, repacked and packed again box; with every dropped sentimental ornament and broken down rental van; with every temper flared over the right position for the ill thought out, ill fitting new sofa comes an even iller thought out divorce. And that’s a fact.

Regardless of whether you’re bidding farewell to your student flat or setting up in your dream home, moving house can be stressful. To negate some of the bigger burdens and unnecessary niggles, it’s important you get organised in good time.

Perhaps the most important preparatory measure of all is the packing of your possessions. So, with this in mind, here is the IDEAL guide to packing and moving house, stress free.

Play The Long Game With Your Packing Plan

As soon as you’ve decided on the moving date, the first thing you need to do is create a detailed plan of just how you’re going to pack. The more thorough you are, the better.

Distribute the actual job of packing across a fortnight or more, so that you don’t get overwhelmed or have leftover things to pack on the very day of your move. This may include taking time off work or scheduling smartly around the arrival of removal vans, self-storage assistance, inspections, and inventory checks, sure, but it’s essential if you’re to enter your new property on the front foot.

Declutter Before You Pack

Before you even reach for the bubble wrap, take this golden opportunity to declutter your life. Moving house is the perfect excuse to finally part with those items gathering dust in the back of cupboards. Adopt a three-pile system: keep, donate, and bin. Be ruthless – if you haven’t used something in the past year, chances are you won’t miss it in your new home.

Consider selling valuable items you no longer need through online marketplaces or car boot sales; the extra cash can offset moving costs. Charity shops will welcome good quality clothes, books, and household items, whilst recycling centres can handle electronics and larger pieces responsibly. Remember, the less you pack, the less you pay to move, and the less you’ll need to unpack at the other end. It’s a win-win situation that’ll leave you feeling lighter before you’ve even lifted a box.

Pack By Room

When packing up your property, a room-by-room technique is considered the best way to save time at both ends of the process.

It is often recommended to start with the kitchen first, as some of the more awkward items are found here, though you may have to live on takeaways for a week or two (or batch cooked meals, of course).

You’ll probably want to finish with the bathroom, as it’s the most simple room to take down, but also one you’ll be using right up to your departure. Don’t mix items from different rooms in one box – instead, separate and label them. This will help you keep track of what you have packed, and unpacking will be much easier once in your new home.

Read: Stress free relocation in 5 simple steps

Colour Coding & Labelling

This goes hand in hand with the above packing method. The team at South London Movers impress on us the importance of keeping a detailed inventory of all the items you place in each box. From there, assign a number to the list and place the same on the packing box.

You could even go the extra mile and assign a colour to each room. This will ease the work of the movers when unloading your belongings. You can simply let them know which colour corresponds to which room, so they can smoothly complete the job for you.

Speaking of outsourcing…

Find An Appropriate Removal Company

In most cases, you’ll want to leave the heavy lifting to the professionals. Removal firms come in all shapes, sizes and levels of security. Most will deal with house office and furniture removals, offering services such as packing up smaller items and ensuring that larger pieces of furniture are carefully moved and placed into the van. All stuff that, on the day, eases the burden no end.

Check that any company you’re considering is a member of either the British Association of Removers (BAR) or the National Guild of Removers and Storers (NGRS). As always in situations like this, be sure to get several quotes before settling on a decision. Contrary to popular belief, moving is a highly skilled job, especially when you consider the amount of expensive furniture or artwork that people can own; the risk is high, so a certain level of expertise is required.

If you want to avoid breakages and slip-ups, then be prepared to spend a bit more to ensure your peace of mind. If packing overwhelms you, then consider getting the professionals in to help with this too, relieving significant tension and distress in the run up to, and on, the day. This is particularly pertinent if you’re preparing for an international or long-distance move.

It should be noted that if you’ve chosen to put some or all of your ‘stuff’ into self-storage, the storage company may include removals as part of their proposal.

Consider Renting A Storage Unit

Though it’s important to be fairly ruthless in your packing, dispensing with items you no longer need, not all items are worth getting rid of forever. The bright-green vase that your auntie gave you as a Christmas present last year might need to come back on the table for a surprise family visit, and you never know when your leopard-print Ugg boots might come back into fashion.

Because of this, many prefer moving their entire life bit-by-bit and not all on the same day, as this can be somewhat overwhelming. By renting a storage space, you can manage the flow of your possessions a little more seamlessly, helping you move necessities on the first day, and gradually populating your home with more miscellaneous items when you see fit.

Create A First Day Survival Box

Whilst everything else gets packed away systematically, prepare one or two clearly marked ‘open first’ boxes containing absolute essentials for your first 24-48 hours in the new property. This should include toiletries, medications, a change of clothes, important documents, phone chargers, basic tools (screwdriver, hammer, scissors), toilet paper, tea bags, kettle, mugs, and some non-perishable snacks.

Don’t forget bedding for the first night – there’s nothing worse than arriving exhausted at your new home only to realise your sheets are buried somewhere in a tower of unmarked boxes. Keep this survival kit with you during the move rather than in the removal van, ensuring you have immediate access to necessities. Consider including a small first aid kit, torch, and cleaning supplies too – you never know what state the previous occupants might have left things in!

On The Day

The big day has finally come, so make sure that it goes without a glitch. The checklist may seem endless, so do as much as you can to reduce stress.

If you have pets, then consider asking a friend or relative to look after them while you move, or put them into kennels or a cattery. If you are moving with small children, rope in support from friends or family to look after them. Once installed in your new place, get your kids’ rooms ready first, as this will help them to settle in quickly.

Finally, just remember to breathe. In a few weeks time you will be all settled in, and any memories of moving will be a distant dream.

You’ll also want to consider the various minutiae of the administrative side of things. From redirecting your mail to closing old utilities, here are the key things you need to remember when preparing to move house. We look forward to your housewarming party!

The Best Ways To Restore Your Circadian Rhythm

Editorial Team
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The Best Ways To Restore Your Circadian Rhythm

Ideal for bettering your sleep hygiene…

For some of us, sleep comes easily. However, for many, many others, achieving a proper kip is a nightly struggle that leads to all manner of potential health risks, including a weakened immune system, a higher chance of developing diabetes, depression and heart disease, and more.

Most of us operate on a monophasic sleep schedule – this is where a person sleeps once a night for around 8 hours. Generally speaking, this is the only sleep schedule that doctors recommend.

Other sleep patterns include a biphasic sleep pattern where people sleep twice a day (also known as a siesta sleeping pattern) and usually, this involves one long sleep during the night and then a nap in the afternoon. A polyphasic sleeping pattern is less common and involves sleeping more than twice a day – how a baby sleeps, for example. For adults, both of these are generally discouraged by medical experts.

To better both the quantity and quality of sleep, the key is to focus on behaviours that directly affect your natural wake/sleep cycle – otherwise known as your circadian rhythm or body clock. To get into a monophasic groove and sleep better in the process, here are some ways to restore your circadian rhythm.

Beating Blue Light Exposure

The blue light coming from the screens of our smartphones, also referred to as high-energy visible (HEV) light, has been in the spotlight for many years due to its effects on human health and sleep.

This blue light also affects the body’s natural circadian rhythm, disrupting a person’s sleep cycle by sending signals to the brain to wake up even when it is time to sleep. In one 2019 systematic review published in the Chronobiology International Journal on how light exposure affects the circadian rhythm, only two hours of exposure to blue light can cause a decrease in melatonin secretion in the body. This well-known hormone is responsible for the regulation of sleep-wake cycles. This can lead to disrupted sleep patterns, fatigue, and irritability. 

The blue light emitted by gadgets’ screens can interfere with your body’s natural production of melatonin, affecting how your body regulates your alertness and sleepiness. When you use screens close to bedtime, you’re more likely to have difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep throughout the night. By avoiding this, you can help restore your natural sleep patterns.

And for those who can’t completely avoid screen time in the evening, prescription sunglasses with blue light filtering can help reduce exposure to disruptive HEV light while still allowing necessary device use.

Listen To Something Relaxing Before Bed

Listening to music can help you sleep. This also includes listening to white noise, which contains all frequencies of sound at the same level. It can help mask disruptive background noises and can help you relax before bedtime. Consider sleep aid apps or white noise apps in case you are looking to find the best sleep apps. 

Studies have found that listening to calming, soft music before bedtime can reduce stress and anxiety, relax your body and mind, and help you fall asleep faster. Research shows that music with a slow tempo of around 60-80 beats per minute works best, as it naturally synchronises with your resting heart rate. Classical music, ambient soundscapes, and nature sounds like rainfall or ocean waves are particularly effective.

For optimal results, start your audio routine 30-45 minutes before sleep and keep the volume low – just loud enough to be heard without becoming a distraction. Avoid music with lyrics or sudden volume changes, as these can be mentally stimulating and counterproductive to relaxation.

Routine Is Crucial

There are no hard and fast rules about when exactly one should get into bed in order to achieve those magic 8 hours. Neither is there accepted scientific wisdom about precisely the best time to get up.

Having said that, it has been shown that routine is key for wellbeing in a number of ways, and this includes your sleep. So, however you prefer to structure your day, you should do so routinely so that your body can anticipate a shift in gears accordingly. 

Over time, your brain can learn to associate various elements of your routine with the onset of sleep. In doing so, it can start to produce melatonin, a natural hormone that helps regulate your circadian rhythm and facilitates a natural, easy transition into sleep. 

This routine should pay particular attention to how you manage light and dark at home, as dark stimulates melatonin’s production and light slows it down. For more on that, check out our guide to the perfect bedtime routine.

Try Sex

We’ve all heard the rule that you should ‘only use your bed for sex and sleep’. Well, it turns out that the two go hand in hand, as a healthy sex life can actually help you sleep better. Theories propose that the chemicals released during sex – oxytocin and prolactin – help you relax and sleep better. What’s more, sex lowers the production of the stress hormone cortisol which, you guessed it, can interfere with your sleep.

Though many upgrade theirs in order to feel more comfortable during the night, you can actually invest in a mattress for sex as well as sleep, to help maximise the potential of your lovemaking and, accordingly, your rest afterwards!

Via Canva

Exercise 

As the Evening Standard reports, experts agree that regular exercise is an important ingredient in the winning recipe for a good night’s rest. Exercise can help promote slow-wave sleep, which refers to the deep sleep required for your brain and body to rejuvenate. 

The Sleep Foundation concur, going on to explain that “moderate-to-vigorous exercise can increase sleep quality for adults by reducing sleep onset’’, meaning you’ll fall asleep faster if you’ve exercised during the day. 

It should be noted, however, that there’s some debate as to when exactly the best time to workout is, in order to gain a good night’s sleep. Experts and laypeople alike do seem to agree that vigorous exercise just before bedtime will disrupt your sleep. That said, light exercise like a gentle walk before bed, can have a generally positive effect on your Zzzeds.

Avoid Sleep Disruptive Foods

Most of us are well aware of the adverse effects of coffee before bedtime, and the stimulant effect of caffeine is a given. But are you aware of just how many other types of food are out there that can have similar stimulating – or, at least, disruptive – results? Things that are very sugary, for example, will tend to send our enteric systems into high gear, keeping us awake. 

Similarly, curries and chilli dishes can also have a disruptive effect on the digestive system and should be avoided in the lead up to bedtime if you have trouble sleeping. 

Foods that are not heavily spiced or sweet are ideal as you approach sleep time. Stews and soups are great, for example, and if you’re really keen on something sweet, fruits are a way better choice than chocolate or ice cream. 

Read: 5 diet tips on hacking your circadian rhythm with food

Early Morning Matters

So much of the advice on sleeping well and consistently seems to centre around the pre-bed routine, but when and how you wake up in the morning matters, too. Rather than keep you here, staring into that disruptive blue light, we’ll redirect you to these tips on how to feel more energised in the morning (you can bookmark it for another time). 

The Bottom Line

For peace and wellbeing, sleep is a fundamental process, and we risk damaging the hours in which we are awake by not being serious about the hours that we’re not. We hope you’ve found some inspiration above on how to take back control of your circadian rhythm, your sleeping patterns and your night’s rest.

Hey, hey you! You! We saw you nodding off there….ah well, we suppose that’s job done then.

48 Hours In Reykjavik: The Ideal Weekend In Iceland’s Cool Capital

Editorial Team
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48 Hours In Reykjavik: The Ideal Weekend In Iceland’s Cool Capital

Iceland’s capital might be compact, but what Reykjavik lacks in size, it more than makes up for in character. This pint-sized city perched on the edge of the Arctic Circle manages to pack world-class restaurants, cutting-edge galleries, geothermal pools, and Viking history into a walkable city centre. Add in the ethereal landscapes that lie just beyond the city limits, and you’ve got yourself one seriously IDEAL weekend destination.

With direct flights from across the UK taking just over three hours, Reykjavik has become the go-to spot for those seeking something a bit different from their city break. Whether you’re chasing the Northern Lights in winter or basking in the midnight sun come summer, timing is everything here. But whenever you choose to visit, 48 hours gives you just enough time to sample the best of both the capital and its spectacular surroundings.

Day One: Reykjavik Revealed

Morning: Coffee, Culture & Colourful Streets

Begin your Icelandic adventure the way locals do – with proper coffee. Skip the chains and head straight to Reykjavik Roasters on Kárastígur 1, where baristas treat coffee-making like the art form it is. Their single-origin brews pair brilliantly with their signature coffee yogurt or sourdough toast – simple but perfectly executed. Arrive before 9am to beat the weekend crowd and snag a window seat for prime people-watching.

Suitably caffeinated, take a leisurely 10-minute stroll down to the harbour area via Laugavegur, Reykjavik’s main shopping street. The colourful corrugated iron buildings that line these streets aren’t just Instagram fodder – they’re a practical solution to the harsh weather, though admittedly they do look rather fetching against grey Nordic skies.

Your cultural immersion begins at the National Museum of Iceland on Suðurgata 41. Yes, we know museums can be a bit… well, museum-y, but this one’s different. The interactive displays are genuinely engaging (we promise), and you’ll emerge with a proper understanding of how this windswept island became one of the world’s most progressive nations. If time allows, pop over to the Settlement Exhibition (Landnámssýningin) at Aðalstræti 16 – a separate museum built around excavated remains of a 10th-century Viking longhouse.

Photo by Ludovic Charlet on Unsplash
Photo by Nicolas J Leclercq on Unsplash

Afternoon: Architectural Wonders & Artistic Quarters

Post-museum, it’s time to tick off Reykjavik’s most famous landmark. The imposing Hallgrímskirkja church might look like something from a sci-fi film set, but this Lutheran parish church is actually inspired by Iceland’s basalt lava flows. Take the lift to the top of the 73-metre tower (1,400 ISK) for panoramic views across the city’s colourful rooftops to the mountains beyond. On clear days, you can even spot the Snæfellsjökull glacier, some 120km away.

Descend back to earth and weave your way through the charming Þingholt neighbourhood towards Grandi, Reykjavik’s regenerated harbour district. This former fish-packing area has transformed into the city’s creative quarter, with the excellent Reykjavik Art Museum (Hafnarhús) leading the charge. Their contemporary exhibitions showcase both established Icelandic artists and emerging talents – and entry is free with the Reykjavik City Card.

Reykjavik
Reykjavik
Photo by Marika Bellavance on Unsplash

Evening: Happy Hour & Harbour Dining

By now, you’ve probably noticed that Iceland isn’t exactly cheap. Which is why happy hour (usually 4-7pm) is something of a national institution. Join the locals at Kaffibarinn on Bergstaðastræti – yes, that’s the bar from the film ‘101 Reykjavik’ – where beers drop to almost reasonable prices and the atmosphere gets progressively livelier.

For dinner, the Old Harbour area offers everything from traditional Icelandic fare to innovative Nordic cuisine. Messinn on Lækjargata serves spectacular fresh fish in their signature style – sizzling cast-iron pans filled with the catch of the day, butter-fried potatoes, and your choice of rich sauces. The arctic char is sublime. If you’re feeling more adventurous, Grillmarkaðurinn (The Grill Market) offers a proper Icelandic feast – think puffin, minke whale, and fermented shark, though their lamb and langoustine are equally impressive and perhaps more palatable.

End your evening with a stroll along the harbour to see Harpa Concert Hall illuminated against the night sky. This geometric glass masterpiece, inspired by basalt columns and the Northern Lights, looks spectacular after dark when its LED facade creates a mesmerising light show.

Read: 6 must-eat foods in Reykjavik and where to try them

Photo by Andrea De Santis on Unsplash
Photo by Laila on Unsplash

Day Two: Beyond Reykjavik

Morning: The Golden Circle Beckons

Here’s where having your own wheels becomes essential. The famous Golden Circle route encompasses three of Iceland’s most spectacular natural attractions, and while tour buses run the circuit daily, there’s something liberating about exploring at your own pace. 

Rent a car in Iceland the evening before or early morning to make the most of your second day – the freedom to stop for photos whenever the landscape demands it (which is approximately every five minutes) is worth the investment.

Set off early – we’re talking 8am early – to beat the coach parties. Your first stop, Thingvellir National Park, lies just 40 minutes northeast of Reykjavik. This UNESCO World Heritage site isn’t just historically significant (Iceland’s parliament was founded here in 930 AD); it’s also where you can literally walk between two continents. The park sits in a rift valley between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates, which are slowly pulling apart at about 2cm per year.

Afternoon: Geysers & Golden Falls

Continue east for about an hour to reach the Geysir geothermal area. While the original Great Geysir rarely performs these days, its neighbour Strokkur reliably shoots boiling water 15-20 metres into the air every 5-10 minutes (occasionally reaching up to 30 metres). Pro tip: position yourself upwind unless you fancy an impromptu steam facial.

Just 15 minutes further along Route 35, Gullfoss waterfall provides a thundering finale to your Golden Circle tour. This two-tiered cascade plunges 32 metres into a rugged canyon, creating near-permanent rainbows on sunny days. The viewing platforms offer spectacular vantage points, but wrap up warm – the spray creates its own microclimate that’s decidedly chilly.

If time allows on your drive back to Reykjavik, detour via the Secret Lagoon in Flúðir. This natural hot spring might not be so secret anymore, but it’s far less touristy than the Blue Lagoon and authentically Icelandic, complete with a bubbling hot geyser putting on a show every few minutes.

Photo by Sarah Thorenz on Unsplash

Evening: A Soak & Seafood

You can’t leave Iceland without experiencing its geothermal bathing culture. If you didn’t stop at the Secret Lagoon, head to Laugardalslaug, Reykjavik’s largest thermal pool complex. For 1,330 ISK, you get access to multiple hot pots, a proper 50-metre pool, steam rooms, and that essential Icelandic experience – sitting in 40°C water while snowflakes land on your face (weather permitting, obviously).

For your farewell dinner, Sægreifinn (The Sea Baron) down by the old harbour is an institution. This glorified fishmonger’s serves the freshest seafood soup in town – a creamy, dill-scented bowl of whatever came in that morning, served with homemade bread. Order at the counter, grab a weathered wooden table, and toast your whirlwind Icelandic adventure with a cold Einstök.

Image via The Sea Baron

The Essential Extras

When to Visit: Summer (June-August) offers midnight sun and lupine-covered landscapes, but winter brings Northern Lights and fewer crowds. May and September strike a nice balance.

Getting Around: Reykjavik city centre is completely walkable, but having a car for day two opens up endless possibilities. Book in advance for better rates, and remember Iceland drives on the right.

Money Matters: Cards are accepted everywhere (yes, even for public toilets), but happy hour is your friend. Budget around £6-12 for a beer in regular hours, though upscale restaurants might charge more.

Packing Essentials: Layers, always layers. Iceland’s weather has commitment issues – sun, rain, wind, and snow can all happen in one afternoon. A proper waterproof jacket isn’t negotiable.

Language: Everyone speaks excellent English, but learning “takk” (thanks) and “skál” (cheers) goes down well.

Forty-eight hours in Reykjavik merely scratches the surface of what Iceland offers, but it’s enough to understand why this small island nation captures such big imaginations. You’ll leave plotting your return – perhaps for a proper road trip around the Ring Road, or to chase the Aurora Borealis across winter skies. But for now, this perfect weekend will have to do. Skál to that!

How To Make A Burger King Whopper At Home: Cracking The Flame-Grilled Code

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How To Make A Burger King Whopper At Home: Cracking The Flame-Grilled Code

The quest to recreate fast-food favourites at home has become something of a national obsession, and few challenges have proven as tantalising as replicating Burger King’s distinctive flame-grilled taste. Unlike the Colonel’s famous (or, famously proprietary) eleven herbs and spices, Burger King’s secrets lie not in a mysterious spice blend, but in technique, sauce alchemy, and that elusive flame-grilled flavour that divides opinion and sparks debate across dinner tables nationwide.

After weeks of research, countless burger experiments, and deep dives into fast-food forums (yes, they exist and they’re fun, frictious and fascinating), we’ve alighted on the methods that’ll have you producing Whoppers worthy of the King himself. And before you ask – no, you don’t need an industrial flame grill. Nor a barbecue, as it happens…

The Great Whopper Sauce Debate

Our journey to decode the Whopper began with what can only be described as ‘intensive field research’. Over the course of three weeks, we ordered 47 Whoppers using the Burger King mobile app (the things we do for journalism), carefully deconstructing each one to analyse sauce distribution, patty thickness, and that elusive flame-grilled flavour. 

The app’s customisation options actually proved invaluable – by ordering burgers with and without certain elements, we could isolate individual components and their contributions to the overall taste.

And this is how we zero’d in on the sauce (request it ‘on the side’, if you’re similarly inquisitive). Indeed, perhaps no element of Burger King’s menu has sparked more heated discussion than the exact composition of their signature burger sauce. Former employees have leaked various versions over the years, leading to what can only be described as the ‘Sauce Wars’ of the early 2010s on Reddit and various other even more obsessive foodie forums.

While the details of specific insider revelations are often fleeting, lost to deleted threads, forum archives and the odd cease and desist, the consensus among determined home cooks points to a distinct flavour profile in the UK, often perceived as less sweet and more acidic than its American counterpart. Our own testing, based on these collective insights, confirms that a balance leaning towards tangier notes gets you remarkably close to the Whopper we know and love here in the UK.

Interestingly, for years home cooks puzzled over a subtle ‘zing’ in the Whopper sauce that was hard to pin down. While the exact blend remains proprietary, it’s known that certain food compounds, like those found in horseradish, can activate the trigeminal nerve, subtly enhancing overall flavour perception without being overtly detectable themselves. It’s barely perceptible, but it adds that certain something that home cooks have been missing for years.

The ‘Secret’ Whopper Sauce Recipe

This recipe aims to capture that elusive blend of creamy, sweet, tangy, and savoury that defines the Whopper sauce.

Ingredients:

  • 120ml good quality mayonnaise (Hellmann’s Real works best) spiked with ¼ teaspoon prepared horseradish
  • 2 tablespoons Heinz tomato ketchup
  • 2 tablespoons Sweet Pickle Relish (or, Branston pickle, if you like)
  • 1 tablespoon White Vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon White Sugar
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • Pinch of Paprika (for colour and a hint of warmth)
  • Pinch of caster sugar

Instructions:

  1. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl.
  2. Whisk thoroughly until completely smooth and well-combined.
  3. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (preferably longer) to allow the flavours to meld. This step is crucial for developing the sauce’s characteristic taste.

The Patty: Flame-Grilled Perfection (& A Little Bit Of Science)

Here’s where things get properly contentious. Burger King’s ‘flame-grilled’ claim has been the subject of numerous investigations. What’s confirmed is that whilst the patties are indeed exposed to flames, those characteristic grill marks come from a conveyor belt (chain broiler) system that creates them through direct contact with heated metal bars.

Now, for the big one: the flavour secret. Despite persistent rumours of liquid smoke, Burger King UK themselves have launched campaigns directly debunking this, stating “It’s real fire”. This means that smoky flavour isn’t from an additive, but from the actual flame-grilling process itself, imparting genuine char and a unique aroma. Those flames are gas-powered, it should be said; it’s not some unpredictable charcoal or wood-fired situation.

Anyway, to replicate this at home, we’ve discovered that a combination of cast-iron searing followed by a hint of added liquid smoke can come remarkably close. The key is restraint – too much and you’ll taste like you’ve licked a barbecue.

Burger King UK Whopper patties start as a generous 113g (approximately 1/4 pound) of 100% pure beef, before cooking. What truly sets the flavour apart is their seasoning blend of salt and black pepper.

The Flame-Grilled Patty Recipe

To achieve that smoky, seared flavour at home, a good quality beef patty and a screaming hot pan are your best friends.

Ingredients:

  • 600g beef mince (20% fat – crucial for proper shrinkage and juice retention)
  • Maldon sea salt
  • Black pepper
  • Colgin’s Natural Hickory, diluted 1:3 with water

Instructions:

  1. Form your mince into patties that are 12cm in diameter and no more than 1.5cm thick. The thinness is crucial – it allows for proper caramelisation whilst maintaining a juicy interior. Make a 2cm dimple in the centre to prevent the dreaded burger bulge.
  2. Season your patties with fine sea salt and black pepper just before cooking. The timing here is critical; salt too early and you’ll extract moisture, creating a dense, sausage-like texture.
  3. Heat a cast-iron pan until it’s properly smoking – we’re talking 230°C if you have an infrared thermometer. No oil. Slap those patties down and DO NOT MOVE THEM for exactly 2 minutes 45 seconds. You want a proper Maillard reaction happening here. Flip once – only once – and cook for another 2 minutes 15 seconds for the perfect BK-style medium.
  4. (Optional for a smoky hint, use with extreme caution and ventilation): In the last 30 seconds of cooking, add three drops (no more) of diluted liquid smoke to the pan, away from the patties. It’ll instantly vaporise, coating your burgers in that flame-grilled essence.

The Assembly: Precision In Every Layer

Former BK employees have confirmed that there’s a specific assembly order that’s drilled into staff during training, and it genuinely affects the eating experience. It’s food engineering at its most approachable.

The Whopper Assembly

Once all your components are ready, it’s time to build your masterpiece. Or, you know, four masterpieces…

Ingredients:

  • 4 sesame seed buns (Warburtons Seeded Burger Buns are closest to BK’s)
  • Whopper Sauce (from your recipe)
  • 1 iceberg lettuce, shredded to 3mm width
  • 2 beef tomatoes, sliced exactly 7mm thick
  • 1 large white onion, sliced 3mm thick
  • 12 dill pickle slices (specifically the crinkle-cut variety)
  • Your flame-grilled beef patties
  • Cheese Slice (if adding, American cheese is standard)

The Method:

  1. Lightly toast both halves of your sesame seed bun (toasted for exactly 17 seconds in a dry pan).
  2. From bottom to top: Spread your homemade Whopper Sauce evenly to the edges of the bottom bun.
  3. Layer the fresh ingredients: lettuce (placed so it creates a moisture barrier), then two tomato slices (overlapping), then the white onion (separated into rings, about 4-5 pieces). The logic? The lettuce prevents the bottom bun from going soggy.
  4. Place the hot, flame-grilled beef patty on top of the vegetables. If adding cheese, apply it in the last 30 seconds of cooking your patty on the pan.
  5. Arrange exactly three dill pickle slices, evenly spaced, on top of the patty.
  6. Finally, place the top bun, with an additional spread of your Whopper sauce if desired, to complete the build. The pickles and onions on top mean their flavours hit your palate first, followed by the meat and sauce combination.

Read: Top restaurant chefs reveal how to cook the perfect burger at home 

The Bacon: The Unsung Hero

Interestingly, Burger King’s bacon has its own cult following, with a recent Market Watch story reporting that the fast food chain was ‘forever banking on bacon’. It’s typically pre-cooked in factories before being finished in stores. This partial pre-cooking and quick finish creates that perfect texture – crispy edges but still pliable enough to bite through without pulling the whole rasher out of your burger.

Crispy Bacon

To replicate this, you can partially cook thick-cut streaky bacon and then finish it just before serving.

Ingredients:

  • Thick-cut smoked streaky bacon

Instructions:

  1. Bake your bacon at 180°C for 12 minutes to partially pre-cook it.
  2. Just before serving, finish in a hot pan for 45 seconds per side to get those crispy edges.

The Temperature Game

One detail that makes an enormous difference – and this comes straight from BK’s own training manuals that occasionally surface on eBay – is serving temperature.

The meat should be 68.3°C (155°F) internal temperature when served, with an ideal target of 71°C (160°F), ensuring it’s piping hot but still juicy. The cheese should be just melted (not bubbling), tomatoes must be room temperature (never refrigerated), and the buns should be warm but not hot.

Getting these temperatures right is what separates a good homemade burger from one that genuinely tastes like it came from Burger King. It’s the difference between a random assembly of ingredients and a carefully engineered fast-food experience.

The Bottom Line

Can you perfectly replicate a Burger King burger at home? With these techniques, you can get remarkably close. Some might argue it’s actually better – you’re using fresher ingredients and can control the quality of your beef.

But there’s something about the industrial precision, the specific equipment, and yes, even the fluorescent lighting of a proper Burger King that adds an indefinable quality to the experience. Still, for those times when you’re craving a Whopper but can’t face the queue at your local BK, this recipe will hit the spot.

Now, we’re off to Cardiff for what might well be a significantly better burger. Care to join us?

The Overlooked E-Commerce Operations That Keep Online Shops Alive

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The Overlooked E-Commerce Operations That Keep Online Shops Alive

Ideal for e-commerce entrepreneurs who’ve mastered the art of selling but haven’t quite nailed the science of scaling…

Picture this: You’ve just watched your hundredth order notification ping through on Shopify, your Instagram follower count has hit that sweet five-figure mark, and your products are practically flying off the (virtual) shelves. Brilliant, right? Well, yes and no. Because here’s the thing that nobody tells you at those insufferable ‘manifest your millionaire mindset’ webinars: success in e-commerce isn’t just about shifting stock. It’s about what happens after the ‘buy now’ button gets clicked.

The uncomfortable truth? Most online businesses that fail don’t collapse because of poor products or lacklustre marketing. They crumble under the weight of their own operational inadequacies. According to recent data, a staggering 64% of e-commerce businesses created in 2020 have already failed, and it’s rarely because they couldn’t make sales. The back-end bits that customers never see but absolutely feel when things go pear-shaped are what separate the survivors from the statistics.

With UK e-commerce sales reaching £177.11 billion in 2024, there’s clearly money to be made. But as the market matures and competition intensifies, it’s the businesses with rock-solid operations that will claim their share. So, let’s pull back the curtain on the overlooked yet utterly essential operations that transform amateur hour into actual business prowess. Consider this your masterclass in the mundane magnificence that makes money.

The Art Of Inventory Forecasting (Or, How Not To End Up On Storage Wars)

Remember when you thought having ‘loads of stock’ was the goal? Adorable. In reality, inventory management is a delicate dance between having enough to meet demand and not turning your spare room into a warehouse that would make Amazon weep.

Smart operators use historical sales data, seasonal trends, and even weather patterns to predict what they’ll need and when. They understand that capital tied up in unsold stock is capital that can’t be invested in growth. Tools like just-in-time ordering and ABC analysis aren’t just corporate jargon; they’re the difference between healthy cash flow and hiring a storage unit in Slough.

Read: How To Budget Strategically When You Have An Irregular Income

Customer Service That Doesn’t Make People Want To Scream Into The Void

We’ve all been there: trapped in a customer service hellscape, desperately typing ‘HUMAN’ into a chatbot that seems to have the conversational skills of a particularly dim houseplant. Don’t be that business.

Exceptional customer service in 2025 means being genuinely accessible across multiple channels, responding within hours (not days), and actually solving problems rather than passing customers around like a particularly unwanted parcel at Christmas. Set up proper ticketing systems, create comprehensive FAQs that actually answer frequently asked questions (revolutionary, we know), and for the love of all that’s holy, make your returns policy clearer than a British summer’s day is rare.

The Shipping & Logistics Symphony

Here’s where things get properly interesting. Your customer experience doesn’t end at checkout; if anything, that’s where the real relationship begins. The journey from ‘order confirmed’ to ‘package delivered’ is fraught with potential pitfalls that can turn brand advocates into one-star reviewers faster than you can say ‘where’s my bloody parcel?’

This is where investing in advanced parcel management solutions becomes less ‘nice to have’ and more ‘absolutely essential for survival’. We’re talking real-time tracking that actually works, proactive delivery updates that pre-empt customer anxiety, and the ability to handle returns without wanting to throw your laptop out the window. The businesses that nail this bit? They’re the ones with customers who come back, again and again.

Financial Operations That Would Make Your Accountant Weep (With Joy)

If your idea of bookkeeping is a shoebox full of receipts and a vague sense of dread come January, we need to talk. Proper financial operations mean understanding your unit economics, knowing your customer acquisition costs, and being able to spot trends before they become problems.

Implement proper accounting software from day one. Separate your business and personal finances like your life depends on it (because, legally speaking, it might). And please, please understand the difference between revenue and profit. The number of businesses that go under whilst technically ‘making money’ would astound you.

Read: 8 Effective Ways To Increase Your eCommerce Sales

The Data Game: Analytics That Actually Mean Something

Vanity metrics are the business equivalent of empty calories – they might make you feel good temporarily, but they’re not actually nourishing your growth. Sure, it’s lovely that 10,000 people visited your site last month, but if only three of them bought something, you’ve got bigger problems than your bounce rate.

Focus on metrics that matter: conversion rates, average order value, customer lifetime value, and cart abandonment rates. Use heat mapping to understand how people actually navigate your site. Set up proper attribution modelling so you know which marketing channels are actually driving sales, not just traffic. Knowledge isn’t just power; it’s profit. As ONS data shows, e-commerce now accounts for 30% of all UK retail sales – but only the businesses that understand their data will capture their fair share.

Supply Chain Relationships That Don’t Make You Want to Cry

Your suppliers can make or break your business, yet many entrepreneurs treat them like necessary evils rather than strategic partners. Building strong supplier relationships means better prices, priority during stock shortages, and flexibility when you need it most.

This means paying on time (radical concept), communicating clearly about your needs, and not trying to squeeze every last penny out of every transaction. The businesses that survived the great supply chain catastrophes of recent years? They’re the ones whose suppliers actually answered their calls.

Read: Taking Your Online Shop Global: 7 Game-Changing Tips

The Scale-Ready Tech Stack

Starting with a cobbled-together collection of free tools and spreadsheets is fine when you’re shifting five orders a week. But if you’re serious about growth, you need systems that can scale without falling apart like a chocolate teapot. With the UK e-commerce market projected to reach USD 914.19 billion by 2030, the businesses that invest in proper infrastructure now will be the ones positioned to capture that growth.

This means choosing platforms that integrate properly with each other, automating repetitive tasks that drain your time and sanity, and investing in tools that grow with you rather than forcing you to migrate everything when you hit arbitrary limits. Yes, it costs money. No, it’s not optional if you want to be more than a hobby business.

Read: From Wix To Woo: An Honest Look At E-Commerce Platforms

The Bottom Line

The difference between successful e-commerce businesses and the ones that become cautionary tales isn’t usually about having the best products or the cleverest marketing. It’s about building robust operations that can handle growth without imploding.

These seven areas might not be glamorous. They won’t get you likes on LinkedIn or make for particularly exciting dinner party conversation. But they’re the foundation upon which sustainable, profitable businesses are built.

Master these operational essentials, and you’ll find that scaling becomes less about frantically putting out fires and more about strategic growth. Of course, once you’ve got your operations sorted, you might want to focus on industry-specific SEO strategies to ensure all that operational excellence actually gets found by the right customers. Because what’s the point of having a brilliantly run business if nobody knows you exist?

And isn’t that why you started this whole enterprise in the first place? To build something real, something lasting, something that doesn’t require you to personally handle every single aspect whilst slowly losing your mind?

Now, if you’ll excuse us, we need to go update our inventory spreadsheet. Again.

The Best Jazz Clubs In London: The IDEAL 7

Editorial Team
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The Best Jazz Clubs In London: The IDEAL 7

London’s jazz scene has been swinging since the 1950s, evolving from smoky basement clubs into one of the world’s most vibrant jazz ecosystems. From legendary venues that hosted Miles Davis and Ella Fitzgerald to cutting-edge spots championing tomorrow’s Mercury Prize nominees, the capital’s jazz clubs offer something for every taste. 

Indeed, the city is dotted with jazz clubs, with many offering equally as memorable meals as music. Whether you fancy prohibition-era speakeasies, candlelit dinners with live quartets, or experimental late-night sessions, London’s jazz venues deliver the goods seven nights a week. Here are the 7 essential spots every jazz lover needs on their radar.

Belle Livingstone’s 58th Street Country Club, Peckham

Ideal for time-travelling flappers seeking prohibition-era thrills…

Finding the entrance to 58th Street Jazz through a nondescript black door in Peckham’s Bussey Alley is just the beginning of your journey back to 1930s Manhattan. This isn’t just a jazz club – it’s a full-throttle immersive theatrical dining experience by The Lost Estate, recreating Belle Livingstone’s legendary speakeasy. Expect The 58th Street Stompers to belt out authentic Harlem swing as you indulge in a six-course Park Avenue feast – think shrimp and crayfish cocktail, sirloin of beef with lobster Bordelaise and New York cheesecake.

The attention to detail borders on obsessive. Over 120 artists and creatives have conjured jaw-dropping Art Deco interiors that’ll make you check your phone hasn’t turned into a pocket watch. No photography allowed – this place takes immersion seriously. From £69.50 secures a spot at the infamous Soda Fountain bar, where generous pours of Manhattans and Clover Clubs flow freely. Rail dining (from £109.50) includes Executive Chef Ashley Clarke’s decadent menu – think New York Strip with Lobster Bordelaise and other Jazz Age indulgences.

The music? Outstanding. ‘King’ Rory Simmons leads the house band through three sets nightly, with powerhouse vocalists Ayesha Pike and Rikette Genesis channeling Cotton Club soul. Shows run Tuesday to Sunday (7pm), with weekend matinees available. For a shorter, late-night experience, the After Hours sessions on Friday and Saturday (10:30pm) start from just £35. Lovely stuff.

Website: 58thstreet.co.uk

Address: 133 Rye Lane, London SE15 3SN 

Ronnie Scott’s, Soho

Ideal for jazz pilgrims paying homage at the altar of British bebop…

If you’re in the mood for experiencing where Jimi Hendrix played his final public performance and where Miles Davis held court, then Ronnie Scott’s remains London’s most sacred jazz ground. Since 1959, this Frith Street basement has defined what a great jazz club should be – intimate, sophisticated, and slightly louche in all the right ways.

© Donnchadh H

The main club pairs world-class performances with British-tinged fine dining (think Dover sole with brown shrimp butter), while the upstairs bar channels 1950s speakeasy vibes with cocktails that’d make Dean Martin weep with joy. Two shows nightly followed by late sessions mean the music flows until the early hours, hosting everyone from Grammy winners to tomorrow’s stars getting their big break.

Yes, it’s expensive and yes, you’ll need to book well in advance (especially weekends), but watching a living legend perform mere metres away while tucking into their famous sticky toffee pudding? That’s what we call a perfect Friday night. The walls practically vibrate with six decades of musical history, from Ella Fitzgerald’s live recordings to Jamie Cullum’s residencies. Put simply, if you only visit one jazz club in London, make it this one.

Website: ronniescotts.co.uk

Address: 47 Frith Street, Soho, W1D 4HT 

606 Club, Chelsea

Ideal for candlelit dinners with Britain’s finest jazz musicians…

Just us, then? We thought everyone knew about this Chelsea basement where only British-based musicians have graced the stage since 1976. Tucked away on Lots Road, the 606 operates on an alcohol only with meals policy due to licensing restrictions. 

The intimate basement fits 175 souls clustered around candlelit tables, creating an atmosphere somewhere between your coolest uncle’s dinner party and a clandestine music society.  This is where characters hang out, as they say.

Image via 606 Club

The house rule of British musicians only means you’re guaranteed to discover talent you won’t hear anywhere else – from established legends to emerging stars that Jamie Cullum (a regular) calls the future of UK jazz.

Their European menu hits all the right notes (the pan-fried sea bass with samphire is a particular triumph), while Sunday lunch jazz sessions from 12:30pm offer a gloriously languid way to end the weekend. Music runs seven nights a week, mixing jazz with Latin, soul, and blues, all at surprisingly reasonable prices for Chelsea. The late license on weekends means the party continues until 1am. Advance booking essential, mind – this secret’s not so secret anymore.

Website: 606club.co.uk

Address: 90 Lots Road, Chelsea, SW10 0QD

Pizza Express Jazz Club, Soho

Ideal for jazz newcomers who like their bebop with a side of dough balls…

Trust Pizza Express to prove that great jazz and great pizza aren’t mutually exclusive. Since 1969, this basement venue on Dean Street has been where future stars cut their teeth – Amy Winehouse, Jamie Cullum, and Norah Jones all played here before hitting the big time. The intimate space seats just 100, meaning you’re practically breathing the same air as the performers.

pizza express live london
pizza express live london

The genius is in the simplicity: order your Romana pizza and settle in for world-class jazz just metres away. The acoustics are surprisingly brilliant for a basement restaurant, and the state-of-the-art sound system means every note rings crystal clear. Shows run seven nights a week, mixing established names with tomorrow’s headliners, and at around £20-35 a ticket, it’s properly accessible jazz for everyone.

The venue’s won numerous awards including Time Out’s Best Music Venue, and it’s easy to see why. Where else can you tuck into a Padana while watching the next Gregory Porter? Sunday afternoon sessions are particularly civilised, while weeknight shows offer a perfect antidote to Soho’s usual mayhem. Book ahead – word’s out about this one.

Website: pizzaexpresslive.com

Address: 10 Dean Street, Soho, W1D 3RW

Jazz Cafe, Camden

Ideal for those who like their jazz with a side of dancing…

Camden’s Jazz Cafe has been pushing boundaries since 1990, hosting everyone from De La Soul to Amy Winehouse in its two-level space. This isn’t your grandfather’s jazz club – expect soul, funk, hip-hop, and world music alongside more traditional offerings, with a dancefloor that actually gets used.

The ground floor standing area creates a great gig energy, while the mezzanine restaurant offers a more refined experience with views over the stage. Weekend club nights keep the party going until 3am, transforming from live venue to dancefloor as DJs take over. The programming is fearless – one night might be Afrobeat legends, the next cutting-edge electronic jazz fusion.

Food-wise, the restaurant serves up solid modern British fare from 7pm, though most punters are here for the music rather than the menu. The venue’s 440 capacity hits the sweet spot between intimate and atmospheric, and the sound system is phenomenal. Their annual Jazz Cafe Festival brings together the best of their eclectic booking policy. Tickets from £15-40 depending on the act.

Website: thejazzcafelondon.com

Address: 5 Parkway, Camden, NW1 7PG 

Read: The best restaurants in Camden

Vortex Jazz Club, Dalston

Ideal for adventurous listeners seeking tomorrow’s Mercury Prize nominees…

Dalston’s Vortex doesn’t look like much from Gillett Square – which is precisely the point. This not-for-profit, volunteer-led venue has quietly earned a reputation as one of the best jazz clubs in the world by championing the experimental, the innovative, and the utterly bonkers. If your idea of jazz stopped evolving with Kind of Blue, prepare to have your mind thoroughly blown.

Nearly 400 performances yearly showcase everything from free jazz to electronic experimentation. The Sunday evening jam sessions see London’s finest musicians trading licks with enthusiastic amateurs, while their monthly Queer Jazz series celebrates LGBTQI+ artists pushing boundaries.

© Fin Fahey

This is where Portico Quartet and Polar Bear cut their teeth before going stratospheric – in fact, Portico’s Vortex Records debut earned a Mercury Prize nomination. At £5-15 a ticket, it’s affordable too. The mixed seated/standing setup keeps things loose and energetic, perfect for when you want your jazz with a side of creative chaos rather than dinner-jacket formality.

Address: thevortexjazz.co.uk

Website: 1 Gillett Square, Dalston, N16 8AZ

Dalston Jazz Bar, Dalston

Ideal for gamblers who like their oysters with a side of financial roulette…

Here’s one that’ll have you reaching for your calculator. This ramshackle Bradbury Street spot went viral on TikTok for its pay what you think it’s worth pricing model, and frankly, we’re still not sure if it’s genius or madness. Thursday through Saturday, they serve continuous fresh seafood dishes from Billingsgate Market while the house band plays just feet from your table.

The drill goes like this: arrive at 6pm, feast on fresh oysters, tiger prawns the size of lobsters, and mussels swimming in white wine while jazz fills the air. At 10pm sharp, the tables disappear and owner Robert Beckford transforms the space into a old-school nightclub spinning protest songs and vintage soul until 3am. When the bill arrives, you decide what the experience was worth (minimum £20 to cover the musicians).

Fair warning: this is seafood only (vegetarians need advance notice), the atmosphere is authentically chaotic, and you might find yourself dancing next to everyone from Dalston hipsters to jazz-loving pensioners. But watching diners nervously calculate what their feast should cost while fresh seafood dishes keep arriving? Pure theatre. Book ahead – word’s properly out now.

Website: dalstonjazzbar.com

Address: 4 Bradbury Street, N16 8JN

Ideal Tip:  For those seeking even more jazz adventures, keep an eye on Hidden Jazz Club’s nomadic pop-ups transforming chapels and theatres into one-night jazz wonderlands, or catch Saturday jazz brunch at 108 Brasserie (£75 including champagne and unlimited desserts). London’s jazz scene in 2025? Never been better.

10 Of The Best First Cars For New Drivers In 2025

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10 Of The Best First Cars For New Drivers In 2025

Embarking on the journey of driving can be an exhilarating experience for new drivers, and choosing the right first car is a crucial step in that adventure. In 2025, the market offers a variety of vehicles that blend safety, reliability, and affordability, making them ideal candidates for those who have recently earned their driving stripes. With that in mind, here are 10 of the best first cars for new drivers this year.

The Best Buys For New UK Drivers This Year

Vauxhall Corsa 

The Vauxhall Corsa stands as an iconic British favourite, particularly for those freshly donning their driver’s gloves. Priding itself on its compact size and nimbleness, the Corsa offers ease of navigation through the tight lanes and urban sprawls of Blighty’s towns. 

Its infotainment system comes loaded with modern-day essentials, ensuring connectivity for the socially savvy generation. Coupled with a reputation for solid build quality, new drivers will find both confidence and comfort behind the wheel of this reliable motorcar.

Prices start from around £19’500.

Toyota Corolla 

A name synonymous with dependability, the Toyota Corolla continues to uphold its long-standing reputation for reliability and durability. With a starting price of approximately £25’000 for the 2024 model, it remains an affordable option for many. Known for its excellent fuel economy and low-cost maintenance, the Corolla is a wise investment for any new driver looking to balance initial costs with long-term value.

The Corolla also offers a range of headlight options, including the latest LED technology, which provides clear, long-lasting illumination for safer driving from dusk till dawn.

Prices start from around £30’000.

Photo by Bestami Sarıkaya on Unsplash

Honda Civic 

The Honda Civic is another stalwart in the realm of first cars for new drivers. It’s included in the IIHS-HLDI’s 2023 Top Safety Picks for small cars, which is a testament to its commitment to keeping drivers safe on the road. The Civic’s blend of safety features, reliability, and fuel efficiency make it a smart choice for those prioritizing a secure and economical driving experience. 

The Civic also caters to those new drivers who value safety during nighttime driving, offering headlight options such as LEDs, which are not only energy-efficient but also provide excellent road illumination, ensuring a safer driving experience in low-light conditions.

Prices start from around £25’000.

Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid 

For the environmentally conscious new driver, the Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid is a standout. It offers the benefits of hybrid technology, such as reduced emissions and improved fuel economy, without sacrificing style or driving pleasure. The Ioniq Hybrid is a testament to Hyundai’s efforts to combine eco-friendliness with the practical needs of everyday driving.

Prices start from around £22’000.

Kia Picanto 

For the budget-conscious beginner, the Kia Picanto asserts itself as a paragon of value. With its low running costs and generous 7-year warranty – a clear testament to Kia’s trust in its craftsmanship – the Picanto eases financial worries for the fledgeling driver.

The affordability extends beyond the initial purchase, as Kia parts are readily available and reasonably priced, ensuring that maintenance won’t break the bank. And whilst it may be modest in size, it packs a punch with an unexpectedly spacious interior and brisk performance for city jaunts and countryside romps alike.

Prices start from around £13’500.

Mazda MX-5 Miata 

For those who dream of a sportier ride, the 2023 Mazda MX-5 Miata is an exciting option. While it may not be the conventional choice for a first car, it offers an engaging driving experience with its nimble handling and responsive controls. It’s a car that makes every journey feel like a driving adventure, perfect for the spirited new driver.

Prices start from around £19’000.

Ford Focus 

The Ford Focus has long been celebrated for its easy steering, control, and ultimate comfort, making it a popular choice among new drivers. Its reputation for reliability is well-founded, and with excellent fuel economy, it’s not only kind to your wallet at purchase but also at the petrol station. The Focus provides a smooth ride, which is perfect for those still getting accustomed to the nuances of handling a car on busy roads.

For first-time drivers who prioritise visibility during their night drives, the Ford Focus offers a choice between xenon and LED headlights. While xenon headlights are known for their bright, white light, LED headlights are durable and energy-efficient, making them a practical option for those who plan to log many hours on the road after dark.

Prices start from around £23’000.

Peugeot 208 

With a dash of Gallic flair, the Peugeot 208 captures the essence of stylish motoring without compromising the substance. The chic interior exudes a ‘beyond-its-class’ feel, while the exterior design conveys a modern aesthetic. Not merely a pretty face, the 208 is laden with advanced driver assistance systems that new drivers will appreciate, offering a blend of sophistication and safety in one appealing package.

Prices start from around £20’000.

Skoda Fabia 

Another strong contender in the compact category, the Skoda Fabia, presents unmatched practicality and a mature drive experience. It boasts a capacious boot for the class, making it fitting for university students requiring ample space for their gear. With an array of nifty safety features, it’s designed to protect and reassure, paving the way for a secure driving initiation.

Prices start from around £15’700.

Seat Ibiza 

Lastly, the Seat Ibiza strides forth as a sumptuous blend of sporty spirit and everyday usability. This Spanish marque provides a dynamic driving experience, which is seldom found at such an accessible price point. Despite its zeal, it doesn’t skip on practicality nor efficiency, presenting a balanced choice for those seeking a bit more verve from their inaugural motor.

Prices start from around £19000.

Photo by Wassim Chouak on Unsplash

The Bottom Line

This assortment crosses borders and tastes, all the while prioritising what matters most to the novice driver: safety, dependability, and financial prudence. Whether you’re in favour of traditional functionality or have a penchant for pizzazz, these ten cars provide a splendid starting line for your automobile adventures.

When considering these cars, it’s important to focus on the aspects that matter most to new drivers: safety features, reliability, and cost-effectiveness. Cars with collision avoidance, backup cameras, and automatic braking should be highlighted, as they can significantly enhance the safety of inexperienced drivers. Additionally, good gas mileage and a reasonable sale price are key factors that make these vehicles appealing choices for those just starting out on the road.

*All prices are for 2024 or 2025 models, new, as estimated by Auto Trader.*

How To Transform Your Bedroom Into A More Tranquil Space

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How To Transform Your Bedroom Into A More Tranquil Space

Ideal for creating your very own domestic den of zen…

While you spend the majority of your bedroom hours dreaming with your eyes closed, it doesn’t change the fact that those familiar four walls are the last thing you see before drifting off to sleep. Consequently, they are also the first things you see when you wake up.

As such, the aesthetic and ambience of your bedroom can play a major role in both the quality of your rest and of your mood during the day. What’s more, in these topsy turvy, turbulent times, it’s vital you have somewhere personal to find peace, solace and comfort. With that in mind, here are some smart and simple ways to transform your bedroom into a tranquil space, IDEAL for creating your very own domestic den of zen.

The Ideal Sleep Environment

A zen and meditative space full of dream catchers, the soundtrack of wind chimes and the aroma of incense is all well and good. But if you’re not using your bedroom for its primary purpose (sleep, we mean sleep) and to its full potential, well, that tranquillity just ain’t gonna come.

A well thought through bedroom design is directly linked to the quality of your sleep, and creating a good sleep environment should be one of your main focal points when aiming for that ‘den of zen’ feel.

Ensuring a quality night’s rest boils down to four key aspects – noise, lighting, temperature, and bedding. Get those four elements right and good sleep will come. 

Read: 8 ways to feng shui your bedroom

This Time It’s Personal

It’s your bedroom. Your private, personal space where you’re allowed to dance like no one’s watching, where you laugh and cry, where you snore and drool on your pillow…

As such, don’t be afraid to personalise your bedroom to suit your favoured aesthetic and ambience, and ditch the identikit, IKEA styles in the process. 

Use your bedroom to celebrate your interests and personality. Are you a plant person? Add some greenery. Perhaps you’re a minimalist and would like a no-nonsense décor? Strip it all back and simply sleep in a stark white room with no furnishings whatsoever! If you’re musical, invest in an immersive sound system or perhaps a retro record player set up…

Your bedroom is your vehicle for self-expression; put both hands on the wheel and steer confidently.

Colour Curious

Colour psychologists believe that the hues in which we paint our walls are both reflective of, and dictatorial of, our mood. In fact, there is a whole discipline within colour psychology termed ‘room colour psychology’ which posits that shades which come under the ‘cool colour’ umbrella are ideally suited to the bedroom. 

These include restful greens, adept at calming a stressed mind and boosting fertility (ahem), soothing blues and restful lavender, in particular. Conversely, since you’re seeking a tranquil space, avoid bold colours, particularly red which can invoke passion (good for the bedroom, perhaps) but also anger (hmmm, not so much). 

Avoid Extremities Of Artificial Light

On top of the colour scheme you choose, let the lighting fixtures further illuminate the beauty of your room, gently and softly rather than in a dramatic, overbearing way. Let the natural light flow to its maximum potential by avoiding placing furniture, stacks of books or any other items in front of your windows. Mirrors placed tactically allow natural light to bounce around the room, too.

In the evening, task lighting, layered and dim, is ideal for bringing that sense of calm to your private space. Should you need task lighting when getting ready for a day in the office or a night out on the town, for instance, then a make-up mirror with lights is perfect, and won’t throw off the overall balance of the room when not in use.

Maximise Storage

Tidy bedroom, tidy mind, as the saying goes, and it’s one so apt that we might as well move on to the next point, don’t you think?

That would be remiss of us. Especially handy for those struggling to make their small bedroom space work, maximising storage space is essential in order to prevent clutter becoming a mental distraction as well as a physical one.

There are plenty of ways you can keep your surplus of clothes, extra linen, and other trinkets organised and safely kept. Aside from your standard closet, use your headboard as storage by adding drawers and carving out blank shelves. For the ultimate space-saving solution, many Brits have been looking at ComfoRest single ottoman beds in recent years, which cleverly conceal generous storage compartments beneath the mattress – perfect for stashing away seasonal clothing or spare bedding without sacrificing floor space.

If ottoman beds aren’t your style, get some storage boxes made-to-measure and able to fit under your bed, or better yet, install pull-out drawers underneath your bed. Pick a bedside table with storage allocation to place things you want to be in reach like glasses or books. And finally, look into wardrobes specifically designed to possess extra storage space.

Natural Elements and Textures

Nothing says ‘zen’ quite like bringing the outdoors in, and incorporating natural materials into your bedroom design can work wonders for creating that sought-after sense of serenity. Think beyond just aesthetics here – natural textures engage our senses in a way that synthetic materials simply can’t match.

Start with your bedding choices. Opt for organic cotton sheets, linen duvet covers, or bamboo pillowcases that breathe with you through the night. These materials don’t just feel luxurious against your skin; they regulate temperature naturally and age beautifully over time. Layer in a chunky knit throw made from wool or alpaca for those cooler evenings when you need an extra cocoon of comfort.

For your floors, if you’re blessed with hardwood, let it shine! Add warmth underfoot with a jute or sisal rug- these natural fibres ground the space (literally) and add that earthy texture that screams tranquillity. If carpet is your reality, no worries; a strategically placed natural fibre rug can still work its magic.

Don’t overlook your window treatments either. Swap out those synthetic curtains for linen or cotton panels that filter light beautifully while maintaining privacy. On sunny mornings, watch how natural fabrics create a soft, diffused glow that no blackout curtain could ever replicate.

Finally, incorporate some raw wood elements – perhaps a live-edge bedside table or a piece of driftwood as wall art. These organic shapes and textures remind us of nature’s imperfect perfection and help create that connection to the natural world that’s essential for true tranquillity.

Power Corner

Giving corners of the home the attention they deserve has been one of 2025’s key home and interior trends, and we’ve been all over the concept of the ‘power corner’ for some time; an area of a room dedicated to decision making, contemplating, planning, or perhaps kicking back, device-and-distraction free. Place a comfortable chair or cushion in a position close to your bedroom window or better yet, install a window seat, to ensure you’re basking in natural light. Add a footstool and perhaps even place a blanket and some pillows within reach. 

Use your power corner for when you most need your alone time. Look out world; big decisions will be made here!

Don’t Forget The Ceiling

Ceilings are the last thing most people take notice of when they are inside a room. That reason alone makes it all the more important when it comes to designing your bedroom. Though others may not cast their eyes upwards when they enter your bedroom, you certainly do. After all, and at the end of the day, we’ve all spent a few hours staring into our ceiling looking for answers when we can’t sleep.

Though they never come, it doesn’t hurt to make sure your ceiling is looking the part. Give it a lick of paint to avoid blemishes or cracks which are ripe for fixating on when you can’t sleep. Ideally, the colour will complement a shade pulled from the walls; perhaps it’s time to deploy that lavender we mentioned earlier?

Make It Your Healing Space

Last but not the least, it is important to keep in mind that your bedroom is your own personal retreat. As much as is possible, keep your room free from any distractions like television, gadgets, or anything that would remind you of your workload and stress.

Make your bedroom a place for healing. Do you share it with someone? Then consider what each would like to do in the room as you seek it for moments of comfort and rest. And if you need further advice on making your bedroom a true den of zen, then check out these tips on how to create a home meditation space. And breathe…

7 Greenhouse Growing Tips For Summer

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7 Greenhouse Growing Tips For Summer

Summer is well and truly upon us, the birds are singing, plants are peeping their heads above the parapet and suddenly everything is looking rather rosy. Or rather, everything is looking rather dry, with 2025 looking to break all manner of records for heatwaves and drought.

That shouldn’t put you off your gardening, however. In fact, it should serve as even greater encouragement to get out there and nurture your plants.

With gardening now recognised as a therapeutic pastime, we’ll take any excuse we can to get out there and frolic amongst the long (and admittedly yellow) grass and flowers. But save a thought for the city dwellers, with not a square metre of garden to share between a street. Or perhaps not….

In fact, a trend in recent years is for those without garden space to erect greenhouses on apartment rooftops and experience the soothing effects of tending to plants, herbs and crops first hand. So, whether you’re living in Birmingham or Bledlow, there really is no excuse not to get your fingers green and your knees muddy/dusty. With that in mind, here are 7 greenhouse growing tips for summer.

Know Your Planting Seasons

Successful greenhouse growing isn’t simply a case of chucking some seeds into a pot, turning your back and hoping for the best. Nope, it actually requires careful planning and preparation, and most importantly, a very particular attention to the seasons.

In early summer, it’s time for fast-growing tender plants like courgettes, french beans and squashes, and in unheated greenhouses ready grown pepper and tomato plants. It’s also the ideal time to sow your basil seeds. In later summer, you can sow lettuce and any salad leaves that fall under the ‘peppery’ umbrella (rocket and watercress, we’re looking at you), as well as baby carrots and new potatoes. 

Also fair game for planting (if you can find any space!) in your greenhouse are herbs like coriander, chervil, dill and parsley. It’s a good time for fennel, spring onions and Chinese cabbage, too.

Basically, timing is everything; the RHS have published this useful chart which gives extensive information on month-by-month best practice for planting.

Summer Lovin’

The weather has suddenly heated up considerably, and unseasonably warm looks set to become the new normal. The way you approach your greenhouse and its watering regime should be starkly different from winter to summer, adaptable and ever evolving, too.

If you’re going to take your growing regime seriously, then you might want to consider a smart automatic watering system, which are able to water automatically with minimal supervision. Solar powered, they also represent an environmentally friendly purchase, avoiding excessive energy use and overwatering.

During these hot summer months, when it gets stuffy and humid within, you’ll need to check water levels and carry out watering daily. Uneven watering – and that can mean overdoing it as much as neglecting it – can cause problems like blossom and rot.

To mitigate these issues, make sure you ventilate your greenhouse on particularly warm days and be aware that the manufacture of some shading will be necessary. Summer sees a rise in pests which, when unchecked, will ravage your crops; hang sticky traps to catch them.

Read: What vegetables, fruits and herbs thrive in raised garden beds?

Use Technology

Though the dream is to be at one with nature, listening to the subliminal messages your plants are sending and massaging their leaves until they flourish, the reality is somewhat different. As such, there’s no shame in relying on a little technology to make things run more smoothly.

By implementing features like remote control windows, widespread sprinklers or those smart watering systems we mentioned earlier, greenhouse owners can optimise the conditions of their goods within. Be wary of heated greenhouses, however. Although they allow for maximum year round yield, they are rarely cost effective. And at a time of climate chaos and rising energy bills, we should be trying to minimise our impact, not increase it.

Keep It Clean

If we’ve learnt anything from Breaking Bad, it’s that only with a meticulous attention to tidiness will production realise its full potential. Maintaining a clean and tidy greenhouse, then, is vital for the health and success of your plants. Tools and pots should always be disinfected to prevent diseases and harmful pests from invading, and excess condensation should be cleared from the glass to minimise the risk of mould growth.

You should keep a kit handy that includes natural and organic insecticidal soaps (an increasingly popular method of controlling certain insects in an eco-friendly manner), a bleach solution and disinfectant spray along with clean microfibre cloths so that you don’t have to waste time or effort collecting supplies when you need them. Those extra few seconds saved could be the difference between flourish or fail. Be sure the bleach solution is properly diluted; in most cases, one part bleach to nine parts water is a good ratio for safely disinfecting.

Scale Up Your Thinking

While most hobby greenhouse enthusiasts work with smaller structures, there’s much to learn from commercial-scale operations. Companies like the MSB Group, who specialise in larger steel agricultural buildings, have shown how proper structural design can dramatically improve growing conditions. Take inspiration from these larger projects by incorporating professional features into your home setup – consider installing proper guttering for rainwater collection, ensuring adequate floor drainage, and creating designated workspace areas. Even in a small greenhouse, thinking big about organisation and efficiency can transform your growing experience.

Master the Art of Succession Planting

To maximise your greenhouse’s productivity throughout summer, embrace succession planting. Rather than sowing all your seeds at once, stagger plantings every 2-3 weeks. This ensures a continuous harvest rather than a glut followed by nothing. Start with quick-maturing crops like salad leaves and radishes, planting new rows as you harvest mature ones. Keep a simple planting calendar on your greenhouse wall to track what was planted when, and you’ll enjoy fresh produce from early summer right through to autumn.

Create Microclimates Within Your Greenhouse

Your greenhouse doesn’t have to be a one-temperature-fits-all environment. By using shelving at different heights, creating shaded areas with cloth or netting, and positioning water barrels to absorb and release heat, you can create distinct growing zones. Place heat-loving plants like tomatoes and peppers on upper shelves where temperatures are warmer, while keeping cooler-climate crops like lettuce lower down. This microclimate approach allows you to grow a wider variety of plants successfully in the same space.

And with that, we wish you all the best success with your greenhouse grow-your-own endeavours!

Italy’s Best-Kept Property Secrets: Where Savvy Brits Are Buying In Bel Paese In 2025

Editorial Team
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Italy’s Best-Kept Property Secrets: Where Savvy Brits Are Buying In Bel Paese In 2025

While the British love affair with Italian property typically begins and ends with a restored farmhouse in Tuscany or a pied-à-terre in Rome, savvy buyers are discovering Italy’s best-kept secrets. From the heel of the boot to the Alpine foothills, these underrated destinations offer everything the famous regions do – spectacular food, vibrant culture, and that indefinable Italian magic – but with price tags that won’t require remortgaging your Surrey semi.

Abruzzo: The Wild Side Of Italy

Average property price: €124,000-€248,000
Nearest airports: Pescara (in the region), Rome Fiumicino (2.5 hours)
IDEAL for: Nature lovers who like their wine robust and their mountains dramatic

Imagine Tuscany after a few shots of grappa – wilder, more rugged, and refreshingly unpretentious. That’s Abruzzo. Dubbed ‘Europe’s greenest region’, this is where Romans escape when they want proper mountains, proper beaches, and properly enormous portions of pasta.

The medieval town of Santo Stefano di Sessanio looks like a film set but without the tour buses. Here, if you looking at homes for sale in Italy, you can still buy a stone house needing love for around €50,000, or splash out €300,000 on something with valley views that’ll make your Instagram followers weep with envy.

Photo by Rich Martello on Unsplash

The nightlife? Think less flashy clubs, more cosy osterie where the owner’s nonna still makes the pasta by hand. The local Montepulciano d’Abruzzo flows freely, and if you’re lucky, you’ll stumble into a sagra (food festival) where entire villages gather to celebrate everything from lentils to lamb. Speaking of lamb, the arrosticini – skewers of perfectly seasoned meat grilled over charcoal – are so good they should be illegal.

Beach bums aren’t forgotten either. The Costa dei Trabocchi features those extraordinary wooden fishing platforms jutting into the Adriatic, many now converted into atmospheric restaurants where you eat whatever was caught that morning.

Read: Italy’s most spectacular festivals

Friuli-Venezia Giulia: Where Austria Meets The Adriatic

Average property price: €153,000 for a family home
Nearest airports: Trieste (regional airport), Venice Marco Polo (1.5 hours)
IDEAL for: Wine snobs and coffee addicts

Sandwiched between Austria, Slovenia, and the sea, Friuli is Italy’s most intriguing cultural mash-up. This is serious wine country – the whites here are so good, Veneto should be jealous – yet property prices remain surprisingly sensible.

Trieste, the capital, is a coffee lover’s paradise with a café culture that rivals Vienna’s. The nightlife is more jazz club than techno temple, perfect for those who prefer their evenings sophisticated. Want something livelier? The university ensures a healthy population of dive bars and late-night pizzerias.

Trieste
Photo by Alain ROUILLER on Unsplash

The food scene is bonkers good: think Austrian-influenced goulash alongside perfect prosciutto di San Daniele, all washed down with exceptional Friulano wines. In this area you’ll find towns like Cividale del Friuli offer medieval charm without the tourist coaches, while the Carnic Alps provide skiing just an hour from the beach. Properties range from €100,000 apartments in town to €300,000 country houses with mountain views.

Le Marche: Tuscany Without The Tourists 

Average property price: €160,000 for a family home
Nearest airports: Ancona (1.5 hours from region), Rimini (2 hours), Pescara (1 hour 45 mins)
IDEAL for: Sunseekers who want culture and history alongside their tan

Le Marche is what happens when Tuscany and the Adriatic have a love child – all the Renaissance art and rolling hills you could want, plus 180 kilometres of beaches. Yet somehow, it’s remained deliciously under the radar.

The university town of Urbino keeps things lively with students ensuring a decent bar scene year-round. Come summer, the coastal town of Senigallia transforms into party central, with beach clubs that go from lazy aperitivo spots by day to thumping discos by night. Not your scene? Head inland to the wine country, where Verdicchio flows like water and every hilltop town seems to have its own food speciality and cultural signature.

Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@marianluzi?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash">Marian Luzi</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/a-large-building-with-a-dome-on-top-with-urbino-in-the-background-NI0bY-VvMi8?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash">Unsplash</a>
Urbino

The region’s signature snack, olive all’ascolana (meat-stuffed olives, deep-fried to golden perfection), is the ultimate beer food – though locals prefer them with a crisp Rosso Piceno. Property-wise, you can snag a townhouse in a medieval borgo for under €100,000, or go full countryside with a farmhouse and vineyard for around €300,000.

Basilicata: Italy’s Best-Kept Secret

Average property price: €119,000-€238,000
Nearest airports: Bari (2 hours), Naples (2 hours)
IDEAL for: Adventure seekers who like their Italy raw and real

Yes, Matera’s cave hotels are all over Instagram, but venture beyond and you’ll find an Italy that time forgot – in the best possible way. This is where village houses go for London parking space prices, and where the food is so good it doesn’t need to try.

Photo by Luca Micheli on Unsplash

Potenza, the regional capital, might be gritty but its bar scene is surprisingly hip, with craft beer spots and natural wine bars popping up between the brutalist architecture. Down on the coast, Maratea – dubbed the ‘Pearl of the Tyrrhenian’ – offers Caribbean-blue waters without the Caribbean price tags.

The cuisine here is properly hardcore: peperoni cruschi (sweet peppers dried until crispy) are eaten like crisps with drinks, lucanica sausages pack a proper punch, and the pasta is still made the way nonna did it. Some villages are part of the famous €1 house scheme, though factor in renovation costs before you get too excited.

Read: Italy’s very best walking holidays

Molise: The Region That ‘Doesn’t Exist’

Average property price: €95,000 for a family home
Nearest airports: Naples (2 hours), Pescara (2 hours)
IDEAL for: True escapists who want to disappear into real Italy

There’s a running joke in Italy that Molise doesn’t exist. With only 300,000 inhabitants in the entire region, it’s Italy’s second-best-kept secret (after the recipe for proper carbonara). This is where you come to properly escape.

Campobasso, the tiny capital, punches above its weight with a lively student scene keeping the bars buzzing and ensuring decent pizza at 2am. The coastal town of Termoli offers proper Italian beach life – think families playing cards under umbrellas and seafood so fresh it was swimming an hour ago.

The food is outrageously good and outrageously cheap: wild boar ragù, truffle everything, and caciocavallo cheese that’ll ruin you for supermarket cheddar. Some villages here are literally giving houses away to attract new blood – perfect if you fancy a project and have a thing for authentic Italy minus the crowds.

Piedmont’s Hidden Valleys: Gourmet Paradise On A Budget

Average property price: €133,000 in lesser-known areas
Nearest airports: Turin (1 hour), Milan Malpensa (1.5-2 hours)
IDEAL for: Serious food lovers with champagne tastes on prosecco budgets

Everyone knows about the Langhe and its eye-watering prices, but venture into Piedmont’s other valleys and you’ll find the same rolling vineyards, medieval towers, and truffle-scented air for half the cost.

Towns like Asti (yes, of spumante fame) and the spa town of Acqui Terme offer proper Italian life with a sophisticated edge. The thermal baths in Acqui have been soothing Romans since, well, Roman times, and today’s aperitivo scene would make Milan jealous.

This is Italy’s gastronomic heartland: white truffles, Barolo wines, gianduja chocolate, and beef so good it has its own denomination. The nightlife revolves around enotecas where sommeliers treat wine like religion, and dinner is a four-hour affair. Properties range from €100,000 fixer-uppers to €500,000 Liberty-style villas, with plenty of vineyard-adjacent options for aspiring winemakers.

Northern Puglia’s Gargano Peninsula: The Spur Of The Boot

Average property price: €130,000-€260,000
Nearest airports: Bari (2.5 hours to Vieste), Foggia (1 hour)
IDEAL for: Beach lovers who prefer their coastline dramatic

While everyone fights for a spot on Salento’s beaches, the Gargano Peninsula offers something altogether more wild. Think dramatic white cliffs, hidden coves accessible only by boat, and fishing villages that haven’t changed since your grandparents’ time.

Vieste perches on a white limestone peninsula with beaches on both sides – perfect for following the sun throughout the day. The old town is a maze of steep steps and washing lines, where the evening passeggiata still matters and the gelato is made by someone’s actual nonna.

Summer brings beach clubs that transform from lazy day spots to sunset party venues, with DJs spinning until dawn. The food is Puglia at its finest: burrata so fresh it’s still warm, orecchiette with turnip tops, and seafood pulled from the boat to your plate. The Foresta Umbra offers hiking through ancient beech forests when you need a break from the beach, and the whole area remains refreshingly Italian in character.

The Practical Bits

Property prices mentioned are based on 2025 data from the Global Property Guide and My Dolce Casa’s Italy Real Estate Market Report. Post-Brexit, UK buyers need to jump through a few more hoops, but a good bilingual lawyer will sort you out.

Most regions have decent flight connections from the UK, though you’ll want a car for exploring. The good news? Petrol is cheaper than the UK, the autostrade are gloriously empty compared to the M25, and Italian drivers aren’t nearly as terrifying as everyone says (okay, that last bit might be a lie).

The Bottom Line

These regions offer what we all want from Italy – incredible food, affordable wine, actual Italian neighbours (not just other expats), and property prices that won’t require selling a kidney. You’ll need some basic Italian (Duolingo won’t cut it for negotiating with the local builder), and yes, the bureaucracy can be maddening, but that’s a small price for la dolce vita.

Honestly, when you’re sitting on your terrace, glass of local wine in hand, watching the sun set over your own piece of authentic Italy, you’ll wonder why you didn’t do it sooner.

A New Era Of Hotel Design: Where Sustainability Meets Elegant, Understated Experiences

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A New Era Of Hotel Design: Where Sustainability Meets Elegant, Understated Experiences

Step into any of 2025’s most anticipated hotel openings and you’ll quickly realise that something fundamental has shifted in high-end hospitality design. From Rome’s ancient ruins glimpsed through glass-bottom pools to Crete’s revolutionary earth-sheltered suites, this year’s properties are rewriting the rulebook on what a hotel can be.

The transformation goes far beyond aesthetics. Today’s most innovative hotels are pioneering sustainable technologies, celebrating local craftsmanship, and creating spaces that serve their communities as much as their guests.

Three defining movements are shaping 2025’s hotel landscape: the embrace of ‘quiet luxury’ over ostentatious display, the rise of bioclimatic architecture that works with nature rather than against it, and the seamless integration of technology that enhances rather than dominates the guest experience.

Quiet Luxury Replaces Grand Gestures

The era of gilt and glitter has given way to something altogether more refined. This year’s most talked-about openings demonstrate that true luxury lies in craftsmanship, heritage, and thoughtful restoration rather than superficial opulence.

The Waldorf Astoria New York’s reopening after a $2 billion renovation perfectly encapsulates this shift. Designer Pierre-Yves Rochon has transformed the legendary property from 1,400 rooms into just 375 suites, with the smallest measuring 475 square feet. 

The painstaking restoration preserved 60,000 square feet of landmarked interiors, including the iconic 1893 World’s Fair clock, whilst creating Manhattan’s largest luxury accommodations. As Hospitality Design reports, it’s a masterclass in respecting history whilst meeting contemporary expectations.

In Rome, the Orient Express La Minerva takes a different approach to historical preservation. Franco-Mexican designer Hugo Toro has transformed the 17th-century Palazzo Fonseca into 93 rooms that blend Art Deco glamour with Roman heritage. 

The property’s showpiece – a glass-bottom pool suspended over ancient ruins discovered during construction – exemplifies how modern hotels are celebrating rather than concealing their archaeological treasures, according to Elite Traveler.

A New Colour Palette For A New Era

Pantone’s choice of Mocha Mousse as 2025’s Colour of the Year reflects a broader shift towards warmth and authenticity in hotel design. This sophisticated brown – reminiscent of perfectly frothed coffee – appears throughout the year’s most significant openings, from Orient Express La Minerva’s terracotta accents to the earth tones dominating Tella Thera’s interiors.

The move away from stark whites and cool greys towards warmer, more enveloping colours creates spaces that feel residential rather than institutional. Supporting palettes incorporate sage greens, dusty pinks, and deep blues that reference nature whilst maintaining sophistication.

Materials tell a similar story of authenticity and responsibility. FSC-certified woods, recycled metals, and fabrics created from ocean plastics are becoming industry standards. Properties are discovering that guests increasingly value knowing their luxury experience doesn’t come at the environment’s expense. Consultancies like IH Group are instrumental in helping hotels navigate these material choices whilst maintaining the premium feel guests expect.

Read: Breaking design rules with Pantone’s 2025 colour of the year

Photo by Vojtech Bruzek on Unsplash

Architecture That Works With Nature

Perhaps nowhere is hotel design’s evolution more evident than in the boutique properties embracing bioclimatic architecture. These hotels don’t just minimise their environmental impact; they demonstrate that sustainability can enhance rather than compromise the luxury experience.

Tella Thera in Crete represents the vanguard of this movement. Designed by Stella Pieri of Pieris.Architects, the property introduces what they term ‘Future Primitivism’ – subterranean suites nestled into the hillside with rooftop gardens planted with olive trees. This €10 million project, the first approved under Greece’s 2024 Development Law, achieves near-zero carbon emissions through its innovative earth-integrated design. The natural insulation keeps rooms cool in summer and warm in winter, proving that ancient building wisdom still has much to teach us.

Copenhagen’s Park Lane offers a Nordic interpretation of sustainable luxury. The property, transformed from a 1920s cinema by Camilla van den Tempel of &TEMPEL, showcases how existing buildings can be reimagined for contemporary hospitality. The material palette – solid wood, genuine leather, marble, bronze glass, and mohair, all sourced from Danish artisans – creates what Wallpaper describes as a ‘serene minimalism’ that feels both timeless and thoroughly modern.

Read: 48 hours in the Crete capital, Heraklion

Mainstream Brands Embrace Thoughtful Design

The design revolution isn’t limited to luxury properties. Major hospitality brands are introducing prototypes that prove good design and operational efficiency aren’t mutually exclusive.

Hampton by Hilton’s new North American prototype, launching in early 2025, demonstrates how thoughtful planning can benefit both guests and operators. The redesign achieves 6% cost savings on furniture and fixtures whilst creating more inviting spaces. Repositioned front desks allow for flexible community areas, enlarged windows flood rooms with natural light, and outdoor patios encourage social interaction. As Hotel Dive reports, it’s a blueprint for how mid-scale hotels can elevate their offering without breaking the bank.

IHG’s Holiday Inn Express Generation 5 goes further still. The brand worked with a disability task force to ensure truly inclusive design, creating spaces that anticipate diverse guest needs through 2030. The new prototype features experiential zones including the EXPRESS Café & Bar and Focus Studios for quiet work, recognising that modern travellers need spaces that adapt throughout the day.

Technology That Enhances Rather Than Intrudes

The smartest hotels in 2025 are those where technology feels invisible yet indispensable. Rather than showcasing gadgets for their own sake, properties are implementing systems that genuinely improve the guest experience whilst reducing environmental impact.

Circadian lighting systems that mimic natural daylight patterns are becoming standard in forward-thinking properties. These systems not only help guests adjust to new time zones but also achieve dramatic reductions in energy consumption. Properties report substantial savings that benefit both their bottom line and the planet.

Living walls powered by AI represent another revolution here. These vertical gardens do more than look impressive; they actively purify the air, with some systems reducing pollutants by around half. Integration with weather data allows these installations to optimise their performance automatically, creating healthier environments without any effort from guests or staff.

Voice control has evolved from novelty to necessity, with thousands of rooms now featuring integrated systems. The technology has matured to the point where controlling room temperature, lighting, or ordering room service feels as natural as using a light switch.

Hotels As Community Anchors

The most successful hotels in 2025 recognise that they must offer more than accommodation. Properties are reimagining themselves as community hubs, with lobbies transforming into dynamic spaces that welcome locals alongside guests.

This shift manifests in various ways: restaurants and bars designed to attract neighbourhood diners, co-working spaces that rival dedicated offices, and cultural programming that celebrates local artists and makers. Hotels are becoming integral parts of their communities rather than isolated luxury bubbles.

Wellness offerings have evolved dramatically too. Today’s hotels feature comprehensive facilities that might include saunas, steam rooms, cold plunge pools, and meditation spaces. The focus has shifted from basic fitness to holistic wellbeing, recognising that modern travellers prioritise health as much as comfort.

Photo by Taylor Davidson on Unsplash

The Bottom Line

As 2025 unfolds, it’s clear that hotel design has entered a new chapter. Whether it’s the Waldorf Astoria’s meticulous restoration, Tella Thera’s groundbreaking sustainable architecture, or Hampton by Hilton’s thoughtful prototype, each property contributes to a broader reimagining of what hotels can be.

The year’s designs prove that environmental responsibility, technological innovation, and authentic luxury aren’t competing priorities but complementary forces. Hotels are becoming more than places to sleep; they’re destinations that celebrate their locations, serve their communities, and create memorable experiences whilst treading lightly on the earth.

For travellers, this evolution means more choices than ever – from subterranean suites that connect us with ancient building traditions to urban hotels that pulse with their neighbourhoods’ energy. As the industry continues to innovate, one thing is certain: the hotels of 2025 are setting standards that will influence hospitality design for years to come.

Beyond The Cafetière: 7 Coffee Brewing Methods Worth Mastering At Home

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Beyond The Cafetière: 7 Coffee Brewing Methods Worth Mastering At Home

Picture this: it’s 7am on a drizzly Tuesday morning, and you’re staring blearily at your trusty cafetière, wondering if there’s more to life than plunging, pouring and pondering if it’s okay to dump spent coffee down the sink. 

There absolutely is, and no it isn’t. While the French press has served us faithfully through countless mornings (and let’s be honest, afternoons too), the world of home coffee brewing is vast, varied, and surprisingly accessible.

From the meditative ritual of pour-over to the theatrical flair of a stovetop espresso, mastering different brewing methods isn’t just about impressing your mates – it’s about discovering which style brings out the best in your beans and, crucially, fits into your morning routine. So put the kettle on, and let’s explore seven coffee brewing methods that’ll transform your kitchen into your favourite café.

The Pour-Over: Precision & Patience

The pour-over method – think V60, Chemex, or good old filter cone – has become the darling of third-wave coffee shops, and for good reason. This method gives you complete control over every variable: water temperature, pour speed, and brewing time.

Pour over coffee
pour over coffee
pour over coffee
Pour over coffee

Start with medium-ground coffee (think coarse sand texture) and water heated to about 93°C. The key is the slow, circular pour, which should take about 3-4 minutes total. Yes, it requires a bit more attention than pressing a button, but the clean, nuanced cup you’ll get is worth those extra morning minutes. Plus, there’s something rather zen about the whole process – consider it mindfulness with caffeine benefits.

For best results, use a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio (so 20g coffee to 300ml water). Pre-wet your filter to remove any papery taste and warm your brewing vessel. Start with a 30-second bloom – pour just enough water to saturate the grounds (about twice the coffee weight), then wait as CO2 escapes. This crucial step ensures even extraction. Continue pouring in steady circles, keeping the water level consistent, and aim to finish your final pour by the 2:30 mark.

The AeroPress: A Traveller’s Best Friend

Invented in 2005 by a frisbee manufacturer, the AeroPress has become a favourite among coffee enthusiasts worldwide. This ingenious plastic contraption uses air pressure to push water through coffee grounds, creating a concentrated brew in under two minutes.

What makes it brilliant is its versatility – you can brew anything from espresso-style shots to longer, filter-style coffees. It’s virtually indestructible, making it perfect for camping trips or that dodgy office kitchen. The cleanup is satisfyingly simple too: just pop out the used coffee puck and give it a rinse.

The AeroPress
The AeroPress

The standard recipe calls for 17g of medium-fine coffee (slightly finer than pour-over) and 220ml of 80°C water. Insert a paper filter, add coffee, pour water to the top, stir for 10 seconds, then press slowly for 20-30 seconds. For a stronger brew, try the inverted method: flip the AeroPress upside down, brew for 1-2 minutes, then carefully flip and press. Water temperature is crucial here – anything above 85°C tends to over-extract and create bitterness, while 75-80°C brings out chocolate and caramel notes.

Espresso Machine: A Home Barista’s Dream

While a proper espresso machine requires investment (both financial and educational), mastering home espresso opens up a world of coffee possibilities. From cortados to cappuccinos, you’ll have café-quality drinks without the café prices.

The learning curve is steep – getting your grind size, dose, and tamp pressure just right takes practice. But once you’ve pulled that first perfect shot, complete with golden crema, you’ll understand why people become obsessed. For those starting out, consider a coffee subscription with ESE pods – they take the guesswork out of dosing while you perfect your milk-steaming technique.

coffee machine
coffee machine

The golden rules: aim for 18-20g of coffee yielding 36-40g of espresso in 25-30 seconds. Your grind should feel like fine table salt, and your tamp pressure should be firm and level – about 15kg of pressure. Temperature surfing (flushing water through the group head before pulling a shot) ensures consistent heat. For milk steaming, keep the steam wand tip just below the surface until the milk reaches 35°C (creating microfoam), then plunge deeper and create a whirlpool until it hits 60-65°C. Any hotter and you’ll scald the milk, destroying its natural sweetness.

Moka Pot: A Little Slice Of Stovetop Theatre

The Moka pot – Italy’s answer to home espresso since 1933. This octagonal aluminium beauty uses steam pressure to force water through coffee grounds, creating a strong, concentrated brew that’s not quite espresso but certainly packs a punch.

Fill the bottom chamber with hot water (using cold water makes the coffee taste metallic), add medium-fine grounds to the basket, and place it on medium heat. Listen for the gurgling sound – that’s your cue that coffee magic is happening. The result? A bold, slightly bitter brew that’s perfect for homemade flat whites or, if you’re feeling continental, served straight up with a sugar cube on the side.

moka pot
moka pot

Important details: fill water to just below the safety valve, and don’t tamp the grounds – just level them off with your finger. Keep the lid open while brewing so you can watch for the honey-coloured stream that signals perfect extraction. When it turns blonde and starts sputtering, remove from heat immediately to avoid burning. 

Never put your Moka pot in the dishwasher – the harsh detergents strip away the coffee oil coating that prevents metallic tastes. A simple rinse and air dry keeps it in perfect condition.

Cold Brew: Summer In A Cup (Or, Indeed, A Jar)

Cold brew isn’t just hot coffee gone cold – it’s an entirely different beast. By steeping coarse grounds in cold water for 12-24 hours, you extract different compounds than with hot brewing, resulting in a smooth, naturally sweet concentrate with about two-thirds less acidity.

Mix one part coarse ground coffee with four parts cold water in a jar, let it steep overnight in the fridge, then strain through a fine mesh or coffee filter. The concentrate keeps for up to two weeks, ready to be diluted with water, milk, or ice. It’s meal prep for coffee lovers.

cold brew
cold brew

For optimal extraction, stir the grounds and water thoroughly at the beginning, then again after an hour. Room temperature brewing (12-15 hours) extracts more quickly than fridge brewing (18-24 hours) and produces a slightly different flavour profile – fruitier and more acidic. When straining, do it twice: first through a fine mesh sieve to remove the bulk of grounds, then through a coffee filter or cheesecloth for clarity. The final concentrate should be diluted 1:1 with water or milk, though adjust to taste. 

Pro tip: freeze some concentrate in ice cube trays for iced coffees that don’t get watered down.

Read: 7 of the best summer coffees, IDEAL for a caffeine hit when the weather’s hot

Turkish Coffee: A Taste Of History

Turkish coffee isn’t just a brewing method; it’s a UNESCO-recognised cultural tradition. Using an ibrik (also called a cezve), you’ll need the finest ground coffee possible – powder-fine, like flour.

Combine cold water, sugar (if desired), and coffee in the ibrik, then heat slowly on the hob. The key is to let it foam up without boiling – remove it from heat just as it begins to rise, let it settle, then repeat twice more. Serve in small cups with the grounds still in – they’ll settle to the bottom, and reading the patterns they leave is a fortune-telling tradition in itself.

Turkish coffee at home
Turkish coffee at home

Use a 1:10 coffee-to-water ratio – about 7g of coffee per 70ml water (one traditional serving). Sugar goes in at the beginning: none (sade), a little (az şekerli), medium-sweet (orta), or very sweet (şekerli). Stir only at the beginning when cold – never once heating begins. The grind is crucial: it should be even finer than espresso, almost like cocoa powder. 

Most coffee shops can’t grind this fine, so consider investing in a hand grinder with Turkish settings. The ideal brewing temperature is around 70°C – use the lowest heat setting and be patient. The entire process should take 3-4 minutes.

Siphon Brewing: Science Class Meets Coffee Shop

If you want to feel like a Victorian scientist while making your morning brew, siphon coffee is for you. This theatrical method uses vapour pressure and vacuum to brew coffee, and watching it in action is genuinely mesmerising.

Water in the bottom chamber heats up, creating vapour pressure that pushes it into the upper chamber where it mixes with coffee grounds. Remove the heat source, and physics takes over – the cooling air creates a vacuum that pulls the brewed coffee back down through a filter. The result is an incredibly clean, tea-like coffee that highlights subtle flavours. Yes, it’s a bit of a production, but sometimes your Sunday morning deserves a show.

Use medium-coarse grounds (similar to pour-over) at a 1:15 ratio. Once water rises to the upper chamber, reduce heat to maintain temperature without violent bubbling. Add coffee, stir gently, and brew for 90 seconds. Give one final stir, then remove from heat – the drawdown should take about 45-60 seconds. If it’s taking longer, your grind is too fine; if faster, too coarse. 

Clean immediately after use while still warm – dried coffee oils make cleaning difficult. Most siphons use either cloth or paper filters; cloth provides fuller body but requires careful maintenance (rinse thoroughly and store in water in the fridge between uses).

The Bottom Line

Mastering these globally diverse brewing methods isn’t about becoming a coffee snob (though a little knowledge never hurt anyone at a dinner party). It’s about discovering what you enjoy and having the skills to make it happen. Start with one new method that intrigues you, give yourself permission to make a few terrible cups while you learn, and remember – even coffee professionals had to start somewhere.

Whether you become a pour-over perfectionist or stick with your trusty cafetière but with newfound appreciation, the goal is the same: a brilliant cup of coffee that makes your morning that little bit better. After all, life’s too short for bad coffee, especially when good coffee is just a new brewing method away.

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