Body of British hiker finally found months after he went missing
Search teams in Italy have finally found the body of a British hiker who went missing five months ago in the Dolomites in Italy.
The body of Aziz Ziriat, 36, was discovered lying in a rocky crevice on Saturday, around 400m below where the body of his friend, Sam Harris, 35, had previously been found.
The pair, who were both from London, went missing while hiking in January.
Mr Ziriat’s body was found in the Passo di Conca area by specialist search teams including a canine unit, Trentino Alpine and Speleological Rescue confirmed.
A spokesman said the rescuers “lowered themselves down the wall below the base of the slope, where the dog finally signaled the missing man’s body in a rocky crevice, where it had been covered by snow”.
He said Mr Ziriat’s family was immediately informed of the discovery.
Mr Harris’s body was discovered on January 8. The friends had not been seen or heard from since 1 January and did not check in for their flight home on 6 January.
Their last known location was near a mountain hut called Casina Dosson, close to the town of Tione Di Trento, near Riva Del Garda on Lake Garda.
Palace for Life, the official charity of Crystal Palace FC where Mr Ziriat worked as head of community engagement, previously released a statement which said colleagues were “profoundly sad” at his disappearance.
Describing his “real passion to make a difference,” it added: “Aziz has not only been incredibly impactful in his role, but also a kind, compassionate and generous individual who brought positivity and warmth to everyone he has worked with.”
Joe Stone, a university friend of Mr Ziriat, previously told the PA news agency that the pair were “experienced hikers” who liked to go off the grid, but “alarm bells were raised” when they failed to check in for their return flight.
What Florian Wirtz’s decision to join Liverpool shows about his ambition
When Florian Wirtz was 18, he was interviewed by Bayer Leverkusen’s club magazine. The headline was a quote from the teenager: “I have big dreams”. If he leaves, as looks likely, it will be after making Leverkusen’s biggest come true and yet while showing he didn’t share the dream of many a star at Germany’s other clubs. From Lothar Matthaus to Leon Goretzka and Leroy Sane, they gravitated to Bayern, given their guarantee of trophies. The Bavarian dominance in the 21st century has been aided by an ability to raid the rest of Germany for their prized assets. Michael Ballack, taken from Leverkusen, was a pioneer. Jonathan Tah, going from Leverkusen this summer, follows in his footsteps, just as Dortmund were plundered when they represented Bayern’s major rivals.
Not Wirtz, though. A player who can weave his way past defenders is plotting a different path: to Liverpool. It is a dream with a big price, Liverpool’s second bid amounting to €109m (£92m), Leverkusen still wanting more. It shows a certain ambition and audacity at Anfield: to target and tempt Wirtz. Logic suggested Wirtz would be paired with Jamal Musiala at Bayern, Germany’s two generational talents together for club and country. Yet, Tah’s decision notwithstanding, this Leverkusen have displayed a capacity to frustrate Bayern. Their maiden Bundesliga title ended the Bavarians’ run at 11 in a row. Xabi Alonso rejected Bayern’s advances to stay another year, Real Madrid instead his preferred destination. Now Wirtz is set to become Liverpool’s new Jurgen Klopp: a man Bayern had wanted but never got.
The similarities with Klopp may end there. Wirtz has a different kind of charisma; with the ball at his feet, caressing it, sometimes with the simplicity of a master, sometimes with a crowd-pleasing flair. He has a capacity to catch opponents out with deft footwork; in a different way, Liverpool demonstrated their own with an approach that almost came by stealth.
He would be a statement signing: win the title and then buy perhaps the most coveted player on the market this summer. Wirtz is an illustration that Fenway Sports Group and Liverpool can go very big: not often, normally when they have earned the right to and, encouragingly, usually successfully. Virgil van Dijk and Alisson were the £140m pair acquired for world-record fees. Relative to the prices previous centre-backs and goalkeepers cost, there was a case for arguing they paid over the odds; yet they bought players who were both among the best in the game in their position then and who still are now. The false economy would have been to spend less on lesser players. Wirtz, they may hope, becomes a similar case.
Darwin Nunez has proved otherwise, but then his signing owed more to Klopp. Wirtz will join when Arne Slot’s dealings are underpinned by the axis of the returning Michael Edwards and the relatively new sporting director Richard Hughes. He may be still be cheaper than Moises Caicedo might have been: Liverpool’s £111m bid in 2023 remains an oddity, and they instead constructed a title-winning midfield for lower fees, but it again shows they will stretch the budget. Wirtz can be seen as a reward for relative austerity, for making a profit last summer.
He would be, though, a coup that raises questions. The most immediate may be where he will play. There might have looked a more natural vacancy at Manchester City, with Kevin de Bruyne going, with a central creator required. At Liverpool, Dominik Szoboszlai is forever running but going nowhere. The Hungarian had a huge importance as a presser, a hassler, a harrier and a man who did some of Mohamed Salah’s defending. There were days when he was incisive: he was wonderful in a week that brought back-to-back wins over City and Newcastle, for instance.
Yet Slot often says a midfielder for Liverpool has to score goals and Szoboszlai’s return can be slight, given his class. Wirtz offers more creativity, more end product after 34 goals in his last two seasons at Leverkusen; six of them came in this year’s Champions League alone, albeit largely against weaker teams in the group.
So simply an upgrade as a No 10? It may not be that simple. Slot experimented with Szoboszlai as a No 8 at the end of the season. The Hungarian could still have a considerable role to play. And it does feel pertinent that, whereas there had been an expectation Liverpool would devote much of their budget to a striker this summer, they are instead committing it to an attacking midfielder. Luis Diaz was a qualified success when reinvented as a No 9 but Diogo Jota arguably regressed over the season. There were reasons to think the attacking upgrade would come in the centre of the attack, perhaps with Diaz competing with Cody Gakpo on the left.
Alonso made few mistakes in his two-and-a-half years in Leverkusen but playing Wirtz as a false nine in the 2024 Europa League final against Atalanta may have been one of them. Nevertheless, one of Liverpool’s finest performances of the season occurred in a striker-less 4-2-2-2, with Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones as twin No 10s against City.
Slot soon abandoned the tactic, compelling as it seemed. At Feyenoord he built around a prolific centre-forward, in Santiago Gimenez. But there are reasons to revive it and a temptation to wonder if Wirtz, though very different, could take on the mantle of Roberto Firmino as the central conductor, with quick, wide raiders ahead of him (his Leverkusen teammate Jeremie Frimpong among them).
Whatever the tactical idea, and further summer signings could help answer that, Wirtz looks the future of Liverpool. He can form part of the succession to Salah: not directly, as another right winger would be required for that. But he is a decade the Egyptian’s junior. For most of the last decade, it has helped Liverpool’s other attackers that Salah shouldered so much responsibility that the burden on them was reduced. They could score in his slipstream. Even as Salah has his new deal, his era may be entering its final couple of years. Perhaps Wirtz’s big dream was to become Liverpool’s main man.
Magician named as Britain’s Got Talent winner
The winner of Britain’s Got Talent has been announced, with Magician Harry Moulding taking home £250,000.
The illusionist fell to his knees as presenters Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly declared him champion.
He later told Ant and Dec: “I can’t believe what is going on. Thank you, thank you everyone so so much. I genuinely feel like everyone has been behind me. This has been the most incredible journey.”
The Blackpool-based magician performed earlier in the night and stunned the judges by correctly guessing which cards they had chosen from a pack. To add to the impressive feat he did all of this while jumping out of a plane. He was fast-tracked to the final after guest judge KSI hit the golden buzzer in the semi-final, which also saw him propose to his girlfriend.
Moulding, who beat nine other finalists to reign supreme, will also perform at the Royal Variety Show as part of their prize.
Dance group The Blackouts was named the runner-up, with dancer Binita Chetry coming in third place.
The final itself, which aired live on Saturday (31 May), was a dramatic one which saw Ant and Dec briefly pause the show as they weren’t ready for young musician Olly Pearson’s performance.
“It was going so well but we’re going to have to have a quick chat with you judges because we’re not quite ready on stage yet for Olly,” McPartlin said.
Elsewhere, Donnelly had to apologise after judge Bruno Tonioli swore during his reaction to comedian Joseph Charm’s performance. “We were just p***ing…” said the 69 before pausing himself and correcting his comments. He then issued an apology for swearing.
“Apologies if you were offended by Bruno’s slip of the tongue there,” added Donnelly.
The finalists of the 18th series of ITV’s talent contest were made up of magicians, dancers and choir singers under the watchful eye of judges Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon, and Bruno Tonioli.
This season of the show – its 18th, after originally premiering in 2007 – started back in February, and three months later the end is almost here.
They included Scottish singer-songwriter Vinnie McKee, Swiss dance group The Blackouts, 11-year-old guitarist Olly Pearson and supermarket worker Stacey Leadbetter, whose singing skills saw her put through by guest judge KSI.
Elsewhere, drag queen opera singer Jasmine Rice also competed alongside alternative dance group Ping Pong Pang, stand-up comic Joseph Charm, and Hear Our Voice, a choir group whose members were victims of the Post Office scandal as depicted in ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office.
The programme, which was broadcast live from the Hammersmith Apollo after a week of five semi-finals, also saw performances from singer Stacey Leadbeatter, dance group Ping Pong Pang and guitarist Olly Pearson.
A wildcard act introduced into the live final was revealed to be singers Han & Fran, who performed an Abba medley.
Reeves told ‘impossible to invest in growth, services and net zero’
Spending commitments on defence mean it is “impossible” for the chancellor to invest in economic growth, public services and net zero policies when she allocates money for the next three years, leading economists have warned.
Rachel Reeves will face “unavoidably” tough choices as she set out her plans in a spending review in just over a week, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) says.
The government has pledged to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GPD within the next two years.
But on Saturday, ahead of the launch of a new defence strategy on Monday, the defence secretary John Healy went further as he said there was “no doubt” the UK would meet its target to raise the level to 3 per cent by 2034.
The IFS said the spending review would be dominated by money for defence and the NHS. Its research economist Bee Boileau said funding for other priorities will likely slow to a “trickle”.
She said: “At the spending review the government faces some unavoidably tough choices, particularly as, after turning on the spending taps last autumn, the flow of additional funding is now set to slow to more of a trickle.
“Take capital spending: government investment is set to be sustained at historically high levels in the coming years, but most of the increase happened last year and this year, and it looks as if all of the remaining increase in funding over this parliament has already been allocated to defence.
“Simultaneously prioritising additional investments in public services, net zero and growth-friendly areas within this envelope will be impossible.”
On Saturday The Independent revealed that Angela Rayner and Ms Reeves were at loggerheads over the spending review as the deputy prime minister’s department missed an unofficial deadline to settle its budget until the next general election without securing an agreement.
With the review set to be unveiled on 11 June, departments said that the Treasury wanted its plans agreed by the start of this weekend.
But The Independent understands that Ms Rayner’s Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is one of several departments yet to settle with Ms Reeves and her deputy Darren Jones.
The review will see Ms Reeves announce the government’s day-to-day departmental budgets for the next three years and investment budgets for the next four.
The Local Government Association has called for councils to get a “significant and sustained” boost to funding so they can deliver vital services.
“Councils in England face a funding gap of up to £8bn by 2028-29 and have already had to make huge savings and efficiencies over the past decade,” LGA chair Pete Marland said. “They desperately need a significant and sustained increase in overall funding in the spending review to meet the requirements being placed on them.
“Without adequate funding, councils will continue to struggle to provide crucial services, with devastating consequences for those who rely on them, and it will be impossible for them to help the government achieve its reform and growth agenda.”
The Liberal Democrats urged the government to put money into social care.
“Ending the crisis in our NHS must be a top priority, but unless they fix social care too, ministers will just be bailing water from a sinking boat with a spoon,” the party’s treasury spokesperson Daisy Cooper, said. “Vital NHS investment risks going to waste if hospitals can’t discharge patients who don’t need to be there and if local authorities don’t have the resources to care for people in their homes and prevent them going to hospital in the first place.”
She also urged the government to negotiate a bespoke UK-EU customs union, to boost the economy, before looking at “painful cuts to already stretched budgets”, from justice to farming.
Jade Thirlwall leads anti-JK Rowling chant at music festival
Pop star Jade Thirlwall has led a crowd of thousands in an anti-J.K. Rowling chant during a music festival known for celebrating LGBTQ+ culture.
While performing on the Main Stage at Mighty Hoopla in London Saturday evening, Thirlwall ignited the crowd when she chanted “transphobes” and the crowd responded: “F*** you!”
She then changed the prompt to “J.K. Rowling” to which the crowd responded with another enthusiastic “F*** you!”
Video of the moment was shared on social media with on-screen text reading: “Jade, the legend you are!!!”
Rowling, author of the acclaimed Harry Potter series, has come under intense scrutiny during the last few years for her comments about women and transgender rights.
The author, 59, first made controversial comments about the transgender community in December 2019. Since then, she has published and retweeted numerous posts containing hateful rhetoric toward the trans and non-binary communities.
Rowling has denied being transphobic, but has previously stated that she would “happily” go to prison for misgendering a trans person rather than refer to them by their preferred pronouns.
She’s even gone so far as to dismiss concerns that her views on transgender people will damage her legacy. When asked in 2023 by interviewer Megan Phelps-Roper about her legacy in the podcast titled The Witch Trials of JK Rowling, the Harry Potter author said she doesn’t think about it.
“I think you could not have misunderstood me more profoundly. I do not walk around my house thinking about my legacy, what a pompous way to live your life thinking about what my legacy will be. Whatever! I’ll be dead, I care about now, the living.”
Meanwhile, Thirlwall has been outspoken about the need to support LGBTQ+ rights.
A former member of the girl group Little Mix, Thirlwall said in a recent interview with Gayety: “I’ve always been quite vocal, and I’m not always going to get it right. But you can’t be a pop artist right now without speaking out about certain things.
“We’re seeing an attack on the trans community, and I have a very big LGBTQ+ fanbase,” she continued. “I can’t sit back and not be vocal about defending that community. I’m happy to pay the consequences if it means doing the right thing.”
Thirlwall’s fans have celebrated the anti-Rowling chant and the singer’s Mighty Hoopla performance.
“Out of this world. That was beyond anything in terms of a show. The woman she IS,” one fan wrote on X.
“Jade thirlwall is THAT GIRL,” another said.
“JADE AMELIA THIRLWALL I LOVE YOU SO MUCH and f*** you transphobes and jk rowling,” someone else wrote.
Win a luxury ticket package for two to this year’s Wilderness Festival
Music fans can win a luxury package for two to this year’s Wilderness Festival, all courtesy of Audi.
Wilderness returns this year to the picturesque nature reserve at Cornbury Park, Oxfordshire, and will be headlined by rock band Supergrass, Nineties rave duo Orbital, and Brit Award-winning, Grammy-nominated indie-rock duo Wet Leg.
Completing the headliner lineup are Basement Jaxx, who are making their return to live shows for the first time in over a decade, as they celebrate the 25th anniversary of their groundbreaking album, Remedy.
The winner will receive a pair of complimentary festival tickets and boutique accommodation in a luxury cabin for two. They will also be treated to an Audi Kitchen experience and, for the ultimate luxury, your own private chauffeur to take you and your guest to the festival and return journey.
Enter the prize draw here.
Wilderness Festival is known for its eclectic music lineup, which this year includes performances from pop singer Lapsley, singer-songwriter Bess Atwell, Scottish musician Jacob Alon and DJ Craig Charles.
At The Sanctuary and Spa, guests will discover an oasis of calm, whether that means taking part in disco yoga or a workshop to explore your sensuality. Highlights include boating, massage treatments, sauna rituals, hot tubs, a wild sauna, Wim Hof method ice baths and wild swimming.
Gourmet food offerings can be found at Ben Quinn’s long table banquet in the woods, a once-in-a-lifetime experience set in the woods and lit by chandeliers. There, Quinn and his team will serve up a feast of flavour cooked right in front of you five courses of carefully curated, responsibly sourced, local and seasonal ingredients.
Elsewhere, attendees can join a number of talks, comedy sets and conversations, from Food Stories with Jay Rayner to a live recording of Jamie Laing’s podcast, Great Company.
Comedian, writer and NHS doctor Matthew Hutchinson will share a sharp and moving look at life on the frontline of British healthcare, while cultural historian Tiffany Watt Smith will uncover a bold and fascinating alternative history of female friendship.
The prize draw will open for entries at 3pm (BST) on 7 May 2025 and close at 3pm BST on 17 June 2025. Only one entry per person is permitted for the Prize Draw. Terms and conditions apply.
JPMorgan CEO explains biggest threat to US – and it isn’t China
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has warned that China isn’t the biggest threat to the U.S., it’s “the enemy within.”
Dimon appeared at the Reagan National Economic Forum in Simi Valley, California, on Friday, arguing that “tectonic plates are shifting.”
“Those tectonic plates are the geopolitics with these terrible wars, terrible proxy terrorist activity around the world, North Korea, the potential proliferation of nuclear weapons over time, which is the greatest threat to mankind,” said Dimon, one of America’s top bankers.
He said the other tectonic shift is the global economy, before going on to seemingly criticise the aggressive trade policies and the apparent breaking up of traditional Western alliances by President Donald Trump.
“The other tectonic shift is … the global economy. So the global military umbrella of America, and then the global economy, of which trade is a part,” he said. “The other parts are, do people want to partner with you? Do you have your alliances? You have investment agreements and all those various things. And they’re changing.”
“Then our debt … We added $10 trillion in five years,” he noted about the national debt, which stands at more than $36 trillion. “You had [former President Ronald] Reagan up there talking about deficits. The debt-to-GDP was 35 percent, and the deficit was three and a half percent. Today, it’s 100 percent debt to GDP … and a deficit of almost seven percent.”
“We go into recession, that seven percent will be 10 percent, and so we have problems, and we’ve got to deal with them. And then the biggest one underlying both, that is the enemy within,” he said.
“China is a potential adversary — they’re doing a lot of things well, they have a lot of problems,” Dimon added. “But what I really worry about is us. Can we get our own act together — our own values, our own capability, our own management?”
The CEO made the comments amid a sharp decline in trade between China and the U.S. following the implementation of Trump’s widespread tariffs. The president’s trade policy has been in flux amid new agreements and court rulings. The tariffs have prompted further uncertainty in a trade relationship that significantly impacts the rest of the world.
The dispute with China escalated on Friday as Trump claimed the Chinese “totally violated” the most recent trade agreement.
“They’re not scared, folks. This notion they’re gonna come bow to America, I wouldn’t count on that,” said Dimon.
He added that he concurs with Warren Buffett, the outgoing Berkshire Hathaway CEO, that while the U.S. is usually “resilient,” this time could be different.
“We have to get our act together,” said Dimon. “We have to do it very quickly.”
The CEO argued that the U.S. has a “mismanagement” problem and that a litany of things needed to be done, including fixing regulations, permitting, immigration, taxation, inner city schools, as well as the health care system. Dimon said the U.S. could grow three percent a year if those things are taken care of.
Referencing previous speakers at the conference, Dimon said: “What you heard today on stage was the amount of mismanagement is extraordinary. By state, by city, for pensions … and that stuff is going to kill us.”
Inspired to walk the ‘Salt Path’? These are the best bits
Raynor Winn’s debut novel, The Salt Path, first captured the hearts of readers when it was published back in 2018 and quickly became a Sunday Times bestseller. The memoir, which has been turned into a film now in cinemas, tells the story of everyone’s worst nightmare. Not only did she and her husband, Moth, lose their home and B&B business at their Welsh farm after an investment went wrong, but they truly hit rock bottom when Moth was diagnosed with a rare neurodegenerative disease, corticobasal degeneration.
Without any other options, they came up with the idea of embarking on an adventure, by walking the 630 miles of the South West Coast Path and seeing where it took them, figuratively and physically.
With almost 300 miles of it in Cornwall, it begins in Minehead in Somerset, traverses along the north Devonshire and Cornish rugged coasts, and heads back along the south coast of the counties into Dorset, finishing at South Haven Point in Poole. It’s a mammoth walk that initially seems almost totally unachievable for them, considering Moth’s ill health, along with having such little money that they have to live off packet noodles, and wild camp.
In the film, locations aren’t given, and instead, geography is only marked by the number of miles walked, focusing on the idea of the gravity of the challenge, and how location doesn’t matter to them. Instead, it’s all about keeping moving.
As one of the UK’s best coastal hiking routes, the South West Coast Path can be taken at a much slower pace, and walkers usually complete it in sections over many years. So if you’re inspired to pull on your walking boots, here are some of the best sections along the famous route to stomp along, as well as places to rest your weary head, that don’t include the need for a tent.
Some of the most memorable – and instantly recognisable – scenery in the film comes from the little 14th-century village of Clovelly perched 400ft up on the north Devon coast. Clovelly isn’t actually on the coast path itself, it’s just off it, as one of the UK’s only privately owned villages. It’s been privately owned by the Hamlyn family and their descendants since Elizabethan times, which means you have to pay to enter (£9.90 for adults). The current owner is John Rous, and it’s this entrance fee that’s allowed it to become a maintained relic of a time gone by that’s still inhabited and thriving and, most importantly for Cornwall, hasn’t been taken over by holiday lets as second homes aren’t allowed.
The walk down to the harbour isn’t the easiest, as not only is it very steep, but it’s entirely cobbled too. Too steep even for cars, years ago villagers came up with the idea of using sledges to transport goods up and down the slope. Years ago, donkeys were used, but now you’ll find them in the stables at the top of the village.
Back on the path, this section that’s part of the Hartland Heritage coast is truly spectacular with soaring ascents, making it renowned as one of the hardest parts, but the views make it well worth it.
In the little village of Woolfardisworthy, locally known as Woolsery, is the Collective, a complex made up of a pub, fish and chip shop, local shop, farm and accommodation. The area has been given a new lease of life thanks to Michael and Xochi Birch. Millennial readers will remember their social media platform Bebo, which they sold. They then swapped Silicon Valley for north Devon, as Michael’s family had lived here for 600 years. The Farmers Arms pub has excellent food, including hogget from their own farm too. There are rooms, suites and cottages over the road.
Doubles from £275 night; woolsery.com/stay
Read more: Wild camping for women: A Dartmoor expedition
Perhaps the most ethereal villages on the entire coast path are Boscastle and Tintagel, which are only about 3.5 miles apart and will likely take about five hours to walk between. The fishing village of Boscastle sits in a deep rugged valley that’s incredibly dramatic and has an air of mysticism to it. Its windswept landscapes inspired poet and author Thomas Hardy, while it’s also home to the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic, with thousands of witchy books, spells and paraphernalia.
Walking out from Boscastle’s pretty harbour, pick up the coast path along the clifftops where the white watchtower is perched. Just under a mile from Tintagel, if it’s a sunny day, drop down to Bossiney beach, a fabulous little sandy cove, for a swim.
The section is another fairly challenging part of the path, but you’ll see Tintagel Castle in the distance before descending into the village. It’s regarded as the birthplace of King Arthur and is steeped in myth and legend. From the heart of the village, it’s another steep walk down to the ruins of the castle (there are Land Rovers for those who prefer a quick ride) which is owned by English Heritage and costs £16.80 for adults.
The reward is worth it, thanks to the views walking over the footbridge, suspended 58 metres above the sea, over to the medieval ruin. Look out below at the craggy inlets, and Merlin’s Cave, a blowhole that makes a loud whooshing sound as the waves wash in as the tide comes in. On the other side, don’t miss Gallos (which translates to “power” in Cornish) the life-size bronze statue that’s been inspired by King Arthur.
Just two miles from Tintagel is Kudhva (Cornish for “hideout”), a glamping site with futuristic-looking angular treehouse pods that sit among the treetops, with ladders up to the entrances. The whole site, which is set in a disused quarry, is about connecting with nature, from swimming in the lake to stargazing.
Double pods from £137 a night; kudhva.com
Read more: Best places in Cornwall to avoid the summer crowds
In the film, one of North Cornwall’s biggest towns, Newquay, is portrayed as a rather down-and-out place full of delinquents. It did have a reputation as the place to celebrate finishing school exams, and being full of stag and hen dos – but now this is firmly behind it. It’s always had some of the UK’s best beaches and has been the home of British surfing since the Sixties, hosting the championships at Watergate Bay.
From Watergate Bay, walk about an hour north to the beautiful small town of Mawgan Porth. Once it was only locals who knew about this wide open beach and great waves, but now it has been found by celebrities and it’s changing quickly. Or for a longer hike, head south along the coast to Perranporth, which is about 4.5 hours of walking.
Cornwall’s first aparthotel, SeaSpace bridges the best bits of a hotel and an apartment. It’s right on the clifftops above Watergate Bay in Newquay and has one- to three-bedroom apartments. For the best views, book a room at the front of the building which looks over the sea. Families will love the Miami-inspired 19-metre pool, and you can also hire a surfboard and hit the waves that are just a hop, skip and jump away.
Read more: Best hotels in Newquay for surfing and Cornish coastal views
At the southern tip of Cornwall on Land’s End peninsula are some of Cornwall’s best preserved tin mines. The industry was the beating heart of the county in the 18th and 19th centuries, when it was the world’s biggest tin exporter, making the county extremely wealthy. Unsurprisingly, it’s now designated a world heritage site.
Starting from Pendeen lighthouse, heading south will take you past the Geevor tin mine museum (one of the last mines to close in 1990), the Levant mine, Crown’s Engine House and Botallack mine (which features in both the 2015 Poldark series and the Rick Stein’s Cornwall series), as well as the Wheal Edward Engine House.
The rolling cliffs here are full of drama, and some headlands have very narrow paths, which almost feels like walking on a tightrope; they’re so narrow that they likely won’t be there for too much longer, so tread with care.
Slightly further back up the coast is Gurnard’s Head hotel, an unmissable landmark thanks to its bright gorse-yellow painted exterior that’s right on the clifftop. The former coaching inn is still a traditional cosy pub (refreshingly, there are no TVs in the rooms), and it’s just a short walk to the coast path.
Doubles from £167.50; gurnardshead.co.uk
Read more: The best things to do in Cornwall, from surfing to seafood feasts
Along this little stretch of east Devon’s coastline, there are two of the county’s most picturesque beaches. Starting in the twee 14th-century village of Branscombe, where the local thatched pub has taken over much of the village, it doesn’t get much more bucolic than this. From the beach at Branscombe, with its dark reddish cliffs and beach huts, it’s about 4.5 miles to Beer.
At Beer, the pebbled beach is flanked on either side by the south coast’s chalky cliffs. At the end of each day, the fishing fleet is hauled up out of the water onto the pebbles waiting to return again the following day. At the top of the beach, near the sloped entrance, and just 100 metres from the water, is a hole-in-the-wall fish market selling the day’s catch.
Slightly inland, near the village of Southleigh, is Glebe House. Run by Hugo and Olive, they’re paying homage to the Italian agriturismo model of B&Bs. Plenty of the food they serve comes from their smallholding, they organise food experiences with nearby producers, and Olive’s eye for colourful, vintage-inspired artsy interiors is infectious.
Doubles from £159 night; glebehousedevon.co.uk
Read more: What to do when it rains on holiday in Cornwall
This final walk comes in right near the end of the South West Coast Path, which officially ends at Shell Bay on South Haven Point in Poole, just opposite Sandbanks and Brownsea Island in prime Enid Blyton territory. Part of the Jurassic Coast world heritage site, it’s far quieter here than the much shorter Lulworth Cove to Durdle Door section further east.
This is the longest section featured here, covering just over nine miles, from Kimmeridge Bay to Swanage. Walking along the chalk ridge, this section is one for budding archaeologists which keen fossil hunters will also love as it’s an area people have lived and hunted in since the Mesolithic period, about 6,000 years ago. Views from the aptly named “Heaven’s Gate” are some of the best – inland looks to the Purbeck Hills, and over to Corfe Castle, and it offers excellent views back over the coastline. A fitting view to end on.
Looking a little like The Pig hotels, The Canford is on the other side of the English Channel and is just a short ferry ride over. It has chic countryside-inspired rooms in heritage colours that sit above the pub.
Read more: The best spa hotels in Dorset