The best Boxing Day walks across the UK

Blessed with more than 140,000 miles of footpaths, bridleways and byways, wherever you are in the UK, you’re never very far from a breathtaking walk through our green and pleasant land.

A ramble is a fine thing in itself, providing untold health benefits for both body and mind. But many would argue that a really good walk requires a good pub at the end of it. What could be better than a table by a fireplace, a pub classic meal and a cold pint after a lengthy stroll through the countryside?

With that in mind, here are 12 routes for a walk across the UK countryside, from Sussex to Scotland, and, of course, where to stop for a quick pick-me-up before heading home.

Duration: 3-4 hours

There are few sights as quintessentially “English” as the Seven Sisters – the undulating succession of chalk cliffs facing out into the Channel. Start at Birling Gap then take the coast path west, passing across the clifftops before turning inland to follow the winding River Cuckmere. Turn right again at Westdean and follow the public footpaths towards Friston and East Dean. Be sure to stop at the latter for a drink at the Tiger Inn, a 15th-century tavern serving real ales and hearty grub, before walking the last mile back to the starting point.

The Tiger Inn also offers rooms, double and twin, with an en-suite and breakfast included.

Read more: This new walking trail is the best way to see the Lake District without a car

Duration: 4 hours

Starting from Ribblehead train station, follow the trackside footpath northwest – almost immediately, you’ll see the elegant arches of the Ribblehead Viaduct on your left. Keep going until the path eventually crosses the railway line. A short way beyond the crossing, you’ll come to Force Gill waterfall. The route then wends its way around Whernside before turning sharply uphill for the summit – one of the highest in the Dales. It’s a steep climb but worth it for the sweeping views. Descend back towards the starting point, with a short detour to the Station Inn for a restorative pint.

Read more: Best walks in the Lake District – beautiful lakeside hiking routes and where to stay

Duration: 3 hours

There’s no need to leave London to find fine views and fresh(ish) air. The Thames Path is a rich and rewarding journey through the heart of the capital. The section along the southern bank from Battersea Park to Kew Gardens is undoubtedly one of the prettier stretches, passing through inner-city woodlands and wetlands, past parks and boat clubs, cricket pitches and tennis courts while the river slips by. Upon reaching Kew, it’s just a short hop down to The Botanist, a smart gastropub with a metropolitan menu and a strong selection of wines, beers and cocktails.

Read more: After 20 years, I thought I knew London – then I walked the Capital Ring

Duration: 3 hours

This brisk and breezy walk on the north Norfolk coast can be challenging underfoot, since much of it is shingle. But those who persevere may well be rewarded with an up-close view of the UK’s largest seal colony. From the National Trust car park at Cley, follow the beach west for two miles, then turn left when you come to the grassy dunes.

Follow this path until you reach the Old Lifeboat House, then turn right along the boardwalk. From here at other times of the year, you may be able to spot the seals – they come here to breed between late October and mid-January. Be sure to keep a safe distance and keep dogs tightly leashed. Retrace your footsteps to the car park, then make the short trip into Cley, where you’ll find good gastropub fare and a convivial atmosphere at The George & Dragon.

Stays at The George & Dragon include en-suite boutique hotel rooms, with breakfast included. The pub’s coach house also offers two self-contained flats.

Book now

Read more: The best coastal walks to inspire you this autumn and winter

Duration: 3 hours

This four-mile National Trust circuit follows a craggy route along the sides of the largest gorge in England. Head up Cufic Lane, opposite the visitor information centre, then turn right onto the footpath. The route is well-signposted with waymarkers, so it should be easy to follow. Continue along the northern clifftop – there are views of the Somerset Levels and Glastonbury Tor on a clear day – until you reach the road at Black Rock Nature Reserve. Cross over, and follow the arrows along the gorge’s southern flank back towards Cheddar. From the visitor centre, it’s a 10-minute walk into the town centre, where you’ll find the Riverside Inn, a gastropub beside the Cheddar Yeo river.

Read more: The UK and Ireland’s best pilgrimage routes to walk this year

Duration: 3-4 hours

The Gower Peninsula is sorely underrated outside of South Wales. It was the UK’s first AONB, and any stretch of its 39-mile coastline is worthy of exploration. One of the best bits is the path from Port Eynon to Oxwich as it’s beautiful and relatively easygoing. Walk through the nature reserve into Oxwich village, then head back to where you started via the inland route, passing the impressive castle (really just a grand house with military pretensions, and also sadly closed this time of year). Once in Port Eynon again, grab a table at the Ship Inn, an old smugglers’ haunt with strong local ales on tap.

Read more: North Wales is the perfect gateway to developing a hiking habit

Duration: 4 hours

This rambling loop through the Cotswolds starts in the honeypot village of Bourton-on-the-Water. From there, follow the River Windrush through gently rolling hills towards Naunton (pause to admire the wonderful 17th-century dovecote) before turning east towards the River Eye. Turn right at the river and follow it down through Upper Slaughter and onward to Lower Slaughter. From there, it’s another half-hour walk back to Bourton, where you’ll find The Kingsbridge, a warm and welcoming venue offering cask ales and strong cider alongside a menu of pub classics.

Read more: Seven of the best walks in the Cotswolds and where to stay

Duration: 2-3 hours

From the gates of Bamburgh’s imposing Norman fortress, head down to the coast path and turn left, going past the lighthouse and the Newtown Gun Emplacement, with the Farne Islands visible out to sea. Skirt the edge of Budle Bay until you reach the pretty little hamlet of Waren Mill. You can then return the way you came, or cut inland, passing the Grace Darling Museum as you head back into Bamburgh. Stop in at the Lord Crewe before heading for home – it’s been providing bed and board to weary travellers for more than 850 years.

Read more: From eco houses to cosy inns, these are the best places to stay on top UK walking routes

Duration: 2 hours

Making the lung-busting ascent up Arthur’s Seat is not for the faint-hearted – it’s a steep 251m climb to the summit. Still, for many in Edinburgh it offers a favourite outdoor jaunt in the heart of the city. The best place to start is the entrance near Holyrood Palace. Go past St Margaret’s Well and bear left at the fork. Follow the path to the hill’s peak, admire the views, then descend via the zig-zagging steps. If you can, it’s worth making a detour down towards Duddingston, where you’ll find The Sheep Heid Inn at the foot of the slope. It’s an inviting country-style pub with a convivial atmosphere and, most unusually, its very own skittle alley.

Read more: The best winter hiking holidays in Europe for snowshoeing, winter sun and mountain climbs

Duration: 1-2 hours

This trail partly follows the southern shoreline of Strangford Lough, the largest sea inlet in the British Isles and a good place for birdwatching. Start at the Shore Car Park and follow the path, keeping the water to your right. Almost immediately, you’ll pass Old Castle Ward, which fans of HBO’s Game of Thrones may recognise as Winterfell Castle. The path curves inland shortly after passing another historic monument, Audley’s Castle. Follow it past the ornamental canal, then either cut across the parkland back to the car park or continue following the boundary path to extend the walk. For a glass of something medicinal, and perhaps a bite to eat, head into nearby Strangford and grab a table in The Cuan.

The Cuan has individually designed rooms with single and king-sized beds. Extra single beds can be brought into double rooms to accommodate families.

Read more: The best walks in Cornwall, from coastal routes to countryside ambles

Duration: 1-2 hours

This two-and-a-half-mile National Trust trail treads through a Welsh wildlife haven from Mora Nefyn car park. Head down onto the sand to follow the beach past unfinished sea defences and sand martin nests until you reach the hamlet of Porthdinllaen. Here, walkers can reward themselves with a local brew mid-coastal stroll at the Tŷ Coch Inn – accessible only via foot for non-residents. Carry on around the seagrass-studded headland past the lifeboat station onto the golf course for views across the bay before you loop back to the car park.

Read more: Where to wine, dine and hike along Britain’s original national trail

Duration: 1-2 days

Clocking in at 15.5 miles long, this trail to the most remote pub on mainland Britain is one for the serious steppers and ultimate pub enthusiasts. The route from Kinloch Hourn to The Old Forge, Inverie, is a one-way hike on the edge of the Knoydart Peninsula that committed pint sinkers can complete over one or two days. Climb the gravel path past Loch Hourn to Barrisdale Bay with views of Ladhar Bheinn mountain and pitch up for a deserved picnic before ascending to Mam Barrisdale. Finally, follow the Highland cows down to Loch an Dubh Lochain and keep plodding until you reach the village of Inverie and the legendary Old Forge for a frosty ale.

Read more: The best walking holidays in Scotland for long-distance trails

Bonnie Blue triggers diplomatic incident with stunt outside Indonesian embassy

Indonesia has reacted with fury after British adult content creator Bonnie Blue posted a video widely seen as insulting the Southeast Asian nation’s flag, sparking diplomatic complaints and a social media backlash.

Blue, 26, who was recently deported from the Indonesian resort island of Bali and barred from entering the country for a decade, posted a video filmed outside the Indonesian embassy in London that spread quickly on social media.

It shows her holding the Indonesian flag while standing alongside several masked men.

“Yes, I got arrested in Bali, and so for my last time, I came to the embassy so they could watch in person,” Blue says in the video.

As the men around her cheer, Blue attaches the flag to the back of her outfit and walks away, allowing it to trail along the ground. She continues her commentary by saying: “People said I’ve disrespected Bali culture. Instead, I am going to use this to wipe the floor.”

Blue also referred to a small fine she received during her deportation process in Indonesia earlier this month, saying she had come to the embassy to “pay my £8.50 fine”.

The incident triggered a sharp reaction from Jakarta. According to The Jakarta Post, Indonesia’s government formally raised the matter with the British foreign ministry and police.

“The red and white flag is a symbol of sovereignty, honour, and national identity that must be respected by everyone, wherever they are,” the Indonesian foreign ministry said in a statement.

Many Indonesians took to social media to criticise what they described as a deliberate provocation.

Some urged fellow users to report Blue’s social media accounts while others said any grievance she held should have been addressed through official channels rather than by targeting the country’s flag.

One commenter wrote that Blue should confront authorities directly instead of insulting a symbol that represents “a symbol of our struggle and pride”.

Blue, along with at least 17 Australian and British men, was detained in Bali earlier this month on suspicion of filming pornographic content in violation of the majority Muslim nation’s morality laws. Indonesia enforces strict laws against pornography, with penalties reaching up to 12 years in prison and fines of hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Investigators later dropped these charges, concluding the content was intended for private use rather than public release.

But a court ordered Blue to leave the country for violating visa rules and imposed a small fine for traffic violations.

After returning to Britain about two weeks ago, Blue downplayed the seriousness of the case. “I’m rich and have good lawyers,” she said, according to Us Weekly. “Did you really think I’d face jail time?”

Search called off for two swimmers missing at sea during Christmas Day swim

Two men, aged in their 40s and 60s, remain missing at sea after getting into difficulty off a beach in Devon on Christmas Day.

Emergency services were called to Budleigh Salterton at 10.25am after concerns for people in the water, with a number safely taken to shore.

However, despite extensive searches, the two men remained missing, before the coastguard and RNLI searches concluded in the area in the evening.

Their families have been informed of developments, a spokesperson for Devon and Cornwall Police said.

A Met Office yellow weather warning for wind was in place across parts of the South West and Wales on Christmas Day.

No warnings have been issued for Boxing Day but police urged people not to go swimming in the sea.

Detective Superintendent Hayley Costar, of Devon and Cornwall Police, said: “Today, emergency services have been responding to a truly tragic incident in Budleigh Salterton.

“Our thoughts remain firmly with the families and friends of the two men who are currently missing and to all who may have witnessed and be impacted by the incident. The local community will have seen a significant amount of emergency services in the area throughout the day as extensive enquiries have been ongoing.

“As dark falls, a number of these searches have been stood down, with some police enquiries on land continuing this evening.”

HM Coastguard said it had responded to reports of “people in difficulty” in the water in the Budleigh Salterton area.

Coastguard rescue teams from Exmouth and Beer attended, along with RNLI lifeboats from Exmouth, Teignmouth and Torbay.

They were assisted by coastguard search and rescue helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, along with police and ambulance personnel.

“Searches have continued throughout the day to find two men believed to still be in the water. After extensive shoreline and offshore searches, the coastguard part of the search was stood down at 5pm,” a spokeswoman said.

A spokesperson for the RNLI said: ““Our thoughts are with all those impacted by the incident and the family and friends of the two people who are missing.”

A number of Christmas and Boxing Day swims in Devon and Cornwall were cancelled this year because of a yellow weather warning for wind.

The Met Office warned of “strong and gusty east to northeasterly winds” from 4am until 11.59pm on Christmas Day in parts of south-west England and Wales. It said peak gusts would reach 45-55mph but these could reach 55-65mph along some exposed coasts and to the west of prominent hills.

25 moments that have shaped the 21st century

At the start of the century, when Tony Blair held hands with the Queen and sang “Auld Lang Syne” in the new Millennium Dome, most people had mobile phones and wrote texts by pressing number keys one, two or three times. The word “internet” was just beginning to take over from the “world wide web” and the “information superhighway”.

New Labour had captured the Geist of the Zeit, and carried all before it, and in the wider world it seemed as if liberal democracy faced no serious challenge to its whiggish advance. Centrists of the world had nothing to lose but their nagging sense that the new century might throw up new problems that they had not foreseen. So how did we get to where we are today?

Fast-forward 25 years, and the biggest change for most people in Britain and the world is probably the advances in technology, the internet and the smartphone. Lives are easier for most people, but politics is more fragmented. At the turn of the century, Blair had subdued the Tories, but it was assumed that when they came back, they would copy New Labour, and Cameron did: gay marriage, pro-EU. All that was blown up by the 2016 referendum, and now it is not obvious that either the Tories or Labour will survive as national parties at all.

Yet the biggest change in politics is the great class inversion: Labour is now the party of the graduate middle class, while the Tories and especially Reform are the parties of the non-graduate working class. All the assumptions of the two-party system 25 years ago are defunct. This is how I think we got here …

2000 Britain’s first home broadband connection was installed in Basildon, Essex. It is hard to recall what life was like when almost all of it was offline. Although there has been a lot of angst about slow pace of economic growth for most of the quarter-century, and about the negative effects of new technology, for most people the quality of life has increased in ways that are not measured by GDP: online shopping (Tesco online grocery deliveries started to take off in 2000), knowledge, and the convenience of life admin.

2001 Planes flew into the twin towers. It became starkly clear early in the new century that liberal democracy was not going to have it all its own way. The whole world united in supporting George W Bush, the new president of the US, although he did not seem to be equal to events, in pursuing the authors of 9/11 to their hiding places in Afghanistan. The whole world, that is, apart from Jeremy Corbyn, a backbench Labour MP, who set up an organisation called Stop the War. The world would not be united for long.

2002 Euro notes and coins were introduced in the eurozone countries. Blair’s energy and leadership helped compensate for Britain being in the EU’s second tier. Many respectable economists thought the new currency would collapse, but the history of the EU took a quite different turn.

2003 Blair supported Bush’s invasion of Iraq. The Labour Party (and the EU) were divided.

2004 The EU expanded from 12 members to 22. The Blair government decided against imposing temporary restrictions on free movement from new members, partly for good liberal reasons, and partly because, as Ed Balls said, “we didn’t think many people would move”. A million Poles came to Britain in the next few years, changing the Europe question in British politics from one about a currency to one about immigration.

2005 Blair was re-elected for a third term, but his party and his country were moving away from him.

2006 Charles Clarke was sacked as home secretary because he promised that every foreign prisoner would be considered for deportation on release – and they were not. The Blair government had gained control of an early wave of asylum applications, but the issue of immigration was threatening Labour in new ways.

2007 The iPhone was launched in November. As soon as I saw one, I knew it would change my life. It did, very much for the better. Partly this was because I was now on a thing called Twitter, which, until Elon Musk bought it in 2022, was a blast.

2008 On the negative side, the financial crisis. On the positive, Barack Obama won the election. It seemed that the politics of calm deliberation, thoughtful courtesy and pragmatic social justice was still alive. And he even served two terms. Yet his mere existence, let alone his historic significance in the American politics of race, had an appalling effect on the Republican side, which coarsened and degraded itself.

2009 The MPs’ expenses scandal. An informal system that, in effect, compensated MPs for their relatively low level of pay looked terrible when exposed to the light of day, and added fuel to the anti-politics fire.

2010 The most important thing that happened in the election, which I still think Labour could have won if Alan Johnson had replaced Gordon Brown, was that Gillian Duffy, a former Labour voter in Rochdale, confronted the prime minister about immigration from eastern Europe and he called her “some bigoted woman”. The Labour Party responded to its loss by electing Ed Miliband as its leader.

2011 The forgotten referendum on changing the voting system. I wouldn’t bother with that again. And, as Nick Clegg himself said, it would have made no difference at all if the vote had been on a truly proportional system.

2012 The London Olympics. A happy time. Not so good: Xi Jinping, authoritarian nationalist, became general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party.

2013 David Cameron delivered his speech at Bloomberg in the City, promising a referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU in the first half of the next parliament.

2014 Cameron won the Scottish independence referendum at the cost of blowing up Scottish politics for a generation. Again, he was right in principle, but he should not have conceded the right to decide the question, the date and the franchise to Alex Salmond.

2015 The Labour Party sealed its overreaction to the success of the Blair years by electing Corbyn on the inane grounds that “at least he believes in something, even if it is ‘Imagine’ by John Lennon”.

2016 The EU referendum in Britain and the election of Donald Trump in the US completed the grand slam of the retreat from the sort of politics that had dominated the turn of the century.

2017 Theresa May tried to secure the substantial majority she thought she needed to get Brexit through the Commons and was blindsided by the electorate, which was under the temporary illusion that Corbyn was a decent bloke who believed in traditional Labour things. She should have given up when she lost her majority altogether, having to rely on the DUP, but instead condemned parliament to two years of pointless deadlock over Brexit.

2018 The Salisbury novichok poisoning was the end of Corbyn, whose initial reaction was to take Vladimir Putin’s side in questioning the government’s account and with his reluctance to explicitly hold Russia responsible for the attack.

2019 Boris Johnson, the winner of the EU referendum, finally claimed his prize three-and-a-half years later, becoming leader of the Conservative Party and winning the general election in a landslide.

2020 Johnson had two achievements to his name. First, he took Britain out of the EU, which is what the people voted for; and he delivered a vaccine programme, which started with Margaret Keenan, a 90-year-old grandmother, in December – faster than anyone had believed possible.

2021 A video of Allegra Stratton failing to answer a mock question and joking about a lockdown party in Downing Street, in her audition to be Johnson’s spokesperson, was leaked a year later. That was the end of Johnson’s premiership, although it took several more months of poor decisions before he was finally relieved of his duties.

2022 The Conservative Party had its Corbyn moment in electing Liz Truss – the first time party members of any party had directly chosen a prime minister, and one that MPs would probably not have chosen. The restoration of common sense, in the form of Rishi Sunak, a leader of Obama’s virtues, came too late to save the Tory party.

2023 The Rwanda scheme was ruled unlawful by the Supreme Court in November. Sunak had promised to stop the boats, but failed to do so. Migrants started using dinghies to cross the Channel in numbers in 2020, which had nothing to do with Brexit: once the “ease” of the route was discovered, despite its dangers, the numbers grew.

2024 Keir Starmer fought a brilliant defensive campaign and won an election victory that looked like Blair’s on the numbers, but which was very different in its underlying meaning. Meanwhile, Kamala Harris fought a poor defensive campaign and lost.

2025 Shabana Mahmood was appointed home secretary in Starmer’s September reshuffle. In my view, the Labour government’s fate hangs on her ability to succeed where Sunak failed, in stopping the boats. Although such an appointment would have been unthinkable 25 years ago, Blair’s recent implied endorsement of her suggests that he thinks that her tough approach to immigration is an updating of New Labour’s politics for the second quarter of the 21st century.

Use of mixed-sex wards reaches highest level in 15 years

It’s about experience: Further Education teachers share what it takes

In the modern world, many of us are working longer than ever. Research based on ONS Labour Market data found that there are almost one million more workers aged 65 and above since the millennium and the state pension is set to rise to 67 by 2028 and 68 by the late 2030s. Subsequently, having multiple careers is becoming increasingly popular. And after decades working in a specific industry, sharing the work-based knowledge you have gained via teaching in further education is one of the most rewarding career shifts you can make.

Further Education teaching (defined as any education for people aged 16 and over who aren’t studying for a degree) allows you to switch up your working days and harness the skills and experience you have developed, all while helping shape the next generation of workers in your field.

To find out more about the role, from what it takes to the best parts of the job, we spoke to Further Education teachers who have switched from doing their day job to teaching it…

John Ryan, 51, from Weston Super Mare, worked for more than a decade on site in the construction industry, mainly in bricklaying and supervising roles, before an opportunity to become a Further Education assessor changed his path in his thirties. Travelling nationally to assess the work of new bricklayers in order to sign off their NVQs (National Vocational Qualification), the college John was associated with then started offering him some teaching work.

With no prior teaching qualifications, John completed these alongside his assessing and teaching roles with the fees picked up by the teaching college. “I liked the idea of passing on my knowledge and giving young people the skills and confidence to progress in a trade,” he says. “Teaching in Further Education felt like a natural next step because it would allow me to combine my practical background with coaching and mentoring.” There were practical draws too. “On site in the construction industry you are self-employed so you do not get holidays or sick pay. The stability of income and regular paid holidays was a big draw of Further Education teaching,” he adds.

Since his first assessing role 18 years ago, John has worked between assessing, teaching and jobs back on the construction site and now, he currently teaches bricklaying and groundwork full-time at South Gloucestershire and Stroud College.

John’s extensive site and supervisory experience has proved to be hugely valuable when it comes to teaching his students there. “I can explain not just the ‘how’ but also the ‘why’ behind industry standards,” he explains. “Learners often respond well to hearing about real jobs, site challenges, and the professional behaviours that employers expect. It makes the lessons more relatable and credible,” he shares.

“For example, I can share stories of accidents when teaching site safety, or explain how a mistake of a few millimetres on a construction site can cost you time to rectify, which in turn will cost you money,” he says. “These hands-on, real world experiences make the theory relatable and show learners the real value of getting it right.”

Coral Aspinall, 52, who became a full-time Further Education teacher 12 years ago, agrees. “My experience allows me to put my teaching into context,” she says. Coral started out her engineering career at 16 as an apprentice in a local engineering company. Following a BSc in Engineering and Business Management, she worked for many years in the engineering industry before enrolling on a part-time PGDE (Professional Graduate Diploma in Education) course for teaching. She’s now the Engineering Programme Leader at the Stockport campus of the Trafford and Stockport College Group. Here, they offer qualifications such as Level 2 Performing Engineering Operations as well as engineering-focused Level 3 T Levels and Level 3 Btec Awards. They also offer Level 3 apprenticeships across engineering including Technical Support, Engineering Fitter and Maintenance Management.

“Because I’ve been an engineering apprentice myself, I understand what the student needs to be successful in terms of skills, knowledge and behaviour,” she explains. “I also have contacts in the wider engineering community and understand what an employer is looking for in an apprentice, and can also share insights in terms of how the sector is shifting and evolving to help support their progress.”

Working for an extensive period of time in a field before passing on that knowledge gives teachers maturity and empathy which can be hugely helpful for students, especially those facing complex life situations.

Beyond the practical techniques, a big part of John’s role is helping learners build confidence, teamwork, communication, and problem-solving skills that employers look for. “Many of my learners have different challenges, so they value teachers who are approachable, who believe in them, and who prepare them for real opportunities in work or further study,” he says. For John, his previous work experience has allowed him to do this. “On site, I worked with people facing all sorts of pressures, from work to life issues, which taught me to be patient and supportive,” he explains.

Coral has had a similar experience. “I see my role as more than imparting knowledge; it is about preparing the young person for the next stage of their journey. The students trust me to have their best interests at heart; they come to me for advice on their next steps and how they can achieve their aspirations, and I’ll support them with both practical advice and words of encouragement.”

For Coral, teaching later in life allows her to draw from a mature perspective, and teach her students positive workplace behaviours alongside skills and knowledge. “Students thrive when they have clear unambiguous boundaries, so I’m firm around expectations in terms of timekeeping, attendance and attitude. This is particularly important to succeeding in the workplace as employers value these behaviours as much as, or even more than having specific expertise or know-how (which can generally be developed).”

If you’re looking for a fresh career option, and keen to share your skills with the next generation, Further Education teaching could be a really enriching new phase. Further Education covers a huge range of career sectors including construction, law, engineering, digital, hospitality, tourism, beauty and more. This includes BTECs (Business and Technology Education Council qualifications), T Levels, NVQs (National Vocational Qualifications) or City & Guilds Qualifications.

Teaching in a mixture of colleges (often General Further Education Colleges or Sixth Form Colleges) and Adult and Community Learning Centres as well as workplace and apprenticeship settings, further education teachers share their years of real world industry skills with a diverse mix of people from those straight out of school aged sixteen to those making career switches later in life.

You don’t always need an academic degree or prior teaching qualifications to start teaching in further education. You can undertake teacher training on the job, often funded by your employer, so you can start earning straight away.. Furthermore, it doesn’t mean you have to stop working in your chosen field. Further education offers hybrid opportunities – so you could teach part time alongside your other commitments. This means you could have the best of both worlds, where you are still working in your chosen industry and teaching alongside it at a time that suits your schedule. Find out if it’s the right move for you here.

If, like John and Coral, you see the appeal in sharing the knowledge and skills you’ve developed with the next generation, exploring the option of becoming a Further Education teacher can be a great next step. As John shares, the reward is always worth it: “It never gets old passing on my knowledge to people starting on their journey, knowing I have made a difference and getting a smile and thanks in return!”

Looking for a new role that’s rewarding, flexible and draws on your current career? Why not consider sharing your experience where it matters most – helping inspire the next generation of workers in the field you love? Visit Further Education to find out more

‘I wore a face veil for the first time. Then a man tried to hit me’

Fatima Mahmoud* decided to wear a niqab, a face veil, for the first time this summer while getting on the Tube in London. A man on the platform at Whitechapel station stared and shook his head, before shouting and pretending to punch the air at her.

The man mimicked the niqab by putting his fingers over his eyes like goggles. Her friend took a picture of him, which led to the man running up to them and attempting to hit them, while witnesses confronted him.

Despite being a British-born and raised Muslim, the 23-year-old told The Independent: “I don’t feel safe at all here in the UK. I drive as much as I can and try to be wary of my surroundings. Public transport scares me now, especially because this incident happened in the afternoon. It wasn’t dark outside.

“I was scared to wear the niqab again until I rebuilt my confidence. I constantly look over my shoulder in case someone punches me from behind.”

Her story comes at a time when almost half of Muslim women (45 per cent) feel unsafe on public transport, compared to just 8 per cent of women nationally, according to a new report by Muslim Census.

More than one in three (34 per cent) of Muslim women said they have experienced Islamophobic or racist abuse whilst travelling, the survey of 1,155 people in November 2025 found.

These experiences range from assault, verbal abuse, being spat at, having their headscarf pulled, and even being urinated on, the study said.

Ms Mahmoud said she reported the incident to the police but has seen no progress. The British Transport Police (BTP) said the investigation has been closed pending new evidence coming to light, as all current lines of enquiry have been followed.

Nearly two-thirds of Muslim women believe they are targeted because they wear the hijab, niqab or other visible markers of Muslim identity.

Data from Tell MAMA, which stands for Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks, reveals that many visibly Muslim women “suffer repeat and multiple incidents of anti-Muslim hate throughout their lives”, and many have even removed their identifying clothing out of fear.

Tell MAMA director Iman Atta added: “We had cases reported where Muslim women wearing the niqab were denied access to services, and where bus drivers would not stop for them at bus stops.”

Furvah Shah was left shocked, confused and in pain at a Tube station after being physically assaulted by a total stranger.

The 26-year-old hijab-wearing woman told The Independent she was just entering Marble Arch station when a young blonde woman kicked her and said, “You deserved that.”

Ms Shah was kicked in early September, a week before the “Unite the Kingdom” rally in London attended by 150,000 people. This follows a wave of summer anti-migrant protests over hotels used to accommodate asylum seekers.

During far-right demonstrations, nearly all Muslims (93.8 per cent) feel less safe, and 84.9 per cent actively adjust their travel behaviour, according to the survey. For women, the figures are even higher, with 96.3 per cent feeling less safe and 90.7 per cent changing their travel plans.

Ms Shah said: “This is a symptom of rising far-right sentiment. People feel emboldened to do things like this, and we’re the ones who suffer. I’ve been more cautious of public transport and also on edge in general because I fear it is not a one-off incident.”

Ms Atta said far-right protests have psychological impacts and can “trigger feelings of fear and trauma effects”, particularly on Muslim women and young people.

Ms Shah reported the incident to the police as a hate crime, but in the end, she decided not to escalate the case.

Sumaiya Khan*, 24, was six months pregnant when she said she was subjected to a racial slur in August 2024, amid the Southport riots.

Ms Khan was waiting at a Luton station bus stop when a middle-aged white man sat next to her. She said he started saying “there were too many ‘brownies’ around. He then looked at me and called me an ‘f***ing P***’”.

She described feeling “angry” and “fearful to go out in public”, after assuming slurs like that were outdated from her parents’ generation. She did not report the incident to the police.

The survey found only 12.5 per cent of incidents are reported to BTP, local police or transport staff. Of those reported, 69 per cent felt unconfident that it would be taken seriously.

A majority of Muslims, 83.1 per cent, believe Islamophobia is treated less seriously than other hate crimes, as Home Office findings of prosecution rates for religiously aggravated offences remain low.

Ms Atta said: “Anti-Muslim hate or Islamophobia is on the significant rise and the rhetoric around Muslim migrants is adding to this. It gives settled British Muslims the impression that they are ‘the other’ and that they are not accepted.

“This can have real-world impacts for social cohesion, integration and extremism and also divides communities in the ‘culture war’ debates. Some politicians have a lot to answer for in the pursuit of power.”

Mandy McGregor, Transport for London’s head of policing, said: “We are absolutely appalled to hear of these horrendous incidents. Islamophobia and all forms of hate crime are completely unacceptable and we are deeply sorry [they] have experienced this on our network. We work closely with the police to stamp out hate crime on our network and we are following up with the police about these incidents.”

A BTP spokesperson said: “Abuse, intimidation, and violence – especially that which is motivated by hate – will never be tolerated, and we have acted swiftly and decisively when we receive reports of hate crimes on the network.”

Hate crime victims or witnesses are encouraged to report via text on 61016 or call 0800 405040.

The Home Office declined to comment further.

* Names have been changed

Trump rants about Epstein in Christmas Day post

President Donald Trump has shared a bizarre Christmas Day social media post about Jeffrey Epstein, saying that he dropped ties with the late sex offender “long before it became fashionable,” and that the controversy surrounding the release of the so-called Epstein files is a “Radical Left Witch Hunt.”

The Trump administration has been facing ongoing scrutiny, mainly from Democrats but also some Republicans, for its handling of government files related to Epstein as the public pushes for more transparency about the disgraced financiers’ life and crimes. Epstein died by suicide in his jell cell in 2019 as he stood accused of sexually abusing and sex trafficking underage girls.

“Merry Christmas to all, including the many Sleazebags who loved Jeffrey Epstein…only to ‘drop him like a dog’ when things got too HOT, falsely claimed they had nothing to do with him, didn’t know him, said he was a disgusting person, and then blame, of course, President Donald J. Trump, who was actually the only one who did drop Epstein, and long before it became fashionable to do so,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Thursday evening.

The president was friendly with Epstein decades ago, calling him a “terrific guy” in a 2002 New York magazine profile. In the midst of the Epstein controversy, The Wall Street Journal reported on a lewd birthday card Trump supposedly gave Epstein in 2003, but the president has denied that he authored such a letter and is suing the outlet and its owners.

But Trump has said their relationship ended before Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting a minor for prostitution. The White House has said Trump did “nothing wrong” and that the president kicked Epstein out of his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach for being a “creep.”

Trump suggested in Wednesday’s Truth Social post that the people who thought Epstein was “the greatest guy on earth” were Democrats.

“When their names get brought out in the ongoing Radical Left Witch Hunt…and it is revealed that they are Democrats all, there will be a lot of explaining to do…Enjoy what may be your last Merry Christmas!” Trump wrote.

When the Justice Department started to release its trove of Epstein documents last Friday — after Congress pushed through legislation to force the Trump administration to reveal all the information it had on the convicted sex offender — photos of former Democratic President Bill Clinton emerged.

In one photo, Clinton and Epstein were smiling as they stood next to each other wearing silky shirts. In another, Clinton was swimming in a pool with Epstein’s longtime associate and convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell.

Trump and Clinton have not been formally accused of any wrongdoing related to Epstein.

Clinton’s spokesperson, Angel Ureña, said shortly after Epstein was arrested on federal sex trafficking charges in 2019, “President Clinton knows nothing about the terrible crimes Jeffrey Epstein pleaded guilty to in Florida some years ago, or those with which he has been recently charged in New York.”

Different from his tone in Wednesday’s Truth Social post, when asked about the photos of Clinton in the Epstein files on Monday, Trump seemed to sympathize with him, telling reporters, “I think it’s terrible.”

“I like Bill Clinton…I hate to see photos come out of him, but this is what the Democrats, mostly Democrats and a couple of bad Republicans, are asking for,” Trump said. “There are photos of me too. Everybody was friendly with this guy.”

Trump showed concern for how the Epstein files could ruin people’s reputations.

“You probably have pictures being exposed of other people that innocently met Jeffrey Epstein years ago.”

The president warned again on Wednesday of the consequences the Epstein files, which have not all been released yet, could have on people’s reputations.

“So many of their friends, mostly innocent, will be badly hurt and reputationally tarnished. But sadly, that’s the way it is in the World of Corrupt Democrat Politics!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Reacting to Trump’s Epstein rant, Representative Yassamin Ansari of Arizona, a Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, wrote on X, “The walls are closing in on Donald Trump and his corrupt, criminal regime, and he’s absolutely losing his mind. Merry Christmas!!”

The Justice Department wrote on X Wednesday that it may take “a few more weeks” to release over a million more documents potentially related to Epstein that the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and the FBI had uncovered.