Today's Fresh Blogs...

• Inspirational days out

  Published: July 28, 2007, 1:24 pm

  Tags: Travel, Observer Escape Section, Summer Holidays, Family Holidays, Short Breaks

  From history lessons with a difference to Chester races.

  Comments (0)   Blog link Rating: 0

• Me and my travels

  Published: July 28, 2007, 4:43 pm

  Tags: Travel, Observer Escape Section, Me And My Travels

  Lucy Porter, comedian

  Comments (0)   Blog link Rating: 0

• Ayush Wellness Spa, Hotel de France

  Published: July 28, 2007, 4:43 pm

  Tags: Travel, Observer Escape Section, Health And Fitness, Spa Breaks, Hotels, Channel Islands, Short Breaks

  As spas go, Ayush is perfectly lovely - large, modern, airy and white with great treatments - but it is attached to a stuffy old place with patterned carpets and plastic flowers.

  Comments (0)   Blog link Rating: 0

• The city that fell into the sea

  Published: July 28, 2007, 4:43 pm

  Tags: Travel, Observer Escape Section, Egypt, Diving

  Ancient Alexandria was the home of the world's greatest library, and Queen Cleopatra, until an earthquake tipped it into the Med. Dan Whitaker explores another Egypt.

  Comments (0)   Blog link Rating: 0

• Horrors of war on the Blackpool front

  Published: July 28, 2007, 4:43 pm

  Tags: Travel, Observer Escape Section

  In the dark days of the Second World War, family holidays were a luxury few people could afford. I was seven at this time and this is the first holiday I remember.

  Comments (0)   Blog link Rating: 0

• Best British cycle routes

  Published: July 28, 2007, 4:43 pm

  Tags: Travel, Observer Escape Section, Cycling Holidays, United Kingdom, Short Breaks

  The Tour de France, which ends today, has prompted cyclists of all levels to dust down their bikes and get pedalling. If you fancy a two-wheeled adventure, check out Rob Penn's guide to top UK trails, from a gentle eight miles in Wiltshire to 400-plus miles of Scottish splendour.

  Comments (0)   Blog link Rating: 0

• No pampering, just paddling

  Published: July 28, 2007, 4:43 pm

  Tags: Travel, Observer Escape Section, Canoeing And Kayaking, Canada, Wildlife Holidays

  Girlie getaways needn't be all spas and shopping. Gemma Bowes took to the Canadian lakes on a women-only wilderness adventure.

  Comments (0)   Blog link Rating: 0

• Spotlight on ... activity holidays

  Published: July 28, 2007, 4:43 pm

  Tags: Travel, Observer Escape Section, Summer Holidays

  These days our holidays are more action-packed than ever - whether it's cycling, sailing, diving, kayaking or simply walking. If you want to get active this summer, it's not too late - if you act quickly.

  Comments (0)   Blog link Rating: 0

• Late getaways

  Published: July 28, 2007, 4:43 pm

  Tags: Travel, Observer Escape Section, Summer Holidays

  From Art Deco glamour in Miami to a family-friendly hotel in Egypt.

  Comments (0)   Blog link Rating: 0

• Hell and high waters: should you go?

  Published: July 28, 2007, 4:43 pm

  Tags: Travel, Observer Escape Section, Flooding, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom

  While some areas are still no-go zones for tourists, it's business as usual elsewhere. Gemma Bowes on the latest flood situation.

  Comments (0)   Blog link Rating: 0

• High walks and shear adventure

  Published: July 28, 2007, 4:43 pm

  Tags: Travel, Observer Escape Section, Walking Holidays, United Kingdom

  A 'free-range' holiday on a working farm in Cumbria has just the right ratio of spectacular hikes, hands-on activities and hearty food, writes Nell Card.

  Comments (0)   Blog link Rating: 0

• Where to ... cage dive with crocs

  Published: July 28, 2007, 4:43 pm

  Tags: Travel, Observer Escape Section, Wildlife Holidays, Diving, South Africa

  Forget cage diving with sharks - that's so last season - the latest thrill for adrenaline junkies is crocodile cage diving.

  Comments (0)   Blog link Rating: 0

• What is ... pond swooping?

  Published: July 28, 2007, 4:43 pm

  Tags: Travel, Observer Escape Section, Extreme Sports Holidays

  You might have thought sky diving and parachuting were gnarly enough, but for experienced jumpers looking for even more of a thrill, pond swooping, also known as extreme sky diving, is the ultimate high.

  Comments (0)   Blog link Rating: 0

• What would Papa say?

  Published: July 28, 2007, 4:43 pm

  Tags: Travel, Observer Escape Section, Cuba, Fishing

  Fishing, shooting, drinking, boxing - Ernest Hemingway liked his activities raw. In Cuba Ruaridh Nicoll pursues some of the writer's pastimes (minus the cockfighting and adultery) and discovers that it's not for the fainthearted.

  Comments (0)   Blog link Rating: 0

• Escape's pick of the week

  Published: August 4, 2007, 8:32 pm

  Tags: Travel, Observer Escape Section, United Kingdom, Food Drink

  The recently opened East Beach Cafe has made the sleepy West Sussex resort of Littlehampton a place of pilgrimage for design fans, architecture students and those who want their fish and chips with lashings of style.

  Comments (0)   Blog link Rating: 0