IT was two days until Christmas and the afternoon sky was blue and crisp as Lydia’s car pulled up in front of the magnificent Bristol Hotel. Why was it called the Bristol? she wondered. It was nowhere

EXPLORING THE SOUTH ATLANTIC AS A CELESTIAL NAVIGATOR TURNS INTO A THREE-YEAR QUEST FOR A LITTLE-VISITED ARCHIPELAGO, BY KATE SCHNIPPERING

Tony Moss and his wife Marike cross the North Sea to sail around Britain anticlockwise, braving the Scottish summer along the way

For those dreaming of the joys of owning a yacht, Nick Ridley offers encouragement as well as a look at the harsher reality of financing your dreams

Tara stared blankly at the Christmas tree. The fir was a last-minute purchase from the garden centre. She hadn’t decided whether to decorate it. In the armchair opposite hers, where Hugh would normall

Celebrating 100 years of the BBC Shipping Forecast, Jane Russell takes us on a series of coastal cruises through the forecast sea areas, exploring some of the special places on offer in each of them