Shortest flights in UK including route that's quicker than making a Pot Noodle
And while many of us are used to sitting on planes for hours on end to get to our favourite destinations, you can actually take flights from the UK that last just minutes.
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Westray to Papa Westray
The shortest passenger flight in the entire world is the Loganair flight between Westray and Papa Wrestay, in the Orkney Islands of Scotland.
Passengers can travel between the two tiny islands in just one and a half minutes, with the record for the fastest flight just 53 seconds.
The distance between the two islands is just 1.7 miles, with flights running every single day.
Tickets will set you back just £8, and the flight is much quicker than the alternative option, a 25 minute ferry.
Other Orkney Inter-Island Flights
Although the Westray to Papa Westray flight is by far the UK's shortest, there are also a number of other short flights connecting the Orkney Islands.
These Loganair flights connect the islands to Kirkwall, Orkney's main hub.
For example, Kirkwall to Westray takes between 10 and 15 minutes, and Kirkwall to Sanday takes around 15-20 minutes.
London to Channel Islands
Anyone looking for a holiday close to home this summer can fly from the capital to the Channel Islands, such as Jersey and Guernsey in around 30-40 minutes.
Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands, was named one of the world's best islands in the Conde Nast Travellers' 2024 Readers' Choice Awards.
Its beaches are well known for their beauty, with a range of landscapes on offer, from wide, open spaces to secluded coves and lunar-like expanses, making it the perfect destination for anyone who isn't a fan of long haul flights.
Travel chaos as TWO flights have mid-air emergencies within A MINUTE at major UK airport
UK mainland to Isle of Man
Another popular tourist destination within the UK is the Isle of Man. which boasts stunning sandy beaches, seals and Victorian railways.
You can access the island by ferry (as influencer Molly-Ma e recently did) or you can take a commercial flight.
Regular flights take off from airports such as Manchester and Liverpool, and take between 30-50 minutes.
Flights from mainland Scotland to Scottish Islands
Loganair also runs short flights connecting people in other remote Scottish Islands to the mainland.
For example, a flight from either Glasgow or Edinburgh to the Outer Hebrides takes around 50 minutes, and a flight from one of the main Scottish cities to Shetland takes approximately one hour.
None of these islands are far from the mainland, but due to challenging ferry conditions, are often the preferred option for travellers.
If you're looking for an adventure a bit more long haul, Qantas has unveiled plans to launch the world's longest flights between Sydney and London and New York.
The non-stop flights are expected to take over 19 hours, and are set to launch in 2026.
How to get a free upgrade to first class on a plane
Travelers often wonder how to secure an upgrade to first class without paying the premium price. According to a flight attendant, there are several strategies passengers can employ to increase their chances. Firstly, loyalty to an airline is crucial; frequent flyers and those with elite status are more likely to receive upgrades. Additionally, booking directly with the airline rather than through third-party sites can improve your odds, as can being flexible with your travel dates and times.
Dressing smartly and arriving early can also make a difference. While airlines generally prioritize upgrades based on status and fare class, a well-dressed passenger who checks in early may catch the staff's attention. It's also beneficial to be polite and friendly to the airline staff, as they have the discretion to upgrade passengers at their own judgment.
Lastly, if you're celebrating a special occasion, such as a honeymoon or birthday, it doesn't hurt to mention it. While not guaranteed, some flight attendants might consider this when deciding on upgrades. Overall, while there's no surefire way to get a free upgrade, combining these strategies can certainly improve your chances.
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The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
‘Unlike anywhere else in Britain': in search of wildlife on the Isles of Scilly
At Penzance South Pier, I stand in line for the Scillonian ferry with a few hundred others as the disembarking passengers come past. They look tanned and exhilarated. People are yelling greetings and goodbyes across the barrier. 'It's you again!' 'See you next year!' A lot of people seem to be repeat visitors, and have brought their dogs along. I'm with my daughter Maddy and we haven't got our dog. Sadly, Wilf the fell terrier died shortly before our excursion. I'm hoping a wildlife-watching trip to the Isles of Scilly might distract us from his absence. One disembarking passenger with a cockapoo and a pair of binoculars greets someone in the queue. 'We saw a fin whale,' I hear him say. 'Keep your eyes peeled.' This is exciting information. The Scillonian ferry is reputedly a great platform for spotting cetaceans and it's a perfect day for it – the sea is calm and visibility is superb. From the deck, the promontory that is Land's End actually seems dramatic and special, in a way that it doesn't from dry land. There are several people armed with scopes and sights who are clearly experienced and observant. The only thing lacking is the animals. Not a single dolphin makes an appearance, never mind the others that make regular summertime splashes: humpbacks, minke, sunfish, basking sharks and, increasingly, bluefin tuna. Arriving in Scilly by ship is worth the crossing: wild headlands, savage rocks, white sand beaches, sudden strips of transcendentally turquoise ocean interspersed with the bronzed pawprints of kelp. Of course, it can be thick mist and squalls, but we're in luck, the islands are doing their best Caribbean impersonation. Hugh Town, the capital of St Mary's, is built on the narrow isthmus between two rocky outcrops. It's a quirky, independent town with the kind of traffic levels our grandparents would recognise. Up the hill, from the terrace of the Star Castle Hotel, we can see all the islands spread out around us, and handily there's a lady with a friendly labrador who gives us a pithy summary of each. St Martin's: 'Beach life.' Tresco: 'The royals love it.' St Agnes: 'Arty.' Bryher: 'Wild and natural.' Bryher is our big wildlife destination because the plan is to rent kayaks there and paddle to the uninhabited Samson island, which is a protected wildlife area. I'm banking on Samson for wildlife now that the whales didn't show up, but first we're going to explore St Agnes with Vickie from the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust. After a short ferry ride from St Mary's quay, we stroll around St Agnes and across a short sand spit, a tombolo, to its neighbour, Gugh. Vickie leads us up a heather-covered hillside next to an impressive stack of pink granite boulders. 'St Agnes and Gugh used to have a rat problem,' she tells us. 'There were an estimated 4,000 that had destroyed the breeding populations of both Manx shearwaters and storm petrels. We're pretty sure we've eradicated them now and the bird populations are rising fast.' She leans over a small burrow under a lichen-crusted rock, and sniffs. 'Yes, that's storm petrel – they have a distinctive aroma.' Using her phone, she plays a series of cackles and squeaks down the hole. No response. I ask Vickie about the archipelago's endemic species. The Scilly bee? 'Hasn't been seen for many years.' She chuckles. 'What makes the islands special is often what we don't have. There are no magpies or buzzards, no foxes or grey squirrels. Those absences are important.' What they don't have in terms of fauna, they certainly make up for in flora. The lanes and paths of St Agnes are a ravishing spectacle: agapanthus and honeysuckle, huge spires of echium and smooth succulent aeoniums from the Canary Islands. In this frost-free environment, all kinds of subtropical plants thrive, making the islands quite unlike anywhere else in the British Isles. Dotted among all this fecundity are artists' studios, galleries, a pub and a community hall where there's a wonderful display of shipwreck souvenirs: East India Company musket parts, skeins of silk, porcelain and perfume. Back on St Mary's, we swim and spot a seal. But if we imagine our luck is changing, it's not. Next morning we are down on the quayside, bright and early for the boat to Bryher. 'It just left,' says the ticket seller. 'We did post the change last night. Very low tide. Had to leave 15 minutes early.' 'When is the next one?' 'There isn't one.' The islands, I should have known, are run by the tides. Be warned. Without any time to think, we jump on the Tresco boat. A fellow passenger offers sympathy. 'Last week we missed the boat from St Martin's and had to spend the night there. It was great.' Sign up to The Traveller Get travel inspiration, featured trips and local tips for your next break, as well as the latest deals from Guardian Holidays after newsletter promotion I relax. She is right. The best travel adventures come unplanned. The low tide means we land at Crow Point, the southern tip of Tresco. 'Last return boat at five!' shouts the boatman. We wander towards a belt of trees, the windbreak for Tresco Abbey Garden. The eccentric owner of the islands during the mid-19th century, Augustus Smith, was determined to make the ruins of a Benedictine abbey into the finest garden in Britain. Having planted a protective belt of Monterey pine, his gardeners introduced a bewildering array of specimen plants from South Africa, Latin America and Asia: dandelions that are three and a half metres tall, cabbage trees and stately palms. Just to complete the surreal aspect, Smith added red squirrels and golden pheasants, which now thrive. Now comes the moment, the adventure decision moment. I examine the map of the island and point to the north end: 'It looks wilder up there, and there's a sea cave marked.' We set off. Tresco has two settlements: New Grimsby and Old Grimsby, both clutches of attractive stone cottages decked with flowers. Beyond is a craggy coast that encloses a barren moorland dotted with bronze age cairns and long-abandoned forts. At the north-eastern tip we discover a cave high on the cliffside. Now the low tide is in our favour. We clamber inside, using our phone torches. A ramp of boulders takes us down into the bowels of the Earth, and to our surprise, where the water begins, there is a boat, with a paddle. Behind it the water glitters, echoing away into absolute darkness. We climb in and set off. Behind us and above, the white disc of the cave entrance disappears behind a rock wall. The sound of water is amplified. After about 50 metres we come to a shingle beach. 'How cool is that?' says Maddy. 'An underground beach.' We jump out and set off deeper into the cave, which gets narrower and finally ends. On a rock, someone has placed a playing card: the joker. Later that day, having made sure we do not miss the last boat back, we meet Rafe, who runs boat trips for the Star Castle Hotel. He takes pity on us for our lack of wildlife. 'Come out on my boat tomorrow morning and we'll see what we can find.' Rafe is as good as his word. We tour St Martin's then head out for the uninhabited Eastern Isles. Rafe points out kittiwakes and fulmars, but finally we round the rock called Innisvouls and suddenly there are seals everywhere, perched on rocks like altar stones from the bronze age. 'They lie down and the tide drops,' says Rafe. 'These are Atlantic greys and the males can be huge – up to 300kg.' Impressive as the seals are, the islands are better known for birds, regularly turning up rarities. While we are there, I later discover, more acute observers have spotted American cliff swallows that have drifted across the Atlantic, various unusual shearwater species and a south polar skua. Next day is our return to Penzance, and it's perfect whale-watching weather. People are poised with binoculars and scopes, sharing tales of awesome previous sightings: the leaping humpbacks, the wild feeding frenzies of tuna, and the wake-riding dolphins. Nothing shows up. I complain, just a little, about our lack of wildlife luck. Maddy is playing with a pair of terriers. 'The thing with Wilf was he was always content with whatever happened,' she says. I lounge back on the wooden bench on the port side, enjoying the wind, sun and sound of the sea. I'm channelling the spirit of Wilf. Be happy. Whatever. It's a lovely voyage anyway. And that's how I missed the sighting of the fin whale off the starboard side. The Star Castle Hotel on St Mary's has double rooms from £249 half-board off-season to £448 in summer; singles from £146 to £244. Woodstock Ark is a secluded cabin in Cornwall, handy for departure from Penzance South Pier (sleeps two from £133 a night). The Scillonian ferry runs March to early November from £75pp. Kayak hire on Bryher £45 for a half day, from Hut 62. For further wildlife information check out the
The Sun
3 hours ago
- The Sun
Incredible sacrifice of tiny English village that's become a haven for dark tourism 359 years later
A LOT of historic sites are shrouded in suffering and death, but one UK town is known entirely for its tragic past. Eyam in Derbyshire suffered mass casualties during the Black Death, establishing itself as a haven for dark tourism centuries later. 4 The Peak District village lost a staggering 260 villagers in just 14 months as the plague spread across England. Given the town at the time only housed 350 residents, this loss was felt all the more by those in the area. After the spread of the Black Death in the 1660s, Eyam earned the title of "plague village". The bubonic plague first wreaked havoc worldwide in the 1300s before another outbreak in England during the 1660s. It claimed over 68,000 lives in London alone during this period. The deadly disease eventually made its way north, reaching Eyam in the summer of 1665. In a bid to shield neighbouring villages, Eyam's inhabitants bravely chose to isolate themselves after symptoms of the plague were reported within its borders. A boundary stone, which remains to this day, was erected between plague-ridden Eyam and the nearby unaffected town of Stoney Middleton. Eyam's residents would make their way to this stone to deposit vinegar-soaked money in exchange for food and medical supplies, left by Stoney Middleton's inhabitants. Today, visitors to Eyam can witness the lasting impact of the plague outbreak on the village. English seaside town to transform abandoned beach shelters into new attraction There are numerous graves scattered throughout the village and surrounding fields as families were urged to bury their deceased near their homes instead of in the church graveyard. These stringent rules were established by Reverend William Mompesson and Puritan minister Thomas Stanley. They also opted to move all church services outdoors and ensured no one could enter or leave the village. A recent visitor to Eyam shared a heartbreaking love story that has become part of the folklore surrounding the plague-stricken village. "In 1665, the plague hit Eyam and they locked down the village, separating Emmott Sydall from her fiancé Rowland Torre," the tourist said in an Instagram post. Eyam during the plague The Black Death is thought to have first arrived to the village in September 1665. Historians have hypothesised the disease was brought to Eyam via a parcel of cloth delivered from London to a local tailor. The cloth is believed to have been infested with plague-carrying fleas. During the 14-month voluntary quarantine, 75% of the town's residents passed away. One resident, Elizabeth Hancock, buried her husband and six children with her own hands within eight days. Plague cottages, where victims lived and died, still stand in the town today. "Emmott and Rowland would meet at the village boundary once a week, keeping their distance so he wouldn't contract the disease. "One day, Emmott didn't show up, when the lockdown was lifted, Rowland was among the first to enter the village in search of Emmott." A plaque indicates that Emmott was one of the village's many victims of the black death. The romantic rendezvous of the two at the village boundary has been immortalised in a stained glass image visible in Eyam's St Lawrence's Church. More on dark tourism Plus, the stunning paradise island with WW2 wrecks that has also become a haven for dark tourism. And the darkest and weirdest weekend breaks across Europe. Dark tourism has reached all corners of the globe, with many visiting suicide forests and nuclear disaster zones. Some thrillseekers even risk death in the world's most dangerous countries. 4 4
Telegraph
4 hours ago
- Telegraph
Gordonstoun pupils recreate teenage King's 28-mile Cairngorms hike
Gordonstoun pupils have recreated the King's 28-mile Caingorms hike 60 years later. The teenage Prince of Wales went on a three-day hike through 'rain and stormy wind' in October 1965 for his silver Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) award. This year students from the King's old school tracked down the archived records of his route before setting out to recreate the challenge, following the King's footsteps across the Highlands in their hike from June 19 to 21. While handwritten notes detail how Charles ascended 2,788ft peaks to find a view shrouded in mist, the students chose a warmer time of year for their hike. Temperatures reached as high as 27C (80F). They followed Charles's route from Balachroich, through Kingussie, to Rothiemurchus Lodge in Aviemore, taking in Glenfeshie Forest and passing by Ben Macdui on the way up Glen Dee. Another group followed the same course in reverse. With the help of the handwritten notes and accompanying map, a team of seven – five girls and two boys – retraced Charles's route to obtain their own silver awards. Hiker William Griffin, 16, said: 'The most standout thing for me on the expedition was how diverse all the landscape was. 'We started off in dense woodland, going along the banks of a dried-up river that led out into a wide valley with thick heather. 'We then went through the mountains into a massive open plain with the river meandering through it. It was so impressive.' The records reveal Charles was a member of group two, under its pupil leader Michael Fabianski. The group was found in good spirits when a 'Mr Varney' checked in with them on the Saturday, according to the notes. Mr Fabianski said: 'My memory from the expedition was camping for the first night on the banks of the River Feshie and wading across the River Dee, while walking up Glen Dee to the Corrour bothy, where we camped for the second night. ' It's very atmospheric walking up Glen Dee, with Cairn Toul on one side and Ben Macdui on the other. I appreciated the steepness of the valley later, when we scrambled up its side to Càrn a' Mhàim during the gold expedition in which I took part the following July.' Mr Varney's written account talks of 'overcast skies' and 'stormy wind' but suggests the Sunday was 'a fine day' and the prince's group reached their final destination just after group one at 3.20pm. India Lewis, 16, one of the pupils who went on the expedition, said it was cool to follow in the King's footsteps and she really enjoyed the challenge. Miss Lewis said: 'In the back of everyone's mind we remembered our motto, 'Plus Est En Vous', and we remembered that you have more in you. 'We do have more in us because even at times when we thought we couldn't do it we were still able to keep going and we all got there in the end. Mindset does really matter.' The DofE award has its roots at Gordonstoun, where it was known as the Moray Badge until Prince Philip championed the experience. It evolved to become a national programme in 1956. In the 12 months to March a record 572,802 pupils participated in the scheme at bronze, silver and gold levels. Peter Green, the Gordonstoun principal, said: 'In the spirit of our founder Kurt Hahn, I firmly believe that students must be regularly challenged to grow, both inside and outside the classroom. 'The recent expedition through the Cairngorms, retracing the footsteps of the King, was a powerful illustration of that philosophy in action. 'Spending four days camping in one of the most remote regions of the UK presented a genuine test of the students' resilience and teamwork, and they responded with remarkable perseverance and strength of character.'
