Britain on the Cheap

The Best Western Plus Castle Inn in Keswick is offering 50% off on two-night stays, for two people, from £34/$55 per person per night. The deal is timed to coincide with the Keswick Mountain Festival May 16-20, five days of dragon-boat racing, Canadian canoeing, kayaking, climbing, walking and activities for children.    

Macdonald Hotels & Resorts has a 25% spring break deal across the UK,  now through June 4.  If you book a stay in April, you’ll also receive a cream tea for two, excluding Saturdays. Reserve a room by April 9, including dinner, and you’re eligible for early check-in or late check-out. And every room receives [...]

Hoping to escape the winter doldrums? Sun & Snow Travel Show, Oct. 15 at the QEII Centre in Westminster, is London’s only free winter travel show. Just register for free admission. Some deals are up to 50% off. Wild In Scotland is offering a 50% discount on selected tours to the Highlands and Islands of [...]

Torridon Hotel in the Highlands, recently named Scottish Hotel of the Year 2011, is offering complimentary outdoor activities for guests throughout June. The activities instructor will lead half-day sessions in rock climbing, archery, loch kayaking, gorge scrambling and guided walks, normally costing from £25-£60/$41-$98 per activity. Children over 10 are welcome. Double rooms with breakfast [...]

Beat the Olympic rush! Ride the rapids at the Lee Valley White Water Centre in Hertfordshire, opening April 22. This is the only brand new London 2012 venue to be open to the public before the 2012 Olympic Games. Lee Valley Regional Park stretches 26 miles along the banks of the River Lee, from Ware [...]

Latitude Festiva tickets are on sale now, and Wicked Campers is planning for the show. Latitude will run July 14-17 in Suffolk, with The National, Paolo Nutini and Suede on stage, plus elements of theater, art, comedy, cabaret, poetry, politics, dance and literature. An automatic Wicked Camper, with a sink, tap, cool box, crockery, cutlery, [...]

Walkers will have a rare opportunity to walk across the famous Knucklas railway viaduct near the Welsh border town of Knighton on the morning of Sunday, April 10. For £10/$16, including a numbered souvenir ticket, 150 walkers will walk 75 feet in the air along the 190-yard length of the span. Knucklas stone viaduct was [...]

Fall is the perfect time for a great walk in the UK. The National Trust has developed more than 130 free walks in the countryside, villages and cities. Each walk includes a map and suggestions en route. The most popular download is The Bath Skyline, a six-mile circular walk through the city and a short [...]

Empty-nester Sharron Birds has fulfilled her dream to create a business and open a bootcamp with a difference for women. Inspirational Bootcamp at Ashcome in South Devon offers courses for up to 20 women at a time, with such activities as rock climbing, abseiling, caving, gorge walking, paintballing, coasteering, ziplining, boxercise and team games. There [...]

The London Dungeon is celebrating its 35th birthday in July and August with a 35-day “summer of scare.”  Get up early—or brave the spirits and stay up all night—for the Dungeon’s actual birthday on Aug. 2. The first 35 customers will get in free.