By Rose Shepherd Summer’s lease may barely have expired, but for the Guide it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas, as we check out what’s on offer for the festive season.

Discover English Sparkling: tips and advice from Laura Rhys, Master Sommelier One of the many glorious things about wine is that you need know nothing about it to enjoy it.

By Rose Shepherd High summer is full-on family time, when child-oriented hotels really come into their own, especially when rain stops beach play and the kids need other diversions.

By Rose Shepherd According to marine biologist Dr Wallace Nichols in his book Blue Mind, we human beings derive many cognitive and emotional benefits from being by, in or under water.

By Jane Anderson For your first honeymoon you might have opted for all the bells and whistles – confetti, cakes and cocktails at 3am.

By Rose Shepherd If you’re tempted by the idea of a UK summer break (no airport queues, no passport, no pet paperwork, jetlag or currency exchange), but want to avoid the teeming visitor hotspots, the Guide lists hundreds of hotels that offer an escape from the selfie-snapping crowds and purveyors of tourist tat.

By Rose Shepherd With British history and monarchy on our minds, this month we present our pick of some of our favourite Guide hotels with a colourful past – places that abound in stories, original features, several with royal connections, some set in acres of landscaped parkland and pleasure grounds.

By Rose Shepherd If you fancy a restful, convivial, self-indulgent or sporty and restorative country-house weekend, look to Ireland for the perfect place for you.

By Rose Shepherd A staple of the Edwardian breakfast table, kippers fell out of fashion in the Seventies, but they are enjoying a renaissance, to the delight of connoisseurs among our readers, who write to tell us when they have enjoyed a fine specimen of the butterflied smoked herring.