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Exclusive guide to the best holiday destinations in the United Kingdom, independent reviews from award-winning travel writers

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The Ugadale Hotel

The famous first tee at Machrihanish Golf Club is looking impossibly perfect from my bedroom window at the Ugadale Hotel, framed as it is by the morning sun and the Atlantic rollers behind. Old Tom Morris, the designer of St. Andrews’ Old Course would be so proud his other baby is looking so good after all these years. The same could be said for the Ugadale Hotel, the once proud dame of Machrihanish saved from abandoned ruin by her new American owners, Southworth Development.

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Engawa dishes

Engawa London. Superb Japanese food, a feast for the eyes and tastebuds.

To say the china was as memorable as the food could be a veiled insult when applied to a lesser restaurant. But the spectacular Engawa, filling a niche for high-end Japanese dining in the heart of Soho, is as much a feast as much for the eyes as the tastebuds.

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Caledonian Sleeper. Glasgow to London.

It’s all change for the Caledonian Sleeper that connects London Euston overnight with five Scottish termini: Edinburgh, Glasgow for the lowland sleeper and Fort William, Aberdeen, Inverness for the Highland sleeper.

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Z Hotel Glasgow

Z Hotel Glasgow is ideally placed for exploring Glasgow city centre, next to George Square, 200 yards from Queen’s station but in spite of being perfectly central and in our case a Friday night, we had the quietest night sleep.

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Like a wee dram? Here is our guide to Scotland's best whisky festivals. 29B0003

Guide to Scotland’s best whisky festivals. Discover a world of whisky wonder.

There’s no better time to head for the Scottish Highlands and Islands than May, especially for lovers of a wee dram. This most picturesque region of the country boats a pair of fine distillery trails where some of the world’s greatest malts emerge from the pot stills as liquid gold.

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Pachamama interior

Pachamama London. Peru comes to trendy Marylebone.

If a preponderance of Peruvian restaurants is a peculiarity of the London dining scene, an even greater peculiarity is that some of the best have non-Peruvian chefs at the helm. At the top end, Coya in Mayfair makes this spicy, colourful cuisine sizzle in the hands of Indian culinary genius Sanjay Dwivedi, while Pachamama London brings a highly affordable, slightly Anglicised version of the genre to an attractively decked-out basement in Marylebone.

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