However, if you are looking for a relaxing place to visit to soak up some sun, there are busier areas that you should avoid.

The Telegraph recently released a list of the 20 best secret and remote beaches around Britain to help you avoid the “madding crowds”.

The quiet spot, Budle Bay, made it onto the list as an alternative to the usually busy Bamburgh.

Why should I visit Budle Bay?

On the beach, The Telegraph said: “Visitors to the popular coastal town of Bamburgh looking for a quieter seaside experience should head north, past the castle and the lighthouse at Stag Rocks and round the head to reach Budle Bay.

“Here, as well as acres of golden sands to enjoy and sea that is safe for swimming and watersports, you can see Lindisfarne – or Holy Island – in the distance.”

Budle Bay is described as being a “hidden gem” in Northumberland with “stunning scenery and rich wildlife”.

Budle Bay is made up of a narrow strip of sand that follows the bay around, with grassy dunes and Northumberland countryside backing it.

The area is great for birdwatching and spotting wildlife like wildfowl, wading, and migratory birds, and if you are lucky, you might even spot grey seals, dolphins, and otters.

There are lots of walking and hiking trails to follow around the bay, or if you prefer to relax, the area is great for swimming and sunbathing.

If you want to spend a weekend in the area, The Telegraph recommends staying at Budle Hall, which is a B&B with rooms and a camping field behind it.

There are also plenty of other campsites where you can stop and enjoy the area.

What do visitors say about Budle Bay?

Budle Bay has a score of 4.2 out of 5 on Tripadvisor with 60 reviews.

One reviewer wrote: “Just breathtaking! Even when the tide is out, the mudflats attract feeding rare birds – a nature reserve like no other.

“Sandy beach is about two miles out to see from the observation point but worth the walk.”

Another person said: “One of the best beaches we’ve visited.

“There’s nothing else there, no shops or amusements etc so I’ve rarely seen it super busy.

“When the tide is out it leaves behind big pools which are lovely for children and dogs to play in safely.

“One of my favourite places in Northumberland.”

What is your favourite secluded beach along the Northumberland coast? Let us know in the comments.

Standing under the archway where King Charles, the late Queen Elizabeth II and plenty of other Royal Family members have been pictured on Christmas Day every year, I look up at St Mary Magdalene church.

I’m spending the afternoon with my fiancé and some friends exploring Sandringham Estate’s house – there are eight rooms open to the public – and the 60-acre gardens.

After a couple of hours in the sunshine admiring the horticulture, including a hydrangea named ‘King George V‘ and countless beautiful roses, we cool off with an ice cream from the Stables Café. 

Unlike most guests who visit this regal 20,000-acre Norfolk country retreat, we’re not going home at the end of day. 

Instead, we’re checking into accommodation for the next two nights that’s located within the grounds of the estate.

Rather than checking into a stately abode though, we’re staying in a deluxe safari tent at Experience Freedom’s Sandringham Estate glamping site – but it very much feels like we’re in the monarch’s back garden.

Travel reporter Alesia Fiddler checked into a safari tent on Experience Freedom’s Sandringham Estate glamping site

The Caravan and Motorhome Club has operated a campsite on the Norfolk-based land since 1977 and it was created with the help of the late Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip, who was known to love the outdoors.

It recently underwent a major redevelopment including a new facilities block and reopened earlier this year. 

Our tent is one of four different types to choose from – there are 15 in total – and it is fully equipped with everything you might need including a stove top, kitchen appliances, a modern bathroom and even a dishwasher, it hardly feels like a tent. 

With enough space for six people – and from just £79 a night in low season, there are three bedrooms including a double bedroom, a twin bedroom and a double cabin bedroom.

It’s deemed too hot to use charcoal and disposable barbecues on the site (the tent is kitted out with a disposable BBQ stand next to the decking), so to make the most of the outdoor space and warm evening, we bring along an electric pizza oven and set it up on the verandah.

Surrounded by towering trees, we tuck into molten slices of margarita and pepperoni pizza as we sit underneath the beige canopy and look out onto the forest and other tents. 

At one point during the meal, a wild rabbit pays us a visit and scratches around the ground nearby the decking. 

With only fabric walls to separate us from the outside, I feel completely connected to nature and it’s a refreshing change from the hot and muggy London I’ve experienced this summer. 

The site sits surrounded by Norfolk nature, with a chance to explore the 20,000-acre royal estate too

In the evening, fairy lights twinkle along the edge of the verandah 

There is a spacious outdoor deck area to enjoy that’s sheltered from sun and rain

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The woodland walk across the estate from the site to the visitor centre and house

As the sun sets, a string of fairy lights come on and illuminate the edges of the tent and sparkle as the night draws in. 

We head inside and spend the evening enjoying drinks and board games on a spacious wooden dining table. 

In the morning, birds chirp loudly outside as we rustle up a bacon sandwich on the hob and enjoy it out in the fresh air. 

Our plans for the day are scuppered by a downpour – the first I’ve seen in a while in this heatwave summer – and we sit outside under the verandah as rain patters down and bounces off the material.

Water trickles off the canopy and the air fills with the smell of damp earth but the break from the heat isn’t long lived. The rain subsides and the sun breaks through after a couple of hours.

We take the opportunity to explore our back garden – the estate – some more and walk to Sandringham House from the safari tent.

A woodland trail winding through ferns and trees, across wide pathways and a walk through heavily wooded sections of the forest leads us to the visitor centre in around 30 minutes, though it feels much shorter.

In the evening, we’re spoilt for choice with the amount of restaurants and pubs nearby. 

We eventually settle for The Farmers – which is only a six-minute drive away – and tuck into homecooked food under wooden beams, sitting beside characterful bare brick walls.

The deluxe safari tent has three bedrooms including a double bedroom (pictured), a twin bedroom and a double cabin bedroom

The kitchen is fully equipped with a stove, sink, appliances and a dishwasher – it hardly feels like a tent

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Several beaches are located just a short drive away from the site. Pictured: The red and white striped cliffs at Hunstanton

With the sun still shining into the next day, we venture outside of the estate and head to the beach. 

The Norfolk coastline is only 20 minutes away by car and we are soon walking along Hunstanton South Beach, which is popular with families and young children. 

Further down, we find the famous red and white striped cliffs and soon reach Old Hunstanton Beach – much more peaceful than our first stop.

We have a paddle in the sea before heading home, this time to our flat rather than a royal estate, after enjoying a weekend fit for a king.

A knife amnesty bin will be set up at Nelson Square of Bradshawgate early next month, on Friday, September 4, between 6pm and 7:30pm.

Amnesty bins have previously been set up elsewhere around the town, including at the junction of Churchgate and Bradshawgate last Saturday.

A Greater Manchester Police spokesperson said: “You may have unwanted knives at home and are worried about safely disposing them, this is an excellent way to ensure they are responsibly and securely disposed of.

“This is also an opportunity to anonymously hand over knives without fear of prosecution.

“If you wish to hand over a knife, please ensure the blade is safely wrapped in cardboard, secured in place with tape, and placed into an opaque bag whilst on route to the amnesty bin.

“No details will be taken, no questions asked, simply walk over, drop off, and walk away knife free.”

Anyone with any further information or concerns about knife crime in their areas can call police on 101 or 999 in the event of an emergency.

Alternatively, members of the public can call independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

The gym would have two to three instructor-led classes per day

A new fitness studio and gymnasium may soon be opening in Peterborough. It comes after Peterborough City Council approved a planning application to change the use of a former vehicle repair workshop at Wharf Road Industrial Estate.

Applicant, Jess Croney, stated that the proposed new gym at unit 12 would be operated on a members-only basis. Documents suggested that there would be around two to three instructor-led classes per day, with eight participants per class.

“The classes will be staggered through the day, with sufficient intervals between sessions so that one class concludes and its participants depart before the following class begins,” the plans stated.

“This is a core part of the operating model and is specifically designed to prevent the overlap of arriving and departing attendees that could otherwise place pressure on the parking area.”

The only physical works proposed at the site were internal decoration and refurbishment, with new external lighting and CCTV cameras to be installed.

Internally, the unit would be laid out to provide an open training area for fixed and free-weight resistance equipment and cardiovascular equipment, together with ancillary floorspace. Free-weight and resistance areas would be fitted with resilient rubber gym flooring to control impact noise.

Externally, there would be seven car parking spaces provided (including one accessible bay), two motorcycle spaces, turning space and a designated pedestrian route to the entrance. The previous occupier of the industrial unit, a car repair centre, relocated to larger premises in summer 2025.

The unit was marketed for approximately seven months without securing a tenant.

“Given the established industrial and commercial setting, and the presence of similar indoor sport and fitness uses nearby – most notably the karate gym directly opposite – the change of use is wholly consistent with the character and function of the estate,” the design and access statement noted.

By JOE ROSSITER, REPORTER

Published: 00:01 BST, 16 August 2026 | Updated: 07:45 BST, 16 August 2026

A countryside ranger was involved in a heated conversation with a man using a portable stove in the tinderbox-dry bushes of Buckinghamshire’s Coombe Hill on Saturday.

The ranger sternly reminded the defiant cook that using an open-flame stove in the baking conditions could prove dangerous.

Clad in a light blue patterned short-sleeved shirt, the bearded chef looked glum as the ranger reprimanded him.

The heated exchange on the hill – which overlooks the Prime Minister’s residence at Chequers – came just a day after the Government’s national warning amid the wildfires ravaging the country.

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Andy Burnham was heavily criticised for using the UK’s national alert system to sound an alarm on mobile phones across the nation on Friday night warning of the wildfire risk.

‘There is a very high risk of wildfires nationally,’ the message read.

‘Residents, landowners and visitors should not undertake any activity that could start a fire, including disposable barbecues, firepits, garden incinerators or fireworks.

‘Even a small flame can rapidly develop into a major wildfire placing lives, homes, businesses and emergency responders at risk.’

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Should people face tougher penalties for reckless behavior that could spark wildfires during dry spells?

The would-be chef looked annoyed as his defiance of national warnings against open flames outdoors was questioned by a National Trust ranger on Saturday

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But the exchange came to an amicable end as the pair shook hands on the tinderbox-dry ground

The warning prompted panicked Britons to jam 999 phone lines and startled drivers.

It also sounded on the BBC’s The One Show, which was being transmitted live, startling presenters Alex Jones and Roman Kemp. 

But the blaring warning was clearly not enough for the connoisseur of the Buckinghamshire bistro.

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However after his row with the ranger, the pair amicably shook hands.

The Bolton News exclusively revealed that the water company has taken the next step in implementing car parking charges in Rivington by submitting plans to introduce paid car parks around Rivington Reservoir.

The group submitted the application on July 29 for eight new number plate recognition cameras and four new payment machines to be installed in car parks around Rivington.

Parking charges on the site have loomed since 2022, though until now, no firm plans had been submitted.

Rivington Reservoir (Image: Derek Cartwright)

A United Utilities spokesperson said: “The increasing popularity of Rivington creates challenges including congestion, unsafe parking, pressure on paths and heritage assets as well as impacts on local residents and businesses. Without significant new investment, these issues will continue to grow.

“We have been engaging with local residents, businesses and councillors to share a proposal for car parking to be operated by Rivington Heritage Trust. There isn’t a fixed timetable for this, and the level of charges hasn’t been agreed yet. We will take the views of local people into account when setting them. We are in discussions with both Chorley Council and Lancashire County Council to ensure any proposals will help reduce congestion and improve safety for residents and visitors.

“Funds generated from car parking will be ringfenced and used to support improvements such as the creation of new car parks and refurbished car parks with bay marking, upgraded footpaths and signage, new toilets, new visitors centre, restoration of heritage assets including Liverpool Castle, the creation of education and engagement spaces and on-site staff who can help manage visitors, improve safety and protect the landscape.”

Lower House Car Park (Image: Chorley Council)

Even though the car parks fall within the jurisdiction of Chorley Council, the new restrictions will affect nearby Horwich and Blackrod.

Horwich and Blackrod First Cllr Peter Wright said: “It affects us here because Rivington is such a popular area. Many of those people will then end up parking somewhere else, for example side streets in Horwich.

“We know that United Utilities do a good job around here, but we will have to see how it goes.

“I know they’ve been in touch with some of the smaller councils in the area, but it would have been nice for them to contact Horwich council.

“I know they have some good plans going, like extending some of the car parks and making new spaces near Lower House.

Main Drive (Image: Chorley Council)

“Of course we’re going to try and stop it if we can.

“I know Lord Leverhulme left it for the community of Bolton when he died – but back then people didn’t have cars.”

Considering the current Premier League champions play in the game every season it is surprisingly rare for the Community Shield winners to go on to win the league.

Since the Premier League started in 1992-93, only eight of the 34 winners of the Charity or Community Shield have done so.

Five of those happened in a six-year spell from 2005 until 2010.

Manchester City, in 2019, were the last team to do so – and before that it was Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United in 2011.

Only one of the past 15 winners of the Community Shield have gone on to become champions that season.

Since 1992 the teams who lose the Community Shield have won more league titles that season – 10 in total, including Manchester City for three years in a row between 2021 and 2023.

Last year Crystal Palace beat Liverpool and ended up finishing 15th, although they did go on to win the Conference League. The Reds also had a disappointing domestic campaign, finishing fifth.

Some 47% of the time (16/34) the upcoming season’s Premier League winners had not been involved in the Community Shield – like Arsenal in 2025-26.

And 53% of the time (18/34) the Shield winners have finished above the losers in the league that season.

On 10 occasions the two teams have finished as the top two in the Premier League – with four of those times being the Shield winners top and the losers as runners-up.

Chaos erupted across the US on Saturday, with three separate mass shootings threatening to snuff out dozens in Virginia, Kentucky and Chicago. 

In Kentucky, five people were shot, one fatally, when gunshots rang out in a park near a packed downtown bar district Saturday evening. At least 13 shots sent revelers running for cover, footage posted by a local official showed.

‘My heart is broken. This evening we had a shooting at the park with multiple victims and one fighting for his life,’ ONE Lexington Director Devine Carama wrote.

The shooting took place at roughly 6.45pm at Charles Young Park. 

A four-year-old, a 14-year-old and two adults were shot, police said in a subsequent update. All were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. 

Another victim was declared dead at the hospital, a Lexington Police Department spokesperson told the Daily Mail. The spokeswoman said the incident remains under investigation.

Both Carama, the director of the mayor of Lexington’s youth gun violence reduction program, and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear used the incident to call attention to high rates of gun violence.  

Meanwhile, a mass shooting was unfolding in Chicago, at around 7.15.pm. It left four injured, two critically, after a car pulled up beside a group walking along a sidewalk in the city’s Gresham neighborhood.

The victims, a 43-year-old man, a 34-year-old man, a 32-year-old woman and a man of unknown age, were all injured, after multiple occupants fired shots out of the windows before driving off. The incident is also under investigation. 

A mass shooting in Chicago at around 7.15.pm left four people injured, two critically, after a car pulled up beside a group walking along a sidewalk in the city’s Gresham neighborhood

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No arrests have been made in either incident.

A 19-year-old suspect was arrested Saturday evening, though, for a shooting that occurred at Virginia State University early Saturday and injured five, including a student.

The school, however, previously said in a statement that the shooting involved ‘multiple suspects.’

That shooting remains under investigation as well.

Suspected gunman Camron Harris is not a student and is from Virginia, Chesterfield County Police said in a statement shortly after making the arrest. Neither were four of the people injured.

The victims’ ages ranged from 17 to 23. Their names have not been released. The shooting occurred just after 1.30am and sent the campus into lockdown. One of the five wounded suffered critical injuries. 

The park plagued by gunfire in Kentucky, meanwhile, was in the midst of an outdoor concert event slated for six to 8pm, the Lexington Herald Leader first reported.   

Gov. Beshear was the first to confirm reports of the shooting, doing so during a speech in downtown Lexington at the Kentucky Democratic Party’s Moving Forward Together at the Hyatt Regency, not far away from the scene.

A 19-year-old suspect has been taken into custody for a shooting that occurred at Virginia State University early Saturday. The shooting injured five, including a student

‘To stop mass shootings, we have got to elect Democrats that will actually do something about it,’ Beshear said. 

Lexington Chief of Lexington Police Lawrence Weathers gave an update at the park as well, revealing that multiple children were among those shot in an update issued at the scene shortly thereafter.

It remains unclear whether a suspect was apprehended.

Weathers told reporters at the scene that he didn’t believe there was a threat to the public, the Herald Leader reported. 

A Lexington Police Department spokesperson told the Daily Mail the investigation was still active early Sunday morning.  

The University of Kentucky HealthCare reportedly sent an email to employees saying it was providing care to ‘multiple patients’ wounded during the ‘tragic shooting at Charles Young Park.’

Police were filmed making a perimeter around the park with their cruisers before sundown as well.

Chief Weathers told reporters: ‘If you know somebody who might be inclined to use a weapon, please do anything you can do to let us know before something happens.

‘Please let us know.’ 

The park plagued by gunfire in Kentucky was reportedly in the midst of an outdoor concert event slated for 6 to 8pm. At least 13 shots were fired, according to the hectic video

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The poster recalled parkgoers performing CPR and lifting young victims who had been shot 

Police descended on the park, where there was reportedly an outdoor concert in place, after witnesses reported gunshots at 6.48pm, police said – adding that they did not believe there was any more threat to the public

Carama, meanwhile, recalled parkgoers ‘trying to help with CPR,’ one lifting a young victim ‘who got shot,’ and ‘EMS responding to multiple victims in real time’ in posts to Facebook.

In the footage he shared, a woman can be heard screaming ‘my baby’ as bullets whiz by. 

‘This is not normal. We come together every year as a family and kick it on the Eastside and we haven’t had something like this happen, EVER,’ Carama added.

The temporary measure took effect on Friday (August 14) and follows a rise in blazes across England and Wales, which have already seen more incidents in 2026 than in the whole of 2025.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said: “The temporary ban on barbecues, disposable barbecues, comes in today.

“All retailers will be receiving notification of that ban, and we ask them to, obviously, implement it in full until further notice when we can remove it.”

This evening, an Emergency Alert has been sent to people across England and Wales as the wildfire risk remains very high. The request came directly from Fire and Rescue Services.

I was in Stourbridge today and saw first-hand the devastating impact these fires have had on…

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— Andy Burnham (@andyburnham) August 14, 2026

During a visit to Stourbridge where some houses had been destroyed by wildfire, he urged the public to avoid all open flames.

He said: “I would also want to say to the public, you can see what’s happening: 37 significant fires across England and Wales.

“Please do not light an open fire, a bonfire of any kind.”

The ban does not extend to Northern Ireland.

Disposable barbecues have been banned in England, Scotland and Wales, with Northern Ireland excluded (Image: Jonathan Brady/PA Wire)

Which UK retailers have banned disposable barbecues from sale?

Many retailers had already stopped selling the products following advice from the British Retail Consortium and the National Fire Chiefs Council.

These include:

• Asda
• Co-op
• Home Bargains
• Morrisons
• The Range
• Sainsbury’s
• Tesco
• Wilko

Retailers Aldi, Lidl, Waitrose and M&S stopped selling disposable barbecues in 2022.

Why have disposable barbecues been banned?

Government guidance describes single-use barbecues as the cause of “a number of serious wildfires across the country over the summer months”.

This has been exacerbated by the prolonged hot and dry weather experienced recently in the UK.

The Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade said on Friday: “Disposable barbecues cannot be considered a safe product in the context of the ongoing weather and environmental conditions and must not be made available for sale either in store or online at the current time.”

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: “We want everyone to enjoy summer safely.

“With wildfire risks exceptionally high, we’re taking common-sense steps to protect lives and the environment.

“Disposable barbecues pose an obvious threat in the extreme conditions we’re experiencing, so we’re telling retailers who haven’t already stopped selling them to do so now.”

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Jon Pearce, Labour MP for High Peak, who campaigned for the ban, welcomed the decision and praised retailers who acted early.

He said: “This is an important step to help protect our countryside, wildlife, homes and communities.

“I will continue to push for action to reduce the risk of wildfires in the Peak District and across the country.”

Have you used a disposable barbecue before? Let us know in the comments.

Emergency services, including police and firefighters, were called to North Railway Street in Seaham after a fire broke out just before 9pm on Friday (August 14). 

Pictures taken from the scene showed roaring flames and thick black smoke pouring from the van, which was located at the back of the supermarket, as the sun went down. 

County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service group manager Jon Singleton said the fire spread to nearby properties and fencing, but the extent of the damage is not yet known.

Two fire engines were sent to the scene and left at 10.30pm.

Mr Singleton said: “The time of call was 8.47pm and it was a van fire near the Aldi in Seaham.

“Two fire engines were sent to the scene because we received a call top say that it had spread to nearby properties and fencing. We left at 10.30pm.”

Flames were spotted pouring from a fire behind Seaham’s Aldi supermarket (Image: CONTRIBUTOR)

Dalton and Dawdon ward councillor Jack McGlenen said he was “saddened and extremely concerned” by the incident, which he described as a “very serious matter”. 

The cause of the blaze remains unknown at this time.

Cllr McGlenen said: “I will be contacting Cllr Chris Fairs and Cllr George Anderson to raise this with the relevant officers at Durham County Council. 

“I will also be speaking with our colleagues in Durham Police to understand what action is being taken and how we can work together to prevent incidents like this from happening again.

“Residents deserve to feel safe in their own community, and I will continue to raise these concerns and push for action. 

“I’ll keep residents updated as soon as I have further information.”

The force has been contacted for more information.