STARING at the gigantic copper cauldron where the King of England used to bathe, I kick myself for ­forgetting my swimmers.

It’s not often you get the chance to share the same hot tub as the supreme ruler of the British Empire.

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I’m in a spa town deep in a Bohemian forest, unearthing areas of the Czech Republic I’d never heard of.

For three exciting days I would be exploring this beautiful central European country entirely by rail.

My journey begins in Prague. The beautiful capital city on the Vltava River is packed with history.

Climbing the hill up to Prague castle is a must.

The fortress is the largest castle complex in the world. Inside its towering walls are historical buildings and museums including the Old Royal Palace and the city’s gothic temple, St Vitus Cathedral.

That evening I catch a train west.

Unlike those in the UK, trains in Czechia run smoothly and are dirt cheap.

Prague is soon far behind as the IC 558 train trundles along, following the Berounka river’s meandering path through the countryside.

I catch snapshots through the window.

Paddle boarders punt down the river.

Giggling kids tumble down a giant inflatable slide at a village fete.

As the sun sets the train pulls into the serene spa town of Marianske Lazne in the deep Bohemian forest.

Since local monks discovered the mineral-rich springs in the early 19th century, people have been coming here to drink, bathe in, and even inject the healing water and gases that bubble out of the ground.

The town’s heyday was in the Victorian era when spa treatments were popular among high society.

One such spa obsessive was King Edward VII, who visited Marianske Lanze nine times for weight-loss treatments in a purpose-built room at the Nové Lázně spa.

The hotel is still there and for a hefty price, guests can book a session in the large copper bath he used.

My own treatment takes place at the Falkensteiner hotel and spa, a five-star resort with a 2,500sq metre spa complex, 162 rooms, heated pool, excellent restaurant and stylish bar.

After a buffet breakfast, I’m ushered into a dimly lit wood-panelled room where a bath of warm water the colour of milky tea is waiting.

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The slightly sparkling mineral-rich water is pumped directly from the hotel’s own Alexandra Spring, 800 metres away.

The treatment is said to widen blood vessels, lowering blood pressure and improving circulation to relax the mind and body.

The health benefits of spa treatments like this are taken seriously.
Drinking fountains dotted around the town deliver water from the local springs.

Iron-rich and metallic- tasting it is believed to help alleviate inflammation. I hope it does, because it tastes revolting.

Staying at the spa resort hotels is pricey.

But there are plenty of cheaper hotels in the town and treatments at the spa complexes are available for walk-in customers too.

Czechs are the world’s most prolific beer drinkers, consuming 184.1 litres of it each every year.

Nowhere is this obsession more obvious than in my next stop, the city of Pilsen.

It’s just over an hour away by rail and my train ticket costs the equivalent of £6.

Home of the world-famous Pilsner beer, the town is swimming in the stuff and by the end of the day, I will be too — literally.

Among the most popular brews is the famous Pilsner Urquell. The first ever pilsner beer, it has been brewed here since 1842.

A tour of the Pilsner Urquell brewery is fascinating.

The 90-minute walk-through shows the original brewing method and vats from the early 19th century.

Then, the modern, vastly scaled-up operation, where staggering amounts are brewed, bottled then shipped worldwide.

The tour ends in the miles of subterranean tunnels where the beer was once stored.

Here, brewmasters keep the traditional method alive, brewing the Pilsner in oak barrels.

Comparisons are regularly made to the modern method to ensure it tastes authentic.

And you can judge for yourself, with a glass of cold Pilsner poured straight from the barrel at the end.

I head off to soak up some more beer, this time through my pores.

On the outskirts of Pilsen, at the Purkmistr Brewery, an interesting mash-up has spawned the “beer spa” — a big wooden bathtub full of warm, hoppy lager, minus the alcohol (it dries out the skin).

Submerged up to my neck in barley, hops and yeast with a large keg of pilsner within arm’s reach and Oasis’s Wonderwall playing over the complex’s sound system, I feel I have achieved lager-nirvana.

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HOUSEHOLDS across England can get up to a whopping £2,665 worth of cost of living payments this month.

The money comes via the Household Support Fund (HSF) which is worth £421million in total.

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The fund has been split up between councils in England who are in charge of distributing their allocation before the end of September.

What you can get depends on where you live, as each local authority has been given its own unique amount.

Now households across England are being offered a collective of £2,665 cost of living payments – with up to £500 per household depending on your location.

The government recently encouraged state pensioners who have just missed out on a Winter Fuel Payment to claim money from the Household Support Fund where they live instead.

Discussing the fund, the government said: “Over a million pensioners will still receive the Winter Fuel Payments, and our drive to boost Pension Credit take up has already seen a 152per cent increase in claims.

“Many others will also benefit from the £150 Warm Home Discount to help with energy bills overwinter while our extension of the Household Support Fund will help with the cost of food, heating and bills.”

Below is a list of councils known to be offering support and how much:

• Brent: £500
• Blackpool: £300
• Rutland: £200
• Herefordshire: £500
• Sunderland: £220
• Bracknell Forest: £315
• Rotherham: £250
• Wiltshire: £200
• Cambridgeshire: £110

You will only receive the payment if you were found to have been eligible after applying.

Anyone who qualifies for help will have received an email telling them.

A maximum of one payment will be made per household and any payments are being made direct into bank accounts.

Some councils started distributing help in April and have already depleted their share, so you might have missed out for now.

The Household Support Fund has been extended multiple times since its inception in October 2021, so it may be extended again though.

There are currently a number of councils offering help via the HSF.

Leicestershire Council is handing out payments worth £300 to thousands of households.

Households in Stockport can claim up to £315 worth of free supermarket vouchers to help with the cost of living.

Meanwhile, Wokingham Council is handing out grants worth up to £140.

If you want to check if you are eligible for help, contact your local council.

You can find what council area you fall under by using the Government’s council locator tool.

How else to get help with the cost of living

If you’re not eligible for the Household Support Fund in your local area, it’s worth checking if you qualify for benefits.

Recent figures from Policy in Practice reveal millions of people aren’t claiming the extra help when they could be.

In total, £23billion went unclaimed over the last financial year, with £8.3billion worth of Universal Credit not claimed for.

You can apply for benefits on the Government’s website.

It’s not just extra money you get from benefits either, with a number opening up additional perks.

Those on Universal Credit can get help covering the cost of childcare, for example, while those on Pension Credit can get a free TV licence.

Those on the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit also qualify for the Warm Home Discount – a £150 discount off energy bills once a year.

You may also be able to get grants to cover your energy bills if you’ve fallen into arrears.

A number of energy firms offer grants to struggling customers, including Scottish Power, Octopus Energy and British Gas.

If you’re struggling to pay your bills, speak to your supplier to see if they can give you any help.

New evidence has come to light from a Scott Trust meeting that appears to support Guardian Media Group senior management’s contention that The Observer does not have the same protections in place as The Guardian.

GMG is owned by the Scott Trust whose purpose, as set out in 1992, is “to secure the financial and editorial independence of The Guardian in perpetuity”.

The Observer was bought by GMG in 1993 and the company is now in talks to sell the world’s oldest Sunday newspaper title to Tortoise Media, prompting fierce opposition from staff and from leading UK cultural figures.

Press Gazette has seen notes from a meeting of the Scott Trust that year which appears to support the contention that the body always intended for The Observer to be treated differently from The Guardian (which the Scott Trust has owned since 1936).

The joint Guardian and Observer NUJ chapel passed a motion of no confidence in their owners on 19 September saying the proposed sale of The Observer was a “betrayal of the Scott Trust’s commitment to The Observer as part of the Guardian News and Media Family”.