Top 10 ways to start the New Year

Save money

We’re all strapped for cash at this time of year. So if you’re planning a break you might want to consider some budget accommodation. These options are low on price not quality.

• Smart City Hostel Edinburgh (www.smartcityhostels.com/home.html): There was a time when youth hostels meant smelly sleeping bags and doing the washing up. No longer. The 5-star Smart City Hostel is modern, clean and cool with private rooms or dorms. The location in Edinburgh’s Old Town is hard to beat.
• SYHA Loch Lomond Hostel (www.syha.org.uk/hostels/central/loch_lomond.aspx): Stay in this bonafide country house with dazzling views of the Loch (just 300m away) and Ben Lomond (974m) towering above. Built on the site of Robert the Bruce’s hunting lodge, SYHA Loch Lomomd retains many original features including stained glass windows and a ballroom.
• St. Briavels Castle, Gloucestershire: Go medieval at this 13th-century castle, now a youth hostel offering budget accommodation in a genuine fortress in the lush Gloucestershire countryside.

Go green

Trying to lower your carbon footprint in 2010? If you need some eco inspiration visit the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT (www.cat.org.uk/index.tmpl?refer=index&init=1)) in Wales, an entertaining and informative experience offering practical tips for sustainable living.

Get back to nature

Turn off the TV and embrace Mother Nature with these outdoor activities:

• Tree Climbing, Cornwall: Mighty Oak (www.mighty-oak.co.uk/) run tree climbing courses for all ages. Re-connect with nature and get a tree’s-eye view of gorgeous Cornwall.
• Bushcraft, Lake District: Learn survival skills like fire making and shelter building with Woodsmoke (www.woodsmoke.uk.com/) then practise your new-found skills in the rugged Lake District.
• Forage for food, Kent: Join wild man Fergus the Forager (www.wildmanwildfood.com/) to learn how to make a meal from Britain’s wild larder. Snack on seaweed, mushrooms and, er, squirrel.

Get the kids moving

Hide the PlayStation and book the kids onto an activity holiday. They might just thank you for it. Snowdonia National Park has mountainous terrain and offers everything from canoeing to rock-climbing. If you’re not sure what to try iTry has great taster courses. You’ll find similar high-adrenaline fun in the Cairngorms National Park (www.cairngorms.co.uk/) in Scotland.

Spend more time in church

The UK has some of the most beautiful and architecturally important churches in the world. Modernists will appreciate Liverpool’s Metropolitan Cathedral while fans of the Norman should seek out Durham Cathedral. And if it’s the gothic that gets you going try Westminster Abbey in London or Canterbury Cathedral. Read more on British architecture.

Reduce your stress levels

What could be better than a rejuvenating dose of pure relaxation? Detox, recharge and chill out at one of Britain’s top spas. Here are 3 of the best:

• Bath Thermae Spa (www.thermaebathspa.com/): Follow in the sandal steps of Roman bathers at Britain’s only natural thermal spa, a place of relaxation for over 2,000 years. Don’t miss the gorgeous rooftop pool with views over honey-hued Bath. It’s great value, too.
• Harrogate Turkish Baths (www.harrogate.gov.uk/harrogate-1100): Take the plunge in this glorious Victorian spa decked out in colourful Turkish tiling. Under the huge vaulted ceiling you’ll find a large tiered hot chamber, a cold plunge pool, steam rooms and a relaxation area.
• ESPA at Gleneagles Hotel (www.gleneagles.com/spa/about-espa): The Good Spa Guide describes ESPA as “possibly the best designed spa we've ever encountered” and we’d be inclined to agree. Everything from the décor to the music is just so. Choose from an array of treatments and leave transformed.

Try something new

Broaden your culinary horizons in 2010 and eat at one of Britain’s internationally acclaimed, innovative restaurants. Try these:

• Fat Duck, Bray (www.fatduck.co.uk/): Heston Blumenthal is the culinary alchemist behind the 3-Michelin-starred Fat Duck in Bray. The menu reaches new heights of innovation with dishes like “sounds of the Sea” - seafood and edible seaweed on a bed of sand-like tapioca - all washed down with the sound of breaking waves from your own personal ipod. Sounds like a gimmick but the awards keep rolling in.
• Lasan, Birmingham (www.lasangroup.com/restaurant/): These days curry houses are known as much for their creative cooking and sophistication as their spicy sauces. Lasan in Birmingham recently fought off stiff competition to be crowned the UK’s best local restaurant by celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay.

Get away from it all

If 2009 was too hectic why not escape for a while? Hole up in one of these splendidly isolated hotels to ponder the New Year in peace:

• The Inn at Whitewell (www.innatwhitewell.com/welcome.php), Lancashire: The historic Inn at Whitewell tucked away in the Forest of Bowland has sublime views over a trout river and combines cosiness with class.
• Hambleton Hall, Rutland (www.hambletonhall.com/): Overlooking Rutland Water in Britain’s smallest county, the luxury Hambleton Hall is a country house hotel with a Michelin star chef.
• Glenuaig Lodge, Scottish Highlands (www.holiday-rentals.co.uk/p717528): Glenuaig is a former Victorian hunting lodge sleeping 8 that’s secluded in the mountains. Your only neighbours will be red deer and eagles.
  

Spend more time in the garden

The British are a nation of gardeners and we have some of the most beautiful in the world. Come in winter to see subtle colours, silvery trees and frost-clad lawns or in spring and summer for a riot of colour. Read more about British gardens.

Ditch the car and take the train

Explore Britain by rail and discover the gentler way to travel. From coastal routes to heritage lines that snake through the Scottish Highlands, you’ll find travelling by train the most scenic and romantic way to see the UK. Check out our rail itineraries.