Did you know you can fall asleep in the UK and wake up in the Netherlands, with tickets that are cheaper than a train to London?
There are mini cruises to Amsterdam and Rotterdam running year-round, with tickets from just £65 a head.
These bargain mini breaks give you a chance to experience a holiday on the high seas and a brilliant city break in one.
And the best part is that you can have a two-night adventure using only one day of annual leave.
We went along on a P&O Ferries mini cruise to see what it’s all about.
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Your holiday begins just outside Hull, swiftly boarding your ferry by 7pm (a MUCH quicker process than boarding a plane).
Each passenger is greeted by P&O staff who’ll show you to your cabin.
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You can take a mini cruise to Amsterdam to eat Stroopwaffels. Credit: The Manc GroupThe view from a canal boat tour in Amsterdam on a mini cruise. Credit: The Manc Group
There are various sizes of cabin available – ours were the Premier Cabins, with a modern interior, two single beds and an en suite bathroom.
Although the P&O ferry that runs to the Netherlands is a little smaller than the huge passenger vessels sailing around the Caribbean, there’s still a surprising amount of entertainment on board, from interactive quizzes to a casino to live acoustic musicians in the sky lounge to a full show in the showlounge.
There are also a few restaurants and bars, including a Costa, an Irish pub and a decent cocktail bar, alongside the main buffet restaurant.
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Once you’ve tired yourself out on board and hit the hay, you’ll be ready to wake up in the land of tulips and canals and bicycles.
The Pride of Hull, which runs mini cruises to Amsterdam
The ferry docks in Rotterdam, where you can spend the day, or there are coaches ready to whisk you off to Amsterdam.
It’s surprising how much you can pack into a day in this vibrant city – start with a wander down some of the canals, grab a portion of Dutch fries loaded with parmesan and sauces, visit one of Amsterdam’s many museums, spend an hour on a canal boat tour seeing the city from the waterways, and grab a cocktail before embarking on your return journey.
The coach drops you within walking distance of the city centre and all of the must-visit attractions of Amsterdam, whether you’re after stroopwaffels or coffee shops or a visit to Anne Frank’s house.
After another night on the ferry, and a whole new buffet, you’ll dock back on home turf first thing in the morning, and can comfortably be back at your desk before the work day even begins.
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You can find out more about P&O mini cruises to Amsterdam HERE.
Inside Soho House Manchester as rooftop pool finally opens
Daisy Jackson
Soho House Manchester finally opened its doors to members late last year – but there’s still more to come.
The exclusive members’ club, which costs from £2,400 per year to access, faced several years’ worth of unavoidable delays as it transformed the old Granada Studios.
And even now that members can finally visit the space for networking, dinner and drinks, events, and working, Soho House isn’t actually finished.
Instead, the hotly-anticipated venue is opening in phases – the latest of which is that beautiful rooftop pool, with views overlooking the city from the top of the former television studio.
New images taken inside Soho House Manchester show several of the completed spaces, from lounges with beautiful natural light flooding through skylights, to stylish candlelit dining rooms, to gorgeous bedrooms.
In keeping with the building’s history, the Soho House design team have stuck with a premium mid-century interior, including terrazzo flooring and warm wood details, muted green and orange colour palettes, and chrome furniture.
Have a look inside Soho House Manchester:
Soho House Manchester is now open. Credit: SuppliedBeautiful interiors. Credit: SuppliedA bar space. Credit: Edvina BruzasRestaurant spaces. Credit: Edvina BruzasDetails of Soho House Manchester. Credit: Edvina BruzasMid-century details at Soho House Manchester. Credit: Edvina BruzasInside Soho House in Manchester. Credit: Edvinas BruzasNew spaces are still opening. Credit: Edvinas BruzasThere are 22 bedrooms inside. Credit: Harry Crowder
There are now 22 beautiful bedrooms up on the sixth floor, exclusively available to Soho House Members, which carry on the 1950s heritage design.
As the build continues, members will soon have access to a Soho Health Club with a gym, reformer Pilates studio, smoothie bar, and infrared sauna and steam room.
Every Soho House has a strict no-photos policy to protect to privacy of members – which means unless you fancy forking out £333.33 a month, you might never see inside it beyond the club’s official photography.
The cosy Peak District pub serving a pick’n’mix sausage and mash menu
Daisy Jackson
There’s a Peak District pub that’s turned one of Britain’s most beloved comfort foods into a full-on pick’n’mix.
Tucked away in the postcard-perfect village of Castleton, Ye Olde Nags Head is serving up a fully customisable menu of sausage and mash dishes.
We’re talking near-endless combinations of proper pub grub.
You start by choosing your sausages from a daily rotating selection (not a sentence you hear every day, but we’re into it).
Expect classics like Cumberland alongside more adventurous options like venison and mustard, or even wild boar and orange, plus a veggie sausage daily.
Then it’s onto the mash – you can go for flavours like cheese and onion, wholegrain mustard, or even black pudding mash.
Classic cumberland, mustard mash, and mushroom sauceVeggie sausage with cheese and onion mash and classic gravyTucking in
To finish? A choice of rich, hearty gravies and sauces to bring it all together, whether that’s a classic onion gravy, a peppercorn sauce, or a creamy wild mushroom sauce.
And if that wasn’t enough, you can even upgrade your bangers and mash pick’n’mix by having it all served inside a giant Yorkshire pudding.
Ye Olde Nags Head is a historic 17th-century pub, with a roaring fire in every room and cosy bedrooms upstairs.
Inside Ye Olde Nags Head pub in the Peak DistrictYe Olde Nags Head pub is near Mam Tor
It’s one of those flagstone-floored, beamed-ceilinged, mismatched-furniture type pubs that welcomes everyone in every state, whether you’re caked in mud from a hike or popping in on a coach tour.
Another of the pub’s specialties is the Derbyshire Breakfast, a hearty plate of sausage, smoked bacon, black pudding, free range egg, grilled tomatoes, field mushrooms, baked beans and fried bread.
The pub also offers takeaway breakfast butties, so you can use it for both a pre-hike stop and a post-hike pint.
Given it’s just minutes from the ever-popular Mam Tor hike, this is one pub you’ll definitely want to add to your next Peak District day out itinerary.
Daisy Jackson -
5th December 2024 
