Travel News: What’s Worth Leaving Town for in November and Beyond

It’s cold, it’s grey, it’s dark. But we’re not even thinking of going into hibernation yet, with so many new hotels, fun chef collaborations and even fresh ice-skating experiences luring us out of London. Make the most of cosy season with our picks of what to do out of town, below.

Ice skating is synonymous with clunky footwear. But for its winter ice rink, Surrey Hills hotel Beaverbrook is going a bit more high-end: it’s partnering with Jimmy Choo for the season. The British accessories brand is turning its design eye towards the rink, decking it out in a pearl-inspired theme to dovetail with its new Pearls of Wisdom capsule collection – a celebration of its 30th anniversary (pearl is the symbol of a 30th wedding anniversary, and a design hallmark of the house). For apres-skate, a rink-side hut will serve festive treats and warming drinks. Hotel guests have unlimited access to the rink, but non-guests are welcome to book a skate and dine package to enjoy a turn around the ice followed by a meal at one of the estate’s restaurants. It runs until January 3.

Sussex hotel Crafted is giving us the perfect excuse to leave London: it’s luring some of the capital’s top restaurants south for a series of Friday-night restaurant collaborations. First up is Chelsea Mexican spot Ixchel on November 20. Chef Ximena Gayosso Gonzalez and her team will cook a three-course meal, and guests can book a table or make a night of it and reserve a room as well. Next on the roster is Clerkenwell’s Morchella on January 29, Maison Francois on February 26 and Charlotte Street’s two Michelin-starred Kitchen Table on March 19.

In July, a 19th-century townhouse in the centre of Glasgow’s creative district opened as Arthouse Glasgow, a handsome new hotel designed by A-nrd (the studio behind Canal, Kol and more) that weaves in nods to the city’s industrial past and local craftsmanship. And it’s just launched seven rooms that make a visit to the city a bit more affordable: its Pocket rooms start at £99 and are more condensed versions of its studios and classic rooms. They’re designed to suit those who want to spend less time in their rooms, and more time in the city. On the other end of the spectrum is the hotel’s just-launched 50-square-foot suite, with a super-king bed, fireplace and roll-top bathtub.

Waterfront boutique hotel Idle Rocks, in Cornish village St Mawes, is bringing in cosy season by inviting big-name UK hospitality talent into the kitchen of its Reef Knot restaurant for one-night collaborations with its head chef Guy Owen. On November 28 Adam Smith, the executive chef of Coworth Park in Berkshire, will join the kitchen to pull together a seasonal menu of seafood, game and desserts drawing from the bounty of the autumnal orchard. Expect his characteristic approach: using classical techniques to bring out the best in seasonal ingredients that speak of the land and sea from where they’ve come.

Heckfield Place in Hampshire is doing us a Christmas-planning solid with its festive produce sales on November 28 and December 5, 12 and 19. Shop produce and plants pulled from the estate’s farm, plus Wildsmith skincare and treats from the kitchen – think Christmas puddings, mince pies, cakes and chocolates. There’ll also be carefully selected books, gardening tools, wines and festive decorations.

Luxury Cornish retreat Trevear Farm is opening its barn on November 29 to guesthouse and restaurant Coombeshead Farm for a winter lunch. The Coombeshead team will drive an hour south-west from the remote Cornish farm to cook a series of dishes using seasonal ingredients. Guests can dine on dishes including chicken liver spread, Coombeshead porchetta and walnut cake while looking out from the barn across the magnificent Camel Estuary. Email hello@trevearfarm.co.uk to book.

If you want your next trip to Amsterdam to be more “cosy and chic” than “coffee shops and Febo”, check in to Jan Lukyen. It’s right between the museum quarter and Vondelpark, and bordered by some of the Dutch capital’s most elite shopping streets. But the hotel – set in a trio of historic townhouses soaked in rich rust orange and dusty pinks – does everything it can to get you to stay inside. Its spacious rooms are filled with plush textiles and dramatic floor-to-ceiling windows, and kitted out with Nespresso machines and jars of sweets, while in the communal areas, guests are invited to pour themselves a drink (think wine, beer and spirits, as well as pre-batched cocktails) any time of day to enjoy in the library. In the afternoon, the hotel puts on drinks and snacks, there’s cake made in-house to enjoy as you like all day, and breakfast comes included in the room rate.

Sometimes all you need is a burger – and helpfully Tom De Michele, who runs Bristol Marco Pierre White-approved burger joint Milk Bun, is bringing in a slate of leading chefs to put their own spins on his signature burg. Each chef will mastermind a burger and a side dish, and guests will also get a cocktail on arrival. On the roster? Kyu Jeon and Duncan Robertson from heavy-hitting Bristol Korean restaurant Dongnae take over the kitchen on December 9, while Rochelle Canteen and The Three Horseshoes’s Margot Henderson turns her hand to the burger game on January 13. February 17 sees Ben Tonks of The Seahorse in Dartmouth get involved, then Rob Sachdev from Bath’s Upstairs at Landrace does his thing on March 10.

Tate St Ives is hosting a winter festival on November 29, inspired by an exhibition of works by Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, which runs until May 3, 2027. The exhibition features more than 170 works by the artist, who was part of the local mid-century arts community and made abstract paintings that explored landscapes through a lens of memory and emotion. The festival will feature artists, scientists and local communities, who will dig into how we can create a better future via performances, talks, workshops and more.

Margate isn’t exactly winter sun material – but a new four hands series is warming enough to draw us coastal in December. Willy’s, the in-house restaurant at boutique hotel Margate House is inviting a slate of chefs to cook with head chef Lewis Johnson for one-off dinners. On December 9, Bake Off star, cookbook author and Youtube personality Chetna Makan joins Johnson in the kitchen for a menu that combines her Indian cooking with his French technique. There’s papdi chaat and potato rosti with smoked yoghurt and caviar to start, followed by butter chicken, a whisky and salted caramel tart and more. Keep an eye on upcoming dinners – Phil Howard (Elystan Street, ex-The Square) and Galton Blackiston (ex-Morston Hall) will make appearances next year.

A short drive into West Sussex will land you at Isca, a gorgeous restaurant in a greenhouse just outside Hayward Heath that opened in the spring. Dishes are made from produce pulled from the kitchen garden that surrounds the greenhouse, as well as seafood and meat from Sussex. Its autumn menu stars dishes like venison with hen of the woods and polenta, and yoghurt parfait with apple from the kitchen garden and verbena. Perfect for a wintery Saturday trip out of town.