Nearly nine million British adults are still unable to swim, research reveals
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Forbes
4 hours ago
- Forbes
7 Foreign Words That Reveal The Real Reason We Travel
There's so many ways to describe the love of travel. getty After visiting all seven continents, I've started to think that the real reason people travel isn't always what we say it is. Sure, we want to 'see the world,' 'get away,' or 'experience new cultures.' But underneath that, there's often something harder to name — a kind of emotional itch, or mood, that doesn't really translate. Except, sometimes, it does. Just not into English. Here are seven foreign words that quietly explain what a plane ticket or passport stamp can't. That weird ache for somewhere you've never been. Most people know wanderlust — and yes, it's all over Pinterest boards. But fernweh hits a little differently. It's less dreamy, more like a low-grade homesickness for places unknown. The kind of feeling you get when you stare at a map too long, or you're at home doing your usual thing, and suddenly feel like you need to be anywhere else. It's a tug. A pull. And for some of us, it's the main reason we book flights. Doing absolutely nothing — on purpose. Niksen is the Dutch art of idleness. Not zoning out and not meditating. Just... sitting. Staring. Letting the world do its thing while you do yours (which is nothing). More and more, travel is moving away from the jam-packed itinerary style. People want space. They want quiet. They want a seat in a café where they can watch bikes go by and not feel guilty about wasting time. That's niksen — and it's incredibly underrated. When the meal ends, no one leaves the table. Sobremesa is the time you spend after a meal, just sitting around, talking, laughing, pouring more wine even though the plates are already cleared. There's no rush. It's part of the experience. In a lot of cultures, this is where the good stuff happens — not when you eat, but when you stay. Travel that builds in sobremesa time (long lunches, late dinners, lingering conversations) feels more human. And honestly, more fun. That warm, low-key, cozy feeling — especially when it's shared. Sure, hygge has been overused a bit in the last few years (candles, fuzzy socks, etc.), but the real idea behind it is simple: comfort and connection. It's being inside while it rains. It's stew on the stove and a good blanket. It's not fancy — it just feels good. And when you travel, these are often the moments that stay with you. Not the big attractions — the tiny cozy ones. 5. Lagom (Swedish) Just enough. Not too much. No drama. This one's all about balance. Lagom is a kind of Swedish 'sweet spot' — not extreme, not flashy, just right. In travel, this shows up in places that are calm, intentional, and not trying too hard. It's the hotel room with no TV, just a soft bed and a good window. Or a trip where you don't try to see five cities in six days. Lagom travel is the kind that leaves you feeling truly rested when you come home. 6. Friluftsliv (Norwegian) Being outside, not as an activity, but as a way of life. Friluftsliv translates roughly to 'open-air living,' but in Norway, it's more like a mindset. People there go outside in any weather, not just when it's sunny. It's not a big event — it's a daily habit. Fresh air, movement, light, no pressure. You don't have to hike a mountain to feel friluftsliv. Sometimes it's just a quiet walk through the woods or sitting by a lake. The idea is: don't wait for nature to be perfect — just go. 7. Hurkle-Durkle (Scottish dialect) Staying in bed longer than you're supposed to. Probably the most fun word on this list. Hurkle-durkle means that lovely, lazy feeling when you're warm and sleepy and not quite ready to get up, so you don't. Travel often feels like a race to get up and do everything, but honestly? Some of the best mornings are the slow ones. Rain outside, soft blankets, no agenda. More hurkle-durkle, please. None of these words are English, but all of them describe something deeply familiar — and maybe that's the point. We travel not just to see new places, but to feel things we don't always have names for. These words help us get closer. And if travel teaches us anything, it's that a good word — like a good meal or a long walk — can stay with you long after you've gone home.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Map shows the 57 train tunnels where WiFi blackspots 'will be eliminated'
The government has promised to eliminate mobile phone signal blackspots on Britain's busiest rail routes as part of a major new infrastructure project. Dubbed 'Project Reach', ministers hope the package of improvements could be worth about £300m to travellers and taxpayers. The upgrades include tackling signal blackspots in tunnels; laying fibre optic cables along existing tracks; and installing new masts and antennas at some major stations. It is hoped these will improve the quality of internet access for commuters. The project is the government's latest initiative to improve network coverage on the UK's rail network after the National Infrastructure Strategy raised the prospect of enabling satellite connectivity on rail services. Here, Yahoo News UK breaks down where the money is expected to be spent and what impact it could have. The bulk of the work to improve access in tunnels, which Freshwave, an infrastructure firm, will carry out, is expected to focus on some of the UK's biggest rail routes, including the West Coast Main Line, the Great Western Main Line and the Chiltern Main Line. The greatest concentration of 'not spots' has been identified along the Chiltern Main Line, between London and Birmingham, and the West Coast Mainline, from London to Liverpool and Manchester in the North West. Several sites have also been identified around Bristol, including the 4km Chipping Sodbury tunnel and elsewhere in the South West, particularly in Devon and Cornwall. The most northerly area to see tunnel improvements is expected at the Calton Tunnels, outside Edinburgh, on the East Coast Mainline. The government has promised the plans will "eliminate mobile signal blackspots in tunnels on key rail routes up and down the country". Click on the interactive map below to see the 57 train tunnel blackspots lined up for improvements. Neos Networks, a telecoms firm, has been chosen to lay 1,000km of new ultra-fast fibre optic cable. This is expected to run alongside the East Coast Mainline and parts of the West Coast Main Line and Great Western Mainline. If the initial stages of the scheme are deemed a success, this could grow to 5,000km of cabling. Mobile network operators are expected to pick up the bill for updates to mobile infrastructure in railway stations. So far, 12 of the UK's biggest transport hubs have been chosen: Birmingham New St Bristol Temple Meads Edinburgh Waverley Euston Glasgow Central King's Cross Leeds Liverpool Lime Street Liverpool Street Manchester Piccadilly Paddington Waterloo The infrastructure plans have been largely welcomed by transport campaigners. Bruce Williamson, of campaign group RailFuture, accepted that while the rail network is need of upgrades in lots of areas after having been "starved of investment for decades", anything which improved the experience for travellers would be money well spent. "I think you have to take a common sense view that it is useful – we all have smartphones, it's a sound investment and I think most passengers will agree," said Williamson. "Anything within reason that makes rail travel more practical and agreeable, I think, is a good thing." The final bill for the Project Reach is currently not clear, although work is expected to start next year, with the first phase of work expected to be finished by 2028. If successful, bosses have raises the prospect of a further 3,000 miles (4,800km) worth of cabling being laid "in the near future". Installation is expected to be carried out by infrastructure firm Freshwave, which will recoup costs by selling bandwidth to mobile network operators such as Virgin Media O2, Vodafone or BT's EE. However, it is not currently clear whether this will require any taxpayers' money to be provided upfront for work to begin. While tunnels and other obstacles present the most obvious barrier to a strong mobile phone signal, several factors can limit your coverage while travelling. Cuttings – rail routes which have been excavated through hills with steep slopes on either side of the tracks – can face similar problems to tunnels in receiving signal. Train carriages themselves can also be part of the problem, with the metal used to make them a potential barrier to your phone being able connect to a mast or antenna. And even if your device can connect successfully, the speed at which the train moves can mean your phone is constantly having to search for the next one, meaning inconsistent data speed and a major drain on battery power. Daniel Shannon, a specialist network design expert at Vodafone UK, has compared it to "trying to thread a needle, but with only one hand while the eye of the needle is constantly moving".
Bloomberg
6 hours ago
- Bloomberg
Sweden Invented Flight Shaming. Now It Wants Airlines to Return
By Six years after enforcing a tax on air travel, Sweden is reversing course as the government seeks to revive the country's ailing commercial aviation industry. The government will scrap a levy of as much 517 kronor ($54) for flights, depending on the distance flown, effective July 1. The move runs counter to neighboring Denmark, which aims to introduce an aviation tax by the end of the year.
