Latest news with #OwenWood
Daily Mail
04-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Race Against the World winner reveals paradise destination tourists 'don't know about' - and it's only 50 minutes from a major destination
A former winner of BBC One's Race across the World has shared his latest adventure - to a paradise island that is still off the tourist map. Alfie Watts, who won the 2024 series of the hit travel show with his St Albans pal Owen Wood, posted shots of azure blue ocean and swaying palms from his latest adventure. He captioned one of the dreamy holiday images with the line: 'I cannot believe more people don't know about this place'. Watts, who ended his triumphant reality show run by reaching Lombok in Indonesia, was back in the South East Asian country that helped shoot him to fame this week. However, this time he was on an island that gets just 10,000 British visitors a year - small fry if you consider 17.8 million UK tourists make it to Spain. He'd landed on Bindan Island, which has been dubbed ' Asia 's best kept secret' by those who've discovered its charms. Sharing snaps of himself in traditional dress and jet-skiing around the island's coastline, Alfie gushed about his latest pitstop. The backpacker said: 'From sea turtle conservation to some of the cheapest jet skiing in the world, I genuinely cannot believe more people don't know about this incredible place!' He added that the island, which is just a 50-minute boat ride from international travel hub Singapore, 'should ABSOLUTELY be on your travel bucket list!' Although more than three times larger in size than Singapore, around 5.4 million fewer people reside on this island, with most of its 340,000 population centred around the capital, Tanjung Pinang. Over the last few years, Indonesia has been promoting Bintan as its next big tourist destination after Bali. The island has beautiful beaches for bathing and lush rainforests for trekking and its capital city is a lively metropolis to explore. Other attractions included the mangrove forests of the Sebung River, hiking in Gunung Bintan, where you can spot rare breeds such as silvered leaf monkeys. There's also the option to take a boat to Senggarang, a Chinese fishing village with houses on stilts, which is home to a 200-year-old Banyan tree (a popular pilgrimage site for Buddhists). Meanwhile Penyengat has old Dutch forts and palaces, and the Sultan of Riau's Grand Mosque. One of Alfie's photos showed him spending time at a desert themed glamping resort close to Lagoi on the island Tourists can swap Bali for Bintan, pictured, which has beautiful beaches for bathing and lush rainforests for trekking Back in April, Alfie revealed his two favourite countries to MailOnline - Jordan and Malaysia. The travel content creator said: 'I took my Nan to Petra because she'd wanted to see it for her whole life, so that was really nice, and the whole feeling around the trip was just really positive. 'The people in Jordan are just so friendly as well. And Malaysia is also a favourite, because it's just a cheap paradise. 'But my single favourite place in the world has to be Angel Falls in Venezuela. 'They're the tallest waterfall in the world, but they're completely off grid, and a nightmare to get to.' When it comes to his least favourite country, Alfie finds it hard to single one out, but he admits Cambodia was the country he 'disliked the most', having stopped there during Race Across the World. 'I just didn't get along with it at all,' he says. 'I found the people quite unfriendly, and Cambodia is in southeast Asia, which obviously means that it's surrounded by Thailand and Malaysia, which are so top that I just don't think it comes close. 'But a lot of people disagree, and love Cambodia, so I think I'm objectively wrong with this opinion!' Another place many people love, but Alfie found to be overrated is Sydney. He says: 'Yeah, it looks all right, but it's very expensive, and I just didn't catch the hype. I was really looking forward to it, and it was just a bit average. 'Everywhere felt like it was trying too hard, and the whole hipster thing was just coming across a bit too much. 'I do need to go back and explore more of Australia though, because Sydney is the only place I've been.'
Fashion Network
09-06-2025
- Health
- Fashion Network
JD Foundation and The Mix launch new mental health support scheme for men
JD Sports ' UK's charity arm JD Foundation has picked upcoming Men's Mental Health Week to team up with The Mix, the digital service for young people offering 'ongoing, meaningful support to young men across the country'. Together, they're launching a raft of new informative and supportive resources 'designed to tackle the mental health crisis among young men and provide a safe, supportive space to open up'. Live from Monday (9 June), the new partnered content will feature a JD Foundation-sponsored discussion board, where men can join and discuss any issues they're facing with other peers 'in a supportive, anonymous space'. Alongside the discussion boards, The Mix will also be releasing a special episode of its podcast, the 'Mix Six ix', hosted by Owen Wood, winner of BBC's Race Across The World in 2024, and featuring JD Sports team members opening up about their own mental health journeys. The organisations are also hitting the streets across the UK with a series of street interviews, capturing what mental wellbeing means to young men today. There will also be partnered social media content and articles focused on real life stories from young people. This will all be hosted on The Mix's newly relaunched website, offering content, community, coaching and crisis support, with a broad range of integrated services. This initiative marks the first step in a wider, long-term collaboration between The Mix and JD Foundation, with ongoing campaigns and joint content planned 'to keep mental health at the heart of youth culture'. Recent data from The Mix shows that 58% of young men identify anxiety and depression as their biggest mental health challenges. Yet stigma remains high, and asking for help is still one of the toughest steps, it says. Encouragingly, 82% of young men say they would consider using peer support if they needed help with their mental health – 'a clear call to action that this new raft of support is answering'. Aaron Probert, charity manager for the JD Foundation, said: 'These new resources are about creating meaningful content and support that is accessible, inclusive and reflective of the real conversations young men want and need to have.'
Fashion Network
09-06-2025
- Health
- Fashion Network
JD Foundation and The Mix launch new mental health support scheme for men
JD Sports ' UK's charity arm JD Foundation has picked upcoming Men's Mental Health Week to team up with The Mix, the digital service for young people offering 'ongoing, meaningful support to young men across the country'. Together, they're launching a raft of new informative and supportive resources 'designed to tackle the mental health crisis among young men and provide a safe, supportive space to open up'. Live from Monday (9 June), the new partnered content will feature a JD Foundation-sponsored discussion board, where men can join and discuss any issues they're facing with other peers 'in a supportive, anonymous space'. Alongside the discussion boards, The Mix will also be releasing a special episode of its podcast, the 'Mix Six ix', hosted by Owen Wood, winner of BBC's Race Across The World in 2024, and featuring JD Sports team members opening up about their own mental health journeys. The organisations are also hitting the streets across the UK with a series of street interviews, capturing what mental wellbeing means to young men today. There will also be partnered social media content and articles focused on real life stories from young people. This will all be hosted on The Mix's newly relaunched website, offering content, community, coaching and crisis support, with a broad range of integrated services. This initiative marks the first step in a wider, long-term collaboration between The Mix and JD Foundation, with ongoing campaigns and joint content planned 'to keep mental health at the heart of youth culture'. Recent data from The Mix shows that 58% of young men identify anxiety and depression as their biggest mental health challenges. Yet stigma remains high, and asking for help is still one of the toughest steps, it says. Encouragingly, 82% of young men say they would consider using peer support if they needed help with their mental health – 'a clear call to action that this new raft of support is answering'. Aaron Probert, charity manager for the JD Foundation, said: 'These new resources are about creating meaningful content and support that is accessible, inclusive and reflective of the real conversations young men want and need to have.'
Fashion Network
09-06-2025
- Health
- Fashion Network
JD Foundation and The Mix launch new mental health support scheme for men
JD Sports ' UK's charity arm JD Foundation has picked upcoming Men's Mental Health Week to team up with The Mix, the digital service for young people offering 'ongoing, meaningful support to young men across the country'. Together, they're launching a raft of new informative and supportive resources 'designed to tackle the mental health crisis among young men and provide a safe, supportive space to open up'. Live from Monday (9 June), the new partnered content will feature a JD Foundation-sponsored discussion board, where men can join and discuss any issues they're facing with other peers 'in a supportive, anonymous space'. Alongside the discussion boards, The Mix will also be releasing a special episode of its podcast, the 'Mix Six ix', hosted by Owen Wood, winner of BBC's Race Across The World in 2024, and featuring JD Sports team members opening up about their own mental health journeys. The organisations are also hitting the streets across the UK with a series of street interviews, capturing what mental wellbeing means to young men today. There will also be partnered social media content and articles focused on real life stories from young people. This will all be hosted on The Mix's newly relaunched website, offering content, community, coaching and crisis support, with a broad range of integrated services. This initiative marks the first step in a wider, long-term collaboration between The Mix and JD Foundation, with ongoing campaigns and joint content planned 'to keep mental health at the heart of youth culture'. Recent data from The Mix shows that 58% of young men identify anxiety and depression as their biggest mental health challenges. Yet stigma remains high, and asking for help is still one of the toughest steps, it says. Encouragingly, 82% of young men say they would consider using peer support if they needed help with their mental health – 'a clear call to action that this new raft of support is answering'. Aaron Probert, charity manager for the JD Foundation, said: 'These new resources are about creating meaningful content and support that is accessible, inclusive and reflective of the real conversations young men want and need to have.'
The Sun
07-05-2025
- The Sun
Two bucket list trips cheaper than a holiday to Majorca, reveals winner of Race Across The World
RACE Across the World contestant Alfie Watts has advice for any keen travellers heading across the globe. The 22-year-old has been on the move since winning last year - and reveals that you can get to Brazil for less than going to Majorca. 4 Alfie Watts won the 2024 series of Race Across the World with his friend Owen Wood. Since winning the series and the £20,000 prize pot that comes with it, Alfie has backpacked to 78 of the 195 countries. And along the way, he's picked up some handy travel tips. Talking to MailOnline, Alfie advised travellers to compare the total price of holidays against each other, rather than just the price of flights and accommodation. He said: "You'll find that sometimes going long haul is actually better. Sure, flights to Thailand are £600-700, while Spain can sometimes be around £300. "But if you look at the price of accommodation in Thailand, it can be £20 a night for luxury, and you can get meals for £2. Owen and I spent less on a week in Brazil, all-in, than a week in Majorca - even though our flights were 750 quid." The cheapest month to fly from the UK to Brazil is usually in March. But you can get other good deals in February, November and October. Those months are also the best times to visit Brazil as it's summer where temperatures sit between 27C and 33C. Another tip that Alfie has is not relying on a debit or credit card. He said to always exchange money at home and carry cash. ATMs abroad sometimes come with a fee to use a foreign card. Race Across the World Experience Comes to London 4 During his series of Race Across the World, Alfie ventured from Japan to Indonesia. Now that he gets to travel wherever he likes, Alfie is hoping to visit as many countries as possible. Two of his favourites are Jordan and Malaysia. Alfie said: "I took my Nan to Petra because she'd wanted to see it for her whole life, so that was really nice, and the whole feeling around the trip was just really positive. The people in Jordan are just so friendly as well." He added that Malaysia is a "cheap paradise" but that his favourite place in the world is Angel Falls in Venezuela which are "completely off grid, and a nightmare to get to." Fans of the show can now immerse themselves in a Race Across the World experience. It has come to London this spring with tricky puzzles and no phones allowed. The game is a foot race across London where players will navigate around city landmarks to reach the checkpoints. Just like in the show, you'll have to find your bearings without modern technology - which means no mobile phones or maps. There's no public transport allowed either and the adventure stretches across 3.1 miles. Here's everything you need to know about the Race Across the World experience and how to play. And one Sun Travel writer went to Rio de Janeiro and found it to be one of the friendliest cities. 4
