We hold power to account. Our journalists investigate, interrogate and report without fear or favour. | | The Shropshire Hills National Landscape is a sight to behold all year round |  | Oliver Smith Deputy Head of Travel | Just as Christmas Day must include a chaotic game of charades, a heated debate about the need for bread sauce, and a screening of The Snowman, Boxing Day isn’t complete without a bracing walk.
This year, why not look beyond your local woods and attempt something a little more ambitious, either today or over the weekend? To help inspire you, UK travel expert Sarah Baxter has chosen her 10 favourite winter walks – each with a cosy pub at the end.
They include a cracking loop in the Shropshire Hills, concluding at Clun’s White Horse Inn, and a canalside stroll in Kent, finishing in the heart of Romney Marsh at The Woolpack Inn. | Warm up from the inside with seasonal dishes at The Woolpack, Romney Marsh | Don’t let the chilly weather put you off. Sarah argues that winter is actually the perfect time to hike. She says: “You’re more likely to get footpaths to yourself, for one, and while lacking the lushness of other seasons, winter has a special beauty: skeleton trees, exposed landforms, murmuring birds, frost shimmer, woodsmoke, and a calming sense of nature at rest.”
Find your closest trail here ➤
For more inspiration, see:
• The 15 greatest long-distance walks in Britain
• Britain’s 15 best circular walks |  | Ben Lawrence Head of Live Culture | If you’ve no plans to leave the sofa today, then no judgment. Our film critics, Robbie Collin and Tim Robey, have carried out the difficult task of selecting (and then ranking) their 50 favourite British films from the past century. It generated a lively debate in the office – not least because the list initially ran to 100 films.
Did you know that the oldest surviving film in the world, from October 1888, was shot in Leeds? (The director was French, but never mind.) Since then, homegrown cinema has seen more than its share of highs and lows – but here are the all-time peaks. Does your favourite make the cut?
Continue reading ➤ | | Tom Sharpe Submariners are a special breed who protect the nation – here’s what makes them tick Continue reading ➤ Francis Dearnley This was the year ‘The West’ died. 2026 may be even worse Continue reading ➤ Judith Woods The King was wrong to ignore how his brother Andrew has shamed us all Continue reading ➤ | From Westminster to Washington… Follow trusted coverage of the stories that are shaping our world. |  | A Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground is one of cricket’s grandest traditions, but the opening day must surely rank as the craziest this old ground has ever seen. It was all watched by the largest recorded cricket crowd here, 94,199 people, who were treated to something resembling a cricketing circus in conditions that were unseasonably chilly.
An incredible 20 wickets fell on a breathless day. When Ben Stokes won the toss, he invited Australia to bat. Surely he did not think they would be doing it twice on the first day. We may well have the second two-day Test of the series on our hands here, which sums up the contest's ridiculous nature.
Australia were bowled out for a paltry 152, but reached stumps in a beautiful position, leading by 46 after England were skittled for 110 inside 30 overs, Australia finishing the day 4 for 0 in their second innings (yes, second!) after Scott Boland was sent out as a nightwatchman to see out a single over.
England's first innings included a partnership of 50, largely thanks to the highest individual score – a mere 41 – from the dashing blade of Harry Brook. It was pure, unadulterated cricketing chaos on an Ashes tour that keeps on giving. See how the day's play unfolded here ➤ | | It was a message delivered for a digital age.
At 3pm, in his fourth address as monarch, the King urged people to slow down the pace of modern life and connect with family, friends and neighbours.
King Charles was referring to the negative effects of new technology in particular, his spokesman said, adding that he hoped Christmas could provide time for a “digital detox”.
He encouraged the public to “quieten our minds”, and in the words of TS Elliot, to find “the still point of the turning world”.
The King did not mention his own health or family troubles, and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor were absent from all footage. Continue reading ➤ | |  | | A 12th-century tomb in rural France was meant to be a quick pit stop on Judith Keppel’s long drive back to London. Three months later, it made her a millionaire. In November 2000, she became the first person to win the top prize on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, thanks to the knowledge she learnt by chance that day in the Loire Valley. A quarter of a century later, we caught up with the Egghead to find out what she did with her life-changing winnings. Continue reading ➤ | | | The worst kind of mother-in-law is one who is a snob. Sue (whose name has been changed) was born to upper-middle-class parents, and “was raised to believe that a woman’s job is to look pretty and find a successful man from a ‘good family’.” As the wife of Sue’s son recounts, she’s a nightmare. “I think she hoped he’d marry someone thin and beautiful, who cares more about floral arrangements than people – someone just like her," says the long-suffering daughter-in-law. “I’m a constant thorn in her side, and she doesn’t hesitate to let me know it.” Continue reading ➤ | | | The joy of transforming Christmas leftovers into an epic Boxing Day sandwich is, for many people, a highlight of the festive season. A sandwich on Dec 26 – with the right combination of contents – can be an indulgence to surpass even Christmas dinner itself. Here are our best tips and recipes. Continue reading ➤ | | Princess Charlotte looked like a mini-me of her mother, who wore a similar design in 2011 | Princess Charlotte appears to be following in her mother’s footsteps in never putting a sartorial foot wrong.
For church at Sandringham on Christmas Day, the 10-year-old wore a beige winter coat with a brown velvet collar, cuffs, buttons and pocket flaps. It was a stylish look completed by chocolate-coloured tights, and ballerina flats and a velvet hair bow.
It was somewhat familiar too, bearing a strong similarity to a Katherine Hooker design worn by her mother in early 2011 a couple of months before she married Prince William.
It’s not the same coat, of course. While it wouldn’t be surprising to see Charlotte raid Catherine’s wardrobe in the future, she’s still a little young to wear adult clothes – even if they are tailored to fit.
It’s not clear where Charlotte’s coat is from. With its full skirt and single-breasted design, the details are quite unusual, although La Coqueta’s Arrieta coat shares some features.
One thing is certain: when it comes to dressing for public life, Charlotte has the world’s best role model. And it seems she’s already following that lead.
Meanwhile, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor spent Christmas Day more than one hundred miles away from the festivities.
The disgraced former prince, 65, was seen (below) wrapped up in warm clothing as he left his Royal Lodge home, which he is expected to vacate in the first few months of next year.  | He cut a lonely figure as the rest of the Royal family, including his daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, were pictured together earlier in the day on their annual festive walk to St Mary Magdalene Church, some 140 miles away. Continue reading ➤ | 1977 vs 2025 Every weekday, Orlando Bird, our loyal Reader Correspondent, shares an off-piste topic that has brought out the best of your opinions and stories. Orlando writes...
After what I hope was a spectacularly decadent Christmas dinner, did you summon up the discipline – the steely resolve – to watch something on TV? And if so, was it worth the effort? The Telegraph’s Jon Peake recently surveyed the BBC’s festive offering, and felt it paled in comparison with the vintage Christmas Day lineup of 1977.
Remember that one? Telegraph readers did, and many concurred. Neil David wrote: “I can still recall the newsreaders appearing with Morecambe and Wise – it was something so different. Lovely memories.”
Alan Wilson added: “I wish we could have Basil Brush back. As a child in the 1970s I thought it was brilliant. Now I am 57 and my opinion hasn't changed.”
Not everybody agreed, however. Graeme Muchan felt that “Basil Brush hasn’t aged that well, to be honest. He wasn’t exactly The Muppets at the best of times. Morecambe and Wise, Top of the Pops and Generation Game were all excellent, though.”
William Heathdale “rewatched some of the shows mentioned, which was very nostalgic, but they all feel dated, which of course they are. Eric and Ernie still shine through. Eric could have read the telephone directory and made it funny. My abiding memory of watching these shows as a kid was my mum, who was a professional singer, always complaining that Mike Yarwood sang flawlessly, but was awful as himself. She also complained that either Eric or Ernie sang flat in the closing number (Eric was chief suspect).”
Is the BBC phoning it in for Christmas now? Send your responses here, and the best of the bunch will feature in a future edition of From the Editor PM, for which you can sign up here. Please confirm in your reply that you are happy to be featured and that we have your permission to use your name. | | Find as many words as you can in today’s Panagram, including the nine-letter solution. Visit Telegraph Puzzles to play a range of head-scratching games, including PlusWord, Sorted, and Quick, Mini or Cryptic Crosswords.
Yesterday’s Panagram was CRANBERRY. Come back tomorrow for the solution to today’s puzzle. | | Thank you for reading. Have a fulfilling day and I hope to see you tomorrow.
Chris Evans, Editor
P.S. I’d love to hear what you think of this newsletter. You can email me your feedback here. | |
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