Good evening

Spring, it seems, has finally sprung in the UK - at least for now - so it’s time to plan the perfect break as the countryside slowly starts to come back to life.

Our writer Fiona Kerr has come up with 20 brilliant ideas for trips that blossom at this time of year, from a stay in Northern Ireland’s Mourne Mountains (inspiration for CS Lewis’ Narnia) to a new hotel escape in Newquay.

The Isle of Wight is among her other suggestions. “Thanks to its microclimate, spring stirs early on the Isle of Wight, making it the ideal time to wander the 68-mile coastal path and many more that crisscross the island,” she writes. A farmstay at Hogchester in Dorset, with meadows that featured on David Attenborough’s Wild Isles series, is particularly lovely at this time of year too. “By May, they will be rippling with buttercups, red clover and daisies, and rustling with bees and butterflies.”

Alternative top picks include a cabin stay in Norfolk (watch wildlife from your bed or venture out to join a tour with an ecologist); a daffodil walk in the North York Moors or a night in a new boutique hotel in Alfriston on the South Downs.

For an extra treat, plan a trip to coincide with local events like the Mull music festival in Tobermory (24-28 April) or guided Snowdonia walks from Plas Weunydd hotel (16 April and 15 May).

Happy travels!