Whether you are running for the bus or preparing to run April’s London Marathon, these shoes are sure to help you on your way

Head to the Italian resort of Courmayeur to enjoy the Vallée Blanche without the crowds of Chamonix

To the short list of things we know about North Korea, we can add this: someone there, possibly in government, is a fan of first-person shooters.

A drought in a resort famous for its epic snowfall. A mountain with the best steep terrain anywhere... in a heatwave. Crud, slush, mud: the life of the off-piste skier with a day job can be as frustrating as it is ruinous.

The publishers of an anniversary edition of Sylvia Plath’s only novel, a painful account of depression that mirrored the author’s own before her suicide, stand accused of repackaging it as glorified “chick lit”. 

Why is ambergris worth so much money? Simon Usborne holds his nose and finds out

Exploding elements, tax returns and cat physics are among the mysteries being explained. Simon Usborne celebrates this quirky online academy.

Tony Blair and Margaret Thatcher have little in  common beyond their CVs, perhaps, but can now add a peculiar popularity in Poland.

Do not adjust your screen: the above portraits are not the products of a camera but the steady hand and sharp pencil of a London artist with an astonishing eye for detail.

Not up for the Costa? Don't worry there's plenty others to choose from