FOR anyone seeking fun summer vibes, check out this quirky London roof top venue.
Roof East is essentially a ‘playground’ for the adults, with classic games, an outdoor cinema, bars, street food vendors and as of this year, will be a sun-soaked spot (weather permitting), to enjoy bottomless brunch and festivals.
This venue isn’t one you’ll accidentally stumble upon as, you might have guessed it, on a roof.
Only open for a limited time during the year, Roof East, found on the top floor of a Stratford car park, will reopen its doors on Thursday 17 April 2025.
The quirky venue known for its vibrant colours and joyful atmosphere is also completely free to enter with each activity being priced separately.
You can play games like Sluggers, which is inside a batting cage, along with Birdies crazy golf, bowls and archery.
Prices for the games vary with crazy golf starting at £10 and up to £56 for the batting cages.
Dotted around the rooftop are your classic games too, from Jenga to Hang Bar, Ping Pong and Cornhole – which you can play for free.
With deckchairs you can take a seat and enjoy cult classic films as the roof of the car park turns into an outdoor cinema – they’ll play anything from romance to horror.
If you can get an Early Bird ticket the price for a booking a lounge chair is £13.60.
It’s also the perfect place to enjoy a drink and bite to eat. The bar has everything from soft drinks to beers, cocktails and wine.
And to eat, there’s your classic street food, burgers, flatbreads, fries and fried chicken – they also have vegan and gluten free options too.
Along with all of these, Roof East has also added something else to their line-up, bottomless brunches.
These are available for booking from the last weekend of May – you can expect classic dishes and of course, bottomless drinks.
You can also add on bottomless games for afterwards as well.
For any couples heading Roof East, they’ve also added what they call “Fireside Films”.
Aimed at romantics, this option is for those who want to catch a film at the outdoor cinema and snuggle up on a love seat next to a wood-burning heater.
On their list of what’s playing in April, there’s the cult classics, 10 Things I hate About You, Dirty Dancing, The Parent Trap and Pulp Fiction.
Also new for this year is the ‘Roof East festival weekends’, which will take place on the final weekend of June, July, and August.
Head over to the roof for live music, comedy, art activities and markets, each with a different theme every month.
For anyone fancying a visit to see what it’s all about, Roof East is on Level 8 of the Stratford Multi-Storey Car Park in London.
Some guests on TripAdvisor described it as the “best day out”; another added that it’s “a wicked venue for friends, celebrations, dates – everything and anything.”
If you head over to their website, they are now open for bookings.
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And this famous London high street that is a playground for punks rock stars and tourists is going car-free.
We've picked some of our most-loved destinations in London from pubs to hotels...
“When you want something fancier than the pub but nothing as formal as a restaurant, the best bars in London have you covered (and a favourite pastime of mine is finding the newest and best). A recent discovery of mine after a delayed train home was Spiritlands, tucked behind Central Saint Martins College at Kings Cross and, dare I say it, is a hidden gem.” – Kara Godfrey, Deputy Travel Editor
“From the glitz of the Ritz to the budget urban cool of Z Hotels, it’s no wonder London comes out on top when you look at its buzzing hotel scene. Where other capital cities offer eye-watering prices for pokey rooms and no pizazz, London delivers a vast range of hotel styles at all budgets. At the top end, the recent most-talked about opening was Raffles London at the Old War Office.” – Lisa Minot, Head of Travel
“One of our capital’s greatest strengths is its culinary scene, taking inspiration from all over the world – I’ve eaten international dishes that taste better in London than in the places where they originated. Shout out to London Bridge’s Padella with its homemade saucy pastas and Coal Office in Kings Cross for its medley of sharing plates including one of the creamiest labneh’s I’ve ever eaten, topped with salty anchovies.” – Sophie Swietochowski, Assistant Travel Editor
“I first moved to London eight years ago, so have made the most of the free museums – along with the crowds of tourists too. But a way to avoid the crowds is the little-known early morning tours of the British Museum, where experts lead small tour groups around the museum before it opens. Gazing at the Rosetta Stone without loads of people in the way will forever stay with me, with tours costing £33 for a full-paying adult although you must book in advance online.” – Hope Brotherton, Travel Reporter
A HOLIDAY park in Somerset has undergone a huge £15million renovation with a new entertainment venue, pub and sports bar opening on its site.
Unity Beach (previously Holiday Resort Unity) in Brean, Somerset, went into new ownership at the end of 2024.
The award-winning holiday park has a wave of new onsite venues, including an entertainment venue, pub and sports bar.
The Wonky Donkey pub will serve a range of family-favourite meals from breakfast until late.
Meanwhile, the Sports Cafe blends traditional pub pastimes like pool, shuffleboard and darts with cutting-edge virtual reality gaming.
Families will also be able to watch live sports on the giant TV screens and order a range of food and drink.
And, a whole host of entertainment will be offered throughout the day at the Pavilion Theatre, including Wake ‘n’ Shake sessions, Wave Art Warrior classes, Wizard Workshops, and pop-up pier performances.
Other entertainment includes talent shows, tribute acts and classic family pantos.
Set across 240 acres, Unity Beach has plenty of other activities like an onsite waterpark.
Splash Waterpark has a six-lane pool, a splash zone and water slides, all free for guests to use.
There’s also Brean Play, an indoor soft play area with a spider web climbing frame, slides, a trampoline, cannon zone and obstacle course.
Holidaymakers can also use the outdoor play area with swings, climbing frames and seesaws.
Other onsite facilities include an American-themed diner called RJ’s, a Chinese takeaway called Treasure Chinese, an ice cream parlour, an Indian restaurant and Breakers Bar and Restaurant.
Nearby, there’s also Brean Theme Park with 40 rides and attractions, and an 18-hole golf course.
Brean Beach sits directly across the road from Unity Beach, making it ideal for families who want to go a dip in the sea.
The seven-mile stretch of sand is just one of the reason Brean is an up-and-coming holiday destination.
Last year, the first section of the King Charles III England Coastal Path opened at Brean Down, with more walkers and nature lovers expected to flock to this part of the world.
Brean beach has been featured in TV shows including hit costume drama Sanditon and, last year, crews were spotted filming new mini-series The Killing Kind, starring Merlin’s Colin Morgan.
Popular seaside towns Weston-Super-Mare and Burnham-on-Sea are a short drive from the award-winning holiday park.
Amazing value for money
Three-night Easter breaks at Unity Beach start from £77 per person, with four-night midweek breaks from £66 per person.
Prices are based on a family of four sharing a Bronze two-bedroom holiday home.
Other overnight accommodation options include luxury lodges with hot tubs and touring pitches.
The Somerset-based holiday park has been praised by holidaymakers with a 4/5-star rating from nearly 2,000 reviews on TripAdvisor.
One person wrote: “Amazing value for money. We do a lot of caravan holidays and this was by far the best caravan we’ve ever had.”
Another added: “We regularly visit this site and use the facilities across the site. The kids have loved the entertainment, there is so much more energy and interaction for them now.”
HOLIDAY Park expert Robbie Lane recently revealed the seven items he always packs before heading on a holiday park break with his family.
Here’s what he takes…
Earlier this year, The Holiday Park Guru revealed England’s top three underrated holiday parks – with private beaches, indoor water parks and jet skis for kids.
Meanwhile, Haven’s Weymouth Bay Holiday Park site plans to add 239 static caravans and a wildflower meadow in £20million expansion.
ABDUL Elahi is a sexual predator who was described by a judge as the “very worst type of sexual predator”.
His vile crimes, which were perpetrated against 2000 victims, will be explored in the Channel 5 series Prime Suspect: Hunting the Predators.
Elahi began his evil abuse in 2017, while living in his family home.
His only legitimate income was from working at McDonald’s, while, unbeknownst to those who knew him, he secretly targeted women online.
The criminal would operate on sugar daddy websites, where he would pose as a doctor or stockbroker.
Targeting women that he knew were in debt, Elahi would ask for sexual images in exchange for money.
He would then find out the addresses of the women’s families, using them to blackmail his victims into more graphic content.
Elahi even began to tutor other online predators including Anthony Burns, who targeted 600 victims himself.
Burns would later be jailed for 24 years.
Elahi was eventually arrested, after US investigators asked UK police for help in catching an online predator.
They were hoping that the criminal would be extradited to America to face justice.
Elahi was found to have been abusing an underage girl in the US, admitting his crime while being questioned.
When asked if he had committed any similar crimes, he openly said “hundreds”.
Police discovered that he was selling images and videos of his victims, generating up to £25,000 from selling the content to other online predators.
He was also found to have 67,000 indecent pictures of children and had 2,000 victims across 30 countries.
Judge Sarah Buckingham described him as the “very worst type of predatory offender ever identified thus far”.
He admitted to 158 charges against 72 complainants and was jailed for 32 years.
After the sentencing, Tony Cook of the National Crime Agency said: “Abdul Elahi is a depraved sadist who got sexual gratification through power and control over his victims, whom he often goaded to the point of wanting to kill themselves.
“He has wrecked lives and families.”
Revenge Porn Helpline worker Sophie Mortimer added: “We hope that every person affected by this feels some small sense of closure today, we know that their priority is the removal of this content.”
Elahi’s crimes and his arrest will be explored in Channel 5’s series Prime Suspect: Hunting the Predators.
The episode will feature exclusive interviews with the people who helped put the predator behind bars.
Viewers can catch the episode when it airs on March 12, 2025, at 10pm.
SUSPENDED Reform MP Rupert Lowe is being probed by cops over allegations of “verbal threats”, the Met confirmed today.
It comes after the 67-year-old politician was accused by party chairman Zia Yusuf of threatening him with “physical violence”.
Mr Yusuf also claimed the Great Yarmouth MP bullied two members of staff.
A spokesperson for the Met confirmed it has launched an investigation “into an allegation of a series of verbal threats made by a 67-year-old man”.
The alleged threats date between December 2024 and February 2025, and “inquiries are ongoing”.
Mr Lowe strenuously denies the accusations against him and claimed they are retaliatory smears for his criticism of Mr Farage’s leadership.
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He said: “I have instructed lawyers to represent me in this matter.
“My lawyers have made contact with the Met Police, and have made them aware of my willingness to co-operate in any necessary investigation.
“My lawyers have not yet received any contact from the Police. It is highly unusual for the police to disclose anything to the media at this stage of an investigation.
“I remain unaware of the specific allegations, but in any event, I deny any wrongdoing.
“The allegations are entirely untrue.”
A civil war erupted in the Reform Party last week as Mr Lowe issued a blow-by-blow rebuke to each of Mr Yusuf’s charges.
The former Southampton FC chairman said it was “highly unlikely” he would return to the party but that he was not intending to stand down.
