Coast into London
Customers booking stays at one of four central London Thistle hotels in London with Highlife Breaks (0845 6060611) until 7 September are offered free travel on Virgin Trains to the capital from west coast mainline stations .

Half-pace express
The Gatwick Express is to halve the frequency of its service from London Victoria from four trains an hour to two between 26 July and 10 August due to engineering work. Trains will leave Victoria on the hour and half-hours. Departures from Gatwick are at 20 and 50 minutes past the hour. For more information phone 0845 850 1530 or visit www.gatwickexpress.com.

Seeing red
The Egyptian government has stopped issuing hotel building permits in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el Sheikh to avoid overdevelopment.

Paddington bare
British Airways (0870 850 9850) is closing its check-in at London's Paddington Station from 31 July. The airline said too few passengers used the service to justify keeping it.

Happy families
There is still availability for a range of family holidays in Europe this summer if you're prepared to be flexible, according to cheapflights.co.uk. The company has deals to Croatia from £279 for a week starting 18 July and two weeks in Turkey leaving 24 August for £219, plus packages in Cyprus.