Take Me There: the Polar Express, Devon & Durham
Featuring the voice of Tom Hanks, and enough elves, snow and ho ho hos to see you through to Easter, The Polar Express is the ultimate festive movie. Now fans can relive some of the film's highlights on Polar Express-themed train rides on the Dartmoor Railway in Devon and the Weardale Railway in County Durham. Children will be invited to wear pyjamas for the journey to the "North Pole", which will bring to life scenes from the film with storytelling, guest appearances from Santa and other characters, music and hot chocolate dispensed by dancing chefs. The one-hour trips run from 16 November to 30 December. Tickets £20 per adult, £15 per child (ukpolarexpressride.com).
It's a good time to… get excited about science
Science has never been sexier. So if you're looking for ways to put the fun in physics and the cool in chemistry, check out these half-term events.
The Manchester Science Festival launches this weekend (until 4 November; manchestersciencefestival.com) and highlights will include Science Junkie (free, 2-4 November, Museum of Science and Industry), a live outdoor show which examines the physics behind adrenaline sports such as free-running, and Science on Screen, a pop-up cinema in the atmospheric 1830 Warehouse which will show science-themed thrillers and documentaries.
Meanwhile, at the Dundee Science Festival (3-18 November; dundeesciencefestival.org) children can create their own sci-fi adventure story at the Dundee Rep Theatre (3 November, £4 per child).
It's Spooky Science Week at the Life Science Centre in Newcastle (until 4 November; life.org.uk) with slime workshops, a new planetarium show and a Dracula-themed 4D motion ride.
At London's Science Museum (sciencemuseum.org.uk) you can book tickets for a new hour-long live science show. Expect bottle rockets, exploding gas bubbles and other hair-raising experiments.
Give me a break: the week's best deals, home and away
Cornish break The Old Quay House, a stylish small hotel with 11 rooms overlooking the estuary in Fowey, was recently named Cornish Hotel of the Year by the Good Hotel Guide 2013. To celebrate, the hotel is offering a discount of 30% on breaks in November. A two-night stay for two adults, including B&B, will cost from £250 – a saving of £110 (theoldquayhouse.com).
Channel Islands Fly Jersey (flyjersey.com) is offering three nights for the price of two at the four-star Savoy Hotel in St Helier – a boutique hotel in what was once a grand 19th-century townhouse. A three-night visit between 1 November and 19 December will cost from £275pp, based on two sharing and including return flights from Gatwick, car hire and accommodation on a B&B basis.
