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Local hotel company, Modern Hotels (01534 759529), have a Jersey Half-Marathon package for those who want to either watch or participate in the event, whose one-lap course on the east of the island offers superb views across the sea to the French coast.

The National Parks - America's Best Idea is a 12-hour documentary series by documentary film-maker Ken Burns, which is about to launch (27 Sept) on the USA's Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) channels.

The US National Park Service is responsible for almost 400 natural, cultural, historic and recreational parks in the USA and this landmark TV series will not only trace the history of the parks' evolution, but highlight the scale and beauty of some of the best, and least, well-known.

Waterfront regeneration is all the rage these days. Hull has done it, Portsmouth has done it, Cardiff has done it, and over on the continent lots of port cities are up to the same thing - the latest being Denmark's third largest city, Aalborg.

'Phase One' of their £35 million waterfront regeneration programme sees the completion, this month, of Nordkraft a new cultural centre redeveloped from a disused power station with dramatic views over the Limfjord.

The 15^th century Swan Hotel at Lavenham, Suffolk is offering a special weekend package to tie in with the town's first autumn literary festival, which takes place between Friday 20 and Sunday 22 November. Priced from £245 per person, it includes tickets to the Literary Dinner at the hotel on Friday evening; three festival events and dinner on Saturday, and two nights B&B for two sharing a double/twin room.