‘Hawaii of Europe’ has year long summers and is only a few hours away from the UK

As the wet and windy weather closes in on the UK and winter bears down upon us in a matter of weeks, you might find yourself wistfully wondering what happened to those heady days of summer.

You might also be thinking there's somewhere you could go to get a bit of warm weather late in the year that's not too far from home, and you'd be right.

If you've got a bit of holiday left over before the year is out, then you'd be well served to check out what have been described as the 'Hawaii of Europe'.

While nowhere is safe from the ravages of winter, it's a darn sight warmer over there than it is in the UK, and there's plenty to do with your time while you're there.

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So if you want to lounge around and do very little then the islands will provide, while if you're looking for wine, hiking and stunning views of mountains and the sea then Madeira is yet again an obliging travel destination.

Even now as we plunge further into November, the islands are enjoying sunny weather and temperatures in the high teens.

There's even an added bonus for Brits deciding to travel over on holiday, Madeira is in the exact same time zone as the UK so you won't even need to reset your watches or go through all the hassle of losing an hour.

Another benefit is that since the place is so small, once you get there everything is pretty much within easy reach.

If you get tired of swimming in pools formed from volcanic rock, then you can go and spot some of the island's architecture and history, and if that gets old, you can go track down the source of the island's namesake wine.

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Football fans can also see a monument of Cristiano Ronaldo in the form of a statue at the airport.

However, it's not that terribly funny one which sort of looks like him if his face was squashed and he was in horrible discomfort.

If none of that sounds like your cup of tea, then perhaps we can recommend some caravan park in Dorset where you can spend a November week staring at the rain while your accommodation steadily sinks into a field.

You know, we just like to let you know there's options on the table.