Theresa May to spend three weeks hiking

Theresa May will take a three-week walking holiday in Italy and Switzerland with her husband, Philip, as she seeks to put a challenging month behind her, Downing Street has revealed. The Prime Minister will spend five days in northern Italy, then depart for the Swiss Alps for two weeks, before returning to the UK on Aug 14. Mrs May will break her holiday to attend a ceremony marking the Battle of Passchendaele on July 31.

THERESA MAY will take a three-week walking holiday in Italy and Switzerland with her husband Philip as she seeks to put a challenging month behind her, Downing Street has revealed.

The Prime Minister will spend five days in northern Italy, before breaking off from her holiday on July 31 to attend commemorations of the centenary of the Battle of Passchendaele in Belgium.

The couple will then depart for the Swiss Alps for two weeks, before returning to the UK on Aug 14.

David Cameron frequently spent a fortnight on holiday abroad before taking a week in Cornwall, Tony Blair took a three-week Barbados break in 2003 and Gordon Brown enjoyed a month off in his Scottish constituency in 2009.

A Number 10 spokesman said Mr and Mrs May will leave for Italy on Monday and will fly to both Switzerland and Italy with a commercial airline.

He added that Mrs May was “looking forward to her holiday” after a “productive and busy” week.

Downing Street gave no details of the exact venues in Switzerland and Italy which the Mays will visit, but Mrs May has named the Swiss regions of Zermatt and the Bernese Oberland as two of her favourite destinations because they are both “fantastic for walking”.

It comes after new polling revealed Mrs May’s satisfaction rating is the worst for any recent prime minister straight after an election.

New Ipsos MORI data shows that just a third (34 per cent) of adults say they are satisfied with Mrs May, compared with 59 per cent who are dissatisfied.