…in the Oxford English Dictionary.
The term favoured by anyone involved in the unbound tourism industry is here to stay, in the dictionary anyway. Other terms added to the OED are credit crunch, vuvuzela, climate change and national treasure.
Archive for category Fun
Staycation takes its place…
Aug 21
Fringe Festivities
Aug 10
Until 30th August the prestigious Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2010 will be spreading art, comedy, performance and dining experiences across the city.
One thing that particularly caught my eye if any readers are lucky enough to try it out is a unique dining experience whereby guests eat at a height of 100ft above the city, hanging from a crane in special seats at a large table! Skyscanner.net at running the Festival in the Skyin the beautiful Princess Street Gardens.
Other events throughout the festival are:
The Demise of Christopher Marlowe theatre production at the C Central.
Creatures Comedy Show for some dark comedy sketch show at the Jury’s Inn.
UK beatbox champion, Beardymanfrom 16th-17th August at the Udderbelly Tent.
For a free children’s event, go to the music, story-telling and puppetry of the Hamwehads from the 11th – 19th August at The Three Sisters.
Flow-pattern- John Reiach photography exhibition from 13th August at the Faculty of the Advocates.
For anyone who lives in Manchester or is visiting this weekend, then there is the annual famous Beech Road Festival in Chorlton tomorrow (Sunday 4th July).
It is free to attend and is from noon until late in the evening and will include music and performance in the park by:
8-BALL, DONNA MARIE, SPESS, BUGS IN EMBER, FEATURING STAVROS, THE POCKETS, LEFT AT THE ROBOT, SCAPEDOGZ
Along with:
- rides, stalls, face painting
- Unity Arts with music & art for children
- all kinds of wonderful foods & stalls along Beech Road
- the Tombola
- fantastic bars & shops open throughout
You can reach Beech Road from the centre of Manchester by catching either the 85 or 86 bus to the Chorlton Bus Station and Beech Road is just alongside this, here is a map.
Beautiful Salcombe, picture by Flickr User j lord
A celebration of ‘music and sail’ this annual festival is in it’s 14th year, growing in popularity and success each year.
The festival is held throughout the town and the estuary and uses a variety of entertainment and hospitality in its broadest sense, to help showcase this beautiful coastal resort, certainly a contender for any family summer holiday.
There will be jazz, rock n’ roll, blues, folk, gospel, close harmony, steel, brass band and classical music on offer. There is also the infamous and crazy ‘Bang and Go Back Race’ whereby a bizarre collection of old Stuart Turner, Brit engine and Diesel class boats race backwards and forwards across the start line with their engines locked at a constant speed. Boats have to change their speed using passengers moving from the bow to the stern of the boat, changing direction every time the hooter goes and first one back to the start line when the final hooter sounds is the winner.
On Island Street, known as the ‘Festival Fringe’ you can listen to steel bands while peering into boat sheds to view craftsmen using traditional techniques to look after their various boats.
If you wander around the streets there will be entertainment aplenty with street performers, singers and buskers as well as jugglers, Punch and Judy, storytelling, face painting , a barber shop quartet, sea shanty singing and the ‘Stiltskin’ walkabout theatre who bring a new creation every year.
The festival is free to attend, although there will be fundraising going on through the weekend for charity. To get more information, go to their website here.
If the sound of this festival tickles your fancy and you’re considering getting a holiday cottage in the area then you’re in luck as our main website, HolidayCottages.cc has a large array of beautiful cottages in and around Salcombe.
June in Shepton Mallet in Somerset starts with a fragrant bang with it’s National Cheese Awards and Cider competition amongst many other family friendly activities at the Royal Bath & West Show.
New to the show this year is Ladies Day on Thursday 3rd June, when visitors stand a chance of being crowned winner of the best hat competition or best dressed lady and walking away with a mystery prize. Other activities are the terrier races, falcon displays, canoeing, milking cows and feeding chickens amongst many other things!
If you book early and online, you get a 15% discount, plus up to 3 children get free entry!
For prices and opening times and more detailed information click here.
For somewhere to stay, why not try this large detached house in Sampford Brett through Helpful Holidays. It sleeps 13 with 2 doubles, 3 twins and 1 family room. This lovely country house has a neat fenced garden at the front and, at the back, a courtyard (table/chairs, barbecue) filled with flower tubs, leading to a garden with a lawn, and, beyond that, a pony paddock for romping.
It has two front-facing living rooms, one with woodburner, TV, one with open fire, TV/DVD and CD player, both with big sash windows, books and board games; farmhouse-style kitchen (cherry red Rayburn plus electric oven and hob, dishwasher, microwave) with dining table and chairs in the middle and a big dresser; large utility room with tumble drier, washing machine, freezer and shower cubicle. Downstairs twin bedroom and WC next to it.
Stairs from the hall lead up to four more bedrooms – a double plus single with washbasin, a double, a zip-linkable twin with en suite bathroom (suite plus bath-shower), and a twin (low doorway) with washbasin. Smart new bathroom (suite plus bath-shower). A few more stairs up to the attic and a sixth bedroom with 5’ double bed, washbasin, Velux window and exposed ancient roof timbers.
Prices start from £475 that are currently available. Find out more details here.
The old Devonshire custom of potwalloping was to painstakingly restore the historic pebble ridge to protect their land from the sea, nowadays it’s a three-day family friendly festival with music, arts and crafts stalls, inflatable table-top football, tug o’war plus many other fun things to do!
The ethos of the not-fot-profit organisers is that it’s a festival by the community and for the community as well as attracting many visitors each year which is a welcome annual revenue boost for local businesses. Many of the events are put on for free because of the generosity of those who donate services to the festival. It’s also a wonderful fundraising event which benefits local charities and good causes through donations received over the weekend.
Westward Ho! can be reached by leaving the A39 at Bideford and following signposts along the A386 and the B3236. Bus number 1 from Barnstaple via Bideford offers frequent services to Westward Ho!
To find out more information go to their website.
Devon County Show flower show picture by Flickr User me'nthedogs
The Devon County Show in Exeter is one of the season’s first festivals running from the 20th-22nd May this year. Enjoy delicious and wholesome Westcountry food and drink as local producers bring the great taste of the countryside to the table with affordable and tempting produce.
For farmers and smallholders there’s livestock to see, machinery to lust after, suppliers to chat to and old faces to bump into for those who never miss a year!
There are also equine competitions, a dog show, inspiring flower and garden displays, marvellous crafts and a variety of stalls.
New to this year is the children’s feature FunForKidz, full of hands-on activity for lively youngsters; everything from planting seeds to baking bread, milking Daisy, weaving willow wands, seeing chicks hatch, watching Tractor Ted DVDs and petting Crealy’s tame animals.
Another new addition is ’Indulgence, fashion & lifestyle’, a pavilion offering demonstrations and fashion shows as well as lots of trade stands.
Search for properties in and around the area at our main site here and buy cheaper advance tickets for the show here.
As flight costs abroad are set to soar in order to claw back the billions of pounds lost in the ash cloud fiasco (see Villaseek Blog for full story), it’s nice to know that there are some wonderful places to visit here as the cream of English tourism was marked by the Enjoy England Awards for Excellence 2010 in Brighton on St George’s Day.
A total of 46 gold and silver winners were selected from more than 100 regional winners submitted by the nine regions in England. These were assessed by independent assessors and a team of judges to make it through to the national final.
The National Trust won the VisitEngland’s Outstanding Contribution to Tourism Award for its role as the bastion of some of England’s most beautiful and outstanding attractions.
VisitEngland chief executive James Berresford said: “The fantastic diversity and quality of tourism product across the length and breadth of England means we can compete confidently on the international stage, making this country a must visit destination for Brits and overseas visitors.”
Brian Richardson, executive secretary of The Caravan Club, headline sponsor of the awards, said: “We know these award winners will be beacons of inspiration for many other tourism companies to follow.”
The gold winners were:
Access for All Tourism Award – imago at Burleigh Court, Loughborough, Leicestershire (East Midlands)
Bed and Breakfast/Guest Accommodation – The Old School, Alnwick, Northumberland (North East)
Best Tourism Experience – Livingstone Lodge Overnight Safari, near Hythe, Kent (South East)
Business Tourism Award – ExCeL London (London)
Caravan Holiday Park – Trethem Mill Touring Park, Truro, Cornwall (South West)
Large Hotel (Over 35 bedrooms) – Thurlestone Hotel, Kingsbridge, Devon (South West)
Large Visitor Attraction (Over 100,000 visitors) – RHS Garden Wisley, Woking, Surrey (South East)
Outstanding Customer Service – Christina Dixon, Jurys Inn Hotel, Liverpool (North West)
Self Catering Holiday of the Year – Blakelow Farm Holiday Cottages, Winster, Derbyshire (East Midlands)
Small Hotel of the Year (Under 50 Bedrooms) – Gilpin Lodge Country House, Windermere, The Lake District (North West)
Small Visitor Attraction (Under 50,000) – Museum of the Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham (The Heart of England)
Sustainable Tourism Award – Crown Spa Hotel, Scarborough (Yorkshire)
Taste of England Award – The Bildeston Crown, Bildeston, Suffolk (East of England)
Tourism Event – Blackpool Illuminations, Blackpool (North West)
Tourist Information Service – Nottingham Tourism Centre, Nottingham (East Midlands)
Also voted for were the quirkiest events in England, a selection of those that are coming soon are below:
Worcestershire Asparagus Festival – between April 23 – May 31 in Evesham, Worcestershire
World Egg Throwing Championships – 27 June at Swaton Vintage Day near Sleaford in Lincolnshire
Annual World Nettle Eating Contest – 12 June in Marshwood in Dorset
VisitEngland is launching a competition to encourage people to post a one minute video of their favourite moments enjoying living in England. The creator of the best clip, as voted by the public, will win a free holiday. The best clips posted will also be included in the September marketing campaign.
“Although most Brits are aware that there are great things to see and do in England, over half of us admit to not making the most of our free time,” said head of marketing for VisitEngland Amanda Smyth. “We’re hoping to inspire people to get out and about in England and discover the hundreds of experiences you can have in this country from sailing on a pirate ship near Brixham to a horse riding adventure in the New Forest.”
Clips can be posted on www.enjoyengland.com/minute. We’d be interested to find out if any of the readers of this blog enter and what your minute of enjoying England is. Perhaps if you’re already going away then that would be a perfect opportunity to make your film!
Opening parade picture by Flickr User wobbler101
Stuck for something to do this Easter weekend? Do you live near or are visiting Leicestershire? Well, Easter Monday’s contest of bottle kicking and hare pie scambling between the villages of Hallaton and Medbourne.
This age old tradition is believed to have started in the 1700’s and starts with both ‘teams’ parading through each village where a hare pie (actually made of beef nowadays) is thrown into the crowd and there’s an almighty scramble to claim it. Once this is done both teams wrestle a ‘bottle’ (small keg) over a rather challenging terrain of streams, barbed wire, ditches and hedges and this is done as best of three competition to ascertain the winner! Tough going and can get rather competitive and can last several hours. Perhaps you might not want to join in if you’re not up for the rough and tumble aspect, but watching it go on will be a rather entertaining spectacle!
The festivities will begin at 11am in the sports field on Hallaton Road, Medbourne. Refreshments will be available and there is free parking for spectators, so if you’re near by it sounds like it’ll be a great family day out.