Holiday Cottages Blog

Articles and info on holidays and cottages in the UK and Ireland

Archive for category shopping and culture

Derry-Londonderry named 2013 City of Culture

Jul 16

Posted by elisa in Ireland, News, shopping and culture, Tourist Board | 2 Comments

Derry-Londonderryhas been named the UK’s City of Culture for 2013 winning over competition from three other short-listed cities: Sheffield, Norwich and Birmingham.

VisitBritainsaid City of Culture 2013 aims to build on the success of Liverpool’s year as European Capital of Culture 2008. It is regarded that this title and investment had significant social and economic benefits for the area and will help Derry-Londonderry in a similar manner.

VisitBritain chief executive Sandie Dawe said: “It’s a testament to the passion and hard work that the city has already invested to win against such tough competition.”

The city of Culture is decided every 4 years. It could hold events such as the Turner prize, the Brits and the BBC Sports Personality of the Year. Derry-Londonderry had a huge amount of support from musicians and celebrities in its bid to win the title. Snow Patrol gave their track ‘Just Say Yes’ to be the theme tune, and Seamus Heaney and Brian Friel also backed the bid.

‘The Chill Factore’ in Manchester scoops tourism awards

Jun 8

Posted by elisa in Articles, News, North West, shopping and culture | No Comments

VisitManchester organised the Manchester Tourism Awards at the Manchester Hilton last month.

The indoor real snow centre, ‘The Chill Factore’ won the ‘Access for All’ category award at the ceremony. Judges praised the efforts made to cater for the needs of guests with disabilities, including the close association with Disability Snowsports UK (DSUK)and also recognised the positive relationship The Chill Factore has with the local community.

Guest Services Manager, Jodie Finnegan, was also recognised in the ceremony, coming in the top three in the ‘Outstanding Customer Service’ category. She’s greatly improved guest satisfaction with a 5,000% reduction of complaints over the past 18 months and the complaint ratio now standing at less than 1 per 25,000 visitors – not bad going for such a popular and large attraction!

The Chill Factore also won the Visitor Attraction Quality Assurance Scheme (VAQAS) accreditation by VisitEngland, for their commitment to guests’ needs after being assessed on all areas that impact on the quality of the guest experience.

The Real Snow Attraction can now display the VisitEngland Tudor Rose Quality Marque which is generally known as a reassurance of a quality attraction.

Chief Executive, Stephen Evans said: “We’re delighted to have our hard work and commitment recognised by these prestigious organisations. At Chill Factore the enjoyment of our guests is of paramount importance to us all and we do all we can to ensure their needs are met. As the northern headquarters of snow sports charity Disability Snowsport UK, it is a particular honour to be awarded for the quality of care we give to everyone who visits us and the efforts our adaptive ski instructors go to to get those with disabilities skiing using specialist equipment.”

There are many things you can do at The Chill Factore, you can take lessons in learning to ski, or go to improve your skiing, snowboard and you can take the children to learn at the kids snow sports academy.

New Yorkshire Pass to save money on attractions

Feb 18

Posted by elisa in Cottages Search, shopping and culture, Tourist Board, Yorkshire | No Comments

Yorkshire Water by yaaaay.

Yorkshire picture by Flickr User yaaaay

Welcome to Yorkshire has launched the UK’s first regional sightseeing pass. The Yorkshire Pass, which is being sold by Expedia, Superbreak, Lastminute.com and Viator, allows entry to 75 leading attractionsin the county including World Heritage sites, national museums and stately homes. York Minster, Fountains Abbey, Studley Royal, The Deep, Castle Howard and Coinsborough Castle are all included on the pass.

Welcome to Yorkshire and its six tourism partnerships Visit York, Yorkshire Dales and Harrogate, Yorkshire Moors and Coast, West Yorkshire, Visit Hull and East Yorkshire and Yorkshire South will promote the pass in their domestic and international marketing campaigns. It is hoped the pass will encourage people to extend their stays in Yorkshire.

Chief executive at Welcome to Yorkshire Gary Verity said: “The Yorkshire Pass gives people access to some of the county’s crown jewel attractions and the more it is used, the more savings are made, so people can explore more of Yorkshire for less. It is the first time, anywhere in Britain, that a regional sightseeing pass has been introduced so once again Yorkshire is leading the way in putting tourists first.”

If you fancy taking advantage of all Yorkshire has to offer, with or without the pass, visit our main website to search for Holiday Cottages.

Dorset resorts pull together

Mar 9

Posted by evekerswill in dorset, News, shopping and culture | 1 Comment

The Dorset resorts of Bournemouth and Poole have become partners in a campaign to woo Brits back from the costas – and into holiday homes and hotels in their area.

Although near neighbours, the two towns have never worked together before. Now they are pooling resources (sorry!) in a new joint marketing campaign.

Bruce Grant-Braham chairman of Poole Tourism Management Board, says, “The collapse of sterling against both the euro and the dollar is forcing many people to re-think their holiday habits, and together we aim to be the first to welcome them back from the costas.”

Alex Carter, chair of Bournemouth Tourism Management Board comments, “Having enjoyed huge success individually, we are now joining forces to offer an even better, unrivalled range of holiday experiences at unbeatable prices.”

Bournemouth and Poole attract about seven million visitors between them a year. Quite a large proportion are regulars who return again and again.

Despite their proximity, the towns have very different personalities. Bournemouth has glorious beaches, well kept gardens and is, in many ways, the quintessential English seaside resort. Poole, with its famous and somewhat exclusive Sandbanks peninsula, a marina for 1500 vessels and fame as Europe’s largest natural harbour, sees itself perhaps as slightly more edgy.

The two tourism bosses feel that, between them, the towns offer just about everything a holidaymaker could want. That includes: 10 miles of sand, accommodation to suit all pockets, live music venues, theatre, museums, galleries, leisure centres, golf (eight courses), restaurants, pubs and tea rooms – and no foreign language problems (not to mention no airport security hassles and delays).

Who’s Betty?

Dec 23

Posted by john in shopping and culture, Yorkshire | 2 Comments

I loved Gillian Thornton’s article on the joys of Harrogate, but one thing that really jarred was the sentence starting ‘First stop, Bettys Café Tea Rooms’.

I’m sure Betty’s tea is great and her cakes even better, but whatever happened to her apostrophe?

As it happens, I know the answer because I’m the publisher of Holiday Cottages and I proof-read the article. My first instinct when I saw this was to add the missing punctuation. After all, it was pretty clear these were – or once had been – tearooms belonging to Betty. But first I checked the company website, where the name was Bettys throughout. To my eye, that looks as if it should be pronounced ‘Bettiss’– who knows, maybe it’s a Welsh surname? So I emailed the company, which blandly replied that, yes it was pronounced ‘Betty’s’ but, no, they didn’t use the apostrophe.

It’s a funny little thing, the apostrophe. When people aren’t leaving it out, they’re putting it where it shouldn’t be (one advertiser in our other magazine, Holiday Villas, has just insisted on villa’s). It’s all a bit of a storm in a teacup, of course, and probably the last thing we need to worry about as the language reels from the assault of texting, rapping and the rest. But as this little story shows, if you care about these things you can at least be sure that at Holiday Cottages we’re doing our best to hold back the floodwaters.

Tags: ,

Liverpool One

Jul 17

Posted by evekerswill in News, North West, shopping and culture | 1 Comment

If you’re having a cottage break in the north west this autumn, and feel like some city centre culture and shopping, bear in mind that Liverpool One – a new shopping, eating and leisure area in the city – will be fully opened by early October.

The new district has attracted big names like American Apparel (now open), the north west’s largest John Lewis, Urban Outfitters, and a number of independents as well. There are new bars and cafés, including Loch Fyne and Wagamama, many with outdoor terraces and views.

Liverpool seems to have learned a lot from being European Capital of Culture. It’s adopted European opening times so that people can shop until 8pm. And its 3,000 space car park is hidden underground and covered by greenery in a pleasant green space called Chavasse Park. French cities like Lyon have reaped the benefit of this arrangement of hidden vehicles under city centre oases for many years.

If the rest of your family or group can only take a limited amount of shopping, don’t forget that Liverpool has ferry rides on the Mersey, Beatle attractions, and apparently more museums and art galleries than any other city in the country. www.liverpool-one.com