Three Cliffs Bay picture by Flickr User Thomas Guest

According to the Metro, the travel experts at Lonely Planet have voted Wales’ coastline as the world’s greatest region in it’s best-in-travel 2012 guide!

The All Wales Coast Path is due to be completed next year and will spread 870 miles, so will be a wonderful way to enjoy what Wales has to offer. The guide said of the path: “What a wonderful thing. How better to truly appreciate the shape and soul – of a nation?”

The town of Porthmeirion is even described as “part Italian Riviera, part wedding cake, part surreal spy thriller.”

I visited Wales a lot when I was younger and have to say I loved the coastline in particular, it was always magical and quite beautiful, so I’m not surprised at this declaration from the Lonely Planet at all, it’s merely made me want to go back and visit once more!

Pembrokeshire Fish Week, a celebration of the county’s fantastic seafood, spectacular coastline, wonderful beaches and maritime heritage, returns this year between 25th June and 3rd July. One of the best festivals in Wales, it attracted nearly 30,000 visitors last year.

This year’s festival includes more than 250 events, with some exciting novelties lined up, such as ‘Cook your Catch’, a seafood cookery masterclass with five top British chefs.

Mark Hix, Valentine Warner, Mitch Tonks, Bryn Williams and Anthony Evans will all be cooking inspirational fish and shellfish dishes at the Torch Theatre on 29th June. But there’s a catch! Earlier in the day, they will all go fishing off the South Pembrokeshire coast and they must cook their own rod-caught fish or shellfish in their demonstration – whatever it may be.

Other new events include a beginners’ kayaking course, with mackerel fishing and a fishy barbecue. You learn the fundamental skills within the shelter of Porthclais Harbour, then head out for a gentle paddle along the coast. Organisers TYF Adventure of St Davids will share their knowledge and fishing lines to catch mackerel for dinner, returning to St. Davids with the bbq ready to go.

New events ideal for families include beach explorer sessions at Goodwick, discovering and identifying shells, seaweed and live creatures, or marine wildlife explorer days at Broad Haven including seine netting, environmental art, and a beach comb clean. There’s also a river walk for youngsters in Solva – a chance to get in close and really find out about river life – and a family-friendly beachcomb at Tenby.

Foodie events include a lobster and champagne evening at the Harbourmaster, Milford Haven or a fish supper with live music at the Lavender Café in Solva. There’s a special fish tasting evening at the Ocean in Broad Haven with fish from around the world and a fish-themed quiz night. Or you could try a Friday fish feast at Whitesands Café, St Davids, with hot seafood platters a speciality, as well as a fish and chip night with a glass of wine at Newport Links Golf Club.

There’s lots more information at on the website

Will rocketing petrol prices create a holiday bicycle boom? More and more tourism businesses seem to believe so. For instance, April saw the launch of Cambridge Bike Tours, the first of its kind to provide a programme of bicycle tours around the city and surrounding areas. As well as modern bikes, tourists have the opportunity to try some nostalgic and immaculately refurbished historic British bikes.

Cambridge is famous for its cycling and has over 80 miles of cycle paths and lanes to explore. The company claims its tours offer tourists a unique outdoors experience and enable them to see more of the city and river than on the many walking tours available. Surprisingly, Cambridge Bike Tours is the first tour company in the city to offer a programme dedicated purely to bicycle tours.

The company runs a programme of four different tours operating every day of the week in the summer except Tuesdays. Three of the tours cost £20 and the full day tour costs £33, including bike and helmet. Discounts are available for students, families and groups.

Also getting busy on two wheels is the National Trust, which has launched a new series of challenge rides (also known as sportives). Anyone who’s ever fancied the idea of taking part in a challenging cycle ride through stunning countryside or around a beautiful country estate could be in for a treat with one of them.

All of the routes start and finish at National Trust sites and the first ride will take place in Pembrokeshire in West Wales on 1 May.

The National Trust’s Philip Broadbent-Yale said: “These rides offer a fantastic way to see amazing countryside and have been specifically designed to cater for all ages and abilities, from first-time riders to seasoned pros, there’s something for everyone.”

With distances ranging from a few miles, which is ideal for families, to more testing 50-100 mile rides for the more experienced, these cycling challenges are designed for those who love spending time in the great outdoors. The routes wind through open countryside and will be fully way-marked and marshalled by professional event organisers.

Challenge rides planned for 2011 are:

• 1 May – National Trust Pembrokeshire Challenge Ride at Stackpole in Wales
• 19 June - Father’s Day Ride at Dunstable Downs in Bedfordshire
• 3 July – National Trust White Peak Challenge Ride – Illam, Peak District (TBC)
• 3 July – Kingston Lacy in Dorset
• 24 July – Dunstable Downs in Bedfordshire
• 11 Sept – Wimpole in Cambridgeshire
• 2 October – Dartmoor Atlantic Challenge at the Parke Estate in Devon
• 9 October - Sizergh Castle in the Lake District

More information on the rides, how to register and more downloadable cycle trails can be found at National Trust website

Also happening this summer will be the Trust’s first ever Cycling Festival which will take place between 16-24 July, with bike-ride events and activities happening at 25 locations, including Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire and Scotney Castle in Kent.

Finally, March saw the launch of a unique cycle route in Dorset, where to celebrate its 50th Anniversary, Dorset Wildlife Trust has created 42toDO, a special route taking in all of its 42 nature reserves. At 260 miles through the best of Dorset’s landscapes, it is a challenge that people can take up by bike, on foot or even by car, with shorter routes also available for a more leisurely day.

Fiona Sansom of Dorset Wildlife Trust said:

“42toDO is all about celebrating our wonderful nature reserves. Anybody can do it, whether they cycle the whole thing in one go or tick off a few nature reserves at a time on a leisurely ride or walk. Our route is suitable for cyclists, avoiding main roads where possible, but you can still visit the reserves by car, so there’s no reason to feel left out!”

The Trust has produced a map which includes all you need to know about where and when to see unmissable wildlife such as wood anemones, bluebells, sand lizards, early spider orchids or red squirrels.

With different punches at every reserve to collect on the 42toDO maps, challengers will win a certificate and special badge for achieving all 42 or for more than half. There will be additional prizes for the most impressive or unusual ways of completing the challenge.

The 42toDO challenge is free. For a pack, click here

Fastnet Line, the company which runs the Cork to Swansea ferry route, celebrated the first anniversary of operations on 10 March. The first sailing on the route since 2006 took place on this date in 2010 when the Julia set sail from Swansea to Cork.

The re-establishment of the route has given a boost to tourism on both sides of the Irish Sea, with Fastnet Line exceeding its targets for vehicles and passengers in a highly successful first season. More than 80,000 people travelled on the route between March and December 2010 in a year which saw the importance of access by sea emphasised during the volcanic ash cloud crisis.

Castles are more popular to visit than where the Queen lives, according to a VisitBritain survey.

 10,000 foreign tourists were asked what they would most like to do in Britain out of 18 choices. 34% said they would like to look around a historic Welsh castle with 32% then picking Buckingham Palace as their favourite tourist trap. 29.1% wanted to spend a night in a Scottish castle, 28.9% want to watch the sun rise at Stonehenge, 19% want to watch a premier league football match and 19% shop in Harrods.

The survey also separated the nationality of the respondents, finding 25% of South Koreans keen on Buck House and 18% to see any Harry Potter location. The Poles, Russians, Italians and Germans were the most excited about touring the Welsh castles. 39% of Italians, 35% of Americans and 32% Egyptians who were most excited about watching the football.

January started with testing out my culinary skills at the Ashburton Cookery School in Devon.

A survey in February showed high speed rail was more important to people than airport expansions.

The Shambles in York was voted most picturesque street in March. There was also trouble on the railways with a Network Rail threatened strike.

Easter was a staycation preference in April.

There were many family fun festivals between May and August.

Even before the Royal wedding announcement we found out how the Royals are key to UK tourism.

27 West Country beaches were awarded blue flags in August, showing that the West Country is a great place to visit!

We were given tips on how to give tourists a better welcome during the Olympics.

Taxing times for holiday rental businesses.

The famous Exmoor Food Festival was in October, tickling visitor’s taste buds!

Bonfire Night had many events to travel to, including the flaming barrel run in Ottery St. Mary’s!

It got very cold in November and December as part of the big freeze.

The year ended with a little early Christmas cheer for the travel industry!

So there’s a pick of the Holiday Cottages blog coverage of events and news over the year. For travel news pertaining to outbound travel don’t forget to check out our sister site’s blog, Villaseek. There will be a run down of the year’s news on there very soon also!

So having a well chosen selection of books (as well as DVDs and games) in a holiday property can contribute a lot to a holiday. Bookshelves tend to acquire a life of their own, with visitors donating books they’ve brought and read. That can lead to a wonderfully mixed selection of books reflecting all sorts of tastes and interests. Even so, it still helps a lot if at the heart of the collection is a core of books appropriate to the property. Books about the area, of course, whether guide books, local history or fiction. But also books that can help visitors appreciate aspects of country life they might otherwise miss.

For instance, a couple of new books from Britain’s Wildlife Trusts do this in quite different ways. The first is a guide designed to help you get closer to nature, called 152 Wild Things to Do. Divided into four seasonal sections, it lists places to visit (mostly wildlife reserves owned by the Trusts), activities for both adults and children, and skills you can acquire.

In spring, if you’re in Wales you could visit Silent Valley nature reserve. Or you could cook nettle soup. “Healthy, delicious and found absolutely everywhere, nettles are a wonderful leaf that can be cooked up into a wholesome soup. Food that’s free and full of goodness – perfect! You’ll need to pick the tender tops of young nettles in the spring.” It goes on to a full Nigella-style listing of ingredients (including optional wild garlic leaves), cooking instructions and a final flourish: “You could stir in some crème fraîche or serve with a swirl of cream and some crusty bread.”

In summer, you could go wild swimming or glow-worm spotting; in autumn, you could go blackberrying (and make jam), discover Tolkien’s inspiration or see Britain’s largest butterfly. And in winter… well, buy the book and give it as a present, or just for yourself to spur inspiration and booking another cottage holiday.

In all there are – as you would expect – 152 recommendations, so there’s plenty to keep you busy. The book is probably aimed mostly at parents hoping to occupy children and stir an interest in nature and the countryside, but there’s plenty for everyone. It serves as an introduction to a number of small, lesser-known nature reserves and the colour photography is beautiful. It’s a book that deserves a place on every holiday cottage bookshelf.

Rather more traditional is Nature Tales, from  the same source. It’s a compilation of nature writing spanning the last three hundred years, with a forward by Sir David Attenborough. “This wonderful collection of some of the greatest nature writers in Britain’s history is a pleasure to read from start to finish and a valuable addition to any naturalist’s library,” says Sir David. Quite so, but don’t let that reference to a naturalist’s library make you think this is some learned, stuffy book. Quite the reverse, because it’s the ideal accompaniment to a cup of tea and a digestive, with most of the items no more than two or three pages long.

The book is organised in themed sections – By river and sea, From my window, Nature trails, and so on – each with items from across the 300 years. So an entertaining piece by Bill Oddie – one of the longest items at nine pages – is preceded by the 19th century novelist Richard Jefferies and followed by Nan Shepherd, a wonderful descriptive writer who died in 1981 at the age of 88. There are brief notes on each contributor, which might well lead you to follow up on their other writings.

Even more than in a naturalist’s library, this book belongs in every holiday cottage. And it, too, would make an excellent birthday or Christmas present for any nature-minded reader.

152 Wild Things to Do, published by Elliott and Thompson Ltd, £12.99,
Nature Tales, published byElliott and Thompson Ltd, £18.99

A recently-refitted 1,800 capacity passenger ferry will be put into service this spring, providing another transport link between Wales and Ireland.

The connection ceased in 2006 but is set to resume from March 1st, 2010.

The route last operated back in 2006, and will resume on 1st March 2010. It will be operated by Fastnet Line, a cooperative set up after an online appeal for investors. People in Ireland and South Wales backed the venture with pledges of €10,000.

See http://www.bringbacktheswanseacorkferry.com/ for more details.

Tom K