Aysgarth Falls picture by Flickr User ahisgett

Welcome to Yorkshire has just launched the new Turner Trails which cover 70 sites across Yorkshire which inspired the famous painter, Joseph Turner.

Turner toured Yorkshire in the early 19th century and produced more than 800 sketches and paintings. Among the places he visited was Castle Bolton, near Leyburn, Aysgarth Falls, near Richmond, and Whitby Abbey.

Benches are strategically placed so that you can see the same views that inspired some of Turner’s most wonderful paintings. Find out more information regarding specific sites to visit here.

The Shambles picture http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/uk/google-street-view-awards-shambles-voted-britains-prettiest-street-1918208.html?action=Popup

The Shambles in York has been voted as Britain’s most picturesque street in the Google Street View Awards based on votes by more than 11,000 people.

Stockbridge high street in Hampshire was best foodie street, while Milsom Street in Bath was rated as the best fashion street.

The three winning streets were running against 48 other streets from across the UK, shortlisted by a panel of experts.

The nationwide poll was supported by VisitBritain, Lonely Planet and Harden’s Guide.

The awards were created ahead of further imagery being added to Google’s Street View tool, which allows users to view and navigate 360 degree street-level imagery in 25 British towns. Street View is being expanded to cover additional streets around the UK from this week.

Google will work with the winners to offer a special guide of the streets.

TOP 5 ‘MOST PICTURESQUE’:

1. The Shambles, York

2. Royal Crescent, Bath

3. Grey Street, Newcastle

4. New College Lane, Oxford

5. Pen Cei, Aberaeron

TOP 5 ‘BEST FASHION’:

1. Milsom Street, Bath

2. Stonegate, York

3. Kings Road, London

4. Mathew Street, Liverpool

5. Buchanon Street, Glasgow

TOP 5 ‘BEST FOODIE’:

1. Stockbridge high street, Hampshire

2. The Shore, Edinburgh

3. Fossgate, York

4. Osbourne Road, Jesmond, Newcastle

5. Hope Street, Liverpool

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.

Marcus Falconer moves to the role from Go Ape who run the high-up adventure courses that can be found in many Forestry Commission woods in the UK. According to the company’s web site, there are now 22 Go Ape courses across the UK.

He was head of marketing at Go Ape for four years. During that time the Go Ape brand has grown massively.

Welcome to Yorkshire was set up as part of a recent rebranding of the Yorkshire Tourist Board. Its chief executive Gary Verity said: “We’re thrilled to welcome Marcus to the team. He’s arrived at an exciting time in the development of our national and international brand and will lead on a range of marketing initiatives including our award winning campaign ‘A long weekend in Yorkshire isn’t long enough’.”

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.