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!

I hope you’ve all had a lovely Christmas as well as New Year and haven’t been caught up in any of the travel chaos or lack of water. Soon I’ll do a round up of some of the top Holiday Cottages blog posts throughout this year, in case you missed out on any corkers.

But for now, let us indulge in thinking of the holidays gone by, and ignore the fact that most of us are back at work today. I spent most of my holiday period at home in Yorkshire, where I ate far too many mince pies, crackers and cheese. I was fortunate enough to get a DSLR camera so took lots of pictures of the Christmas tree as you can see here.

To keep the holiday spirit going, we’d love to hear from you about your holiday period, what you got up to, where you visited and if you went to any of our holiday cottages. Also, please include any links to pictures of cottages and beautiful scenery so we can all get a feel for where you’ve been.

I was talking to a friend about the Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP) today. We agreed that it is a brilliant place to visit on a weekend and should go soon. We live close enough to drive to the Park from Manchester in around an hour as it lies close to Wakefield in West Yorkshire, and as it’s only £4 to park and free to roam about in then it isn’t a day trip that will break the bank.

The park is around 500 acres in size and holds some of the most highly regarded sculptors’ work such as Antony Gormley, Barbara Hepworth, Andy Goldsworthy and Elisabeth Fink. It also has four galleries for days when the weather is less than accommodating. Recently opened is ‘MADE’ at the Park’s shop which will be selling work from some of the UK’s top recent craft and design graduates. The main park is also hosting a special autumn exhibition of over 200 pieces of work by artist David Nash.

The UK is actually full of wonderful sculpture parks, so if you can’t get to the YSP, how about trying some of these:

Kielder Water and Forest Park, Northumberland - a 27-mile forest trail around a lake with many wonderful sculptures scattered around is great for keen walkers and art lovers alike. Free admission.

Forest of Dean Sculpture Trail, Gloucestershire – this is one of the oldest trails in Britain, it is 3.5 miles long but follows a circular pattern and can take up to three hours to complete, make sure to stick to the path however, as the surrounding forest is huge! Free admission.

Pride of the Valley Sculpture Park, Surrey – with around 180 sculptures in a fairly small area the longest walk is around two hours long. Adults £6, children £3, under-5s free.

Another Place, Crosby Beach, Merseyside- this is Antony Gormley’s work of around 100 cast-iron figures scattered around the beach and staring out towards the sea. I went to this a few weeks ago, it was brilliant but very, very cold and windy at this time of year so I’d advise wrapping up warm! Free.

So, I hope that my friend and I will visit the YSP soon and I also hope this list may have inspired some of you to consider visiting a sculpture park either near you, or as a day trip on your holiday.

Welcome to Yorkshire’s chief executive Gary Verity said: “Winning this award crowns an incredible 18 months for tourism in Yorkshire. We have promoted Yorkshire’s unique and diverse attractions across the county, across the UK and across the world and the response has been phenomenal.

“Visitor numbers to Yorkshire are up, interest in our county is up and the profile of Yorkshire as a tourism destination has never been higher.”

The adverts highlighting the wide variety of activities and places to visit in Yorkshire included the strap-line ‘A long weekend in Yorkshire just isn’t enough’ and was played on TV, in cinemas and online to create a 22% increase in visitors over the past 18 months.

Yorkshire was not the only British winner at the awards; London won the coveted title of ‘World’s leading destination’, beating the likes of New York, Cape Town and Rio de Janeiro.

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

Chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire Gary Verity said: “This is global recognition for all the hard work we have been doing with our partners to raise the profile of Yorkshire as a leading travel destination.

“We are in illustrious and esteemed company but that is where Yorkshire belongs. Yorkshire is a world class tourist destination and our nomination recognises that.

“As England’s only representative in the category, Yorkshire can be very proud already. We are a leading example to the rest of the country of how successful tourism can be and we hope we can do the county and the country proud and win.”

The ceremony is on 7th November in London. Vote for Welcome to Yorkshire at the World Travel Awards website.

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’.”