The Enchanted Garden at Brodsworth Hall & Gardens is a sublime night-time experience. The magnificently restored Victorian gardens are illuminated to become a place of wonder and enchantment from 23rd October until 1st November 2009. This garden walk will delight young and old alike as the garden features are bathed with colourful light, with a surprise around every corner. The shop will be open and refreshments available on these special evening openings. Please note there is no access to the Hall itself.
Monthly Archives: October 2009
The Enchanted Garden
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Filed under Attractions, Events
Charles Rennie Mackintosh Trail Ticket
Filed under Attractions, Transport
This autumn, pick up a one-day Charles Rennie Mackintosh Trail Ticket (cost £12) for free transport and entry to all of the great artist’s attractions. Take the train from Glasgow, through countryside ablaze with autumn colour, to Hill House in Helensburgh and a bus from the city centre to House for An Art Lover at Bellahouston Park for a truly memorable day out.
Savour a gourmet break in Scotland
Filed under Accommodation, Eating & Drinking, Events
One of Scotland’s up-and-coming hotels is running its first Gourmet Break from 13th to 15th November 2009, designed to attract food and wine lovers from across the country to sample the culinary delights of Scotland’s West Coast.
The Gourmet Break takes place at Loch Melfort Hotel at Arduaine, near Oban. The hotel was recently bought by Calum and Rachel Ross, and the Gourmet Break is the first of a range of themed breaks to take place at the hotel.
Head Chef Colin MacDonald will join with Calum Ross to match food and wine throughout the weekend, and guests can expect some great seafood specialities, caught directly in Asknish Bay in front of the hotel. Loch Melfort’s Arduaine Restaurant boasts two AA rosettes, and overlooks the Bay and the Sound of Jura beyond – claimed by many to be “the finest view on the West Coast”. The highlight of the weekend is the Saturday night, when guests will be piped into a magnificent seven course banquet, hosted by Calum Ross and Mike Cottam of specialist wine merchant Inverarity Wines.
The Gourmet Weekend is priced at £100 per person for just the Saturday night, or £175 per person for the two nights’ dinner, bed and breakfast, sharing a double room in either the main house or the hotel’s Cedar Wing.
Picture of the day: Falls of Dochart, Perthshire
Filed under Attractions
Today’s picture of the day is of the Falls of Dochart located near the village of Killin, Loch Tay in Perthshire. It is one of the most painted and photographed areas in the Highlands and visitors can enjoy spectacular views from the bridge on the outskirts of Killin. The area is breathtaking and is next to picturesque Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park and offers an area of exciting outdoor activities for the whole family.
5 reasons to head to Guernsey this winter
Filed under Accommodation, Attractions, Transport
If you told someone you going to Guernsey this winter, they might think “that’s odd”, believing it to be a summer-only destination. Of course they’d be wrong. Here’s 5 reasons to head to Guernsey this winter:
- the crowds have left
- hotels often have great offers
- flight costs have come down
- now you can get your skates on as Guernsey has her very own ice rink for the first time in years
- Christmas shopping in Guernsey is a real treat with chic boutiques in St Peter Port and special Christmas shopping trips to Herm island by boat
Christmas house party for 32 at Combe House, Devon
Filed under Accommodation
Join a three-night Christmas house party ( 24th– 27th December 2009) for just thirty-two guests at Combe House, a magical country hideaway on a 3,500 acre wooded estate near Exeter in the heart of Devon.
Guests arriving at the beautiful Grade I Elizabethan manor on Christmas Eve will see trees twinkling with fairy lights as they come up the mile-long winding drive from the pretty cob thatched village of Gittisham. They will be warmly welcomed with celebratory wine in their room, and a Devonshire clotted cream tea in front of the Great Hall’s crackling log fire and towering pine tree.
Evening festivities will also take place in the Great Hall where Christmas has been celebrated for over 400 years. The Kir Royale will flow accompanied by homemade canapés as guests mingle and the pianist tinkles the ivories, followed by a magnificently laid-out candlelit dinner with wine around one large table – always a memorable evening.
Christmas Day starts with Bucks Fizz and a splendid Devon Country breakfast. Lunch will be a five-course gourmet feast with carefully selected wines to match, fancy hats, jokes and much fun and laughter. On the menu will be festive food created by Combe’s two Master Chefs of Great Britain using the best of local produce – fish fresh from Brixham, poultry from Silverton, pork from Smallicombe Farm, vegetables from Combe’s kitchen garden and handmade West Country cheeses. Later there’s afternoon tea and a candlelit buffet supper and trivia quiz in the Panel Room.
After breakfast on Boxing Day its time to go out and about; explore the wide open spaces of Dartmoor, take a bracing walk on the coast path, or go fossicking along the World Heritage Jurrasic Coast around Charmouth before returning for a light lunch. Tea will be by lamp and candlelight in Combe’s beautifully restored Georgian kitchen, a true reflection of Christmas past. Later Mark the magician and harpist Emma will entertain while guests enjoy a creative menu with special wines selected by proprietor Ken Hunt before chancing their luck in a glamorous, fun casino, Monte Carlo style.
The three-night house party is priced from £1,115 per person sharing a Classic double room in the Linen Wing to include accommodation and all meals, wines and entertainment. Extra nights are available at special rates and dogs welcome in selected rooms.
Picture of the day: Outwood Windmill, Surrey
Filed under Attractions
Today’s picture of the day is of Outwood Windmill dating back to 1665. It is England’s oldest working windmill and is open to visitors all year round who can experience turning the stunning 25 ton mill to face the wind or try their hand at grinding some wholemeal flour. Enjoy a delightful and peaceful picnic and walk around the beautiful surrounding woodland and take in the spectacular sights.
Whatley Manor voted ‘Best Leisure Hotel in the World’
Filed under Accommodation, Eating & Drinking
Congratulations go to Whatley Manor, the 23-bedroomed country house hotel and member of Relais & Châteaux, near Malmesbury in Wiltshire, which has been voted the ‘Best Leisure Hotel in the World’ from the highly regarded Swiss business and economics publication ‘Bilanz’.
Offering the perfect mix of understated luxury and friendly yet highly professional service, Whatley Manor surpassed the competition, consistently scoring across all categories, to be awarded the number one position of ‘Best Leisure Hotel in the World’. With a strong focus on making guests feel relaxed and ‘at home’, Whatley Manor’s warmly inviting bedrooms, two excellent restaurants – Michelin starred ‘The Dining Room’ and stylish, yet informal, ‘Le Mazot’ and award-winning spa are complemented by extensive and exquisitely maintained gardens for guests to explore and take in the tranquillity of the English countryside.
The hotel scoring comprised four main areas – the ‘Bilanz Hotel Test’, top hoteliers’ 10 favourite hotels, current valuations in professional guides and the experiences of travel managers. Of the finalists, over 90% were situated near the sea and in warmer climates, with many hailing from internationally renowned hotel groups, making Whatley Manor one of the only landlocked privately owned hotels to truly stand out.
Competing against the world’s most beautiful international destinations, the move from runner up in 2008 to winner in 2009 is seen as a real coup for the hotel internationally putting the local area and its natural beauty in the spotlight.
Whatley Manor costs from £295 for a standard room including bed and breakfast, full use of the award-winning spa Aquarias and 10% discretionary service charge and VAT.
Picture of the day: City of Norwich Aviation Museum
Filed under Attractions
Today’s picture of the day is of the City of Norwich Aviation Museum. On display you can see all types of fighters including a Vulcan Bomber. See inside the cockpits and buy a souvenir from the gift shop.
Colourful cycling trails in the Scottish Borders
Filed under Attractions, Transport
This autumn take in the changing colours of the landscape on two wheels by enjoying a cycling break in the Scottish Borders. As well as the long distance routes of Border Loop, Tweed Cycle Way and The Four Abbeys Cycle Route there are also some little known shorter routes. Steeped in history and surrounded by some of the UK’s most beautiful countryside, the towns and villages of the Scottish Borders make an ideal starting point for some of the region’s shorter cycle trails:
Kelso
Trails include Bowmont Forest & Roxburgh, an eighteen and a half mile route that includes beautiful views of the region’s famous Eildon Hills and the area’s stunning agricultural countryside and offers the chance to visit nearby Roxburgh village, the magnificent Roxburgh viaduct and the popular Teviot Smokery and Water Garden.
Eyemouth
Cycle routes in the area include an eight and a half mile coastal route to the fishing village of Burnmouth as well as a 14 mile route that takes in Coldingham Bay with its magnificent sea views and St Abbs Head, a National Trust-owned nature reserve.
Peebles
Cycle trails in the area range from seven and a half mile circuits to a twenty two and a half mile route to the pretty Borders village of Eddleston. Most are suitable for family groups and inexperienced cyclists and feature heather-clad hills, tree-lined trails and stunning river views.
Jedburgh
There are five cycling trails for Jedburgh and vary in length from seven to twenty one miles. The trails keep mainly to quiet roads and take in a diversity of scenery from local villages, attractions such the ruined 15th century Cessford Castle and the lovely Teviot Smokery, an ideal stopping point for lunch or a stroll around its water garden.
Hawick
There are four cycling trails which tend to keep to minor roads and so are suitable for inexperienced and family groups. Trails vary in length from seven to nineteen miles, most have some hilly sections, and they pass through classic Borders countryside with its rolling hills, farms and rivers.
Selkirk
There are four colour coded, signed, cycle trails from Selkirk. Varying in length from seven to nineteen miles they include the Bowhill trail, a seven mile route through the Ettrick Valley and passing Bowhill House and Country Park.
Melrose
The trails vary in length from five to fifteen miles and are reasonably hilly in parts. They include the thirteen and a half mile Scotts View and Dryburgh route which passes Scotts View, one of the most stunning scenic viewpoints in the Borders. This route can also be shortened by three and a half miles to take in the famous Wallace statue. An easier trail is the five mile Abbotsford route passing Sir Walter Scott’s historic Abbotsford home.
For more information, see www.visitscotland.com/autumnborders
