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Monthly Archives: May 2011

Pembrokeshire Fish Week 25th June – 3rd July 2011

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Posted by admin on May 31, 2011 – 3:31 pm
Filed under Eating & Drinking, Events

Packed with more than 250 events Pembrokeshire Fish Week, 25th June – 3rd July 2011, will be a celebration of the county’s fantastic seafood, spectacular coastline, wonderful beaches and maritime heritage.

This year’s seriously fishy festival has many exciting new events including ‘Cook your Catch’, a seafood cookery masterclass with five top British chefs. Mark Hix, Valentine Warner, Mitch Tonks, Bryn Williams and Anthony Evans will be cooking inspirational fish and shellfish dishes at the Torch Theatre, Milford Haven on 29th June 2011.  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.

Useful links:
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Tickets for ‘Cook your Catch’ are £17 per person (£15 concessions) including a glass of wine, courtesy of Celtic Wines. Doors open at 7pm for 7.30pm, to book call the Torch Theatre Box Office on 01646 695267.

Other new events include beginners’ kayaking, mackerel fishing and a fishy BBQ on 27th June with TYF Adventure. If you love foraging for your own wild food, gain the confidence to recognise several species of seaweeds, shellfish and seashore plants with Jonathan from Café Mor – or join him for a family seashore picnic and forage at Freshwater West.

New foodie events include a lobster and champagne evening at the Harbourmaster, Milford Haven and a fish supper with live music at the Lavender Café in Solva. There’s also a tasting evening at the Ocean in Broad Haven with fish from around the world and a fish-themed quiz night.  Activities for families include beach explorer sessions at Goodwick discovering and identifying shells, seaweed and live creatures; marine wildlife explorer days at Broad Haven and a beach clean at Tenby.

To find out more and download the 2011 Fish Week brochure with event listings visit or call 01437 776 168. Pembrokeshire Fish Week is organised by Pembrokeshire County Council. Accommodation suggestions can be found on

6 great reasons to choose Chesterfield for your next ’staycation’

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Posted by admin on May 31, 2011 – 2:03 pm
Filed under Accommodation, Attractions, Eating & Drinking

It may not offer sun, sea and sand.  But one out of the three is always a possibility – and in Chesterfield, you’re always going to find the best ice cream in Britain…!  The latest tourism trend is apparently all about “Middle Britons” forgoing their holiday abroad, based on research that revealed more than a quarter of middle-class families will remain in the UK for their annual holiday this year.

UK coastal resorts, look set to be the most popular alternative, with more than two-fifths (45%) of middle Britons planning a British beach break. Strangely, Chesterfield wasn’t mentioned.  But here’s “six of the best” reasons why it may yet make it into the top ten list of UK staycation and daycation destinations:

1. The same research revealed that Spain is yet again the top destination for middle Britons seeking summer sun, with 13% planning a Spanish holiday.  But why go abroad, when you can stay at the brand new Spanish themed Casa Hotel, in Chesterfield?

2. And while Italy is another of the perennial favourites, Britain’s Good Food Guide has been quick to feature Chesterfield’s new wine shop and restaurant, Nonsolovino, which offers a new approach to Italian wine and food.  It’s the only wine shop in the UK outside of London where you can experience a revolutionary wine tasting system – and the only place in the UK where all those wines on offer are Italian.

3. No holiday would be complete without a fabulous ice cream, of course.  And Frederick’s of Chesterfield is, quite simply, the best.  With accolades too many to mention, it’s easiest to just highlight the fact that they have won the ‘Silver Challenge Cup’ for the best ice cream in Britain… on no fewer than 6 occasions!!  Available from its fleet of vans and in the town itself.

4. Another joy of staying in the UK is being able to find a “decent cup of tea”.  Which, in itself, is yet another reason for choosing Chesterfield.  Northern Tea Merchants is a national treasure.  From small beginnings, delivering tea door-to-door from an Austin 7 van, the family-owned business has expanded to today manufacturing over 100 million cups of tea and coffee per year.  And under current owner James Pogson they import some of the finest teas (and coffees) from around the world to their manufacturing premises and then distribute to destinations across the UK as well as to Europe, America and Asia – all from their Chatsworth Road base.  Best of all, they have their own café, and home-made cakes, for holiday makers to enjoy!

5. Chesterfield, of course, has two Seafood Festivals a year – courtesy of the famous Red Lion Inn, on the outskirts of the town, and at the very epicentre of Britain.  Close links to a North Wales fishing harbour ensure that fresh seafood is always on the menu here.  And there’s nowhere better for miles around for fish and chips…or fish finger sandwiches!

6. It’s one thing staying in your resort.  It’s another having places to visit in the ‘hinterland’. Chesterfield is in the Peak District’s Historic Border Country, with England’s first national park well within easy reach – along with world class castles, houses and gardens at Bolsover, Hardwick and Chatsworth all nearby.

Useful links:
Hotels in Chesterfield
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Britain gets 4 day holiday for Queen’s Jubilee

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Posted by trev on May 31, 2011 – 1:10 pm
Filed under Events

It seems the double bank holiday idea for William and Kate’s wedding was so successful that we’ll get another one in 2012.

The plan is for a four day break using two bank holidays to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012. This will be created by moving the Whitsun Bank Holiday to Monday June 4th and then adding on a special bank holiday on Tuesday June 5th 2012.

Part of this plan is to allow the so called Big Jubilee Lunch in which it’s hoped that neighbours will be encouraged to share a meal. One assumes this is another way of trying to create a street party similar to that encouraged for the aforementioned Royal Wedding.

This Jubilee is rather special as Queen Elizabeth is only the second ever British monarch to celebrate a Diamond Jubilee (60 years on the throne). The first was Queen Victoria in 1897.

Salisbury’s first five star B&B opens

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Posted by admin on May 31, 2011 – 12:30 pm
Filed under Accommodation

Located just a stone’s throw from the centre of Salisbury is a stunning new B&B which has become the city’s first to achieve five star status. Quidhampton Mill opened its doors recently offering three stunningly decorated rooms for bed and breakfast, with prices starting at an affordable £85 per night including breakfast.

The style of the rooms, and indeed the entire B&B, is very much like stepping into New England.  From the moment you drive into the courtyard through a covered driveway with its electric entrance gates, it’s like stepping into another world.  The rooms are elegantly styled with panelled wood floors and tastefully decorated with Farrow and Ball paints.

The owners have paid particular attention to detail with features such as goose down duvets, individual wooden furnishings and bathrooms filled with large bottles of toiletries for guests’ use. The rooms also feature what they title a ‘just in case’ tin, filled with a range of helpful items that guests may have forgotten to pack.  Tea and coffee is also served in a quirky and unusual style with pretty little wooden drawers filled with a variety of options.

Not to be outdone by the rooms, the owners, Martin and Lesa Drewett, have also made the breakfasts an ‘experience’.  All their produce is sourced locally and Lesa even makes many of her own cakes, pastries and cookies. On arrival guests are welcomed into Quidhampton Mill by a tempting array of drinks and cakes.  In the summer Lesa’s homemade lemonade and cream teas are already providing to be extremely popular while on chilly days they offer up freshly brewed coffee, tea or hot chocolate and a delicious blueberry muffin or other cake.

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When you think of Yorkshire, you think…

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Posted by trev on May 31, 2011 – 11:43 am
Filed under Attractions, Eating & Drinking

Likely coal mines, that fantastic accent and Heaven 17…but would you think world class wines and wineries tours?

It turns out that the laws of wine making are all wrong especially as they claim you can’t make decent wine north of northern France.

A few years ago, some very hardy or some might say slightly “off their trolley” people started planting vines in Yorkshire even as far north as Leeds and although the wines these produce might not quite meet the approval of top London restaurants, for the rest of us who don’t want to pay £200 a bottle for vinegar (sorry, white wine), they seem to be hitting the mark.

There are two ingredients to a successful wine business – good soil and wineries tours.

Exactly whether the latter helps the grapes grow or is just an excuse for those who want a more upmarket version of brewery tours we’re not exactly sure, but whatever the reason, quite a number of the Yorkshire vineyards are including tours and tasting sessions naturally.

One such vineyard is Leventhorpe Vineyard near Leeds. If you actually listen to people like Oz Clark of BBC Food & Drink fame, then you’ll be pleased to know he has praised George Bowden and the Leventhorpe Vineyard, so now you’ve got no excuse not to go sample some true grit Yorkshire wines.

If you think about it, 20+ years ago Roy Clarke was hinting that Yorkshire would be good for wine with the title of his BBC comedy Last of the Summer Wine, and as if by magic, there’s even a vineyard in the same town that this is filmed – Holmfirth Vineyard.

For more information from someone who knows something about wine, see the Simon Burnton Guardian article all about Yorkshire vineyards.

 

As a sidenote – this isn’t really related to Yorkshire wine, but for those who aren’t familiar with Yorkshire, this video might help convince you:

More Yorkshire Resources:
Visitor attractions around Yorkshire
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Self-catering in Yorkshire

Glasgow Jazz Festival 2011

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Posted by admin on May 30, 2011 – 3:35 pm
Filed under Events

Glasgow Jazz Festival will celebrate its 25th year as one of the UK’s finest jazz festivals next month.  More than 250 top artists and performers will descend on the city from Wednesday, 29th June until Sunday, 3rd July to play more than 70 gigs across 16 venues.  Established in 1987 by Glasgow City Council in the build up to Glasgow’s reign as Cultural Capital of Europe 1990, Glasgow has always prided itself in bringing some of the world’s best jazz players to the city, including Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Oscar Peterson and Ray Charles.

More recently, Glasgowwas named as a UNESCO City of Music in 2008, recognising the vibrancy of Glasgow’s music scene, its numerous venues and the sheer amount of live events that take place every week.

Over the years, Glasgow Jazz Festival has endeavoured to reflect the broad musical interests of the city, with this year’s Festival featuring headline musicians Ramsey Lewis – performing his classic 1970s album ‘Sun Goddess’ – Oscar winning composer Michael Legrand, the king of Ethio-jazz Mulatu Astatke and the gospel-infused southern boogie piano of Leon Russell.

Additionally, this year’s Festival is also bringing back a number of musicians who have played in previous years including Cleo Laine, Lee Konitz and Tomasz Stanko, Terence Blanchard, Carol Kidd, Martin Taylor, Tommy Smith and Courtney Pine.

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An unforgettable May half term for families at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard

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Posted by admin on May 30, 2011 – 3:21 pm
Filed under Attractions, Events

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard will be joining in with the sentiment of National Family Week this May Half-Term to encourage families to spend more time together and to provide opportunities, events, ideas and money saving offers!

A special microsite at www.historicdockyard.co.uk/maggots will guide families to an unforgettable day out at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard this half-term and will also give them an exclusive ticket offer! With all the details needed from planning your journey to planning your visit, a Treasures and Terrors family trail to take part in on site where you can win some goodies, where to eat (maggots included!) and what could be more idyllic than a picnic overlooking HMS Warrior? plus fun facts and downloads, it’s an easy way to keep all ages entertained.

For families who will be taking their children to see Pirates of the Caribbean – On Stranger Tides, there is also an exclusive video interview with Ian Bell who works with HMS Warrior 1860 and HMS Victory and who worked on the film as a rigger! Young pirates are also encouraged to visit in costume and go aboard the real ships that provided the inspiration for the Black Pearl….! They will also get some treasure as a reward for their outfit.

Once families have decided to visit then there are a whole host of activities they can join in with (see listings below). A highlight includes The Hampshire and Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology’s Maritime Bus! The bus is a focus point for activities, workshops and fun aimed at informing, inspiring and educating, covering topics such as shipwrecks, submerged ancient landscapes, ditched military aircraft from WWII, foreshore archaeology, how maritime archaeologists work and much more. With lots of hands-on activities including handling real archaeological artefacts and using archaeological equipment.  Plus, the bus is fully accessible, with a wheelchair ramp, Special Educational Needs provision and a range of multi-sensory, interactive facilities.

Furthermore, there is the chance to capture your family memories with You’ve been framed! at The National Museum of the Royal Navy where arty adults and crafty children can all join in to create maritime-themed photo frames to capture their special moments.

For the wannabe pirates who want to practice their mast climbing skills, Action Stations offers the UK’s tallest indoor climbing tower and rotating climbing wall along with a number of other simulators and games, plus with site tickets valid for a year it will not only exhaust children for the day but could also keep them entertained throughout the summer!

Families can also get out on the water themselves, feel the sea breeze in their hair and make new discoveries with a Harbour Tour as they sail past the ships of the modern navy. Or if it is lashing with rain they can can take shelter below decks and discover history at the home of world-famous ships, HMS Victory and HMS Warrior 1860; walk through the fascinating exhibitions at the Mary Rose Museum and the National Museum of the Royal Navy.

Useful links:
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Enjoy the open road on a classic car break in Teesdale

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Posted by admin on May 30, 2011 – 3:13 pm
Filed under Accommodation, Transport

A brand new Classic Car Break has been launched by Headlam Hall, the award-winning country house hotel and spa in Teesdale, County Durham.  The package combines a luxurious stay at the hotel with the hire of a classic E-type Jaguar, and is designed to appeal to car lovers throughout Britain.  The E-type really is the epitome of classic British motoring elegance, widely regarded as the most beautiful sports car ever built.  Headlam Hall’s car, “JAG 118L” is a 1972 V12 Coupe, finished in immaculate indigo blue, and sports a fold-back sunroof for fresh air fans.

Located in one of Britain’s “undiscovered” Dales, Teesdale, Headlam Hall is an ideal base to enjoy some of the best driving routes in the country, with wonderful scenery and charming villages in both the Yorkshire and Durham Dales nearby.

The Classic Car Break includes two nights’ Dinner, Bed and Breakfast, a full day’s hire of the E-type Jaguar, a “Sat-Nav” and tailored driving routes, a luxury picnic hamper for your day on the “Open Road” and full use of the hotel’s £2.5m Spa during your stay.  Prices midweek are from £315 per person based on two sharing a Classic Room, rising to £350pp at weekends.  Ideal as a gift for Father’s Day, birthdays or anniversaries, upgrades to Deluxe Rooms and Suites are also available, and an extra day’s hire of the Jaguar can be added to the package.

The Olympian flame is alive and well… in Shropshire

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Posted by admin on May 30, 2011 – 3:03 pm
Filed under Attractions, Events

It’s not everyday that the world of Harry Potter meets ancient Olympic tradition, but that’s exactly what happened in the picturesque Shropshire market town of Much Wenlock.  Renowned British actress Miriam Margolyes – who again reprises her role as Professor Sprout in the final Harry Potter blockbuster movie premiering this July – has helped launch a new Olympian sculpture in the quiet rural town nestling amidst rolling countryside.

Sculptor Adrian Reynolds has created the design featuring the Olympic torch emerging from Shropshire on a world map at the town’s Gaskell Recreation Ground and Miriam, who was visiting Shropshire, is pictured with the new sculpture.

Why Shropshire, 150 miles away from the site of the London Games?

As unlikely as it may sound Much Wenlock is internationally recognised as providing the origins of the modern international Olympic Games.  When the gold medals are handed out in London in 2012, it will partly be thanks to the Wenlock Olympian Games – staged almost every summer in Much Wenlock since 1850, attracting athletes from all across the UK.

Local resident Dr William Penny Brookes first founded the Wenlock Olympian Society and The Wenlock Olympian Games “for the promotion of moral, physical and intellectual improvement” by providing an arena for competition in sport and the arts.

A visitor to the 1890 Olympian Games was Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the acknowledged founder of the modern Olympic Games, who later wrote “and of the Olympic Games, which modern Greece has not yet revived, it is not a Greek to whom one is indebted, but rather Dr W. P. Brookes”.

Today, the Modern Olympic Games are held every four years. But the Wenlock Olympian Games still take place every July, with the 125th Games taking place 3rd-11th July 2011.

For further details, visit www.wenlock-olympian-society.org.uk

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Get rich and celebrate The Big Pitch

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Posted by admin on May 30, 2011 – 12:29 pm
Filed under Accommodation, Events

Campers from across Britain will be out in force on the night of The Camping and Caravanning Club’s Big Pitch camp out on Saturday 4th June 2011 as they celebrate the ‘Real Richness’ that camping can provide. And tent campers continue to lead the surge with a 17% increase in advanced bookings for the night of the Big Pitch compared to the same time last year.  The Club is confident bookings will continue to rise, particularly thanks to the promise of good weather by forecasters Positive Weather Solutions, who last week predicted that high pressure will build again during late May and through to the second week of June.

The Big Pitch camp out is supporting National Camping and Caravanning Week 2011 (30th May – 5th June 2011) and aims to celebrate the way camping provides emotional richness, particularly in four areas; family togetherness, life balance, a sense of community and freedom.

Campers have the opportunity to share their Big Pitch plans on the Club’s Facebook and Twitter pages. (www.facebook.com/thefriendlyclub and www.twitter.com/campandcaravan respectively).

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