The Northwest’s biggest air show returns to Southport skies on the 18th and 19th September 2010. Aircraft include: Eurofighter, helicopters, aerobatics and Air Show Village, plus on Saturday the spectacular Red Arrows! Tickets are only £5 if booked in advance, or £8 on the day, with children under 5 free.
Author Archives: Paul
The first ever Cheltenham Film Festival
Filed under Events
The Cheltenham Film Festival is coming to town from the 1st, 2nd and 3rd October 2010 for their first ever film festival. Using some of Cheltenham’s most iconic locations to host the screenings, come and enjoy a wide array of films. They have chosen an eclectic mix of films from world cinema, BFI restored classic British films, family favourites, cult classics previews and premieres including a preview of The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, a preview of ‘Red Hill’ a fantastic and powerful western film amongst others.
Useful links:
Cheltenham Hotels
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Cheltenham Attractions
Don’t miss out on the Eastbourne Beer Festival – tickets selling out fast!
Filed under Eating & Drinking, Events
Tickets for the Friday night session of Eastbourne Beer Festival have sold out in record time this year and real ale fans are being encouraged to book quickly for the other three sessions and the chance to taste brews from around the world.
Now in its 8th year, Eastbourne Beer Festival is one of the south coast’s biggest celebrations of real ale with Friday and Saturday night always selling out in advance. With tickets for Friday going earlier than ever before, those who missed out can take advantage of the 2 for 1 offer for Thursday night tickets and get first dibs on more than 120 casks of ale.
The Eastbourne Beer Festival returns to the Winter Garden from 7th to 9th October 2010 with an evening session on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and a day session on the Saturday too.
Promising 120 British real ales with quirky names such as Brahma Crop, Mac’s Gold and Fruit Bat, a selection of Sussex brews including Legless Rambler made at Beachy Head Brewery, bottled beers from across the globe, ciders, perries and fine wine, festival goers will receive tasting notes and can taste their way around the Winter Garden.
With last year’s event calling for extra casks of ales, ciders and perries to be drafted in at the last minute, visitors look set to match last year’s consumption of over 13,000 pints of beer, 1,400 pints of cider and perry, and 2,100 bottled beers this October.
Local musicians will be invited to take to the stage each evening to entertain the tables of visitors with Beve and the Beetroots back by popular demand for 2010 playing on Saturday evening after already impressing the crowds at Extreme earlier this year. And to offset the alcohol, pub grub will be on the menu throughout the event with traditional pub games for the revellers to enjoy.
Real ale lovers who have yet to book, can still get tickets for the Thursday and Saturday sessions of the event, which is organised by Eastbourne Borough Council and CAMRA, by booking online at VisitEastbourne.com.
Useful links:
Eastbourne Hotels
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Eastbourne Cottages
Eastbourne Campsites
Eastbourne Attractions
Win a weekend in London at the Agatha Christie Festival on the English Riviera
Filed under Accommodation, Attractions, Events, Transport
To celebrate the 120th anniversary of Agatha Christie on the English Riviera, a fiendishly fishy-themed treasure hunt has been created, which will run throughout the annual Agatha Christie Festival in September.
120 special Red Herrings will be hidden across the three towns of Torquay, Paignton and Brixham, with a series of clues encouraging amateur sleuths to rise to the bait and discover their whereabouts.
The individuals or teams who find the most red herrings by the end of the week (noting down their location and the number on each of the fish) stand the chance of reeling in one of an amazing haul of prizes. These include a two night stay in the deluxe Park Plaza Victoria Hotel in London with tickets to see The Mousetrap, a trip aboard the British Pullman or Northern Belle Orient Express Train and a full series of Agatha Christie Interactive Games for your PC.
Christie’s books are littered with deliberately misleading literary red herrings aimed at putting the reader off the scent and organisers hope the competition will be both educational and fun. Many of the fish will be hidden in places that featured in both the life and works of Torquay’s most famous literary daughter, providing the perfect hook for visitors to explore Agatha Christie’s Riviera.
A clue sheet will be available to collect from Tourist Information Centres and libraries in Torquay, Paignton and Brixham from Sunday 12th September 2010. They will also be available to download from the website.
The treasure hunt is one of more than 50 Agatha Christie themed events that will be taking place across the English Riviera throughout the festival, which runs from 12th – 19th September 2010.
These include theatre productions, film screenings, walks, talks, a period fete, a tea dance, a cream tea day, a cocktail masterclass, a lunch at Burgh Island, a charity swim and a whole host of murder mystery events taking place in some unusual locations including Torre Abbey and the Dartmouth Steam Railway. Christie fans will also want to visit her former summer home at Greenway House, now run by the National Trust, either by boat or on the brand new vintage bus.
As well as being the 120th anniversary of Agatha Christie, this is year is also the birthday of two of her most popular creations. It is the 90 anniversary of Hercule Poirot appearing in her very first book, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, as well as the 80th anniversary of Miss Marple’s first appearance in a full length novel.
A very special fireworks display has been organised on what would have been Christie’s 120th birthday on Wednesday 15th September, with a special party from the bay’s best vantage point at the Grand Hotel in Torquay, where Christie spent her honeymoon in 1914.
Useful links:
Hotels in Torquay
Hotels in Brixham
Hotels in Paignton
Halloween events in Yorkshire – with a difference
Filed under Attractions, Events
Some Yorkshire attractions will supply spooktacular family activities to the young at heart this Halloween whereas others will show a whole new side to their capabilities with age restricted late scare openings and adult only Halloween Balls.
While children can join the Eureka! School for Witches and Wizards and board the creepy ghost train at National Railway Museum throughout October those a little older and stout at heart can prepare for an evening at Frightwater Valley, when the theme park becomes a Halloween wonderland complete with fireworks.
Alternatively, experience some Medieval Mischief and watch out for the Bloody Barber Surgeon at the Royal Armouries Museum, or follow the Gruesome Gallery Trail at National Coal Mining Museum. Adults don’t fear, you can take your time getting ready for the Halloween Ball at The Deep, but watch out for the ghost which prowls the viewing tunnel.
Magna welcomes visitors of all ages, but at different times at Hybrid X, a high energy and high impact scare entertainment experience, takes you through the laboratory complex of the Dominions Genetic Modification and Research Facility.
For information on all of the activities taking place this October half term and Halloween visit www.yorkshireattractions.org
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Hotels in Yorkshire
B&Bs in Yorkshire
Tourist attractions in Yorkshire
Heritage Open Days 2010
Filed under Attractions, Events
Hundreds of owners and managers are opening the doors to their properties across England, to offer you four days of free access to discover, explore and enjoy local buildings, history and culture. Heritage Open Days will run from 9th to 12th September 2010. Check it out!
Win VIP tickets to the launch of a new Ullswater Steamer
Passengers enjoying an idyllic sail with Ullswater ‘Steamers’ during September and early October, have the opportunity to return to the lake as a VIP during Spring 2011 – if they win a competition prize exclusive to ‘Steamers’ passengers.
Every passenger cruising from Glenridding or Howtown during this period will be given a Lake Guide with a special salmon card inserted inside. This marks the fact that the ‘Steamers’ Pooley Bridge pier is currently closed for essential and permanent repair work.
This has been carried over from the November 2009 floods and has to be tackled during the six-weeks leading up to mid-October. This is to prevent any disturbance to the eggs of Atlantic Salmon, returning to the lake and the River Eden to spawn during late October and November.
To involve passengers in this fishy tale, the ‘Steamers’ are inviting them to glean from their guide and card and enter an online competition. They just need to visit the news area of www.ullswater-steamers.co.uk, follow a link, give the correct answer and complete the online form.
The prize is exclusive and unique, as two winners, plus a guest each, will be invited to the launch of the ‘Western Belle’ – a new vessel, which will become the fifth Ullswater ‘Steamer’ to sail on the lake.
The Western Belle will be officially launched in Spring 2011, with a VIP canapé event laid on by Ullswater ‘Steamers’. Attendance on board will be by invitation only, making this prize one that money cannot buy.
Kendal Festival of Food
Filed under Eating & Drinking, Events
The Kendal Festival of Food is the food festival at which most of the activity happens at source – in the fields, farmyards, restaurants, cafes and hotels where the food is produced, or where the chef prepares their menus. Encouraging the food lover to explore tastes, locations and landscapes is its ethos.
This year’s programme is already coming together and offering great opportunities for all the family to get involved with food. It pays to book early, whether you want to learn how to make cupcakes with Ginger Bakers or enjoy an apple and fruit festival at Beetham Nurseries.
A Festival highlight will be a ‘Journey From Field to Fork’ featuring local producers and staged in Kendal Market Place on 26th October 2010. Peter Gott, of Sillfield Farm, Dales Butchers, Agnes Rose and Kendal Cordials, are just some of those taking part in a free event encompassing cooking demos recipes and ingredients to take home, knowledgeable local farmers and producers, farmyard animals and grow your own advice.
The event is sponsored by both local produce champions and delivery service beelocal and Lakeland Radio. Broadcasting will be live from this event.
Bread fans will be delighted to know that acclaimed artisan bakery, Staff of Life, will be highlighting its artistry and genius through the creation of delicious artisan breads at free demos fixed for 22nd October (8.00-12.00) and Sunday 24th October (10.00-17.00).
If world-class bread is not a food lover’s thing, they could book for a very different sort of cookery course a little further out from Kendal. A Food Smoking course is being run by Smoky’s Jo’s, in Shap, and the smoking experts will be demonstrating how anyone can cook their own smoked food at home, whether in a saucepan or a filing cabinet! Over 14 different foods will be smoked on this course costing £90.
A kick to the kitchen fare could follow a tour of Hawkshead Relish Co, which will feature the production of artisan preserves and condiments. This event on 23rd October is free, but booking is essential.
Brewery tours will be taking place at the Hawkshead Brewery, in Staveley near Kendal, on 25th, 27th and 29th October, at 1pm, 2pm and 3pm each day. These will allow participants to look into the Brew House and even wet their whistle with a few pints!
26th October offers the option of a farm tour at award-winning Low Sizergh Barn whilst Children’s Pizza Making, in which chef Martin McMillan will show kids how to roll, top, cook and eat a pizza, will take place in the heart of Kendal at Infusion, in Finkle Street.
Best of Cumbrian Cookery Courses are on offer from food guru, Yelly de Jong, at her Kirkby Stephen cookery school. There will be a recipe folder and dish to take home, all within the £79 cost for two courses. One course features a variety of dishes (23rd October) and one focuses on Vegetarian food (29th October)
A variety of food offers for diners have already been arranged during the Festival. Some already announced come from Truly Scrumptious, Jintana Thai, Infusion Italian Ristorante, New Moon and Stonecross Manor in Kendal, whilst others are at the restaurants of hotels like Lindeth Howe Country House Hotel in Bowness, and Rothay Manor in Ambleside.
Details of all events, offers, sampling sessions and other foodie things-to-do will be added to the Festival website as they evolve, so keep checking the site for updates!
Paul Johnson is a Director at Kendal Holiday Cottages Ltd. which offers luxury self-catering accommodation between the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales
Capture your Autumn moments in Scotland
Filed under Miscellaneous
This Autumn you’ll find Scotland a stunning place to visit. Discover the splendour and beauty that the country has to offer in the year’s most enchanting season. You’ll find a host of tempting offers on accommodation, food and attractions. And, during Autumn, you’ll also find Scotland is bursting with colour. The stunning scenery is bathed in gold, russet and crimson hues and Scottish cities are brimming with things to see and do. From exploring the majestic landscape in all its Autumnal glory to feasting on the season’s culinary delights, book your visit now and experience Scotland this Autumn. For more information, see www.visitscotland.com/autumn
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Hotels in Edinburgh
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An alternative for Great North Swim visitors to the Lake District
Filed under Events
Assuming they’ve checked their email, participants in this year’s Great North Swim will have already received the rather disappointing news that this weekend’s swim won’t be taking place. Many visitors for the swim will hopefully still come to the area, though – or may already even have arrived – and I just want them to be aware of a great event taking place in Kendal. It probably won’t make up for the disappointment but hopefully it will be an enjoyable substitute.
Mintfest is described as “an exhilirating kaleidoscope of the very best contemporary international street arts”. The event is generally regarded as one of the UK’s leading street festivals and will include everything from street performers to dancers to circus performers… and lots more!
It won’t be quite the weekend you’d planned, but it’ll still be a lot of fun.
Paul Johnson is a Director at Kendal Holiday Cottages Ltd. which offers luxury self-catering accommodation between the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales
Useful links:
Hotels in the Lake District
B&Bs in the Lake District
Campsites in the Lake District
Holiday cottages in the Lake District
Tourist attractions in the Lake District
