Lake District gets regeneration cash boost

March 1, 2010

Travellers staying in Lake District holiday cottages will benefit from new funding for a regeneration initiative to improve the national park.

The Environmental Land Management Service (Elms) has already provided £2.5 million to farm businesses in the area and will now provide the Lake District National Park Authority with funding throughout the next four years.

Work by Natural England and the National Trust has played a large part in securing the money, which will make "a huge difference to the countryside", according to Elms project co-ordinator, Sam Lumb.

He added: "[The scheme] is currently seeing 42 km of hedgerow planted and restored, along with 12 km of dry stone walling, 2,300 new trees, over 700 traditional gates and 35 farm buildings renovated."

The Lake District National Park is 2,292 sq km in size and is home to the largest natural lake in England – Windermere – which is 10.5 miles in length.

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Welsh Assembly Government outlines tourism commitment

March 1, 2010

Tourists planning Wales holidays this Easter will be able to take advantage of multi-million pound funding from the country”s government.
 
The five-year heritage tourism project from the Welsh Assembly is to capitalise on historic and cultural sites in the country and make them more accessible visitors through subsidies of £19 million.
 
Heritage minister Alun Ffred Jones said: "With nine out of ten visitors already rating their trip as very good or excellent, we know we provide a great visitor experience."

Mr Jones added that the country already "offers a variety of destinations", such as city breaks, and "traditional" seaside holidays.  

However, he noted that the funding will only help to make a holiday experience in Wales even better, as well as making the tourism industry more sustainable and environmentally-friendly.
 
Wales provides a wide variety of activities for travellers, including abseiling, climbing, caving, diving, surfing, horse-riding and the Welsh past-time of coasteering.

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Funding boost for Norfolk churches

March 1, 2010

Norfolk”s historic churches are to get a share of the £15.7 million fund that has been set up to carry out repairs on places of worship across the UK.

A total of £1.4 million has been allocated to help restore structures across Norfolk and Suffolk, potentially opening them up to more people who head to the region for a Norfolk holiday.

According to Network Norwich, Grade I-listed St Margaret”s Church in Little Dunham, near Swaffham is one building that will benefit from the cash, as £175,000 has been set aside to pay for work on its roof, windows, drains and walls.

Elsewhere, the Grade II-listed medieval church of St Andrew near Fakenham will benefit from £129,000.

Rev Robin Stapleford explained that problems at the church, which is almost 700 years old, are frequent and can be "costly" to occur.

Chief executive of the Heritage Lottery Fund Carole Souter said that the money will help "safeguard these precious and important buildings", which are a "key part" of the country”s heritage.

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Northumberland up for Enjoy England Awards

March 1, 2010

The north-east of England has a strong presence in the 2010 Enjoy England Awards for Excellence, picking up a total of five nominations.

Sunderland Football Club and the North Music Trust, are among the organisations in the running for the accolades, which are held by VisitEngland.

The shortlist has been picked by a host of tourism industry judges and was chosen from the 15 winners of last year”s North East England Tourism Awards, which took place in October.

"We”re proud that Northumberland has done so well in the nominations," executive director of Northumberland Tourism Giles Ingram remarked.

He added that the county "continues to strive to offer visitors a unique and memorable stay".

Those who are planning on heading to the area for a stay in a Northumberland holiday cottage might want to consider checking out the host of pubs it offers.

A campaign has been launched by Northumberland Tourism in a bid to put watering holes in the region on a par with those elsewhere in the country.

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Line-up announced for Norfolk and Norwich Festival

March 1, 2010

Individuals staying in Norfolk holiday cottages can enjoy an unusual act during the Norfolk and Norwich Festival – a world premiere of a composition performed by ice-cream vans.

The festival is now in its 238th year and according to the Norfolk Eastern Daily Press, people staying in Norfolk holiday cottages will be treated to a line-up of local talent, international acts and "outdoor spectaculars".

Jordi Savall will reveal the UK premiere of his performance, which charts the history of Jerusalem, while David McAlmont and Michael Nyman will perform a collaboration.

A daytime programme of tea and swing dances and a circus can also be taken in by those choosing Norfolk holiday cottages as their base for the festival.

Norfolk County Council, National Express East Anglia, Norwich City Council and Arts Council England have all teamed up to fund the event.

The festival will be held between May 7th-22nd. Last year saw the successful delivery of 47 bespoke Creative Learning projects at the festival.

A further eight professional development events were also provided.

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Campaign launched to draw punters to Northumberland pubs

March 1, 2010

Pubs in one county have been advised to increase the number of people staying at Northumberland holiday cottages into their premises.

According to Northumberland Tourism, the full potential of pubs in the area is not being realised, the Journal Live has reported.

Tourists set to enjoy Northumberland holiday cottages will be some of the estimated 72 per cent of UK residents who are expected to holiday at home this year.

A good pub meal and a few drinks are often essential to British getaways.

Speaking to the newspaper, project co-ordinator of Northumberland Tourism Helen Spark said: "Our region”s pubs have a great opportunity to build on the growing number of people planning to holiday in the UK."

While Northumberland offers a number of attractive locations for those on holiday there, Ms Spark acknowledged that pubs in Cornwall use local produce to their full advantage when bringing people in through their doors.

Some of the pubs in Northumberland which those staying in holiday cottages there can enjoy include those near Hadrian”s Wall and those on the coast.

Pubs in local market towns also serve locally produced food, something the tourism board is keen to promote.

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Mountain bikers get new Cotswolds guides

March 1, 2010

Adrenaline junkies heading off on a Cotswolds holiday to enjoy some mountain biking may be able to make use of a new series of guidebooks highlighting the best riding spots in the region.

According to BikeBiz, Vertebrate Publishing has put together 12 different guides, each of which focuses on helping riders get the best out of the spectacular landscape that can be found in the Cotswolds.

Each edition features Ordnance Survey maps to ensure riders don”t get lost on their way from their Cotswolds holiday cottage to the trail, while pictures of the routes taken by some specialist mountain bike photographers have also been included.

The whole series took six years to complete and the news source noted that "most of the best mountain bike routes have been featured", although there are a few "obvious gaps" that Vertebrate is currently working on filling in.

Vertebrate has also produced guides to the best mountain biking trails elsewhere in the country, including the Lake District, Wales and the North Yorkshire Moors.

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