cottages4you blog: inspiration for your cottage or villa holiday in UK, Ireland and Europe

Well, who'd have thought it, but Hollywood is going to be kind to the UK. Not how you think mind you – it is, strange as it might seem from the outset, to help boost tourism through the power of the blockbuster.

Specifically, these impending big-budget movies are going to help what is being described as "location vacation" tourism, another buzzword to add to the travel lexicon.

The village of Castle Combe in Wiltshire, known as the prettiest village in the UK, is expected to be inundated with tourists, after its serene, untouched, quintessentially English vista was chosen as a key location for the movie War Horse.

Directed by one of the greatest film visionaries of recent times, Steven Speilberg, War Horse, which is based on a children's book, tells the story of a soldier who joins the army at the outbreak of World War One to find his beloved horse, which has been sold to the cavalry.

It stars British actor of the moment Benedict Cumberbatch and rising star Tom Hiddleston.

The Woman in Black, which stars Daniel Radcliffe, who is settling into his post-Harry Potter acting career really rather nicely, a ghostly-thriller about a spectre that haunts a sleepy small English town, is set to spark up interest in the Bluebell Railway in East Sussex, the Colne Valley Railway in East Anglia and the Tudor palace of Layer Marney Tower, which is located near Colchester in Essex.

Jack the Giant Killer, which has an irrepressibly cool acting ensemble in the shape of Bill Nighy, Ewan McGregor, Ian McShane and Nicholas Hoult – based on the classic fairy tale – was filmed in and around Norwich Cathedral and Hampton Court Palace. These locations will respectively experience an influx of visitors later this year when the movie hits the silver screen.

Last, but by no means least – and believe us, there are more movies out there – Queen of Pop Madonna's WE, a biography of Wallis Simpson, is expected to fire up curiosity in Hughenden Manor and West Wycombe Park in Buckinghamshire.

So Hollywood, land of the rich and famous, a fantasy land outside of the studios, home to weird, wacky and very rich celebrities, thank you for doing your bit for the UK. It's only apt that it's all happening in 2012 as well. The year of the UK.

Posted by David Sollberger, cottages4you
 

It's breathtaking. Powis Castle and its surrounding land is one of the most magnificent places to visit in Wales.

The castle has built up a reputation over the years as the go-to place for those who love gardens as you will experience nothing like it.

It is akin something out of a fantasy film, an image conjured up by CGI, so lush that it can't be real.

But genuine it is, opulent and grand, bursting with a life force that cannot be reckoned with.

It isn't all natural beauty but the result of over 400 years of expertise, artistry and vision. It is largely Baroque in style – it remained immune to 18th century formality – which explains the grandeur of its shape, size and design.

As such, it comes as no surprise that it has been named as the nation's favourite place to go for a walk in an online poll conducted by the National Trust, whose care the castle is under.

The castle won over 40 per cent of the vote, which goes to show how much love there is for its surrounding landscape.
"We are delighted to win the Walking Festival vote," said: Alison Dyer, the castle’s assistant visitor services manager.

"It is a real tribute to the beauty of Powis Castle and the joy that many people receive from exploring our grand Italianate terraces, dancing statues and lavish herbaceous borders, framed by a beautiful red Welsh castle."

Croome Park, a composed lakeside garden located in Worcestershire came in second place, while Newton Pool in Northumberland occupied the third spot.

Powis Castle has a fantastic selection of paintings, tapestries, furniture and tapestries as well as a sublime collection of treasures from India.

Sian Lloyd, a weather presenter who once famously went out with Lembit Opik, a former Liberal Democrat MP (who in turn famously dated one of the Cheeky Girls), was over the moon at the news.

"I’m absolutely delighted by this. I’m thrilled they’ve won – and deservedly so because Powis Castle is the best castle in the country," she said.

Posted by David Sollberger, cottages4you
 

The offside rule is one of those hot topical discussion points that never gets old with both old and new football fans alike, whether you're a prepubescent youngster or a 50-year veteran supporter of a local football team.

And now, as the year of the London Olympic Games settles into its skin, the Royal Mint has produced a 50p coin that explains, through the power of imagery, what the offside rule is.

It thus brings forward this, how can we best describe it, "entity" to the wider British public and indeed to tourists who may not be too au fait with the offside rule.

Designed by Neil Wolfson, a journalist based in London, the design uses basic shapes and arrows to explain the often unfathomable rule of football that causes heartache every week.

A triangle is used three times to represent three footballers as the attacking team, a square for the defending team, and a circle as a football. Arrows explain the direction of the ball. The square and triangle side by side implies onside. The triangle beyond the square suggests offside.

Descriptively, this explanation might sound obscure, but trust us, the image works.

"I'm a football fan, I followed the Premier League since its inception and if I had 50p for every time someone had asked me to explain the offside rule I'd be a very rich man," said Mr Wolfson.

"When the coin is in circulation I hope people like it and I hope people are able to use it to explain the offside rule."

His football-inspired idea came top of a pile of 30,000 designs that were all gunning for a place on the coin.

Interestingly, the 50p can be bought on the Royal Mint's website for £2.99. Now, we at cottages4you aren't too-well versed in heavy economic theory, but we know a thing or two about the value of money. 50p is worth, well, 50p…hmmm, something's going on here!

Okay, so they are to be used as collectors’ items – they're part of a range of 29 sports-related coins being released to commemorate the Olympics – so we'll let them off for that.

"Coins are a part of the fabric of our daily life, so to have a range of coins designed specifically to celebrate London 2012 is a huge honour, made all the more special by the fact that members of the public have designed them," London 2012 chairman Lord Coe told the Daily Telegraph.

"The 50ps will be part of a long-lasting, wide-reaching cultural legacy that will benefit the entire nation and I’m looking forward to finding the first one in my change and collecting the entire range."

Posted by Matt Smith, cottages4you
 

The Isle of Wight may not seem like the obvious choice for one of the coolest festivals of the summer, but each year thousands of revellers cross the sea in order to enjoy several days of music, culture and of course partying.

And joining them this year will be headline act Tinie Tempah.

The musician will be taking to the main stage to wow the crowd with hits such as Pass Out, Written in the Stars, Frisky and Miami 2 Ibiza on the Saturday night.

On either side of the weekend, Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers will be making their first ever UK festival appearance to headline on the Friday night while music legend Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will close the show on the Sunday.

Also appearing over the course of the three-day event are Groove Armada, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, Biffy Clyro, Example, Noah And The Whale, The Vaccines and Madness.

Festival promoter John Giddings said: "We are very proud to bring the cream of British talent to the island next summer, it's shaping up to be another bumper year!"

Tickets to the Isle of Wight Festival are already on sale so music lovers need to act quickly if they want to see Tinie, Springsteen and co in the flesh.

If you're heading over to the Isle of Wight for the festival we recommend extending your stay by a few days and seeing what the island has to offer in addition to world-class music acts.

A stroll along one of the 11 award-winning beaches or around the Natural Trust Reserve St Lawrence is the perfect antidote to a weekend of excess and little sleep while the area's many museums, including the Shipwreck Centre and Maritime Museum are sure to keep you entertained long after the acts have boarded their private jets and left the island.

"Would you be willing to trade all the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they'll never take our freedom."

It was a tremendous quote – it still is.

Back in the day Mel Gibson was uber-famous and not cast as a Hollywood outsider – check out this endearing, impromptu speech made by Robert Downey Jr about forgiving his friend Gibson – he made a film called Braveheart.

Although his ability to convincingly speak Scottish is somewhat questionable, and academics are vocal about the historical inaccuracy of the story of William Wallace, it was a huge hit around the world. As such, it was a suitable boost for Scottish tourism, its arresting landscapes proving to be a wonderful enticement for overseas visitors.

A new movie has the opportunity to do just that, which VisitScotland bosses are excited about. More so, it is hoped that this new flick will bring even more people to the country.

Aptly entitled Brave – a nice connection to Gibson's heroic movie – the joint Disney/Pixar film is set in the Scottish Highlands, and centres on a character called Merida, a skilled archer who looks to forge her own destiny…with chaotic and comedic results. It is to be shown in 72 countries and in numerous languages.

That's the kind of global exposure Scotland will most certainly be grateful for.

"It's been a tough trading environment for anyone in tourism, for anyone in any business frankly," Mike Cantlay, chairman of VisitScotland, told the BBC.
"But Scotland, and the Highlands and Islands in particular, have been remarkably resilient when you consider how really, really tough tourism is around the world."
The natural tourism organisation for Scotland has dubbed 2012 to 2014 the Winning Years, and we think that is a brilliant strapline – it exudes positivity. Charlie Sheen would undoubtedly give his support to that.

We're all winning!

Mr Cantlay was clearly very impressed with the animated movie Brave, saying its portrayal of Scotland – rugged, mystical and magical – is like nothing he has seen before.

"This is a Disney. At the box office it's reckoned it is going to be several folds bigger than the likes of Braveheart, a movie people still talk about today," he told the BBC.
Posted by David Sollberger, cottages4you

Christmas Day is a special day when the whole world literally stops. Well, kind of (except for those who have to work because of the nature of their job).

Everyone usually gets back together with their families – they either spend Christmas at home or take an extra special holiday away.

Shops close, the roads empty and everyone retreats to be with the people they love. The world breathes.

It’s an amazing scene if you think about it. For 99.9 per cent of the year, billions of us are busy working hard, running around here and there and generally living our lives like busy bees. Yet, for one day, we possess the capacity to put all that on hold. Perhaps it’s something we should do more often.

Weekends exist as a break for those of us who graft a regular 9-5, but more people than ever before have flexible work patterns, and to all intents and puroposes, the weekend is as typical a working period as Monday to Friday.

All that said, how we experience Christmas is changing.

A new study has revealed that the average Brit will find it hard not to surf online – and they’ll do so for about two hours. Whether it’s through their mobile phone or the computer, emails will be checked, Facebook will be explored and even shopping will be done.

Shopping! On Christmas Day?!

Commissioned by Celebalike, which provides a mobile app where people who think they look like a celebrity can compare themselves by taking a picture, also discovered that one in three plan on updating their status on Facebook and/or sending a tweet.

They will invariably say something like “It’s Christmas and I’m at home” or “I’ve just had Christmas dinner and it was yum”. It’s the kind of interesting and philosophical stuff worth sharing indeed.

Kevin Savage from Celebalike reckons that Christmas Day is fast becoming a regular day in terms of how we use our mobile phones.

”In fact, the holidays prompt even greater use of the technologies we have available to us and can be used to make the day even more memorable,” he said.

”But there is room for technology and tradition, and if it’s used to increase people’s interaction with one another on the day, capture memories or get the family laughing then perhaps the smartphones growing presence at Christmas is understandable.”

Posted by Matt Smith, cottages4you