Holiday cottage news and editorial

Section last edited, August 2007

Bryson champions our countryside

Best-selling US author Bill Bryson has become president of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE).

In his first speech, Bryson – who lives in Norfolk and whose books include Notes on a Small Island – says we need to increase our efforts to protect the English countryside and our national heritage.

“Something I have often wondered is why you don’t make the whole of England a National Park,” he says. “In what way, after all, are the Yorkshire Dales superior to the Durham Dales? Why is the New Forest worthy of exalted status but glorious Dorset not? It's all lovely.”

Bryson’s first priorities are to create more woodland, cut down on littering and get rid of unsightly pylons. “To me, marching ranks of pylons are way too common in the countryside, and inexcusably alien and ugly,” says Bryson. www.cpre.org.uk

City slicker

York has been crowned best city destination in the first ever European Cities Tourism Awards, beating Valencia and Gothenburg to the accolade.

Paul Dubrule, who chaired the awards committee and is head of the French government tourist office, Maison de la France, says: “York has unique characteristics, such as its 2,000 years of history, a variety of world-class attractions, distinctive shopping, festivals and events – all of which make it a destination well worth visiting, and on a year-round basis, too.”

Run by European Cities Marketing – which promotes tourism in 140 cities in more than 30 countries – the awards are biennial, so this year’s runners-up will have to wait until 2009 to have another crack at the title.
www.york.gov.uk

Go for Gold

Ashwall House in Bulmer, North Yorkshire, has scooped gold in the Self-Catering Holiday of the Year category at this year’s national Enjoy England Awards for Excellence.

This five-star barn conversion sleeps 12 in five bedrooms, and sits in landscaped gardens with a small lake and panoramic views of the Vale of York. Owners Blair Wallace and Philip Ashton only opened for business in summer 2004, and reached the national competition by winning Yorkshire Tourist Board’s top self-catering holiday award in 2006.
www.ashwallhouse.co.uk

Roam the coast

England’s coastline will be completely opened to walkers under government proposals for new ‘right to roam’ legislation. Currently the public only has access to around half of it, but the government has endorsed a plan to create an access corridor so people can walk the entire length of the English coast.

The corridor will cost an estimated £50 million and take around ten years to complete. Natural England, the official wildlife and countryside watchdog, proposed the plan, which has been boosted by the sucessful creation of open access areas inland following the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000.c
www.naturalengland.org.uk

Chichester’s jewel

Chichester’s Pallant House Gallery is this year’s winner of the £100,000 Gulbenkian prize for best UK gallery.

The West Sussex gallery houses one of the finest collections of modern British art in the world, with works by Peter Blake, Patrick Caulfield, Ben Nicholson and John Piper. It picked up the prize for the “flair and sensitivity” with which its new £8.6 million extension has been integrated with the original Queen Anne house.

Chair of the judging panel, broadcaster Francine Stock, says: “We’re delighted to award this prize to a jewel of a gallery. Its brilliance lies not only in its thoughtful and intelligent curation but in the warmth and welcome of the building.”

The three other finalists were London’s Kew Palace, Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, and Sheffield’s Weston Park Museum in Sheffield.
www.pallant.org.uk

Liquor leisure

Sixteen of Scotland’s west coast distilleries have teamed up to promote the varied joys of sampling the finest malt whiskies in the world and exploring this scenic region.

They’ve set up Whisky Coast and launched a website – www.whiskycoast.co.uk – which aims to help holidaymakers get the most from their visits to this area.

“We’re encouraging visitors to see more of this dramatic coast, stay longer and spend more,” says Mark Reynier, chair of Whisky Coast. “Whisky may be the most tangible element of the initiative, but it’s the misty harbours and moonlit mountains which live on in memories.”

London towers over the competition

The British Airways London Eye and the Tower of London have topped the Top 10 list of European attractions compiled by online travel community TripAdvisor.

France’s Eiffel Tower and Louvre Museum, Italy’s Colosseum and Spain’s Alhambra all trailed these two great British landmarks.

Standing on the banks of the River Thames, the London Eye is the world’s tallest observation wheel, with panoramic views stretching 25 miles from its 443ft apex on a clear day. And it has become one of the UK’s most popular paid-for attractions, visited by an average of 10,000 people every day.

The Tower of London – a royal palace, though not a residence – has housed the Crown Jewels since 1303, after they were stolen (but swiftly retrieved) from Westminster Abbey.
www.londoneye.com
www.hrp.org.uk

Photo finish

The effects climate change is having on the UK’s natural and cultural heritage are the subject of a National Trust photographic exhibition that’s touring the UK.

The charity commissioned ten top British photographers to capture the changing conditions at NT properties – from plants flowering early and altering habitats, to new plant diseases and pest problems.

“Many plants that have never been seen outside Cornwall are now growing in places like Dorset,” says Ian Wright, head gardener at Trengwainton, Cornwall. “I had a letter from a lady in the Midlands who was growing tropical species similar to those at Trengwainton to say they were flowering even up there.”

Visit Exposed – Climate Change in Britain’s Backyard at:

Penrhyn Castle, nr Bangor, Wales: 7 July to 2 September
Bristol Museum and Arts Gallery: 2 November to 2 December
Waterfront Hall, Belfast: January 2008
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/exposed

Horsing around

Fancy galloping across glorious hilltops in the English countryide?

A riding centre in the Northumberland National Park is offering ‘Ride-with-a-Guide’ events on new trails across the Cheviot Hills this summer. Susan Rogers, of the British Horse Society, has mapped out the Cheviot Challenge routes, and Kimmerston Riding Centre is organising three-hour rides with a guide and National Park Ranger. Riders must be able to canter confidently in open country, and anyone under 16 must be accompanied by an adult.
www.northumberland nationalpark.org.uk
www.kimmerston.com

Drive time

If you’re holidaying in Warkwickshire you might fancy a trip to the revamped Heritage Motor Centre in Gaydon.

Home to the world’s largest collection of British motor cars it has recently reopened after a £1.7 million facelift. New exhibitions tell the history of British cars from the 1890s onwards, and take a look under the bonnet of vehicles past, present and – with some imagination – future.
www.heritage-motor-centre.co.uk