Holiday cottage news and editorial

Last updated Jan 2008

Dates to put a spring in your step

It’s time to brush off the winter cobwebs and get out and about, reckons the National Trust. A series of springtime events at its properties are designed to reinvigorate body and soul, from woodland wanders to behind-the-scenes tours.

Visit Anglesey Abbey in Cambridgeshire during the first two months of this year for the Snowdrop Season, or book a February date to enjoy the classic movie, Now, Voyager, and a meal in the stunning setting of Castle Ward, Co Down. For a day of pure indulgence, head to Sizergh Castle in Cumbria at the start of March for the Pudding Club, or if gardening’s your pleasure, go Behind the Scenes with the head gardener at Sissinghurst Castle Garden, Kent, on 8 March.

Earn cash from your holiday snaps

Upload your holiday photos onto online stock photo library fotolia.com and you can earn from $1-$10 – around 50p to £5 – whenever someone buys one of them.

You can upload as many digital images as you like, and the site’s editors approve useable ones. Travel is one of the most popular themes, along with business and lifestyle – and sister sites worldwide mean a big market for your photos.

Tips for shooting stock photos:

• General shots that don’t quickly become dated sell best.
• White backgrounds, shallow depth of field, and uncropped photos are very marketable.
• Pictures should either portray people engaged in an activity or represent a category (such as travel).

Go north, says Lonely Planet

Lonely Planet’s Bluelist 2008 is predicting big things for England’s North East. Spotlighting 30 up-and-coming global destinations, the book says the region is “the most exciting, beautiful and friendly” in the country.

Regenerated Newcastle and Gateshead feature bold, modern buildings such as the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Arts alongside beautiful 19th century architecture. Lonely Planet also rates the wildernesses of the North Pennines and Northumberland where you can really get away from it all and explore coastal castles and Hadrian’s Wall.

Many other British Isles destinations make it into the book’s 30 top-ten lists, from the friendliest country – Ireland – to the strangest museum, which features the British Lawnmower Museum in Southport, Lancashire. Foula, in the Shetlands, ranks among the world’s best holiday hideaways, while Dublin’s Guinness Brewery provides a perfect pint!

• Bluelist 2008, £15.99, www.lonelyplanet.com

Taking the biscuit

Scotland now has its first visitor attraction dedicated to the country’s national biscuit. Dean’s Shortbread Visitor Centre, at Huntly in Aberdeenshire, is in the heart of castle country and on the edge of the malt whisky trail.

Dean’s – which was started more than 30 years ago in the family kitchen of Helen Dean, who baked shortbread to raise funds for the Huntly Pipe Band – is now the leading Scottish retail brand of shortbread.

You can learn about the history of the biscuit and watch it being made in the bakery. You can also stop for refreshments in the café/bistro – and don’t forget to pick up some shortbread goodies from the shop, such as apple crumble, praline pecan and Belgian choc chunk.

Very helpful holidays

West Country self-catering cottage agency Helpful Holiday customers are helping to raise funds for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

Holidaymakers are asked to donate £1 to the charity when they book a cottage, and the company then matches all the money raised. Last year the scheme raised £1,500 for the Marine Conservation Society (MCS), which works to protect our seas, beaches and marine wildlife.

Cyclists get Lotto boost

Seventy-nine UK communities are to have improved cycle and pedestrian routes, thanks to the biggest ever Big Lottery Fund handout from a public vote.

Cycling charity Sustrans – which has spent 12 years creating the 12,000-mile National Cycle Network – will receive £50m for its Connect2 project to build 54 new walking and cycling bridges and renew and restore 58 more, enabling people to cross busy roads, rivers and railways. It will also create new foot and cycle paths, and even reinstate a ferry – at Blyth, in Northumberland – giving people easier access to schools, workplaces, shops, parks and countryside.

• www.sustransconnect2.org.uk

Walk the Wolds way

Lincolnshire is pulling out all the stops to attract more outdoor pursuits’ lovers to the county. There’s a new dedicated website section for fans of walking, cycling and other outdoor pursuits, and they can also pick up special hints and tips packs and a new 54-page guide to the outdoors.

The county has some of the most unspoilt walking terrain in the UK, offering walks ranging from leisurely strolls and hillside ambles to serious treks. The more adventurous can tackle part of the 130-mile Viking Way, stretching from the Humber Bridge through Lincolnshire and into neighbouring Rutland. There’s also the Wolds Walking Festival, which takes place each year over the last two weeks in May and offers more than 50 organised routes for all ages and abilities.

• www.visitlincolnshire.com