Holiday cottage news and editorial

Last updated October 2008

Plymouth in Wonderland

The Plymouth area is expecting a tourism boost following the filming of parts of a new Disney blockbuster – Hollywood director Tim Burton’s remake of Alice in Wonderland – in and around the city.

Filming was due to take place in various locations around the historic Devon city, all transformed into Victorian sets, as we went to print. Two hundred and fifty local extras were recruited for the film, starring Johnny Depp and 18-year-old Australian actress Mia Wasikowska.

Casting director Ilenka Jelowicki said they chose Plymouth and some surrounding locations because “it’s a period movie, set in Victorian England, so we’re very specific about the look we need.”

Plymouth lost swaths of Victorian buildings to bombs in the Second World War but significant numbers still stand, especially in the area behind the Hoe, the green open seafront space where Sir Francis Drake played bowls before dealing with the Spanish Armada.

Malcolm Bell, chief executive of South West Tourism, said, “There are three main benefits with an event of this kind. Firstly, the cast and crew will be spending a lot in Plymouth; secondly, the city will gain a lot of publicity and thirdly, a number of film lovers will come here to catch a glimpse of the sites on the film.

”David Shepherd, head of locations at South West Screen, which champions filming in the south west, said “The locations chosen in Plymouth had just the right feel for the needs of the film. Our primary role is to attract productions to come to film in this region and we’re absolutely delighted to attract such a big production to the south west.”

‘Leave us alone’

Living in a place that’s a scenic backdrop to a film or TV series does not make everyone happy.

In Port Isaac, in Cornwall, some residents are fed up with fame. Their village is the setting for the popular TV series Doc Martin, which stars Martin Clunes, and so is a must on the itinerary of many of the programme’s fans.

Unfortunately, as it’s a tiny and historic village that wasn’t designed for modern day traffic, Port Isaac can get clogged up and residents are worried about safety issues, noise and pollution.

And some are not happy during filming sessions, either. Villager Ted Charles said, “Friends who have enjoyed coming to the village for years have not been able to stay in holiday cottages because they have been rented to the crew.

“We have had the golden egg from the filming and we have had enough visitors now. Surely they have enough footage of Port Isaac on file so they don’t need to come back?”

Now, the county highways department is considering ways of easing the traffic situation, both during filming and at other times when visitor numbers are high.

Doc Martin attracts as many as 10 million viewers in Britain and it’s also popular in Australia, Belgium, Romania and many other countries.

Seaside boost

Blackpool, Dover and Torbay have set out how they will spend a £10 million boost from the government.

The SeaChange programme has awarded £4 million to Blackpool, £3.8m to Dover and £2.2m to Torbay. The aim of the grants is to help the towns widen their appeal and attract more visitors year round.

Blackpool will spend its cash on a 20,000-capacity outdoor performance arena on the seafront; Dover will install a cable car to take people from the Western Docks up to the town’s cliff-top castle, while Torbay’s £2.2 million will go to the English Riviera Geopark, which tells the story of the area’s geology.

Tourism minister Margaret Hodge said: “The SeaChange scheme is about kick-starting regeneration through cultural investment in our seaside communities, helping preserve their heritage and encouraging new and exciting projects.”

Another £33 million will be going to other seaside towns under the SeaChange project; who gets what will be announced later.

Coasting to success

Liz Davies (left) and Rachel Thomas

A cottage letting agency – started at a kitchen table by two friends and now a thriving business with almost 300 cottages on its books – has come second in a prestigious Welsh small business competition.

Liz Davies and Rachel Thomas started Coast and Country Holidays in the village of Moylegrove, Pembrokeshire, in 1990, helping a handful of cottage owners with bookings and promotion.

Now they employ a staff of 11 and are kept busy year-round with bookings for properties that range from a lighthouse to converted barns and picturesque thatched cottages.

Liz and Rachel’s success in doing this led to their becoming finalists in the Welsh round of the British Small Business Champions Awards, competing with five other businesses chosen from the whole of Wales.

Said Liz, “It was really nice to be selected for the finals and although everyone wants to win, we are delighted to have come second, especially as it has brought us some recognition and opened up new channels for publicity.”

Founded by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), the BSBC awards are the only national awards open solely to small businesses. Their aim is to ‘celebrate and heighten the profile of the UK’s small businesses’.

Russet and gold

If you’re in Scotland for an autumn break, don’t miss the glorious colours of its woodlands at this time of year. Some of the best spots to appreciate them belong to the National Trust for Scotland, which recommends:

• Branklyn Garden, Perth, with stunning red acers.
• Fyvie Castle, Aberdeenshire, well known for its mature woodland.
• Geilston Garden by Dumbarton – superb in autumn.
• The Hermitage by Dunkeld, a mix of deciduous and evergreen colour.
• Inveresk Lodge Garden, Musselburgh with acer, sorbus and euonymus.
  

The Trust also has plenty of other autumn activities on offer, including walks for all ages and abilities, and fire lighting, shelter building and wild food gathering for youngsters.

Carnival time

Each November, thousands of people on holiday in the west country flock to see the Bridgwater Carnival – the oldest and biggest of its kind in Europe.

Usually about 80 brightly-lit floats – some using as many as 30,000 light bulbs – wind their way around the Somerset town’s historic centre as well as newer parts of town.

Held two days after Guy Fawkes night each year, the carnival has been in existence since long before records began in 1847. Carnival clubs throughout Somerset create the floats and compete for prizes. Floats are either ‘tableaux’– where actors have to remain completely still and silent – or ‘features’ which involve non stop dancing, usually to lively music. When the procession ends there are fireworks, including specially-made ‘Bridgwater Squibs’.

After Bridgwater, the floats move on to another seven Somerset towns and villages – North Petherton (8th November), Burnham-on-Sea / Highbridge (10th November), Shepton Mallet (12th November), Midsomer Norton (13th November), Wells (14th November), Glastonbury (15th November) and Weston-Super-Mare (17th November).

Bridgwater Carnival ;
Somerset Carnivals website

Ghoulish delights

The National Trust looks after some of the most haunted houses in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, so if you’re looking for Halloween ‘entertainment’ at half term time, it’s a good place to start.

You can dress up, listen to ghost stories, try a creepy twilight tour, watch fireworks, or just carve a pumpkin at Trust properties putting on events.

At Belton House in Lincolnshire you can go on a Spooks, Spoofs, Skellingtons and Wellingtons family fun trail, while at Biddulph Grange Garden in Staffordshire, there are ghostly caves and tunnels to explore, and at Brockhampton Estate, Herefordshire, Gunpower and Ghosties events offer ‘creative fun’.

Down at Castle Drogo in Devon there’s a spooky trail around the garden for those prepared to be scared, while at Cragside, Northumberland, you are challenged to find the turnip and pumpkin lanterns hidden around the garden. At Devil’s Dyke, West Sussex, a ghostly walk leads through the dark and mist down to Dyke valley; if you’re in County Down in Northern Ireland, you can gaze at Belfast’s Halloween fireworks displays from above, on the Black Mountain.

For lots more halloween and half term events, go to National Trust events.