Ian Weightman Blog

Stratford, London - a new Day Three destination

What’s a Day Three destination?

Brooklyn was one for me, on my last visit to New York. Siena was one a couple of years ago, on a trip to Florence.

And we like to promote Stoke-on-Trent & The Potteries as one, for any American visitors on a trip to the Capital.

But I feel like I’ve also now seen London’s fastest up-and-coming Day Three destination: Stratford - the home of the 2012 Olympic Games.

The comparisons with Brooklyn may help to cast some further light on all this.

You’re in New York. Day One - Times Square, Grand Central Terminal, The Top of the Rock, Fifth Avenue, and perhaps a show on 42^nd Street. Day Two - Central Park, Empire State Building, Greenwich Village, a trip out to the Statue of Liberty (or maybe, the free crossing on the Staten Island Ferry).

Which brings us to Day Three. More of the same on Manhattan? Or do something different, and stray off the beaten track? And where better, in that case, than Brooklyn? A short hop via the Subway, and it’s possible to emerge in the shadows of Manhattan Bridge - one of the “BMW” bridges of New York (Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg). And from there, it’s a gentle stroll to the water’s edge, some stunning views of Brooklyn Bridge, and a walk through the Heights to check-out the sights, sounds, smells and pizzas (!) of Brooklyn.

Now that’s what I call a Day Three destination!

The same as - having spent two days “doing” the art treasures and galleries of Florence in Italy - you might want a change of scene, and go in search of historic Siena.

It’s how we attempt to promote Stoke-on-Trent as a Day Three destination to American visitors to London. (“After a couple of days in the Capital, why not jump on a train from Euston - and spend the day at the Wedgwood Visitor Centre, and award-winning Museum?”).

And now, Stratford is emerging as a Day Three destination for anyone on a short break to the Capital…

You’re in London. Day One - The British Museum, The London Eye, Covent Garden and a West End Show. Day Two - Green Park, Buckingham Palace, The Tate Modern, and the Tower of London.

Which brings us to Day Three. More of the same in Central London? Or do something different, and stray off the beaten track? And where better in that case than Stratford? A short and rapid hop from St Pancras on the Javelin train, and it’s possible to emerge in the shadows of one of the largest Westfield Shopping Centres in Britain. And from there, it’s a gentle stroll to the soon-to-be opened North Park of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park which last year hosted the London 2012 Games, some stunning views of Anish Kapoor’s Orbital, and a walk along the colourful canals to check out the historic Three Mills Island.

Day Three destinations, of course, have a habit of developing - and becoming ever-more popular.

They also tend to be the ones which give you most bragging rights over your Monday morning coffee break…

VIPs, REVs, and the wow factor ratio

There’s nothing better than being made to feel like a Very Important Person. Fast-tracked entry, red carpet treatment, and the opportunity to go places Regular Everyday Visitors (like me) aren’t allowed to go.

That’s exactly why VIP experiences exist; and why they make such extra-special personal treats, presents and prizes. It’s also why Longleat, in Wiltshire, has such an outstanding range of VIP Safari Tours to chose from…

Since the Safari Park was first opened in 1966, Longleat has become famous for the animals they care for, and the overall experience it offers to well over one-million visitors each year. But there’s an opportunity these days to really stand out from the crowd - and to enjoy up-close, off-road, behind-the-scenes close encounters with some of those animals.

Speaking as a REV myself, I can vouch for the everyday experience on offer at Longleat. But turn-up as a VIP, and you really are going to get an experience of a lifetime.

Upgrade to Bronze, for example, and as well as a full day in the Park, you’ll also spend two hours with your favourite animals in the company of an expert ranger. Opt for the three-and-a-half-hour Silver VIP Safari Tour and you’ll have a full-guided tour of the Safari Park, get to feed the giraffes by hand and then enjoy privileged behind-the-scenes access at Animal Adventure with (amongst others) the ever-popular meerkats.

Gold buys you a seven-hour package featuring all of the treats of the Silver Tour, plus the chance to hand-feed the tigers and get up close to the lions and cheetahs.

And then - there’s the ultimate package: The Platinum VIP Safari Tour. All the glitter of Gold, but with an overnight stay in a sumptuous Longleat Spa Hotel. That’s £399 per person - compared with the £85 price tag for the Bronze VIP Safari Tour, £150 for Silver, and £299 for Gold. But then - as the saying goes - some things are just priceless!

It’s easy enough to compare the various VIP packages on a look-before-you-book section of their website.

What the smallprint also makes clear, however, is that “other experiences are also available”! So if you’re looking to drop hints for birthdays, Christmas, high days and holidays, make sure your loved ones take a look here, which features full details of all the other VIP experiences that are on offer at Longleat.

Me? I’d just be happy to go back again as a REV - and buy my regular everyday ticket online for a few pennies over £25. That actually works out at a “wow-factor” ratio of around one for every fiver.

(Seeing as you ask, they were: catching my first glimpse of Longleat House on the long approach road; driving just a few feet away from a pack of lion cubs; getting so close to giraffes you could smell their breath; watching a couple of hippos heads bob-up from underneath the water; and seeing the actual blood-stained, silk sleeved waistcoat in Longleat House which was worn by King Charles I at his execution in 1649).

All I can say is if the VIP packages offer a similar wow-factor ratio, then no-one - VIP, or REV - is going to leave Longleat disappointed.

You’ll find more details here.

There's more than just three cheers in Derby

Derby’s done it again. Just when you thought you knew everything there is to know about its fine ale and fabulous food, it’s revealed another couple of absolute gems.

Including one with a horrible history, and another involving a punk musician whose ‘take’ on a Bakewell Tart almost made it into the Great British Menu.

But first, some background…

British pubs may be closing at the rate of five a day, but Derby is at the forefront of a real ale revival. Dubbed the “Beer Capital of Britain”, Derby is able to boast the largest number of real ales per head of population, more than 120 real ale pubs, several micro-breweries, and two annual CAMRA Beer Festivals….not to mention, Britain's first and only "Beer King", Les Baynton.

The Brunswick Inn (the first railwaymen's hostelry in the world) and Ye Olde Dolphin (dating back to 1530) are just a couple of the pubs in the city worth including on any real ale pub crawl of Derby.

Another is The Royal Standard which, like the Brunswick Inn, possesses its own micro-brewery. Opened in 1864 and visited by Queen Victoria, the Standard today is famous (amongst people in the know) for its "Racks" – trays of 1/3 pint glasses of five home brews, served with a selection of local cheeses, for just £5.

It’s a USP for the city that’s already gained world-wide recognition. And when you stack that up alongside the sudden appearance of some fabulous food across the city, then it’s definitely time to raise a glass (or three) to Derby.

Just take a look, for example, at Jack Rabbits - a food emporium in the Cathedral Quarter where the emphasis is very much about lazy grazing, in a setting which feels like it’s just been plucked from one of the coolest corners of New York City’s Greenwich Village.

Or The Derby Pyclet Company - as good a reason as any for being tempted into the city’s colourful old Market Hall. Flat crumpets, made with milk from a local dairy, and baked on griddles, the Pyclets can be bought to take home, or garnished on the spot with THE most mouthwatering choice of toppings: smoked salmon and horseradish cream; Colston Basset Stilton, honey and walnuts; ham and home made piccalilli.

Completing the current shortlist of “food heroes” are husband and wife team Victoria and Tony Jacobs, who now make and sell artisan bread from their café, BAKED; brother-and-sister team Stuart and Hayley Baddiley who have just won the city’s “Restaurant of the Year” award for Restaurant Zest; and the Black Rock Grill in Sadlergate where food is cooked on volcanic rocks.

Better news still comes from one recently opened pub, and another - in one of the city’s most historic buildings (not to mention world’s most haunted premises!) - that will be pulling pints once again from the end of May.

The first to mention is The Exeter Arms – a short stroll across the river from Derby’s landmark arts centre, QUAD. Owned by former AntiPasti punk rock band member Martin Roper, it’s arguably the first pub to offer its guests a full “British Tapas” alongside its carefully kept rack of real ales!

The British Tapas itself consists of a slice of award-winning pork & stilton pie, a giant piece of home made crackling, hand cut chips, pickled onions, black pudding, and home made scotch eggs, sausage rolls and piccailly. All topped-off with a Union Jack flag.

Call it retro. Call it what you like – but when its all set against the traditional backdrop of an authentic Victorian pub, and prepared by someone as passionate as Martin, then the one thing you really must call it is: “special”!

A one-time competitor in the Great British Menu on ITV, Martin loves one thing more than food. And that’s talking about food. And how he tracks down his produce from local growers, or from his regular foraging forays into the woods and green areas of the city. Eat your heart out Noma!

Less than 5 minutes walk away, in the Cathedral Quarter, another slumbering giant is being brought back to life. Having shut up shop several years ago, The Old Bell Hotel in Saddler Gate has now come under the control of Paul Hurst, who has already proved his credentials in Derby with the Black Rock Grill, and who is now setting about breathing new life into one of the most historic properties in the city.

A former coaching inn, it’s also renowned world-wide for having one of the most haunted rooms anywhere on the planet. Like the rest of this Grade II listed property, the attic is currently being renovated, and – once that is ready – will be ready to host guests who don’t mind sharing their room with an odd spirit (or two!).

The Old Bell Hotel as a whole will help to put the Cathedral Quarter on the map; and from May, visitors will be able to order their drinks fro a bar which is being recreated in the style of 1920s – when judges from the nearby courts could be heard discussing whether or not convicted prisoners should be hung, or not!

Our National Treasures...

While the likes of Dame Helen Mirren and Dame Judi Dench clearly are National Treasures, Private Eye has been having some mischievous fun recently - naming-and-shaming the media who have recently dubbed everyone from Eddie Mair, Steven Gerrard, Charlotte Green, Billy Connolly and even Madness as “National Treasures”.

It’s all subjective, of course. And there will always be as many people for naming (say) Danny Boyle a “National Treasure”, as there are against.

But the same can be applied to UK tourist attractions. Which of them are our real National Treasures? And what would you base your arguments on?

Is it simply a matter of longevity? Travel gazetteers from as early as the 12^th century - such as Henry of Huntingdon - have long been naming their ‘top ten’ lists and up to the 19^th century they all seemed to be agreed on one thing: that the top four “wonders” (or National Treasures) were (and possibly still are) Stonehenge, The Lake District, Peak District and Cheddar Gorge.

Now I don’t begin to claim to have enough knowledge of the British Isles to even start a definitive list of our National Treasures. But I’d certainly agree that those four are a pretty good starting point. After that, however…well, there’s bound to be room for debate.

At what point do 20^th century attractions (including some of our favourite seaside resorts) start to be included, for example? And do you categorize “London” as a visitor attraction, or would that need to be broken down into individual attractions within the capital (The Tower of London, St Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, The British Museum, and The Natural History Museum, and so on). Is it about visitor figures? Longevity? Or simply a “fondness” for the place!

It can’t simply be a top 10 list either. Can it?

Oh dear – I’m so glad I started this…

But in addition to Stonehenge, The Lake District, The Peak District and Cheddar Gorge, I’d also like to nominate another couple of “National Treasures” myself: The Cotswolds (whose age, beauty, and enduring sex appeal makes it the Helen Mirren equivalent of UK visitor attractions); The Isle of Wight for which we give thanks to another National Treasure – Queen Victoria – for helping to make it what it is today); and “The Potteries” (an unfashionable choice, maybe, but just think about all of the famous names which – to this day - help to carry the words “Made in England” around the world).

But then again, I really will need to insist on some kind of “declaration of interest” for anyone wanting to propose a visitor attraction as a National Treasure.

In my case that’s a declaration that I - ahem! - appear to be representing more than half of the “National Treasures” on my list.

And I’m not sure whether that’s a coincidence. Or simply very good fortune.

Carry on campers

Nothing says “retro” more than a holiday near the seaside, climbing trees, touring in a VW Campervan or staying in a 1950s caravan - while enjoying “lashings of ginger beer”.

Well, “Mercy me!”, if you’re looking for some “jolly japes”, pack your copy of Five go to Treasure Island, and set sail for the Isle of Wight now…the home (amongst other things) of Campervan Holidays, Vintage Vacations and Goodleaf Treeclimbing.

Now in its 10^th season, Vintage Vacations is the brainchild of Helen and Frazer Cunningham, who turned their passion for American Airstream caravans and their professional skills as a stylist and a photographer (not to mention a farmer’s field to the south of Ryde) into a fabulous Fifties “bubble”.

Having bought their first Airstream caravan on American eBay “after too many glasses of red wine”, they now own 13 of the streamlined, silver beauties - along with one 1950s British caravan (“Doris”), and a couple of vintage fold-ups. Elsewhere on the Island, meanwhile, they also offer “The Mission”, “The Shack” and “The Scout Hall” to visitors in search of a full-on retro experience.

But if it’s the first glimpse of the glimmering caravans in the farmer’s field that captures the imagination, then it’s the finishing touches which make it all so truly special: the home-made cakes and Babycham on arrival; the table mats you grew up with in the Sixties; the kettle whistling on the stove; the snakes & ladders left for you to play while you forget what it was like to once watch television!

A few miles further south, just as you leave Shanklin, there’s a bend in the A3055 which causes you to slow down and a flash of colour to the right, which makes you turn your head for your first sight of the fabulous fleet of VW Campervans assembled on the Island by Sarah and Paul Guy.

Based here since 2007, they first got the idea during a holiday nine years earlier to Australia. “We thought if we could do it here, it would work well. And we’ve been jolly lucky”.

An amazing business model, it’s also a fantastic holiday experience - attracting visitors to the Island from all parts of the globe. Visit the Isle of Wight these days and you’re likely to spot ‘Ermintrude’, ‘Sunny’ and ‘Compton’ (the green, yellow and orange VW Campervans) out on the road filled with smiling, happy faces…

Full instructions on how to cope with their tricky gearboxes (tricky in comparison with current-day gearboxes, that is), and delicious home-made cakes, are passed-on to VW Campervan guests on arrival!

And as if that isn’t enough, Goodleaf Treeclimbing can teach anyone aged 8-to-80 how to clamber up trees in a number of safe and secluded locations in the north-eastern corner of the Island. Dubbed the UK’s recreational tree climbing specialists, they’ve even been featured on the BBC.

Whether you’re keen to drink pop, enjoy a home-made honey-and-ginger ice cream, tuck into a bag of boiled sweets, or visit a vintage craft fair, it’s hard to think of a better place to keep calm, carry-on and read an Enid Blyton novel.

One of the Four Wonders of England, with Seven Wonders of its own

Had Twitter been around when they were alive, Henry of Huntingdon, Alfred of Beverley, Ranulph Higden and John Hooker would probably have each had hundreds of thousands of followers.

We’d have all been waiting for their next 140 characters of information, telling us about their latest finds, and top tips of where we should be taking our next holiday.

More than historians, they were some of our earliest travel scribes - capable of making, or breaking, reputations with one scrawl of their quills.

But there’s one tweet they would have all had in common: “We can reveal our top four places to visit in England are: Stonehenge, The Lake District, Peak District and Cheddar Gorge. #happytravelling”

Well, let’s RT @AlfofBeverley. Thanks for the recommendation @RanulphHigden1. You’re a #topbloke @John_Hooker.

But of all the gazetteers who travelled the country between the 12^th and 16^th centuries, the one we need to raise our keyboards to, and #FF, is @HenryofHuntingdon - who was the first to include Cheddar Gorge in his list of the “Four Wonders of England”.

He actually referred to Cheddar Hole, better known these days as Cooper’s Hole - a giant recess in the Gorge’s cliff face, a couple of hundred meters above one of two show caves which have been attracting visitors to Cheddar Gorge since Victorian times.

This is the kind of place where they’ve (quite literally) being scratching the surface, and writing new chapters in the history of Mendip cave exploration for centuries. Just as they did last September, when a group of local cave divers finally made it into “The Frozen Deep” - now thought to be far-and-away the largest grotto in the British Isles.

That one isn’t open to the public, of course. But Cheddar Gorge has its own seven wonders these days, where visitors can step back in time…as well as deep underground.

The gorge and caves, of course, are especially famous for the discoveries made about Britain's pre-historic past by archaeologists. And The Museum of Pre-history contains everything from a replica of Britain’s oldest complete skeleton - Cheddar Man - to evidence of cannibalism.

Outside in the Gorge there’s an Open-top Bus Tour, which offers 20-minutes of amazing views and informative commentary. For the more active visitor, it’s possible to enjoy one of the most stunning walks in England - the three-mile Cliff Top Gorge Walk, which usually takes around one-and-a-half hours; or the climb the 274 steps, up to The Lookout Tower, where the rewards on offer are the breathtaking views.

But the highlight for many is the chance to experience the magic and the natural splendour of the Cheddar Cave’s underground wonders.

Gough’s Cave is widely recognised as one of the most beautiful stalactite caverns in the world. It’s also where Cheddar Man was found. Audio guides bring the cave to life, telling the fascinating story of its Ice Age creation, Stone Age occupation and Victorian exploration.

Nearby Cox’s Cave is a shimmering, brilliantly coloured underground sanctuary with calcite sculptures, dancing fountains, mirror pools and music evocative of a more spiritual world.

For some visitors, however, the ultimate way of exploring Cheddar Gorge & Caves from top to bottom just has to be Cheddar Gorge X-Treme, which offers adventure caving, and rock climbing. Led by a team of highly trained guides, it’s billed as being “hard, dirty and fun”.

I shunned the physical exercise in favour of an altogether more appetising pastime: a visit to the Cheddar Gorge Cheese Company shop. You’ll see their cheeses maturing inside Gough’s Cave, and hear guides tell you that the most asked question is “what kind of cheese is that?”

“We just say cheese,” they tell you, with a huge smile on their faces.

For more information, visit the website.

A bumper summer for Stoke Rochford Hall

Leading country house hotel and events venue Stoke Rochford Hall has unveiled a packed line-up of events for 2013.

Special events, Jazz Sundays, a Midsummer Ball, Open Garden and a brand new two-day summer music and comedy festival are set to make 2013 one of the busiest yet at the Lincolnshire venue, near to Grantham.

Located in 28-acres of glorious countryside beside a quintessential English stone village, Stoke Rochford Hall offers stately comfort amidst historic surroundings for leisure guests staying at the hotel and for those attending conferences, weddings and social events throughout the year.

But Stoke Rochford is also very much open throughout the week for non-residents and day visitors looking for a great place to eat or for a special day out.

An ongoing £1.75m investment programme is creating new facilities and accommodation at the Victorian mansion, including a recently completed £250,000 restaurant refurbishment. New menus will also be launched this year at the restaurant, which is open to the public as well as hotel guests.

Later this spring a new Victorian Kitchen Garden, complete with sensory garden, will open offering a place to relax and also fresh produce for the Hall’s kitchens. Last year a new-look gym opened following a £200,000 makeover at the Stoke Rochford Hall Leisure Club, which is also open to the public through a popular membership scheme.

Staged in front of the spectacular backdrop of the Mansion House, the two-day live@Stoke Rochford Hall festival (16^th - 17^th August) will feature top comedy and music - with full details and headline acts to be announced later in the year.

But Stoke Rochford will also be hosting a number of other events, including free-to-enter Jazz Sundays (5 May, 26 May and 25 August), featuring lazy Sunday afternoon and evening live jazz in the Terrace Bar Bistro.

Jazz Sundays are free events, with no booking required.

For those who love outdoor exercise, the picturesque parkland and sweeping grounds surrounding the hotel will provide a cross country route starting and finishing at the Hall for a 10k Run on Sunday 23 June, in aid of ABF The Soldiers’ Charity. (Call 01476 531291 to register.)

At the end of June, glitz, glamour and summer fun will be on the menu for the Midsummer Ball (28 June) featuring welcome drinks, five course dinner and live band – with special deals available for accommodation for those wanting to make a night of it.

And on Sunday 30 June, Stoke Rochford’s glorious gardens will take centre stage for Open Gardens, part of the national National Garden Scheme, which raises money for charity. Visitors will be able to stroll around the Hall’s 28 acres of landscaped garden and parkland and take a closer look at the new Victoria Kitchen Garden. Refreshments will also be on offer, including Sunday lunch and afternoon teas. The gardens will be open 10am to 6pm with entry costing £4 for adults (children free).

For full details of all events, prices and booking, visit their website.

Roman around Britain's Heritage Cities

With the British Museum in London about to unveil its major exhibition for 2013, one side-effect of Life and Death Pompeii and Herculaneum is likely to be a revival of interest in Roman history, heritage and attractions across the whole of the UK.

Opening on March 28^th, and running to September 29^th, it will help to set the scene for a Roman holiday in the UK.

And the spotlight will fall not only on London, but also six of the most famous Roman cities in England - Bath, Carlisle, Chester, Durham, Lincoln, and York. Add to those six cities Oxford and Stratford-upon-Avon, and you’re looking at Britain’s Heritage Cities – which already work together to promote themselves via a shared, one-stop website.

Is there a more famous Roman city in Britain than Bath, where the Baths they created will this year welcome two new costumed characters - Marcus Aufidius Maximus and his freedman and former slave Marcus Aufidius Lemnus, who will be explaining everything there is to know about the military and the role of slaves and freedmen in Roman society? Tunnel Tours, Torchlight Tours By Night and a collection of Roman artefacts complete the full experience in these historic baths.

In the far north of England the Roman town of Luguvalium - better known today as Carlisle - began as an auxiliary fort and military supply base, in AD 72. Its location makes it the perfect city to use as a base for exploring Hadrian’s Wall and Birdoswald Roman Fort and Visitor Centre. Tullie House in the city itself, meanwhile, has a new and interactive “Roman Frontier Gallery” and in 2013 will be the venue for a display of Roman Cavalry helmets on loan from both a private UK collector and the Musée d’Art, Mougins, France.

Lincoln began life as Lindum Colonia, a walled Roman town situated on the hill top where the castle and cathedral now sit. The Romans were attracted here because of the waterways - with the river Witham offering a good route to sea. The Roman's built the Foss Dyke canal, linking the River Witham to the River Trent; and the point where the river and canal meet is the Brayford Pool - still a popular venue in modern-day Lincoln. New for 2013 will be a new Roman Walking Tour.

In 71AD the legendary 9th Legion was ordered to march north from its Lincoln stronghold and subdue hostile northern tribes, which were threatening the Roman advance. A fortress was established at Eboracum - ‘the place of yew trees' - and this developed into a sophisticated centre of government and commerce as well as a military headquarters. Today, it is better known as York!

To this day, York's essential ‘bone structure' is still Roman. The two key streets in the ancient city, the Via Praetoria and Via Principalis, later became known as Stonegate and Petergate, but they still run along the same routes as they did two millennia ago. Other reminders of the imperial age are the Roman column in Deangate, the remnants of a bath-house in the Roman Baths Public House in St Samson's Square, and perhaps most impressive of all the Multangular Tower, dating from 1st century Eboracum and part of the legionary fortress.

Roman Durham is best explored in Binchester, a one-acre site that contains the excavated remains of part of a large Roman fort, built around AD80 and continuing in use for about 350 years. Today only the excavated buildings and the earthwork remains of the northern ramparts survive above ground. However, visitors can still explore the 1,700-year-old under-floor heating of the bath house and search for “The Beast of Binchester”. Nearby Lanchester Roman Walk takes in a number of Roman sites including Ebchester (Vindomora). Ebchester would have been the last fort on the route before Hadrian’s Wall. Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle, meanwhile, has some of the finds from the archaeological excavations from the Piercebridge Roman Fort site.

Two thousand years ago, Chester was the Fortress of Deva, and the City Walls - the most complete circuit in the UK - date from the Roman occupation. Several stores and properties in the city centre contain Roman remains. Visitors can still see the Roman Strong Room and hypocaust (an early form of central heating system), for example, and can stand in the largest Amphitheatre uncovered in Britain - where 7,000 spectators enjoyed gladiatorial combat.

The Grosvenor Museum has just refurbished two galleries for 2013: “Stories of the Stones”, containing the largest collection of Roman tombstones found on one site in Britain; and “Roman Life Gallery”, with a new interpretation exploring the life of the Roman soldiers and civilians in Chester.

Oxfordshire’s Roman connections include the North Leigh Roman Villa, maintained by English Heritage. While its other claim to fame is the snails, brought over by the Romans, and still found in West Oxfordshire countryside, and enjoyed in local restaurants!

For further details visit www.heritagecities.com.

The Cotswolds

Guest post by Chris Dee, Tourism Manager, The Cotswolds

The Cotswolds area is one of Britain’s great travel destinations, popular with the visitors as well as the Brits themselves.

In shorthand English ‘a Cotswolds weekend’ has associations of romance, escaping from the city, spas and luxury. The Cotswolds’ high “celeb” rescount (recent ‘names’ include Sam Mendes, Kate Moss, and Liz Hurley) combined with the area’s many Royal connections (Prince Charles lives at Highgrove near Tetbury – this is where William and Harry grew up), meanwhile, also gives the area a certain reputation akin to Tuscany or the Hamptons.

The name ‘Cotswolds’ refers to a group of hills ‘Wolds’ which run between Oxford, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Bath and Cheltenham. The area is 160km ‘long’ and located about 90 minutes travel time west of London.

The region is united by a famous ‘honey colour’ yellow limestone. This building material is used everywhere, for Manor houses, pubs, inns B&Bs. Combined with the fact that the industrial revolution mainly passed the area by, the result is a stock of ancient buildings and unspoiled English villages that have a worldwide reputation for beauty and romance. Despite all the charm, the Cotswolds is a working environment too, with farming, equestrian activities and tourism all vital to the economy.

There is a lively food culture here. The farmer’s market movement has created a lively food scene with, for example, almost 100 cheeses now made in the Cotswolds. Look out for Single and Double Gloucester cheeses and the excellent Cerney Ash Goat’s cheese.

Other things to look out for include ‘Old Spot’ pork (a local breed of pig that is not suitable for mass production (and therefore delicious). Cotswold lamb is excellent (the sheep is the symbol on the Cotswolds). The area is also famous within England for apples, pears and soft fruit. Gloucestershire strawberries are highly prized, as they grow at a slower rate than further south in England. In Spring, there is a green asparagus season and the best restaurants serve this simply, with new potatoes and home-made ham.

Any visitor to the area should allow for three unique dining experiences here. Cotswold pubs such as the Plough at Kingham are of a very high standard, afternoon tea in a typical English tea room is a delight and we recommend some ‘special places’ such as the Pudding Club at The Three Ways House Hotel in Mickleton, where a variety of English puddings are served to guests with great pride.

A live cultural scene starts with Cheltenham Festivals of Classical Music, Jazz, Literature, Science and around the area you’ll find festivals of food and drink, theatre and opera in venues from small town theatres to larger outdoor venues such as Westonbirt Arboritum, historic houses like Sudeley Castle or in the grounds of the spectacular Blenheim palace near Woodstock. In 2009 Longborough Festival Opera, near Moreton in Marsh brings Wagner to a pretty opera house setting overlooking a rural valley.

The Cotswolds oozes quirkiness – be a spectator at the rather mad but exhilarating Cheese rolling event at Coopers Hill or join in with the Cotswolds very own ‘Olympicks’ at Dovers Hill. Watch old sports such as obstacle races, tug-of-war, backsword fighting and shin-kicking, set yourself the challenge of Wool Sack racing in Tetbury, a tradition that emerged from the successful wool industry that saw Cotswold wool attract the highest prices in Europe during Medieval times – thus making the area wealthy.

Traditional sightseeing includes castles, farm parks and, especially, famous English gardens such as Hidcote Manor, Kiftsgate Manor Garden and Painswick Rococo Westonbirt Arboretum. In addition there are the sort of smaller gardens that Miss Marple would feel at home in, such as Mill Dene Garden in the village of Blockley.

For further details, visit www.cotswolds.com.

Treat your unsung hero this Mother's Day

Guest post by Sue Emmerson, Press Office Manager, Visit Isle of Wight

From cab driver to confidante, Mum is always there to lend a helping hand and with Mothering Sunday just a few weeks away (March 10^th), the Isle of Wight has a great selection of events and activities to make your unsung hero feel really special.

A Night of Dirty Dancing (Saturday, March 9^th). Mum will have the time of her life at this box office smash hit concert show inspired by the West End and touring musical. All the hits are superbly performed in this fast moving, slickly choreographed theatrical treat including: She’s Like the Wind, Big Girls Don’t Cry, Hey Baby, Wipeout, Do You Love Me, Be My Baby, Hungry Eyes and, of course, the Oscar-winning (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life. So indulge her on a trip back to the summer of ’63 and relive Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey’s sizzling performance in the ultimate coming of age romance. More information and booking informaiton is available here.

Stargazing Weekend at Fort Victoria (March 8^th-10^th). Take advantage of the beautiful dark night skies on the Isle of Wight and treat mum to a gift she will never forget – a fascinating journey through time and space. Suitable for beginners, the Stargazing Weekend at Fort Victoria Country Park in Yarmouth begins on Friday evening with some basic observing tips. It continues on Saturday morning with a talk entitled: ‘Our star, the Sun’ and before long, mum will be observing the Sun with special telescopes. Saturday afternoons are free and an ideal time for you both to wander around the delightful harbour town of Yarmouth. Then on Saturday evening, it’s time for more stargazing and enjoying the wonders of the Cosmos. The weekend concludes at 12.30pm on Sunday with a discussion about how to continue your interest in the stars and more solar observing. The course costs just £45 per person and pre-booking is required. Details can be found here.

Mum-friendly music festivals. Music festival tickets make a great Mother’s Day present and the Isle of Wight has two of the very best:

The Isle of Wight Festival (13-16 June) Originally held from 1968 to 1970 and showcasing acts such as Bob Dylan, Hendrix & T-Rex the Isle of Wight Festival was revived in 2002 and for the past 11 years has firmly established the Island on the musical map. This year will see an appearance from American Rock Band, Bon Jovi, as well as British singer songwriter, Emeli Sande. Celtic Soul trio, The Script are also headlining over the weekend as well as vintage style icon, Paloma Faith. So buy a ticket and let mum re-live the height of the flower power era and chill out in the fields of the Isle of Wight. Adult tickets start from £75.

Bestival (5-8 September) Buy mum a ticket to the UK’s funkiest village fete. Bestival held at Robin Hill Country Park, is one of the most colourful events on the festival calendar. As well as a line-up of big music names – this year’s headliner is Sir Elton John – it has the world’s biggest fancy dress party for 50,000 festival goers, a laughter club, a farmer market, Morris dancing and even a Women’s Institute tea tent. The full weekend ticket costs £190.

Queen for a day. Take an intimate glimpse into Queen Victoria’s family life as you take mum on a tour of Osborne House, the stunning seaside palace where she lived with her beloved Prince Albert and their nine children. Built as a family home away from the pressures of court, this beauty spot is the perfect place to celebrate Mother’s Day. Mum will enjoy exploring the lavish interior and visiting the Swiss Cottage, built to teach the royal children the art of household management. Take a walk through the nearby wildflower meadow, all before a light lunch in the café - or for an extra special treat, afternoon tea in the sumptuous Terrace Restaurant. Osborne House is open from 10am to 4pm on Mothering Sunday.

Mum & Me Spa Days. Spend quality time with mum and both enjoy being pampered and relaxed. The Melville Hall Hotel is offering two Mother’s Day packages at their Utopia Spa in Sandown – The Yummy Mummy Spa Day (£49 per person) and the Mum and Me Spa Day (£88 per person). The packages include a range of relaxing massages and a choice of beauty treatments - guaranteed to melt away any tension – plus full use of the Spa leisure facilities on the day of your visit and complimentary refreshments.

More Mother’s Day gift ideas can be found here.

Enjoying the wheel deal at Wedgwood Visitor Centre

It’s soft, grey, slippery when wet, with a life of its own in the wrong hands. And spinning out of control in mine!

I like to think I’m as safe as the next person behind the wheel. But on this occasion I had a coach-load of Japanese tourists running for cover.

Far from being a danger to others, however, I was enjoying one of the undoubted highlights of the Wedgwood Visitor Centre in Stoke-on-Trent: the opportunity to throw my own pot, under the expert eye of a master potter.

He’d made it all look so easy during the demonstration, just like one of those tests on BBC TV’s fabled Generation Game. A small lump of clay, thrown accurately onto the centre of an already-spinning wheel, worked-up into a beautiful pot ready for firing. “That’s all there is to it”. What could possibly go wrong?

Just about everything, if I’m being honest. I didn’t centre the clay, I didn’t get the speed right (there’s no brake!), I squashed and squeezed when I should have been teasing and tightening. And I succeeded in damaging Anglo-Japanese relations by spraying every one of those tourists who got just that little bit too close.

And yet - thanks to my patient master potter - I came away with a magnificent blue Jasper-ware pot. Or, as I like to think of it, “a new family heirloom”. And all for just an extra £10, including delivery to my door.

Creating the ultimate souvenir for yourself doubles the admission fee to the Visit Centre, but quadruples the pleasure. Especially in the weeks that follow when you find yourself telling anyone and everyone willing to listen all about your new-found skills on the potters’ wheel.

We’re in Stoke-on-Trent, the heartlands of the English Potteries, and following in the footsteps of the great Josiah Wedgwood.

It’s here, in the Visitor Centre, you’ll find have-a-go activities ranging from painting a plate or a mug, turning, ornamenting, attempting lithography, or throwing a pot. Or, if you prefer, you can simply stroll around the craft demonstration area and leave it to the experts - who will amaze you with their skills as they magically transform those grey lumps of cold clay into things of beauty.

It’s still one of the best days-out in the this part of Britain - giving visitors the chance to discover the heritage of The Potteries, while at the same time being brought up-to-speed with the history of Wedgwood.

And while the award-winning Wedgwood Museum is a treasure trove of ceramics, the lifestyle shop and factory shop, gives anyone who needs it a fabulous fix of retail therapy. Head here at a time when you’re planning to replace your old dinner set, and you could walk away quids-in! We all love a bargain, and I’m sure I’m not the first person to work-out that the savings on offer in the factory shop could actually end-up covering your admission fee to the Visitor Centre!

A separate behind-the-scenes factory tour, meanwhile, is also available from March to October for just £2.50 per person.

Not forgetting the final treat of a cup of tea and a cake at the end of the day, on Wedgwood fine bone china!

For full details, visit www.wedgwoodvisitorcentre.com.

What have the Romans ever done for us?

OK. So there’s no Royal Wedding, Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, or Olympic Games this year. But Britain’s still marking some great events and anniversaries. And they’re giving us a great opportunity to “look again” at some familiar (and not-so-familiar) destinations in a new light as we help to highlight what else is happening around the country.

Allow me explain…

It’s 100 years ago since the birth of one of Britain’s greatest composers, Benjamin Britten. Which means we can also take a fresh look at (say) The Gustav Holst Birthplace Museum, Cheltenham. And in terms of news, there will be references to Holst in the new-look Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum, which is set to re-open in June 2013, following a £6m restoration and improvements scheme.

Talking of centenaries, it’s also the 100^th anniversary of the Chelsea Flower Show in 2013. One of the exhibitors this year will be Stoke-on-Trent – surprisingly, the greenest city in the UK, as well as the World Capital of Ceramics. Now, it’s turning its hand (and its wheels) to creating a unique garden for the 2013 RHS Chelsea Flower Show featuring hundreds of hand made ceramic flowers.

Other partners on the Stoke-on-Trent stand will include The Trentham Estate - whose gardens are now high in the Top 10 list of most-visited paid-for garden attractions in the whole of the UK - and where a new “Art in the Gardens” arts & sculptures trail will be unveiled in 2013.

Another destination with strong horticultural appeal is the Isle of Wight - home of the Botanic Garden in Ventnor, and the National Collection of Lavendula with over 230 cultivars of Lavender.

Don’t forget: the Isle of Wight is also on the doorstep of another of the big stories for 2013 - the opening of the new Mary Rose Museum in Potsmouth.

The 125^th anniversary of the last victim of Jack the Ripper is also giving rise to a number of “Horrible History” stories for 2013.

Tewkesbury, for example, will host the biggest Medieval Festival in the whole of Europe as it commemorates one of the bloodiest battles on British soil over the weekend of July 12^th-14^th. Gloucestershire is also where King Edward II met an untimely and especially horrible death in in 1327 at Berkeley Castle.

But if you’re looking for something even more horrible, then a trip to Derby could haunt you for a lifetime. A city famous for being the scene of England's final hanging, drawing and quartering, and the venue for the very last pressing to death in this country it's especially frightening to think that it's possible to decide for yourself whether Derby really does have more 'ghoulies, ghosties, long-leggety beasties, and things that go bump in the night', than any other city in England! You can even book a 'lock-in' at Derby Gaol, complete with ouija board and séance!

The Pompeii & Herculaneun at the British Museum will help to focus minds on Roman Britain in 2013.

There’s a saying: “Scratch Gloucestershire and you’ll find Rome”. Cirencester, in particular celebrates the region’s Roman past, and the Corinium Museum there is the “must see” attraction. Also in 2013, Sudeley Castle in Winchcombe will mark the way in which the current day castle stands on the site of a Roman settlement.

The Isle of Wight also became an important agricultural centre in Roman times. And today, Brading Roman Villa is one of the finest Roman sites in the UK – with an award winning Visitor Centre and Museum.

The launch of RIDE could also lead to the hunt for some of Britain’s Best Bike Rides in 2013. So it’s worth repeating that The Isle of Wight was named in Lonely Planet magazine’s Top Ten destinations for the world’s best cycling routes. And if you want more details, you’ll find them here.

The Yorkshire Wolds - forever associated now with David Hockney - is one of the latest “hot” destinations for cyclists. The crescent of rolling chalk hills extending from the Humber estuary at Hessle to the magnificent cliffs of Flamborough Head and Bempton gives visitors the freedom to explore this hidden corner of England at their own pace. A range of cycling routes introduced as recently as 2012 can be found here.

Finally, the 50^th anniversary of Dr Who may leave you wanting more Sci-Fi experiences in 2013. If so, it’s worth noting that Edge-Lit 2 is all set to return to QUAD in Derby for a day of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Writing. Edge-Lit 2 runs on Saturday, July 13^th.

Take time to visit Derby

Time is of the essence for Derby in 2013.

It’s 300 years since the birth of one of Britain’s greatest innovators, and the city will be working against the clock to introduce the rest of the UK, and the world, to clockmaker, engineer and geologist - John Whitehurst. (With a suitable degree of perfect timing - it is also the 200^th anniversary of John Smith, a former employee of Whitehurst’s company, whose business is still based in Derby to this day).

The most incredible fact of all, however, is that most of us will have already been staring them in the face (so to speak!), without ever knowing it.

John Whitehurst was born in Congleton, Cheshire, in 1713. The son of a watch and clockmaker, he moved to Derby and set up in business at 22 Irongate around 1736. Here, he made clocks, thermometers, barometers, and other philosophical instruments, and also pursued an interest in both engineering and geology.

Derby has long been a hot spot of genius and invention, and at the same time that Whitehurst was making his name in clockmaking, Strutt was busy with his new stocking frame, and Duesbury was helping to establish an English ceramics industry.

Artist Joseph Wright (“Wright of Derby”) was another of the famous names of that time, and there is a theory (possibly based on the fact that it was Whitehurst who introduced Wright to The Lunar Society) that John Whitehurst was the model for his most famous painting of all - “A Philosopher Lecturing on the Orrery”.

One of the founder members of The Lunar Society, Whitehurst rubbed shoulders with (amongst others) the likes of Matthew Boulton, Erasmus Darwin, Josiah Wedgwood and James Watt. One of his finest horological achievements of the time was the invention of the watchman’s clock or noctuary.

In 1779, Whitehurst was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. And after his death, the business passed to his nephew John Whitehurst II; and then to his son John Whitehurst III; and finally to John Smith who had started in the company as an apprentice.

Having been in the business of creating time for over 300 years, Smith of Derby Ltd today creates contemporary, iconic timepieces, tower and public clocks. Not surprisingly, they also carry premium value - with the most expensive having been sold to a Chinese collector for £100,000 in 2010. Made in England, “a Whitehurst movement by Smith of Derby Ltd” is today recognised as the best the world has to offer.

Clockmakers to royalty and some of the world’s greatest families, clients over the years have included King George III (“The King’s Clock), Benjamin Franklin (gifted a clock by John Whitehurst on signing the Declaration of Independence for the United States of America), Catherine the Great Empress of Russia, and some of the finest households in Britain (including two Dukes, one Marquess, five Earls, one Viscount, four Barons and four Baronets).

Without even knowing it, most of us will be familiar with some of the 4,000 clocks created and now cared-for around the world by Smith of Derby. This has been helped by the fact that in the 20^th century Smith of Derby acquired some of the other best-known clock-makers in Britain - including the oldest clockmakers in the world, J.B.Joyce & Company of Whitchurch, responsible for some of the most iconic clocks in the world.

Visit Derby has planned a number of ways to mark the 300^th, and 200^th, anniversaries in 2013 - most notably via a new “Time Trail” around the city. Other events in the city are being themed around the same theme, including the 36^th annual Summer Beer Festival from July 10^th to 14^th.

For further details, visit www.visitderby.co.uk.

Walking with Dinosaurs on the Isle of Wight

The Isle of Wight’s profile has just been given a mammoth boost.

Already widely recognised as the best place in Europe to follow in the footsteps of Dinosaurs or go fossil hunting along its sandy beaches, The Isle of Wight has now been named by The Natural History Museum in London as the “Dinosaur Capital of Britain”.

Launching a new map of Dinosaur finds identifying “hotspots” where the monster reptiles roamed, the Museum has been able to highlight how the Island was once infested by Dinosaurs five times longer than London buses, as well as predators with five-inch claws.

More than 100 species of Dinosaur have been found across the whole of the British Isles - from 54-tonne Suropods, to tiny Echinodons which were no bigger than a cat.

Produced to promote Primeval: New World, a spin-off to ITV’s series about Dinosaur hunters, the new map nevertheless clearly identifies the rock on what is now the Isle of Wight as the Dinosaur Capital of Britain.

As well as having yielded the neck bone of a Sauropod, a mighty beast which would have been more than 20 meters in length, the Island was also home to Europe’s deadliest predator, a giant saw-toothed Neovenator. Discovered by palaeontologists in 1978, this little monster would have been 8 meters in length - with a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth, and five inch claws.

After checking Dinosaur finds dating back 330 years on the Island, boffins from the Natural History Museum, says it was teeming with killer reptiles.

These days, The Isle of Wight is a peaceful, picturesque south coast resort chosen by Queen Victoria has the place for her own holiday home, at Osborne. But 125 million years ago, it was home for a terrifying range of predators and other huge beasts. The number of fossils found there according to the Natural History Museum beats even the famous 'Jurassic Coast' in Dorset for fossil finds more than 125 million years old.

Visitors wanting to get up-close-and-personal with Dinosaurs on the Island today have various options, all of which are outlined on a special section of the Visit Isle of Wight website. From the first Dinosaur Visit Attraction and Museum through to “The Fossil Man”, you’ll find full details here.

For all other tourist information, visit the Isle of Wight website.

As the world turns...

Stoke-on-Trent, which now likes to think of itself as “The World Capital of Ceramics”, has just launched an innovative idea which is aimed, in part, at over-turning some of the previous perceptions and prejudices about The Potteries.

The Backstamp Club appears to be built on pride (as well as a typically English sense of humour). Pride in the industry that has given the city its affectionate nickname; in the people who live and work there; and in a city which (almost unbelievably) attracts an incredible 4-million visitors from all parts of the globe each year.

The roots of the Backstamp Club go as far back as the turn of the 19^th/20^th century, when local author Arnold Bennett was an international celebrity on the world’s circuit, but at the same time celebrate the contemporary designs of the present-day Potteries populated by the likes of Emma Bridgewater, Wedgwood and Portmeirion.

It was Bennett who - on his international travels - was once ‘challenged’ for turning over a saucer, and had to explain that it is possible to recognise ANYONE who comes from Stoke-on-Trent, because of their automatic desire to turn over a cup, a saucer, or a plate, to check not only whether it was “Made in Stoke-on-Trent” but also the name of the manufacturer on its backstamp.

The Backstamp Club not only celebrates this endearing habit, but also carries with it another underlying message - that there is great pride in the fact that the name of Stoke-on-Trent, and very often “Made in England” or “Made-in-Britain”, is still carried world-wide by the fine china and ceramics of The Potteries.

As Arnold Bennett himself noted in his classic novel, The Old Wives Tale: "You cannot drink tea out of a tea-cup without the aid of the Five Towns, you cannot eat a meal in decency without the aid of the Five Towns”.

It’s free to join The Backstamp Club. And it’s open to anyone in the world. There’s the hope, too, that it could “go viral” - as more and more people are given the freedom to turn over their cups, plates and saucers and who, if challenged, can claim entitlement by showing their membership card.

Launched (fittingly enough) at the turn of the year it’s similar to Blue Peter badges in the way that there will also be a few highly sought-after cards gilded in gold, which will be allocated to anyone perceived as being a “Master Turner” - Gilt Card ambassadors, not only for the Backstamp Club, but also Stoke-on-Trent.

Membership for everyone, however, will also have its benefits - with regular offers for all card members being highlighted on the Visit Stoke website.

To join The Backstamp Club, visit Stoke's website.

The Hoard just got bigger

Several more objects have been uncovered in the same field where the Staffordshire Hoard was unearthed three years ago. Archaeologists working for English Heritage and Staffordshire’s county council made the discovery when they were on-site, following recent ploughing of the same field, close to Lichfield.

In total, some 90 pieces of gold and silver were unearthed. And although many of the items weighed less than a gram, the collection does include some more significant finds, including a possible helmet cheek piece, a cross-shaped mount and an eagle-shaped mount.

An inquest earlier this month judged that the metalwork pieces are, indeed, a part of the same Anglo Saxon collection known as The Staffordshire Hoard, and should be declared as “treasure”.

The new items were found in the same field where more than 3,900 pieces of gold, silver and some copper alloy objects were found in 2009 by a metal detectorist, who had permission to scan the land.

Following that initial discovery, English Heritage immediately recognised the exceptional significance of the finds and provided emergency funding at the start of the dig; and they have continued to offer expert advice, support and funding for the research and preservation of the Staffordshire Hoard ever since.

It was the largest ever find of Anglo Saxon gold and silver metal work from this country, and included over 5kg of gold, 1.5kg of silver and thousands of small garnets. They include a bishop’s pectoral cross, a large folded cross, a helmet cheek piece, a filigree seahorse and numerous sword fittings including hilt plates and pommel caps.

The archaeologists were confident they had retrieved everything that was recoverable at the time, and the dig was closed. But in December of last year, a team of archaeologists and experienced metal detectorists returned to the field when it was ploughed and discovered more items to add to the Hoard.

The Staffordshire Hoard has already been valued at £3.3m by independent experts at the British Museum – making it the most valuable treasure discovery ever made.

Today, it’s Stoke-on-Trent where visitors to Staffordshire are able to see a Staffordshire Hoard: Dark Age Discovery exhibition - in The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery.

The Staffordshire Hoard went out on tour to the National Geographic Museum in Washington DC last year. But the current exhibition in Stoke-on-Trent is now on show every day, up to September 1^st 2013.

Make a date to see 'Les Petits Comediens'

The dates for one of Northern Europe's most colourful festivals of the year have been announced - making The French Ardennes one of the ‘must see’ destinations in France in the late Summer of 2013.

The World Puppet Festival has grown dramatically since its inception in 1961, and now attracts top acts from all five continents, as well as an audience of around 150,000 people.

The French Ardennes will once again offer itself as the backdrop to "Les Petits Comédiens" (http://www.festival-marionnette.com) for the 17^th World Puppet Festival from September 20^th to 29^th.

The ideal choice for the biggest gathering of puppets on the planet, Charleville-Mézières is a world-renowned centre for marionettes and puppeteers - boasting a historic association with the art stretching back to 1941. That was the year a 17-years-old called Jacques Felix first introduced a puppet theatre to the town.

In the intervening years, Charleville-Mézières has not only established an International Puppet Institute, but also an Ecole Supérieure Nationale des Arts de la Marionnette, which now offers a three-year puppetry course to 15 international students every three years.

In 1991, the town also unveiled what has become one of its most endearing tourist attractions, The Grand Marionettiste - The Great Puppeteer's Clock. Built into the façade of the Institut de la Marionette, every hour from 10am to 9pm, it presents an episode from the legend of the Four Sons of Aymon…a heroic medieval saga linked to the geography and history of the Ardennes.

It is thanks to Jacques Felix (who died in 2006) that The French Ardennes is now synonymous with marionettes and puppets - and is capable of attracting visitors from across the globe at all times of the year.

Charleville-Mézières is today acknowledged as the puppet capital of the world; and for ten days in September the whole region will revolve around the festival as 250 companies, 150,000 spectators and 400 programmers come together for one of the world's most magnificent artistic gatherings.

The region has also become renowned for the Medieval Festival of Sedan, which centres around the largest fortress in the whole of Europe. And in 2013, the 18th Medieval Festival will be staged from May 18th and 19^th. For further information, click here.

Visitors to The French Ardennes next year will also find a number of ways of enjoying one of the newest Regional Nature Park in France - ranging from guided walks and cultural activities, to mountain-bike trips and special short breaks. For further information, visit the website.

The new, 2013 Visitor Guide to The French Ardennes will be available in English from the start of the New Year.

For further information visit www.ardennes.com.

The Hobbit, Tolkien - Shugborough and The Forest of Dean

J.R.R.Tolkien, the father of British fantasy and epic tales, is surprisingly largely only known for two major works - The Hobbit (1937) and The Lord of the Rings (1954/55).

These are now classics of the 20^th century and support a whole new mythology of elves, orcs, trolls, dwarves and of course, hobbits.

The fantasy world that Tolkien created had been a lifetime interest, and as a young man he was fascinated by the creation of maps and legends of other worlds. These became the kingdoms of Middle Earth in his published writings.

On Tolkien's death in 1973, his son Christopher discovered the vast legacy or writings, jottings and detailed maps his father had created but had never published. The result of his research has now produced several volumes of Tolkien work.

So where does Shugborough Estate, in Staffordshire, come into the tale? Shugborough is itself associated with magic. Its landscape park and gardens grew out of a wish to produce fantasy in nature and would seem a natural spot for Tolkien to muse.

Tolkien served in the First World War seeing action in the Somme in France. On his return from the Continent and in need of convalescence he was stationed on Cannock Chase in the winter of 1916-1917. He had recently married, and he and his wife took a cottage in Great Haywood - actively writing his tales and creating his magical kingdoms.

One such tale, The Tale of the Sun and the Moon in The Lost Tales makes reference to the village of Tavrobel. Christopher Tolkien says that the village was based on Great Haywood. Tavrobel stands by a bridge on Shugborough Estate where the rivers meet and is a clear reference to Essex Bridge where the rivers Sow and Trent have their confluence.

In the tale, Eriol is encouraged to "sojourn a while in Tavrobel" and it is suggested to him that he takes up the hospitality of a gnome called Gilfanon "whose ancient house - the house of a hundred chimneys, stands nigh the bridge of Tavrobel".

Christopher Tolkien who had not visited the area suggested that his father had been impressed by a grand house in the vicinity of Great Haywood and it is probable that the property was Shugborough.

A swift count of Shugborough's chimneys reveal that there are 80 in all. One can imagine that on a misty day in the winter of 1916, with fires lit in all the draughty rooms, the sight across the park from the public footpath would have been one that would justify the title of "The House of a Hundred Chimneys" - a sight that stayed in the memory of a young soldier fascinated by myth and mystery.

The Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, meanwhile, has inspired some of Britain's most imaginative writers, from Dennis Potter to C.S.Lewis and J.K.Rowling (who was at School at Tutshill on the edge of the Forest). J.R.R.Tolkien was another frequent visitor.

Tolkien helped to excavate Roman remains near Lydney at Lydney Park in 1929 - precisely the time he was working on The Hobbit.

There are several sites in the area where Roman opencast mining has left strange and mysterious landscapes, labyrinths of tunnels, grottos and tracks overgrown with mosses and ferns. And today, the scowles, as these features are known, are there for all to wonder at just south of Coleford at the Puzzlewood.

Tolkien would have visited this site, too, and it's accepted that the Forest of Dean was the inspiration for the fabled forests of Middle-Earth. When The Lord of the Rings was named Britain's favourite book a few years ago, TV presenter Ray Mears chose Puzzlewood as the location from which to read Tolkien's work.

Puzzlewood was also used as a filming location for two episodes of BBC TV show Merlin and also the 2010 Doctor Who episode "Flesh and Stone". J.K Rowling’s inspiration for her Forbidden Forest in the Harry Potter books is also obvious.

There's some horrible history in Tewkesbury

Make a date! The biggest Medieval Festival in the whole of Europe is set take place over the weekend of May 12^th-14^th next year, in Tewkesbury.

The last, and probably the bloodiest battle in the War of the Roses, Tewkesbury stood at the turning point of English history - and next year’s re-enactment will be the 30^th consecutive occasion that the medieval market town will be transformed for an entire weekend into a “living history landscape”.

The battle is now re-created every year on part of the site of the original battlefield, just outside the town. Started by a small group of friends as a one-off event, it has grown over the years to become the largest and most popular medieval gathering of its kind in Europe - as well as one of the biggest in the world.

Around 2,000 re-enactors will take part in the battle, many of them living in full medieval style for an entire weekend. As well as being given guided tours through this makeshift village, visitors to the town will also be treated to the sights, sounds and smells of medieval England through a whole range of markets, demonstrations and re-enactments.

One of the most significant moments in British history, The Battle of Tewkesbury took place on May 4^th, 1471 - and was the single most decisive battle between the Yorkists and Lancastrians in the War of the Roses.

The slaughter of the Lancastrians on the battlefield led to this area of land still being known as the Bloody Meadows to this day. And some of those who took refuge in the Abbey were dragged outside and executed in the town.

As well as being able to visit the 30^th anniversary of the Medieval Festival itself in May, visitors to Tewkesbury can find plenty of evidence of the battle in various locations across the town at any time of the year.

The battlefield is easily accessed, and there are self-guided trails and interpretation panels to explain more fully what happened during the course of the fateful day, almost 550 years ago.

Tewkesbury Abbey offers more than 900 years of history - with a chilling past of so much blood being spilled within it on that day, that it needed not only to be closed for several days afterwards to be thoroughly cleaned, but also re-consecrated before any church services could be held in there again.

And The Hat Shop - one of Tewkesbury's most historic buildings, closed for 14 years, and then saved from demolition - is now the town’s Tourist Information Centre, as well as a 'hub' for all of the town's future events, walks, talks and tours.

Standing in a prominent position in the town centre, and close to where a new memorial for the Battle of Tewkesbury will be erected in 2013, this black-and-white half-timbered building has absorbed several centuries of the town's history and heritage.

For full details of the historic re-enactment visit the Festival's website.

Be a part of the Royal Family

Hotels aren’t necessarily the easiest thing to write about. What makes one stand out from another can sometimes be as simple as the thread count of their “crisp Egyptian cotton sheets”, the screen size of the flatscreen TV in the room, or the brand of toiletries in the bathroom.

And that’s not very interesting reading.

On the next level - it could be the view from the balcony, the range of treatments in the spa, or the number of AA-rosettes which help to rate its restaurant.

All very nice, but not necessarily something which gives it that defining edge.

On very rare occasions, it’ll be all about who has stayed there, who owns it, what sets it aside as one of the world’s true stand-out hotels, and why you might never want to leave the place. But, let’s face it, these are pretty thin on the ground - and probably entirely worth the glossy images and eulogising text which they can command in the world’s press.

So what makes The Royal Hotel on the Isle of Wight differ from other, similar, excellent four star establishments in the UK? Easy! As well as doing everything absolutely right as a hotel, it also makes the life of journalists that little bit easier…

Good parking (tick), great welcome (tick), well trained staff (tick), contemporary décor without losing sight of its 180 years of history (tick), spacious room (tick), fantastic food (tick) and a truly delicious great English breakfasts (tick). Yup - it certainly ticks all of the boxes for an enjoyable and (very) comfortable stay. Just ask some of your fellow guests - 70% of whom will be booking another stay there some time soon.

But what really helps to set it aside for the journalist, and makes this blog twice the length that it might otherwise have been, are the fascinating facts gathered together in the press pack waiting for them in their rooms.

In it, there’s the story of what makes this hotel really tick. Queen Victoria (the Island’s biggest fan) once stayed here; and it’s one of only 30 hotels to have been listed in every Michelin Guide since it was first published in 1911. True, it’s had its period of decline. But what’s an epic story of rebirth without an era when it slid into sad decline (brought on, in part, to the axing of the railway line to Ventnor)?

The process of rebirth has been watched over by accomplished hotelier William Bailey. Alan Staley, who trained under Anton Edelmann at The Savoy in London also arrived as head chef 16 years ago, and it’s no coincidence that the restaurant has enjoyed a two AA-rosette status ever since; and making its debut in The Good Food Guide last year.

The roasted fillet of beef with creamed potatoes, savoy cabbage, baby onions and girolles is a masterpiece. The Isle of Wight Gallybagger cheese soufflé with cauliflower velouté its signature dish.

Recent additions include the outdoor swimming pool in gardens plucked from the Riviera, as well as alfresco dining on a cliff-top overlooking the seep of Ventnor Bay.

“Be a part of the Royal Family” proclaims one of the hotels promotional offers. It’s a message not lost on a King of Rock, Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant, who has stayed here in the past.

Another lovely little touch are the striking pink geraniums which cascade down the southern face of the building – and the way in which head gardener Gary Steptoe takes so much pride in the knowledge that the cuttings he’s given to guests now adorn gardens all over the UK.

And you’ll find anything else you need to know here.

"I love Wight"

Put simply, the Isle of Wight can be thought of as “a paid-admission attraction”. That’s a completely different take on the place which probably invented Victorian tourism. But thanks to a new marketing strategy, the Island is about to be promoted as pretty much the best damned theme park in England!

The small strip of Channel is the gate through which every visitor has to pass. And that, in turn, is another massive advantage the Island has over other domestic destinations: it’s like going abroad – while staying close to home. It’s England’s destination of choice for (wait for it) an “Awaycation”.

Victoria and Albert’s decision to create a holiday hideaway on the Island made it the place where the Victorian vacation was invented.

Today, their Italianate-style estate, Osborne, is the third most-visited English Heritage attraction, with almost a quarter of a million visitors flooding through its gates each year.

Queen Victoria also visited, and stayed in, The Royal Hotel in Ventnor - another of the real gems on this diamond shaped Island.

In many respects, this was the Island’s heyday. Victoria and Albert, and improved transportation, made it one of the world’s first great holiday destinations. Alfred, Lord Tennyson wasn’t too far behind, making Freshwater in the south west of the Island his home for 40 years. And together, they hosted the glitterati of Victorian society on the Island. Charles Dickens was another visitor, calling it “the prettiest place I ever saw”.

The Garden Isle has been described as a miniature England cast adrift of the Channel. With its quirky, character-filled pubs, seaside resorts, rolling hills and glorious countryside, quiet country lanes leading to chocolate-box villages, thatched cottages, white cliffs, and historic attractions it’s easy to see why.

But as well as the traditional holiday offering which the likes of Shanklin and Sandown have become so famous for, there’s also more than just a touch of the “retro” about the place, these days, too, with VW Campervans, and a chance to stay in American Airstream caravans, in a converted Scout Hall, and in a fully restored 1950s caravan at Vintage Vacations.

The Isle of Wight is also turning into an island of music, with the Isle of Wight Festival in June, and Bestival in August.

Or, hold on to that Festival atmosphere and chill out in the Magic Loungeabout - one of the many innovations on the Island, and a great favourite at Whitecliff Bay Holiday Park in Bembridge. This marquee in the canvas village is perfect for anyone who wants to kick-back and relax with a drink to a summer soundtrack. With bean bags and hay bales to relax on, a bar made from beer crates, and free Wi-Fi, it’s where you’ll find everything from BBQs to Circus workshops.

And if you’re looking for an event with a difference, then how about the annual Garlic Festival in August!

For full details about the Island, visit www.islandbreaks.co.uk.

Go 'Glamping' with the Club

Figures show that camping & caravanning continues to be a popular choice of holiday. And what better way to enjoy the great British countryside than by going ‘glamping’?

You take all of the appeal of camping mix in a bit of style and glamour and, hey presto, you’ve got glamping - luxurious camping accommodation that’s a world away from traditional tents. And it’s suddenly all become very much more accessible - and attractive - to the 21^st century holidaymaker.

The Camping and Caravanning Club, for instance, has a range of luxury camping accommodation in idyllic locations across the UK. So whether you’d like to snuggle up in a Camping Pod, have family-fun in a Camping Den, set up camp in a Camping Barn or enjoy home comforts in a Safari Tent, there’s something to suit every kind of happy camper.

Camping Pods are certainly one of the newest ways to camp. Built from locally sourced timber and insulated with sheep’s wool, they are designed to make you feel as “snug as a bug”. Better still, there’s no pitching of tents needed. Just roll up at the campsite, and step inside! Most of the Pods these days even have heating, electric lighting and electric sockets - along with a block built BBQ and picnic area. Camping Pods are available throughout the camping season at the Club’s sites in Bellingham, Skye, Eskdale, Hayfield, and Thetford Forest.

A Standard Pod, which sleeps four, can be booked from as little as £40 per night; while a Jumbo Pod (sleeps five) costs just £48 per night – or £9.60 per person!

Like the Camping Pods, Camping Dens are also built from locally sourced timber and insulated with sheep’s wool. Each Den has electric sockets and lighting, and make a great base for family-fun – not least because, based at the Gulliver’s Milton Keynes site, there’s actually a theme park right on the doorstep!

The Standard Den sleeps four people, and costs just £35 per night.

Or you can escape the urban jungle and spend a night under canvas in a Safari Tent. These pre-erected tents comfortably sleep up to four people and come fully equipped with modern amenities. Additionally, campers can take full advantage of the tent’s built-in kitchen, which comes complete with a two-ring gas burner, grill and sink.

Safari Tents are available at the Club’s Teversal site in Derbyshire, and cost £44 per night in the low season, £55 per night in the mid season, and £66 in the high season.

Finally, it’s now possible to set up camp in a converted Lakeland Camping Barn, which opens its doors to some of the Lake District's most stunning scenery at the club’s site in Eskdale. The two-tier barn sleeps up to eight people and has a fully equipped kitchen, camp-beds and even a snuggly wood-burning stove.

And it costs just £125 per night to hire.

Full details can be found here.

There's fairies at the bottom of the garden....

Step inside the award winning gardens at Trentham Estate in Stoke-on-Trent these days and you’re likely to come face-to-face with some fairies.

But, to use that well-known advertising slogan, these aren’t just any old fairies. They are a new, bright and shiny gathering of carefully crafted fairies - working hard to either welcome you on the Lakeside Walk, tell you the time with the help of a dandelion clock, or to scoop up some water from the lake to carry over to the Italian Garden.

The collective noun for fairies, I’m reliably informed, is a “herd”. But I prefer another option - a “frolick” of fairies. And sure enough, the new “Fairies at Trentham Trail” features nine frolicking fairies which are certain to delight visitors of all ages - from young families who can now go in search of nine nymphs, through to adults who will be able to admire the skill of local artist Robin Wight.

Painstakingly crafted out of galvanised and stainless steel fence wire, the metre-tall fairies are positioned in carefully selected areas of the lakeside woodlands that are at the bottom of the award-winning gardens. Visitors will then have the chance to find, admire, and take photographs of (and with) the svelte and sleek-bodied beauties who have flown-in to Trentham to turn a quiet lakeside walk into an enchanted fairy forest.

Robin Wight’s fairy circle has never previously left the Staffordshire Moorlands, but if you take a walk around the lake, you’ll quickly see that his works of art are already capturing the hearts of a much larger audience.

An engineer and software designer by trade, but an artist at heart, his inspiration came from a photograph he took at the bottom of his own garden, on the fringes of Oakamoor village: “I’d treated myself to a new camera, and had taken some artistic shots in the garden one wintery morning - but when I looked at those images it was clear that one of them had the outline of a fairy in it! It was quite bizarre.”

Sounding eerily similar to the world-famous tale of the Cottingley Fairies (a hoax which fooled eminent commentators, including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle), Robin Wight still has his photographic ‘evidence’ to show people, but quickly adds: “The only difference - I don’t believe in fairies…but I do know where they live!”

What the image did do, apparently, was to help focus his mind to create the first of his fairy sculptures. Several more quickly followed - each one looking more convincing in style and manner than the last, and impressing everyone who saw them.

The Trentham Estate has given Robin Wight the opportunity to now share his main body of work with the public and the Fairies at Trentham Trail is now included in the regular cost of admission to the gardens.

There’s more information available about the new Fairies at Trentham Trail visit their website.

And they're off....

A little over two weeks before one of the most famous races in the world - The Aintree Grand National - takes place in 2013, the oldest horse-race in England will once again be run in The Yorkshire Wolds on March 21^st, 2013.

Henry VIII was the King of England when the first ever Kiplingcotes Derby took place over a four-mile-long countryside course in 1519.

And it’s taken place in the village of Market Weighton every year since then - thanks, in part, to one local farmer who, during the harsh winter of 1947 when no-one was daring enough to take part - took it upon himself to lead a horse around the course to ensure the historic race’s unbeaten record would remain intact.

Chester Racecourse - The Roodee - is according to official records the oldest racecourse still in use in England, with the first recorded race being staged there on February 9^th 1539.

The first ever Kiplingscote Derby, however, took place in The Yorkshire Wolds a full 20 years before that, but it was not until 1669 that it became an endowed race - thus ensuring its future.

Now one of the quirkiest sporting events in Britain, it traditionally takes place on the third Thursday in March, starting at an old stone post on the grass verge in the parish of Etton, not far from the old Kiplingcotes railway station near Market Weighton, before covering a distance of four miles over farm lanes and tracks, and finishing at Londesborough Wold Farm.

The unpredictable weather at this time of the year, and the nature of the course, still make it a challenge for everyone taking part.

One major quirk of the ancient rules of the race (drawn up in 1618) means that the second placed rider usually receives more prize money than the winner. (The incentive to win the race is a first prize of £50, with the second horse home receiving a prize made up of the sum of all the entrance fees - of £4.25 each!).

Similarly, no-one knows how many horses and riders will enter the race until the morning of the Derby itself.

Market Weighton itself - or Wicstun as it was referred to in the Domesday Book – is now one of the many attractive villages and market towns in The Yorkshire Wolds made famous by the paintings of David Hockney.

The town’s other major claim to fame is “The Yorkshire Giant” William Bradley, born on February 10^th, 1787. The fourth son of a family of thirteen, by the age of 20 he was an amazing seven feet and nine inches tall, and weighed 27 stones. A plaque erected on the wall of William Bradley's former house, today shows the size of the shoes - measuring fifteen inches in length and five and three quarter inches in width - he wore.

A lazy grazer's guide to Derby

Derby! Who’d have thought it? A delicious destination. Somewhere you’d actually consider going to if you wanted to enjoy a day out, an overnight stay, or a weekend break while grazing on some very different, but completely fantastic, food.

It’s happened in many other places, of course. Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool. “Post industrial cities” they’re called - where redevelopment and regeneration has acted as the catalyst for change. But Derby? Really?

Well, yes. Really!

Something like £2.2-billion has been ploughed into the transformation, which has given the place a tremendous buzz. Pubs, clubs, boutique hotels, an impressive Westfield Shopping Centre, and a multi-million pound Arts Centre have all popped-up in recent times in a city which already boasted a couple of excellent theatres, and the finest collection of Joseph Wright paintings in the country.

Small businesses, confident in the investment and growth shown by the city (which also ranks as one of the wealthiest, per head of population, in the country), have been encouraged to start-up as they mean to go-on. And several bright-eyed and bushy-tailed restaurateurs and café owners have been inspired to turn their gastronomic visions and philosophies into reality here, in Derby.

Possibly the brightest-eyed and bushiest-tailed amongst them, Amelia Horne, is the director (and head bunny) at Jack Rabbits - an aromatic food emporium where the emphasis is very much about lazy grazing. And in a setting which feels like it’s just been plucked from one of the coolest corners of New York City’s Greenwich Village. (Now I know that’s quite a line to live-up to, but remember - this is Derby. And as soon as you walk into this place, trust me, you’ll “get it”).

Take the Decorative Cheeseboard, for example, where 945 pence buys you a sharing platter of cheeses, chutneys, breads and crackers; or the Provencal Pan Bagna which is filled with (wait for it!) Parma ham…tomatoes…pesto…salami…mozzarella…rocket…french dressing…olives…all encased in a country style loaf…cut like a slice of cake…served with a dressed garnish… All for just 625 pence!

But that’s really just scratching the surface of a deep-filled feast of fine food at Jack Rabbits - which will honestly blow you away with choice, presentation and service.

One short bunny hop away, but better left for another day, is the “oldest” newcomer in town - Grandpa Lew.

A concept café, Grandpa Lew is (not really) a traveller and an adventurer who has travelled the world and sailed the seven seas; experienced new and different tastes, aromas and flavours; gathered together the things he learned on his travels; and created a Food Place - “where lovers of food, drink and travel can get together and celebrate the finest things in life”!

(Really) the brainchild of 29 years old Lewis Hunt, it’s another superb eaterie, offering a wide range of food sourced both locally and from around the world, including his own range of fresh, open-topped pies which are rapidly gaining a niche following amongst visitors to his shop and the farmers' markets he attends around the region.

Like Jack Rabbits, Grandpa Lew’s is in the Cathedral Quarter, a funky part of the city centre where you’ll find plenty of independent shops, cafes and - erm - the Cathedral.

A short walk from here is The Derby Pyclet Company - as good a reason as any for being tempted into the city’s colourful Indoor Market. The result of a casual conversation in a pub between friends Mark Hughes and Martin Reid, this has to be one of THE new food finds in the country this year!

Between them, Mark and Martin have not only resurrected and reinvented one of Derbyshire’s greatest food traditions, but have also created a little bit of food theatre in the traditional market. The etymology of the Pyclet, says Mark, can be traced to Saxon times - a claim which potentially makes this the original flatbread of England!

Flat crumpets, made with milk from a local dairy, and baked on griddles, the Pyclets can be bought to take home, or else garnished on the spot with THE most mouthwatering choice of toppings: smoked salmon and horseradish cream; Colston Basset Stilton, honey and walnuts; ham and home made piccalilli.

Standing there, enjoying lunch in the company of this theatrical pair of savvy food producers, is Derby’s equivalent of strolling off La Rambla in Barcelona and enjoying a tapas in La Boqueria Market!

Do we have a saying in Britain to match “Bon Appetit”? Probably not. But if we did, then Derby’s where you’d say it.

Enjoy!!

Head and shoulders above the rest

Five “wows”, a couple of “my words”, a “favoloso”, and several people pointing-out Cellini’s brilliance to their companions…

Leaning against a wall in Room 1 of The Royal Academy’s latest exhibition, Bronze, and eavesdropping on the reaction of just some of the visitors passing-by the Statue of Perseus, is an incredible experience.

Art is meant to stir the emotions. But standing there, in the shadows of Trentham Estate’s very own local hero, and listening to the reaction of the public filing through the main galleries of London’s Royal Academy of Art, the main reaction was one of pride!

Since Bronze opened on September 15^th, art critics have taken it in turn to heap praise on the exhibition as a whole. Bringing together outstanding works from the earliest times to the present, with works spanning 5,000 years, and featuring 150 of the finest bronzes from Asia, Africa and Europe, it is - without question - another triumph for The RA.

Hard to believe, then, that a lad from Stoke-on-Trent could stand out in such acclaimed company…

There are Ancient Greek bronzes. Roman and Etruscan bronzes. Renaissance bronzes. And contemporary bronzes. Bronzes by the likes of Donatello, Rodin, Matisse, Picasso, and Moore. And a bronze - the 4^th century Dancing Satyr, which was discovered off the coast of Sicily in 1998 - that’s now acknowledged as one of the most important antiquities in the world.

Then, you step into the Figures gallery - where Perseus stands, quite literally, head and shoulders above the lot.

Having strolled past him on so many occasions in Trentham’s Italian Gardens, without so much as a second glance, you really need to pinch yourself.

No-one has been able to tell us for sure if Perseus is the largest work in the exhibition.

(He is).

He’s massively impressive, in every sense of the word: a head-turning, crowd-pleasing, exclamation point - enjoying his time under the spotlight. And it’s fun to watch the wide-eyed, jaw-dropped visitors even pointing-out the dramatic shadow he casts on the back wall of the gallery.

Trentham Estate’s Perseus has been joined in the exhibition by a Cellini modello. And the interpretation panel positively gushes with detail about both: “Benvenuto Cellini created his most celebrated masterpiece, the bronze statue of Perseus (in the 16^th century). His trial run is displayed here along with a full scale 19^th century cast taken from the original in the Loggia dei Lanzi, Florence. Few before or after Cellini have attempted a single casting the size of Perseus - a hugely ambitious undertaking - remains one of the most magnificent sculptures ever made.”

Perseus will return to The Trentham Estate in Stoke-on-Trent a couple of weeks after Bronze draws to a close on December 9^th. And plans to give him a hero’s welcome are already being drawn-up.

Having spent the best part of two months amongst such exalted company that’s the least he deserves. And if you’re not able to make it to London to see Bronze, well…at least make sure you visit The Trentham Estate again, once he takes-up his rightful position on the plinth at the head of the lake.

For more information on Bronze, visit The Royal Academy's website, and hear what's being said about the exhibition here.

A video of Perseus being removed from his plinth at Trentham before being taken to Bronze can be seen here.

Looking forward to 2013

The world’s focus has switched to Britain. The Royal Wedding, the Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics (not to mention, increased speculation about a new royal baby) has combined to give the country a higher profile - and to make it more appealing as a destination for visitors from abroad - than ever before.

And it's mainly the "traditional Britain” which overseas visitors will want to see in 2013. The Britain of Union Jacks, bunting, teashops, quiet country lanes, historic pubs, and rose-covered cottages.

One perfect match for that is The Cotswolds - with its honey-coloured stone cottages, cream teas and collection of Cotswolds Finest Hotels. In 2013, a new Vintage & Modern car touring trail will take visitors on a “retro route” around some of the finest countryside, market towns and tea shops in Britain. Set to be launched in the Spring, it will be available both as a leaflet, and online. For further details, keep an eye on www.cotswolds.com.

Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum in The Cotswolds, meanwhile, is set to re-open to the public in 2013 with a new design and a new extension, and the refurbishment of some existing galleries and public spaces. The scheme will completely transform an Art Gallery & Museum especially famous for its world class Arts & Crafts collections.

Another destination just 90-minutes away from London is Stoke-on-Trent. Known world-wide as “The Potteries” - for being the home to all the famous names of British fine china (including Wedgwood), Stoke-on-Trent will be hosting the British Ceramics Biennale in 2013, not to mention a host of centenary celebrations for Moorcroft.

Stoke-on-Trent is also where, during 2013, visitors will be able to see the “Staffordshire Hoard: Dark Age Discovery” exhibition at The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery. The Hoard is the largest and most valuable find ever of Anglo-Saxon treasure, and went out on tour to the National Geographic Museum in Washington DC last year. The current exhibition in Stoke-on-Trent will be on show every day up to September 1^st 2013.

“When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life,” said Samuel Johnson. But that’s not necessarily the case for today’s overseas visitors to Britain - who are being given something else to write home about, thanks to a new collection of cities who have recently gathered together under the Britain’s Heritage Cities banner. Bath, Carlisle, Chester, Durham, Stratford-upon-Avon, Lincoln, Oxford and York are the cities making it far easier these days for overseas visitors to now explore 2,000 years of history at www.heritagecities.com.

On the south west coast, in Devon, the Dartmouth Steam Railway & River Boat Company will be adding an important new vessel to its fleet for 2013. Built in 1924, the Kingswear Castle paddle steamer means that this will be the only part of Britain where it’s possible to travel on board both a steam train and boat, with the same company. And if you want to take the experience that bit further, the railway will also be offering a very special “Footplate Experience” to its passengers in 2013.

Another area of England which ticks all of the “traditional” boxes is The Yorkshire Wolds. This is the landscape which inspired the one of the nation’s best-known living artists, David Hockney, to produce some paintings which went on show at The Royal Academy (and elsewhere around the globe) in 2012. A new "Hockney Trail" for 2013 will take visitors around the country lanes and market towns of The Yorkshire Wolds, and in search of the places that inspired Hockney’s paintings.

Add to that the 30^th anniversary of Europe’s largest Medieval Festival, in Tewkesbury, and a collection of national significance which is set to go on show at one of Staffordshire’s most enduring attractions, the Shugborough Estate, in 2013 and you have just the beginnings of some great reasons for overseas travel writers, in particular, to keep Britain in the world’s eye.

"Buy Local, Be Sustainable" in the Shropshire Hills

A scheme aimed at preserving landscapes, lifestyles and livelihoods in the remote landscape of the Shropshire Hills is slowly expanding in a way that could make it the model for other areas of the United Kingdom to follow.

Fuelled by the recession, and the need for smaller and more remote communities to work together and promote their businesses through more creative means, the “Shropshire Hills Sustainable Business Scheme” takes, as its starting point, a pledge from all its members that they are committed to preserving and promoting the area through innovative and sustainable measures.

Once they have paid their £25 membership fee, participating businesses in the area are then asked to sign a pledge, in which they list all of their current and future activities that demonstrate a commitment to sustainable practices.

It’s an original idea and one which, as well as aimed at bringing obvious benefits to members, is also a big bonus for local residents - as well as tourists, holiday makers and visitors to the Shropshire Hills.

“In part, it’s about survival,” says Jodie Griffith, of the Shropshire Hills AONB Partnership which co-ordinates the scheme.

“Our members, by-and-large, are the smaller ‘cottage’ industries, which traditionally have helped to support the local economy of the area. We need them to find new and sustainable ways in order to remain viable in an increasingly uncertain economy. And we believe we have a better chance of preserving the Shropshire Hills by bringing them together like this, by encouraging them to share a more sustainable philosophy, and by helping to market them to a broader cross section of the general public.”

Participating members include local B&Bs, guest houses, farmhouses, cafes, restaurants, pubs, shops, food producers and some activity and service providers - all committed to follow more sustainable practices and many of whom have reached a special “Achiever” level.

But as well as benefiting the businesses, it is also turning out to be a boon for local residents, as well as for visitors from outside Shropshire.

Stickers displaying the “Buy Local - Be Sustainable” logo are becoming increasingly visible throughout the Shropshire Hills, and in the regular Farmer’s Markets in Ludlow, Craven Arms, Bishops Castle, Much Wenlock, and Knighton.

“If we can encourage more people, both from within Shropshire and from much further afield, to put their trust in these members, who are now following such sound business practices, then that - in turn - will help the local economy as a whole,” adds Jodie Griffith.

A walks initiative, which is also co-ordinated by the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, has already shown what can be achieved. Launched at a time when pubs nationally were closing at a rate of five a day, “Walking with Offa” featured a series of 12 new walking trails in the Shropshire Hills - all of which deliberately started and finished at local pubs.

“It’s green tourism at its best, and an example for other areas of Britain to follow. Not least because it benefits local businesses, but also enhancing the overall experience of visitors - who now have a safe and reliable source of information on where to meet the people and see the places that will help them to better understand what makes this part of the country such a beautiful Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB),” added Griffith.

The innovate scheme, aimed at helping to preserve a centuries-old way of life, has also resulted in the production of a new directory mapping-out where locals and visitors alike can ‘go, buy, eat, and stay’ at countryside businesses committed to becoming more sustainable.

Eco, green and sustainable, the scheme has so far been able to sign-up more than 100 local businesses that have pledged to reduce their impact on the environment, to enhance wildlife and landscape, to involve both locals and visitors, and to support the local economy.

And the newly launched directory - featuring around 70 of those businesses in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) - is seen as yet another step towards preserving the traditional way of life in the remote Shropshire Hills.

For full details about the Shropshire Hills Sustainable Business Scheme, visit www.shropshirehills-buylocal.co.uk.

Leaf Peeping and Autumn Offers

Colour in the Cotswolds

Autumn and the Cotswolds go hand-in-hand. Westonbirt Arboretum is an internationally renowned destination for some world class “leaf peeping”, and this year it’s possible to stay at the Cotswolds Water Park Four Pillars Hotel from just £47 per person, per night (dinner, bed & breakfast).

All at sea, to watch the birds migrate

From late September through to October 8^th it’s possible to take a cruise on the 'Yorkshire Belle' to see thousands of migrating seabirds pass over the North Sea on their long journeys south. Terns, skuas, auks, gulls and sooty shearwaters can be seen from a completely different angle on the the three-and-a-half hour cruises which take you three miles off Flamborough Head, around Bridlington Bay and then further south off the Yorkshire coast. All cruises depart from Bridlington's North Pier.

Autumn offer in the Wye Valley

Idyllically located on the riverbanks of the Wye, in Herefordshire, 15^th century Mainoaks farmstead offers six luxury holiday cottages in prime walking territory. Better still, they are currently promoting a discount of 15% on advertised prices throughout October. Boasting cosy wood burners and an unlimited supply of logs, the cottages are a footstep away from a whole series of footpaths. The six cottages in the Wye Valley sleep between 2 and 7 persons, and are both dog and children welcome.

Where to go, buy, eat and stay in the Shropshire Hills this autumn

An innovate scheme in Shropshire - aimed at showing visitors where they can ‘go, buy, eat, and stay’ at countryside businesses committed to becoming more sustainable - will be in place in time for the autumn. The scheme, which champions a “buy local” philosophy, has just launched a new directory which now points visitors in the direction of a host of B&Bs, guest houses, farmhouses, cafes, restaurants, pubs, shops, food producers and activity providers in the glorious Shropshire Hills. A dramatic landscape for an autumn shortbreak, the Shropshire Hills is a part of Britain which is especially popular with walkers. For further details, visit their website.

Go leaf peeping at Shugborough

Shugborough will be one of the most colourful places in Staffordshire during the dark autumnal months of October and November. Another unseasonably wet summer may yet be responsible for creating prime conditions for a magnificent display of autumn in the Shugborough woodlands. The famous estate near to Cannock Forest always provides a spectacular backdrop for anyone in search of one of the very best shows of Nature in the county. Shugborough’s autumn colour spectacular has become one of the “must see” sights of the Staffordshire calendar: a place for people to see, and photograph, the vivid hews of bronze, red, orange and yellow. This year’s autumn spectacular also coincides with a Half Term Family Activity Week at the Farm, with spooky crafts, pumpkin carving and fun quizzes and trails, between 11am and 4pm each day. Tickets are priced at £5.00 adults and £4.00 children.

Autumn at Trentham Gardens

Boasting Capability Brown woodland, an ancient historic forest, and the unique Rivers of Grass, the gardens at Trentham Estate is where England’s autumn colours can be seen at their very best these days. Look out, in particular, for the perennial displays in the Italian Garden and the Floral Labyrinth; the Tulip Tree; the widest girthed Capadoccium Maple tree in the UK; and the estate’s Beech Trees and Black River Birch. Offering one of the country’s most diverse days out, the 725-acre Trentham Estate boasts gardens, village shopping, Garden Centre, the remarkable Monkey Forest and adventure course Aerial Extreme. While the award-winning gardens have matured into some of the finest in Britain, there are also woodland walks, children’s adventure play area, including family favourite, the UK’s first Barefoot Walk.

Memories of a family house party in The Wye Valley

In Mark Haddon’s latest novel, a family gathers for a week-long “house-party” in a holiday cottage brimming with its own history and memories.

Postcard-worthy memories in this summer’s required reading, The Red House, are far and few between, although a couple of the family walks, jaunts to nearby towns (including Hay-on-Wye), and (even) a couple of the more awkward moments around the dinner table, may strike a familiar cord with family groups heading to Mainoaks this year.

But hopefully none of the events or memories will be quite as dark as those so brilliantly written about by Haddon…!

This black comedy of family turmoil is about as far removed as you could imagine from a holiday in the six cottages which make up the 15^th Mainoaks farmstead on the banks of the River Wye.

A terrific book to take with you to read in this peaceful setting, it’s also an illustration of how families occasionally holiday together these days in a “house-party” style. Often living miles apart from one another, and only ever able to come together for high days and holidays, they are a relatively new market for holiday cottages capable of catering for larger numbers.

Mainoaks is one such property – with space for 27, and rooms and outdoor space capable of hosting large family gatherings.

Fully refurbished in time for the 2012 season prices for “exclusive use” house-parties range from £2,399.40 for a shortbreak in the low season, through to £4,721.40 in the high season. This works out at a little over £22 to £43 per person per night for a group of 27 for four nights.

A week-long stay is £3,035.70 in the low season, and £5,976.90 in the high season – or £16 to less than £32 per person.

Family-friendly and dog-friendly, it ticks every box when it comes to a “house party”. But what makes Mainoaks so very different from the rest, however, is its extraordinary history. A place of dwelling since the 12^th century, the modern day property is styled out of the original 15^th century farmstead - which even featured a traditional Herefordshire cider mill.

Everything else - from fabulous footpaths to fine dining, private angling to outdoor pursuits - is either on your doorstep, or just a short drive away.

In The Red House, the youngest member of the family group staying there writes in the Guest Book: “I liked walking up the hill and the rain storm and sheepherd’s pie at the grannery”.

Visitors to Mainoaks could say the same – right the way through to visiting the Granary and ordering (the veggie) Shepherd’s Pie in nearby Hay-on-Wye, where other required reading for this summer can be found in the Town of Books.

Further details can be found at www.mainoaks.co.uk.

How green is my valley?

Stroud is a wonderful mix of mustard coloured cords, dungarees, and jeans. Part Cotswolds, part alternative lifestyle, and part honest working market town, it’s a fabulous place to spend a few hours - mooching around the delicatessens and bookshops, exploring the colourful side-streets, and deciding which class you might be tempted to join if you were a local.

Knitting for men, intuitive herbalism, tai chi, circle dancing and male redemption are all on offer. As is the chance to pop into the Fortune Faeries Shop - “dedicated to the preservation and protection of all elemental beings”.

But away from the alternative, Stroud has also established a terrific reputation in recent years for its Farmers Markets and food shops. And it doesn’t disappoint. The choice is as wide and as varied as the classes, courses and workshops being advertised around the town. And the twice-baked smoked haddock soufflé with salad (at just £6.95) in The Food Emporium by JRooL is always going to be worth the trip.

Outside the open doors, the market stalls groan under the weight of locally produced fruit and vegetables, meats, sausages, wines, beers, and cheeses. And honey, of course (especially important - given Stroud’s proud boast to be the “World's First Bee Guardian Town”, dedicated to helping all bee species and other pollinators, and empowering people, institutions companies, towns and cities to become "Bee Guardians").

The town itself can be reached by road along any one of five golden valleys - so named because the wealth created in its heyday from the 150-plus mills which used to process wool from the famous Cotswold sheep. While most have disappeared, and others have been converted into flats, a couple still survive and, most notably, make the felt for tennis balls and snooker tables.

Visitors from London, meanwhile, can make very good use of the Stroud Special off-peak trains which run between Stroud and Paddington, with tickets available from as little as £8 each way.

On this particular tour, however, there were two golden valleys to explore. The first led to Slad - forever immortalised by the author Laurie Lee in a book which has sold over six million copies worldwide. The Woolpack, which Lee himself used to frequent regularly, is the place for a drop of cider and - on a warm September afternoon - the place to sit outside and watch the farmers harvesting the fields on the opposite side of the Slad Valley.

And then, the A46 out of Stroud takes you along another valley into Painswick - another Cotswolds wool town filled with honey-coloured stone buildings, where some of the highlights for visitors include the ancient St Mary’s Church with its 99 yew trees, Olivas Delicatessen & Café, and the bustling and busy Falcon Inn.

And, for overnight guests, everything from the über-chic Cotswolds88 Hotel, to the wonderfully welcoming Troy House B&B.

It’s also “home” to the one-off Rococo Gardens, where - thankfully - you don’t need to be a horticultural expert to enjoy the gardens, follies, nature walks, and art installations. I’m also reliably informed that this is also the place in the UK to go and see Snowdrops in early Spring. “I’ll be back”!

The Presidential Elections, The Cotswolds, and The Woodhull

How many Americans, visiting The Cotswolds or the historic town of Tewkesbury, can be aware of how close they are to a fascinating fragment of their very own history and heritage? How many Brits, for that matter, know that the town is inextricably linked with the American Presidential elections…?

One clue is contained in St Faith's Chapel in Tewkesbury Abbey. There, a memorial to Victoria Woodhull Martin informs passers-by that "she devoted herself unsparingly to all that could promote the great cause of Anglo-American friendship."

What it fails to mention is that she was also one of the most notorious, and famous, Americans of her time; a supporter (in the mid-19th century) of women's suffrage, short skirts, spiritualism, free love, vegetarianism, birth control and licensed prostitution!

And, the first woman in history to run for President of United States of America.

Woodhull Martin took American politics by storm, but - along with her sister Tennessee Celeste - was ostracised by polite society, and dubbed by the press as 'Mrs Satan', 'The Terrible Siren', 'The Wicked Woodhull' and 'The Petticoat Politician'.

Born in 1838, she made history in 1872 by running on an Equal Rights ticket in the Presidential Elections, and used The Woodhull & Claflin Weekly - a publication edited by herself and Tennessee - to boost her drive for The White House.

"I anticipate criticism, but I trust no-one will question my sincerity," said Victoria, who most American newspapermen simply referred to as 'The Woodhull'.

She may have anticipated criticism. But her response to a series of attacks - which she believed were orchestrated by supporters of Reverend Henry Ward Beecher (the most popular preacher in the United States, and considered by many at that time to be the greatest living American) - was to go on to the offensive, and to openly accuse the Reverend of adultery.

These accusations appeared in print in The Weekly. Such was the clamour for copies that 100,000 were sold instantly; some people leased their copies for $1; and others changed hands for as much as $40 on the black market. "No event since the assassination of Abraham Lincoln attracted so much notice from the press," noted one journalist at the time.

The upshot of it all was that the sisters faced a charge of sending obscene literature through the US Mail, and spent election day in New York's Ludlow Street Jail.

The sisters also caused a sensation by running their own, successful, brokerage business on Wall Street. This was where they first became acquainted with one of the world's richest men - Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt who, by his mid-70s, was becoming increasingly eccentric.

Controversy returned in January of 1877 when Vanderbilt died, leaving a fortune of $100,000,000 – some of it for work in spiritualism under the trusteeship of Victoria and Tennessee. The will was contested; and, though nothing ever came to light, there were rumours that Victoria had struck a favourable deal, which allowed her, and her family, to leave America and start a new life in England where she met John Biddulph Martin, a partner in the long established Martin's Bank.

It was the start of Victoria's long climb towards 'respectability'. He fell under her spell, and she became Victoria Woodhull Martin on Oct 31, 1883. But she never gave up her bid for the White House - standing for President five times in all.

John Martin died in 1897; and in 1901, Victoria moved to the family's country seat in Bredon's Norton, a tiny village in The Cotswolds.

But few people remained in the public eye for as long as Victoria Woodhull-Martin. And when she died on June 9, 1927, aged 89, her ashes were scattered over the Atlantic, midway between the United States of America and Britain.

The inscription on the memorial in Tewkesbury Abbey recall her work in furthering the cause of Anglo-American relations. But it is the words of Victoria herself which provide one of the most the most fitting epitaphs to her own, remarkable life: "All this talk of women's rights is moonshine. Women have every right."

On the Sunny Side of the Street

The Brandenburg Gate. Checkpoint Charlie. Potsdamer Platz.

Some of the most iconic sites in arguably the most meaningful capital city in Europe.

But there’s neither time to go Unter den Linden, or to the top of the 368-metres high Television Tower in Berlin on this particular trip. With meetings scheduled, and flights to catch, there’s less than an hour to marvel at the energy and soak-up one small chapter of the immense history that Berlin offers its visitors.

Five years ago, there was time to “hop-on hop-off” one of the value for money Berlin City Sightseeing Tours.

This time, there was all of 48 minutes. Enough time to squeeze into a northbound U-Bahn from Alexanderplatz and to emerge, three stops later, in Eberswalder Strasse - one of the hippest and most happening quarters of the city. Formerly a part of “East Berlin”, it’s one of the places to see (and be seen) - although it’s just as easy to melt into the throngs of local commuters who fill the streets on a warm late-summer’s evening.

The broad, tree-lined streets feeding from Eberswalder Strasse offer-up an eclectic mix of guerrilla gardens, bohemian restaurants, chilled-out atmosphere and - it has to be said - mock architecture (many of the facades of the faceless apartment blocks of the East have been given fancy facelifts).

The night may be young, but time is short. So let’s keep moving. At the bottom of the street is Mauer-park. Somewhere the bright young things of the city gather for a beer these days, it’s also a place to step back in time.

The Berlin Wall may have all but disappeared, but its impact lingers on - as anyone who takes a gentle stroll down Bernauer Strasse will surely testify.

Remember that black and white image of the East German guard (Conrad Schumann) leaping over the barbed wire? It was taken here. On this very spot - on the corner of Ruppiner Strasse and Bernauer Strasse. Over half a century ago.

There’s time for jaws to drop, and hair to raise on the back of the neck, but not much more on this 48-minutes in Berlin.

There’s no time to call into the grimly named Berlin Wall Documentation Centre. But thankfully, there IS enough time to walk up to a small section of the original wall; and to spot some of the metal plaques in the pavement all along the Bernauer Strasse, which mark the attempted flights to freedom from the apartment blocks to your East, to the apartment blocks to your West. And just about enough time to take-in the fact that this broad street, where all-comers are welcome, was once no-man’s land.

It’s the evening, and too late to take any photographs. The Worldtime Clock is still turning, so 45 minutes after leaving the high-rise Park Inn Hotel by Radisson on the Alexanderplatz it’s time for bed.

And the other three minutes of sightseeing?

That’s the next morning, on the two-minute stroll from the hotel to the Visit Britain and Visit England offices, past the world famous Weltzeituhr (“Worldtime Clock”) in the Alexanderplatz and glancing skywards to the Television Tower.

Hang on a minute.

That still leaves time for some photographs.

It's Brussels. But is it Art?

If you want to know what the ninth art is, take the Eurostar to Bussels.

It’s that simple. Much simpler, it has to be said, than trying to name the other eight arts - some of which can also be seen in Brussels, by the way.

Not necessarily one of the first cities in Europe you’d choose for a weekend break, its big appeal to UK holiday-makers nevertheless is the fact that it’s now just two hours door-to-door from London St Pancras. Sit back, fold open your latest Tin Tin comic book, and watch le countryside flash by.

And before you know it, you’re in La Grand Place, taking-in not only one of the finest sights of any European Tour, but also the first of your Belgian beers (a bottle of chilled Duvel, at a whopping 8.5% volume). The first thing on the agenda after this is a Pis. The world-renowned Maneken Pis to be exact, whose lesser-known sister, Jeanneke Pis, can also be found tucked-away and hunkered-down along a tiny alley, the Impasse de la Fidélité.

At the entrance to this Impasse is Beenhouwersstraat, this is as-good-a-place as any to enjoy a pan-full of moules, with frites and mayonnaise - as much a national institution in Belgium as the waffle, chocolates, and beer (mine’s a bottle of Bush, at 12% volume, in case you’re asking).

Lest you think I’m only here for the beer, I should point out there are other, more sober, pursuits to enjoy in Brussels, including a stroll through several centuries of Flemish and international paintings in The Royal Museum of Art and History - being careful not to miss Jacques-Louis David’s masterpiece, The Death of Marat.

This is REAL art. But to find “le neuvième art”, you’ll also need to find the quiet side-street Rue des Sables, and to step inside one of the loveliest building in Brussels - the Comic Strip Centre.

In Belgium, as well as France, comic strips - known as bandes dessinées - are considered a genuine art form, or, more specifically, "the ninth art". But you really don’t need to be a fan of Herge, Tin Tin, Asterix, or The Smurfs. Because the real stars of the show are the building itself, the art nouveau genius of Victor Horta, and whoever it was who came up with the idea of restoring a property where life imitates ninth art.

Featured in many comic strips, the former warehouse is a monument to both art and architecture. The place where you’ll find more about each of these unique selling points to Brussels, it’s also a good starting point to follow the colourful comic art trail around the city. (Just make sure you stop-off along the way at the fabulously atmospheric café-brasserie A La Mort Subite, on the rue Montagne-aux-Herbes Potagères, for a well-earned glass of their home-brewed ale).

And if you enjoyed the art nouveau setting of the Comic Strip Centre, then you’ll love the Horta Museum off the Avenue Louise.

Museums are closed in Brussels on Mondays. So that’s as good a day as any to take-off across Flanders by train to the coast and promenade along the sweeping seafront at Ostend - or to bask in the brilliance of Bruges.

If there’s an art to fitting everything into a short break, then this place displays all the right brush strokes…

I travelled to Brussels via Eurostar, courtesy of Railbookers (www.railbookers.com) and Flanders Tourism (www.visitflanders.co.uk). (Oh, and my favourite beer was the Mort Subite Gueuze sur Lie! Take a look here for more details. Cheers!).

Getting the bigger pictures of The Yorkshire Wolds

David Hockney has helped to put the Yorkshire Wolds onto the tourism map of Great Britain. But for all that, there’s an even bigger picture of “A Bigger Picture” still waiting to be explored.

You only need drive across, through and around The Yorkshire Wolds once to realise both its scale, and hidden depths.

Sweeping fields, dominant woodlands, rolling hills, wide-open spaces, scattered villages and market towns punctuate the landscape in such a way that it’s hard to argue with the guide books’ comment that “The Yorkshire Wolds are nothing short of stunning”.

Add to that the fact that you can drive for several miles without passing another car, and there’s a whole new vocabulary to call upon: quiet, undiscovered, peaceful and somehow incredibly English.

Hit the right day, when the sun is shining and the colours of the golden fields and verdant landscapes are at their best, and it’s difficult to image yourself find a nice part of the British countryside.

Technically, of course, it forms the northern-most part of a chalk belt witch actually runs all the way from the English Channel, to finish in an impressive climax on the East Yorkshire coast, at Flamborough Head.

And such is the beauty of the area that it has inspired numerous poets, writers and artists - not least, the world-renowned David Hockney, who has produced a collection of art which took centre stage in The Royal Academy of Arts’ “A Bigger Picture” exhibition at the start of the year. Those images of his favourite stomping ground have themselves inspired a growing number of visitors to the area - and word-on-the-street is that still more will come once his paintings have been on show in Bilbao and Cologne.

But there’s plenty of room up here. And any number of ways of exploring the countryside - especially now that the local tourist board has produced a new set of walks (“Walk the Wolds”) and a series of bicycle trails (“Big Sky Bike Rides”).

The best tip is to make somewhere like Beverley to the south, or Malton in the north, the base for your stay. And then set out to explore the market towns of Driffield, Pocklington and Market Weighton, and historic villages such as Cherry Burton, Leconfield, Etton, South Dalton, Watton, Bishop Burton and Walkington.

You’re likely to find plenty of refreshments available in the traditional inns and pubs, not to mention some hungry ducks in the village ponds, along the way. As well as some little-known facts….

Look out for Millington Pastures Valley, for example - a narrow road with wildflowers on the hillsides which was shared by farmers for sheep grazing; the Giant Bradley Heritage Trail in Market Weighton which follows in the footsteps of England’s tallest man, William Bradley, born in 1787; the “lost villages” of Wharram Percy and the Hamlet of Eske; the meteorite on the outskirts of Wold Newton which crashed to earth on December 13th, 1795; and the Sykes Churches – the 15 churches of the Wolds rebuilt by the Victorian landowner Sir Tatton Sykes.

And if you happen to time your visit right, you could even watch the oldest horse race in England, at Kiplingcotes, where the Kiplingcotes Derby has taken place every year since 1519!

For more details, visit the Visit Hull and East Yorkshire website.

The Wright Stuff

I’m no art expert. But I do know what I like. And I’ve always had a bit of a special “thing” for Wright of Derby.

I heard a recent BBC TV programme describe him as "one of the most original, wide-ranging and consistently interesting eighteenth century British artists". I don’t know about that. But what I do know is that one of his masterstrokes (so to speak) was to perfect the “candlelight” effect. A kind of 18th century version of Instagram, he created paintings of faces lit-up by the fire of flames or furnaces.

It’s stunning to see - and acts as a clear indication as to why Joseph Wright is regarded as a man in tune with his age: an artist capable of illustrating the dramatic advances which were being made in the arts, science, philosophy, and religion in what was a golden era for the City of Derby.

Wright lived in Derby most of his life, leaving it only to train in the London studio of Thomas Hudson, to honeymoon, and to study classical art and architecture in Italy.

The only other times Wright ever left Derby were when his family fled the city during the Jacobite Rebellion (during Bonnie Prince Charlie's brief but fateful stay in Derby), and during a three-year spell when he was based in Liverpool - where, to distinguish him from an artist named Richard Wright, people first called him 'Wright of Derby'.

Today, quite fittingly, the finest Joseph Wright paintings can be found in the Derby Museum & Art Gallery, which recently underwent a £150,000 makeover to better display the fabulous Joseph Wright Collection.

Some, are accurate portraits of the Midlands industrialists and entrepreneurs of the time. His painting of Sir Richard Arkwright, for example, is the one now faithfully reproduced in virtually every publication dealing with the Industrial Revolution.

Others, feature his trademark candlelight paintings. In 1765, visitors to the Society of Artists in London were treated to a viewing of the first of his now world-famous series of candlelight' works, in which the strong contrasts of light-and-shadow highlight the dramatic effects of his subjects. Caravaggio and Rembrandt had both already perfected the technique; but Wright was known by his contemporaries as the leading British artist in this style.

And then, there’s 'A Philosopher lecturing on the Orrery'. His most recognised masterpiece, this painting shows a philosopher explaining how the planets move around the sun during the course of the year. The 'audience' is a small group of men, a young woman and some children - all of them lit-up by a thirst for knowledge.

For further details about Derby Museum & Art Gallery, visit the museum's website.

Is There a More Romantic Retreat in Britain?

There are roses over the doorway, thatch on the roof, and beams in the ceiling. Close your eyes and imagine the most romantic cottage in Devon. Open them again, and you’re in Rose Cottage.

A lovely 18th century thatched cottage, with 21st century luxuries, this is the latest addition to the choice of self-catering properties on offer to anyone planning a holiday in north Devon.

Described as “north Devon’s first luxury boutique cottage”, it’s a hideaway, styled for that special occasion.

And following six months of careful and loving restoration, it’s now ready to welcome couples wanting to find the perfect romantic retreat.

From its inglenook fireplace (where marshmallows are left for toasting on the log-burner), through to the “Boudoir” (boasting a huge copper slipper bath), Rose Cottage has been pieced together like a jigsaw to guarantee that ‘happy-ever-after’ feeling.

Filled with luxurious items for guests to enjoy, Rose Cottage even features a huge beachcomber hot tub in a secluded garden.

There may never have been a more romantic holiday cottage in Devon - a glamorous hideaway where it’s possible to spend the evening curled up in front of a log fire, watching the latest 3D movie, or listening to the BOSE surround sound, while sipping the fine wines from the well stocked honesty bar.

High Bickington, where Rose Cottage is located, is a pretty little Domesday village, tucked away in North Devon, and conveniently located for Exmoor, Dartmoor and The North Devon Coast.

The property is easily accessible by car, and is also a five minute taxi ride from the Tarka Train Line (from Exeter) - with the owners Kate and Bob Boothby happy to pick-up and drop-off visitors arriving by rail.

For further details, visit the website.

Local Hero

It’s exactly 165 years since he first arrived at The Trentham Estate in Stoke-on-Trent.

And he’s now being seen by around half a million people who flock to the Italian Gardens at The Trentham Estate every year,

But demi-god, and “local hero”, Perseus is set to take flight once more - this time, to London, to be part of the Royal Academy of Art’s major Autumn exhibition, “Bronze”.

The exhibition is set to run from September 15th to December 9th in the Main Galleries of the Royal Academy.

‘Perseus With The Head Of Medusa’ is a true copy of the original statue by the Italian master Benvenuto Cellini, cast in Florence between 1548 and 1550, and was made on the order of the 2nd Duke of Sutherland around 1840.

The Trentham bronze is the only copy of Cellini's masterpiece and, apparently, demonstrates - like no other work in this country - the 19th century’s fascination with the Florentine High Renaissance.

Bronze itself is set to bring together for the first time outstanding pieces from the earliest times, to the present.

But what’s so significant about Perseus is not simply the association with the Italian sculptor Benvenuto Cellini, AND its sheer size, but also its positioning at Trentham. Sitting on a pedestal, surrounded by stone columns designed by Sir Charles Barry (who also designed our Houses of Parliament, no less), Perseus stands prominently between Capability Brown’s mile-long lake, some glorious English countryside, and Barry’s vast Italian Garden.

The Trentham Estate’s original owners, the Duke & Duchess of Sutherland were extraordinarily wealthy and engaged Sir Charles Barry (who went to create the House of Commons) to transform Capability Brown’s natural landscape into what was later described as “The Versailles of the Midlands”.

The 2nd Duke had a strong friendship with the Duke of Tuscany; and the casting of Perseus coincided with the improvements being made to the hall and gardens. The terrace at the top of the lake was specially planned and prepared by Charles Barry to receive the statue, which was erected in its current position in the Italian Garden in 1847.

The Sutherlands stopped using Trentham as one of their homes at the turn of the century, and Trentham Hall was demolished in 1911 after which the family opened the Estate as Trentham Gardens Pleasure Park in the 1920s. Perseus, it appears, had already been removed to Sutton Place following the purchase of that property by the Duke in 1918. But he was (rightfully) returned to Trentham by the Countess of Sutherland in 1966.

The statue was in a very poor condition when St. Modwen took over ownership of the Estate around a decade ago, and on the advice of English Heritage Rupert Harris Conservation was employed to undertake a full report on the condition and recommend the conservation works required. The statue was taken to his studios in London prior to the formal reopening of the Gardens in May 2004.

Mike Herbert, Regional Director for St. Modwen, recalls visiting the studios at the early stages of restoration: “I got into a London cab as I left the building and telephoned the office, saying ‘There’s a massive hole in his leg and his right arm has been taken off, but he should be alright’. You should have seen the taxi driver’s face!”

On Your Marks, Get Set...

There’s a strong sense of purpose at venuebirmingham these days.

Located on the University of Birmingham campus in leafy Edgbaston, the organisation is operating against a backdrop of new buildings, high profile visitors and an investment programme somewhere in the region of £1-million…a week!

Over tea and (surprise, surprise!) millionaire’s shortbread, the team members - Fran, Jo, James, Richa and Sally - are excited. They’ve got a new multi-million pound venue to promote from the middle of next month, the World Squash Championships arriving in July, and Usain Bolt and the rest of the Jamaican Olympic squad to host over the summer.

All this, in addition to some of the best conference, meetings and events properties in the whole of the Heart of England.

It’s rare to have a two hour guided tour of venues and meeting rooms, and still feel like you want to see more.

But that helps to set the scene for what’s happening in this particular corner of Birmingham - where it’s taken more than 100 years to complete the vision of a semi-circular, five-domed set of buildings at the heart of this historic University, and in so doing to create the new, £18-million Bramall Building.

A classical concert hall capable of seating 450, a conference hall with moveable seating, a venue purpose-built for product launches - it has to be one of the most impressive new-builds of the decade. And everything seems to move! Not just in one direction, either! Depending on what takes place here, the stage can move in and out, as well as up and down. The seating back and forth. And acoustic walls from side to side. You’d need to be tone deaf, colour blind, and altogether a pretty soul-less person not to be seriously impressed.

Deliberately high end, it’s a premium product. But it will also offer outstanding value for money. It’s also where, this July, a squash court will be put in place for the 2012 World Championships

You’d imagine that, after being given a sneak preview of this, everything else would be an anti-climax. Think again. The neighbouring Great Hall - beneath the central dome - is another striking venue which has hosted everything from the BBC Antiques Roadshow through to the 2010 General Election Leaders Debate.

Upstairs, and high inside the snail-like shell of one of the domes, the Senate Room is a mini-council-chamber capable of holding 69 people intent on having a pretty serious meeting or debate.

Cross campus towards the scent of coffee, and you’ll find the Muirhead Tower – refurbished just three years ago, and with an elevator system borrowed from the future which will whiz you up to the 12th floor towards another boardroom-style meeting space with its own bar/kitchens.

That scent of coffee comes from Starbucks which, like Café Aroma, The Noble Room and The Astor Suite, is run by the University’s very own catering service – Fresh Thinking. It’s another great asset for venuebirmingham which, I’m told, is able to call upon that service for everything from simple buffets to gala dinners (and everything in between).

Larger events, and staying guests, are catered-for in nearby Lucas House, Nicholson Building and the beautifully restored Edwardian Gentleman’s-style Winterbourne House & Gardens, which doubles-up as a tourist attraction (that can be visited in tandem with Birmingham’s world famous Barber Institute of Fine Arts).

And then, of course, there’s Hornton Grange and Garth House: a tranquil triangle of buildings offering a mix of accommodation, venue space, weddings facilities, bridal suite, and restaurant-in-a-conservatory.

Jamaica sends its Olympic team to be guests of venuebirmingham later this summer. And what I’d give to see Usain Bolt sprint - Chariots of Fire-style - around the perimeter of Chancellor’s Court in the shadow of the clock tower! It’ll never happen, of course. But looking down on that mock circuit from the 12th floor of the Muirhead Tower, those glistening five domes do remind you just a bit of the Olympic rings…

For more details, www.venuebirmingham.com.

10 of the Best Self-Catering Options

Here’s our top-ten list of the “best” self catering holiday cottages and camp sites – for everything from honeymoons, to a family break with the dogs; and from a shortbreak overseas, to a romantic weekend away…..

Best for - “a honeymoon”

Rose Cottage in Devon is a romantic 18th century thatched cottage, with 21st century luxuries. It’s also “north Devon’s first luxury boutique cottage. Six months of careful restoration has resulted in many of its original features being retained - from its inglenook fireplace with bread oven, and log burner (where guests will be able to toast marshmallows); through to the original floor boards in the “Boudoir” which boasts a huge copper slipper bath. Rose Cottage even features a huge beachcomber hot tub in a secluded garden position. There may never have been a more romantic holiday cottage in Devon.

Best for - “getting away from it all”

Dick Turpin Cottage in the Clun Valley is one of the hidden gems of Shropshire. A detached, stone-built property standing at the head of the fabulous Clun Valley, with spectacular views of the Shropshire Hills, and in total seclusion. The cottage also nestles in 20 acres of woodlands in a part of Britain the Countryside Commission has recently designated as one of the three remaining havens of tranquillity in the country.

Best for - “a family break with the dogs”

The Cider Mill in The Wye Valley is a child and dog-friendly cottage, which sleeps seven in a lovely Herefordshire location. Located on a 15th century farmstead, the cottage has many of its original and historic features, and boasts views over countryside and the river - with full fishing rights.

Best for - “a budget break”

Camping Pods in Eskdale, in The Lake District can sleep up to four people in a secure, wooden shelter. The Camping & Caravanning Club’s pods are made from locally sourced timber and insulated with wool, so that all you need to bring is your camping gear - minus the tent!

Best for - “a night under the stars in an African style Safari tent”

Teversal Safari Tent, on the edge of the Peak District, gives happy-glampers the chance to camp beneath the stars in African-style safari tents. And it’s all on the doorstep of some stunning English scenery, near to Chesterfield! Escape the urban jungle and spend a in the Camping and Caravanning Club Site’s newest Safari tent.

Best for – “a chance to get active in the forest”

Rosliston Forest Lodges in the National Forest offer accommodation in log cabins, which are close to quiet country footpaths and bike trails. The nearby Forestry Centre offers a host of outdoor pursuits and courses for all the family - from fishing to falconry; and orienteering to archery.

Best for - “an opportunity to get to know someone a little better”!

Little Owl Cottage in North Devon is…tiny! A Grade II listed thatched cottage, hidden away in the small village of Knowstone on the edge of Exmoor, it’s also just a couple of strides from a Michelin-starred pub. Little Owl is ideal for a romantic night in. It’s also directly on a couple of footpaths, which lead into the neighbouring National Park.

Best for - “Just Because”!

Millbrook in North Devon is a boutique award-winning, luxury, romantic location featuring four luxury holiday cottage. Millbrook offers accommodation for couples, on a secluded 32-acre estate, and specialises in romantic occasions - offering honeymoons, engagements, anniversaries, birthdays to remember and most importantly 'Just Because'! Pet Friendly in two cottages, there is also fishing on site, and some great local pubs nearby

Best for - “a romantic weekend away”

Coppett Cottage in The Wye Valley is one of six superb holiday cottages on the 15th century farmstead of Mainoaks, in Herefordshire. A romantic hideaway for two, it’s actually described as their “honeymoon cottage”. A gem of a property, it combines a cosy downstairs area with wood burning stove with a striking open-plan bedroom and bathroom upstairs. The private garden and seating area outside completes the picture.

Best for - “a shortbreak overseas”

Mountains View in Dorf, Austria, is a luxuriously appointed chalet sleeping six (four adults and two children) in three separate bedrooms, with two bathrooms. The chalet features a large open plan living area, a balcony with incredible views, and a spacious terrace. Mountains' View is an ideal base for both skiing in the winter, and for exploring nearby Innsbruck and Salzberg in the summer.

A New Star Shines Brightly in the Cotswolds

I’ve been asked for recommendations on the best places to eat in The Cotswolds more times than…well, more times than I’ve had hot dinners, really.

So when a new Bistro opens its doors to the public in this part of Britain, there’s inevitably going to be a lot of interest in its location, its menu, its service, its décor, and its potential to survive in a very competitive marketplace.

Star Bistro opened four months ago. Just a few miles from Cheltenham town centre, along a leafy lane on The Cotswolds Way, and located within the grounds of Ullenwood Manor, it’s the brainchild (no less) of “The Cotswold Chef”, the highly talented and hugely amiable Mr Rob Rees MBE.

It’s a £4-million new-build, with a light and spacious dining area, bedecked with fresh flowers, chalkboard menus and an open plan kitchen - where you can see head chef Matt Black and his brigade transform top quality local produce into delicious meals.

“But local produce is last year’s story,” says The Cotswold Chef. “Waste management is the new local produce!”

It’s a philosophy which takes a little while to comprehend. And one which, in truth, may not be noticed by 90% of the people who dine here. But it’s also one of the (many) factors which helps to make a meal at Star Bistro such a memorable experience. Because the concept is that of a traditional French bistro where the emphasis is on a smaller menu, focusing on whatever seasonal produce happens to be available, and then making the most of that produce to prepare an outstanding dish.

That’s why you could start with Painswick Valley Wild Garlic Soup, for example – where the first wild garlic of the season is served with croutons and snipped chives. Or how about the Nettle Gnocchi – featuring potato and hand-picked nettles (no less!) pan dried and served with a leek and parsley velouté and goats cheese. Whereas I (as an inhabitant of The Potteries) opted for Omelette Arnold Bennett – cooked to absolute perfection and delivered to the table before I had time to explain to my dining companions why “Anna of the Five Towns” is one of my all-time favourite reads.

The choice of main course should be easy. After all - there’s usually only four. But on the day I ate there, it was Veal Blanquette from the local Pancake Farm, Pan Fried Hake, a short crust Fennel Pie or Duck Salad with confit leg medallion pickled pear and an orange and fennel salad. I’d have been happy with any one of them. But I was absolutely over the moon with the Duck Salad. And I’ll remember the taste and texture of those confit leg medallions for a long, long time!

The Prune Soufflé - marinated in Armagnac and served with brandy custard - sounded glorious, but sitting (as I was) with Rob Rees I felt obliged to opt for the Cotswold Chef Chocolate Fondant with salted caramel sauce and vanilla and Marsala ice cream - along with a bill for just £20.

As lunches go, it’ll be hard to beat this new Cotswolds gem. And The Cotswold Chef is hoping his shooting Star will one day gain a couple of AA rosettes, and even a Bib Gourmand from Michelin.

“This is no ordinary Bistro,” he adds.

And how right he is. It’s providing a quality dining experience for its customers, using the finest local ingredients and in so doing developing a truly local and sustainable supply chain.

It’s also based in the National Star College, and is staffed by students who are disabled, but now gaining real world learning in a safe working environment.

But don’t just go there to support two deserving charities. Go there to celebrate the emergence of a great new place to eat, and for one of the best value-for-money meals you’re likely to find in The Cotswolds.

For more details take a look here.

Little Owl is Blinking Great!

Somewhere on the edge of Exmoor, in the tiny village of Knowstone, Little Owl has managed to build its cosy nest between Cluny Cottage and Gossip Cottage (don’t you just love that name!).

Small, but perfectly formed, Little Owl is precisely the kind of one-up three-down thatched cottage in Devon which holiday makers are prepared to search the web for hours to find. Not least, in this instance, because it’s fewer than 20 paces to a multi-award winning Michelin pub!

Add to that the fact that it’s packed with all of the latest gizmos and gadgets to while away the wettest of weekend afternoons, but also so near to the Two Moors Way footpath that you could actually make a start on it simply by rolling out of bed, and it’s easy to see why this is destined to become one of the most talked-about holiday cottages in the South West of England.

It’s a romantic retreat. A hidden hideaway for two. A cliché in a cottage!

From the moment you turn off the A361, which runs from Junction 27 of the M5 to Barnstaple, you can feel the weight of the 21st century world slipping from your shoulders.

Within seconds, you’re crossing a cattle grid, and winding your way up the quiet country lane towards the village. Those with true “insiders’ knowledge” will pause briefly at the local farm to buy a few free range eggs for breakfast, before carrying on into a village strewn with thatched cottages and the imposing St Peter’s Church.

Just look at the names on the sides of the properties - Rose Cottage, April Cottage, The Old School. And then look more closely still to find the Little Owl (the clue is in the stained glass window on its green-painted door).

Inside, upstairs, and under the thatch, there’s the cosiest looking double bed you’re ever likely to see. Downstairs, it’s hard to decide how best to relax. With a drink from the well-stocked Honesty Bar? With a DVD in front of the TV? With a good book in front of the log burner? Or with a glass of wine in the garden which overlooks Exmoor countryside.

Or, how about starting with Pork and Chicken Liver Terrine, moving on to a Roulade of Pork Belly, and finishing with a Vanilla Berry Trifle next-door-but-one, at 13th century Mason’s Arms?

Short breaks are the real speciality of Little Owl.

Short, but frequent, is even better.

For full details, visit Little Owl's website.

A Good Address

The Belgians have a wonderful question.

“Do you have a good address?”

Whether it’s asked in Flemish, French or English, it only ever has one meaning: “Have you got any good tips on places to eat, or stay?”

Well, just about everyone visiting the Champagne-Ardenne department of France, will already know of at least one address in Épernay - the spectacular Avenue de Champagne. A street which stands comparison with some of the most iconic avenues and boulevards in the world, punctuated - as it is - with the names of Caves Moët & Chandon, Champagne Perrier-Jouët, Champagne de Venoge and the Caves Mercier.

But there’s another address that visitors to Epernay should also jot down. And that’s 9 Rue Jean Thévenin, 51200 Épernay, France. The home of the Famille Buezelin; and the location of Les Chambres d'hôtes Les Epicuriens. The perfect example of “a good address”.

Situated half way up a quiet side street, and just around the corner from yet another of Épernay’s many champagne caves, this unassuming house now opens its doors in welcome to visitors from all corners of the globe. You only need to look through their Visitor Book to find that out for yourself - and to discover their universal approval of the place, its owner, the food, the drink, and the experience on offer.

Guests staying here have the choice of just two rooms. Both are located on the ground floor, and everyone tends to keep themselves very much to themselves. But then, why would you want to go very far at all when you have a lounge, bedroom, bathroom and outside patio to enjoy?

And why go to all that bother of dressing-up for dinner, and heading back into town, when this opportunity (quite literally) knocks?

Tap-tap. Open the door, and Laure brings you a glass of vintage champagne to enjoy with some home made nibbles. Tap-tap. It’s your starter - accompanied by a full bottle of champagne. Tap-tap. Main course….and the speciality of the house: the finest veal dumplings you’ll ever taste in your life. Tap-tap. Space for some local cheeses? “The blue goes especially well with the champagne”. Tap-tap. Dessert - a melt-in-your-mouth crumble topped off with the famous pink Biscuit Fossier. Tap-tap. “I’ll take everything away now. Good night. Sleep well. What time would you like me to deliver your breakfast in the morning?”

It’s a genuine taste of Champagne. All locally sourced, home made, and introduced with a little anecdote from Laure about the man who runs the cheese stall in the town market, and an invitation to join her on a tour of a nearby champagne cave the next day.

That’s right. She knows “a good address”…!

The Nuts and Bolts of France

What’s the most iconic landmark in France?

It has to be the Eiffel Tower - that unmistakable, 120-years-old wrought iron lattice edifice, standing on the Champ de Mars, in Paris.

But holding it all together are 2.5 million rivets, shipped-in from another part of the country altogether. The French equivalent, perhaps, of Ironbridge in Shropshire, The Ardennes is “home” to a fascinating industrial heritage - which can be explored today in a number of different locations.

First stop is Bogny-sur-Meuse, where the Musée de la Métallurgie Ardennaise offers a fascinating insight into how this valley flourished in the same way the Ironbridge Gorge prospered as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. The nuts-and-bolts capital of France, it was here that the rivets were made for the Eiffel Tower, and here where - today - parts of the French and German automotive industry are still manufactured.

An introductory video and English-speaking audio trail of the museum give visitors a clear understanding of the region’s rich industrial heritage, in a part of France where - once again, like Shropshire - you’ll find folklore and legend in its hillsides and valleys.

Odd as it sounds, we actually counted our shoes as we left The French Ardennes. Folklore has it that little beings called "Nutons" love nothing better than to spirit them away for repair. And that an equally mischievous bunch, the "Pie-Pie Van-Vans", are ready to lead you astray if you go down to the woods at night.

These northern borders of France, which share the dense Ardennes forests with Belgium, is where history gives way to legend, man-made castles rub shoulders with weird rock formations. And where sometimes it's hard to distinguish fact from fiction.

Did four rebel knights really escape to safety on the back of a horse capable of leaping the River Meuse? A stone statue high on the hills overlooking Bogny-sur-Meuse will make you think they did. Were three unfaithful wives of soldiers fighting in the Crusades really turned to stone? A rocky outcrop dominating one of the banks of the river might just convince you that they were…

Back on the industrial heritage trail around The French Ardennes, the next stop is the Domaine de Vendresse. Recently refurbished and newly reopened, the story of how iron was cast in this part of France is told in such a theatrical way that will have the hairs on the back of your neck standing on end.

And then, finally, it’s off to see Woinic. If the Eiffel Tower is the symbol of France, and the Angel of the North is the iconic landmark of Northumberland, then Woinic is the symbol of the French Ardennes. Standing 10 meters high and weighing over 50 tonnes, Woinic has been positioned on the highway A34.

The artist who created Woinic in Bogny-sur-Meuse, Eric Slésiak, took 11 years and 12,000 working hours to create this giant sculpture from small metal pieces. Both Italy and Belgium wanted Woinic, but the giant boar (held together with rivets which were made here) quite rightly stands at the approach to Charleville-Mézières.

Travel with P&O Ferries from Dover to Calais, and stay in the comfortable Auberge de l’Abbaye in Signy l’Abbaye, where you will dine on meats from their own organic farm; or in the Hotel le Chateau Fort, a four star hotel actually located inside Northern Europe’s largest fortress.

For more details, visit www.ardennes.com.

A Trip to See the Place of the Pixies

If you’d like to see what was showing in the cinema room of what, not so very long ago, was arguably the best council flat in the whole of Britain, you’ll need to make your way to one of the most popular tourist attractions in Staffordshire.

Shugborough is described as a “complete working historic estate”. Which explains why you’ll come across role-playing members of staff wearing period costumes in the farm, dairy, kitchens, laundry and brewery. And why the mansion house gives a very clear impression of “how the other half lived”.

We’ve all enjoyed Downton Abbey and Upstairs Downstairs on television. But it’s only when you visit somewhere like Shugborough that you really understand why the kitchens are so very far away from the dining room. (If there was a fire in the kitchens, it was going to be easier to replace the staff, than replace the valuable paintings and possessions in the mansion house!).

And that just about sums the place up. You can get a fantastic history lesson as you tour the working quarters, mansion house, farm and parklands here. Or, you can entertain yourself by chatting to a kitchen maid from 1871, who’s looking forward to a pay rise from the five guineas and gallons of beer she’s allocated by the great-and-the-good running the estate in Victorian times.

Everyone who visits Shugborough will take their own, favourite experiences home with them - from petting the new animals in the Victorian farmstead, through to going ghost hunting in the State Bedroom, where the presence of Lady Harriet is still felt to this very day. (Just ask the small child, who ran from the room recently after pointing at the dressing table, while shouting “Look at the lady. Look at the lady!”).

Shugborough as you see it today was created out of a small portion of the fabulous wealth plundered from the Spanish by the first Lord of the Admiralty, George Anson. His prize money (from the 1,313,843 pieces of eight from the Nuestra Señora de Covadonga, which he delivered back to the British crown in 1743) made him a rich man for life, and enabled his heirs to rebuild the fabulous Shugborough Estate in Staffordshire.

Most famous amongst those heirs, perhaps, was the “royal photographer” Lord Patrick Lichfield, who guided the estate through its most difficult period in history when double death duty meant it needed to be saved by the County Council and the National Trust. Part of the agreement entitled Patrick Lichfield to lease an apartment of rooms within the mansion house – a move which enabled Lichfield himself to call it the best council flat in England!

It was here - during the Seventies and Eighties, in particular - he hosted and photographed many of the best-known and most beautiful celebrities of a generation.

These private apartments were finally opened to the public last year, and offer a glorious glimpse into a more contemporary life above stairs. Lichfield’s photographs decorate the walls, and many of his personal possessions (including a guide to movies which could be watched in his private cinema) are scattered about the place.

Shugborough, meanwhile, also played a part in J.R.R.Tolkien's formative days as an author of epic tales and fantasy worlds.

The author suffered from trench fever in World War One and was sent back to Britain, where he served at Cannock Chase, during the winter of 1916-17. He lived in a cottage in Great Haywood; and it was here that he wrote many of his tales and created mythical kingdoms populated by elves, orcs, trolls, dwarves and hobbits.

The Tale of the Sun and Moon, in The Lost Tales, makes a direct reference to the village of Tavrobel which, according to his son, Christopher, was based on Great Haywood.

In the tale, Eriol is encouraged to "sojourn a while in Tavrobel" and it is suggested to him that he takes up the hospitality of a gnome called Galfanon "whose ancient house, the House of a Hundred Chimneys, stands nigh the bridge at Tavrobel". Shugborough Hall itself boasts as many as 80 chimneys, and the sight of this stately home on a winter's day in 1916, with fires lit in all of the rooms, is believed to have stuck in the memory of the young soldier.

Shugborough (derived from the phrase “meeting place of the pixies”) remains a natural source of inspiration for anyone in search of fantasy worlds. Its parkland and gardens, along with an eye-catching collection of 'follies' of historical significance, grew out of a desire on the part of Patrick Lichfield's forefathers to produce a magical landscape on the edge of Cannock Chase.

For further information, visit www.shugborough.org.uk

Stoke-on-Trent: Where to Find the Best of British

The Olympic Games, the Diamond Jubilee, 200 years of Dickens and 50 years of James Bond: it’s going to be a special year for Britain, and one which will put the country under the spotlight like never before.

So where - in Stoke-on-Trent and “The Potteries - can visitors expect to find the “Best of British”?

Well here’s our very own “Top 12 for ‘12”:

1. Emma Bridgewater.

No other ceramic designer has captured the traditional mood of Britain quite as well as Emma Bridgewater. So it’s not surprising to learn that she won gold in the “Best of British” category at the recent House Beautiful Awards. Her range of Jubilee ware has just been launched - and universally acclaimed. Best (of British) of all, you can go behind-the-scenes at her factory in Stoke-on-Trent to see it actually being made.

2. The Wedgwood Visitor Centre and Museum.

Created well over 200 years ago, Wedgwood has become an icon of British design, and now boasts an award-winning Museum and Visitor Centre at its headquarters in Stoke-on-Trent. An official supplier of merchandise for the London 2012 Games, they are also producing a fabulous range of ware for Her Majesty’s Jubilee.

3. Jan Constantine at Trentham Estate.

Yet another great contemporary British designer, Stoke-on-Trent based Jan Constantine led from the front when it came to putting the Union Flag on the textiles and soft furnishings of a nation. More recently, she has opened her very first flagship store, in the Trentham Shopping Village.

4. The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery.

As well as boasting one of the finest ceramic collections in the world, The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery is now also home to the Staffordshire Hoard – the finest collection of Anglo-Saxon treasures ever found in this country, and an incredible piece of British history.

5. Moorcroft Heritage Visitor Centre.

A British ceramics factory, with British artists, and all made in England! Said to be the finest art pottery in the world today with a Global Collectors’ Club of around 10,000 people, Moorcroft pushes the boundaries of British ceramic art. The Moorcroft Heritage Visitor Centre in Burslem, meanwhile, is a ‘must see’ for anyone interested in art history and the living world of the applied arts.

6. The Titanic Brewery (and its real ale pubs dotted around The Potteries!).

Named after the ship which was skippered by Hanley-born Captain Edward Smith, The Titanic Brewery offers the very best of British real ales.

7. The Wizard of the Dribble.

At No.7 (what other number could it possibly be!?), the first knight of British football, Sir Stanley Matthews is one of The Potteries greatest ever sons. And while Potters fans might argue that their beloved Premier League side are still the Best of British, visitors to the Britannia Stadium these days will be treated to the sight of one of the very best football statues commemorating the Wizard of the Dribble in full flight.

8. Burleigh.

Another iconic British brand, Burleigh is the last working Victorian pottery factory in the UK. Still using techniques from yesteryear, all of the ware is hand-made in Stoke-on-Trent, the world capital of ceramics. The Prince’s Regeneration Trust, meanwhile, is embarking on an ambitious and long term conservation and regeneration project of the site over the next couple of years.

9. Paddington Bear.

Yup – a good old marmalade-eating bear from South America, but as British as a nice cup of tea in London town! Just look at the latest range of Spode ware…

10. The Spitfire Galley.

Do we really need to say anything more? Stoke-on-Trent was the birthplace of engineer and aircraft designer Reginald Mitchell CBE, who designed arguably the most famous combat aircraft in British history - The Spitfire. Step inside the renowned Mitchell Gallery in the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery in the city centre and you’ll actually come face-to-face with a Mark XVI Spitfire. The story of this remarkable aircraft and its Stoke-on-Trent designer is one you’ll remember forever.

11. Trentham Gardens.

In four years time the whole Olympic Games circus will have moved-on from London, to Rio de Janeiro. And while Brazil celebrates the greatest show on earth, Britain will focus (amongst other things) on the 300th anniversary of the birth of the great British garden designer, Capability Brown…one of the famous names behind the magnificent Trentham Gardens, in Stoke-on-Trent. But you don’t need to wait four years. Come any time, and you’ll be able to see his influence on an estate which now boasts one of the most-visited gardens in the UK.

12. Moorlands Pottery.

Step inside any gift shop, or department store in a UK city, or town, and chances are you’ll see an example of Moorland Pottery’s designs which capture the very essence of Britain. If you’re not familiar with their ‘Stokie’ ware, ‘Scouser’ ware, ‘Geordie’ ware, ‘Brummie’ ware, and ‘Yorkie’ ware, take a look at their website, or visit their showroom in Stoke-on-Trent, to enjoy some Best of British humour!

For further details, visit: www.visitstoke.co.uk featuring a special section dedicated to the Diamond Jubilee Year.

History in the Making...of Mainoaks 15th Century Farmstead

Guests driving down a single-track lane to reach their accommodation at Mainoaks 15th century farmstead in the stunning Wye Valley also travel several centuries back in time.

Luxury four-star self catering cottages, along with a range of options on what to see and do, and where to eat, may await – but not one person arrives here without asking the exact same question….

“What’s the history of this place?”

The flippant answer would be: “its unique selling point”!

But the true story also helps to explain why (should you need to stop the car and ask someone for directions to get here) you actually need to ask for “Mannox” - since the property derives its name from the Manok family, of which a certain Robert Manok was one of the jurors of the Inquisition post mortem on Elizabeth Talbot taken on the 10th December, 1372, at neighbouring Goodrich.

The main house (the Old Hall, which is now converted into The Cider Mill and Peregrine Cottage) was probably first constructed in the 15th century, with later additions in the 16th century. Records then show that by the 17th century the farm was owned by the prominent Weare family, who may have married into the Manok family, or acquired the farm from them. The property then remained in their ownership until the death of William Weare in the late 18th century.

He left two infant sons…and some very large debts, which led to their dispossession and the disposal of the property. At the time of the Tithe Map (1838), Mainoaks was owned by William Henry Ross who also owned the adjoining farm, Rocklands.

Fast-forward a couple more centuries, to a time when tourism is about to take off, and you’ll find the Old Hall and farmstead being converted into Mainoaks Holiday Cottages by the then-owners, the Unwin family, who realised that the property actually stood a better chance of surviving (and thriving) as self-catering holiday cottages.

Mainoaks, of course, is also fortunate in also being able to offer fishing on the River Wye; and opposite the property is the site of an old weir commonly used for Wye salmon fishing. More recently, Wye Valley fishing has become renowned for its coarse fishing - River Wye barbel and pike being particularly popular.

The latest chapter in Mainoaks’ history was written in time for the 2012 season, with the full and final refurbishment of the property - giving visitors from all corners of the world the chance to stay in the choice of six four-star (and very historic) self-catering cottages.

Family-friendly and dog-friendly, it ticks every box when it comes to a get-away-from-it-all short break or holiday in the heart of the country. Switch-off the PC and the television, and it becomes the perfect antidote to the stresses and pressures of current day life. But switch them both back on again, and the free WiFi connection, DVD players and iPod docks offer all of the home comforts you’d expect in any cottage of this quality.

The Wye Valley on the English-Welsh border, meanwhile, has been farmed, fought-over and enjoyed for centuries. And careful the restoration and refurbishment of Mainoaks has ensured that while none of the history has been lost, it can actually be seen in the very fabric and wooden beams of every cottage.

So fire-up your log-burning stove with an endless supply of logs from the nearby barn, sit back, and relax.

Everything else - from fabulous footpaths to fine dining, private angling, outdoor pursuits to fine dining – is either on your doorstep, or just a short drive away.
A short drive from the A40, it’s also a short cut to the perfect break.

For FULL details, visit www.mainoaks.co.uk.

Keep Calm - Grow Hostas!

There are some people you meet in this life who you just know have the ability to turn anything they touch into gold.

Tim Penrose is one of those people.

The youngest, and then most successful, undertaker in the business, conducting – amongst others - funerals for the elite 22 SAS Regiment; a one-time owner of the UK’s “Teahouse of the Year”, in Birmingham (awarded by Egon Ronay, no less); and now, a nurseryman boasting 24 RHS gold medals (seven of them from the World Cup of all gardens events, The Chelsea Flower Show) and one exceedingly rare Royal Warrant to His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales.

It’s a Midas touch honed out of hard work, rather than educational qualifications. A supposition verified by the fact that he was expelled from school at a very tender age for impersonating his teachers (and, at a guess, annoyingly well!).

Fast-forward several years, and there’s another anecdote linking his past to his present. For the story goes that on Press Day at Chelsea last year, Michael Caine and his wife Shakira Baksh were standing close to Tim Penrose’s gold medal winning display of hostas when the actor was heard to exclaim: “I can’t believe how quiet it is today”.

To which a voice (the prefect match of Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead, no less) was heard to reply: “Ah, it may be quiet today. But tomorrow, coming over that hill, there will be Zulus…thousands of ‘em.”

The smile that drew from Michael Caine says it all.

This is someone who is once again at the very top of his chosen profession…and is not afraid to tell the world (and his wife!) about it.

So how did we get here? Via his first job, as an undertaker, which he managed to win as a bet! (Following his expulsion from school, he bet a friend that of the two of them, he’d find gainful employment the quickest. And having identified the funeral business as one which was most likely to have some openings, he secured his first job largely as a result of going round to the home of the local undertaker’s house and cleaning his car for him).

By the age of 18, he had become the youngest Funeral Director in Britain. But eight years later, following a six week crash course at McDonalds, he decided to open a coffee shop in Birmingham. Only this was no ordinary coffee shop. It was all Twenties music, wicker chairs, and staff wearing uniforms which looked like they had been preserved through time. And it was soon to be recognised as the finest example of its kind in the country.

Having percolated to the top in his second profession, he then decided the time was right to switch careers yet again, and to buy Bowden Hostas, in Devon – which had been successfully run by the parents of Tim’s wife, Ruth, for many years. That was in 2004, and the rest, as they say, is history (still in the making). Because, with seven Chelsea Flower Show Gold Medals and one Royal Warrant already to his name, Penrose is not simply looking to get his hostas, ferns and grasses into everyone’s gardens, but is also aiming to revolutionise the horticultural landscape of Great Britain!

“The industry needs to be shaken up a bit,” he begins. “It’s full of some lovely people, but we all have to move on. I’m passionate about our product because it really is so good. But what we intend to do now is combine that with the best way to love the customer to death (pardon the pun) in terms of retail sales and home delivery – via our annual catalogues, as well as online. You’ll have never seen the like of it before in this industry: think Lakeland or Boden. We have a phenomenal brand, a business plan, superb specialists working with us and a vision.”

Part of the plan is to buy-up struggling nurseries and apply the Bowden technique. It was a skill learned at the footstool of his former boss Howard Hodgson, who started with a family funeral business in 1976 and who, 14 years later sold 567 branches for £30 million!

“It works because some of these older, greyer, but incredibly wise people don’t want to stand around at flower shows anymore, yet they still have a yearning to be involved,” continues Pentrose. “Their knowledge is phenomenal; it has to be preserved. And we have a formulae for doing just that!” He adds: “We’ll turn over around £500,000 this year. But our aim is for £2.5 million in three year’s time. And we will do it!”

The first acquisition for Bowden, for example, has been the renowned Rickards Ferns, languishing at the top of a hill near Snowdonia. Penrose saw it was for sale, took-off there in a hire van and, 24 hours later, bought the nursery there-and-then. And by teaming-up with the likes of Martin Rickard, Piet Oudolf, and Prince Charles’ former head-gardener David Howard, what Tim is now hoping to do is offer gardening enthusiasts something completely different – an exclusive Bowden membership card with many privileges.

And guess what: it’s gold!

It makes the inaccessible, accessible: a day’s wild-ferning with Martin Rickard; a one-to-one tour of a garden with David Howard.

For further details, visit www.bowdenhostas.com.

12 for '12 Alternative Olympic Venues

We keep being told that the eyes of the world will be fixed on London during the Olympic Games. Some of us beg to differ. So here’s our “Twelve for ‘12” reasons to cast your eyes elsewhere in Britain this summer.

1. Much Wenlock, Shropshire

Who can resist the story of the “birthplace of the modern international Olympic Games”….in a lovely little medieval town, in Shropshire? Not the world’s press – that;’s for sure! It’s been told and retold the world over. And – who knows? Without the 1850 Wenlock Olympian Games, and the 125 which have followed year-on-year, would we even be looking forward to London 2012? Follow the self-guided Olympian trail around the town, and visit the newly refurbished Much Wenlock Museum to discover the full story.

2. The Cotswolds Olimpicks, Gloucestershire

2012 will always be remembered as the year that…The Cotswolds celebrated 400 years of the Olimpick Games! A true forerunner of the modern Olympics, they were created by Robert Dover who took as his blueprint the ancient games of Greece. Now, 400 years later, they are still alive and shin-kicking, on a hill above Chipping Campden.

3. Be a happy camper

And you couldn’t possibly be any happier if you’ve just found a way of staying in London at the time of the London 2012 Games for just £7.50 a night. That’s exactly what the Camping & Caravanning Club of Great Britain are offering visitors from around the globe - in four temporary pitches in London, and one in Windsor Great Park. With all the facilities you’d expect from a Camping & Caravanning site, they will also have giant TV screens, and all the atmosphere of an international Olympic village!

4. The Cotswolds Artist

Jeremy Houghton is one of the country’s official Olympic artists, and lives in the beautiful Cotswolds village of Broadway – which just so happens to have its own, major Arts Festival in June. A celebration of the village’s artistic heritage and its enduring relationship with a world-famous colony of American artists and writers who visited and worked here in the 19th century, the Broadway Arts Festival commemorates the fact that painters, actors, writers, their families and friends visited and worked here in the 19th century, including John Singer Sargent, William Morris, Francis Millet, Alfred Parsons, Henry James and JM Barrie. One great “insider tip” is that from time to time, Olympic artist Jeremy Houghton offers guided tours of his beloved Broadway to visitors to the Cotswolds.

5. Let’s get the party started

Of all the pre-Olympic celebrations being scheduled to take place around the UK in 2012, a key highlight in the calendar will be those taking place in Derby - especially as it will be adding to the occasion the largest free outdoor classical concert and firework display in Britain. Perfectly located geographically to attract a massive crowd, Derby is already planning one of the nation’s “super parties” for the night of Friday, June 29th. The City is determined to make the most of the fact that it will be one of only 10 UK venues chosen to host the flame on a Friday night, and has moved its annual Darley Park classical music concert to Saturday 30 June to coincide with what promises to be one of the biggest weekends on the Midlands calendar in 2012.

6. A non-Olympics sailing event

Not everyone wants to sit in front of a TV screen watching sport throughout the whole of August. So what better way to escape all the furore of the Olympic Games than by joining a gentle cruise - without going abroad? English Holiday Cruises are the UK equivalent of the Rhine cruises, with regular sailings along the River Severn. And best of all for anyone wanting to avoid the Olympics, there isn’t a TV on board!

7. 20.12, but not 2012

Hadley Park House Hotel in Shropshire has come up with a novel way of marking one of the most important years in UK history. Sunday lunches have been re-priced £20.12 for the coming year, and it’s also possible to book a room at £20.12 per person (room only, based on two people sharing), so long as you also buy breakfast and an evening meal. But when it comes to making a great escape from the endless coverage of the Games - this has been designated an Olympics free zone throughout August.

8. Step back in time at Mainoaks

This is another of the UK’s self-proclaimed Olympics-free zones. There will be no giant TV screens, no street parties, and no obvious connection with whatever happens to be taking place in London this August. Just make your way along the single-track lane, and back through more than six centuries of history, to hide yourself away in one of the recently refurbished cottages on this magnificent 15th century farmstead.

9. Ironbridge – exhibition on sport

A vibrant, and technologically advanced exhibition, on show in Shropshire up to September 9th, 2012, focuses on the relationship between science and sport, including how technological advancements have shaped achievements and performance in the elite sporting world. The star exhibit is the Olympic 8 rowing boat that won gold for Great Britain in the Sydney Olympics. There are also interactive displays using techniques such as stop-motion photography and sporting timelines to examine the technologies behind ball sports including squash, developments in cycling and recent technological advances in swimming and gymnastics, along with modern Paralympic sports including archery.

10. Olympic souvenirs

Head to Stoke-on-Trent at The Potteries for some of the nation’s best official merchandise. You can buy it anywhere in Britain, but if you really want to go the extra mile, then you really need to visit Stoke-on-Trent to buy some of Jan Constantine’s cushions from her first ever flagship store at Trentham, or to go behind-the-scenes at Wedgwood to see how the fine china souvenirs are actually manufactured.

11. Become an Olympian athlete

If you enter the road race in the 126th Wenlock Olympian Games in July (and manage to finish it!) then you, too, will be able to call yourself an Olympian athlete.

12. Celebrate in style

Where is the best place in Britain to celebrate gold this year? We’d argue the case for Derby. Why? Because the Good Beer Guide named it ‘The First City for Beer’, with the ‘Perfect Pub Crawl’ in Britain. With more real ales per head of population than anywhere else in Britain, and several micro-breweries producing over 245 different ciders and ales, the city has long promoted its microbreweries and Real Ale Festivals as one of the main reasons for visiting the city. Better news still is that it’s now possible to experience Derby's thriving real ale culture with one of the new mini bus tours around some of Derby's hidden real ale gems. The tour includes time at one of Derby's many microbreweries, as well as a selection of carefully chosen real ale establishments.

The Brecon Beacons: By Royal Appointment

It would appear to be quite easy to follow in the footsteps of Royalty on a tour of The Brecon Beacons.

It's a fairly well-known fact that HRH Prince Charles has an estate near to Llandovery, on the western edges of this glorious National Park.

But what few people know, is that it's also possible to spend a day in The Brecon Beacons striding-out across some of the footpaths which he has probably trodden, sampling the Welsh whisky he himself has seen being stilled, and even getting behind the wheel of a vehicle which, as visitors to a recent exhibition noticed, clearly captured the attention of the Prince of Wales.

The Brecon Beacons, of course, is one of the UK's finest natural playgrounds.

The wide open spaces, and miles of footpaths, make it an obvious pick for anyone interested in walking, horse riding, or mountain biking.

But now, there's yet another eco-friendly, and very green mode of transport available to anyone who spends a night or two in The Brecon Beacons.

The b-bug is powered by electricity which can be traced back to rainwater, they can be delivered to your accommodation, and used on the Brecon Beacons' highways and byways by anyone in possession of a fully compreensive insurance policy.

One of 4 winners at the Green Dragons' Den Sustainable Development Challenge which ran at the 2010 Hay Festival, the project was awarded £10,000 by the Welsh Assembly Government in order to design and build two open-air, electrically-powered, road-legal buggies (b-bugs) for use in the Brecon Beacons National Park in 2011.

They offer an alternative way to travel around the area, and consume only 'locally sourced' electricity - generated by the Talybont-on-Usk micro hydro scheme (hence the idea of "rain-powered transport").

Just imagine... waking up in a self catering cottage in some of the wildest, most remote countryside in Britain, and then going to collect your daily newspaper in an electronic vehicle capable of a top speed of 30mph. Or driving through the country lanes and market towns of The Brecon Beacons before plugging it into the mains while you enjoy a pub lunch.

As easy to drive as a go-kart, it's an exhilarating experience. And with only two pedals to think about - the accelerator and the brake - it takes just two minutes of instructions, and then five minutes of driving along the quiet Brecon Beacons' roads to "catch the bug".

Two of the vehicles are currently available, so you will need to be quick to reserve one. But expect these bugs to proliferate rapidly during the coming months and years.

And finally, a health warning: please don't drink and drive.

But DO take the time to call in at the Penderyn whisky distillery (http://www.welsh-whisky.co.uk/) to the south of the national park. It's a genuine eye-opener for anyone who has never taken the time to work out what else the Welsh can do with their rainwater. And the tasting at the end of the tour is a great guide as to what to look out for when you smell and taste this golden nectar.

Where to stay? On a regal tour like this, there really is only one option: one of he Brecon Cottages with some wonderful royal connections - Porthmawr Country House

http://www.breconcottages.com/images/properties/large/portm64_gate_house_ext.jpg

12 for '12 Free Attractions and Activities in the UK

As the recession bites that little bit deeper, everyone seems to be looking for ways of making their pounds and pence stretch that little bit further. So here’s a list of twelve attractions and activity ideas in the UK which you can enjoy in 2012….for free!

1. Visit the “birthplace” of the modern international Olympic Games. If you’ve not heard the news, then a visit to the picturesque mediaeval town of Much Wenlock, in Shropshire, will offer a fascinating insight into the early history of the Olympic Games. You’ll find out why one of the London 2012 Games mascots is called Wenlock, and have the chance to explore a museum which has just reopened its doors following a major refurbishment. More information here.

2. The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery in Stoke-on-Trent offers plenty of fun for all the family. And it’s also the home, now, of the amazing Staffordshire Hoard. Visit the Stoke Museaums website for further details.

3. The purpose-built arts centre QUAD, in Derby, was the first venue outside of London to host a BFI Mediatheque. Put simply - it's a jukebox featuring the best of the BFI archive. Sit back, watch, enjoy….for free! Derby Quad's website.

4. Enjoy The Royal Forest of Dean’s children’s playground, designed by the sculptor Andy Frost. Frost drew inspiration from the history of the Dean as a working forest to provide the play furniture and his sculptures provide a great experience for youngsters up to 12 years old. Various play structures represent aspects of timber production – children can clamber over an oak tree, an old wooden ship under construction, a man and horse leading an old cartload of logs, and woodmen with a crosscut saw, modern lumberjack with chainsaw. And if you have enough energy after all that, stroll round the majestic Sculpture Trail which starts and ends at the rear of Beechenhurst Lodge picnic site. More informaiton here.

5. Go “Walking with Offa” in the Shropshire Hills. Download the maps for free, and enjoy some great pub grub into the bargain!

6. Explore the underwater world of the English Riviera Global Geopark at the fascinating Seashore Centre, in Goodrington. Interactive technology brings the marine environment to life, and you'll discover a whole host of native marine creatures, including the wonderful tompot blennys! The Seashore Centre is just one of the sites run by the Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust, and organises a full programme of fun and educational events throughout the year, including Rock Pool Safaris for all the family. See more on their website.

7. RAF Aerospace Museum, in Cosford, Shropshire. Is this the best free family attraction in the UK? Check it out here.

8. Stroll amongst the many stalls in one of the biggest open-air markets in Britain. Every Monday, Friday and Saturday, between 9 am and 4 pm in Chesterfield. Speciality markets are also held throughout the year, as well as a fabulous Flea Market every Thursday, 9 am to 4 pm, and Farmers' Market on the second Thursday of every month, 10 am to 4 pm. More information here.

9. The Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre in Craven Arms, Shropshire, manages to explain to its visitors the historical, geological and inspirational significance of the magical Shropshire Hills - but in a fun and enjoyable way. Much of it can be accessed entirely free of charge including the café, gallery, shop and surrounding Onny Meadows with its many walks and trails. Visit their website for more information.

10. The Barrow Hill Roundhouse Railway Centre in Derbyshire is Britain's last surviving working Roundhouse. The Centre houses one of the largest collections of diesel, electric and steam locomotives in the country. Entry is free, although donations are always welcome! Details here.

11. Occombe Farm in Paignton, Devon promotes healthy eating and sustainable farming. Spread over 150 acres, it features a farm shop, café, bakery, butchers and study centre, as well as a 2km long nature-trail around a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Its aim is to reconnect people with farming, food and the countryside, and to create a working demonstration organic farm. Occombe Farm.

12. Step out around the magnificent Trentham Estate in Stoke-on-Trent. The parklands can be explored for free – as can the fantastic shops in the Shopping Village. But that’s the place where you may well start to spend some money….! More details here.

The Hidden Gem of France

What’s one of the least well-known, and most under-explored, corner of France?

The French Ardennes, on the northernmost tip of central France. A hidden gem (yes, yes, I know: it’s a cliché - but c’est la vie) of a place. And one of the best places to head for if you’re in search of “real” France.

But don’t think that means it’s backward. Because The French Ardennes these days isn’t at all slow in coming forward.

Let’s take Hotel Dormeur du Val, in the region’s capital of Charleville, as an example.

It’s chic. Boutique. And magnifique. It’s also unlike any other hotel you’re ever likely to stay in. Where else would you find half a bedside lamp embedded into the walls? Or a reception desk doubling-up as a showcase for thee pristine Italian scooters?

But don’t be fooled. For all of its eccentric ways, this four star hotel within such easy walking distance of the railway station is one of the most relaxing places to stay after taking the high speed rail journey from London St Pancras courtesy of Eurostar and the French TGV.

Charleville itself is equally mischievous. Boasting the Place Ducale - one of the finest town squares you’re ever likely to have the pleasure of strolling through and enjoying a cup of coffee in - it is also a centre for Puppets and Marionettes, or “Les Petits Comediéns” as the locals like to call them.

And every two years it’s the venue for one of the greatest festivals of street theatre you’re likely to see: The World Puppet Festival.

Few people know that The French Ardennes is also 'home' to the largest fortified castle in Europe. Fewer still have heard that it's now possible to stay within the walls of Sedan Fort, in Hotellerie du Chateau Fort in Sedan. Another four star hotel, it’s the ideal place to check into if you are wanting to take one of the self-guided audio tours of the castle.

So what else might you be tempted to do while you’re in The French Ardennes? The top tip of the moment is to head for the south of the region, and an attraction which still goes by the name of Nocturnia. Because here, you will find a Wolf Park, where two males and one female are gradually settling in to their new surroundings.

Visit it by day, and you can climb to the top of viewing platforms and get to see the wolves up-close-and-personal. Visit by night and once every month you can be privileged enough to join one of the night tours, during which you’ll hear the howl of the wolf, and see them under the spotlights of the guides.

It’s no surprise to discover that animals have a very special part to play in The French Ardennes. The thickly wooded forests of the Ardennes – once at the crossroads of history - are today idyllic places for walks, as well as a natural habitat for so much wildlife.

One thing you’re unlikely to catch sight of are the Wild Boar. But one thing you will see if you happen to approach Charleville from the south by road is the world’s largest boar. Sculptured in metal, it’s the French Ardennes’ equivalent of The Angel of the North.

Tell your friends about it when you return home, and they might think you’ve had a few glasses too many of the famous Ardennes beer. Tell them all about the Hotel Dormeur du Val, and they’ll be convinced you have!

For rail tickets, contact: Rail Europe www.raileurope.co.uk

Further details about this region of France can be found at www.ardennes.com,

Hotel Dormeur du Val can be seen at www.dormeur.fr

B&B in Brussels

So you’re looking for somewhere that little bit different to stay in Brussels? Somewhere within one minute’s walk of the strikingly beautiful Grand Place. Within two minutes walk of Brussels Central Station. Within earshot of the peel of the Cathedral’s bells.

And best of all, a place where you can book a room with breakfast, for just £80 a night…

I don’t usually blog about places or accommodations outside of my portfolio of clients. But I’ll make an exception on this occasion.

Because I stayed “with Dominique” the last time I was in Belgium.

Well, not actually with Dominique, you understand. This is “Chez Dominique”, ranked as the No.1 B&B on TripAdvisor for Brussels.

My reason for being there was to attend a Meet the Belgian Travel Media event organised by Visit Britain. On occasions like this, it’s easy to go for the soft option, and book a hotel. (And preferably, the hotel where the event is going to be staged).

But this time, I found myself pressing the buzzer at No 27 Rue de la Montagne just a little over two hours after setting off from St Pancras – having made the short hop by train from Brussels Midi to Brussels Central free-of-charge thanks to my Eurostar ticket.

“Bonsoir”.

A voice. Tumbling down the stairs from the first floor of a fairly unpromising entrance hall of a set of apartments on the Rue de la Montagne. (The only other unpromising thing about staying here, by the way, is No.6 on the list of nine terms and conditions you receive when you send over your deposit by PayPal: “Mrs Billy cannot be held responsible in the event of death…”).

The voice is that of Armel, husband of owner Dominique. Together, they run Chez Dominique, which offers B&B in two rooms of their apartment right in the heart of Brussels.

It’s like “coming home”. And once the handshakes, and welcomes in three languages (French mainly, then a smattering of English, and Flemish – if that’s any easier; although I dare say Armel will be able to turn his hand to most languages) are over, you’re directed to your double bedroom.

Mine – large, spotlessly clean, and with ensuite toilet and shower-room - overlooked the cobbled streets of Rue de la Montagne.

Armed with the maps, directions and recommendations Armel provides, it’s easy to explore Brussels from here; and in the morning, you join him for breakfast and conversation over a large dining table while Dominique cooks you boiled eggs, and fetches fresh croissants, fresh coffee and fresh orange juice. And bread.

And jam.

Ham.

And cheese.

Stuffed full of food, as well as more recommendations on places to visit, the bill is settled either by cash, or online by PayPal (no credit cards).

If you prefer the anonymity of being just another guest in a large hotel, if you don’t want to find out more about why Dominique and Armel open-up their lovely home to paying guests, if you wouldn’t feel comfortable being around a table with fellow holiday makers, then this place isn’t for you.

But if you want to gain an insight into where (for example) the best Art Deco café is in Brussels, if you want a fantastic night’s sleep in a beautiful wrought iron bed, and if you don’t want to pay more than £80 for this genuine privilege, I’d thoroughly recommend staying “with Dominique”.

You’ll find more details (and even a photograph of her) here.

Happy Camping!

Never has a year been deliberated so greatly by so many different people for such a lengthy period of time, but you’ll be all glad to know that 2012 is finally here!

And here at The Camping and Caravanning Club, we are determined to play our part in helping to boost domestic tourism by optimising the opportunities provided by the Olympic and Paralympic Games as well as the Diamond Jubilee, which co-incidentally coincides with our National Camping and Caravanning Week (June 2-8).

In 2010 there were just over 12 million overnight camping and caravanning trips taken in England worth over £1.5billion to the economy, and that’s why we will be utilising our campaigns this year to highlight some of the most fantastic and picturesque places to camp and caravan in the UK.

The recent launch of our well-received and much talked about Alternative Decathlon campaign (www.clubfriendlygames.co.uk) has already captured the imagination of both members, of which we have over half-a-million, and non-members, and there is plenty more for us to shout about over the coming months. Watch this space!

We experienced a ‘surprise’ 2011 with the indifferent weather playing its part whilst a lack of consumer confidence, with worries about job security and rising inflation hindering holidaymakers’ bookings.

When the weather is fine then our sites are full to brimming and everyone is enjoying themselves, but miserable conditions triggers fed-up people. Have you ever tried pitching an eight-man tent in the pouring rain? Interesting to say the least!

But with so much taking place in 2012, there is no better time to enjoy our beautiful countryside and coastline than by taking a camping trip.

And if our early Easter indications are anything to go by (15% up on 2010 and 5% up on last year) then people are agreeing with us and are already making plans to celebrate the coming of the Games and Diamond Jubilee within their own communities on our sites across the country.

2012 is undoubtedly a special year for England, with so many opportunities to celebrate our sporting and cultural heritage with the Games at the top of this agenda.

So whether you want to get close to the sporting action (www.2012camping.co.uk) or avoid that hustle and bustle then here at the Club we will do our utmost to match the best the world can offer.

Happy Camping!

Guest Post by Jon Dale, PR Manager, Camping and Caravanning Club

www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk

This is no Ordinary Museum

Under normal circumstances, the £500,000 refurbishment of a small museum in Shropshire would not be a story capable of attracting the interest of the world’s media.

But these are not normal circumstances, and this isn’t simply a small museum in Shropshire.

It’s the year Britain will host the Olympic Games. And this refurbished museum holds many of the artefacts, interpretation panels and memorabilia which help to explain exactly why, without Much Wenlock in Shropshire, there possibly would not have been a “London 2012”. Or an Athens 1896, for that matter.

Much Wenlock is now recognised globally as the place where the idea for an international modern Olympic Games first took shape. And for the last 12 months, the world’s media have been taking the story back with them to China, Japan, Brazil, the United States of America, and most countries in Europe.

Local doctor and philanthropist, Dr William Penny Brookes established the Wenlock Olympian Games in 1850 – now acknowledged as the forerunner to the current international modern Olympics.

Whilst pursuing his own Olympian games in Wenlock, Brookes was also determined to see his vision translated to a wider, international stage. He campaigned vigorously and was in contact with the organisers of the Olympian Games in Athens.

He then shared his vision for an international Olympian festival with Baron de Coubertin, who visited Much Wenlock, and was inspired by Brookes’ ideas. The wealthy and influential French aristocrat subsequently went on to form the International Olympic Congress. The first Games of the modern Olympics took place in Athens in 1896. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Much Wenlock has welcomed visitors to its Museum since 1974. Prior to that, the building had housed the old Market Hall (which closed in 1918), the Community Hall (used for meetings, dances and occasional boxing bouts), and the cinema (which closed in the early 1960s).

Thanks to some hefty Heritage Lottery Funding, the Museum re-opens on February 20th – completely revamped, and ready to welcome visitors from around the globe.

What they will find here will truly amaze them. The birthplace of the modern international Olympic Games now possesses a small, but perfectly formed, Museum telling the story of both town and county, from pre-history to the modern day. Displays explaining how Shropshire’s 300 geological sites dating back over 660 million years cannot be matched anywhere else in the world now rub shoulders alongside a retail area selling both Olympian and Olympic merchandise. And the story of how Hollywood Came to Shropshire (in the shape of Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Jones, who took the lead role in the movie adaptation of local author Mary Webb’s Gone To Earth), is told alongside that of Dr William Penny Brookes – the man whose Olympian Games pre-date most of the sports played in the world today.

The “wow” factor comes in a colourful depiction of an eventful cycle race; and in a sound tower telling the stories of “local characters” – everyone from William Snook (“Local hero, or early sports cheat?”) to Harold Langley (“first competitor in both the Wenlock and International Games”).

Entrance to Much Wenlock Museum is free of charge.

For more details, visit www.muchwenlockguide.info and www.wenlock-olympian-society.org.uk.

12 for '12 Quirky and Characterful Pubs

1. The Stiperstones Inn, Shropshire

Close to Shrewsbury, Shropshire, it takes its name from the weird rock formations of the Stiperstones, where you'll also find 'The Devil's Chair' and all of its associated tales. The Inn itself doubles up as the local post office and shop, and as well as being renowned for its value-for-money meals, is one of the very few places in Britain you'll be able to sample whinberry crumble and custard. The whinberries (or bilberries) being picked from the local hillsides each autumn. Visit The Stiperstones Inn website for more details.

2 & 3. The Royalist, Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire lays claim to the oldest inn in Britain. The Royalist in Stow dates back to 947AD and is a Grade II listed building. Stylishly revitalised by its present owners, it is now one of the places to eat in Gloucestershire. Meanwhile, a short distance away, in the magnificent medieval town of Tewkesbury, the atmospheric Olde Black Bear is said to be the county’s oldest pub. The present building dates from the 16th century and Shakespeare is said to have performed there with his troupe of actors. More information can be found on The Royalist Hotel website, and the Olde Black Bear here.

4. The Brunswick Inn, Derby

This was the first purpose-built railway public house. Constructed in 1842, the pub was restored to its former glory in 1987. These days, a micro-brewery operates on site, and tours can be arranged to see the traditional brewing process first hand. One of the city pubs which has enabled Derby to claim the title of The Real Ale Capital of England, The Brunswick Inn is also on what the 2011 Good Pub Guide described as the best pub crawl in Britain. You can even sing-up to be a brewer for the day here! Take a look at their website for more details.

5. The Plough at Ford, Gloucestershire

Situated between Tewkesbury and Stow-on-the-Wold, this used to be the local courthouse, and what is now the cellar was once the gaol. Directly opposite the pub is a racehorse training area. Breakfasts for travellers en route to the Gold Cup meeting at Cheltenham are on offer, and they also specialise in local asparagus between May and June. Visitors can sample beer brewed near Stow-on-the-Wold. The Plough's website.

6. The Cary Arms Inn, Devon

Hard to believe this place is “simply” an inn. Perched on the cliff edge of Babbacombe Bay, its terraces are where you can sit and enjoy a quiet drink while watching out for seals bobbing their heads above the lapping sea. Some of the best bar food in Britain, and one of the finest places to spend the night, too! More details can be found here.

7. The Plough, Etruria, Stoke-on-Trent

Don’t expect to find a website for The Plough at Etruria. It’s the epitome of a traditional well-run city centre pub. And it wins the hearts, minds and stomachs of everyone who walks through its doors. Well kept real ales, and a menu specialising in (superb) steak and chips which means you need to book-up weeks in advance if you want to dine here on a Friday or a Saturday night makes this a real hidden gem.

8. The Sun at Leintwardine, on the Shropshire/Herefordshire border

One of the few Parlour Pubs in the country, The Sun Inn almost invented the word quirky. Just click onto the link below, and you’ll find 10 facts about The Sun Inn which will keep you entertained while you sup your pint. Take a look here for more details.

9. The Brewery Tap, Derby

Another of the pubs in Derby with its own microbrewery. This one is famous for its Rack - a stylish wooden block containing five 1/3 pint glasses filled with Derby Brewing Company ales to help you find your perfect tipple. Also featuring local cheese, it is now available featuring five lagers, wines, and even whiskeys. The pub’s menu also gives advice on which beer will suit any given dish. The Brewery Tap's website.

10. Three Tuns, Bishops Castle, Shropshire

Not only a fine pub with its own real ales, but also the oldest working brewery in Britain. The first brewing licence at this site was first granted by King Charles I in 1642 - and part of the existing brewery is of 17th century origin. Refurbished and enlarged, it still maintains the spirit of the original pub and is a welcome relief from so many of today’s modern 'theme pubs' as it still retains public bar, snug bar, lounge bar with the addition of a classy oak-framed, glass-sided dining room. Take a look at their website for more details.

11. Ye Olde Dolphin Inne, Derby

Derby likes to think of itself as the Real Ale Capital of England. And its oldest public house dates back to 1530. An attractive old coaching inn sitting close to Derby Cathedral, Ye Olde Dolphin Inne was once an old highwayman's pub. Today its speciality is traditional cask ales. More information here.

12. Real Ale Corner, Chesterfield, Derbyshire

Not strictly a pub, but deserving a mention in this round-up, not least because it was named as the UK’s Independent Beer Retailer of the Year last year. A specialist in local bottled beer, it offers a vast selection of real ales, local bottled beers and ciders from local breweries including Brampton Brewery, Thornbridge Brewery and Peak Ales. They also supply draught real ales and although they are predominantly a shop, they also have outside bar facilities. The Real Ale Corner's website.

Trains, Boats and Plain Old Shanks's Pony

There’s going to be an entirely new way of making your way around the South Devon coastline in 2012.

Available to locals and visitors alike, the trains, boats, ferries, buses and footpaths of the Dartmouth Steam Railway and River Boat Company are now offering a greener, more eco-friendly means of getting round some of the most scenic stretches of the UK’s coastline.

So confident is the DSR&RB Company about its integrated transport system, that it is not only about to launch a new Jubilee Travel Card – similar to the Oyster Card in London – but it is also urging holiday makers coming to the region to leave their cars at home.

Just as the Oyster Card took as its point of reference the Octopus Card in Hong Kong, the Jubilee Card is doffing its cap to the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee year celebrations, and an era when people were happy, comfortable and confident in relying on an efficient public transport system.

And fittingly, at a time when all things vintage are becoming flavour of the month, the DSR&RB Company’s new Jubilee Travel Card relies heavily on some wonderfully old-fashioned but nonetheless reliable modes of transport: steam trains, ferries, boats and even Shanks’s pony!

The innovative offer from the DSR&RB Company is only possible thanks to some aggressive expansions of its operations in the last two to three years. New locos, ferry boats and services have been added to the overall stock; and a vision to help reduce the carbon footprint on this part of the South West coastline has been vigorously pursued.

That has all resulted in the launch of the new Jubilee Travel Card, which is being aimed not only at the holiday makers who have traditionally made such good use of the service, but also at the local population as a means of getting more cars off the roads.

While the DSR&RB website matches the current “retro” trend and epitomises ‘The Golden Age of Steam’, it has also been brought completely up-to-date to become much more user friendly in the way it enables passengers to plan and book their journeys online.

The planner itself can be found at here. Users are then encouraged to select any one of the many routes and tours listed to the right. Further details and the fares for the chosen route can then be selected, along with an itinerary planner – depending on where you plan to join the boat, train, or bus.

From there, it’s a fast track to booking tickets.

The network as a whole, of course, makes it easy for visitors to reach the whole of “Agatha Christie’s Country". A new halt on the steam train line, to be introduced in 2012, for example, will enable passengers to access Agatha Christie’s home of Greenway (now operated by the National Trust) via a short stroll along a public footpath.

Some of the places which can be explored using the new Jubilee Travel Card, meanwhile, include the coastal resorts of Teignmouth, Torquay, Paignton, Brixham, Salcombe and, of course, Dartmouth itself.

For more details visit the DSR&RB Company's website.

Be Driven to Drink, in Derby

Last year, Lonely Planet Magazine named Derby in the same breath as the Indian tourists have of Goa and a collection of beautiful villages in Italy.

Listed fourth in a top ten list of “must see attractions” by the travel magazine, Derby featured alongside fellow UK destinations Thorington (Suffolk), Rye Bay (East Sussex) and London – as well as such world-renowned destinations as Alta Badia in the Italian Dolomites, Tampere in Finland, Sagres in Portugal, the Asturias in Spain, Amiens in France and Goa.

Derby may not be able to compete with the likes of Alta Badia as far as natural beauty is concerned but, according to the magazine’s authors, it does have an outstanding range of real ales, beers and pubs which make it one of the places which their readers should now put at the top of their “must see” places to visit.

Two inns singled out for special praise, the Brunswick and The Falstaff, brew their own ales, with the former offering as many as 14 at any one time. But others, such as The Brewery Tap, Derby’s Royal Standard, add to the whole experience by offering a value-for-money 'Rack' (five 1/3 pint glasses of real ale per two people), brewed at Derby Brewing Company and accompanied with a bowl of locally sourced cheese.

The Lonely Planet accolade came just a couple of months after the Good Beer Guide for 2011 named it the first city of beer, with the best real ale pub crawl in Britain.

Julian Tubbs, the regional director for the Campaign for Real Ale in Derby, said: "It's quite right that the quality of our beers here in Derby has been recognised in this way. I would find it difficult to single out just two pubs in the city, as we have a wealth of great places selling excellent real ale. I've never been to Goa but I'm sure it's nearly as good as Derby, although I doubt the beer is as nice!"

Peter Grunet, editor of Lonely Planet magazine, said: "The challenge was to offer the most imaginative suggestions we could for spending that precious spare time in the months ahead and we feel Derby is a great suggestion for our readers."

With more real ales per head of population than anywhere else in Britain, the city has long promoted its microbreweries and Real Ale Festivals as one of the main reasons for visiting the city.

With 33 different breweries in Derby, producing over 245 different ciders and ales, it is no wonder that CAMRA are so fond of Derby! And it’s the only place in Britain able to call on its very own “Beer King”.

Better news still is that it’s now possible to experience Derby's thriving real ale culture with one of the new mini bus tours around some of Derby's hidden real ale gems.

The tour includes time at one of Derby's many microbreweries, as well as a selection of carefully chosen real ale establishments. A glass of ale at each stop is included in the price along with various snacks and nibbles. For more details, take a look at the Visit Derby website; and to be driven to drink (!) for just £29 per person you can book online here.

The City of Derby as a whole has enjoyed a complete transformation in recent years – with more than £2.2-billion having been spent on its regeneration.

Full details can be found at www.visitderby.co.uk.

12 for '12 UK Tearooms

Put the kettle on, sit back, and enjoy a flavour of our top 12 tearooms for 2012….

1. Rocke Cottage Tearooms, Clungunford, Shropshire

Named as the “Top Tea Place” in Britain by the UK’s Tea Council, Rocke Cottage can be found on the edge of the tiny village of Clungunford, in Shropshire. It’s also the epitome of a 1930s tearoom. Visit Rocke Cottage.

2. The Trentham Garden Tearooms, Stoke-on-Trent

It’s hard to imagine a tearoom with a better view in Britain. Actually designed to take in the view of the “finest Italian Garden outside all Italy”, the glistening Trentham Lake, and the Capability Brown parkland, the £1-million glass fronted building also has terraced seating outdoors so you can enjoy the fresh air with your cuppa. Visit Trentham Gardens.

3. Bantam Tea Rooms, Chipping Campden

Everything and more from a tearoom in The Cotswolds. This is where you would take your Mum for a cup of tea and cake - and there is no higher praise for a tearoom than that. Visit Bantam Tea Rooms.

4. Rose Cottage, Cockington, Torquay

Just what you want to find in a place as fabulously old-fashioned as the thatched-cottage village of Cockington. Visit it during the summer months and you’ll even find a pianist playing in the garden. It’s also a great place to join in the thorny old scone debate: jam on top or cream? You’re in Devon, so it’s cream first then jam. In Cornwall it’s jam first, then cream. Visit Rose Cottage, Cockington.

5. Bennetts Tearoom and Café, Derby

One of the most traditional department stores in this part of the UK, Bennetts in Irongate, Derby is the place where you really should treat yourself to the full Afternoon Tea, served on a three-tier stand with a delicious selection of sandwiches, followed by clotted cream scones and your choice of homemade cakes. And if it's a special occasion why not add a glass of bubbly? Visit the Bennetts website.

6. Queenie's Cupcakery, Ironbridge, Shropshire

From the sublime to the ridiculous. Nothing could be further from a traditional tearoom than Queenie’s Cupcakery in Ironbridge. But this vintage vantage-point in the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution is where you’ll also find the King of all cupcakes – the Red Velvet. More details on the Queenie's Cupcakery website.

7. Northern Tea Merchants, Chesterfield, Derbyshire

This company has connections with the tea trade dating back to 1926. Since then, they have developed their knowledge and expertise to a point where over 50 million cups of their own tea are drunk every year. Not all of them in their own tea and coffee shop in Chesterfield, you understand! But this is where you’ll also find some glorious home-made cakes, and can occasionally book-in to a tea tasting session. Visit Northern Tea Merchants.

8. The Old School, Acton Scott

Although part of Acton Scott Historic Working Farm (used by Channel 4 as “The Victorian Farm”), the tearoom can be accessed separately. It is housed within the newly refurbished and restored former School, originally built by Frances Stackhouse Acton in the late 19th century to educate the children of the Parish, and also has a lovely cottage garden where you can enjoy the homemade cakes and sandwiches. More details here.

9. Wedgwood Visitor Centre, Stoke-on-Trent

Let’s face it. Afternoon tea isn’t just about what you eat and drink. It’s also about real, English fine china. So where better to enjoy an afternoon tea - using a traditional cake stand, beautifully decorated plates, cups and saucers – that at the Wedgwood Visitor Centre. Best of all, if you like the designs, you can see how they are made on the new factory tour, and may even be able to buy them afterwards in the adjacent factory shop. Wedgwood Visitor Centre.

10. Marmalade and Tea, Borrowash, Derbyshire

This one is new – and destined for great things! Another traditional tearoom doffing its cap to the emergence of the cupcake, its real speciality is Afternoon Tea – with open sandwiches, cupcakes or scones with jam and cream, all served on a tiered cake stand with a pot of tea for two. Its deli shelves, meanwhile, are stocked with sweets and chocolates to take home, plus extra special teas and coffees and gorgeous jams, marmalades (of course!) and chutneys. Visit the Marmelade and Tea website for more details.

11. Old Market Hall, Shrewsbury, Shropshire

If ever there was an award for “best flapjack”, this place would definitely be well in the running. Oh – and possibly for best restoration of a historic Elizabethan building, too! Delicious sandwiches, cakes and biscuits; teas and coffees; and all washed down with a contemporary spoonful of history. Pop in here for a cuppa before going into the small cinema to watch a latest movie. The Old Market Hall.

12. Mrs T. Potts Tea Room, Moreton-in-Marsh.

Let’s not forget that some of your family members may not be able to handle Gluten. In which case, here’s another traditional Cotswolds tearoom, well worth a visit – if only for the chance to meet Mrs T Potts! More details here.

Great Places to Stay, Eat and Drink: What's Hot for 2012

A “top ten” round-up of some new, and rapidly rising, stars across the UK.

A Safari Tent in Derbyshire

Escape the urban jungle and spend a night under canvas in the Teversal Camping and Caravanning Club Site’s new luxurious Safari Tents, a touch of Africa on the borders of the Peak District. Take a look here.

“Insider Tip” No.1 from The Cotswolds

The Feathered Nest in Nether Westcote, in the Oxfordshire Cotswolds! Winning as many awards as plaudits these days. It’s the part of the world where you might bump into Kate Winslet. But don’t be too disappointed if you don’t. Just book a table at this AA Pub of the Year for England 2011/12, and take a look at those rooms on the website…..

New hotel was previously a row of colliery houses!

At Palterton near Chesterfield, one of the more unusual uses for a former pit community has seen a traditional row of former colliery houses, which have just been sympathetically refurbished to create a three star hotel with a twist. www.twinoakshotel.co.uk

Lazy grazing in Derby

Jack Rabbits Cafe/Deli has been gaining a reputation as a laid-back and yet buzzy place to eat – bringing a touch of downtown Manhattan to Derby. And it offers a tasty trio of: home cooked meals to take away; a fantastic grocery/deli/bakery; and a dining area to enjoy Jack Rabbits’ own brand of “lazy grazing”! For more details take a look at the website.

The Camping and Caravanning Club's ‘Summer of 2012 Event Campsites’

The Camping and Caravanning Club will be offering several temporary event campsites during the summer of 2012. The Club will organise, administer and manage sites at Gravesend, Ebbsfleet, and Havering – with the latter two being just 10-15 minutes from the Olympic village. The WaterWorks Nature Reserve and Golf Centre in Leyton, meanwhile, is believed to be the closest campsite to the Olympic Park. Pitches - costing from £30 per night – will accommodate up to four people. www.2012camping.co.uk

"Insider Tip" No.2 from The Cotswolds

It’s tough to keep up with what’s new and what’s hot in The Cotswolds, but here’s another of the rising stars: The Swan at Southrop. You may recall this is the village where Kate Moss was married. But visit the website and you’ll find out how you, too, can eat, drink and stay here.

Award-winning team set to open another Brasserie-bar near to Stoke-on-Trent

Recognised as having created the best Brasserie-bar in Staffordshire, the team which led The Swan With Two Necks to first place in the annual Taste of Staffordshire awards will hope to emulate that success with the opening of The Wayfarer in Stone. It will give visitors to Stoke-on-Trent and The Potteries another place to dine in style from December 1ast, 2011. Get a taste of what you can expect here.

Number 25, Hereford

Number 25 has only just been opened in a recently refurbished townhouse, which is still a part of the well-established, highly acclaimed Castle House Hotel in Hereford. All rooms are individually decorated in a contemporary, classic style – with antiques from local auctions and art from Herefordshire craftsmen. Make sure you book well in advance to take the 10-second stroll to the restaurant at Castle House Hotel, where Head Chef Claire Nicholls is passionate about sourcing her ingredients as close to the hotel as she can, and can even draw on beef from the hotel owner’s pedigree Herefordshire herd on his Hereford farm. For more details of Number 25, visit their website.

A taste of Italy, and Spain – in Chesterfield

It’s the first establishment in Chesterfield to make it into the Michelin Guide. And it’s also the only restaurant in the UK with wine-tasting equipment stocked solely with Italian wines. Nonsolovino is causing quite a sensation in Derbyshire, and beyond. And if you’d like to stay the night, then how about the less-than-one-year-old Casa Hotel in Chesterfield, with its Spanish influenced public areas, and “most comfortable beds in the UK award! Visit the Nonsolovino and Casa Hotel websites for more information.

The Cotswolds’ Pizzeria with a difference!

Watch-out for a Pizzeria, which will be opened in Stroud in 2012, by Dan Chadwick (artist and son of famous sculptor Lyn Chadwick). Based on London Road in one of Stroud's landmark buildings, which has been empty for the last seven years, it will also double a pizza oven factory where Dan will make, and sell, his invention, The Chadwick Oven - a portable pizza oven designed to emulate traditional Italian ovens. Website coming soon, but for more details on the pizza oven, visit the Chadwick Oven website.

And then, just across the English Channel, in France….

Five star luxury chateau with an equestrian centre opens for business in France

Domaine Château du Faucon will open for business in The French Ardennes region of France, at the start of 2012. A place “dedicated to the art of living”, it is also an equestrian centre par excellence. Take a look here.

Much Famous Much Wenlock

As Olympic fever starts to mount, imagine how it must have felt 162 years ago in Shropshire.

Butchers, bakers and (quite literally) candlestick makers would have all been plying their trade in the days before some of today’s sports had even been invented.

It was 39 years before the creation of the Football League, for example. And 47 years before the staging of the first-ever modern international Olympic Games in Greece.

But for the ordinary, everyday people of Shropshire, it would have been less than a year to go to the first-ever Wenlock Olympian Games!

It’s a sobering thought - but if local doctor, William Penny Brookes, had not come-up with the idea of these Olympian Games, and if word of them had not reached a young Baron Pierre de Coubertin in Paris several years later, then there might not even have been a London 2012 Games!

So when the Olympic torch passes within one hour’s distance of 95% of the British public next year, it’s worth remembering the role that those butchers, bakers and candlestick makers of Shropshire played in helping to shape the whole history of the Olympics.

Penny Brookes’ Olympian Games included Greek Classical and sports like running, and archery. But there was always a competition for ‘juveniles’ and a fun competition – once 'blind wheelbarrow racing', and another year 'an old woman's race for a pound of tea'.

Pierre de Coubertin, the acknowledged founder of the modern Olympic Games, who visited Much Wenlock, later wrote "and of the Olympic Games….it is not a Greek to whom one is indebted, but rather Dr W. P. Brookes".

Much Wenlock’s role has even provided the inspiration behind one of the 2012 London Olympic mascots who now bears the name “Wenlock”.

And today, visitors to the picturesque mediaeval town will find a plaque, and trees planted by The Queen, Baron Pierre de Coubertin and Princess Anne - as well as the magnificent 15th century Guildhall where Brookes presided as a magistrate for over 40 years.

They can also follow a 2,100-metres Olympian Trail, which starts and finishes at the Much Wenlock Museum which has been undergoing a complete refurbishment since May of this year. It is set to re-open week commencing January 7th, and admission is free of charge.

The Wenlock Olympian Games themselves still take place every year, during the second week of July.

And visitors to the town at any time can still visit butchers, bakers and….an award-winning bookshop, art galleries and tea rooms.

Main picture credit: Shropshire and Telford Destination Management Partnership

Hitting the Shops at Trentham Estate

The gardens at Trentham Estate are now the fifth most visited in the UK. The Monkey Forest is the only one of its kind in the country. There is nowhere else in Britain where you can experience the Barfuss Walk.

And now, in another “first”, leading British designer and recognised “Queen of Cushions”, Jan Constantine, is opening her first UK showroom in Stoke-on-Trent’s top attraction which, these days, attracts some three millions visitors a year.

Timing-wise, it couldn’t be better. With just two more months before Santa takes to his sleigh, it’s an added incentive for Christmas shoppers to spend time – and cash – in what is quickly starting to look like one of the best and most unusual retail outlets in the heart of England.

It has been open for a little over seven years now. But the only itch is the one shoppers are likely to feel in the palms of their hands.

Rumour has it that even BBC TV’s Newsnight is looking at running a story on what makes Trentham’s Shopping Village so successful in such tough economic times.

Part of the reason, without question, is the mix of shops. Trentham as a whole has adopted the expression” “Something for everyone”. Clichéd though this may sound, it’s actually true. If you like walking, you’ll love strolling around the lake. If you enjoy horticultural pursuits, there’s no finer gardens for miles than Trentham’s. If you want a day out with a difference, head for the incredible Monkey Forest. If you’re hungry, you’ll be spoiled for choice here.

And it’s the same now when it comes to shopping. One or two high street names, a handful of independent stores, art boutiques, lifestyle stores, and clothes outlets all rub shoulders with one another in village comprised of attractive wooden chalet-style shops. And at the top of the town stands the “garden centre”. It’s only fair to wrap that store up in inverted commas, because the plants take second place to a home and lifestyle shop which – when I glanced in their visitor book – was described as “The Selfridges of Stoke-on-Trent”!

And now, there’s the chance to acquire some of Jan Constantine’s cushions, fabrics and stationery which up to now were only ever previously available on-line, or in a range of the country’s top department stores including Fortnum & Mason and John Lewis.

Not surprisingly, her first ever own-brand showroom in the Shopping Village is viewed as another coup for Trentham Estate.

According to Laurence Llewellyn-Bowen, Jan Constantine has “turned felt and blanket stitch into the new rock-and-roll”.

Happy enough to laugh-off such accolades, one thing Jan is nevertheless extremely proud of is the way in which, almost seven years ago, she started the process of “reclaiming” the Union flag – and being one of the first to turn it into the high-fashion design icon that it is today.

Embellished with Jan’s trademark heart, the word “love” and her distinctive initials – all of which are intrinsic to all of her designs - her collections have become recognised the world over, and have also helped her to win an official licence to produce London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic merchandise - not to mention the official Team GB cushion collection.

Fittingly, when talking of Olympics, the rise and rise of Jan Constantine has been a marathon effort – and can be traced-back, over almost ten years, and to the days when she would sit around her kitchen table (just a few miles from Trentham Estate, as it happens) with her friends, sewing lavender hearts. Drawing on her design background in fashion, interiors and styling (as well a phenomenal drive and determination), Jan has fulfilled her lifetime’s ambition, to produce her own, highly sought after collections.

The inspiration for individual designs in the Constantine Collection comes from a desire to create something that will not only bring joy to her customers, but will also be handed down (as she says) “just as the embroidery skills of my artisans have been handed down through many generations”.

What all of this means is that Trentham’s Shopping Village in Stoke-on-Trent (just a couple of miles from Junction 15 of the M6, and at the western end of the A50) has become a one-stop-shop for anyone looking for a little bit of retail therapy.

Personally, I love the fact that this is where High Street meets Independent Reailers – allowing the likes of L’Occitane, Vom Fass, Rohan and Whittard of Chelsea to rub shoulders alongside Hannah Stoney’s chic Yellowstone Art Boutique, and the West Midlands Deli of the Year, Brown and Green.

And all credit to Trentham Estate, as well, for making it easy to pre-plan a visit with such an effective website, which provides shoppers with a complete A-Z listing of all of the shops, cafes and restaurants in the Village.

Christmas is coming. Take a trip to Trentham.

And be sure to take your flexible friend with you!

History on a Plate as Derby Prepares for Titanic Exhibition

Derby is set to host a major Titanic exhibition, during the 100th anniversary year of the fitting, and launch, of arguably the world's most famous liner.

The White Star Line spent a great deal of time, and money, in making sure The Titanic was fitted-out to the highest possible specification.

Equipped with the very best of British engineering, craftsmanship and design, no expense was spared, especially in the First Class area. When it came to the fine china chosen for the First Class A'la Carte Restaurant, for example, representatives of The White Star Line approached Royal Crown Derby, and arranged to look through their pattern books.

Still in the archives of a company which has manufactured fine bone china in Derby since 1750, the 1911 pattern book has a design with the following hand-written note in red ink across it "Taken off the market, February 1st, 1911". The design had been selected for the Titanic and was no longer to be manufactured for general sale.

Classic in style, and featuring a green wreath, it also incorporated the older style OSNC (Ocean Steam Navigation Company) logo, as opposed to the more familiar White Star flag. The exclusive order itself included 600 dinner plates, 150 soup bowls, 150 breakfast plates, 100 salad plates, 150 breakfast cups and saucers, 100 teacups and saucers.

Almost one hundred years to the very day that order was placed, Royal Crown Derby will stage an exhibition at its Osmaston Road headquarters, to commemorate the company's historic association, not only with an "age of decadence", but also the world famous Titanic.

The Royal Crown Derby Titanic Exhibition will open in Derby on Saturday, February 26th 2011, and will then run through until July 2nd. It will feature memorabilia from the doomed vessel, as well as from its sister ship, The Olympic, along with costumes worn by Kate Winslett and Leonardo DiCaprio in the 1997 movie.

Its centre-piece, however, will be a recreation of the First Class A'la Carte Restaurant, with a table 'dressed' as it would have been on its 2012 voyage.

Apart from one plate, currently in the safe hands of Southampton Museum, none of the original ware survived the disaster. But Royal Crown Derby has put the range back into full production for the very first time since 1911. For further details, visit http://www.royalcrownderby.co.uk/tableware/titanic.html.

Derby's tourism office, meanwhile, is also getting behind the Titanic Exhibition, and will be offering special Titanic Packages with value for money overnight accommodation to anyone interested in visiting the city, to see the show.

A Titanic Gala Dinner, featuring the Royal Crown Derby fine china is also being planned. Guests will be invited to wear the period costume of the day, to add to the atmosphere of the night in Opulence Restaurant, within the Cathedral Quarter Hotel.

For further details visit http://www.visitderby.co.uk.

Top 12 Reasons to Visit Britain in 2012

Britain is flavour of the month. The Royal Wedding, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, London 2012. Cream teas, union flag cushions, the English seaside, and anything vintage. Visitors to the UK and “locals” alike just can’t get enough of them. So here’s our Top 12 Reasons To Visit Britain in 2012:

1. Britain welcomes the Microlympics!

As part of the preparations for its 50th anniversary in 2013, Babbacombe Model Village in Torquay, on “The English Riviera”, plans to introduce many new features over the next couple of years - including a Microlympics Stadium! The new stadium is due to be unveiled in 2012. However, the Model Village has to be a little bit careful in its design – and is avoiding the use of any Olympic branding, logos or imagery on its model. The Model Village Manager commented: “As Torquay was a major player last time the UK hosted the Olympics, we wanted to be a mini-player this time!”. Despite the restrictions, the new Mircolympics development, with a multi-sports stadium at its heart, is being built at a cost of around £50,000. For further details, visit http://www.babbacombemodelvillage.co.uk/.

2. Stay in and around London at the time of the Olympics, for £7 a night!

The Camping and Caravanning Club will be offering several temporary event campsites during the summer of 2012. The Club will organise, administer and manage sites at Gravesend, Ebbsfleet, and Havering – with the latter two being just 10-15 minutes from the Olympic village. The WaterWorks Nature Reserve and Golf Centre in Leyton, meanwhile, is believed to be the closest campsite to the Olympic Park. Pitches - cost from £30 per night – will accommodate up to four people. To book any of these sites please visit www.2012camping.co.uk or the Camping and Caravanning Club's website. Limited press pitches will also be available.

3. Take another look at Trentham Gardens

The gardens on the Trentham Estate, in Stoke-on-Trent, marked their seventh birthday recently by joining an elite collection of the countries finest and most visited garden attractions. Kew, The Eden Project, RHS Wisley and Wakehurst Place are now the only gardens in the UK with more visitors passing through their gates each year. Trentham’s dramatic resurrection was initially led by renowned garden designers and Chelsea gold-medal winners Tom Stuart-Smith and Piet Oudolf who, along with Michael Walker, revitalised the Italianate grandeur with a stylish modern interpretation – to create one of the largest examples of contemporary naturalistic perennial planting in Europe. The one-time home of the Dukes of Sutherland, who transformed it from a medieval monastery to grand country estate over decades of ownership from 1540, Trentham also won the European Garden Heritage Network “ European Award for Garden Restoration” in 2010. For further details visit the Trentham Garden's website.

4. Origin of the modern international Olympics is traced back to a Shropshire town

Shropshire is an unlikely place to find the origins of the modern international Olympic Games. Yet it was here, in 1850, that Dr William Penny Brookes first founded the Wenlock Olympian Society. Now, 160 years later Much Wenlock’s role has even provided the inspiration behind one of the 2012 London Olympic mascots unveiled in a blaze of global publicity. Dr Brookes’ Olympian Games included Greek Classical and country sports like running, quoits, football and cricket, but there was always a competition for ‘juveniles’ and a fun competition – once a 'blind wheelbarrow racing', and another year 'an old woman's race for a pound of tea'. Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the acknowledged founder of the modern Olympic Games, visited the Games in 1890 and later wrote "and of the Olympic Games, which modern Greece has not yet revived, it is not a Greek to whom one is indebted, but rather Dr W. P. Brookes". And in 1994 the President of the IOC, Juan Antonio Samaranch came to Much Wenlock "because this is where the modern Olympics started". For full details, visit the Much Wenlock 2012 website.

5. Cotswolds to celebrate a Queen’s quincentenary, in 2012

Sudeley Castle in The Cotswolds is planning to welcome the world to a very special Tudor-themed Katherine Parr Festival, which coincides with the current Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2012. At its heart will lie a very special Katherine Parr Exhibition featuring items from the Castle’s own collection, as well as several other pieces on loan from other national and historic collections. And a new DVD, featuring world famous historian Dr David Starkey will guide visitors around parts of the Castle never previously seen. Ticketed events will include the opportunity to enjoy afternoon tea with Lady Ashcombe and specially invited guests. Born in 1512, Queen Katherine Parr was the last of Henry VIII’s six wives. After the King’s death in 1547, Katherine married Lord Seymour of Sudeley and lived her last days, died and was buried at Sudeley Castle, in Winchcombe. Details of the Katherine Parr Festival can be found at Sudeley Castle and the Cotswolds website.

6. Walking is good for you - and for British pubs!

An innovate scheme in Shropshire, aimed at getting people who might not normally go walking to venture out onto the footpaths and country lanes of rural England, is also raising a glass to another British institution. The great British pub may be closing at a rate of around five a day, but Shropshire is now at the very forefront of a campaign to bring some economic benefit to the rural inns and other businesses in the area. The new walking trails all fall within Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and are branded together under the “Walking With Offa” umbrella. All 12 walks are circular, and start and finish at a nearby pub or village shop, where a new generation of walkers can find fantastic scenery, the great atmosphere of a country inn, as well as some genuine, locally sourced, value-for-money menus. The western reaches of the Shropshire Hills, are where many of the more remote country inns can be found, and near to where King Offa of Mercia built his world famous Dyke. Visit the Shropshire Hills ANOB website

7. New behind the scenes factory tour planned for Wedgwood in 2012

Wedgwood is set to launch a brand new behind-the-scenes factory tour in 2012. This guided walking tour of the factory, taking up to 45 minutes, will give visitors a special insight into the processes that go into creating the world renowned Wedgwood products available today. The factory tour will be available from Monday to Thursday, March to October, aat specific times during the day. The same Wedgwood complex in Stoke-on-Trent also features the award winning Wedgwood Museum containing the full 250-years history of the company; and the Craft Demonstration Area where visitors can meet and talk to the throwers, painters and gilders. Visitors can even “have a go” at throwing their own masterpiece under the watchful eyes of a Wedgwood master-thrower, which will then be sent to them after firing. The site is also home to the company’s famous Factory Shop and boutique lifestyle store. For more details, visit the Wedgwood Visitor Centre.

8. From Out of Africa to a new hotel in former colliery cottages, find a quirky place to stay

Fancy camping beneath the stars in African-style safari tents? How about a bed for the night in a traditional terrace of former coal miners’ cottages? Or perhaps pitching the caravan in the heart of a former working colliery site? Thanks to some unusual accommodation options in the Peak District’s historic border country, you can do all that in real style….and all on the doorstep of some stunning English scenery. Escape the urban jungle and spend a night under canvas in Teversal Camping and Caravanning Club Site’s new luxurious Safari Tents which bring a touch of Africa to the borders of the Peak District. At Palterton near Chesterfield, one of the more unusual uses for a former pit community has seen a traditional row of former colliery houses being sympathetically refurbished to create a three star hotel with a distinct twist. And if you want to stay in a fabulous new Spanish influenced hotel, look no further than The Casa, in Chesterfield.

9. Major Arts Festival in The Cotswolds celebrates world famous colony of US artists

The biennial Broadway Arts Festival in The Cotswolds was inaugurated in 2010 as a celebration of the village’s artistic heritage and its enduring relationship with a world-famous colony of American artists and writers who visited and worked here in the 19th century. In the late 19th century the flamboyant American artist, writer and soldier Frank Millet discovered the delights of Broadway and could not resist introducing them to his friends. Millet unfortunately perished in the Titanic disaster in 1912, but the legacy of those special relationships he created in Broadway is still very much alive today. Painters, actors, writers, their families and friends visited and worked here in the 19th century, including John Singer Sargent, William Morris, Francis Millet, Alfred Parsons, Henry James and JM Barrie. Many aspects of the village and surrounding countryside feature in world-class exhibits including the Tate in London and the Metropolitan Museum, New York. The 2012 Broadway Arts Festival is scheduled for June 9th-17th. For more details, visit the Broadway Arts Festival website.

10. Stoke-on-Trent’s got the Olympics and Jubilee all sewn up

It’s been said that Jan Constantine has “turned felt and blanket stitch into the new rock-and-roll”. Happy enough to laugh-off such accolades, one thing Jan is nevertheless extremely proud of is the way in which, almost seven years ago, she started the process of “reclaiming” the Union flag – and being one of the first to turn it into the high-fashion design icon that it is today. Her collections have become recognised the world over, and have also helped her to win an official licence to produce London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic merchandise - not to mention the official Team GB cushion collection. Living and working in a small village a few miles outside of Stoke-on-Trent, the Constantine name is the latest in a long list of locally based designers and manufacturers who are helping to put The Potteries well and truly on the tourism map. Wedgwood, Emma Bridgewater and Jan Constantine are the ‘right’ people, designing the ‘right things’ at the ‘right’ time - as Britain claims centre-stage thanks to The Royal Wedding, the Diamond Jubilee and the London 2012 Games. For further information visit Jan Constantine's website and Visit Stoke.

11. Derby QUAD is set to take flicks to the sticks in a 2012 Summer Film Festival

A 2012 Derby QUAD Film Festival will feature movie classics, in classical settings,across the whole of Derbyshire. National Trust properties, stately homes, castles, and some of the best known estates in Britain are set to be transformed into outdoor entertainment venues throughout the summer of 2012, thanks to some state-of-the-art equipment and a giant inflatable screen which has been used in the past in Venice, New York and Barcelona. That powerful combination of some outstanding locations and many of the UK’s best loved movies – some of which will be timed to coincide with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations – is likely to form one of the most innovative Film Festivals of the year. And movies such as Jane Eyre will be taken back to the places (Haddon Hall) where they were actually filmed. QUAD is the purpose built arts centre located within the heart of Derby, a city which has enjoyed a £2.2-billion regeneration in recent years. For more details of the Derby QUAD Film Festival, visit the Derby QUAD website.

12. The Cotswolds – 400 years of the Olimpicks

Regarded by some as the origin of the modern Olympic Games, Robert Dover's inaugural Olimpicks were staged on a Cotswold hillside in 1612 "By Royal Approval" of King James I. And, despite a long and chequered history stretching over almost four centuries, they still survive to this day – providing a remarkable link between the Olympics of ancient Greece, and the Olympic Games of today. The extravagant event which he organised each year included swordplay, running and leaping, horse racing, spurning (similar to tossing the caber), and throwing the sledge (hammer). A highlight, however, has always been the contest for gold in shin-kicking. Further details can be found here.

Gloucestershire Celebrates 400 Years of the King James Bible

Have you ever wondered where we got the following, everyday expressions from?

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
A fly in the ointment
A labour of love
A thorn in the flesh
A wolf in sheep’s clothing
All things to all men
Am I my brother’s keeper?
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth
As old as the hills
At his wits end
Bald as a coot
Baptism of fire
Bite the dust
By the skin of your teeth
Eat drink and be merry
How are the mighty fallen
In the twinkling of an eye
Lamb to the slaughter
Love of money is the root of all evil
Love thy neighbour as thyself
My cup runneth over
No rest for the wicked
Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings
Pearls before swine
Red sky at night shepherds’ delight
Sour grapes
Spare the rod and spoil the child
The blind leading the blind
The powers that be
The salt of the earth
The writing is on the wall

They are all found in The King James Bible (or, Authorised Version) – the best-known version of the book that has topped the list of bestsellers for centuries!

For nearly 300 years this was the only Bible approved for use in the Church of England, and it helped to put the Word of God in a form people could understand.

Its poetic English has been heard and treasured for generations. The story of its ascent includes executions, protests, civil war and propaganda. Its importance today is partly the result of politics, colonization, and the slave-trade.

As the broadcaster and writer Melvyn Bragg says: “The King James Bible has a fair claim to be the greatest single force in shaping the English-speaking world”.

Now, the poetic English of the King James Bible can be heard and seen at Gloucester Cathedral from October 1st to November 14th.

The Cathedral’s very own copy of the 1611 King James Bible - a first issue of the first edition – will be on display, alongside panels explaining the history of “the book that changed the world” and the very special Gloucestershire connections through William Tyndale and Bishop Miles Smith.

During the six weeks of the exhibition the Authorised Version will also be used for the readings at Evensong.

Dean of Gloucester, the Very Revd Stephen Lake commented: “It will be good to use the King James Bible in public worship whilst the exhibition is in the Cathedral. The blending of old and new in worship illustrates the vibrancy of the daily offering of worship in England’s cathedrals”.

William Tyndale (1494-1536), thought to have been born at North Nibley in Gloucestershire, was the first to undertake a translation of the New Testament from the original Greek, printed in English.

And Miles Smith, one of the leading translators of the King James Bible, was Bishop of Gloucester from 1612 until his death in 1624. He is almost certainly buried in the Lady Chapel of Gloucester Cathedral. His Preface to the King James Bible remains one of the most accomplished pieces of prose writing in the English language.

One of the treasures of Gloucester Cathedral Library is a Coverdale Bible of 1536, once owned by Oliver Cromwell. It is used on important occasions in the life of the Cathedral. The Very Revd Stephen Lake swore his oath on the Coverdale Bible when he was installed as the 38th Dean of Gloucester on 12 June 2011.

For more details of the free-to-visit exhibition, visit http://bit.ly/p7bPUj.

For all visitor information, meanwhile, visit www.cotswolds.com.

Walking is Good for You - and for British Pubs!

An innovative scheme in Shropshire, aimed at getting people who might not normally go walking to venture out onto the footpaths and country lanes of rural England, is raising a glass to another British institution.

The great British pub may be closing at a rate of around five a day, but Shropshire is now at the forefront of a campaign to bring some economic benefit to the rural inns and other businesses in the area.

Twelve new walking trails, being launched at the end of August 2011, all fall within Shropshire Hill's Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and are branded under the "Walking With Offa" umbrella.

Each one has been walked, mapped, researched, and presented – with the specific aim of making the Shropshire Hills far more accessible to individuals, families and groups of friends who might otherwise never tick the "walking" box when it comes to their list of hobbies and pastimes. These are the people who, it is believed, could also now hold the key to keeping many of Shropshire's more rural pubs and inns alive.....

All 12 walks are circular. They also start and finish at a nearby pub, where a new generation of walkers can find both the great atmosphere or a country inn, as well as value-for-money food. The western reaches of the Shropshire Hills, in particular – along the borderlands with Wales - are where many of the more remote country inns can be found, and near to where King Offa of Mercia built his world famous Dyke.

It's no accident that the new walks campaign is being launched in the same year that Offa's Dyke Footpath is celebrating its 40th year as a National Trail. And newcomers to the footpaths and byways of Britain will be rubbing shoulders with more experienced walkers and ramblers.

As well as being carefully selected for length and degree of difficulty, all of the new walks are also well-signposted from the pubs with their own, branded footpath waymarker posts.

Better still, they are all accessible both by public transport, and another innovative – and possibly unique-to-the-UK - transport system, ShropshireLink.

Unlike a traditional bus service ShropshireLink is not restricted to a set route or timetable. Instead, the buses are able to travel freely within this area, and to meet the demands of people who wish to travel to their nearest market town. Where appropriate, the bus has the ability to go direct to the passenger's own front door, or holiday accommodation, to make travel easier.

The Walking with Offa walks – when launched – will be found on the Shropshire Hills website. Further details can also be found by following @ShropHillsAONB on Twitter.

In Search of Red Velvet

Here's a challenge.

Who in the UK is making Red Velvet cupcakes?

Who in the UK has even heard of a Red Velvet Cupcake!?

It started with visit of Hisaki Shintaku from Japan, earlier this summer. The editor in chief of RSVP Magazine in Japan, Mr Shintaku is an Anglophile, and fills his magazine with some gloriously glossy features from all over Britain.

On this occasion he was here to visit, write about, and photograph more than 30 tearooms in less that 14 days.

I never saw him at the end of the trip. But at the start, a thin and fit-looking Mr Shintaku walked into Queenies Cupcakery in Ironbridge, Shropshire, where he was confronted with a wonderful example of a vintage tearoom which, while retaining its traditional backdrop, has also embraced the UK's new-found passion for cupcakes.

For cupcake aficionados, Queenies is a bit of a find – a place where 'vintage' rubs shoulders with tray after tray of Victoria Sponge, Lemon, Coffee Mocha, Banoffee, Snickerlicious, and Chocolate cupcakes.

And there, taking pride of place on a tiered cake stand in pride of place on the counter: the majestic, enigmatic, the veritable king of Queenies' cupcakes.....The Red Velvet.

This, apparently, is the holy grail for all cupcake eaters. Alleged by some to have even been the starting point for America's cupcake craze, its history can be traced back to the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City during the 1920s. A signature dish of this hotel, according to a common urban legend of the 1960s a woman once asked for the recipe for the cake, and was subsequently billed a large sum of money. Indignant, she subsequently spread the recipe across America in a chain letter.

Bright red, or red-brown, in colour, some of its key ingredients – so I'm told – are chocolate, cream-cheese frosting, buttermilk, vanilla and red food colouring (traditionally this would have been beetroot).

Apart from being utterly delicious, however, it also possesses a certain aura. And the owners of Queenies Cupcakery (http://www.queeniescupcakery.co.uk/) are excited to tell anyone who is interested, that the response of American visitors to their shop in Ironbridge has been one of both disbelief and amazement. Disbelief that a UK tearoom is serving Red Velvet cupcakes. And amazed at just how good they are. (One couple, apparently, even pronounced they had never tasted better in their native country!).

So here's the challenge. Who else in the UK is making Red Velvet cupcakes? And can we invite some US travel writers over here to go in search of the best of them?

10 Things to do This Summer, For Free!

A timely round-up of ten top things to do this summer, for free.

1. Visit Occombe Farm in Paignton, Devon. Promoting healthy eating and sustainable farming, Occombe Farm is also free of charge to visit. Spread over 150 acres, it features a Farm Shop, Café, Bakery, Butchers and Study Centre, as well as a 2km long nature-trail around a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Its aim is to reconnect people with farming, food and the countryside, and to create a working demonstration organic farm which is a leader in the educational field and a centre of excellence. http://www.occombe.org.uk/

2. Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent. Plenty of fun for all the family. And home to the amazing Staffordshire Hoard. http://www.stokemuseums.org.uk/pmag

3. The Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre in Craven Arms, Shropshire, manages to explain to its visitors the historical, geological and inspirational significance of the magical Shropshire Hills - but in a fun and enjoyable way. Much of it can be accessed entirely free of charge including the café, gallery, shop and surrounding Onny Meadows with its many walks and trails. http://www.shropshire.gov.uk/shropshirehills.nsf

4. Arts centre QUAD, in Derby, was the first venue outside of London to host a BFI Mediatheque. Put simply - it's a jukebox featuring the best of the BFI archive. Sit back, watch, enjoy! http://www.derbyquad.co.uk/bfi-mediatheque

5. Go rock-pooling on The English Riviera. Especially at Goodrington Sands, near Paignton. http://www.torbay-online.co.uk/paignton/paignton-beaches.htm

6. Westons Cider Visitor Centre, Much Marcle, Herefordshire. Deep in the Herefordshire countryside 'Westons' is situated in the old village of Much Marcle. Nestling on a gentle hillside amongst apple and pear orchards 'The Bounds' with its 400 year old farmhouse is the centre piece to a unique day out for all the family. Join a tour around the cider mill and museum, see one of the world's largest bottle collections, then relax in The Henry Westons Edwardian garden. http://www.westons-cider.co.uk/

7. Enjoy a safe, way-marked family stroll through Queenswood Country Park and Arboretum, near Leominster, Herefordshire. A 67 acre collection of rare and exotic trees in an attractive natural woodland. Way-marked trails, easy access paths. http://www.visitherefordshire.co.uk/thedms.aspx?dms=13&GroupId=2&venue=1420188

8. Have a picnic under the iron bridge, at Ironbridge, in Shropshire. (But first treat yourself to a cup cake each from the queen of cup cake shops). Afterwards, follow the town trails which tell the story of the birthplace of the industrial revolution. http://www.queeniescupcakery.co.uk/

9. RAF Aerospace Museum, in Cosford, Shropshire. Is this the best free family attraction in the UK? http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/cosford/

10. Enjoy The Royal Forest of Dean's childrens' playground, designed by the sculptor Andy Frost. Frost drew inspiration from the history of the Dean as a working forest to provide the play furniture adjacent to Beechenhurst Lodge. His sculptures provide a stimulating experience for youngsters up to 12 years old. Various play structures represent aspects of timber production – children can clamber over an oak tree, an old wooden ship under construction, a man and horse leading an old cartload of logs, and woodmen with a crosscut saw, modern lumberjack with chainsaw. The history of mining in the Dean is also portrayed; swings and a ropeway are overlooked by a pithead cage tower, a sliding pole is incorporated into a beam engine used to pump mine water (the original is in the Dean Heritage Museum). And if you have enough energy after all that, stroll round the majestic Sculpture Trail which starts and ends at the rear of Beechenhurst Lodge picnic site. http://www.forestofdean-sculpture.org.uk/visit/

Take Another Look at Trentham Gardens

The gardens on the Trentham Estate, in Stoke-on-Trent, have not simply marked their seventh birthday. They have also "come of age".

Visitor numbers to the garden have risen each year - with Trentham now placed to join this elite collection of the countries finest and most visited garden attractions.

Kew (1,141,973), The Eden Project (1,000,511), RHS Wisley (803,986) and Wakehurst Place (402,180) were named by the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA) as being the nation's four most-visited gardens during 2010. With Waddesdon Manor weighing in fifth, with 323,450 visitors.

Paying visitors to Trentham Gardens, meanwhile, have grown dramatically over the seven years - since it was reopened to the public - from 15,496 in the first year, through to 315,949 last year (plus around another 75,000 attending a broad range of garden based events not included within this figure).

Visitor figures to the gardens have also risen this year by 29.63% when compared with December-to-June in 2010.

Trentham's Gardens and Estate Manager, Michael Walker notes: "I believe we are doing things differently to a number of other gardens. In particular, we continue to push the garden forward and make the garden relevant to all our different visitors."

He continues: "The garden has fantastic perennial plantings and rose borders, which are all in full flower and showing no adverse effect of last winter or the early season drought. Our show gardens, too, are a developing story here at Trentham – and will emerge as another major reason for people to visit us."

Trentham's dramatic resurrection was initially led by renowned garden designers and Chelsea gold-medal winners Tom Stuart-Smith and Piet Oudolf who, along with Michael Walker, have revitalised the Italianate grandeur with a stylish modern interpretation – to create one of the largest examples of contemporary naturalistic perennial planting in Europe.

Stuart-Smith and Oudolf, however, were simply the latest in a long line of renowned landscape designers and architects to be associated with the Estate and Gardens, once one of the Dukes of Sutherland's Estates, who transformed it from a medieval monastery to grand country estate over decades of ownership from 1540 to 1979.

Lancelot "Capability" Brown created the Lake and Parklands in 1760-1780; and Trentham's famous Italian Gardens were designed in the 1830's by Sir Charles Barry – the architect of the Houses of Parliament, at the same time as he extensively remodelled Trentham Hall in the Italianate style.

The dramatic contrast between the new planting and Barry's formal framework is particularly strong in high summer, when the living material of the planting almost bursts through the constraining geometry of the beds. Piet Oudolf designed two flanking borders in the Italian garden and the magnificent perennial meadows along the banks of the river. His Rivers of Grass and Floral Labyrinth are a highlight of any visit.

It has taken just seven years for the gardens to mature into some of the finest in Britain. And last year, they were named by Alan Titchmarsh as one of the nation's "must-see gardens".

The European Garden Heritage Network also recognised the achievements at Trentham last year when it bestowed one of its greatest honours on the gardens: "The 2010 European Award for Garden Restoration".

The Italian Gardens, Rivers of Grass, Floral Labyrinth, and numerous new show gardens are all set against the dramatic backdrop of Capability Browns picturesque woodlands and Lake.

The Garden has established itself both locally and to the increasing number of coach groups who see Trentham as one of the UK's new "must see" destinations.

Ticket prices range from £7.75 per adult, to £26.50 for a family of two adults and up to three children. Annual tickets are also available, priced £47.50 per adult, and £99.50 for the family.

For further details about the gardens, including the full range of admission prices, and complete events programme, visit http://www.trentham.co.uk/trentham-gardens.

How W.G. Grace Won Gold in the Original London Olympic Games

Cricketer W.G.Grace won the 440 yards hurdles, in the forerunner of the modern Olympic Games in London, in 1866.

This is just one of several amazing facts unearthed by author Catherine Beale who has written the definitive book – Born Out Of Wenlock - about William Penny Brookes, and Shropshire's key role in the history of the modern Olympic Games.

The book focuses largely on the town of Much Wenlock, which still hosts an annual Olympian Games to this day. Brookes, however, 'spread the word' further with four Shropshire Olympian Games, and six National Olympian Games – the first of which was held at Crystal Palace, London in 1866.

So when London Mayor Boris Johnson famously said in Beijing in 2008, "Ping Pong is coming home", he might just as easily have stated: "The modern Olympic movement is coming home".

Shropshire seems to be an unlikely place to find the origins of the modern international Olympic Games, yet it was here, in 1850, that Dr William Penny Brookes first founded the Wenlock Olympian Society for the "moral, physical and intellectual improvement " of the local population of Wenlock Borough. Within a decade he had donated a prize for athletics in Athens and was urging the Greeks to revive their ancient Games.

Brookes' Olympian Games combined classical Greek and country sports including running, quoits, football and cricket. But there was always a competition for 'juveniles', an intellectual prize and in the early years a fun race – once a 'blindfolded wheelbarrow race', and another year 'an old women's race for a pound of tea'. Pageantry was also an important part of the entertainment - including a colourful procession led by a band, followed by the athletes, officials and spectators, and the presentation of medals, prizes and olive crowns to the winners.

Catherine Beale's fascinating book chronicles the early history of the Wenlock Olympian Games, and casts new light on the history of British sport as a whole. Her research also unearthed facts which have been buried for decades – such as W.G.Grace's participation in Britain's first National Olympian Games, held at the Crystal Palace in 1866.

Beale's book reveals how Grace (simultaneously competing in a cricket match for England against Surrey at the Oval, in which he scored one of his earliest huge innings – 224 not out – to help England to a total of 521 runs, beating Surrey by an innings and 296 runs) took one minute and ten seconds to win the 440 yards hurdles event.

In 1890, Baron Pierre de Coubertin travelled to Much Wenlock, met Brookes and watched the Wenlock Olympian Games. Beale explains how, within two years, Coubertin decided to revive the Olympic Games as an international sporting championship.

The first of the IOC's Olympic Games were held in Athens in 1896. Sadly, Brookes had died just 17 weeks earlier.

In her new book, Catherine Beale tells the story of the Wenlock Olympian Games, considers their influence on the modern Olympics, and shows why Coubertin (while failing to fully credit Brookes's contribution to the movement) concluded that: "The Wenlock people alone have preserved and followed the true Olympian traditions".

To this day, the Wenlock Olympian Games are still held in Much Wenlock every July.

Visitors to Much Wenlock at any time of the year, however, can follow a 2,100-metres self-guided Olympian Trail, featuring specially produced bronze markers in the pavements. Born Out Of Wenlock also features a trail which elaborates on this.

The fascinating town museum, with a display of photographs and memorabilia relating to the Olympian Games has just received a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of half a million pounds, and will be re-opened to the public at the end of 2011.

Catherine Beale's 192-page book also features 30 fascinating vintage photographs - many of these from the Wenlock Olympian Society's collection, including one which is thought to be the oldest sporting photograph in the world.

For further details, visit www.muchwenlock2012.com or www.cbeale.co.uk.

The English Riviera is the start of the UK's 'Hippest' Destination Video!

One of the hottest bands of 2011. One of the coolest music videos of the summer. And one of the best ways ever of promoting a UK coastal resort...

Breakthrough band Metronomy and The English Riviera Tourism Company found a way of working together this year to showcase The English Riviera as the place to see - and be seen in!

Metronomy's third album, 'The English Riviera', took the music press by storm in the spring. The video for their third single from that album, entitled "The Bay", was shot entirely on location on The English Riviera. And the results can be seen at http://www.englishriviera.co.uk/site/events-and-entertainment/metronomy-the-english-riviera.

The album as a whole is part love letter to the area of Devon coast where frontman Joseph Mount grew up. Described as "a rare British talent", Mount (and his record label, Because UK) were quick to form a progressive partnership with the English Riviera Tourism Company – to the mutual benefit of both parties.

As a result, the resort hosted Metronomy, a quartet of leggy models, and a 25-strong crew over a few sunny days in May as they went about shooting the video which had been dreamed-up by David Wilson Creative.

The subsequent appearance of what may well be one of the very best destination videos ever created has left the English Riviera Tourism Company confident of not only raising its profile on a scale seldom seen before, but also of attracting a whole new demographic of visitors to the area – the so-called 'Generation Y' - with a soundtrack for the summer.

Reflecting elements of The English Riviera, the tone for the album as a whole is set by the opening sounds of seagulls, distant waves and a Music Hall string quartet.

The mood of the video for The Bay - initially launched exclusively by NME Magazine online - meanwhile, is all about glamour and style. Mock-ups of iconic English Riviera posters, the Princess Pier, The Imperial Hotel, and the Hi-Flyer balloon in Abbey Gardens are all featured in the three and a half minute long video. Road closures enabled a shot of the band driving along the stretch of Meadfoot Sea Road; and a helicopter filmed the finishing touches of sweeping aerial footage from out at sea.

Speaking to NME about the video, singer Joe Mount told the magazine, "I basically wanted to re-do Will Smith's video for 'Miami', but in Torquay. And, weirdly, David (Wilson) sent us a treatment which was pretty much that exact idea. It was meeting of minds, a glorious meeting of minds."

The video, he added, gave the band a chance to show off the local scenery of Torquay, which is the lyrical subject of much of the band's new album. He continued: "Yeah, I've ended up talking about the area a lot with this album. I hope I've made it look a bit more swish. We could just go where we wanted for the video, too."

The band flew in from Vienna to film the video, and immediately after wrapping-up the shoot resumed their tour in Toulouse.

To find out more about the resort, visit www.englishriviera.co.uk.

Cotswolds Rough Edges Explored

The first-ever Rough Guide to The Cotswolds has uncovered some hidden gems in one of the most famous and iconic regions of Britain.

Matthew Teller - an award-winning journalist who has been writing about travel for almost 20 years, and is widely published in the national press as well as in newspapers and magazines around the world - spent almost two years painstakingly researching and revisiting the area several times, in order to write one of the most comprehensive guides ever produced about the English Cotswolds.

And while the result speaks for itself, Teller is now in a position to reflect on some of the experiences, people and places he encountered along the way.

"The thing that surprised me most about the Cotswolds was the food," he says. "I honestly wasn't expecting it to be that good. Several friends, when I told them I was researching the Rough Guide to the Cotswolds, started making jokes about fusty old tearooms and chintzy B&Bs - but in truth, I found hardly any of that. Instead, I found a cohesive, outgoing rural community who were genuinely enjoying discovering how food (and drink - mustn't forget the beer!) could act as an expression of identity. Food is rooting people to the place, and in return, the place is gaining new depth because of it. It was a revelation".

Another big surprise for him was the time when, in a popular tourist village famed for being a classic Cotswold destination (Teller is refusing to name names at this point!), he got chatting to people about his research, and happened to mention some of the places near where he lives in north Oxfordshire that he'd been researching for inclusion in the book.

"Oh, but, of course that's not the Cotswolds," came the reply.

Teller adds: "The lady I was talking to was convinced that where she was counted as Cotswolds, whereas ten miles away clearly didn't. With the AONB extending as far as Somerset, and when Cotswold history and landscape cover at least four other counties, it seems to me there's plenty to go round. That idea of exclusivity was a bit of a shocker."

Asked for his best discovery, Teller has no hesitation in answering, "Farmers' markets. They're fab!".

But the historical highlight is a different matter. "This is a tough one," he muses. "Sudeley Castle is in there, and I loved Chastleton House, but I'm going to go for an unusual choice - Chipping Campden's Market Hall. A small, simple, open building on Campden High Street, but it seems to sum up reams of Cotswold history in its old, worn stones - wool, commerce, food, noble patronage, Jacobean architecture, purposeful simplicity of design... it's a real all-in-one. And, unlike its grander counterparts, it's completely free!"

And finally, what was his favourite moment during all of that research? "Walking down the stony footpath towards the North Leigh Roman villa, and ending up - completely alone - beside the remnants of this ancient mansion, a few yards from the River Evenlode. Green wooded hills on both sides echoed with the bleats of sheep, a train passed on the Cotswold Line. It was utterly peaceful, at the heart of England, with 2,000 years of history before my eyes..."

Copies of The Rough Guide to The Cotswolds are available from all good bookshop, and from Cotswolds Tourist Information Centres. They can also be ordered online: http://www.roughguides.com/website/shop/products/Cotswolds.aspx

And if Matthew Teller's (http://www.matthewteller.com/) new guidebook whets your appetite for even more information about The Cotswolds, simply visit http://www.cotswolds.com.

Winchcombe Welcomes the World - By Royal Appointment

A picturesque Cotswold town, with one of the most famous castles and gardens in Britain, plans to mark the quincentenary of "its" Queen in 2012.

Born in 1512, Queen Katherine Parr was the last of Henry VIII's six wives. After the King's death in 1547, Katherine married Lord Seymour of Sudeley and lived her last days, died, and was buried at Sudeley Castle, in Winchcombe.

Katherine was by all standards a remarkable Tudor woman: beautiful enough to marry the King of England; shrewd enough to remain his Queen despite court plots and an attempt on her life; and courageous enough to sustain the Protestant cause.

She was Regent of England during Henry's invasion of France in 1544. And with her publication of religious works Prayers and Meditations and Lamentations of a Sinner she became not only the first English Queen to publish a work of prose, but the first woman to do so in the 16th century.

As Queen of England she took as her motto 'To be useful in what I do'; and her grace and sincerity were said to reflect her remarkable life.

Sudeley Castle and Winchcombe as a whole are now drawing-up detailed plans to celebrate their close connection with this extraordinary Queen, and to hold an ongoing 'Festival' with a variety of programmes throughout 2012.

Dr. David Starkey has agreed to be the Festival's Historical Advisor, and will be supporting it by appearing at events during the year. He's a great admirer of Katherine Parr and is reportedly pleased that she will finally get her due recognition as one of the most interesting figures in Tudor history as a result of this Festival.

Sudeley Castle and the neighbouring town of Winchcombe are situated in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in the English Cotswolds. The town has already made a name for itself nationally by hosting a well-attended annual walking festival every May, and by promoting itself under the banner of "Winchcombe Welcomes Walkers".

The hope now is that, in 2012, Winchcombe will welcome the world to its very special Katherine Parr Festival, which will not only coincide with the current Queen's Diamond Jubilee, but also with the Cultural Olympiad and Visit Britain's new 4-year marketing campaign to attract tourists to Britain.

The Festival will once again help to highlight Sudeley Castle, home of Lord and Lady Ashcombe, Henry and Mollie Dent-Brocklehurst and their families. Sudeley's gardens are amongst the very best in England, from the centrepiece Queens' Garden, billowing with hundreds of varieties of old fashioned roses, to the Herbal Healing Garden which was introduced for the 2010 season. Visitors can also see St Mary's Church where Katherine Parr lies entombed.

For further information, visit www.sudeleycastle.co.uk and www.cotswolds.com

Les Petit Comediens gather for World Puppet Festival

France will host one of Northern Europe's most colourful festivals of the year when Charleville-Mézières, capital of the Ardennes region, stages the 2011 World Puppet Festival (http://www.festival-marionnette.com/index.php?Itemid=113) from the 16th to 25th September.

An ideal choice for the biggest gathering of puppets on the planet, Charleville-Mézières is a world-renowned centre for marionettes and puppeteers – boasting a historic association with the art, which stretches back to 1941. That was the year a 17-years old called Jacques Felix first introduced a puppet theatre to the town.

In the intervening years, Charleville-Mézières has taken "Les Petits Comédiens" very seriously, and has not only established an International Puppet Institute, but also an Ecole Supérieure Nationale des Arts de la Marionnette, which now offers a three-year puppetry course to 15 international students each year.

In 1991, the town also unveiled what has become one of its most endearing tourist attractions, The Grand Marionnettiste - The Great Puppeteer's Clock. Built into the façade of the Institut de la Marionette, every hour from 10am to 9pm, it presents an episode from the legend of the Four Sons of Aymon...a heroic medieval saga linked to the geography and history of the Ardennes.

A World Festival of Puppet Theatres was founded in 1961 – making this the 50th anniversary year – and it has continued to increase in scale throughout its history.

It is thanks to Jacques FELIX that the Charleville-Mézières Festival has become such an unmissable event for puppeteers, programme planners and visitors from all over the world.

For ten days, life in the whole town revolves around the festival. Many events rooms, sports halls, streets and courtyards are used as venues. All types of techniques, styles and exploring of new ideas are on show - from string to glove puppets, from shadow to Bunraku, from real objects to onscreen, from small intimate forms to giant puppets... traditional shows alongside the most modern of styles - and viewed by a wide-ranging audience.

During the previous festival, in September 2009, the various shows were attended by 150,000 people in the town of Charleville-Mézières, now known as the World Capital of Puppetry Arts.

The chosen theme for this year's event is 'Mediterranean Marionnettes', and the 10-day festival will feature more than 250 troupes from around 40 different countries. In addition to the obvious stars of the show – "the little comedians" – spectators will be entertained by storytellers, musicians, jugglers, clowns, and mime artists.

The French Ardennes region is also famous for its stunning scenery and seasonal specialities; the largest fortress in Europe; fortifications from the Middle Ages to the Maginot Line; and literary links with the poets Rimbaud and Verlaine. For further details, visit www.ardennes.com.

The Easy Way to Get Rich Quick!

Over 100 years ago, Camping and Caravanning Club founding father and camping pioneer Thomas Hiram Holding wanted everyone to enjoy the "luxury of fresh air and outstanding scenery".

What he could never have foreseen, however, was the in-depth research which would be undertaken by the club, in conjunction with Liverpool John Moores University, during the course of 2010, to actually prove that "camping & caravanning makes you richer"!

It's true! The evidence collated by the Club really does prove that camping can make you richer....in mind, body and soul! Just take look at www.realrichness.co.uk.

Or ask anyone who goes camping, caravanning, motorhoming or trailer tenting for the 'money can't buy' experiences they have on every trip.

And then listen to how it's a priceless chance to get closer to nature. How working together to pitch the tent or set up the caravan, cook the food and share the chores brings families closer together in a way that everyday life can't. And how there's a genuine, old-fashioned sense of community in camping that maybe we're losing through new forms of 'social networking'.

So how can YOU "get rich quick"?

The Camping & Caravanning Club currently has 109 sites across the UK, including The Star site, less than a mile from Alton Towers - the UK's most visited theme park.

The Club has also recently taken over the management of 20 Forest Holidays Caravan & Camping Touring Sites for 2011. These sites are located in idyllic locations on Forestry Commission land across the UK and provide fantastic getaways for adults and children alike. Not only do they offer superb scenery and back to nature pitches, they also provide holiday options for the more adventurous camper. Many sites have a number of sports activities plus there's the option of exploring the forest with the Club's very own Forest Rangers.

The Club has also joined the "Pod generation", with revolutionary Camping Pods at its sites at Bellingham (Northumberland), Isle of Skye, Thetford Forest (Norfolk) and Eskdale (Lake District) together with nine Camping Dens at Gulliver's Milton Keynes.

Podders still enjoy the fun of staying on a communal campsite, but have the home comforts of electric power points, heating and outside barbecues. And at around £40 a night, it still won't break the bank.

Alternatively, the Club offers self-catering holidays on 13 of its Club Sites as well as Caravan Holiday Homes and Exclusive Lodges, which come fully furnished, at some stunning locations across the UK including new Lodges at Theobalds Park in Hertfordshire.

It's a bold claim, but the Camping and Caravanning Club now has the facts to prove they can help make you richer in mind, body and soul! They're not called the Friendly Club for nothing....

Membership costs less that £40 a year. Join online at www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk, or telephone 0845 130 7632.

Best Foot Forward

Experiencing nature, enjoying remedial care and just having fun are at the heart of the Barfuss (or Barefoot) Trail in the gardens at Trentham Estate.

Suitable for all ages, it is very much about offering the sensation of walking on all kinds of surfaces - timber, bark, mulch, pebbles, wood and mud – over a 1,000 meter circuit.

And as you walk, you will be improving your health and vitality - using the historic principles of Sebastian Kneipp!

The Trentham Barfuss Trail is the first of its kind in Britain, and has proved to be as successful here as the original parks in Germany.

So why is walking barefoot good for you?

Firstly, it's fun!

But walking barefoot has also been proven to have many positive medial benefits.

Regular use of the park or barefoot walking in general, particularly on a variety of terrains, can stimulate the cardiovascular system, regulate blood pressure and therefore improve circulation. In Germany they also believe that it can strengthen the body's immune system.

And the joy of the barefoot process, and the fact you are in a beautiful natural and woodland setting, have a beneficial effect on the mind - helping relaxation and a sense of well being.

The concept of barefoot walking was developed and used by Pastor Sebastian Kneipp, a priest who lived in the 1900's and who devoted his life to the well being of his parishioners in the Bavarian village of Stephansreid.

Having reputedly cured himself of a serious disease the welfare practices that he developed became famous throughout Germany. One of the things he and the majority of his parishioners practiced was wading through water and walking on wet grass and other surfaces. They believed it stimulated internal organs and helped the body heal itself.

As a result of this, the popularity of Kneipps fame spread – and resulted in the eventual development of formal Barfuss Parks and larger Kneipp Spas all over the German-speaking World. The German Health Service recommends Kneipps remedies and treatments and even pays for those that are both preventative and curative.

Many people have remarked on the similarity of Kneipps treatments, particularly the benefits of barefoot walking, with reflexology. Barefoot walking is often regarded as 'do it yourself' reflexology. The benefits are regarded as similar to those gained with participating in barefoot walking; reflexology being much older as a concept but as we all know much more expensive than barefoot walking.

And now, in a corner of Stoke-on-Trent, a similar revolution is about the start sweeping the nation!

Take off your shoes and socks, put them in one of the lockers provided, and join in the fun at Trentham Garden's Barfuss Park!

Happy Birthday from the Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre!

These days, Craven Arms is the place to start your exploration of the world famous Blue Remembered Hills of Shropshire.

An extraordinary grass-roofed centre, designed to echo the shape and form of the hill forts in the surrounding countryside, is the place where you can discover not only how to read the clues to the mysteries of the landscape, but also who shaped the familiar countryside we see around us today.

The Centre provides all of the information, guide books, maps and advice needed to escape into the great outdoors and enjoy this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Best of all, partly in recognition of the current economic climate, partly to take full advantage of the "daycation" trend which is sweeping across the UK, and partly to celebrate its 10th birthday, the management at this popular attraction have decided to reduce the entry fee to the exhibition section of the Centre.

Prices will drop this Easter, and for the rest of the year to £2.50 for adults, £1.80 for children (over 5 and up to 16), £6.80 for families, and £2.35 concessions.

The Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre first opened in 2001, and since then has welcomed hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the globe – helping to both to explain, and raise the profile of, the Shropshire Hills.

The gallery, shop, café, resource centre & library, and extensive meadows adjoining the grass-roofed Centre have always been accessible free of charge.

And the paid-for exhibition, which offers a historical and geographical interpretation of the world famous Shropshire Hills, as well as a 'virtual hot air balloon ride' with narration by the late, great Pete Postlethwaite, has become a popular attraction in its own right.

The adjoining 30-acres of the Onny Meadows, meanwhile, can also be visited without paying to see the exhibition.

There is a circular surfaced path, suitable for pushchairs and wheelchairs, which takes visitors down to the lake; and, for the more adventurous, grass paths leading along the bank of the River Onny - home to the Heron, Kingfisher, Dipper and Grey Wagtail. In the spring and summer the hay meadows are alive with butterflies and bees, while ox-eye daisies blossom in abundance.

Several way-marked walks radiate out from the Centre, from two to eight miles in length, as well as three cycle routes along quiet country lanes as far as the Longmynd.

Every school holiday also sees a programme of family-oriented activities, including themed craft projects, pond dipping, fossil-making, mini-beast safaris and story-telling. Part of the Meadows has been designated as a dog-free area and is kept mowed throughout the summer for use as a play area with picnic benches. Visitors can even hire garden games from the Centre for use in this area.

The Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre is located just off the A49 in Craven Arms, a few miles north of Ludlow.

For further details, visit www.shropshirehillsdiscoverycentre.co.uk.

Something for the Weekend, in the French Ardennes

Some very new, and very unusual, accommodation has helped to put The French Ardennes in the spotlight once again as a place to stay-and-explore during a short break or holiday in Northern France.

It's hard to imagine anywhere being as eccentric and surreal as the wonderful Hotel Dormeur du Val in the regional capital of Charleville- Mézières, or as stylish and regal as the Hôtel du Château Fort in Sedan. But the region has once again been able to surprise would-be visitors with the appearance of several new, and unusual, places to stay for 2011.

Opening in May, for example, the majestic Domaine Château du Faucon (www.domaine-chateaufaucon.com) lifts horse-riding holidays to an entirely different dimension. There are 13 rooms in the hotel, and six rooms in the chateau itself. And while there are also tennis courts, winter gardens, and an exceptional new restaurant for visitors to enjoy, the main emphasis here are the magnificent horses based within the chateau's stables.

Two new B&B accommodations in the north have also opened this year: the Gite du Domaine de L'Aviette, http://hebergement-givet.com, which is offering three very stylish and contemporary guest rooms alongside its existing holiday cottage; and the highly romantic Le Clos Belle Rose in Haybes http://www.le-clos-belle-rose.com/index.html

The growing choice of accommodation in The French Ardennes reflects the fact that it is now becoming one of the "new finds" for holidaymakers to France.

Visitors close to Charleville- Mézières, for example, have been amazed to discover the Abbaye des 7 Fontaines (www.abbayeseptfontaines.fr) with its links to Charles de Gaulle, a superb gourmet restaurant, and a golf course to challenge the best of its guests!

But this is a part of France where it is now possible to stay in tree houses (www.lecheneperche.com), yurts (http://mandukhai.free.fr), gypsy caravans, chateaux (http://www.chateaudemontaubois.com) and castles (www.hotelfp-sedan.com).

And for those looking for a little more seclusion and style, The French Ardennes even boasts a property feature in the Mr & Mrs Smith guides: the ever-so-chic Chez Odette (www.chez-odette.com).

The French Ardennes itself is located in the north-eastern reaches of France, enroute to many other places of interest – including Luxembourg, Belgium, and Germany.

It's a perfect base from which to explore the surrounding countryside, and to visit numerous local attractions, such as the newly opened Wolf Park where you can now get up-close-and-personal with three fully grown wolves, and Sedan Castle – the largest fortress in the whole of Europe.

Look out, too, for a giant puppeteer clock in Charleville- Mézières; and an enormous, rotating wild boar made of metal called Woinic by the side of a motorway!

For further information, visit www.ardennes.com.

Another Turn of the Card

A remarkable celebrity of his time - and someone who, today, would have been both prolific and extraordinarily well-followed on all social media channels - Arnold Bennett died exactly 80 years ago, in 1931.

And it is also 100 years ago, this year, that he completed and published one of the most famous and enduring of all his novels, The Card, which was also made into a classic movie, starring Sir Alec Guinness.

Bennett's literary legacy is vast. He was a writer of books, novels, plays and philosophical musings. He was a journalist, a travel writer, a raconteur and wit, and the Head of War Propaganda during the First World War. He was a resident of the (recently re-opened) Savoy Hotel, in London. He gave his name to an Omelette (still cooked and served by many of the leading chefs and top restaurants in Britain today). He lived in France. And Stoke-on-Trent. And London. And was mourned nation-wide when he died.

He also explained to the world how easy it is to spot someone from Stoke-on-Trent (just watch for the people who turn-over their cups, saucers and plates to see where they were made!). Most importantly of all, however, it was Arnold Bennett who best illustrated the enormous debt which Britain owes to The Potteries of Stoke-on-Trent: "You cannot drink tea out of a tea-cup without the aid of the Five Towns, you cannot eat a meal in decency without the aid of the Five Towns."

Universally recognised as ranking alongside Thomas Hardy's Wessex in the description and depiction of a specific region and the provincial life it embodies, Bennett's novels of the 'Five Towns' have attracted an enormous world-wide following for well over a century now.

The towns he described in great detail in novels such as The Old Wives' Tale, Anna of the Five Towns, Clayhanger and (exactly 100 years ago) The Card were filled with "pitheads, chimneys and kilns, tier above tier, dim in their own mists" - very different from the six towns of current day Stoke-on-Trent, but for all that, a fitting tribute to the history and heritage of The Potteries.

Born in Hanley in 1867, Bennett eventually moved to London; but, as A Man from the North (the name of his first novel), he never lost sight of his native Potteries - despite becoming one of the most financially and socially successful writers of this century.

A Man from the North appeared in print in February, 1898. A thinly veiled version of Bennett's own adolescent experiences in London, its principal character is Richard Larch who "had lived in the full glow of an impulse to write" and "discerned that he possessed the literary gift". Bennett certainly did; and The Potteries became the setting for many of his novels and short stories, with the six towns of Stoke-on-Trent reduced to five by the omission of Fenton.

Bennett detected a "grim and original beauty" in the industrial landscape of the region where he spent his formative years, and his descriptions of Bursley (Burslem), Hanbridge (Hanley), Knype (Stoke), Longshaw (Longton) and Turnhill (Tunstall) have helped to put The Potteries on the literary map of Great Britain.

Major redevelopment projects have helped to transform the city in recent years, but local scenes connected with Bennett's work are still there to be seen. And those which do remain have now been linked together by a self-guided walk called Arnold Bennett's Bursley Trail, which can be downloaded free of charge from the visitstoke.co.uk website.

There is also a tribute to Bennett in the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, which not only houses the best ceramics collection in Britain, but also a permanent display of the recently uncovered Staffordshire Hoard.

The Arnold Bennett Society plans to mark the 100th anniversary of The Card by opening up its conference to all-comers for an event featuring speakers from as far afield as Ireland and Istanbul. That event, on June 11th, will be held at the North Staffordshire Medical Institute. Full details will appear on their website shortly: www.arnoldbennettsociety.org.uk.

A former Chairman of the Bennett Society, John Shapcott, meanwhile, has edited a Centenary Edition of The Card, which is scheduled for publication this July. The book will include a full Critical Introduction, Background Notes to each chapter (identifying, for example, Burslem street names) and many illustrations from the 1952 film starring Alec Guinness. (These have been made available by kind permission of ITV).

Further details can also be found at www.visitstoke.co.uk.

Top UK Band and Tourism Office are Singing from the same Songsheet

The English Riviera just became "cool" again!

Leading UK band Metronomy has teamed up with its local tourism company to help put The English Riviera well and truly on the map.

Metronomy release their third album, 'The English Riviera', April 11th on Because Music. The follow up to their 2008, critically acclaimed 'Nights Out' album, it is described as "a sonic progression of epic proportions" and reaffirms Metronomy front man and producer, Joseph Mount, as "a rare British talent".

And fittingly for an album that is part love letter to the area of Devon coast Mount grew up in, and part concept album about his semi-fictionalised vision of "The English Riviera", Metronomy are hitting all the right notes as far as the resort is concerned.

Forming a progressive partnership with the destination's new marketing company, the English Riviera Tourism Company, it seems Metronomy could prove a runaway hit for the popular seaside resort.

"We were delighted to hear that Metronomy had named its latest album 'The English Riviera," says the Tourism Company's Chief Executive Carolyn Custerson. "And it's all come at the best possible time. We've only just launched our own English Riviera Tourism Company, and our main brand is 'The English Riviera'.

"It's great to hear just how passionate and positive Joseph is about the area – and we'll be giving them as much support as we work to raise both the profile of the band and this part of South Devon in the future."

Though Mount now splits his time between London and Paris, the album was born out of a newfound focus on where he started making music over a decade ago: Devon. The idea of The English Riviera connects Mount with the part of the South West coastline near to where he grew up.

"I just fantasised that this area was a cutting edge place of music and youth culture, which it isn't at all," he explains. "Imagining that this part of England creates a specific kind of music – the 'Devon Sound' – similar to West Coast studio music of the 1970s. If you went there and you had the geographical landscape in mind you'd end up making quite reflective, introspective music. This was just me writing a fantasy about Devon being this cool place like Portland, Oregon, so saying 'I'm from the English Riviera' to the music press would get you a few column inches, instead of reminding you of Fawlty Towers."

Since their last album, 'Nights Out', the Devon-based band have swollen to a four piece with new members Anna Prior on drums, Gbenga Adelekan on bass, original member Oscar Cash on keys/sax, and Joe himself on vocals, keys and guitar.

Reflecting elements of "The English Riviera", the tone for the new album is set by the opening sounds of seagulls, distant waves and a Music Hall string quartet. Any notion of whimsy is swiftly dispelled, however, as the seismic bass line of 'We Broke Free' shudders and ushers in waves of layered guitars and synths.

Having produced and remixed everyone, from Roots Manuva to Kate Nash, this is the first Metronomy album that Mount has taken out of his bedroom and recorded in a proper studio. And the results are telling.

Characterised throughout with a sense of warmth and richness, 'The English Riviera' is in parts reminiscent of seminal 1970s West Coast studio albums from the likes of Fleetwood Mac and The Eagles, but due to Mount's studio wizardry, the record sounds vibrant and entirely of its time.

Though embracing warmer, pop melodies – check the achingly beautiful, woozy balladry of 'Trouble' and Steely D an-isms of 'Some Written' - Metronomy have by no means left the dance-floor behind. Future single, 'The Look' is constructed around the kind of all conquering synth riff that will see it become a firm favourite come the summer's festivals, whilst 'The Bay' and 'Loving Arm' slink and (night) crawl with eyes firmly set on darkened club rooms.

Mount still writes all the songs, and keeps a "Kevin Rowland-like" grip on the way they are produced, but live Metronomy is definitely a quartet.

Mount is pleased with the path the band is heading down, although he is still keen to keep things fresh next time round. "I definitely had no intention of doing the same thing again. I like the stuff that changes," he says. "I still feel like we're starting out in our career. One day there might come a time when we'll have released a huge output that people can draw lines between and look for similarities."

For now, though, we can just enjoy the warmth of The English Riviera, the latest instalment in Metronomy's epic journey into pop's heartlands.

To find out more about the resort, visit www.englishriviera.co.uk.

And to see Jo Mount talking about his inspiration for the new album, visit http://www.rockfeedback.com/feature/1742/mtrnmytqyiv/

Shropshire Farm and Country Accommodation Going for Gold

Farm and country accommodation providers in one of Britain's most rural shire counties are planning to leap into the 21st century by launching a new App suitable for all iPhones, Blackberry's and Androids.

Around 30 accommodation providers in some of the most remote English countryside have joined the hi-tech scheme, which will enable anyone planning a short break or longer holiday the chance to trawl both the new website, and the App, in order to plan a tour of Shropshire.

The group has named itself 'Shropshire Gold', not only to reflect the quality of accommodation on offer in their farmhouses, B&Bs, guest houses and self catering cottages, but also to align themselves more closely to the anticipated surge of interest in the county's Olympian heritage during the run-up to the 2012 Games. (Much Wenlock, in Shropshire, is recognised as being the 'birthplace' of the modern international Olympic Games).

And so confident are they about their new identity, website and App, that they elected to launch themselves onto the UK's tourism landscape during British Tourism Week, 2011.

Other, nationwide B&B Apps obviously already exist. But Shropshire Gold's is believed to be the first of its kind in the country to focus exclusively on places to stay and places to visit, as well as a selection of itineraries, in one specific destination.

The aim is to help to promote Shropshire as a complete destination for anyone wanting to stay in farm and country accommodation, while also visiting some leading UK attractions, towns and villages. And the App is seen as the perfect tool for anyone wanting to plan a touring shortbreak, or longer holiday, in the county.

The group is now promoting itself via the website www.shropshiregold.co.uk

But the farm and country accommodation providers are also keen to exploit the full potential of all social media channels and have also created a profile on Twitter (@shropsgold), and Facebook (shropshiregold).

The "Shropshire Gold" App can be downloaded from all major App Stores FREE OF CHARGE from the start of British Tourism Week.

All members of Shropshire Gold pride themselves on the tranquillity, service, and quality rural holidays that they can offer to visitors.

From Sewing Machines to The Statue of Liberty

Isaac Merritt Singer - inventor, actor, entrepreneur and founder of the Singer Sewing Machine Company - was born 200 years ago, on October 27th, 1811.

An American by birth, Singer fled Paris, for Paignton of all places, with his French wife and family during the Franco Prussian War of 1871. But he fell in love with the area and purchased Little Oldway, which was then a part of the Fernham Estate in Paignton.

His plan was simple. But the designs were grand. Local architect, G. S. Bridgeman was told to "build me a big wig-wam" by Singer. The result, however, was (and still is) one of the grandest houses in Devon, which brought a further flavour of France to the world famous English Riviera.

Modelled on the Palace of Versailles with other parts inspired by the Place de la Concorde in Paris, its striking renaissance style was adopted in honour of Isaac's French wife.

A colourful, larger-than-life character, Isaac Singer died in 1875, leaving 22 living children, both legal and common law. Amongst those, it was Paris Singer - conceived in the French capital – who took over residency in the mansion, and who gave it its present form. Another regular visitor to Oldway at that time was Paris's mistress, Isadora Duncan.

The first stone at Oldway Mansion was laid on May 10th, 1873; and after its completion the mansion remained largely unaltered until a period between 1904-1907 when it was further improved by Paris, who had trained as an architect in France.

During this period the formal gardens were laid-out to the south of the house by the leading French garden/landscape designer, Achille Duchene, who also designed the water garden at Blenheim Palace. The 18th Century style Italian Garden, located to the east of the house, was created by Duchene and involves intricate parterre of dwarf box hedging interspersed with flower beds and gravel paths. He included in the design the grotto gardens, where a waterfall showers over cave-like rocks into a pool below.

Paignton's Oldway Mansion, on The 'English Riviera', has also been one of the venues used for the annual Agatha Christie Festival each September.

It also provided an eye-catching backdrop for the movie Churchill: The Hollywood Years starring Christian Slater. Oldway Mansion 'doubled' as Buckingham Palace in the film, which was directed by Devon-based Peter Richardson, one of the leading lights of the Comic Strip in the 1980s.

Incredibly, the house also links Paignton, on The English Rivera to The Statue of Liberty in New York.

Urban legends and internet rumours have led to much speculation as to who exactly was the model for the "Goddess of Democracy" - America's Statue of Liberty sculpture, which today stands watch over New York Harbour.

The sculptor of the Statue of Liberty, Frederic August Bartholdi, may have had several models from which he created the great "Lady of Liberty".

While some say it resembled his mother Charlotte Bartholdi and some, that it was modelled on his mistress (later to become his wife) Jeanne-Emile Baheux de Puysieux, others claim that the classically beautiful and recently widowed Isabelle Eugenie Boyer was the model for arguably the world’s most famous statue.

Others still, meanwhile, put forward the theory that it was Winnaretta Singer, daughter of Isaac and Isabelle.

But the chances are that when Statue of Liberty was finally completed in 1866, few would have known that the massive sculpture dominating new York's waterfront owed something for its inspiration to one of America's famous sons….not to mention: The English Riviera!

Breathtaking Beacons

The wild Welsh ponies on the Brecon Beacons aren't really that wild. And Bethlehem doesn't really sit beneath a big bright star.

But this can truly be described as the Wild West. And there's surely no better place than this for star-gazing.

Welcome to The Brecon Beacons, the highest range of mountains in the southern half of Britain. A remote wilderness stretching over 520 square miles (or the equivalent land mass covered by the entire London Underground network).

There are certainly more sheep, and almost as many scheduled monuments, to be seen in the isolated moorlands, valleys, gorges, hills and mountains of The Brecon Beacons as there are people. Around 7,500 of the 33,000 people who live in this magnificent landscape live in the market town of Brecon: home of the South Wales Borderers Museum, which tells the full story of Rorke's Drift or, "Zulu", as it is better known to movie buffs.

A popular gateway to the hills and mountains, Brecon itself is slowly gaining as much of a reputation for its arts and crafts as nearby Hay-on-Wye has managed to do for its bookshops.

Without question, most people come to The Brecon Beacons to walk, cycle, and to pony trek. It's one of the last great wildernesses in Britain, and with virtually no light pollution, an ideal place for the increasingly popular pastime of star-gazing.

The Mountain Centre (National Park Visitor Centre), near to Brecon, is the best starting point for all of these activities. Or, for a less strenuous stroll, there's always the 35 miles of towpaths along the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal, which reached completion 200 years ago, in 1812.

The Brecon Beacons themselves have been shaped over millions of years, and while the National Showcaves Centre for Wales near Ystradfellte has been named as Britain's finest natural wonder, the Great Forest ("Fforest Fawr") now stands at the centre of one of UNESCO's most stunning Global Geoparks.

Unexpected highlights on a visit to this remote region include the possibility of getting up-close-and-personal with some of the wild Welsh ponies on the passes through the mountains; Brecon's remarkable Cathedral; and a chance to send a Christmas card from the village post office in Bethlehem.

They call The Brecon Beacons "Britain's Breathing Spaces".
But be ready for its scenery to also take your breath away.

For further details, visit http://www.breconbeacons.org.

The 'Who's Foo' of Street Theatre

What would make two seemingly normal young women want to wear lampshades on their heads, and walk around a city centre prompting passers-by join their make-believe bus tour?

Cue comments along the lines of "It takes all sorts..."!

Just as there are now all sorts of reasons for keeping a watchful eye out for "Maison Foo", which translates literally as the "house of mischievous fools", and which comprises two of the most energetic young ladies on the planet.

Although, given that they spend half of their working lives adopting the persona of Alien Tourists from Planet Flip Flop, it's even debatable as to whether or not they are, indeed, from a different planet.

You need to meet them to make your own minds up about that. Or else watch them perform their carefully crafted street theatre to audiences, who visibly move all the way up the scale, from bemused, to amused.

Inhabitants of planet Derby, Bethany Sheldon and Kathryn Lowe both trained in Theatre, and found they shared the same ambitions (and mischievously absurd and surreal sense of humour).

While Bethany trained at Manchester Metropolitan University School of Theatre and has trained throughout Europe in various acting and puppetry techniques, Kathryn trained at Bretton Hall in Theatre Acting and has also spent time training in Keith Johnstone's improvisation techniques with Kevin Tomlinson of Kepow Theatre.

Favourite street theatre characters portrayed by Maison Foo include the curiously charming intergalactic Alien Tourists all the way from Planet Flip Flop; a dusting down from the Hostesses with the Mostesses; 1950s etiquette experts The Trolley Dollies; a lesson in love at the portable wooing booth of Puppet Mr Pegg; and a good old moan with the Nosey Nanas, better known as the NAFs (Nans Against Festivals).

But their big break through came at the 2010 Edinburgh Festival, where their poignant stage show Memoirs of a Biscuit Tin which had the local, regional and national theatre critics urging Festival goers to book their seats as quickly as possible.

Not surprisingly, it became one of Edinburgh's sell-out shows, with audiences flocking in to see "a lost lost street and a lost lost house that seemed to have misplaced it's own..." in an intriguing tale following "the story of a wall, a floor and a chimney, a forgotten old lady and the memories that lie within". And with an inventive blend of clowning, visual theatre and puppetry Maison Foo were able to bring to life the imaginative topsy-turvy world lurking behind the door of Number 92!

So what's next for the terrible twins of street theatre?

A national tour lurks in the wings. As does an ever growing calendar of street theatre appearances.

They're worth looking-out for. And very easily recognised. Who else would be seen in Derby's Cathedral Quarter with a lampshade on their head?

For more details, visit http://www.maisonfoo.com/

On The Black Hill

The enigmatic and award winning author Bruce Chatwin, whose novel On The Black Hill celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2012, was famous, not least, for the fact that he wrote his books in other peoples' houses.

"A house is only useful to me if it is somewhere I can write in," observed Chatwin in one of his notebooks. And as his fame grew, so too did the number of people willing to offer him a desk.

So it comes as no surprise to learn that several people were quick to take the credit for giving Chatwin the space to write arguably his most famous novel of all, On The Black Hill.

It's said, for example, that when publisher Tom Maschler told George Melly that Chatwin has written the book at his cottage near Hay-on-Wye, Melly argued, "What do you mean? He wrote it in my house!"

Whatever the truth, and wherever he wrote it (some say it was in as many as seven different houses), the fact remains that most of it drew its inspiration from Chatwin's time in the border country between England and Wales, in Shropshire, Herefordshire and The Brecon Beacons.

Hosts included George and Diana Melly in their tower at Scethrog (in Brecon), and the Wilkinson family near to the village of Clunton in Shropshire.

Chatwin turned up at Cwm Hall in Clunton at the end the 1970s, and was given the stable flat, where he sketched out the first pages of his poignant, deepest and darkest, story about two Welsh farming brothers.

And he actually completed it in another favourite hideaway: a medieval signalling tower near to Florence, in Italy. The story goes that a maid, Giuliana, one day asked her employers how many people were staying in the tower, and was told "Just Signor Chatwin", with owner Greggori von Rezzori later explaining: "She had overhead an entire assortment of voices: men, women, children. It was Bruce writing, reading aloud, in the many-voiced chaos at a county fair in Wales."

Chatwin drew most of his inspiration from his time in Herefordshire, The Brecon Beacons and Shropshire. It was a sweeping landscape and a sparse population which Chatwin saw more than 30 years ago. And one which still exists to some degree to this today.

He wrote the first chapters between March and May 1979, having arrived at Cwm Hall with an empty notebook. But he left it with the makings of a masterpiece, which would later also be made into a movie, filmed almost entirely in The Brecon Beacons at Spennybridge, Hay-on-Wye, Crickhowell and in the Black Mountains themselves.

It was during his time here he mapped-out the tale of farming twin brothers haunted by childlessness, and set on a vast charcoal tract of forestry land, in the Brecon Beacons. The Black Hill also means "beautiful" in Celtic, and Chatwin announced to his host at Cwm Hall one evening, "I've got it. I will call my book On The Black Hill."

It is one of the clearest descriptions of the Herefordshire-Breconshire borders; and is set around the Llanthony Valley, which he had known since childhood.

But the atmosphere, the stories and basis of his book come from Clun (a place which had also inspired much of A.E.Housman's melancholic poem, A Shropshire Lad).

Here, there are still farms like The Vision from Chatwin's book, where "old machinery stands like remembered relatives too sorrowful to part with". And, eager to create a history of the 20th century in a rural setting, Chatwin chronicled a society where the farmers themselves were often called after their homes (Jones, the Vron, and Morris, the Temple).

The bicycle strapped to the top of Chatwin's Citroen was put to full use in the borderlands. After lunch on most days, he would set-off through the small lanes to hear local gossip in auction houses, pubs, antique shops and small village libraries. He was said to have an ear for stories, and was a "lover of language beyond belief".

In On The Black Hill, Chatwin captures the innocence and sense of place, of these isolated borderlands.

And, thirty years later, the book is still required reading for all visitors to these parts today.

All Mod Cons

The Old Police Cells in Shrewsbury's former Police Station offers visitors to Shrewsbury a very different place to stay.

If you're not a fan of brick walls, barrelled ceilings and original cell doors, then this isn't for you! But, in truth, it has all been brought beautifully back to life with contemporary design and comfort. And your "keepers", the husband-and-wife team of Mark and Ann Johnson, will give you a warm welcome and make sure you enjoy your stay amidst the surprisingly luxurious interiors.

The cells used to house 6-8 (ahem) "guests". But Ann and Mark have transformed the four former cells so that, while they still have most of their original features (including three of old police cell doors to each of the rooms), it now features one spacious, comfortable, bright and contemporary apartment suited to one, or two, people.

In addition to a spacious double bedroom, there's an en suite bathroom with double shower cubicle. The hall then leads to the bright and spacious living area, which incorporates a fully integrated kitchen with cooker, fridge and washer/dryer.

Shrewsbury itself is now punctuated with food shops which offer the mouthwatering ingredients for a quiet night in. Top tips here would be to head for Appleyard Deli at the top of Wyle Cop, an Aladdin’s Cave, filled with meats, cheeses, breads, and all manner of mouth-watering goodies. Or the very new Mad Jack's Deli in St Mary's Street. For a taste of France, fill your basket full of treats from Le Plat du Jour on Fish Street.

But if you end up feeling stir crazy, you can always make a break for the nearby Loch Fyne Restaurant, the fabulous Armoury on the riverside, or The Cornhouse at the bottom of Wyle Cop. And if you want to bring in a bottle of wine, the best insider tip is the multi-award-winning Tanners wine merchants in premises used in the filing on Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol: www.tanners-wines.co.uk.

The apartment, meanwhile, is located in Swan Hill, a historic quarter of the town which boasts several traditional pubs. The new Severn Theatre and town centre are only a few minutes walk away, making this place ideally situated to explore all of Shrewsbury's historic landmarks. But it's the history of the Old Cells which you're sure to find especially arresting.

The police purchased the land, appropriately called 'Scotland Yard', in 1897; and the Shrewsbury Police then moved into the building in 1900. More recently, Ian Hunter of the Mott the Hoople lived in the building (although not in the cells!) when his father was stationed here.

One night of solitary confinement in The Old Police Cells in Shropshire starts at 75-pounds a night in the low season (including town centre parking). A one week "sentence" (7 nights) will cost around 300-pounds in the low season.

Check out their website www.theoldpolicecells.co.uk for full rates or telephone 01743-272544.

And don't forget to take some porridge!

Falling Madly, Deeply, for Hadley

Telford? It's a "new" town. Right?

Modern. Good for shopping. The commercial centre of one of the loveliest counties in Britain.

But pretty soul-less, really.

Why go there?

Yup, that's right! And, hey, "what have the Romans ever done for us"?!

Well, let's start with the cradle of the Industrial Revolution. A World Heritage Site which is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2011. The birthplace of the modern international Olympic movement. Some of the best walks in the UK. And one of the most important Roman sites in Europe (www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/wroxeter-roman-city).

And now, The Hadley Park Hotel (www.hadleypark.co.uk). An independently run, luxurious country house, offering fine dining, and a get-away-from-it-all atmosphere within a fabulous Grade II-listed 18th century house.

Minutes from the motorway, a short taxi ride from Telford station, yet still able to conjure-up all of the history, heritage and elegance of bygone years.

To pass through its imposing doorway is to enter a different world.

Purchased six years ago by the current owners, Hadley Park has a fine pedigree. The history of the building itself has been painstakingly researched, and reflects the grandeur on offer to its visitors today. It has taken almost seven years to restore the property to its former glory. An extension with a function suite and 10 extra bedrooms has been sympathetically added to the existing property - as has a quite garden area, where it's possible to sit and reflect by a recently installed pond.

Rumour has it Thomas Telford himself visited the house during the time he was employed to design and construct the nearby Shrewsbury Canal.

The ownership of the property has switched, over the years, from landed gentry to former army officers, industrialists to Japanese businessmen. And finally, experienced hoteliers.

So that now, at long last, it is ready to once again start receiving discerning visitors who are in search of seclusion, comfort, individual attention, and fine dining.

The pressure has been taken off the dining room, thanks to the creation of the function suite. And Head Chef Tim Wesley is ready to cook up a storm for guests dining in the 60-cover conservatory restaurant.

Ideally suited to couples, or small groups, who are in search of a bolt-hole while exploring the world famous Ironbridge (www.ironbridge.org.uk), or who want to find out more about how the picturesque village of Much Wenlock nearby claims to be the starting point of the Modern Olympics (www.wenlock-olympian-society.org.uk), The Hadley Park Hotel is now offering itself as an oasis in the heart of Telford.

Guests arriving by the new direct service from London Marylebone to Telford operated by Wrexham and Shropshire Trains (www.wrexhamandshropshire.co.uk), meanwhile, will even be collected from, and then delivered back, to the nearby railway station.

For more details visit www.hadleypark.co.uk.

All Roads Lead to Whitchurch

Drive through the Midlands, North Wales, Cheshire, and Staffordshire, and the chances are you will spot the name "Whitchurch" on one or more (if not ALL) of the road-side signs.

No-one has been able to explain to me exactly how this came about. Or why. But one possibility is that it is at a crossroads - of the ever-busy A49 and A41.

The metaphor also becomes blatantly obvious to anyone who takes the time to slip quietly from one of these major roads, and into a town which is itself at a key junction in its long and distinguished history. Because, with at least half of the town looking ever-so slightly worse for wear, the other half holds both an enormous appeal to passing visitors, as well as a possible key to its future.

A straw poll on Twitter suggested that anyone who has been to Whitchurch recently regards it as a "pretty", "well-located", and "interesting" market town of genuine character.

I'd actually go further that that, and describe it in a much more cliched way as one of Shropshire's "hidden gems": a canal-side town which anyone interested in history, art and food would be well advised to visit, rather than simply by-pass on the A41 or A49.

It won't hold you for more than half a day. But a great starting point on that brief visit is the Heritage Centre which is housed within the town centre Tourist Information Centre. Links with illustrator Randolph Caldecott and composer of such popular operas Merrie England and Tom Jones, Sir Edward German, are celebrated here, along with the story of how Whitchurch takes its name from the town's original White Church, which fell down in 1711. http://whitchurch-heritage.co.uk

The re-built St Alkmund's Church is perhaps most famous for having the embalmed heart of Lord John Talbot buried under its porch. Born in Whitchurch, he spent most of his time fighting in France, and died at the Battle of Bordeaux in 1453. The embalmed heart was returned to Whitchurch, and was removed from the porch 50 years after being buried there to be reunited with his bones, under an effigy, found today in the Lady Chapel. http://www.stalkmunds.com/

History lessons over, the real jewel in Whitchurch's crown at the moment can be found next door to its Heritage Centre. Down to Earth Gallery contains two floors of art by local craftsmen which can stand comparison with that on show in some of our biggest cities. An eclectic mix of original work by around 40 emerging and established designers and makers, it brings together some highly desirable ceramics, glass, prints, paintings and accessories. http://www.downtoearthgallery.co.uk/

Round all of that off with either an afternoon tea at the fabulously chilled Outside Edge cafe/bistro (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=37279336045) for just £12 for two people, or a meal at the well run and popular Anglo-Italian restaurant, Etzio's (http://www.etzio.co.uk), and that just about completes the tour of a place it's better to pass through than simply pass by!

What's the Collective Noun for a group of Wenlock Mascots?

That was the question I jokingly asked, via Twitter, following the launch of the initial range of mascot products for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games on Tuesday, August 17th at Golden Bear Products Ltd in Telford, Shropshire.

And I'm delighted to say we had an enthusiastic and highly creative response, thanks to much re-tweeting, and the assistance of VisitBritain.

But before announcing the winner (and the word now destined, no doubt, to enter the Olympic record books!), it's probably best to build up a little more tension by taking the time to answer another question first.

Why "Wenlock"?

Because, while gold medals will be handed out in London in 2012 for being Swifter, Higher, Stronger, there is a need to look to the history books - and to the picturesque Shropshire market town of Much Wenlock, 150-miles away - to see who won the very first medals for hurdling, rifle shooting and even tilting.

Shropshire may appear an unlikely place to find the origins of the international Olympic Games, yet it was here, in 1850, that Dr William Penny Brookes first founded the Wenlock Olympian Society.

Now, 160 years later Much Wenlock's role has also provided the inspiration behind one of the 2012 London Olympic mascots unveiled in a blaze of global publicity.

Brookes studied medicine in London, Paris and Padua before returning to Shropshire to take over his father's medical practice. Following in the Ancient Greek Olympic tradition of developing the mind and body, he founded The Wenlock Olympian Games, for the promotion of moral, physical and intellectual improvement.

The Olympian Games included Greek classical and country sports like running, quoits, football and cricket, but there was always a competition for juveniles, as well as a fun competition - Blind wheelbarrow racing one year for example, and An old woman's race for a pound of tea, another. Pageantry was always an important part of the entertainment - including a colourful procession led by a band, followed by the athletes, officials and spectators, and the presentation of medals, prizes and olive crowns to the winners.

One visitor to the 1890 Olympian Games was Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the acknowledged founder of the international Olympic Games, who later wrote "and of the Olympic Games, which modern Greece has not yet revived, it is not a Greek to whom one is indebted, but rather Dr W. P. Brookes". And in 1994, as part of the 100th anniversary of the modern Olympic movement, the President of the IOC, Juan Antonio Samaranch, came to Much Wenlock "because this is where the modern Olympics started".

Today, visitors to Much Wenlock will find a small display of photographs and memorabilia relating to the Olympian Games in the town's museum, a plaque, and trees planted by The Queen, Baron Pierre de Coubertin and Princess Anne - as well as the 15th century Guildhall where Brookes presided as a magistrate for over forty years.

Visitors can also follow a 2,100-metres Olympian Trail, which starts and finishes at the Much Wenlock Museum. Specially produced bronze markers in the pavements, and an Olympian Trail leaflet, highlight this route and guide visitors around the town, pointing out all of the sites and historic buildings associated with the story.

Today, the modern international Olympic Games are held every four years. But the Wenlock Olympian Games still take place every year, during the second week of July. The 125th Games are scheduled for 2011.

So: that's the history bit! And now, the answer you have all been waiting for.

What's the collective noun for a group of Wenlock Olympic mascots?

In third place: A Cyclops of Wenlocks, submitted by @hevvyhev

In second place: A Much of Wenlocks, submitted by @IdeasForTheKids

And the winner is:

Why, a Wenflock, of course!

Submitted, quite fittingly, by the Olympic mascots themselves @WenandMan

For further details of the Wenlock Olympian Society, visit www.wenlock-olympian-society.org.uk.

For all other details about Shropshire, visit www.visitshropshire.com.

To find out more about the 2012 Games Mascots, "Wenlock" and "Mandeville", visit http://www.ourlondon2012.com/mascots/about-us/.

And to purchase any of the soft toy mascots, click on to http://www.shop.london2012.com, where you'll find a veritable Wenflock of them for sale.

Golden Bear's licence for the 2012 Games, meanwhile, will see the Shropshire company manufacture a whole host of gift products including soft toy mascots of all sizes, key rings, charm accessories, collectable figures, 'stick on' mascots and character backpacks. To follow them on Twitter, click on @GBProducts

OK. Next question.

What's the collective noun for a group of Mandeville Olympic mascots?

Indiana Jones, a lost city, a dog with two noses, Tin Tin, and Brad Pitt Torquay's Percy Fawcett MAY once again become one of the best-known names on the planet.

Percy who?

Colonel Percival Harrison Fawcett, born 1867, and lost ("presumed dead") 1925.

It usually takes a major anniversary for a town to suddenly get excited about one of its best loved sons.

But in this instance, it is the appearance of a best-selling book (The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon, Doubleday, New York) by David Grann, AND the fact that Brad Pitt has bought the rights of that book to turn it into a movie, which is sparking renewed interest in this sporting legend, war hero, spy and alleged role-model for Harrison Ford's Indiana Jones.

And rumours still abound that Pitt himself will portray the story of a man said to posses great physical strength coupled with an iron will and an amazing constitution that seemingly made him immune to tropical diseases.

Born on 31st August 1867 in Higher Erith Road, Torquay, Devon, Fawcett was educated at nearby Newton College in Newton Abbot. He joined the army, reached the rank of Lt. Colonel, and won the DSO in The Great War on the Western Front.

Having served all over the world with the army, his exploration work began with several survey missions for the Royal Geographical Society.

It was on these travels through the South American jungle that Fawcett first encountered tales of lost cities and forgotten tribes in the rainforest. Added to his own research of the literature of the region (using a notebook identical to that made famous by Indiana Jones) Fawcett slowly became obsessed with his plan to find what he described as The Lost City of Z.

Armed with nothing more than a machete, and accompanied by his favourite son, Jack, Fawcett went on many daring adventures facing, along the way, swarms of insects, spiders the size of dinner plates, starvation and disease. He was forced to run for his life from hostile natives, and once recorded in his famous journal the discovery of giant anacondas 60 feet in length, and a breed of dog with two noses (!).

Not surprisingly, his stories were met with a degree of disbelief in some quarters in Britain. But Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was sufficiently impressed after hearing one of his talks to pen the novel The Lost World.

The romantic side of Fawcett's nature was captured by a black basalt figure presented to him by the adventure writer Rider Haggard. He took the figure to a psychic who produced an elaborate story of an ancient lost civilisation. From this, Fawcett constructed his own theory that the statue came from an Atlantean civilisation, and that it may be possible to find survivors at a point called "Z", in the unexplored Matto Grosso jungle.

Fawcett finally set off from New York on his final expedition in 1925; an ambitious and dangerous journey into the heart of the jungle with his son Jack and his friend Raleigh Rimmell. The small party were never heard of again. And well over 100 people who have subsequently ignored his warning not to come looking for him have also lost their lives while following in his footsteps.

Fawcett's legend nevertheless lives on - through his family, through is own writings, through new books and even through a brief appearance in one of the Tin Tin adventure stories.

More importantly, his story is contained within Torquay Museum which has an extensive collection of memorabilia waiting to be added to an already impressive gallery IF (or when!) the movie hits the big screen.

As a final twist to the tale, however dubious Fawcett's theory of a Lost City in the rainforest may have seemed then, it has now been shown to have more than a degree of truth. Traces of a long lost civilisation have been found in the jungle around the area where Fawcett predicted it would be; and it is believed this advanced society may have still been in existence when the Portuguese conquistadors arrived in Brazil.

Even a breed to dog with two noses was discovered to exist in 2005!

It is from all of this that David Grann found enough material for his best-selling book. And, possibly, for Brad Pitt to discover the potential for a new Hollywood movie.

Torquay itself is also ready to ensure that a good enough tourism product will be in place for anyone who wants to follow in the footsteps of Percy Fawcett.

Already renowned for its association with Agatha Christie who, herself, explored far-flung destinations around the globe with her husband, the archaeologist, Max Mallowan, Torquay Museum already champions the likes of Fawcett and an unusually high proportion of explorers with a Torquay connection, including Sir Richard Burton (famous, amongst other things for his translations of Arabian Nights, The Perfumed Garden and the Karma Sutra).

There are also plenty of places in the area for 21st century visitors to "explore" themselves, such as Kent's Cavern, and the whole of the Bay's 22-miles coastline which has recently received World Geopark status.

Further details about this part of Britain can be found at http://www.englishriviera.co.uk.

Christmas is on the Cards on the English Riviera

Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas without Orestone Manor - now one of the leading hotels and restaurants on the world famous English Riviera.

The manor house's brush with history came in 1840, at a time when John Callcott Horsley lived at Orestone, on the rural fringe of Torbay.

His friend, Sir Henry Cole, founding director of South Kensington Museum (renamed the Victoria and Albert Museum) asked this well-known painter to design what was to become the world's first-ever commercial Christmas card.

Neither man had any idea of the impact it would have in Britain, and later in much of the rest of the world. They thought it would be a vogue which would soon pass. But instead, it became an integral part of the holiday season which, within a quarter of a century, had already become big business, creating previously unknown opportunities for artists, writers, printers and engravers.

Prior to 1840, Sir Henry Cole, in common with many others, would handwrite greetings and best wishes to family, friends, and acquaintances. This would often be done on sheets of paper decorated with Christmas themes.

But in order to streamline the process, Cole asked his Torbay-based friend Horsley to produce a Christmas card with a single message that could be duplicated and sent to everyone on what was to become the world's first "Christmas card list".

The first edition of card went on sale in 1843. Horsley produced 1,000 cards and offered them for sale at one shilling (5p) each. Lithographed and hand-coloured, the card shows a family party and bears the message "A Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to You". Only a dozen of the originals are known to exist today. They are valued at between 3,000-6,000 pounds Sterling, but one, sold in auction six years ago and signed by Sir Henry, fetched 22,500 pounds Sterling.

Today, Orestone Manor is 'home' to one of the very best hotels and restaurants in South West England. For further details, visit http://www.orestone.co.uk.

And for more details of The English Riviera as a whole, visit http://www.englishriviera.co.uk.

Bringing Trentham Estate Back to Life

Work to restore one of the most historic gardens in Britain first got under way about seven years ago.

Costing around seventeen million pounds, the project at that time was led by renowned garden designers and Chelsea gold-medal winners Tom Stuart-Smith and Piet Oudolf who, along with Trentham Gardens Manager Michael Walker, revitalised the derelict 30-acre Victorian garden by imposing on its Italianate outlines what is now one of the world's largest planting of herbaceous perennials.

Stuart-Smith and Oudolf, however, were simply the latest in a long line of garden historians and designers to be associated with the parklands which were once home to the Dukes of Sutherland.

And the rejuvenation of Trentham's famous Italian Gardens was based largely upon the original designs created for them in 1833 by Capability Brown, and Sir Charles Barry, the architect of the Houses of Parliament.

Located in the greenest corner of Stoke-on-Trent, in England, Trentham boasts a long and colourful history. The original Tudor house was rebuilt by Barry in the 19th century, at which time the waste of meadow lands were transformed into Italian gardens "with no rival outside of Italy".

Once the pleasure ground of royals and nobles (Benjamin Disraeli called it 'Brentham' in his novel Lothair, and the Shah of Persia was one of the countless guests to stay in the Hall), it became a playground of the people in the early 20th century, during which time the name 'Trentham Gardens' became so famous.

The latest chapter in the estate's history is now being written by St Modwen's, who took over the dilapidated and overgrown site at the end of the 20th century, and who are helping to oversee a spend in excess of one hundred million to transform it into one of Europe's leading 21st century visitor destinations.

The new-look gardens have already matured into some of the finest in Britain, to be called by Alan Titchmarsh, no less, as one of the nation's "must-see gardens".

But the development at Trentham is ongoing. More and more show gardens are now being introduced onto the estate. And a new hotel, to the original design of Sir Charles Barry's Hall, and with all the five star luxury to match is also on the cards for the not-too-distant future.

For full details, visit http://www.trentham.co.uk/

Pleasure Homes, Twisted Spires and Straight Cucumbers

Millions of pounds have been spent in the last 30-to-40 years, simply to keep Bolsover Castle upright.

But it is the final three-to-four million spent within the last 10, that have really helped to transform it into one of the premier attractions in Derbyshire, and to reveal it as a 'hidden gem' amongst the English Heritage treasures.

Perched high above the Vale of Scarsdale, the Castle has dominated the north eastern Derbyshire landscape and the former coal-mining town of Bolsover for over 300 years.

Sir Charles Cavendish, son of Bess of Hardwick - whose greatest creation, Hardwick Hall, stands nearby - started the construction of the Little Castle at Bolsover, almost exactly 400 years ago, in 1612.

It was his son, William, who then completed the task. What he created was a 17th century 'Pleasure Palace' - a romantic retreat where it was possible to indulge in an imaginary golden age of chivalry; and where, for more than 300 years, the emphasis has always been on fun, entertainment, and culture.

Still filled with that magical atmosphere today, the Castle boasts an elegant Riding House and a Little Castle filled with sumptuous interiors - not to mention a plainly erotic Venus Fountain!

It has left English Heritage able to claim quite rightly that, "Bolsover Castle is now quite simply a stunningly located attraction of international importance".

In addition to being able to follow the state-of-the-art 'Clayton's Tour' (named after a 17th century steward), or 'Adam's Tour' (stable-lad), around Bolsover Castle, visitors also now 'come into contact' with ghosts, as well as voices from the past; and the building is used throughout the year as an unparalleled backdrop for a wide range of events throughout the year.

For more details check out the website http://bit.ly/bU52pl.

Just a few miles away, in Chesterfield (http://bit.ly/bRSxnt), stands another of Britain's most famous landmarks, the 228-feet high twisted spire of the church of St Mary and All Saints which leans 9 foot 5 inches from its true centre.

Regarded by many as unique, it is, in fact, one of around 76 eye-catching and much-photographed twisted spires of Europe.

In the UK, Chesterfield, Barnstaple and Cleobury Mortimer possess twisted spires, as do churches in France, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Italy and Switzerland.

What binds them all together is the strange appearance of these churches. As well as the legends, myths and mysteries surrounding most of these twisted spires.

Chesterfield Church of St Mary and All Saints, which has been featured in publications around the globe, was built in the 13th and 14th centuries, and lays claim to the tallest of all the twisted spires.

One legend has it that the devil - returning home after a day-long journey - stopped to rest on top of the spire. Down below, they were celebrating midnight mass, and the rising incense used during the service caused him to sneeze violently. He managed to keep his balance by clinging to the weather vein, and by winding his tail around the spire. It was only the next morning that the inhabitants of Chesterfield awoke to find their spire was now twisted and bent.

Then, there is the tale of a powerful magician who persuaded a Bolsover blacksmith to shoe the devil. Shaking with fear, he drove a nail into the foot of the devil, who took flight towards Chesterfield, and who lashed out in agony and twisted the spire around.

Yet another legend tells of a bride so beautiful that she caused the spire to bow in admiration; and yet another of the spire being so amazed at the sight of a virgin being married in the church that it twisted around to see this wonder for itself!

More likely, however, are the explanations relating to too much green timber being used in the construction of the spire, and the fact that there are no cross bearings in the eight sides of the structure.

Another factor, of course, could be the 32 tons of lead tiles covering the wooden tower.

But whatever the reason - unlike many of the other twisted spires of Europe, which were deliberately built with a twist - this one has occurred by accident, and visitors today can join guided visits as far as the foot of the spire.

For another twist in the tale, visitors to Chesterfield Museum (http://bit.ly/aElhnA) can also discover how George Stephenson grew straight cucumbers more than a century before EC regulations came into force!

Stoke's Flushed with Pride and Doing It in Tile!

The City of Stoke-on-Trent has lifted the lid on the full history of the toilet.

The creation of the permanent exhibition under the title of 'Flushed with Pride' has resulted in a total transformation of unused areas in the award-winning Gladstone Pottery Museum, in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent.

The attraction offers visitors a vivid insight into every conceivable aspect of the toilet, both ancient and modern, including Tudor toilets, displays of Thomas Crapper's inventions, toilet humour, a Lady Pee, Japanese Wash Lets, and the world's first Universal Toilet.

Fittingly, the exhibition is located in Gladstone Pottery's old toilet block which, as well as housing the Flushed with Pride attraction, also features a separate exhibition of tiles - from the historical and contemporary, to the best-selling.

Upstairs, in the 400 square metre Flushed with Pride gallery, there are seven very different themed areas, where visitors first encounter a no-holds barred recreation of a 'slum' from the 1840s; followed by an audio visual display - situated in a sewer - telling the story of how, and why, waste needs to be removed from public dwellings.

The largest part of the attraction concentrates on bathrooms, WC's, urinals, latrines, water closets and toilets, all of which are yet another reminder of the value of the pottery industry.

For in the same way that all of the most famous names in the creation of fine china and ceramics are carried around the globe on the backs of cups, saucers and plates, most people these days are still met by familiar names from The Potteries when entering a WC, or buying a washbasin or toilet.

Major national and international bathroom manufacturers have also supported the new attraction. And as well as gaining an insight into the fascinating history of the sanitation industry, visitors are also given a sneak preview of some innovative toilet technology of the future.

Admission to the new attraction is covered by the entry ticket to the Gladstone Pottery Museum, in Stoke on Trent (http://www.visitstoke.co.uk/) - the "World Capital of Ceramics".

For further details, visit http://www.stoke.gov.uk/ccm/navigation/leisure/museums/gladstone-pottery-museum/flushed-with-pride/

Is the Spoonerism Dead? I hope hot!

Much appreciated throughout the world for its quirky, quaint, and ever-so-slightly oddball character, Shropshire is also the home of another of Britain's most endearing eccentricities The Spoonerism!

The tendency to occasionally switch the initial letters, or half-syllables, of words is attributed to a former pupil at Oswestry School, William Archibald Spooner; and was officially recognised as Spoonerism in 1885.

As a result, Shropshire already associated through fact and fiction with kings and witches, giants and devils, and characters such as 'Mad' Jack Mytton and Wild Edric is now also perceived as the county (http://www.shropshiretourism.co.uk/) where it is still "kisstomary to cuss the bride".

Born in London in 1844, Spooner is one of the many famous pupils to have passed through Oswestry School from the days when it first opened in 1407.

The original Grammar School was sited next to St Oswald's Parish Church and, as well as being one of the most historic buildings on the English-Welsh borders (and the second oldest school in England), is 'home' today of award-winning tearooms, regular exhibitions, and the town's Tourist Information Centre.

The son of a barrister, young Spooner was educated here, before enjoying a highly distinguished career as a priest and scholar. Described as being an albino, with a pink face, poor eyesight and a head too large for his body, he was also 'genial, kindly and hospitable', but also susceptible to 'tips of the slung' often with unintentionally funny consequences.

Pupils reprimanded for "hissing his mystery lectures" soon started to keep a record of his muddled pronouncements. As a result, his English terrors became "tinglish errors" and everyone relished the opportunity to give "three cheers for our queer old dean".

Exactly 80 years since his death in 1930, Spooner has left a remarkable legacy for the English language not to mention Oswestry itself (http://www.visitoswestry.com/), which also lays claim to links with many other famous names: from the war poet Wilfred Owen, all the way through to Hollywood superstar Harrison Ford.

Anyone got any favourite spoonerisms they'd like to share with the world?

Why a Tartan Army heads for Derby each December

Every December, Derby marks its historic association with Prince Charles Edward Stuart, better known as 'Bonnie Prince Charlie'.

Prince Charles became the focal point of the Jacobites after leading a rebellion in Scotland known as the 'Forty-five'. He proclaimed his father James as king, gathered an army of about 3,000 highlanders and installed himself in Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. An unexpected victory against government forces in September 1745 gave the ‘Young Pretender’ control of all Scotland and encouraged his march south.

Derby established itself at the 'crossroads of history' when Charles, believing there was little real support for the Jacobites in England, elected to return to Scotland - a decision which ultimately led to the Battle of Culloden, and subsequent suppression of the clans.

Exeter House in Derby, where Charles held his last council of war has long gone. However, the oak panelling from the room now lines the walls of a small exhibition in the Derby Museum & Art Gallery.

Many romantic stories have been woven around the rebellion. Descriptions abound of how the Prince, dressed in Highland tartan, rode across the Market Place in Derby and down Sadler Gate with pipes playing and standards flying.

Today, a statue depicting Charles' arrival still stands within the city, and the remarkable five-arched bridge at nearby Swarkestone marks the most southerly point reached by the advanced guard of the Scottish army, and the 'beginning of the end' for Charles.

The annual 'Bonnie Prince Charlie Weekend', organised by The Charles Edward Stuart Society, now takes place in Derby each year – usually over the first weekend of December.

The event begins at the 'Crewe & Harpur' pub in the nearby village of Swarkestone, and often consists of the Highlanders and the Drambuie Pipe Band marching through the village and engaging in battle with the English troops who have 'taken' the living history encampment situated outside the pub. Following the skirmish, there is a short commemoration service at the Cairn, located by the river's edge.

On Sunday, there is a parade which ends at the – now beautifully restored - arrive Cathedral Green, for acommemoration service at the statue of Bonnie Prince Charlie.

Forget Fyling - Combat Carbon Footprints!

The Dartmouth Steam Railway and River Boat Company, is fast-becoming a great example of an integrated and eco-friendly mode of transport.

The DSR&RB is working hard to ensure that its steam trains, riverboats and buses both dovetail with, and work alongside, all other means of transport in this part of South Devon.

As a result, locals and visitors to the area alike can leave their cars behind and put their confidence in the timetables which are now available online at http://www.dartmouthrailriver.co.uk/

The DSR&RB Company also links in with existing and new forms of transport in the area – including the numerous ferries across the River Dart, and even the wonderful new Totnes Rickshaw Company, which takes riverboat passengers from the waterside to the top of Totnes town centre.

Powered by recycled cooking oil, the Rickshaws have to be amongst the most unusual (but greenest) modes of transport currently available within the UK

Another great ‘insider tip’ is the DSR&RB Company’s ‘Sea Train’ service.

Starting from Torquay, this service takes-in the picturesque and historic coastline of South Devon. By taking the foot passenger ferry to Kingswear, passengers are then able to join one of the steam trains which follow a route back to Paignton - offering fantastic coastal and riverside views. Passengers can then complete the full circular tour by transferring to a bus service which runs every 15 minutes from Paignton to Torquay.

The all-inclusive ticket for the Sea Train costs £19.50 for an adult, £12.50 for children, and £17.50 concessions. Family tickets for two adults and two children cost £58.

The Sea Train service is available every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday to June 30th; and then every day from July 1st to August 31st. Tickets can be booked online at http://www.dartmouthrailriver.co.uk/, or by calling 01803-555872.

The Search for the Perfect Pudding!

Earlier this year, we were asked by VisitBritain’s press office in New York to create an itinerary for six visiting travel writers from the US and Canada, to go in search of “the perfect pudding”!

One of the obvious “hooks” for this trip was the 25th anniversary of The Pudding Club, in The Cotswolds. But the itinerary we came-up with in the end followed a sweet and sticky trail all the way through The Cotswolds, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Stoke-on-Trent and Derbyshire.

It was a joke which could have worn thin very quickly. So – as well as an evening at The Pudding Club in The Cotswolds’ Three Ways House Hotel - we took the group into professional chef’s own kitchens; into cookery schools where the journalists could make puddings for themselves; to a small hotel run by a larger than life character who was once named third best chef in the world’ into The Potteries where they could see what ever best pudding should be eaten off; into the Best Restaurant in Britain; and in search of the which wine, beer, spirits and tea should accompany the best in puddings!

This is how we announced it to the visiting press:

“A quest to find the perfect pudding” – inspired by the celebration of the 25th anniversary of The Pudding Club, the 'spiritual home' of the traditional English pudding, at The Three Ways House in Gloucestershire. You will be given a gastronomic tour of The Cotswolds by The Cotswolds Chef Rob Rees, a chance to see why Ludlow is renowned as the food capital of the UK, and the opportunity to MAKE the perfect pudding at the newly opened Brampton Cookery School. On a visit to Stoke-on-Tent, otherwise known as “The Potteries” which is celebrating its 100th year in 2010, you will sample the Staffordshire Oatcake, regarded by some to be an aphrodisiac, followed by tea-tasting at the Northern Tea Merchants in Chesterfield where pointers on which tea, or coffee to drink AFTER a perfect pudding will be given. During our visit to Herefordshire you will learn about its locally produced potato vodka (recently awarded the title of the Best in the World) and gin, cider and English cassis, and at the award-winning Real Ale Shop an education (and tasting session) on drinking beer with food will be given along with tips on which beer might accompany a pudding.

And the itinerary itself took the following route:

Day One: Check into Three Ways House for two nights.

Day Two: Meet Chef Robert Rees at his Cotswolds home for a foodie welcome to England – a demo and introduction to food and drink from the Cotswolds. Amongst other things, Rob will offer some tips on what to look for in the perfect pudding. Followed by a famous Pudding Club evening at Three Ways House in the evening.

Day Three: Travel to Westons Cider in Herefordshire. Is cider a good drink to accompany a perfect pudding? Is perry? Visit the Chase Distillery, near Hereford – makers of the world’s best vodka. Does vodka “go” with a pudding course? Or maybe some of the Herefordshire produced cassis? Onward journey to the “Gourmet Capital of Britain”: Ludlow. An evening meal at Mr Underhill’s – recently named the Best Restaurant in Britain.

Day Four: Time for a gastronomic tour of Ludlow, with a visit to the nearby Ludlow Food Centre. On to the National Trust’s Attingham Estate, near Shrewsbury – home of Brompton Cookery School, and a chance to make a perfect pudding!

Day Five: Northwards journey to Stoke-on-Trent (home of “The Potteries). A tour of the Best Museum in Britain, followed by lunch at the Ivy House restaurant – savouring a traditional “Staffordshire Oatcake”, with a sweet filling. (A real “outsider” in the search for the Best Pudding in England….as well as a chance to sample something which has also been described as an aphrodisiac!). Onward journey to the Northern Tea Merchants in Chesterfield for a tea tasting session (with home-made cakes, naturally). And an evening meal at Buckingham Hotel’s Restaurant with One Table. A surprise evening meal with a range of different puddings, made to order.

Day Six: Bakewell - home to many quaint shops including the Old Original Bakewell Pudding Shop.

And the winners is?

After sampling over 30 puddings, the visiting travel writers agreed that the winner was Rob Rees’s Bread and Butter Pudding. Want to try some? Easy! The recipe is at http://www.cotswolds.com/site/food-and-drink/the-cotswold-chef/rob-rees-cotswold-bread-and-butter-pudding

Derbyshire has the Bess places to visit!

Bess of Hardwick is an icon of Tudor England who rose from being 'in service' to become the second most powerful woman in all England, after Queen Elizabeth I.

Bess was born in 1527 on the site of Hardwick Old Hall, the fifth of six daughters to a respectable but impoverished Derbyshire nobleman farmer. Not the best start in life, she was widowed for the first time at 16.

However, she lived through the reign of four monarchs and died one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in English history. She survived to be over 80 which, itself, was extremely unusual in those days; and had four increasingly wealthy and influential husbands, who paved her way through society.

Bess learned from each of her husbands and increased her personal wealth with each marriage. She managed her own estates and was considered to have a “masculine understanding” of business and finance and made very few mistakes. Bess was also regarded as a formidable personality with wisdom and dignity, who was articulate and stood up for her rights.

Four centuries have passed since her death. But today, it is still possible to follow in Bess's footsteps through the glorious countryside of her native Derbyshire - from Hardwick Hall http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-hardwickhall to Chatsworth House http://www.chatsworth.org/, then on to her final resting place in Derby Cathedral http://www.derbycathedral.org/

Bess's greatest achievements were her building projects. These include Chatsworth, and Hardwick Hall – both of which have stood the test of time, and are regarded as two of the finest stately homes in England. Chatsworth is the seat of the Dukes of Devonshire; and Hardwick Hall is said to be more glass than wall, because of the number and size of its windows. Old Hardwick Hall, which stands nearby, is Bess's birthplace http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/hardwick-old-hall/

Royal Crown Derby (http://www.royalcrownderby.co.uk/), meanwhile, produced a special Bess of Hardwick five-petal tray in 2008 – the year which marked the 400th anniversary of her demise.

Three Great Picnic Spots

1. Is there a better view in England than that from the top of the Long Mynd, near to Shrewsbury in Shropshire? Survive the drive up the steep single-track of The Burway, and a picnic in the heather-clad hills is your perfect reward. It's a view across 4,500 million years of history. As you tuck into your sandwiches and Shrewsbury biscuits, ponder on the fact that this landscape has been shaped by a 7,000-mile journey from the Antarctic, and through 11 of the 13 recognised geological periods! From the Long Mynd, you can see the towering Wrekin, Wenlock Edge, the Clee Hills and Stretton Hills. They've inspired writers and artists for centuries; and for a few hours you too can be A Shropshire Lad.

2. Pick up a copy of the Royal Forest Route, pack a hamper of Gloucestershire goodies, and set out in search of one of the many well-marked picnic spots on the 20-miles circuit of the Forest of Dean. At one end of the route, Beechenhurst Lodge Visitor Centre will give you the chance to walk it all off with a stroll around its wonderful Sculpture Trail. At the other, Mallards Pike offers a lake, picnic area (with loos!), gentle walking and wonderful views.

3. Berry Head, close to Brixham on the English Riviera must be one of the most blissful picnic spots in Britain. Call in at Occombe Farm, Paignton, and select whatever local, organic food and drink takes your fancy. Then set-off to Brixham and the stunning cliff top walks, with vast colonies seabirds and stunning views. The underlying limestone creates an environment ideal for rare species of flora. A historic point on the Devon coastline, Berry Head also boasts the smallest lighthouse in the UK!

Tracing the Olympic tradition back to The Cotswolds and the tiny Shropshire market town of Much Wenlock

The decision of the IOC to stage the 30th Olympiad in London means that the British capital will be able to join-in The Cotswolds' Olimpick celebrations, in 2012…

Robert Dover's inaugural Olimpick Games were staged on a Cotswold hillside in 1612 "By Royal Approval" of King James I. And despite a long and chequered history stretching over almost four centuries, they still survive to this day – providing a remarkable link between the Olympics of ancient Greece, and the modern Olympic Games of today.

Dover, educated in Latin and Greek, would almost certainly have read Pindar's odes on the Olympics. And the games he created in the Gloucestershire Cotswolds were also commemorated in verse, in the poem Annalia Dubrensia, featuring 34 congratulatory verses by writers of that time.

The extravagant event which he organised each year included swordplay, running and leaping, horse racing, spurning (similar to tossing the caber), and throwing the sledge (hammer). Shin-kicking which still draws a smile, and the crowds, to this day probably grew out of wrestling competitions.

Competitors came from far and wide, and Dover's fame spread to such an extent that even a town in the New World – Dover, New Hampshire – was given his name. The 17th century equivalent of the President of the IOC, Dover operated his games not so much to the motto of "Swifter, Higher, Stronger", but to a word-play on his own name: "Do Ever Better".

The Civil War, and rise of the Puritans, brought the annual games to a halt, but they appeared again after the Restoration. By the 19th century, they had lost much of their shine; and in 1929 Dover's Hill, near to Chipping Campden, was put up for sale.

'Saved' by local artist, Frederick Landseer, the hill hosted an Olimpick Games as part of the Festival of Britain in 1951, and Games have been played there ever since. Further details can be found on www.olympickgames.co.uk, or in the latest book on the subject: The First Ever English Olympick Games by Celia Haddon (Hodder & Stoughton, 2004).

Dover's Olimpicks also proved to be an inspiration to others in Britain – including Dr William Penny Brookes, who formed the Olympian Society in the Shropshire market town of Much Wenlock.

A Penny for your sports

Britain's contribution to the modern Olympic movement can also be traced to a tiny market town in Shropshire, which boasts both a small museum and a tourist trail around 'the town where it all began'.

At first sight, a market town in Shropshire might appear to be an unlikely starting point for the world's biggest festival of sport. But it was in Much Wenlock, in 1850, that Dr William Penny Brookes first established the basis for an 'Olympian Society' which, in turn, laid the foundation for Baron Pierre de Coubertin's modern Olympic Games.

Born in Much Wenlock in 1809, Dr Brookes studied medicine in London, Paris and Padua before returning to Shropshire to take over his father's medical practice. Concerned by the lack of educational opportunities for the working classes in the town, Brookes founded the Agricultural Reading Society - one class of which was the 'Olympian Class' (later called the Wenlock Olympian Society) which was set up for "the promotion of moral, physical and intellectual improvement".

The first annual Olympian Games in Much Wenlock was accompanied by much pomp and pageantry, including a procession of flag bearers. The sports were both classical and traditional, but also included fun events to amuse the crowds - such as 'blind wheelbarrow racing', 'an old woman's race for a pound of tea' and 'chasing a pig through the town'. By the 1870s, however, the Games had become dominated by track and field events. Medals were presented to the winners and the champion 'Tilter' was crowned with an olive wreath.

Baron Pierre de Coubertin visited the Olympian Games in 1890, and duly used them as his blueprint for the Olympics. He later acknowledged: "And of the Olympic Games, which modern Greece has not yet revived, it is not a Greek to whom one is indebted, but rather Dr. W.P.Brookes". In 1994 - as part of the 100th anniversary of the modern Olympic movement - the President of the IOC, Juan Antonio Samaranch came to Much Wenlock "because this is where the modern Olympics started". And in 1995, the Wenlock Olympian Society embarked on a scheme that would help to put the town on the sports map of Great Britain.

The result is a 2,100-metres Olympian Trail, which starts and finishes at Much Wenlock Museum, containing a fine display of artefacts relating to the Olympian Games. Specially produced bronze markers in the pavements - and a leaflet highlighting the route - then guide visitors around the town, pointing out all of the sites and buildings associated with the story.

For further details, visit www.wenlock-olympian-society.org.uk.

The 2012 Games’ mascot is “Wenlock” – suitably named after where it all began.

It’s even possible to follow Wenlock on Twitter at @iamwenlock.

Top 10 Places to Stay in the French Ardennes

1. Stay in a new, boutique hotel in the region's capital. Different. Unusual. Funky. Boutique. And new. What more can be said about the fabulous four-star Hotel Le Dormeur du Val in Charleville, other than to suggest you watch the video presentation which can be found on the following website http://www.dormeur.fr/

2. Stay in a castle. But not just any castle. Hôtellerie Le Château Fort in Sedan is a luxury 54-bedroom hotel, with 'gastronomic' restaurant, built within the walls of the largest fortress in the whole of Europe. Packages are also available, such as their Magie des Lieux, which includes two nights' B&B for two people, one evening meal with wine and aperitif, a welcome gift, and free admission to the fortress itself. For details, see http://www.hotelfp-sedan.com/

3. Stay in a yurt. This might not be the most traditional of Ardennes' accommodation, but in terms of luxury-under-canvas it's hard to beat. The Village de Yourtes - in Houdlicourt, near to Rethel – offers accommodation in seven very stylish yurts, each one capable of sleeping four. Prices per yurt start at around £60 a night. And to round-off the experience, the 'traditional' on-site Mongolian restaurant offers evening meals. Details of the yurts, restaurant and other facilities in the village are at http://mandukhai.free.fr/

4. Stay up a tree. Another newcomer to The French Ardennes' accommodation listing are the four large tree-houses, three of which sleep up to three people, and the fourth capable of hosting a family, in the Le Chêne Perché activity centre in Signy L'Abbaye - about 30 minutes drive south from Charleville-Mézières. Breakfast is supplied in a basket left on the forest floor, and hoisted up to the tree-house on the end of a rope. For more details, visit http://www.lecheneperche.com/

5. Stay in a Chateau #1. Chateau de Montaubois in Signy l'Abbaye is one of the newest additions to the accommodation base for the region. The English-speaking owner has spent 28 years renovating the chateau, and now offers B&B accommodation to guests. For more details, take a look at www.chateaudemontaubois.com.

6. Stay in a Chateau #2. For a real treat, travel to Charleville-Mézières by TGV, and take the short taxi ride to Abbaye des Septfontaines. Originally built in 1129, it was largely destroyed during The French Revolution, and took much of its current shape in the mid 19th century. It was later owned by the family of Charles de Gaulle's wife. His regular visits are marked by the fact you can stay in 'Chambre de Gaulle', and enjoy the majestic views over the golf course and Ardennes countryside http://www.abbayeseptfontaines.fr/

7. Stay in a Gypsy Caravan. You asked for romantic……! Then why not stay in a Gypsy Caravan? Located in Eteignières, in the north-western part of the Ardennes, Roulotte "Les Merisiers" is about 30 km from Charleville-Mézières, and is tucked away behind wild cherry trees, with only horses, donkeys cows, ducks, goats and sheep to keep you company. Follow this link for more details www.lafosseauxchevaux.com

8. Stay in a Gite. An ever-popular choice amongst British holidaymakers to France. And the Manoir de la Gravière in Mouzon is amongst the best on offer. Located in parkland near to the River Meuse, it also offers B&B accommodation nearby http://www.la-graviere.fr/en/le-gite.html.

9. Stay in a Mr & Mrs Smith hotel. Just about as far east as you can go before reaching Belgium, lies the almost idyllic village of Williers. But it's worth the trip – if only to stay at Chez Odette, and eat in its stylish restaurant. It's popular. So booking one of its six rooms well in advance is strongly advised. Details of its unusual history, and what is on offer here today is at http://www.chez-odette.com

10. Stay in an Alastair Sawday Special Place To Stay. Featured within the pages of Special places to stay, French Bed and Breakfast, La Montgonière in the south east of the region, at Harricourt, has already been 'discovered' by a number of discerning British holiday makers. All three rooms hold their own appeal, and are set within an 18th century country house surrounded by a formal French garden. Full details can be seen at http://lamontgoniere.free.fr