Air Travel News

GLASGOW Airport is gearing up for one of its busiest periods of the year as tens of thousands of holidaymakers jet off for the October holiday week.

Over 160,000 people are expected to pass through the airport this weekend with many flying out to popular sunspots in the Canary Islands and Florida and city break destinations such as Prague, Dublin, Milan, Paris, Berlin, Las Vegas, and New York.

In anticipation of the busy period ahead, the airport and its airline partners will have extra staff on hand to help guide passengers, particularly those with young children, through check-in.

Francois Bourienne, Glasgow Airport’s commercial director, said: “The October school break is a huge week for us, and follows on from the busiest summer in our 50-year history when we welcomed nearly three million passengers through our doors between June and August. This weekend in particular will be very busy and we are expecting to welcome even more passengers than we did during the same period in 2015.

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Half-term fun and games at the Eden Project

VISITORS can play their way through half-term at #Cornwall’s #EdenProject with a wide range of oversized, retro, and traditional games to entertain all ages from May 28 to June 5. 

There will be a giant selection of hands-on games, and younger ones can explore the many play areas and hidden nooks and crannies that Eden's gardens have to offer.

In the Core building, gamers can step into the history of video games, from vintage to virtual reality. There will also be Subbuteo table tournaments and classic 8-bit games in a magnetic form on the fridges.

In the Rainforest Biome, Eden's narrators will be teaching visitors about a variety of global games, such as mancala, a strategy game played using a wooden board with hollows in and either seeds, small stones, or marbles.

Kate Francis, Eden Live Programme producer, said: ‘Game On will be a great chance for families to play and share their favourite games with one another. We are inviting visitors to come to explore the world of gaming at Eden from arcade classics to playground games. Gaming is about having fun, but it's also about being creative, collaborating, and solving problems. These are all skills that are very useful in day-to-day life. There are a lot of advantages in all of us playing games. It tests our brains, helps us think differently about our environment, and teaches us life lessons for the future, no matter how old you are!’

www.edenproject.com

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Pirate alert …

PIRATE’S QUEST NEWQUAY has a new storyline for 2016. Visitors will be taken back 1706, the dawn of the Republic of Pirates. The hour-long “interactive experience” will be open for half term previews (February 13-21). 

The Pirate’s Quest is an hour-long walk-through experience enabling visitors to feel, hear, smell, and see #Cornwall's legends and history.

Admission: £9.95 adult, £8.95 senior/student, £6.95 children (3-16), under 3s free. No access for wheelchairs or push-chairs.

piratesquest.co.uk

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Picture Credit: www.piratesquest.co.uk

Easter escape to the country

THINKING about a big party for friends or family at Easter? Grade II listed The Freeth in Herefordshire sleeps 16 in eight bedrooms.

Originally a hunting lodge, and with a history dating back centuries, the house has an indoor swimming pool, a kitchen table for 10, a dining room table that can seat 16, and, if wanted, the services of local chefs who will lay the table, serve drinks, provide waitresses … and do the washing up.

Within a 30-minute drive, visitors can reach historic towns such as Ludlow, Ledbury, Hereford, and Worcester, while Hay-on-Wye is 50 minutes away.

The rent for Easter week, from March 24, is £4,500. A three-night weekend for 16 costs from £2,800 in low season to £4,250 in high season.

www.thefreeth.co.uk

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Picture Credit: www.thefreeth.co.uk

Birds behaving badly

#BIRDLAND in Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire, is celebrating birds behaving badly over the February #halftermholidays. 

From blood-sucking songbirds and puking penguins to stinking storks and spitting swallows, keepers will reveal revolting facts about some of the world's naughtiest birds.

There will be talks and trails highlighting the horrible aspects of natural history, and visitors will be able to meet some feathered critters during meet-the-creatures sessions.

‘Despite their often angelic reputations, birds are definitely among the worst behaved animals on the planet with some truly disgusting table manners,’ says head keeper Alistair Keen. ‘They have also devised devilish defences and awfully amazing attacking abilities. The so-called stink bird from New Guinea eats toxic beetles and then converts it into poison which covers its wings.’

Birdland has also created a Jurassic Journey, an interactive trail back to the time when dinosaurs roamed the Cotswolds.

The centre has more than 500 birds, ranging from the UK's only breeding colony of king penguins and parrots to cassowaries and cranes in a mix of free-flying and aviary displays.

www.birdland.co.uk

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Spain top value for half-term holidays

BRITISH holidaymakers will get the most value for their money in #Spain this half term, even though sterling is not quite as strong against the euro as it was during the summer, says Post Office Travel Money. 

Its #Half-Term Holiday Costs Barometer found Spain’s Costa del Sol to be the cheapest of 12 destinations surveyed, and 38 percent cheaper than Marmaris in Turkey, the highest-priced European resort in the survey of prices for everyday tourist essentials.

Although the Turkish lira has slumped in value against the 29 percent since last October, local prices have risen by more than that amount. This leaves UK tourists having to pay out an extra 9.1 percent on tourist staples compared with half term last year.

The eight typical tourist items surveyed – a family evening meal with drinks, coffee, beer, Coca-Cola, glass of wine, mineral water, suncream and insect repellent – add up to £68.86 in Marmaris compared with £42.49 in the Costa del Sol.

The Spanish resort was among ten of 12 destinations surveyed where the pound – currently worth 7.6 percent more against the euro than a year ago – has made the barometer basket 3.5 per cent cheaper for families. This year’s basket of essentials is also over eight per cent cheaper than it was five years ago, thanks entirely to lower restaurant prices.

Prices are also down marginally in runner-up Portugal.

Andrew Brown of Post Office Travel Money, said: ‘Price is bound to be a big consideration for families, so it is good to report a drop in the cost of tourist staples in ten of the destinations that attract holidaymakers at this time of the year. Spain is the bargain choice, but Tenerife, Cyprus, and Mombasa look great value with the promise of higher temperatures and more sun.’

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Picture Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/39513725@N02/12776685464">Monumento a la Vaquilla</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(license)

Somerset get-away

A FORMER milking parlour sleeping four near the #Somerset village of Wookey –and the caves at Wookey Hole and Cheddar Gorge – is available for the autumn half-term week from Friday, October 23. 

The cathedral city of Wells, and Glastonbury with its tor, are within easy reach for days out.

Newly-converted using sympathetic local materials and preserving many original features, the property has oak beams, high vaulted ceilings and a woodburner for chillier autumn evenings.

It’s priced at £530 for the week through West Country Cottages (www.westcountrycottages.co.uk)

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Picture Credit: www.westcountrycottages.co.uk

Amsterdam, Lisbon, Berlin lead half term holiday choices

#TRAVEL search site momondo.co.uk has analysed all of its flight search results for travel departing during the October half term holidays in the UK. 

Amsterdam, Lisbon, and Berlin took the top three places for searches.

Lasse Skole Hansen at Momondo says: ‘A very short hop from London, at just over an hour’s flight time, #Amsterdam is one of the closest mini-break destinations for Brits, and a city full of charm. With its romantic canals, grand museums, and galleries, Amsterdam can satisfy all types of travellers. Our data shows that European city destinations are the preferred choice for Brits this autumn.’

Runners-up were: 

• Paris 
• Barcelona 
• Dusseldorf 
• Budapest 
• New York 
• Munich 
• Rome

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Myths & legends at Birdland

VISITORS will be able to let their imagination loose at #BirdlandPark, Bourton-on-the-Water, during the October half term holidays with a #Halloween themed Myths & Legends week (October 24-November 1) and the Jurassic Journey Trail.

There will be talks which will explain why owls are thought to be wise, where the legend of the phoenix came from, and why the Roman believed the call of a certain bird meant imminent death … plus quiz trails, close encounter sessions, and feeding displays.

On the Jurassic Journey Trail, explorers will be armed with dinosaur tracker kits for a roam across a land that was home to more than 30 different dinosaurs.

Birdland – in Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire – opens daily from 10am.

www.birdland.co.uk

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Picture Credit: www.birdland.co.uk