Art, culture and the beach all in one place

WITH the third largest amount of UNESCO World Heritage sites, #Spain is a mecca for historical landmarks and cultural tourism. In the south, Cadiz is one of the longest continually settled cities in western civilisation with copious amounts of Roman ruins and elements relating to this period of time.

Spain’s second largest city, Barcelona, is guaranteed to delight. With evidence of the towns existence dating back thousands of years, its markets, restaurants, shops and museums will keep the traveller busy for as much time as they can spare. An extensive and modern transportation system makes it a treat to get from a to b. Tired of art and culture head to the beach; it will be warm for much of the year. 

For something different, head to San Sebastian for the International Film Festival in Basque county, held every year in late September (see the film themed Astoria7 hotel below to immerse yourself in the experience). Other activities include Climbing in Los Mallos, whitewater rafting in Campo, Hiking in Galicia and even downhill skiing in Northern Spain. 

roomsXML has over 6,700 properties in Spain so you'll be sure to find the perfect place to stay.

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Helpful Holidays expands in Cornwall and Devon

WEST COUNTRY agency Helpful Holidays has added 23 self-catering properties to its existing collection of more than 700 holiday homes.

Prices start from £275 (£138 per person) for an autumn week at Peony, a base for two in Exmouth. A the top end of the price range is Nirvana, a four-bedroom Georgian house in the Cornish fishing village of Kingsand – at £1,830 (£204 per person) for a summer High Season week. Grade II listed, it has out-to-sea views and access straight to the beach via the slipway opposite.

In the South Hams village of Loddiswell, there’s the The Cottage, a picture-perfect thatched Devon cottage for four. Prices from £351 per week (£88 per person).

www.helpfulholidays.co.uk

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West Country holiday agency nominated for award

FAMILY-OWNED West Country cottage specialists Helpful Holidays has been nominated for the 'Oscars' of the travel world, the prestigious British Travel Awards (BTA). 

Helpful Holidays has won a British Travel Award for the past five years, with 2015 also bringing the Feefo Gold Award for Excellence in Customer Service. This year, the company has been nominated in the Best Medium Holiday Company for Customer Service and Best UK Cottage/Self Catering Holiday Company categories.

Moray Bowater, managing director, said: ‘We're proud our unique brand of handpicked cottages, holiday helpfulness, and personal service has been recognized at the British Travel Awards for the past five years and we're delighted to be nominated once again. Many of our customers and their families have enjoyed Helpful Holidays cottages for generations now and we feel privileged that they're inspired to vote for us.’

The BTA results will be announced in November.

www.britishtravelawards.com

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Five stars in Devon

WEST COUNTRY rental agency Helpful Holidays has added a five-star house to its portfolio.

Lower Widdicombe Farm, Beesands, South Devon has seven bedrooms, six bath or shower rooms, a games room, and a terrace views towards the sea over South Hams farmland.

The pet-friendly house is two miles in either direction from two quiet seaside fishing villages. One of them is Beesands, where it’s claimed that Keith Richards' family had their holidays in the 1950s, and where Richards and Mick Jagger gave their very first public performance in the The Cricket Inn.

Prices from £1,800 (£129 per person) to £3,600 (£258 per person) per week. 

www.helpfulholidays.co.uk

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Helpful Holidays and Cath Kidston offer holiday prize

CATH KIDSTON has teamed up with Helpful Holidays to offer a lucky winner a #holiday in the fashionable South Devon town of Salcombe. 

The winner will be picked at random by entering their details on a postcard available in Cath Kidston stores or via the Cath Kidston website … www.cathkidston.com/fcs/blog/seaside-holiday. The closing date for entries is May 30.

The #prize is a week's holiday at Underbecks, a 5* villa on the hillside above South Sands beach, #Salcombe. With five en suite bedrooms, the winner can invite up to 10 family members or friends to join them.

Private dining will be provided on two evenings, plus meals on other nights, as well as products from the Cath Kidston 2016 Spring/Summer seaside-themed collection.

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Picture Credit: Cath Kidston Shop, York</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin, Mill Bay</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin

Devon get-aways

NEW from the West Country self-catering agency Helpful Holidays are 

Groom's Cottage, Gardener's Cottage, The Hayloft, and Barley House … converted barns in the grounds of former rectory, Grade II listed Talaton House in a small East Devon village five miles from Honiton and nine miles from the Jurassic Coast at Sidmouth.

The cottages have views over acres of Georgian parkland, lawns, and a woodland walk.

Helpful Holidays has rated each cottage at five star standard.

Prices range from £414 (£138 pp for an autumn week at Groom's Cottage) to £1,333 (£223 pp for a summer week at Barley House).

www.helpfulholidays.com

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What shall we do today?

EVERYONE booking a break with West Country self-catering cottage agency Helpful Holidays will get a free booklet – What Shall we do Today? – featuring ideas for days out and discount vouchers for 88 major attractions in Devon, Cornwall, Somerset, and Dorset 

It features:

• A calendar of events 
• The best coast and country walks, favourite beaches, places to eat, houses, and gardens 
• Top attractions for children

 
The booklet is sent to holidaymakers before their stay so that outings can be planned in advance.

www.helpfulholidays.com

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Cottage agency looks to the Poldark effect

#WEST COUNTRY self-catering cottage agency Helpful Holidays expects a surge in bookings when BBC Television screens the next batch of Poldark dramas later this year. It says holiday homes in #Cornwall are likely to be snapped up when the county's beaches and moorlands are once again in the spotlight. 

Church Cove on The Lizard peninsula was the setting for a shipwreck scene in the last Poldark series and will feature again in the 10-part series. Nearby Evergreen, let by Helpful Holidays, is expected to be popular with holidaymakers drawn by the unspoiled coastal scenery. Hideaway Barn is a holiday cottage in the 18th century tall-ships harbour of Charlestown, which also returns for the second series. The agency also properties on Bodmin Moor, which features in Poldark.

Helpful Holidays has more than 700 properties across the West Country, including more than 200 in Cornwall, and has seen West Country locations for recent movies and drama series, such as Far From the Madding Crowd and Broadchurch, attracting holidaymakers to the region.

www.helpfulholidays.com

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West Country choices

Helpful Holidays’ 2016 portfolio has grown to almost 650 large and small self-catering properties from West Cornwall to Dorset. 

Prices start from £268 (£90 per person) per week for an early New Year break for three in either Lopes Cottage at Belstone in Dartmoor National Park or Ginentonic Cottage on Cornwall’s Lizard peninsula. At the top price level is Great Bidlake Manor, a Grade II listed 16th century manor house near Bridestowe on Dartmoor for 13 priced at £3,621 (£279 per person) for a high season week.

Other highlights include Sandpipers, a waterside house for nine at Feock in South Cornwall. Bicycles, kayaks, and boats can be hired with river mooring nearby to explore the Carrick Roads waterways … and pets are welcome. Prices start from £1,096 (£122 per person) per week

For a copy of the agency’s latest supplement and its main brochure call Helpful Holidays on 01647 434063 or go to www.helpfulholidays.com

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They’re winners!

WEST COUNTRY-BASED winners the 2015 British Travel Awards included:

Coast & Country Cottages - Best UK self-catering holiday booking company (small companies). www.coastandcountry.co.uk

Helpful Holidays – Gold award for customer service (small and medium companies), and bronze award for best medium cottage/self-catering booking (UK properties). www.helpfulholidays.com

holidaycottages.co.uk – Best holiday accommodation provider for customer service. www.holidaycottages.co.uk

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Take a break at the manor

A GRADE II listed house – Great Bidlake Manor – on the edge of Dartmoor National Park has been added to Helpful Holidays portfolio for 2016. Sleeping 13 guests in six bedrooms, it has been the ancestral home of the Bidlake family since 1268, and was re-built in Elizabethan style in the 16th century.

Set in 13.5 acres of gardens, woodland, and paddocks, the pet-friendly house has six bathrooms, two kitchens, a large dining room, a library, a TV room, a music room, and a games room.

Recently renovated in partnership with English Heritage, it is a mile Bridestowe, with its village pub and shop, seven miles from Okehampton (Devon), and 11 from Launceston (Cornwall).

King Charles I reputedly stayed at Great Bidlake in 1644, during the English Civil War, after which part of the estate was sold to pay fines imposed by the Commonwealth government.

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West Country choices

WEST COUNTRY cottage specialist Helpful Holidays' 2016 brochure features almost 600 places to stay, with an increase in properties in Cornwall and North Devon.

The agency’s holiday homes – in Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, and Somerset – range from romantic retreats for two up to large country houses for a maximum of 38 guests, with weekly rates from £179 to £7,175.

Many are within strolling distance of a beach or local pub, and more than half welcome pets. More than 70 have an indoor or outdoor swimming pool, while others have private moorings or fishing rights, and some are on working farms.

www.helpfulholidays.com

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A cottage in Cornwall

NEW to West Country self-catering agency Helpful Holidays is Evergreen, a traditional, granite cottage sleeping six in the hamlet of Rinsey on #Cornwall’s Lizard peninsula. Detached and Grade II listed, it’s yards from the South West Coast Path and within walking distance of the small beach at #RinseyCove.

Its large open-plan living/dining room has French furnishings and antiques, with white painted beams and an open fire. There’s also a conservatory with space for games, surfboards, and bicycles. Open tread stairs lead to two double and two single bedrooms with antique French beds.

The #pet-friendly house has views over Mount’s Bay from the small front garden, while at the back there’s a large garden with a summer house and a patio.

Nearby, the cliff-top Wheal Prosper engine house stands sentinel to the former tin mine; Praa Sands with its pub, shops, and café is 1.5 miles and the larger village of Porthleven is two miles.

A week’s stay is priced from £469, or £78 per person based on six sharing.

www.helpfulholidays.com

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Helpful Holidays sponsors Chagford Film Fest … book in for the movies

WEST COUNTRY cottage specialist Helpful Holidays is the principal sponsor of this year’s #ChagfordFilmFestival (September 21-26). 

Now in its fifth year, the festival offers a line-up of eclectic films, including a selection shown in the world’s smallest solar-powered cinema, which sits just eight. There will be talks, workshops, and Q&A sessions with special guests at venues across the #Dartmoor town. 

Moray Bowater, managing director of Helpful Holidays, whose head office is in the town, says: ‘We have seen this festival grow in both the quality of what’s on offer and the audience it has attracted. It is a fantastic event for both visitors and the local community alike, and we are very proud to be involved.’

The French-themed opening on September 21 features a screening of Les Misérables in the small cinema above The Globe Inn. BAFTA award-winning Touching the Void, introduced by director Kevin Macdonald, follows on Tuesday, while on Wednesday Chagford’s own Elizabeth-Jane Baldry – one of Britain’s leading harpists – will perform a live accompaniment of her own score to Little Old New York, the classic 1923 film starring Marion Davies. Younger filmgoers can see a family screening of Paddington on Saturday afternoon.

India will be coming to Chagford on the festival’s closing day, with the spicy aroma of curries, henna artists, and a procession of Bhangra dancers led by a mechanical elephant. The festival culminates in the evening with an awards ceremony, live music, and two films: The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Namastey London … Indian dress optional!

Helpful Holidays has several properties in and around Chagford available for the festival week, including the thatched and detached Thorn Cottage (pictured), which sleeps six priced at £618 for the week. For larger families or a group of friends, there’s Sandsgate, a country house for 12 set in 18 acres. Both are pet-friendly.

To book call 01647 434063 or visit www.helpfulholidays.com

Go to www.chagfordfilmfestival.com for full festival details. Tickets are available from September 1 by calling 01647 434362 (Monday-Saturday) or in person at Helpful Holidays, the Globe Inn or Sally’s Newsagents.

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Helpful Holidays nominated for British Travel Awards

WEST COUNTRY cottage specialist Helpful Holidays has been nominated as a finalist in the 2015 British Travel Award in two categories: Best UK Cottage/Self Catering Booking Company and Best Holiday Accommodation Provider for Customer Service.

This follows the Devon-based agency’s success over the past four years when it has been placed in the top two in the Best Medium Cottage/Self Catering Booking (UK properties) category.

The winners will be determined by customers, who have until September 30 to cast their votes. The winners will be announced in November.

Helpful Holidays MD Moray Bowater, said: ‘We’re flattered to have been nominated in two categories this year and, in particular, to be shortlisted for a Customer Service award in our first year of entering this category.’

www.britishtravelawards.com

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Picture Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/91198056@N00/7752594362">Cadgwith Cove</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(license)

River views

NEW on the books at West Country self-catering agency #HelpfulHolidays is Dove Cottage, a contemporary house for eight with views over the River Dart at Dittisham in Devon's South Hams. 

The house has original artwork, a living/dining room with floor-to-ceiling windows opening onto a large balcony, and a telescope to pick-out highlights in the ever changing views.

For day's out the pedestrian ferry to Greenway, Agatha Christie's former home, departs from the village jetty; there's a sailing school and mooring for dinghies, and in the village, there are two pubs. Dartmouth is two miles away by ferry.

A week's stay is priced from £1,077, or £135 per person based on eight sharing.

www.helpfulholidays.com

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Days out in the West

EVERYONE booking a break with West Country self-catering cottage agency Helpful Holidays will be given a free booklet – What Shall We Do Today? – packed with ideas for days out plus offers or discount vouchers at 87 attractions.

The booklet covers Devon, Cornwall, Somerset, and Dorset and includes gardens, historic houses, castles, adventure parks, and wildlife and activity centres.

Cornish Seal Sanctuary is giving 30% off its admission price for four people, while Orca Sea Safaris of Falmouth is offering a 25% discount. Among the new additions this year are: Falmouth-based AK Wildlife Cruises; Babbacombe Model Village; Coleton Fishacre House and garden, Kingswear; Dunster Castle, Exmoor; and Flambards at Helston.

The guide - www.helpfulholidays.com - features Helpful Holidays’ top ten suggestions for the best coast and country walks, favourite beaches, and places to eat.

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Gather than clan in Devon

LILLEBY, a split-level house sleeping 12 and perched on the cliffs above Devon's South Sands, might be the answer for multi-generation family holidays or groups of friends planning a get-away. 

Just three-quarters of a mile from the sailing centre of Salcombe, the south-facing 1990s-built house has views over the estuary to East Portlemouth.

Set in two acres of land at the end of a private lane, the main house sleeps ten in five bedrooms; the sixth twin room is in an outside annexe.

Features include a high vaulted entrance hall with large balcony, a 30ft drawing room, a conservatory and balconies on two levels.

It's available for spring and summer weeks through Helpful Holidays priced from £2,165 (£180 pppw) or autumn get-aways from £1,415 pw (£118 pppw), while short three-night breaks are from £1,011.

www.helpfulholidays.com

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