Rare honour bestowed on Heckfield Place

THE Times of London, has proclaimed Heckfield Place as “Hotel of the Year 2018.” The accolade appeared in the October 28 edition of The Sunday Times, a rare honour for a hotel that had opened only the previous month. 

Heckfield Place is located in the county of Hampshire, an hour southwest of London and just 45 minutes from Heathrow Airport. At the heart of more than 400 acres of grounds, formal gardens, woods and active farmland, the 250-year-old mansion offers 45 rooms.

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Trail your literary heroes on the Isle of Wight

FOLLOWING on the heels of the launch of its Victoria’s Island Trail to celebrate the appearance of the Victoria & Abdul movie, Visit Isle of Wight (VIOW) has now published a new Literary Heroes Trail which visitors to the Island can follow all-year-round.

One of the highlights of the Literary Heroes Trail is the newly re-opened Farringford in Freshwater, where the renowned poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson once lived. The dramatic Gothic house has been the subject of a meticulous five-year restoration project, and is decorated in a late 19th Century style that reflects Tennyson’s tastes and interests. The grounds have also been returned to their authentic Tennyson-era appearance, complete with a full walled garden.

Other key locations on the Trail include the sailing village of Seaview, where author Enid Blyton was a regular visitor; and the traditional seaside resort of Ventnor, where Charles Dickens rented Winterbourne in Bonchurch – describing it to his wife as, “The prettiest place I ever saw in my life.”

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Great Heritage

ENJOY a fabulous trip back in time by simply downloading the Great Heritage 2017 Guide to the best castles, museums, historic houses, gardens and churches across the Lake District and Cumbria. 

Full of ideas for intriguing days out the guide is brimming over with quirky things to discover, from a Bee Penthouse to a Sleeping Giant and a Viking helmet chandelier to a Faerie Glen!

There is also the opportunity to win a 2-night break with luxury accommodation and FREE entry for one year to any of our attractions. 

www.cumbriaslivingheritage.co.uk/competition-2017-2/

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Survival Skills in Devon

BUILT in 1868, Huntsham Court is a stunning baronial mansion, available for exclusive midweek and weekend hire for events. 

#Huntsham is nestled in the #Devon countryside, close to the town of Tiverton and just a stones throw away from Exmoor National Park. The property can accommodate up to 72 overnight guests and can seat up to 120 guests for banquets and functions.

In January 2012, Huntsham Court was purchased by Damian Llambias and Chris Badham. Their vision was to breath new life into this forgotten gem and to lovingly restore the house to its former glory, whilst maintaining the ambiance of relaxed grandeur that is intrinsic to the property. An extensive 11-month refurbishment programme was completed in 2012.

Huntsham Courts latest offering is the F.E.A.S.T Project where guests can learn to unleash the inner hunter gatherer. This ultimate organic food experience enables guests to hunt, fish, butcher and forage for their own dinner in the glorious natural surroundings of the Devonshire countryside before their catch is transformed into a delicious meal to be enjoyed around a shared table, by renowned local chef Peter Mundy.

www.huntshamcourt.co.uk/feastproject

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Picture Credit: By Boddah at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47721217

Book now … for 2017!

TO #TUSCANY is selling holidays for 2017 and is urging guests to move fast to secure the property of choice.

‘One-bedroom cottages with private pools are always the first to sell out,’ cautions the villa agency’s Sean Caulfield. ‘Big villas for large gatherings are also in high demand. As for timing, the school summer holidays are obviously high season, but the weeks around Pentecost, late May, and early June, are also a very busy period.’

To Tuscany has more than 760 #villas and apartments in the region, ranging from budget studios to an 11-bedroom, 15-bathroom villa sleeping up to 23.

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Tuscany escapes

#TUSCANY NOW & MORE has added three holiday properties to its portfolio:   

Casale Il Melograno – This converted farmhouse, close to the medieval city of Cortona, has three al fresco dining areas for entertaining on balmy summer evenings. It sleeps six and has a private pool. From £2,634 to £4,637 a week.  

La Sugheraia – A villa, sleeping up to 16, minutes away from the white beaches of the southern Tuscan coast. It’s surrounded by lawns filled with olive trees. From £4,057 to £9,167 a week. 

Spini Bianchi – Offering total privacy on a remote point, this house provides views of the coast and the island of Giglio. It has a pool and a tennis court, and a private road to the shore, where there is a platform for sunbathing and swimming. It sleeps up to eight people. From £3,552 to £6,089 a week. 

The agency is offering a 5% summer discount to previous guests.

www.tuscanynowandmore.com

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Get active!

LARGE property letting specialists thebigdomain.com has a selection of houses in England, Italy, and Greece that come with activity facilities. 

In Montelparo, Italy, it has an 18th century farmhouse which sleeps up to 14 people. It has an infinity pool, a gym and mountain bikes, and nearby there is a horse riding facility and tennis courts. A seven night stay is priced from £3,900 or £278 per head*.

Alexander House in Bath, England, is a seven-bedroom, five-bathroom house sleeping 14 (16 with a sofa bed). It has a heated indoor swimming pool, sauna room, steam room, gym, games room, cinema, and bar. A seven night stay is priced from £6,174 or £441 per head*.

Villa Chania on Crete, Greece, sleeps up to 10 people and has a panoramic view of the Souda Bay and the White Mountains. On-site there are large enclosed gardens, complete with a swimming pool and tennis court. A seven-night stay starts from €13,000 (approx. £10,202)*.

*Based on full occupancy.

www.thebigdomain.com


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Picture Credit: 20160103-103032_D7100_9709.jpg</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com, Heading across the hillside</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com

The Dos and Don'ts for family gatherings

GATHERINGS of the extended family can be a daunting experience. You have everyone from great granny and granddad to distant aunts and uncles and little ones to please. Large property lettings agent, thebigdomain.com, shares its tips for a successful get-together:

Include some pre-planned activity – while a full-on itinerary for the entire gathering is probably going a little overboard, make sure there is some structure and that all the key reasons for getting together are covered. It's also important to make sure that everyone has some downtime so that they can relax or go out and do their own thing

Make sure everyone feels involved – ensure everyone has the opportunity to be involved by asking people in advance to contribute their ideas for games and potential group outings. Not everyone, though, will want to be involved in everything.

Something for everyone – with people of all ages and interests getting together, you're never going to please everyone with a one-size-fits-all event. This doesn't mean having to organize a special tour to indulge one person's niche interest, but a little goes a long way when taking into consideration someone's allergies or that they have a small baby to keep in a routine.

Be patient – there's always that one person who manages to push our buttons or say the wrong thing. For the sake of keeping the peace, take a deep breath and think positive thoughts.

With properties that sleep up to 140 people, thebigdomain.com offers a range of family gathering options in the UK and overseas.

www.thebigdomain.com

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Gather the clan in Dorset

SLEEPING 14 and dog-friendly, The Gate House at Wimborne Minster, #Dorset, could be the place for large family or group self-catering holidays. 

Available through West Country Cottages, it has seven bedrooms, parking for four cars, a large garden, and a games barn.

The Georgian country house is an easy walk from the town centre, Bournemouth and Poole are a 30-minute away, and the New Forest is on the doorstep.

Prices: From £2,015 a week, or £1,082 for a three night break

www.westcountrycottages.co.uk

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Wentworth House to become heritage attraction

A CONSERVATION group has bought one of the UK’s largest stately homes for £7 million, with the intention of turning it into a leading heritage attraction.

The group plans to invest upward of £42 million on repairs and restoration to Grade-1 Listed Wentworth House, in South Yorkshire, over the next 15 years.

It is the largest privately-owned house in Europe. Covering 250,000 sq. ft., the 300-room house sits on an 82-acre estate and is now open to the public for the first time in 25 years, following a 2014 listing.

The property was bought by the Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust with funding from grants, pledges, and donations, including £3 million from the National Heritage Memorial Fund.

A trust spokesperson said: ‘The long-term strategy is for the public to visit and enjoy all the most interesting parts of the property while restoring the others for revenue-earning uses such as events and holiday lets with business units in the stables.

‘Traditionally, an historic house of this size would have required a vast endowment. This business model will provide a substantial income stream intended to cover both running costs and periodic bouts of repair.’

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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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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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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.

www.helpfulholidays.com

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Cornish christmas cracker . . .

Fancy escaping to Cornwall this Christmas with your family and friends? 

Latitude 50 are offering £1,000 off their beautiful manor house near Port Isaac for the Christmas week.

Stay from the 21st to the 28th of December for just £2,295. Treharrock Manor sleeps 20 which works out at only £16.39 per person, per night.

The house comes with 14 acres of grounds, a tennis court and games room.

https://govillasandcottages.co.uk/property/9077084089048079065061061/latitude-50-rock-wadebridge.html

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Warner completes £6 million castle redevelopment

WARNER LEISURE HOTELS has completed its £6 million redevelopment of #BodelwyddanCastle in North Wales on 1 October. 

The castle, set in 260 acres of #Denbighshire parkland an hour from Snowdonia, now includes 45 luxury garden lodges.

Originally an Elizabethan mansion, the property was re-modelled as a castle in the 19th century. The National Portrait Gallery's Victorian Collection is housed in the hotel.

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Picture Credit: Bodelwyddan Castle by Dot Potter. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons 

What’s on at Blenheim

Epstein Bust at Blenheim Palace - Visitors can view a never-been-seen before exhibit in the recently refreshed Churchill Exhibition, a Jacob Epstein bust of Sir Winston Churchill. Exhibited until September, Adult £23.00 Concession £18.30 Child £12.50 Family £60.00 (Palace, Park & Gardens ticket),

Photography Tour - Explore the formal gardens by buggy and stop at the best viewpoints to capture the beauty of your surroundings on a 60-minute tour. Bring your own camera equipment and enjoy some fantastic photography.

Daily (weather permitting) 12 noon, 2pm & 4pm, booking via Flagstaff Visitor Information Point, £3.50 + Adult £23.00 Concession £18.30 (Palace, Park & Gardens ticket)

The Servants Tour: Odd Men & Necessary Women -  This tour provides an insight into the colourful life and work of those who have served at #BlenheimPalace through the ages, both inside and outside in the gardens, parkland and forest. Hear tales of the family and their staff over the past 300 years, and find out what it takes to be a member of the Blenheim Palace Team.

Tuesdays 2pm & Fridays 3pm, booking via Welcome Desk in Visitor Centre (Max numbers apply) Adult £23.00 Concession £18.30 (Palace, Park & Gardens ticket), blenheimpalace.com

Sarah the Indomitable Duchess – a lesson in love… and hate – The first duchess was a passionate woman who at times favoured or alienated all around her; those closest to her were often the object of her irrational and damaging emotions.  Sarah was once described as 'a good hater’. The talk will help visitors to decide if this description was well deserved.

September 16, 2.30pm  

THE four-day Blenheim Palace Festival of Literature, Film and Music (September 24-27) will feature speakers from around the world.

Highlights include Turkish Nobel Prize-winner, Orhan Pamuk and Dr Maki Mandela, Nelson Mandela's eldest daughter.

rom the world of music, Andrew Gant – the former organist, choirmaster, and composer at Her Majesty's Chapel Royal from 2000 to 2012 – Alfred Brendel will be guest artists.

High profile speakers include the great nephew of the Emperor of Ethiopia, Prince Asfa-Wossen Asserate, launching his biography, King of Kings – the Triumph and the Tragedy of Haile Selassi of Ethiopia. Max Mosley, the former president of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, will be talking about his life following the recent launch of his autobiography.

BBC Radio presenter Paul Gambaccini will give an insight into his career and talk about his book, Love.

blenheimpalaceliteraryfestival.com

The Blenheim Tapestries – The Blenheim tapestries are outstanding works of art, commissioned by the 1st Duke of Marlborough to illustrate his victories. This talk and tour will include additional textiles such as carpets and captured standards.

October 9, 2.30pm

Blenheim Palace in WWI – On Armistice Day, this talk looks at how the people who lived and worked at Blenheim Palace played their part during this time of immense change and sacrifice. Explore the role of the palace, the family, and the people who worked here on both the front line and the home front.

November 11, 2.30pm

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Picture Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/24736216@N07/6432144089">Blenheim Palace - Air View (Postcard)</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">(license)

Luxury in Suffolk

THE latest holiday property at the Wilderness Reserve in Suffolk is The Farmhouse, a luxury six-bedroom (all en-suite) house with 17th century origins.

Extended and transformed using local materials and traditional construction methods, it has been re-thatched using locally cut long-straw and reed, and the timber frame meticulously repaired. Its drawing room has an open hearth, and a large country kitchen has seating for 14.

Bay windows open onto a replanted orchard and out to the Wilderness Reserve’s Arcadian pleasure grounds including a tennis court, a naturally-filtered swimming pool, and a lake.

Rates for the Farmhouse start from £695 a night.

The Wilderness Reserve comprises a manor house and luxury cottages for holiday lets – on an exclusive-use basis – in a 4,500-acre estate a short drive from Southwold and Aldeburgh.

The manor house – Sibton Park – is a Grade II* listed, 5-star Georgian country house in hundreds of acres of parkland, woodland rides, lakes, and pleasure grounds. The house can be rented with a chef, butler, waiting staff, and daily housekeeping.

www.wildernessreserve.com

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Take Afternoon Tea at the Treasure Houses of England

ENJOY the English tradition of Afternoon Tea in the finest houses, castles, and palaces in England.

Woburn Abbey, Bedfordshire: The quintessential English tradition of Afternoon Tea is said to have been started around 1840 by Duchess Anna Maria, wife of the 7th Duke of Bedford, who entertained her friends in the Blue Drawing Room at Woburn Abbey. 

Visitors today can experience Afternoon Tea at Woburn at the Duchess' Tea Room or at the estate's hotel in the village.

Burghley House, Lincolnshire: Have tea in Capability Brown's Orangery restaurant overlooking the topiary in the South Gardens. 

Beaulieu, Hampshire: Try Afternoon Tea with a wide selection of cakes and pastries all baked in-house in the Brabazon coffee shop and restaurant. Some of the produce comes from Lord Montagu's Victorian Kitchen garden.

Hatfield House, Hertfordshire: Take tea to dizzy heights with Hatfield's Helicopter Discovery Tour, an eight-mile helicopter flight over the estate followed by a cream tea at the house.

Castle Howard, North Yorkshire: From traditional sponge cake and scones with jam and cream to golden flapjack and caramel shortbread, try afternoon treat at one of Castle Howard's cafés.

Leeds Castle, Kent: Cream teas are served the 17th century oak-beamed Fairfax Restaurant or on the terrace overlooking the castle.

www.treasurehouses.co.uk


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Picture Credit: Richard Edward Miller - Afternoon Tea by Richard Edward Miller - http://www.pinterest.com/jloonvan/richard-edward-miller/. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons, Afternoon tea at Windsor Armsby ~Bani~ - Afternoon tea at Windsor Arms. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons 

Ulster mansion re-opens

MOUNT STEWART HOUSE – a National Trust neo-classical 18th century mansion in County Down, Northern Ireland – has re-opened after a three-year, £7 million restoration project.

Visitors will be able to see new rooms, nationally and internationally significant family portraits, silver collections, and other family treasures. 

The gardens are another must see feature of this beautifully restored mansion and have many interesting, curious and humerous aspects to be found within them.

www.nationaltrust.orq.uk/mount-stewart

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Picture Credit: Mount Stewart - geograph.org.uk - 70209 by Dr Charles Nelson. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons,The Ark with dodos - geograph.org.uk - 70463 by Dr Charles Nelson. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Italian hide-away for large groups

STILL searching for an Italian villa for a large family or group holiday?

This eight-bedroom house – Chiesa del Carmine – is surrounded by vineyards and olive groves in Umbria. 

Comprising an 11th century church with adjoining 18th century farmhouse, and sleeping up to 14 guests, it has a pool, a children’s playground, gardens, terraces … and a 21st century kitchen.

Local activities include truffle and wild asparagus hunting – in season – pizza- and pasta-making, a visit to an alpaca farm, and boating on Lake Trasimeno.

The normal weekly rental is £3,969, but 20 percent discounts can be had for stays between May 30 and June 20.

Ryanair has return flights from London Stansted to Perugia from £62 in June, and British Airways has return flights from London Heathrow to Bologna from £116.

www.chiesadelcarmine

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