Classical Music Extravaganza to be held at Powderham Castle this Summer

WORLD renowned Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra is returning to Powderham Castle this summer for a classical music extravaganza with spectacular fireworks.

The Last Night of the BSO Proms is being staged in the wonderful surroundings of the historic castle near Exeter on Sunday, July 30

The programme will consist of many of the traditional Proms pieces performed at the BBC Proms season at the Royal Albert Hall in London – plus a few surprises.

Gates open at 5.30pm, the concert starts at 7.30pm (interval 8.15pm-8.45pm) and the fireworks finale is at 10pm.

www.promsatthecastle.co.uk

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Best in Devon 2016

WINNERS in the 2016 Food & Drink Devon awards programme included Chunk of Devon, Ottery St Mary: Pork, Apple and Scrumpy Sausage Roll, Pork & Chorizo Sausage Roll, Steak & Ale Pie, Steak Pasty, Steak & Blue Pasty, Squealer Pork Pie (Gold award winner) and the The Well Hung Meat Company, Buckfastleigh (Best Producer).

Other winners were:

Me & Mrs Jones, Torquay – Best Café

The Lamb Inn, Sandford – Best Pub

Goierri Foods, Chudleigh – Best Street Food / Takeaway

The Cove Café Bar, Hope Cove – Best Bistro (Winner in 2015)

Old Vienna, Torquay– Best Fine Dining Restaurant      

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Bath & West Showground . . . upcoming events

Toy Collectors Fair - October 9
The event for toy enthusiasts from cross the UK with over 300 stalls and is now one of the biggest events of its type in the UK.

Craft 4 Crafters - October 13-15
This 3 day show will feature a mass of crafting delights including; textile displays, demonstrations, lectures, workshops and over 130 national and local craft businesses selling crafting supplies.

2nd 2 None Driving School – Under 17s Driving Tuition - October 23
If you are between 12 and 17 years of age and want to experience the excitement of driving in a private training area under the careful guidance of fully qualified driving instructors then this is the event for you.

Westfest 2016 - October 29
The UK’s biggest celebration of underground electronic music featuring major players from across the electronica spectrum, representing DnB – Garage – Hardcore – Hardstyle – Hard House – Oldskool – Jungle – this is the ultimate dance music experience.

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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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South Devon holiday offers app saves £s

VISIT SOUTH #DEVON has created a holiday offers and discount app to help visitors pack a punch with their pound. Updated daily, it offers discounts on local accommodation, food and drink, activities, and entertainment, and is free to download on Apple and Android devices.

Current offers include:

• Up to 50% off holidays at Golden Sands and Dawlish Sands holiday park in Dawlish Warren 

• 20% of access to Dartmouth, Totnes and Berry Pomeroy castles 

• Four nights for three offers staying in one of Bovey Castle's luxurious lodges for six, including 20% off dinner, or at Bolberry Farm Cottages in Salcombe (Monday-Thursday) 

• 10% off experiences with Sea Kayak Devon, and when you book five people the sixth goes free 

• 2 for 1 entry to Exeter Cathedral 

www.visitsouthdevon.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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Deals on Dartmoor

WEST COUNTRY COTTAGES is offering a cash-saving deal for stays at a thatched Dartmoor cottage.

Appletree Cottage, in the hamlet of Higher Brimley, near Bovey Tracey, is available for a week from Friday, June 24 or August 19 for £528, saving £102 on the full three- or four-person price of £630.

The cottage has thick cob walls, original leaded windows, and a living room with beamed ceiling and a woodburner in the stone fireplace.

www.westcountrycottages.co.uk

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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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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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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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Lantern & Larks opens glamping site in Somerset

LANTERN & LARKS is opening its fourth glamping site in April 2016, in the hills of Somerset.

It’s in Kittisford Barton near Wellington, on an organic farm with the Blackdown Hills as a backdrop. 

Half an hour west of Taunton and 10 minutes from junction 26 of the M5, some of the delights of the Somerset/Devon border are within easy range, including the beaches at Minehead and Weston-super-Mare, Bridgwater Bay, Cheddar Gorge, and the National Trust's Dunster Castle & Water Mill.

All Lantern & Larks colonial-style tents sleep six people in three bedrooms (double, twin and bunk) and also have a large living/dining area, fully equipped kitchen with running water, log burning range, WC and shower with hot and cold running water, and a large wooden deck.

At Kittisford Barton, there will be five tents in a 12-acre field.

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South Devon's top-ten romantic escapes for two

RESEARCH has revealed that South #Devon is among the nation's most romantic destination for lovers, with more than one in three citing its romantic appeal as their top reason for visiting and staying in the area.

The survey, conducted by Visit South Devon, asked more than 700 regular visitors what they most strongly associated South Devon with. The resounding response was romance, followed by recuperation retreats, foodie breaks, and beach escapes.

Sarah Stride, acting general manager for Visit South Devon comments: ‘South Devon is undoubtedly a beguilingly beautiful destination with many breathtaking beaches, bays, hidden coves, charming villages, wild walks, romantic restaurants, remote boltholes, and enchanting hotels.  You only have to take a walk along the coast to become swept up in the #romance of the location. 

‘However, not everyone has had the chance to be seduced by all that South Devon has to offer, so we've put together our top ten places for romantics to revel in, just in time for the #Valentine's weekend.’

1. Take a walk along Bigbury Beach, indulge in fresh seafood, then cross to Burgh Island to explore this iconic South Devon landmark.  Book a local cottage overlooking the island for an unforgettable escape from it all.

2. Take a walk through the Smugglers Tunnel at Shaldon and discover the dramatic beach on the other side. 

3. Take a trip to Noss Mayo and delight in the raw beauty of the peninsular and its isolated sandy beach.

4. Treat yourself and your beau to a spot of luxury in delightful Dartmouth.

5. Stargaze at Slapton Sands and Blackpool Sands in the stunning South Hams, both of which have dramatic dark skies.  Catch a shooting star, spot Start Point Lighthouse in the distance and listen to the waves as they wash up on the shore. 

6. On a bicycle ride for two, explore the scenery along the Exe Estuary trail, taking in Starcross and Dawlish Warren. Stop off at Powderham Castle Food Hall for a warming drink and a slice of something nice.

7. Get all steamy on the South Devon railway with a return trip for two from Totnes to Buckfastleigh. 

8. Choose a section of the South West Coast Path to explore and don't forget to pack a bottle of sparkling Sharpham wine, one of South Devon's finest.  

9. Head to Dartmoor, climb Hay Tor and spot wild ponies. 

10. Promenade your partner on Teignmouth Grand Pier and then take a trip to Teignmouth River Beach.  Cross the river Teign on the oldest ferry in the country and enjoy views of Dartmoor and trawlers as they return with their daily catch. 

www.visitsouthdevon.co.uk 

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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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Hide-aways just for Valentines

FOR couples planning a West Country get-away over #Valentines, Toad Hall Cottages has properties just for two. 

New for 2016, Rose Cottage is a #luxury bolthole in Newton Ferrers on the South Devon Coast. 

The Cutch, few miles from Polperro in #Cornwall, is in a secluded spot – surrounded by pretty gardens – on a farm. Both the Eden Project and the Lost Gardens of Heligan are within a 30-minute drive. 

For people who want the convenience of being in a town, Riverside Loft in Totnes could fit the bill.  Totnes has historic buildings, cobbled streets, art galleries, museums, alternative health practices, and live music venues. The house overlooks the River Dart in the heart of Totnes.

www.toadhallcottages.co.uk   

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The golden thread that links tourism gems

THE SOUTH WEST COAST PATH is fast becoming known as a vital link between South West businesses, particularly those in the tourism sector and the coastal towns and villages through which it runs. Every year, it attracts almost nine million visitors who come to walk this world-class route, each of whom contributes to a total spend of £436 million that can be attributed directly to the coast path. This figure does not include the everyday walkers such as dog-walking local residents, who might frequent the various places to eat and drink on a more regular basis.  

Alistair Handyside, chairman of the South West Tourism Alliance, says the coast path is ‘critical and integral to the visitor economies of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, and Somerset’. 

With 630 miles of continuous coastal walking, from Minehead on the edge of Exmoor to Poole in Dorset, thousands of businesses benefit from the access to the coastline that the path provides for free. But it costs at least £1,000 to maintain just one mile, and it needs help.  

Businesses can show their support for the path and the income it generates for the local economy by becoming a business member. Available to businesses large and small, there are a number of benefits, from online listings alongside relevant walks, to being part of the marketing and promotion of the National Trail, which receives approximately one million annual visits to its website. 

Ken Carter, vice chairman of the association, says:
‘It really is the thread that brings tourism businesses together in the region. In supporting our activities, from path improvements, to event support and advertising online, businesses and individuals can give something back while continuing to benefit at the same time. With the public sector’s declining investment, it is more important than ever that we raise funds to improve the path for everyone to enjoy.’

Full details of the benefits for business members are listed online at www.southwestcoastpath.org.uk, while more bespoke arrangements can be made by contacting staff members: Esther Pearson or Sophie James on 01752 896237 or email hello@southwestcoastpath.org.uk 

South West Coast Path National Trail is considered one of the world’s great hikes, covering two World Heritage sites, five areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and one National Park.

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West Country escapes

WEST COUNTRY COTTAGES’ 2016 brochure features approximately 130 self-catering holiday homes in Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, and Hampshire’s New Forest. Sleeping two to 11 guests, they range from romantic retreats to converted barns and large family houses. More than 50 welcome pets. 

Highlights include two holiday homes, Quakers and Chaffinch, converted from ancient barns on a former Quaker farm and meeting place near the unspoilt village of Membury in East Devon. Quakers is attached to the Grade II listed farmhouse, which has its origins in the 14th century. Chaffinch is a ground floor retreat for two. Dogs welcome at both.

Tucked away in a hamlet just over a mile from Chagford in the heart of Devon’s Dartmoor, thatched and detached Thorn Cottage – which sleeps six – has woodland and moorland walks all around.  Dogs are welcome here, too.

The agency has several holiday homes welcoming more than one dog. Among them is Bramble Barn, converted from a three-bay cart shed at Longcross, a mile from the Dorset town of Shaftsbury. Sleeping four plus two dogs, the cottage has been built from local Shaftesbury green stone and Gillingham brick, and has views over the ancient woodland of Duncliffe Hill and Blackmore Vale.

For a free copy of #WestCountry Cottages 2016 brochure, go to www.westcountrycottages.co.uk.  

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Devon expects Christmas tourism boost

VISIT DEVON estimates visitors will spend £104million in the county over the #Christmas period, with more than 180,000 people expected to visit for an overnight stay and 1.4 million visiting for the day.

‘With restrictions on parents taking their children out of school during term time, which is having a negative impact on tourism across the year, Christmas holidays are more important than they used to be,’ says Victoria Hatfield, chairwoman of Visit Devon. ‘Historically, Christmas was not one of the main tourist seasons for #Devon, but it’s now a very important holiday during a traditionally quiet period.

‘More people visiting Devon during the quieter periods would result in more tourism businesses remaining open, providing year round employment. So it’s crucial we encourage this welcome seasonal tourism boost and market Devon as a fantastic place to visit at Christmas – and all year round.’

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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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