Category Archives: attractions

Baths Christmas Lights Switch On

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Tis the season to be jolly, well it certainly is in the city of Bath! It is fast approaching the official Christmas lights switch on in the wonderful and historic city. This annual festive ceremony draws people from all across the world and gets better each and every year. Bath has a fabulous mix of high street stores and market stalls open late throughout the Christmas period, combined with its luxury Bath Hotels it certainly is the ultimate Christmas package.

In the past many celebrities have turned on the Cities Christmas lights including the actor Nicholas Cage.


Time for the Bath Pantomime

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Many visitors to Bath choose Christmas to visit this wonderful and historic city, its very old world look and feel certainly adds to the traditional stereotype of Christmas and its celebrations. There are so many special features and attractions each Christmas in Bath including Christmas markets, carol services and especially the traditional Christmas pantomime.

The Bath pantomime is held each year at the Bath Theatre Royal and is a great success with people combining their Christmas shopping with a night of proper Christmas entertainment. This year’s production will be ‘Aladdin’. This wonderful tale of the adventures of a boy who finds a magic lamp that summons a powerful genie has been one of the most successful pantomime stories of all time and has been a great success in previous years at the Theatre Royal.

This year the pantomime will feature a stunning cast of celebrities such as ‘Eastenders’ and ‘Strictly come dancing’ star Ricky Groves playing Aladdin and the fabulous BBC television actress Gemma Hunt as the widow Twanky.

Be prepared for lots of Boo’s, Hisses and ‘it’s behind you’ which really add up to equal a great night of family entertainment, the show will be performed right through December and January.

Pantomimes are fun for all of the family and contain plenty of singing, dancing and audience participation.

There are plenty of Luxury Hotel Bath in the area should you decide to travel down to take advantage of Baths festive activities and atmosphere. So don’t be a pantomime villain to the family, book your Christmas Bath short break as soon as possible!

Argylls Festivals of Song and Dance

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Argyll is a wonderful part of Scotland and there is no better way to enjoy this scenic and beautiful area by coinciding your visit with one of the wonderful festivals that area has to offer.

Should you have stayed in one of the many Self Catering Cottages in Scotland before then you will already know that there is certainly plenty to do and see throughout the year. There really is something for everyone to enjoy such as music festivals ranging from rock to Gaelic and jazz, you really do get a great mix of styles, sights and sounds whilst visiting Scotland. Much of the year’s events take place between the months of March and September but many more happen throughout the year.

The Argyll Drama Festival is just one of the fantastic events you could be missing out on in the great area of Argyll. If watching some great plays and performances is your thing then certainly don’t miss the Argyll Drama Festival. This great event runs for 4 nights during April and gives people of all ages the chance to not only watch some great performances but to take part and do some acting themselves. Sometimes you can view up to four performances each night all of which are guaranteed to be top quality and very entertaining. The festival has grown from strength to strength since it was first started in 1946.

Other great examples of festivals in and around Argyll are the Atlantic Islands Festival, the Bute Line dance Festival and Feis Ile – Islay Festival of Malt and Music.

So remember next time you are staying in  Argyll Cottages on holiday that you have a huge list of festivals available to visit and take advantage of.

Beautiful Exmoor

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Exmoor National Park is one of the most beautiful areas in Devon, which is saying a lot as there are just so many beautiful spots in the county. Interest in the National Park has peaked over recent years thanks to the TV series featuring Johnny Kingdon which has helped highlight the beautiful landscapes and abundant wildlife the park has to offer.

Exmoor is now a must see visit for people staying in a Devon cottage, especially those staying in North Devon as the park will be right on your door step.

Here is a wonderful slideshow that showcases some of the wonders Exmoor has to offer.

Slideshow of Exmoor: TravelPod’s trip to Exmoor, Somerset, United Kingdom was created by TripAdvisor. See another Exmoor slideshow. Create a free slideshow with music from your travel photos.

A quick tour around the wonderful city of Bath

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The city of Bath is one of the most popular cities to visit in the United Kingdom.  Covered with interesting shops and historical sites it really is one of the greatest cities for the whole family to enjoy.

Bath, with its natural hot springs and stunning collection of shops and stores has so much more than you could possibly imagine visiting and all of it is within a short walking distance. A visit to Bath is never complete without viewing some of its rich Roman history such as its ancient baths and steam houses, many people each year choose a short break in Bath and return year after year to enjoy its relaxing yet prestigious charm.

The return to Bath of The Duenna, the most popular English opera

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Over 230 years ago two composers from Bath and popular playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan worked together on an idea of creating an English opera.  The composers Thomas Linley Snr and Thomas Linley Jnr were unaware that this piece would become the countries most popular and famous opera to date.

Owing to the discovery of some original manuscripts a new performance of this great opera will be shown in its original setting some 230 years since its creation. Audience members will be able to enjoy almost a third of the opera that has not been seen since its first performance.

Preformed by the English Touring Company this performance of The Duenna at the Royal Theatre will be a great addition to an already wonderful Bath short break at one of the cities Bath hotels.

Baths Festival of Children’s Literature Returns

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Now in it’s forth year the popular Festival of Children’s Literature has returned to Bath as a great success.  The festival spanned ten days and has developed over the past 4 years into a great and imaginative literature showcase for children (and adults) of all ages.

Many of the festivals events are taken to local schools within the area and feature many unique performances and workshops with authors, illustrators, poets and storytellers.  This year the festival combined and celebrated the seventieth birthday of the popular children’s book publishers Puffin Books. Festival goers were very fortunate to have been involved in the ‘Big Puffin Prize Book Quiz’ hosted by the fabulous author Jeremy Strong.

The festival is renowned for being a wonderful experience and draws many families from around the country to come and visit the city of Bath during their stay.  Combining the festival with a Bath Short Break has become a very popular choice for many families each year.

The festival not only gives children a great insight into the different genres of books and a chance to experience storytellers bringing books alive in their own special way, but also encourages adults to learn more about the art of writing for children by offering workshops and talks.

Next year’s festival is already being planned with organisers facing the difficult challenge of improving their offerings once again. It really is recommended to get yourself and your family prepared for the next event in 2011 by ensuring you know exactly which Bath Hotel you will be staying at.

The festival is sponsored by the Daily Telegraph and Waterstones and is typically hosted during late September and early October.

Baths Art Affair

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A new and exciting festival of the arts will be taking place in the wonderfully cultural city of Bath in Somerset this year. The festival is organised by a committee from many of the cities top galleries, museums, hotels and other Luxury Accommodation in Bath.

The festival will feature everything from high profile art exhibitions to live music and wine tasting. During the festival exhibitions can be seen from such cutting edge and important artists such as Damien Hirst and Banksy right through to the antique masterpieces of Henry Moore.

One of the main points of the group is to capitalise on the geographical location of Bath and its position between the countries art centres of St. Ives and London. The idea is to unite as many of Bath’s art galleries as possible and turn the city into a major marketplace for art collectors to visit in the country.

So far, thirty galleries and numerous other related businesses and venues are involved with the festival and are helping to make sure its first outing is very successful in showing that London is not the only place in England to visit should you be interested in investing in art. The city has always had links with the art world with residents ranging from Gainsborough to Blake and is renowned for its decorative architecture.

You can expect the city to become very busy during the nine days of exhibitions and talks, so people are advised to arrange their Bath Accommodation as soon as possible to ensure somewhere is available.

IOW Autumn & Winter Events

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autumn walk

If you have your Isle of Wight Hotel booked for this autumn then you will be lucky enough to enjoy all that the Isle of Wight has to offer at this time of year. Not only can the island boast a beautiful patch work of colours as the trees turn reds, browns and gold’s but also a whole array of great events.

Isle of Wight Autumn Walking Weekend – 22/10/10 to 25/10/10

One of the best ways to view the Isle of Wight’s changing landscape is to take part in the Autumn Walking Weekend. There are some 50 walks to choose from which caters to everyone from amblers to ramblers allowing people the chance to enjoy all the colours that autumn has to offer.

Wizard Week at Isle of Wight Steam Railway – 20/10/10 to 31/10/10

With the latest Harry Potter film just around the corner what better time is there to done your cape and whip out your wand and go on an enchanting train ride. During this Halloween treat you can marvel at magic shows, explore a magical woodland walk, see birds of prey and owls and the of course there are the stars of the show, the steam trains. As if all that wasn’t enough those that come in the best costume can even win a prize.

Santa Specials at Isle of Wight Steam Railway – 04/12/10 to 24/12/10

As Christmas approaches wizards make way for Father Christmas as he flies in to host these very special train rides. Here you can wander through the winter wonderland before heading into Santa’s grotto to meet the man himself. Then you can take a relaxing train ride through the Isle of Wight countryside before returning to magic shows and a Christmas fayre.

A Victorian Christmas at Osborne House – 20/11/10 to 21/11/10

Take a step back in time and see how the Victorians celebrated this most magical time of year. The event will contains traditional decorations and entertainments, a theatre show, Punch & Judy, Juggling and Illusions as well as Dickensian characters including Mr Humbug himself Ebenezer Scrooge.

Whitby Slide Show

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Our Friends at Trip Advisor have put together a great little video slide show of the delights of Whitby. The North Yorkshire seaside town of Whitby has proved a popular holiday destination for centuries thanks to its beautiful location, fascinating history and unique culture. It’s likely that these pictures will persuade even more people to choose to book a Whitby Hotel and see the sights for themselves.