Seven hidden gems for the British Holidaymaker

Take a look at a recent article from Club Doc Online about UK tourism and our involvement through uktourism.co.uk


On the eve of British Tourism Week 2011, which runs from March 12th – 20th , uktourism, one of the leading portals promoting holidays in the UK, has surveyed its database to create a list of seven must see ‘hidden gems’ for British tourists to explore.


The locations are spread across the four corners of Britain and range from unspoilt beaches to the UK’s smallest pub.


Ginna Clark from uktourism explained, “There are plenty of different areas around Britain that spring to mind when think of holidaying in the UK. We know already that Devon, Cornwall and The Lake District will top the list of the UK’s favourite British holiday destinations this year but there are many relatively undiscovered spots that are still almost unheard of to a lot of people. We’re hoping this list will inspire people to not only holiday in Britain, but to explore some great attractions off the beaten track.”


A wide selection of brochures is available on uktourism to coincide with UK Tourism Week and to encourage holidaymakers to “choose the UK”. Everyone who registers on the website will stand a chance of winning a £1000 luxury UK holiday this year.


1. Horsey Beach, Norfolk.
Featuring rolling dunes of golden sand, this windswept beach is almost deserted due to the poor access routes for cars and larger vehicles. However, the adventurous traveller can experience one of the best beaches that Britain’s east coast has to offer. Open between spring and autumn (as it is a breeding ground for seals during the winter) the beach and surrounding broads offer charming tranquillity.


2. Cape Cornwall, Cornwall.
Cape Cornwall is the only cape in England and features some of the most breathtaking views in the country. A little known fact is the definition as to what a ‘cape’ really is – it is a headland where two oceans or channels meet. In this case the English Channel and St Georges Channel. The surrounding countryside, ruins of former mines and waves crashing on the rocks below are symbolic of the Cornish coastal landscape.


3. Pistyll Rhaeadr, near Llanrhaeadr.
In the heart of the Berwyn Mountains, Pistyll Rhaeadr is an enchanting 73 metre tall waterfall which is one of the seven wonders of Wales. Author George Borrow, in his book Wild Wales, remarked of the waterfall: “What shall I liken it to? I scarcely know, unless it is to an immense skein of silk agitated and disturbed by tempestuous blasts, or to the long tail of a grey courser at furious speed. I never saw water falling so gracefully, so much like thin, beautiful threads as here.”


4. Snaefell Mountain Railway, Isle of Man.
Hailed as the only place in Britain where on a clear day, you can view England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the mountain railway operates at the highest point on the island. The 100 year-old railways runs from the town of Laxey to the top of the island’s highest mountain, Snaefell.


5. Benmore Botanic Garden, Argyll and Bute.
Regardless of the weather, an exploration of this magical place is guaranteed to provide an uplifting experience. Though the gardens can only be reached by river crossing, the short trip across the river Eachaig. Featuring hundreds of different species of plants and trees, including 15ft tall Giant Sequoias which occurs naturally only on the borders of the Sierra Nevada mountains, in California. The high rainfall and mild winters suit many of the more unusual species of rhododendrons, magnolias and nothofagus grown.


6. The Roaches, Peak District, Derbyshire.
Deep in the Peak District national park the Roaches are a set of rocks, which in themselves are an unusual geological feature that have never really been explained. At the highest point of the rocks you can turn on the spot and only see a couple of country cottages in the distance. It is also said that a group of Wallabies dwell in the area, having been released in the 19th century.


7. The Nutshell Pub, Suffolk.
With a bar that measures just 15ft by 7ft, The Nutshell proudly holds the title of smallest pub in Britain as confirmed in the Guinness Book of Records. Located in the heart of the historic Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, The Nutshell has been proud to serve customers jostling for a place at the bar since it first started serving beer in 1867.

St Ives Cornwall Wins TOP UK Beaches Award

Take a look at a recent article from Holiday Lettings Cornwall about UK tourism and our involvement through uktourism.co.uk


Glorious beaches around the Westcountry have topped the British charts to find the country’s best seaside destinations – with one West bay named among the finest in Europe.


St Ives, in West Cornwall, whose craggy headland boasts an array of stunning and safe beaches, was voted the top UK beach resort according to contributors to the TripAdvisor website.


The town’s sandy delights were also named sixth best in Europe, beating competition from the likes of Majorca, Sicily and Sardinia.


Malcolm Bell, head of tourism at VisitCornwall, said St Ives was a worthy winner. He said: “This award is an amazing testament to the popularity of St Ives which is truly one of the jewels in Cornwall’s crown.”


“As well as stunning beaches it has a range of quality accommodation and fantastic attractions making it appeal to visitors of all ages and interests.”


TripAdvisor is the world’s largest travel site, and as well as accolades for St Ives, the company’s first-ever Travellers’ Choice Beach Awards provided good news for destinations across the Westcountry.


The surfers’ paradise offered by Newquay’s stunning beaches gave it second place in the British list, with Bournemouth third and Weymouth fourth.


Woolacombe in North Devon came in at seventh, while Padstow was voted eighth.


Mr Bell added: “For Newquay and Padstow to also be recognised puts Cornwall head and shoulders above other destinations.


“It is fantastic and, most importantly, these awards are voted for by visitors themselves.”


TripAdvisor spokeswoman Emma O’Boyle said it was no surprise that St Ives had triumphed as it is also home to one of the UK’s top-ranked hotels on TripAdvisor, the Boskerris Hotel.


The St Ives beaches of Porthmeor and Porthminster were particularly highly rated by TripAdvisor travellers, while other popular, non-beach attractions such as the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden, Brooks Smith Gallery and Wills Lane Gallery, were also well-rated.


Miss O’Boyle said the awards prove what fantastic holidays we have on our doorsteps.


She said: “These awards recognise the best beach destinations in Britain and Europe as decided by millions of travellers. A British beach resort has out-classed all European counterparts.”

Devon Surf & Turf

Take a look at a recent article from This Is Devon about UK tourism and our involvement through uktourism.co.uk


The Westcountry’s magnificent beaches and unspoilt countryside have netted it top spot in the league of Britain’s holiday destinations.


According to travel website www.uktourism.co.uk, information about Devon and Cornwall was the most requested by people searching for a holiday.


Three brochures from Devon and two from Cornwall dominated the top ten list, beating Cumbria and the Lake District, East Anglia and perennial favourite Blackpool.


Ginna Clark from www. uktourism.co.uk said it seems that visitors could not get enough of a region whose attractions ranged from spectacular natural beauty to top notch visitor centres.


“It’s no great surprise that the Westcountry continues to attract vast numbers of tourists thanks to its milder climate and outstanding scenery and beaches,” she said.


“Cornwall is clearly a draw for surfers, and our Gardens of Cornwall brochure, which includes the world-renowned Lost Gardens of Heligan and The Eden Project, has been one of our most popular.”


Other areas in the South West also fared well, she said.


“Neighbouring Dorset is also still growing in popularity despite not making the top ten, in fact the number of requests so far in 2011 has already doubled from this time last year.”


The survey was published ahead of British Tourism Week which starts on March 12 Riding high… the Westcountry tops the UK’s holiday destinations.

Region takes top spot on travel site

Take a look at a recent article from This Is Exeter about UK tourism and our involvement through uktourism.co.uk


The Westcountry’s magnificent beaches and unspoilt countryside have netted it top spot in the league of Britain’s holiday destinations.


According to travel website www.uktourism.co.uk, information about Devon and Cornwall was the most requested by people searching for a holiday.


Three brochures from Devon and two from Cornwall dominated the top ten list, beating Cumbria and the Lake District, East Anglia and perennial favourite Blackpool.


Ginna Clark from www. uktourism.co.uk said it seems that visitors could not get enough of a region whose attractions ranged from spectacular natural beauty to top notch visitor centres.


“It’s no great surprise that the Westcountry continues to attract vast numbers of tourists thanks to its milder climate and outstanding scenery and beaches,” she said.


“Cornwall is clearly a draw for surfers, and our Gardens of Cornwall brochure, which includes the world-renowned Lost Gardens of Heligan and The Eden Project, has been one of our most popular.”


Other areas in the South West also fared well, she said.


“Neighbouring Dorset is also still growing in popularity despite not making the top ten, in fact the number of requests so far in 2011 has already doubled from this time last year.”


The survey was published ahead of British Tourism Week which starts on March 12.


Riding high… the Westcountry tops the UK’s holiday destinations


The Westcountry’s magnificent beaches and unspoilt countryside have netted it top spot in the league of Britain’s holiday destinations.


According to travel website www.uktourism.co.uk, information about Devon and Cornwall was the most requested by people searching for a holiday.


Three brochures from Devon and two from Cornwall dominated the top ten list, beating Cumbria and the Lake District, East Anglia and perennial favourite Blackpool.


Ginna Clark from www. uktourism.co.uk said it seems that visitors could not get enough of a region whose attractions ranged from spectacular natural beauty to top notch visitor centres.


“It’s no great surprise that the Westcountry continues to attract vast numbers of tourists thanks to its milder climate and outstanding scenery and beaches,” she said.


“Cornwall is clearly a draw for surfers, and our Gardens of Cornwall brochure, which includes the world-renowned Lost Gardens of Heligan and The Eden Project, has been one of our most popular.”


Other areas in the South West also fared well, she said.


“Neighbouring Dorset is also still growing in popularity despite not making the top ten, in fact the number of requests so far in 2011 has already doubled from this time last year.”


The survey was published ahead of British Tourism Week which starts on March 12.

Mumsnet

Mumsnet – have launched a white label version of both the shopping catalogues and the travel brochure services on their online community website. Mumsnet.com was conceived in early 2000 with the setting up of a website where parents and parents-to-be could share their know-how on the net. Since these early days, the site has grown rapidly with more than 1.3 million unique visitors each month, mainly from the UK, clocking up 33 million monthly page impressions or hits.

Scottish Walks

Take a look at a recent article from Travel Daily about UK tourism and our involvement through uktourism.co.uk


Travellers aged 18-30 have been the most keen to snap up a ‘Walk in Scotland’ brochure, according to new data. Ginna Clark from uktourism.co.uk, which promotes holidays in the UK and compiled the results, believes the popularity of the brochure in the youth market shows that young people are carbon-friendly and keen to get outdoors. “Our ‘Walk in Scotland’ brochure, which proved very popular with holiday makers, received over 60% of its requests from 18-30 years olds, 60% of whom were female, demonstrating that it’s frequently the women who have a major influence over the choice of where to holiday,” she said. “It may also be that holidaying with young families lends itself to familiar food and healthy exercise.” In addition, golf breaks were popular, although 72 percent of requests came from women. It seems that either more ladies are taking up the game, or those that like to sightsee while their other halves play golf are determined that they will at least choose where they end up,” added Clark.

Annabel Karmel

Annabel Karmel – have launched a white label version of both the shopping catalogues and the travel brochure services on their online community website. Annabel Karmel is the UK’s best-selling author of seventeen books on baby and children’s food and nutrition and an expert in devising tasty and nutritious meals for children without the need for parents to spend hours in the kitchen. AnnabelKarmel.com features recipes, product reviews, books, offers, a blog and a mum’s forum.

Emma’s Diary

Emma’s Diary – have launched a white label version of both the shopping catalogues and the travel brochure services on their online community website. Emma’s Diary was created to bring together a wealth of information and experiences for both mums and mums-to-be. Joining the Emma’s Diary community gives the visitor forums to meet other mums, rewards and special offers and exclusive competitions.

ITV Breakfast

ITV Breakfast – GMTV has been rebranded within ITV as Daybreak and Lorraine. Both of the new sites will continue to offer white label versions of both the shopping catalogues and the travel brochure services on their online community websites. The ITV Breakfast sites are the most watched breakfast show in the whole of Europe. The websites are also some of the busiest TV sites in the UK and we are delighted to continue this long standing relationship between ITV and Lifestyle Media Group which dates back to June 2007.

Magicalia

Magicalia – have launched a white label version of both the shopping catalogues and the travel brochure services on their two online community websites, www.madeformums.com and www.thinkbaby.co.uk. MadeForMums is a new flagship site from Magicalia and contains product reviews, a news & celebrity blog and a chat & share forum. ThinkBaby was created by parents with years of online publishing experience and is designed to draw together advice and support for parents and would-be parents from the parenting experiences of both professional journalists and other readers and covers all subjects related to pregnancy, birth and the early years of parenthood with several different kinds of content. Magicalia’s expertise in friendly, accessible specialist community sites make these sites a great place for advice, fun and support.