| |
|
| Click map for advanced
search options... | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
| |
November arrives and there's a nip in the air,
mist lingers in the valleys and the lanes are a
bit more peaceful. Now's the perfect time to explore
the beautiful West Country countryside and delve into some
of the more unusual seasonal traditions. Christmas
time and New Year host the strange and the wonderful.
Read on for more...
Tom Bawcocks Eve - December 23rd in Mousehole.
The festival celebrates the efforts of Mousehole resident
Tom Bawcock to lift a famine from the village. Locals and
visitors scoff Star Gazy Pie (a fish, egg
and potato pie with protruding fish heads) and a lantern
procession takes place…
|
 |
 |
How about some Geese Dancing (pronounced
geeze), also known as ‘goosy’ dancing or ‘guise’
dancing, a traditional Cornish Christmas play, which can
still be seen today at events such as those in Padstow
on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day?
…and guaranteed to give you goose pimples,
a swim from Exmouth, Charmouth or Weymouth
beaches on Christmas Day in fancy dress! Perhaps best to
watch…
We’ve got some lovely holiday homes
nearby. Pop out and join in these rare goings-on and then
wander back to put your feet up and relax.
Our telephone team will always help you with more information
about our properties and the surrounding areas.
|
| The rush is on for Christmas and New Year bookings,
so if you fancy a festive break this year,
please contact us quickly! Allow one of our helpful
telephone team to guide you to a great
place to stay. |
| In some villages you’ll
find traditional seasonal Mummers Plays
performed over the holidays. You can see performances outside
the Ilchester Arms on New Year’s Day at Symonsbury
near Bridport in Dorset, and at Padstow
and also at Langport on the Somerset Levels. |
 |
For a bright and lively New Year’s Eve
head for Looe, St Ives,
Bideford or Exmouth -
all great places to have a memorable night out. Recover
in comfort at these holiday homes nearby:
|
…before all that gets underway, there’s still
plenty of time for some Christmas shopping!
We mentioned the new shopping opportunities in Exeter
last month and on November 13th the Christmas lights are
being switched on. Why not take a tour
round the Underground Passages, built in
the 14th century to house pipes that brought fresh water
to the city? |
| The Passages have now re-opened
– the entrance is in Paris Street within the Princesshay
Quarter. Opening times are on their
website
or phone 01392 665887. |
 |
Join in the bustle of Plymouth, where
the Christmas lights will be switched
on in Armada Way on November 15th.
Stay nearby: |
 |
 |
| Cawsand |
|
Darts Farm Village near Topsham
is a firm favourite at this time of year – gifts,
soft furnishings, as well as scrumptious food, abound.
For somewhere to stay take a look at: |
 |
|
| Lympstone |
|
…or seek the quieter
pleasures of Forde Abbey near Chard
in Somerset, where there are lovely gardens
to wander through before enjoying some lunch and
stress-free Christmas shopping in the gift shop.
Stay in the area, try:
|
 |
| The medieval village of
Dunster has fantastic traditional
candlelit evenings on December 7th and 8th and
you can take the steam train there from Bishops
Lydeard - either direct to the village or to Minehead,
from where a bus runs back to Dunster. |
 |
| Join stilt-walkers, singers and dancers
for a really different way to do some Christmas shopping.
For more information please visit either
West
Somerset Railway or Dunster
By Candlelight. |
The
South
Devon Railway, which runs between Buckfastleigh
and Totnes alongside the River Dart,
has Santa Specials and carols
and mince pie nights during December.
Stay nearby at:
|
 |
 |
|
| Buckfastleigh |
|
…and at the
Paignton Steam Railway you’ll
be welcomed by life-sized cartoon characters,
who will show you to your seats for a scenic ride
to Santa’s grotto at Kingswear.
Not far away is:
|
 |
|
| Torquay |
|
…and also in Devon, join the
Dartmoor Railway leaving from Okehampton
for a really spectacular Santa Special
to Meldon Viaduct. On the doorstep is:
|
 |
|
| Meldon |
|
…and in Cornwall, the
Bodmin
and Wenford Railway offers a traditional
Christmas lunch and a visit to Santa’s grotto
too! Stay in the area, try:
|
 |
|
| Blisland |
|
…and lastly, in Dorset,
drinks, mince pies and presents from Santa as the
Swanage
Steam Railway travels for 6 miles to Norden,
passing the ruins of Corfe Castle. Stay nearby at:
|
 |
 |
|
| Charlton Marshall |
|
| For something slightly different, why not join
the revellers at the Kingsbridge Extravaganza
on Saturday November 24th? |
There are stilt-walkers,
jugglers, Punch and Judy and a circus to amuse
you during the day. In the evening, marvel at the procession
of brightly lit floats winding their way through the town,
with a firework display to round off the evening.
Stay in Kingsbridge:
|
 |
| Now in its 11th year, this annual festival is bigger
than ever. Starting on Friday night across five
different venues with more than 30 acts playing,
it promises something for everyone. Tickets are available
for individual shows or for the full event – call
01626 215666 or click
here. |
 |
|
| Teignmouth |
|
| What about a bit of exercise after Christmas? Try cycling
the Mineral Tramways, one of Cornwall’s
best kept secrets. |
| Ride safely on old railway
lines right across the coast from Portreath
to Devoran in one of the most beautiful
areas in the UK. Bike Chain have recently opened the Bissoe
Hire Centre with a wide range of bikes and an internet
café - catch up with your emails and enjoy a light
lunch before jumping back on your bikes. Stay nearby at: |
 |
 |
|
| Gorran Haven |
|
| After many rumours, we now know James,
our web wizard, is going to Australia for a long break –
well, till his money runs out anyway! |
We’re not sure how
we’re going to cope without him – his expertise
stretches across digital photography, web
software and, most important of all, his great
touch with our customers, exemplified by the national
award he won a couple of years ago. We all wish
him great times!
|
 |
Ann Paddon has
been with us forever. She joined Helpful Holidays
way back in 1985 and worked as our Office Manager
until 2002, when she celebrated her ‘60 years young’
birthday. Since then, Ann has been working part-time and
her immense knowledge and practical experience
have constantly proven of invaluable help
to new and not-so-new members of the team here at Helpful
Holidays. In November she retires and we will miss
her. We wish Ann a very happy and healthy retirement.
|
 |
Thanks to everybody who completed our customer
satisfaction questionnaires. You sent them back
to us in their droves (up 6% this year), and a staggering
99.75% said you would recommend us to a friend. We really
value the questionnaires and we’ve developed
software to process them faster - we can really stay on
top of the thousands you send us throughout the year, so
please keep them coming.
|
We hope our 2008 brochure reached you,
despite the postal strikes, but please do
ask for one if for any reason it hasn’t. In the meantime,
we’ve taken on some more, lovely holiday homes,
which you can now find on our website. Gorselands (
K13)
is an apartment at Woolacombe, with splendid
views across the beach, and then to the west of Exmoor there
are a couple of converted barns (
F172
and F182)
near Parracombe, and further east in Barbrook
a freshly refurbished house (
F92)
sleeping 6.
|
 |
 |
| Woolacombe |
Barbrook |
|
|
|
 |
 |
| Parracombe |
Parracombe |
|
|
|
There’s still time to squeeze in a short, relaxing
break in the continuing fine autumn weather
before all the fun and games of Christmas begin. So go
on, spoil yourselves, give us a call and see if we can
find a cosy cottage to tempt you in this
wonderful West Country scenery!
Best wishes
Moray Bowater
|
| Please note that your email address
has been automatically selected from our records. If you
want to amend the address or need more information about
anything, please email us at
help@helpfulholidays.com. |
| If you would prefer not to receive future emails, please
click here to send us an email which will remove your details from our emailing
list. |
|
|
|
|
