Wish you had booked something for February half term? No need to panic. Your Travel Planner has researched last minute self-catering breaks in the UK and the good news is that there’s still good availability…good offers too! Here are YTP’s Top 3 Last-Minute Self Catering Holidays for February Half Term:
Georgian House, Holsworthy, North Devon, 7 Bedrooms, Sleeps 14
Grade II listed house, set in 12 acres of gardens and grounds. A massive 50% discount week commencing 12th February. Was £1650, now £825. Call Helpful Holidays on 01647 433593, ref. M274.
Detached Stone Cottage, Lizard, Cornwall, 4 Bedrooms, Sleeps 8
Very private cottage about 2 miles from the beach. 40% discount for week commencing 12th February. Was £699, now £419.
Again, from Helpful Holidays. Call 01647 433593, ref. T21.
Converted Barn, Somerset, 2 Bedrooms, Sleeps 4
Cottage with stunning views of the Mendips. £100 off for week commencing 13th February. Was £420, now £320. Available from Holiday Rentals, property 74299. http://www.holiday-rentals.co.uk/England/holiday-cottage-Somerset/p74299.htm
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Filed under: Cottages, Saving Money on 2010 Holidays, UK & Ireland | February Half Term, holiday cottages devon, holiday cottages in cornwall, holiday cottages in Somerset, last minute|No Comments
If you’ve left it a bit late to book your summer holiday, you may start feeling very smug when you see some of the late holiday bargains that are currently on offer.
Holiday with Family or Friends
For a late getaway with family and or friends, how about a recently converted barn with six bedrooms, and six ensuite bath or shower-rooms (sleeps 12). Described as ‘very roomy and comfy’, with lovely views across miles of countryside, the barn has its own enclosed, lawned garden, a games/ laundry room and two ponds for a spot of fishing. Late availability: 25% reduction for the week of 21-28 August 2009. Was £2308, now £1731, from Helpful Holidays, ref. G40.
Holiday Villa in Menorca
Save over 40% with this newly built 3 bedroom villa (sleeps 6/8) with private heated pool terraces garden and BBQ, located near Cala Canutells. Late availability: £710 reduction for the week of 31 July -7 August 2009. Was £1700, now £990, from Owners Direct, ref. B3437.
Activity Holiday in Croatia
Combine sea-kayaking around the Croatian islands, coastal walks, mountain biking with local food and wine, mid-day naps and snorkelling. Late availability: 20% discount for remaining rooms due to cancellations for 25 July - 1 August 2009 (double room available) and 1 - 8 August 2009 (double room available). Was £760, now £608 per person, excludes flights, from Responsible Travel, ref. Croatia holiday, activity week.
If you’d like to some help researching more late holiday bargains, please contact me at www.go2research.com/contact_Go2.php.
Filed under: Cottages, Destinations, Europe, Responsible Tourism, Saving Money on 2009 Holidays | Late Holiday Bargains|No Comments
As well as sending Your Travel Planner a review of Helpful Holidays, Elaine Swift (who provides excellent copywriting, writing and editing services) also sent us a review of this delightful cottage:
I almost don’t want to write this review of beautiful Cot Manor in the delightful Cot Valley, near St Just, West Cornwall. We’ve just got back from a wonderfully relaxing week there and I’m tempted to keep it as my secret.
However, that wouldn’t be fair to Cot Manor’s lovely, generous owners, Helen and Mike Jay. Nor would it be fair to Helpful Holidays who we made the booking through. So I’ve decided to share my secret.
A special place
Standing in five acres, Cot Manor was originally two cottages and was converted into one large house in the early 1800s.
It sleeps nine, and unlike a lot of holiday cottages, it does so comfortably. There are three good sized double rooms, and a room that sleeps three - great if there are children, but it would be fine for a couple. There were four of us so we had plenty of room.
There are two bathrooms, each with a shower, and one en-suite shower room. The downstairs bathroom is glorious!
Downstairs is a very large room that we dubbed the entertainment room. It has a flat-screen TV with Sky, a DVD player and for extra entertainment, there are pool and table tennis tables. There’s even a priest hole by the main door if you feel like playing extreme hide and seek.
When Helen (who is delightful) showed us around she took us into what she called the G&T room. So that’s exactly what it became for the rest of the week. It’s also where a couple of us battled with two of the many jigsaws supplied along with other games.
The kitchen is very well equipped with pans, utensils, cutlery, crockery as well as dishwasher, washing machine and microwave. There’s a separate tumble dryer in the downstairs loo.
Flowers in every room
But it’s the little touches and its owners that make Cot Manor so special. There were camellias and other flowers from the garden in every room. A fire had been laid for us in the G&T room. In the luxurious downstairs bathroom there was an array of different types of Radox - great if you’ve been out walking the coast path all day.
There were towels (nice ones) in every bathroom, and the bed-linen and other furnishings are all of a high standard - not always the case in holiday cottages. Also unlike other places - everything worked!
From the moment we arrived we were encouraged to treat the house as our own. Helen and Mike were on hand if we needed anything. As was Bumble their very sweet sheep dog.
It’s so peaceful - we woke up every morning to birdsong and even heard an owl on a couple of afternoons.
The area
St Just, the local (very small) town is a ten minute walk away through the back gate and across the fields. Bizarrely, it’s also a ten minute drive away. It’s not a quaint or picturesque Cornish town but we really love it. There’s something very honest about it.
A visit to the Cook Book shop for breakfast, lunch or afternoon tea, (or all three) and a leisurely browse of the second-hand books, is a must. St Just has several galleries, the best of which are the Great Atlantic and the Windswept.
Cot Manor sits in Cot Valley which leads down to Porthnaven beach and the Atlantic Ocean. It’s not a sandy beach but it’s full of fascinating boulders which are protected so put any thoughts of garden decoration out of your mind!
If you fancy a bit of a challenge, you can take the coastal path from here to spectacular Cape Cornwall. It’s not too difficult a walk, just a bit steep in places. It takes you past Ballowall Burrow - an ancient burial chamber at Carn Gloose.
You can turn this into a circular walk by walking up a road from the Cape into St Just, stop for tea at Cooks, then carry on across the fields to home at Cot Manor. Ah bliss. I wish we were still there.
For more information on Cot Manor, see the Helpful Holidays website.
Filed under: Cottages, Destinations, Reviews: Hotels, Places to Eat, Destinations, UK & Ireland | holiday cottages in cornwall, review|No Comments
Helpful Holidays, a company who specialises in self catering holiday cottages in Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and Dorset, were mentioned in Your Travel Planner’s ‘Things to Do for Families at Easter’. So I was very pleased to receive this review of Helpful Holidays from brilliant copywriter, Elaine Swift.
We’ve just got back from a wonderfully relaxing week at the beautiful Cot Manor in the delightful Cot Valley, near St Just, West Cornwall.
We made the booking through Helpful Holidays and the service we received was excellent. We’ve used them lots of times before and they’ve never let us down. The descriptions on their website and in their brochure are very accurate and we haven’t been disappointed.
The staff are helpful and courteous and the follow-up service is great. When I phoned to book they asked for debit or credit card details to take a deposit and the balance at a later date. I got a text a couple of days before the balance was due to remind me they would be collecting it.
I got booking confirmation in the post with good directions and information about Cornwall. There was also a cheque for the £100 damages deposit to be cashed on our return - provided we didn’t break anything of course!
When we returned home, I got a welcome home email with a survey to check that everything had been up to standard.
Overall Verdict: Great service from a company that lives up to its name.
What a great review! Visit www.helpfulholidays.com to find a cottage for you and remember to visit their Special Offers page which has upto 25% selected properties during April - June. If you don’t have time to search, contact Go2 Holiday Research; I’d be happy to help.
Filed under: Cottages, Reviews: Hotels, Places to Eat, Destinations | holiday cottages devon, holiday cottages dorset, holiday cottages in cornwall|1 Comment
With the credit crunch in our news every day, many people will be looking at ways to save money on next year’s holiday.
Unfortunately the pound is not so good against the euro, so bookings for British holidays look certain to rise in 2009 and taking a UK cottage holiday will be an option for many families.
The UK weather this summer was summed up by many people as disastrous and I did hear of people coming home early because they were too wet! My advice to combat similar weather in 2009 would be to look for a cottage with an indoor pool and indoor activities such as a games room.
For example, Heart of the Lakes are one of the few self catering accommodation agents in the Lake District to offer the benefit of FREE Leisure Club Membership with all holiday home bookings. Or search for a cottage with shared facilities.
If you want to stay in popular areas such as Devon, Cornwall and Dorset, I suggest you do BOOK EARLY and, as ridiculous as it sounds, BEFORE CHRISTMAS is not too early. This way, you can be sure of decent accommodation, with a good choice of areas and good facilities.
Some places are already booked up for the school summer holidays; all family accommodation at Red Doors Farm in Devon is booked, although they still have availability for their couples accommodation. A quick check on Heart of the Lakes this morning shows good availability so start searching!
Want some help with finding a UK cottage for summer? Then get in touch and we can arrange a FREE initial consultation.
www.go2research.com/contact_Go2.php
Filed under: Cottages, Destinations, Saving Money on 2009 Holidays, UK & Ireland | cottage with shared facilities, heartofthelakes, luxury cottage games room, luxury cottage indoor pool, luxury cottages in devon, luxury cottages in lake district, reddoorsfarm, self catering accommodation lake district, UK cottage|No Comments
Very private cottage about 2 miles from the beach. 40% discount for week commencing 12th February. Was £699, now £419.
