On behalf of all of us at easycottages.com we’d like to wish you a very merry Christmas. Whoever you’re with, and wherever you’re staying, we hope you have a fantastic day filled with lots of food, many gifts and much merriment!
Archive for 2010
Happy Christmas!
Saturday, December 25th, 2010A festive guide to France
Tuesday, December 14th, 2010
Following our guide to UK events in the winter time, we thought we might take a trip over the channel to look at French festive customs. As you might expect there’s a wide selection of cultural events that play to France’s many strengths as a tourist destination. Of course, with so many strengths you can expect an equal amount of enticing activities. And with such a fantastic culinary heritage, food and drink plays a large part in making sure residents and visitors to France enjoy a ‘Joyeux Noël’.
Christmas comes early in some parts of France, as Santa brings presents on 6 December – otherwise known as the feast day of Saint-Nicolas. On this day children put their shoes in front of the fire hoping that Père Noël considers them good enough to receive gifts. The alternative is Père Fouettard, whose less welcome appearance is marked by spankings for naughty children!
Many parents wait until New Year to exchange gifts, with the festive highlight for many being le réveillon, a banquet that follows midnight mass. Le réveillon celebrates the arrival of Christmas, with many regions enjoying their local delicacies.
In the Paris and Il-de-France region this usually consists of local oysters; the Burgundy region usually serves turkey and chestnuts, and goose is usually the focal point of feasts in the Alsace region. Other courses may include snails, seafood, smoked salmon or caviar. The traditional Yule log, made from chocolate and chestnuts, is a welcome mainstay usually served in households all over the country.
While Le réveillon is celebrated at home, it is such a popular part of France’s festive tradition that many cafes and restaurants stay open into the early hours. Even better, it is normally accompanied by France’s other fantastic regional speciality: locally produced wine.
La Fête des Rois is France’s celebration of Epiphany and involves even more feasting. Thankfully, it takes place on January 6 so you should have plenty of time to get out and explore the stunning local scenery while you recover from Le réveillon and the New Year celebrations.
Top of the menu for La Fête des Rois is ‘galette’, or the three kings’ cake, which is a small rustic tart with a small item, or ‘féve’, placed inside. Once served, the person who discovers the item is crowned king or queen for the day. Sounds like the perfect way to finish the festivities to us.
If you’d like to book a fantastic value holiday cottage in France over the festive period then please click here to search on easycottages.com.
Festive events in the UK
Wednesday, December 1st, 2010
It’s safe to say that winter is well and truly upon us. And while it may be advisable to stay inside for the foreseeable future, there’s a range of festive events taking place in the UK and Ireland during the next few weeks that are well worth getting out for. Weather permitting, of course.
We’ve been compiling a list in the easycottages.com office over the last few weeks which we’re going to present in this post. We’ve covered all bases with things to see, do, eat and buy over the next few weeks. If you have your own suggestions please leave a comment below. And don’t forget we feature great value holiday cottages in the UK and Ireland. Please search on easycottages.com.
Lapland UK in Kent is often regarded as one of the best meet Santa events in the UK, with the experience lasting 4-5 hours. Sounds perfect if you haven’t sent your list off yet.
Santa will also be taking part in the annual Kent & East Sussex Railway Santa Specials. Now in its 36th year, the event includes a fantastic ride on a steam train with Mr Claus among other attractions.
Meet Santa’s helpers at the Cairngorn Reindeer Centre in the stunning Scottish National Park. There’s a range of fun activities and maybe even an appearance from the boss himself. No wonder he needs 11 months off.
The festive period is taking over Edinburgh this year with a packed schedule, including markets, cultural events, shopping and much more. Expect the party to continue until Hogmany.
The Dickens Christmas Market at Rochester Castle promises a delightfully authentic festive experience, as the author spent a large part of his life in the region. Expect it to melt even the coldest of hearts!
Less traditional Christmas experiences can be found at the annual Christmas pudding race in Brighton. A charity event, the race sees competitors balancing a pudding on their plate while they navigate an obstacle course. We expect it’s as much fun to watch as it is to compete.
The Santa Dash returns to Glasgow this year and promises the unique sight of thousands of Santas running through the city streets for charity. There’s still time to register if you fancy taking part but equally, it should make for an entertaining spectacle.
The Eden Project in Cornwall is one of the best places to celebrate an unconventional Christmas. There’s an incredible indoor ice rink (open til Feb), carols and a fantastic winter market. While most events are expected to run as normal, due to the recent adverse weather conditions we recommend checking the website for updates.
On location – Devon
Thursday, November 18th, 2010
A stunning combination of maritime scenery, wild moorland and unspoiled heritage has long attracted film and TV makers to Devon. Many historic dramas, eye-popping fantasies and classic ghost stories that have been captured in the region. More recently, Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s classic children’s novel ‘War Horse’ has joined the ranks of films shot in Devon. So while it seems that the county’s status as an incredible filming location is guaranteed, your holiday enjoyment should be equally assured.
On that note we’re going to look at some of the county’s filming locations in this blog post. We’ve deliberately chosen locations that would be worthy of a visit even if they hadn’t been immortalised on film.
Tim Burton’s version of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ contained many eye-catching locations – not all of them confined to the visually stunning home of the Mad Hatter. The historic Barbican area of Plymouth is eye-catching in its own unique way and scores bonus points for being somewhere you can actually visit (large rabbit holes probably not included). A harbour area, the Barbican contains many maritime attractions with an equal array of exciting cultural events down its historic streets and alleyways.
Equally outlandish, the Monty Python team’s ‘Holy Grail’ used one of Devon’s many stunning natural areas to film a classic encounter. The Occombe Woods nature reserve in Paignton was the setting of the film’s legendary encounter with the ever-decreasing Black Knight. Visit today, however, and you’ll only see the beauty as errant knights have long since vanished from the area. Still, there’s nothing stopping you from uttering a few quotes. All together now: “Tis but a scratch!”
The Emma Thompson adaptation of Austen’s ‘Sense and Sensibility’ was filmed in a number of stunning period properties in Devon, and received a rapturous response from audiences around the world. You’ll find an equally warm response when you visit its historic filming locations. There’s Saltram House in Plympton; Mothecombe House in Holbeton; Efford House in Plymouth; Flete Estate in Plymouth and Compton Castle in Paignton. That should be more than enough to keep you busy.
The film version of The French Lieutenant’s Woman featured a story about actors making a film version of the original book. You can go one better by visiting the locations used in the film that featured actors making a film version of the original book. Phew! The village of Kingswear featured prominently and from there you can catch the Dart Valley heritage railway, which also featured in the film. Finally, a visit to Torbay will not only complete your tour of filming locations but also offers enough to complete your holiday in Devon
Our final stop is the beautiful beach of Saunton Sands near Braunton. David Niven washed up on the sands in the classic ‘A Matter of Life and Death’, after he leaps from his plane during the Second World War. The sands also doubled for wartime Anzio in the Pink Floyd film ‘The Wall’ and, less dramatically, were the site of Robbie William’s seaside stroll in his video for ‘Angels’.
If you want to create your own memorable adventure, please feel free to search our featured range of great value holiday cottages in Devon.
Historic horrors
Tuesday, October 26th, 2010
In this post the easycottages.com team have got together to look at some of the spookiest events taking place in historic locations up and down the UK this week. You’ll find terrifying tales in creepy locations, eerie explorations of horrific history and fast-paced frights to get your pulse racing!
At easycottages.com we feature a fantastic selection of value holiday cottages in the UK, so if you fancy some comfort to accompany your terror please search our website.
As it has doubled for Hogwarts in the Harry Potter films, it seems only fitting that Alnwick Castle in Northumberland hosts a series of events inspired by the world’s most famous boy wizard. Broomsticks optional! Find more info on the website.
St Michael’s Mount in Cornwall is an isolated fortress, which sounds as good a location as any if you fancy being terrified this Halloween. Despite the location, however, there’s a child-friendly series of events taking place. Find more info on the website.
Dover Castle has an equally child friendly series of events, with the added bonuses of the White Cliffs and the rumoured appearance of 9 resident spooks! Find more info on the website.
Warwick Castle is open at night to allow hardier ghost hunters the opportunity for a spooky exploration. Though if you fancy some Dutch courage there’s an opening night with banquet and live music. Find more info on the website.
Castle Fraser is one of the grandest and most elaborate castles in Scotland, which also makes it one of the spookiest at Halloween! There’s a packed schedule for families on 31 October, including magic shows, storytelling and face painting. Find more info on the website.
If you know of any other spooky events taking place this week then please leave a comment below. Have a great Halloween!
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