Those planning holidays in the Lake District this month may be able to head to a film festival aimed at fans of mountaineering and adventure sports.

Kendal Mountain Festival is being held from November 19th to 22nd, with attendees getting the chance to meet those involved in the productions, as well as enjoying premieres.

Event director Clive Allen told the Daily Telegraph that the festival is the "social event of the year" for those with an interest in mountains.

And commenting on the high-profile nature of many of those who will be appearing, he said: "There are not many sports where you can guarantee you will be rubbing shoulders at the bar with the top performers."

The Lake District recently received praise from Lonely Planet, with the travel guide company listing it in the Best in Travel 2010 publication – which features the best places in the world to visit.

Posted by Ben Webster

Dorset holiday cottages fans may be interested to hear that cider from the region has just won a prestigious prize at a French festival.

Nick Poole of West Milton Cider Club ended a string of defeats for the English contingent in Normandy with a sparkling brew similar to the local Cider Bouche, Bridport News reports.

He told the newspaper that traditional English cider, which is conditioned in barrels, is not really to French tastes, so the club elected to make a bottle-conditioned, champagne-style beverage for this year’’s Sainte-Helene-Bondeville event.

And he suggested the tipple could be made available to buy in the UK once enough has been brewed

"It would be interesting to see if there is a market for this type of cider here," he remarked, pointing out that while it won in the dry category, it would be considered to be a medium in the UK.

Dorset seems be attracting a number of winners at the moment. Last month, Masterchef: The Professional champion Steve Groves was quoted by the Bournemouth Daily Echo as indicating he would like to open a restaurant in the county.

Posted by Ben Webster

The number of people visiting National Trust sites in the north-east has increased during 2009.

According to the Journal, nearly 714,000 visitors travelled to attractions in the area between March 1st and the end of October, with free-to-access properties located along the Northumberland coast proving popular.

People who have stayed in Northumberland holiday cottages over the past few months may have partly contributed to the rise, with Wallington Hall in the area one attraction to have witnessed an increase.

It expects to have recorded more than 200,000 visitors by the time the trust’’s financial year ends in February.

"This has been an exceptionally busy year for us. The car parks have been full to overflowing," acting head warden for the trust on the Northumberland coast Kevin Redgrave told the news source.

The increase comes after a campaign titled Autumn Warmth was launched last month to promote the tourist attractions Northumberland has to offer.

Posted by Matt Smith

Visitors staying in Lake District holiday cottages will be able to see a sport being held in the area for the first time this weekend.

On November 8th, the inaugural cyclo-cross race will be held at Brockhole in Windermere, with cyclists tackling grass, wooded sections and gravel paths on a race through the National Park.

An event of this type has never been held in the area before and Paul Loftus of organisers the Lakes Road Cycling Club said that it will hopefully attract a number of local competitors.

"There has been a change of thinking and they [the National Park authorities] want to promote the Lake District to be the adventure capital of Great Britain," the North-West Evening Mail quoted him as saying.

He added that all of Britain’’s top riders will hopefully take part in next year’’s event.

Cumbria Tourism recently installed a series of temporary promotional road signs in a bid to market the outdoor-related attractions of the Lake District.

Posted by Toby Lawrence

Northumberland holiday cottages may be becoming more popular, as an expert has highlighted an increase in the number of people looking to take self-catering trips in the north-east of England.

According to Geoff Hodgson, chairman of the North East Tourism Advisory Board, demand reached its highest-ever level this summer.

He explained that a range of factors attract people to the region, including "stunning coastlines" and "breathtaking countryside".

"This, combined with the wealth of history and heritage we have in the region … makes for an unforgettable holiday," he said.

Among the north-east attractions singled out by the expert was Hadrian’’s Wall, as well as Durham Castle and Cathedral.

Mr Hodgson made his comments after the National Trust revealed an increase in the number of people heading to its properties in the region.

Visitors have surpassed the 713,000 mark this year, according to the organisation – a rise of more than 100,000 compared to 2008.

A display of sketches showing the changes to an area of the Lake District over a three-year period has gone on display in Rheged, near Penrith.

Those staying in Lake District holiday cottages can go along and see the artwork, which has been produced by Andy Beck, Grough.co.uk reports.

Drawn over a three-year period, the images indicate that erosion has taken place across the fells and Mr Wainright agreed to donate part of the profits from the exhibition to the Fix the Fells project.

This organisation recently carried out a series of repair projects in the Lake District and last month volunteers helped reduce several routes between Red Tarn and Wrynose pass into one single trail in order to minimise environmental damage.

"Andy wants to raise awareness of the issue of path erosion in the fells and is adamant that it’’s a problem that can”t be ignored," a spokesperson for Fix the Fells told the news source.

Posted by Matt Smith

Families who have booked stays in Dorset holiday cottages later this month will be able to see former Olympians during the stay, as a number of athletes are to be in the county to promote various sports.

According to the Dorset Echo, sportspeople will be in attendance at the Redlands Sports Centre in Weymouth from next Monday (November 9th) as part of a four-day event.

One of the aims of the initiative is to encourage the local community to get involved in sports and demonstrations in taekwondo, badminton, table tennis and basketball will be taking place.

Among those visiting will be Olympic ambassador and England number one in table tennis Andrew Baggaley.

"It will be all about having fun, getting involved and inspiring the young talent we have in Dorset to get active in sport," a spokesperson told the news source.

In related news, environment secretary Hilary Benn recently announced that a new coastal path in Weymouth will be completed in time for use by spectators travelling to Dorset to watch sailing events during the 2012 Olympics.

Posted by Ben Webster

Norfolk is gearing up to make the very most of the London 2012 Olympic Games, one sector commentator has asserted.

In an article for the Lowestoft Journal, Kim Briscoe explained that the county is preparing to cash in on a tourism-based boom that could result in an increase in people booking Norfolk holiday cottages.

She stated that attractions such as the Norfolk Broads and coastline have been highlighted as areas that are likely to be popular with tourists from all over the world as they travel to the English capital to attend the Games.

The county’’s tourism bosses have taken steps to ensure that Norfolk is visited by as many people as possible during the event, by arranging promotional activities such as press trips for journalists from around the globe.

In recent days, the Norwich Evening News reported that kids” adventure park Bewilderwood was named as one of the best tourist attractions in Norfolk during the 2009 edition of the Enjoy England for Excellence Awards.

Posted by Matt Smith

Hope you had a suitably spooky Halloween this weekend. You certainly shouldn’t have been short of terrifying things to do all over the country.

Now you should find a far less scary selection of activities this weekend – provided you’re not scared of loud noises. But even if you are  we’ve included an extra activity that doesn’t involve exploding fireworks, burning Guys, toffee apples and sparklers. We’re thoughtful like that.

So, let’s get planning!

It’s not quite the weekend but they’ve decided to mix things up in Liverpool this Thursday night by not focusing on the demise of Guy Fawkes, but celebrating the 40 year anniversary of the moon landings, which sounds far more civilised to us. Visitors to Sefton Park, Newsham Park and Walton Hall Park will experience a 20 minute display of pyrotechnics accompanied by spaced themed music and genuine NASA communications. It should be just like going into space…but with better car parking facilities.

Find out more on Liverpool council’s website.

Battersea Park in London have also chosen a more friendly theme for this year’s event. This Saturday at 6pm, Pains Fireworks are coordinating a fireworks extravaganza with the theme of ‘Love’ (awwwwww). The show is choreographed to music and promises a spectacular display of music, sound and light. Pains Fireworks have a great history of making beautiful explosions so if you’re in London this weekend you’d be remiss not to get down to Battersea.

Find out more on the Wandsworth council website.

If you’re not into big bangs and fancy something a little bit quirkier, then the Tar Barrel Rolling that takes place in Ottery St Mary in Devon could be right up your alley. In fact the event is so quirky that it doesn’t even take place at the weekend!  As the name suggests, the event features a procession of flaming barrels making their way down the street. Why? Nobody knows, but when something is this different, your best course of action is probably to just go with it. If you’re in Devon on Thursday, why not stop off and investigate?

Try to find out more on the Ottery St Mary tourism site.

A Cotswolds butchers has picked up a number of accolades at an event honouring local produce.

Martin’’s Meats, of Gretton, near Winchcombe, won five titles at this year’’s Taste of the West Awards, the Tewkesbury Admag reports.

Those planning on booking holiday cottages in the Cotswolds may wish to sample the firm’’s 28-day matured Cotswold long-horn steaks during their stay, as the meat won four awards – including gold in the fillet steaks category.

Its Gloucester Old Spot sausages – which are available in pork, leek and ginger varieties, helped the company secure the fifth accolade.

Meat used by the company is sourced from a farm run by founder Martin Gilder and other local producers.

He set up the business four years ago after spotting a gap in the market for good quality, locally-sourced meat.

The Taste of the West Awards were established in 1991 and aim to promote the “exceptional” food and drink that is available in the south-west of England.

Posted by Ben Webster