Time for a tee break in the West Country

Pack up your clubs, tees and balls, the West Country has golf courses galore. Find a holiday cottage nearby and you’ll be ready to take your first swing straight after breakfast.

The tiny hamlet of Brightley is just 1.5miles from Okehampton and its golf club. Situated on the northern edge of Devon’s National Park, the course is sheltered by the highest tors of Dartmoor. Kick off your golfing shoes back at Priory Cottages.

Chagford is a lively, friendly town and the perfect base for the excellent course just 3 miles away at Bovey Castle.  The 18-hole championship course was designed in 1926 and has challenged thousands of golfers in its time. Make Kings Arms Cottage the base for your golf days.

The Jack Nicklaus-designed course at St Mellion Golf Club is the place to visit if you really want to test your game. There are no easy holes at St Mellion but many are memorable ones. Count your scores at R21.

Middle Gabberwell is the middle of a row of three 300-year-old cottages in a quiet lane in Kingston, and a great place to rest weary legs after an 18-hole walk. The nearest course is just four miles away at the picturesque Bigbury-on-Sea.

For a trip to a golf course with a difference, stay at Grooms Cottage, St Minver, Cornwall. A two-mile drive to Rock brings you to a foot ferry which will take you and your clubs over to the hilly terrain of St Enodoc Golf Course.

For more ideas, take a look at all of our holiday cottages with good golf nearby.

Top image: St Mellion Golf Course

Gorgs goes for Gold – just a few weeks to go!

As readers of this blog will know, Helpful Holidays sponsors Georgina (Gorgs) Geikie, British number one ladies pistol shooter. We have sponsored Gorgs for the past three years, and are continuing to help in her bid for Olympic gold – we caught up with her to hear about her final preparations…

HH: What are you doing between now and the Olympics?

GG: I’ll be heading off for two training camps, at Bisley in Surrey and Charmouth Tunnel in Dorset, where my coach and I will fine tune my mental and technical training.

HH: What sort of things will you be doing at the camps?

GG: We’ll be focusing on my awareness and visualisation, creating a flow of routine. At the elite level, shooting is 95% psychological and 5% technique, so this is really important. We had a test event at the Olympic venue in April, so I’ll know what to expect. Nobody in my event has a maximum score – if it was easy, everyone would do it. You can perform brilliantly in training but it all comes down to what you do on the big day, so my mental strength is critical.

HH: How many will be with you in the GB shooting team?

GG: There are 11 in total, shooting a mixture of rifle and shotgun. I’m the only pistol shooter – I was the only one to meet the Olympic qualifying standard.

Gorgs ran the Okehampton leg of the Torch Relay

HH: Will your friends and family be supporting you at the Olympics?

GG: Yes, as well as my coach, my parents, my boyfriend, supporters from Helpful Holidays, they’ll all be there. It will actually be the first time I’ve competed on home territory with supporters present.

HH: Is that something to consider? You can’t let them put you off?

GG: That’s right, and it’s been a big part of my visualisation and awareness training. The support has been amazing though and spurs me on. I had a card from my Uncle, which has been areal inspiration – on the front it said: “If you shoot for the moon, even if you miss you’ll land amongst the stars”.

HH: When should everyone tune in to cheer you on?

GG: Well, I’ll be at the opening ceremony on 27^th July, and then my first event, the 10m Pistol, is on the 29^th July. My second event, the 25m Sport Pistol, is on the 1^st August; this is my priority event, I won my quota place for this one.

HH: So how do you think you’ll do?

GG: Well, I’m aiming for Gold, but I’m keeping my feet firmly on the ground. I just want to make sure I do myself and everyone else justice. If I can achieve a personal best, that would hopefully get me amongst the medals.

HH: Finally, what message do you have for everyone cheering you on?

GG: It’s an absolute privilege to compete in front of my home nation, in front of friends and family. And the support I’ve received from Helpful Holidays is priceless – this has ensured I can train to the highest standard and give myself a real chance.

We’d all like to wish Gorgs the very best of luck. You can follow her progress on her website, on Facebook and on Twitter.

If you fancy watching Gorgs whilst relaxing on holiday, browse our Dorset and East Devon cottages with availability during the Olympics.

Indulge your guilty holiday pleasure: sit back and soak up West Country views…

Stopping to smell the roses is a big part of the West Country holiday culture. If gazing idly at a glorious view is your guilty pleasure, take a look at this selection of holiday homes.

Sandsgate, three miles from Chagford in Devon, is a magnificent detached house with superb sweeping views across the river Teign valley to Chagford, the National Trust’s Castle Drogo and the moors beyond. It has just been beautifully refurbished and extended, so you can enjoy it as one family or with a larger group of family and friends. The quarter-of-a-mile driveway approaching the house, set in 18 acres of gardens and woodland, makes the perfect start for a special gathering.

Apartment16 is just 20 yards from the beach at Bigbury-on-Sea, South Hams - a perfect vantage point from which to enjoy the shifting panorama. The tide below the first floor apartment will creep in, giving waterside views to Burgh Island, and drift out again, revealing a huge expanse of smooth washed yellow sand. The island's jolly pub, The Pilchard, is fun to visit, whether you walk across the beach or take the long-legged sea tractor at high tide. Visitors can also enjoy the leisure club, including a smart bar and kidney-shaped pool.

Salcombe is one of the most beautifully sited small towns in Britain. It sits at the mouth of the Kingsbridge estuary, where the spacious Underbecks is perched, looking out over bobbing yachts and South Sands’ golden beach. The loungers on the enclosed terrace are in an ideal spot for taking in the sensational views upstream to Salcombe itself. When it’s time to go and explore, boats can be hired locally and the National Trust’s Overbecks is less than half a mile away.

For a real taste of West Country history, head to the once famous Elizabethan port and beautifully kept old town of Dartmouth. At Last is a Grade II listed town house with views over the river Dart to Kingswear and situated just above Bayards Cove – the oldest part of Dartmouth's harbour with cobbled quayside.

For more outstanding vantage points, take a look at our holiday cottages with sea views and holiday cottageswith country views in Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and Dorset. 

Helpful Holidays is nominated for a British Travel Award!

We've been nominated for a 2012 British Travel Award in the 'Best UK Holiday Cottage/Self Catering Booking Company' category in which we won a Silver Award against strong national competition last year.

The British Travel Awards are acknowledged as the most definitive and largest monitor of public opinion on the performance of travel and tourism providers. Travel companies and tourism organisations were invited to register for listing in the various categories; a shortlist was then drawn up by a panel of respected individuals from both in and outside of the travel industry, but it's the leisure holidaymakers whose votes finally determine the winners. The results will be announced at a glittering ceremony on Thursday, 1st November at the Battersea Evolution in Battersea Park, London.

Delighted to be shortlisted for the second year in succession, our General Manager, Moray Bowater, said, “This is a great credit to our team and home owners, as well as a testament to the level of service and quality of properties offered by Helpful Holidays overall. Our holidaymakers and home owners’ views are at the very heart of this awards programme and we’re seeking their support by asking them to cast their votes. If our service has met or exceeded their expectations, they can register and vote online until 30th September.”


BTA’s Chief Executive, Lorraine Barnes Burton, said, “It’s the largest consumer voted awards programme in the UK, designed to reward the best companies in travel. The winning accolade is the benchmark for excellence when it comes to finding out who really is the best in the business of travel for the UK consumer.”

Here's how to vote for Helpful Holidays...

1. Visit the British Travel Awards website to register (it's a very short form).
2. Once registered, you'll be taken to a page listing various categories. You only have to vote in the categories that interest you.
3. Scroll down the page and click on the question ‘Who are the best UK holiday companies and visitor attractions?’. (Different to 'Who are the best hotels and accommodation booking companies' which is for overseas operators.)
4. Click on the ‘Best UK Holiday Cottage/Self Catering Booking Company’ category.
5. Select Helpful Holidays from the list.
6. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click 'Submit Answers'.
7. The deadline is 30th September 2012.

Every vote counts, so we appreciate your support, thank you!

Space to play: holiday homes with pools, gardens and more

Whether you’re six years old or 66, holiday time is synonymous with play time. Take a look at a selection of our holiday cottages with leisure activities built in.

Weddicott Barn in the pretty Devonshire town of Chagford is the ideal holiday home if you’re taking the whole brood away for a break. Spacious and beautifully converted, it includes an indoor pool and a large enclosed garden with lawn, gas barbecue, badminton and table tennis. With two double rooms, one twin and one family, a group of ten can happily rest and play here. Visitors are also welcome to enjoy the 70 acres of Dartmoor farm.

If you can tear yourselves away from the stunning outdoor swimming pool, Rashleighayes Farm near Tiverton in Devon is the perfect venue for music and film enthusiasts. The contemporary cinema room is home to a 10’ home-cinema screen with digital projector, Sky and a DVD player, a baby grand piano and half-sized snooker table. Set on a 150 acre working farm in a thatched village, it could easily provide inspiration for budding directors and musicians.

The sun terrace at Park Farmhouse must have been made with the view in mind. The lush green garden enjoys the rolling hills of Chideock and the surrounding Dorset countryside as a lovely backdrop. The large, detached, Grade II listed farmhouse also has an indoor pool and games room, offering a respite from the suntrap garden.

For more ideas, take a look at our hand-picked holiday homes in Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and Dorset.