From London to Rio - with a little help from Helpful Holidays

As regular readers of this blog will know (see a recent post here), for the past few years we've sponsored local Olympic athlete Georgina (Gorgs) Geikie, who won a place on Team GB at London 2012 as the first ever British women’s pistol shooter.

We're delighted to announce that Gorgs has now signed a new four year sponsorship deal with us as she begins the long road to Rio 2016. As the sport can offer no funding to the competitors, Gorgs must self-fund, and she is therefore campaigning rigorously to find sponsorship for the next four years. We have taken on the role of principle platinum sponsor.

As our PR Manager Helen Hayes says, “We’ve watched Georgina develop as an impressive and committed athlete, and believe she has the talent, determination and ambition to achieve a gold medal for Great Britain in 2016. The West Country can be very proud of her, and at Helpful Holidays, as her principle sponsor for the next four years, we are delighted to be able to help Georgina along the road to Rio.”

Says Gorgs: “London was a fantastic learning experience. There is no way I could have anticipated the emotional intensity of competing as an Olympic athlete, with the honour of representing my country, in front of a home crowd. I worked for years to prepare for those few seconds of absolute focus and concentration. I will take everything I learned at London forward to Rio, and I know I am capable of winning gold in 2016.”

That means it’s straight back to work for Gorgs with a rigorous training and competition schedule. Join us in wishing her the very best of luck! 

You can follow Gorgs' progress on her website, on Facebook and on Twitter.

A Chagword in your ear…

Click here to read the Chagword brochure

We are delighted to be the main sponsor of Chagword literary festival. Held right in our very own backyard – the pretty little town of Chagford – this inaugural weekend-long event has attracted a tremendous line up of the good and the famous from various areas of the world of books and writing.

Some very dedicated and imaginative organisers, plus Dartmoor’s rich literary heritage, have attracted an eclectic mix of literary talent – with authors ranging from bestsellers (Sydney-born Kathy Lette and historical novelist Kate Mosse) to literary heavyweights (novelist, critic, blogger and stand-up comedian A.L. Kennedy), from academics and broadcasters (Jonathan Dimbleby) to popular children’s authors (Philip Reeve).

Completing the line up are former Labour MP Chris Mullin, gothic comedy writer Malcolm Pryce, Austen and Waugh specialist Paula Byrne, picture book writer and illustrator Simon James, poet and nature writer Miriam Darlington and a musical slant will be offered by Neil Sorrell.

Clearly the programme offers an event for every literary taste. The festival runs from 15-17th March 2013, and full details of the event programme, timings, presenters and tickets can be found at http://www.chagword.com, or follow @Chagword on Twitter.

There’s still time to book a cottage nearby – use the Advanced Search function on our website to see all of our cottages available. And of course you can always call us for human help on 01647 433593.

Half term special offers showcase

Need a cottage for some half-term fun? Take a look at these special offers available in some of our carefully selected holiday homes, all recommended as great places for happy holidays:

Save 20% on the remaining February weeks at this pretty, whitewashed cottage (one of a row of four) about ¼ mile from St Minver – and 2 miles from Rock, ideal for kids with sandy beach, watersports and sailing school. Surrounded by meadows off a very typical Cornish hedgerow lane, the cottage has a neat walled garden and an enclosed lawned garden. Inside there’s two bedrooms – a double with long rural views, and a twin. A great retreat after a fun day on the beach. Sleeps 4, pets welcome.

This superb conversion of a detached, single-storey ‘olde’ smithy, is very smart and hugely convenient for touring Devon and Cornwall. It’s situated in Combebow, a hamlet in a wooded valley just north-west of Dartmoor – close to Lydford, Okehampton and Launceston. There’s a large, very private, mostly lawned, enclosed garden with patio and you are welcome to walk the owners' 30 acres of bluebell woods – plenty of space for tiring out energetic legs! Save 20% on the remaining February weeks. Sleeps 4, no pets.

Save 20% the week commencing 15th February at this charming, 17th century, semi-detached granite cottage in the farming village of Ponsworthy. At the back, granite steps lead up to an enclosed, sloping lawned and terraced garden, carpeted by snowdrops in early spring, and there’s riding stables nearby if you have little horse whisperers in tow. Sleeps 4, pets welcome.

See all our West Country cottages for half term, or use the Advanced Search function on our website to see all of our cottages available. And of course you can always call us for human help on 01647 433593.

Top Photo Credit: Justin Beckley

The Great South West Walk

Can you guess which one of the West Country’s top tourist attractions we’re thinking of? It generates over £300 million for the regional economy each year, but it isn’t a theme park, a building or a shopping centre, so what could it be?

Did you guess that we’re thinking of a path? If you did, well done! But this isn’t any ordinary path – the South West Coast Path is 630 miles of glorious coastline, with rich wildlife and breath-taking scenery.

Despite its huge positive financial impact on the local economy, funding for maintenance of the path in recent years has shrunk. Improvements and upgrades to the path are continually needed to make it more accessible, attractive to different users and a surface safe to walk on all year round.

Thankfully the South West Coast Path Association is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2013 by organising the Great South West Walk, raising funds to give the path some much needed tender loving care. Through individual sponsorship, grants, corporate sponsorship and matched giving, the target is to raise £250,000. 

They hope to achieve this by organising a series of half- or full-day sponsored walks, done in relay over 56 legs, to cover the entire 630 mile path around Dorset, Devon and Cornwall (as well as the entire Exmoor coast through Somerset). Each leg or walk will be guided by local experts, rangers and path wardens.

Helpful Holidays is sponsoring several legs, including:

• Tuesday 9th April: Seatown to Lyme Regis
• Wednesday 17th April: Torcross to Prawle Point
• Tuesday 30th April: Padstow to Trevone
• Tuesday 30th April: Falmouth to Maenporth

You might like to take part in one of these legs, or any of the other stretches, or perhaps several to build a walking holiday?  If so, you must register by the beginning of March.

For more information, including details about each leg of the walk and improvement projects, please visit www.GreatSouthWestWalk.co.uk. 

You can also keep up to date by following the event on Twitter: https://twitter.com/LoveSWCoastPath

Our 2013 charity: the Devon Air Ambulance Trust

We live and work in Devon, so when the time came to choose our charity of the year for 2013, the Devon Air Ambulance Trust seemed a natural choice. 

Each year, the Trust raises £4.5 million in funds to keep 2 helicopters flying to relieve sickness and injury across the county of Devon. The result is an outstanding, independent and efficient Air Ambulance service, available to all, 24 hours a day.

The Trust’s story starts in 1986, when 18 year old Ceri Thomas was involved in a collision whilst out on his push bike. A road ambulance took him to hospital, but sadly he died later of his injuries. Ceri’s mother Ann asked the doctors at hospital if there was anything that might have been done to save her son. She was told the quicker a patient receives emergency medical treatment, the better chance there is of survival – so, on 27th August 1992 the Devon Air Ambulance Service went into operation.

We've first hand experience of the Trust’s excellent work. We're based on Dartmoor and no less than three of our members of staff have been airlifted so it is a charity that is very close to our hearts. You never think you will need the Air Ambulances yourself but, when you do, it is so reassuring to know that they are there. We live and work in a beautiful but remote part of the county and the speed with which the helicopters and medical crew can reach us really does make a difference.

The pilots are highly experienced, usually with a military or service background. Paramedics are employed by the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust and seconded to the Air Ambulance. They undergo extensive training on navigation and safety skills prior to becoming aircrew, with regular refresher courses as well as continuing professional and clinical development.  This training is supported by the charity.

A small team works behind the scenes at the charity's office in Exeter and its network of charity shops across the county. Volunteers are also essential to the Trust through their contribution to fundraising, community involvement, public relations, administration, practical support and campaigning.

We hope you'll help us spread the word about this wonderful charity and the excellent work it does. We'll keep you updated on our fundraising efforts during 2013.

If you’d like to make a donation, visit www.justgiving.com/helpfulholidays at any time or you can also make a contribution when you book a holiday through Helpful Holidays.

An eventful year in store

You can always be sure of a chock-full events calendar in the West Country – handy for filling your holidays with interesting experiences and happy memories. Here are a few to consider for the coming months:

Held on 4th February, the St Ives Feast is an ancient tradition that offers a rare chance to watch the game of “Hurling the Silver Ball”, a centuries’ old form of rugby. Take a ring-side seat near the beach and cheer for your favourite team, some of whom dive into the chilly sea to escape with the ball - made of apple wood coated in silver.

We are pleased to be sponsoring Chagword, Chagford’s literary festival held in Chagford from 15^th-17^th March. Top authors AL Kennedy, Kathy Lette and Kate Mosse are set to appear at the festival, so if you are a keen bookworm you won’t want to miss this! We’ll be covering the festival on this blog in more detail over the coming weeks.

From 14th-24th March, Falmouth Spring Festival celebrates Falmouth's beautiful open and green spaces. With guided walks and talks, garden spring clean events, Gardeners' Question Time and a Spring Fair, there’s plenty to get involved in. If you’re into keeping fit, join in with the largest open air Zumba event ever held in Cornwall!

Trereife House is hosting its fourth Easter Bank Holiday Food and Craft Fair weekend from 29th March – 1st April. The fair, held at this historic Queen Anne manor house kicks off with a series of cookery demonstrations, craft demonstrations and a programme of entertainment. Bring your appetite, as this event attracts some of the finest local food producers including Worthy Farm Cheeses, fish sales from ‘Cornish Smokies’, and locally produced beer, cider and wine. Bring the kids too - Trereife’s Grand Easter Egg Hunt takes place within the woods and around the walled garden.

Many other events can also be found on our ‘Explore the Area’ website map, available on all our property pages on our website. You can also use the Advanced Search function on our website to see which of our cottages are near to your chosen event. And of course you can always call us for human help on 01647 433593.