Archive for May, 2008

The winners of the Cumbria Tourism Awards 2008 were announced last night at a special ceremony at the Castle Green Hotel in Kendal. The winners were:

Most Outstanding Customer Service Award – Daniel Fairweather, Windermere Marina Village
Unsung Hero – Alan Denwood, Lakes Aquarium
Lady Inglewood Award for Innovative People Management - The Old England, Bowness-on-Windermere
Large Hotel of the Year - The Old England Hotel, Bowness-on-Windermere
Small Hotel of the Year - Appleby Manor Country House Hotel, Appleby
Bed & Breakfast of the Year - Augill Castle, Kirkby Stephen
Self Catering Holiday of the Year - The Lodge, Brampton
Holiday Park of the Year - Park Cliffe Camping and Caravan Estate, Windermere
Large Visitor Attraction - South Lakes Wild Animal Park, Dalton-in-Furness
Small Visitor Attraction – The Quaker Tapestry, Kendal
Taste of Cumbria – Village Bakery, Melmerby, Penrith
Tourism Experience Award – Shacklabank Free Range Walking, Sedbergh
Business Tourism Award – Rheged, Penrith
Tourism Website – Windermere Lodge, Windermere

Liverpool’s first “pod” hotel has officially opened its doors.

Cocoon, in South Hunter Street, is the city’s first offering in “budget boutique” accommodation.

The conceptual idea behind the hotel is to envelop each guest in comfort and style in internal cabin rooms, without breaking the bank.

Rooms offer kingsize beds with American walnut wood oversized headboards, ensuite bathrooms with rose head showers, quality LCD TV, free WI-FI, MP3 docking stations and digital safes.

Cocoon is the brainchild of the team behind the award winning International Inn Apartments and Tourist Hostel and they hope this latest and unusual addition to Liverpool’s boutique hotel collection will raise the standard for budget accommodation in the city.

David Mahony, creator of Cocoon said: “The Pod hotel theme has been popular in Asia for decades and more recently proved a big hit in London and New York and we are confident Cocoon will prove just as popular with visitors to Liverpool.

“We are aiming at the “trendy traveller” market – modern travellers, complete with ipods and laptops, who may not have a lot of money to spend but who do not want to compromise on luxury.

“Each cocoon offers a conceptualized, stylish, compact space with all the comfort and amenities needed for visitors to sink back, relax and enjoy their stay in Liverpool.”

Pod hotels were inspired by Japan’s “capsule” hotels. Designed for businessmen who needed a place to crash overnight, the typical capsule hotel has a public lounge space with baths, and another large room filled with individual sleeping units - the capsules. Each capsule has its own mini TV, radio, alarm clock, and lamp. Cocoon takes this inspirational concept one step further offering a more spacious room complete with full facilities equal to that in any high standard hotel.

Prices at Cocoon start at £43 per night for a pod room. For more details call 0151 7098135.

The Say Two Touring Company will be performing at some of the North West’s finest locations this summer with their production of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Venues and dates for the open-air, evening performances are:

Pennington Park, near Wigan – June 21
Bank Hall, Bretherton, near Chorley – June 8
Kingswood College, Scarisbrick, near Southport – July 5
Brougham Hall, Penrith – July 11/12
Heskin Hall, Chorley – July 19
Chester Amphitheatre – July 26

Members of the public are invited to audition to take part in the show alongside professional actors. No previous experience is necessary.

For all enquiries telephone 01257 453956.

Liverpool’s tallest ever Ferris Wheel will feature at a new event at Wavertree Playground. The 40-metre/130ft-tall attraction is one of over 30 rides and attractions appearing at the Great American Theme Park from Saturday 17th to Bank Holiday Monday 26th May.

“Passengers on the ‘Eye’ will see the city from a whole new perspective,” says theme park co-organiser David Taylor. “Few people will ever have viewed Liverpool from this height, angle and location and with great weather forecast for the weekend visibility should be fantastic.”

Joining the Mystery Eye at the 9-day event in Wavertree will be two other headline attractions – Bomber Mark 2, a giant 50-metre spinning propeller and the tallest and fastest travelling ride in the world, and Mad Mouse, a roller coaster with a twist (the cars spin as they move along the track).

“The Mystery has hosted a number of fun fairs in the past,” says Taylor,” but with the Great American Theme Park we want to take it to the next level, offering bigger and better rides, free family entertainment and extras like an undercover food court and a pay-one price ticketing system.”

Over the first weekend (May 17th/18th), stuntman Tod Cody performs an action-packed Wild West show, demonstrating the cowboy skills that made his great, great grandfather Buffalo Bill such a legend at the turn of 20th century. Over the Bank Holiday Weekend, meanwhile, Uncle Sam strides into town for regular stilt-walking displays. Guests will also be given chance to meet and greet players from the Liverpool Centurions American Football Team during the event.

American themed rides include Spider-Man, the only ride of its kind in Northern Europe, and the Superbowl. Also featured will be the Frisbee, Twister, Eclipse, Reverse Bungee, plus tried and tested family favourites like the Waltzer, Dodgems, Fun House Ghost Train and kiddie rides.

Visitors will be able to enjoy unlimited rides for just £4.99 or £8.99 (depending on age/height) during either one of two wristband sessions each Sunday, and a number of other great offers are promised throughout the event. Entry is free at all times.

The Great American Theme Park takes place at Wavertree Playground (“The Mystery”), L15 4LE, from Saturday 17th to Bank Holiday Monday 26th May. Opening times are Saturday 17th/Sunday 18th May from 12–8pm, Monday 19th to Friday 23rd May from 4–8pm and Saturday 24th to Bank Holiday Monday 26th May from 12–8pm.

Blackpool International Airport has been sold to Balfour Beatty. The international construction and investment group has purchased 95% of the regional airport from Mar Properties, a Northern-Ireland based property developer.

The sale is subject to the approval of Blackpool Borough Council, a minority shareholder. The council support the deal and are expected to give the go ahead later this week.

Balfour Beatty Chief Executive, Ian Tyler, said ‘Blackpool International is a well-located airport with the potential to become a thriving international gateway to Lancashire and Cumbria. We will work together with the airlines and our local partners to help increase its penetration within this core catchment area and to play its part in attracting inbound visitors to the region. We believe that our approach will deliver significant, sustained growth in passenger traffic at the airport and will generate important economic benefits for it and for Blackpool. Our aim is to develop Blackpool to be the airport of choice for residents, businesses and visitors of Lancashire and Cumbria.’

Lancaster City Council is to celebrate 12 months of cycling on the Morecambe’s Promenade with a party on Sunday May 11. It was only one year ago that ancient byelaws banning cycling in the area were lifted.

The celebrations will run from 11 am to 3.30 pm and will include a cycle stunt show, cycling demonstrations, police postcoding, and children’s entertainment.

The Lake District’s famous ospreys have settled in a new nest on the eastern side of Bassenthwaite Lake after spending 7 breeding seasons on the opposite site at a nest in Wythop Woods.

Despite the move, the existing viewpoint at Dodd Wood remains open and gives visitors the change to see the ospreys fishing in the lake and watch woodland birds. The Lake District Osprey Team is hoping to set up a new viewpoint near the new nest.

Graeme Prest of the Lake District Osprey Project said, ‘Over the years we have learnt to ‘expect the unexpected’ when it comes to our ospreys and clearly this year it’s going to be no different, with yet another twist to the tale. However, it’s great news that it looks like it’s going to be business as usual for our ospreys but just at a different nest and it does mean that we’ll need to alter our osprey viewing arrangements for visitors slightly.’