Win a staycation
THE WELCOME Approaching the Titanic feels a bit like pulling up outside some trendy new flats – the hotel is a converted textile mill. The laidback luxury of the entrance hall and the warm staff make you feel instantly at home. THE NEIGHBOURHOOD This Yorkshire gem looks out on to the beautiful Pennines. You are a ten minute drive from the market town of Huddersfield and near to Leeds and Manchester. THE ROOM The Titanic has 33 apartments – most have large balconies with spectacular views. Mine had a lounge with a sofa, TV and DVD player so I could enjoy a night in after a strenuous afternoon being pampered at the spa. And a kitchen with a fridge so I could chill my prosecco. THE FOOD The casual Bistro has locally sourced produce and happily it was warm enough for me to enjoy al fresco on the terrace. I went for oak roast salmon and pickled samphire followed by wild mushroom and asparagus linguine. The hotel’s Bar 1911 offers a generous selection of cocktails and wines. THE SPA The Titanic has won countless awards for its spa. It includes a mud chamber inspired by traditional Egyptian bathing rituals, a crystal steam room bursting with essential oils, herbal infusion room and an aromatherapy area. With a list of more than 80 treatments, it is tough to choose what to go for. THE SERVICE As soon as you enter the calming lobby, staff are on hand to help you – from offering your signature spa robes and slippers, to checking if you need a dinner reservation. LOVED Specialising in Elemis, Decleur and Neom luxury organics products, it is hard to leave The Titanic without a browse of the fantastic shop so you can take some bliss home. HATED It would be difficult to visit without a car. But the semi-isolation means you feel your batteries have been thoroughly recharged. BOTTOM LINE Rooms from £129, including spa access, lunch and dinner. CHECK IT OUT titanicspa.com. YOU could win a top staycation just by voting in the British Travel Awards. Everyone who joins in is entered into a draw for a pot of getaway prizes worth tens of thousands of pounds. And among those is a Shearings three-night break with luxury coach travel, breakfast, dinner and excursions. Go to britishtravelawards.com. PIG out this autumn at the country’s top foodie festivals before crashing out in a delicious cottage, castle or orchard.
England’s garden Toast seafood in Sussex and Kent
Extra hours of sunshine means Kent is the fruit basket of England. Once it was hop-growing country too, with those pointy-roofed oast houses. Now vineyards and apple orchards occupy much of the space.
Autumn is the season for vineyard visits, to sample marsh lamb from Romney Marsh, drink elderflower cider and eat blackberry cake in the tea shops of Rye in East Sussex. All this and more is celebrated just along the coast at the Hastings Seafood and Wine Festival from September 15-16. See visit1066country.com. STAY: The Woolpack Inn, in Warehorne, overlooking Romney Marsh, mixes creativity and tradition. Doubles with breakfast cost from £90. See ramblinns.com.
Moldy meals Foodie fun in North Wales
The north coast of Wales is where folk from Liverpool and Manchester have been escaping to for years. And Chester Market is jam-packed with food goodies, particularly quality meat from the nearby Welsh hills. Also worth a look are Dylan’s restaurants in Llandudno and Anglesey, which showcase seafood.
An autumn festival to celebrate local specialities takes place every year in Mold from September 15-16, with cookery demos, music and food stalls. See moldfoodfestival.co.uk. STAY: While in North Wales, why not stay in a castle? Bodelwyddan is a Victorian castle hotel between Snowdonia and the sea, with a spa, leisure club and nightly shows.
A two-night break, with breakfast and dinner, costs from £201 per person. See warnerleisurehotels.co.uk.
Say cheese Taste of the Yorkshire Dales
Wallace and Gromit may have put Wensleydale on the map but Yorkshire has got more cheese on offer than just that.
September’s week-long celebration of the county’s fromages kicks off with a two-day festival on September 15 and 16 at the Wensleydale Creamery in Hawes. There, 35 producers will show off their Yorkshire cheeses and other related produce, plus there will be cookery demos and tastings.
Afterwards, 20 locations across the Yorkshire Dales and Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty are holding cheesy events. See yorkshiredales.org.uk/cheese-festival. STAY: Gorgeous Cottages has properties across the Dales, for example Low Cottage in Reeth, which sleeps four and costs from £305 for three nights. See gorgeouscottages.com.
Ready break World porridge championships in the Highlands
Chefs and amateur cooks will head to the Highland village of Carrbridge in Cairngorm National Park on the weekend October 6 for the chance to win the Golden Spurtle – a wooden stirrer designed for porridge.
It kicks off with a pipe band parade at the 18th-century packhorse bridge that gives the village its name. The main event takes place in the village hall, with competitors battling it out in Bake Off style.
Past winners include sticky toffee porridge and pinhead oat risotto with lemon, thyme and parmesan. See goldenspurtle.com. STAY: Carrbridge is north of Aviemore, on the A9 and on the main line to Inverness. The Fairwinds Hotel is a gem, set in seven acres of grounds, rich with red squirrels. Doubles with breakfast cost from £70. See fairwindshotel.com.
Get fruity Pick your own in Wiltshire
Taking the family to a pick-your-own farm is educational, healthy and a good laugh.
If you want to make a weekend of it, head for Ansty, in lush Wiltshire not far from Stonehenge, with its farm shop, tea room and fields of fruit and veg. At this time of year, that means raspberries, rhubarb, pumpkins, spinach and potatoes. See anstypyo.co.uk. STAY: Apple House in Barford St Martin is a