Enjoy gliding around Sizergh’s temporary ice rink before meeting Santa Claus in his magical grotto. There’s also face painting, festive family games and a traditional Christmas lunch every weekend in December (closed Christmas Day).
Free event, with a small additional charge for the ice rink, face painting and games.
Booking is not required for this event.
For more information please call 015395 60951.
Christmas lunch £14.50 two courses, £16.50 three courses. Booking advisable.
Perfect for families looking to make the festive season extra special Holeslack Farmhouse on the Sizergh estate is a Grade II listed building with many original features including a spiral staircase and seventeenth century oak cupboards. Sleeps eight. Find out more at www.nationaltrustholidaycottages.co.uk
Tyntesfield, North Somerset
Father Christmas weekends, 3-4, 10-11, 17-18 December 10am – 4pm (tickets last issued at 3.15pm)
Come and meet Father Christmas in his magical grotto. His elves have been working hard all year and he has lots of presents for good girls and boys. There’s also the chance to enjoy fine, winter food with friends and family at Tyntesfield’s brand new Cow Barn restaurant. Mains include roast turkey, roast beef and vegan Lancashire hot pot, all served with the day’s pickings from the Victorian walled garden.
Normal garden admission charges apply for adults, £4 per child to see Father Christmas.
Booking is not required for this event.
Three courses £16 and two courses £14. For more information and to book a Christmas lunch please call 01275 461965.
Why not experience Tyntesfield after hours with a stay in one of the three holiday cottages on the estate? Dating back to the 1840s and furnished with antiques, Chaplain’s Lodge has three bedrooms and sleeps five. Find out more at www.nationaltrustholidaycottages.co.uk
Upton House and Gardens, Warwickshire
Servants’ Christmas ball, 3-4, 10-11, 17-18 December 12pm – 3.30pm
Visit Father Christmas, 3-4, 10-11, 17-18 December 12pm – 3pm
Enjoy the Christmas celebrations for the servants of Lord and Lady Bearsted at Upton in the 1930s. Father Christmas will be in his magical grotto in the house to welcome children and give each child a Christmas gift. Visit on a Wednesday and enjoy a Christmas feast at the Pavilion restaurant; choose from the Christmas, classic roast turkey or try the beef and venison casserole, all served with seasonal veg freshly picked from Upton’s kitchen garden.
Normal admission charges apply, plus £3 per child to visit Father Christmas.
Timed tickets available on the day on a first come, first served basis.
For more information please call 01295 670266.
Three course lunch £19 and two courses £15. For more information and to book please call 01295 671112
Make a long weekend of it at the brilliantly named Bog Cottage. Overlooking the lush green bog garden at Upton House, this charming red brick house sleeps four and was originally a banqueting house. Or, for a real taste of the jazz age there’s Home Farm Drive with its quirky 1930s interior and private garden which sleeps five. Find out more at www.nationaltrustholidaycottages.co.uk
Wimpole Estate, Cambridgeshire
Christmas at Wimpole, 3-4 and 10-11 December 11am – 4pm
Step back in time to discover the sights and sounds of Christmas. Visit the hall decorated for Christmas Eve supper and then listen to the brass band playing traditional Christmas carols in the stable block, amidst the scent of mulled wine and roast chestnuts. With a bale maze in the great barn plus a wagon ride to home farm, there is something for everyone.
Adult £8.90, child £4.90 (non-members).
Booking is not required for this event.
For more information please call 01223 206000.
Keep things festive with Wimpole’s special Christmas lunch menu. Enjoy Norfolk Bronze Turkey’s reared at Wimpole’s Home Farm, venison from the National Trust’s Hatfield Forest, all served with seasonal vegetables freshly picked from the kitchen garden.
Three courses £23.50 or two courses £16.95.
Booking is essential, please call 01223 206000.
Trengwainton Garden, Cornwall
Lantern walk, 9 December 6.30pm – 8.30pm
Experience the magic of Trengwainton by lamplight. Wander through the walled garden lit by scores of lanterns. Enjoy music, mulled wine, mince pies and lantern making, as well as paying a visit to Santa in his special grotto. The perfect family Christmas experience.
Adult £3.25, child £1.60, plus £2 per child to visit Santa.
Booking is not required for this event.
For more information please call 01736 363148.
After the lantern walk, enjoy strolling back to a hideaway in the exotic grounds of Trengwainton. Nanceglos House is a large holiday cottage sleeping nine with original features including an historic well. Guests can also take advantage of luxury extras, including a personal chef and babysitter. Find out more at www.nationaltrustholidaycottages.co.uk
Castle Drogo, Devon
Drogo Christmas, 10-11, 17-23 December 11am – 4pm
Return to the 1930s for this popular event with an unbeatable Christmas atmosphere. See parts of the castle traditionally decorated and visit Father Christmas in his fantastic grotto, where children can receive a special present. In the Drogo café get stuck into festive fayre that includes roast Devon turkey with all the traditional trimmings, roast haunch of Drogo estate venison with a red currant sauce as well as creative alternatives to traditional Christmas meats such as cranberry, chestnut and fresh herb tart served with Drogo chutney.
Normal admission charges apply, plus £2 per child visiting Father Christmas.
Booking is not required for this event.
For more information please call 01647 433306.
Three course lunch plus coffee and chocolate mints £21.50.
Why not stay a little longer at Warcleave Cottage - it’s just a short distance from Castle Drogo. Splendidly isolated in the heart of a wooded landscape, the cottage sleeps up to four people and is approached via a grass track over two fields. All the accommodation is on one floor, but the lodge is elevated, and guests can step off the balcony, right out into the wood. Find out more at www.nationaltrustholidaycottages.co.uk
Calke Abbey, Derbyshire
Christmas craft and gift show, 10-11 December 11am – 6pm
Calke will be hosting the craft and gift show in the riding school, featuring fine crafts and original Christmas gifts to buy.
Normal park admission applies.
Booking is not required for this event.
For more information please call 01332 863822.
Enjoy fine Christmas food in Calke’s restaurant where the Christmas menu includes the classic roast Turkey with pigs in blankets, a blade of Calke Abbey beef from Calke’s largest tenant farmer as well as fish pie and creamy mushroom casserole topped with traditional Sage Derby cheese.
Three courses with coffee and homemade truffles £19.50, available 7-9, 14-16 and 19-21 December.
Booking is essential, please call 01332 863822
Make a weekend of it at Calke in one of the four holiday cottages which sleep between two and fourteen people situated in the National Park. Find out more at www.nationaltrustholidaycottages.co.uk
Florence Court, County Fermanagh
Magical Christmas at Florence Court, 10-18 December , Sat-Sun: 2-7pm and Mon-Fri: 4-7pm
Meet Santa and Mrs Claus in the basement of their charming Christmas home at Florence Court and enjoy the Christmas spectacle. There’ll be Christmas craft activities for the children, a visit to the elves workshop and gifts for children. Whilst mums and dads can enjoy open fires and music in the court yard, home made mulled wine and mince pies.
Adult £5, child £10 (including members).
Booking is essential, please call 028 6634 8249
For an unforgettable country house experience why not stay in the south wing of Florence Court in the Men’s Way Apartment. Overlooking the eighteenth century laundry and woodland garden, this unique and atmospheric apartment has retained its original features and character, and is enhanced with luxurious additions. Sleeps four. Find out more at www.nationaltrustholidaycottages.co.uk
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Campaigns & Issues
Lobby for libraries
The NPC officers have given their backing to a lobby being organised by UNISON, the National Federation of Women’s Institutes (NFWI), Voices for the Library, The Library Campaign, Campaign for the Book and the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) which will call on politicians to protect vital library services.
News
WRVS response to Health Committee report on social care
WRVS calls for a decisive leap towards joining up health and social care responding to the Health Select Committee inquiry report.
David McCullough, Chief Executive of WRVS said: “Delivering 21st-century health services will hinge on us switching considerable resources into keeping older people in their own homes and breaking the cycle of isolation that faces many people from their seventies onwards.
Competitions & Fun
Win a signed copy of Citizen James on DVD
CARRY ON’S inimitable Sid James is Citizen James in the hilarious 1960s BBC comedy, which finally comes to DVD for the first time. This long-lost classic comedy series makes its DVD debut, featuring the only known surviving episodes, the complete series one, and two episodes each from series two and three. They will be released as a two-disc set on 6 February 2012 courtesy of Acorn Media.
In series one written by Alan Simpson and Ray Galton (Hancock, Steptoe & Son), Sid (Sid James) is a hard-working layabout, gambler and con-artist, hanging out on the streets of Soho with his sidekick Bill (Bill Kerr), in Charlie’s Nosh Bar and occasionally paying a visit to his long-suffering fiancée Liz (Liz Fraser), to borrow money to pay off his gambling debts and cons gone wrong.
Advertorial
February is travel love month with Silver Travel Advisor
WIN £1,000 CRUISE VOUCHERS WITH VIKING RIVER CRUISES AND MANY OTHER PRIZES
Silver Travel Advisor is a friendly website packed with advice, tips, information and honest reviews written by and for silver travellers (aged over 50). A team of advisors are on hand to answer queries (for free), and you can share your own experiences too.
February is Travel Love month at Silver Travel Advisor, and there is a whole range of prizes to be found including the star prize:
Viking River Cruises – win £1,000 cruise vouchers
Health & Wellbeing
Scrap the government's health bill, say BMJ readers
More than 90% of British Medical Journal readers responding to a poll published today think the government's health reforms should be scrapped.
The poll asked: "Should the Health and Social Care Bill for England now be withdrawn?"
Property & Finance
Did you miss the Self Assessment deadline?
If you have missed the deadline for submitting a Self Assessment (SA) tax return and you can show that you should not have been in the SA regime in the first place, then you may be able to avoid any penalties.
Lifestyle
Paula's Wines of the Week starting 6 February 2012
If you really like a certain wine, rather than buying it in single cork-stoppered bottles why not get larger four bottle-sized amounts available in boxes? But if stepping along to the supermarket seems like too much of a chilly effort then try the online winebox retailer InspiredWine.co.uk because they’re offering free delivery during February.
There are advantages to buying wine in a winebox. As the wine is dispensed through a plastic tap all the annoyance of the cork is removed: no more tainted 'corked' wine (this spoils at least one in ten traditionally bottled wines due to improperly sterilised corks) and no more chasing around bits of broken cork that always sink when the index finger sent in to oik them out gets anywhere near them.
Travel & Leisure
£15m boost for sustainable travel
Transport Minister Norman Baker today announced £15m of new funding for sustainable travel projects across the country that will promote economic growth and cut carbon.
The investment is in addition to the £560m Local Sustainable Transport Fund announced in January 2011. This additional funding, heavily geared towards cycling, will support jobs, enhance access to employment and encourage greater use of more environmentally friendly transport.
I came across your free paper and brought one home – it's brilliant!