A new website offers a careful selection of self catering holiday villas on Pilio in Greece – a peninsula on the east coast of mainland Greece roughly half way between Athens and Thessaloniki (although a bit closer to the latter). Pilio villas are listed more commonly by the search engines as Pelion villas, for some odd reason. Speak to a Greek about this part of his country and you will hear him referring to it as “Pilio”. You won’t hear anyone calling it Pelion, apart from the foreigners.

 

It is a lovely part of Greece with lots of lush wooded slopes, in contrast to the scorched dryness of lots of the rest of Greece in the summer. The area is dominated by mount Pilio, which rises to about 1,600 metres (there is a ski centre that is popular in winter). On both sides of the peninsula there are lovely beaches.

 

For further information about self catering holiday accommodation on Pilio (Pelion) see the website that lists Pilio villas on Pelion Greece.

Lakerdistrict.co.uk has two self catering Keswick holiday cottages not far from the centre of Keswick in the Lake District, UK. One is Causey Cottage, which sleeps 2 and provides 3 star self catering holiday accommodation with one double bedroom. The other Keswick cottage is St Herbert’s Cottage, which sleeps 4, 5, or 6 people and offers 4 star self catering holiday accommodation in one double bedroom, one twin bedroom and a third bedroom that can either be double or twin.

The first choice for anyone looking for holiday accommodation in Keswick (in the English Lake District, UK) has traditionally been the Keswick guest houses. Although Keswick is not without its hotels, they are vastly outnumbered by its guest houses, which are much more popular with visitors to this lovely Lake District town.

The Keswick Guest Houses.com website has a hand-picked selection of good quality guest houses in Keswick that offer excellent bed and breakfast accommodation in Keswick. Guest houses and B & B s listed here include: Laurel Bank Bed and Breakfast, Glendale Bed and Breakfast, Amble House Bed and Breakfast, Shemara Bed and Breakfast, Brookfield Bed and Breakfast, Cranford House Bed and Breakfast, plus bed and breakfast B & B holiday accommodation at Scales Farm in Threlkeld, Brierholme, Linnett Hill and other guest houses offering B & B accommodation either in Keswick town itself or in the wider Keswick area.

Newly renovated old stone cottage (sleeps 4) for self-catering holiday accommodation in the hamlet of Fremington, close to the picturesque village of Reeth in Swaledale – to some the capital of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Great base for walks, cycle rides and tours of the north Yorkshire Dales National Park area.

For more information about this self catering cottage, and to book online, visit:

http://www.yorkshire-dales-swaledale-self-catering-holiday-cottage-reeth.com/

A new website for Lake District self catering cottages has been set up by the Web Design Cottage. At the moment it displays information about Hall Hills’s winning the North-West award for the self catering holiday of the year, but the intention is to use the site to promote self-catering cottages in the Lake District.

Admittedly there are already a considerable number of websites promoting self catering cottages in the Lake District and Cumbria, but the hope is to provide cottages with a less expensive way of promoting themselves online, especially now that some of the main competitors have become far from cheap.

It has been announced that Hall Hills self-catering cottages in Cumbria are the winners of the competition for the Self-Catering Holiday of the Year for the North-West of England. the announcement was made in Blackpool on Monday September 28.

Hall Hills has five self-catering cottages near Dalston in Cumbria, not far from the Lake District.

For Jude and Tim Walker, the proprietors of the self-catering cottages, this was the second surprising event of the year. The first occured in the spring when they were named by Cumbria Tourism as the Self-Catering Holiday of the Year for the Lake District and the rest of Cumbria. This was a remarkable achievement for a holiday cottages that had only been operating for little over a year and that are outside the Lake District National Park. Jude and Tim assumed that it would be virtually impossible to compete with more established cottages enjoying a location close to more well-known resorts inside the Lake District National Park, which for visitors who don’t know of Cumbria’s other gems is synonymous with Cumbria itself.

As winners of the Cumbria Tourism competition, Hall Hills was automatically entered for the regional competition for the North-West of England – a competition that required a lengthy and carefully prepared presentation plus a detailed inspection by the judges. Now, having been named Self-Catering Holiday for the North-West of England for 2009, Hall Hills will go through to the national compeition organised by Enjoy England.

Hall Hills was, until recently, a complex of farm buildings that had long been neglected. Jude and Tim Walker painstakingly revovated the derelict house and then set about converting the seventeenth century stone barns into beautifully designed self-catering holiday accommodation. With a strong background in interior design, Jude was able to take on planning the interior decoration of the cottages herself, before managing the fledgling business itself. She is now running five cottages that can accommodate a total of 18 people. Each cottage is individually designed and has its own patio areas with lovely views across the Cumbrian countryside, and there is ample parking.

Recent visitors to Hall Hills have included the chef, John Tovey, who was delighted with the self-catering accommodation and all the extra assistance both Jude and Tim were able to provide. They say that they are there to help out in whatever way they can, should it be needed, but are also sensitive enough to give their guests complete privacy.

For further details see http://www.hallhills.co.uk

A delightful stone cottage offering self-catering holiday accommodation in Bowness-on-Windermere has just begun taking in visitors to one of the most popular Lake District resorts. Teal Cottage is a tastefully converted schoolhouse with a foundation stone bearing the name of none other than William Wordsworth. The interior is thoroughly modern with a lovely open-plan living area enjoying views of Lake Windermere. It is especially well-equipped. The location is ideal especially for lovers of watersports, for whom Windermere is of great interest. Windermere is very popular with those interested in sailing, canoeing or just taking a ride in one of the famous Windermere launches. The hills around Windermere are also ideal for hiking, and some of the Lake District’s most challenging hills (Scafell Pike and Helvellyn, for instance) are only a short drive away.

Finding a luxury self-catering cottage with easy access to the Lake District for that romantic break can be difficult. The decision should be an easy one, though, when you hear who Cumbria Tourism has named the self-catering holiday of the year for Cumbria in 2009 (and that includes the Lake District).

Hall Hills, with its tastefully designed 4-star and 5-star self-catering cottages, has been awarded the title Self-Catering Holiday Of The Year for 2009 by Cumbria Tourism.

There are five self-catering cottages, recently converted from a cluster of 17th century stone barns, each with a unique style and character, emphasizing good taste, luxury and comfort, and preserving their rustic atmosphere.

Their location in a charming part of the Eden Valley in east Cumbria makes them an ideal base for a self-catering holiday with easy access to the Lake District and to numerous picturesque Cumbrian towns and villages such as Caldbeck, Dalston and Heskett. The historic city of Carlisle – Cumbria’s capital – is very close and the Scottish Borders and Hadrian’s Wall are only a short drive away.

An undeniable advantage of the location is its tranquility. From your private patio, as you sip your aperitif, you can look down at the little stone bridge and the murmuring River Roe and across the vast expanse of rolling Cumbrian countryside. As you sit late into the evening, warmed by the patio heater if need be, you will hear only birdsong, certainly none of the high-season bustle of the more well-known Lake District resorts – an ideal way to get away from it all and unwind, especially for those wanting a quiet romantic break.

The self-catering cottages are set around an elegant courtyard with ample parking. And you are sure of a friendly welcome at Hall Hills, together with a hamper with a taste of local produce.

Click for an overview of the five self-catering cottages with easy access to the Lake District, Cumbria