Roseland Triathlon News!

It looks like the Roseland has gone mad for triathlons this summer with 2 big races being planned. For those of you who don't know, a triathlon consists of a long distance swim, followed by a cycle, followed by a run. It might sound exhausting, but with these charity events, all are welcome to take part and team entries are positively encouraged.

The first triathlon is provisionally scheduled for 21 August and will start and finish in Portscatho. There will be a swim to Porthcurnick beach (1/3 mile), a cycle to St Anthony Head via St Mawes (15 miles) and a run back to Portscatho along the coastal footpath (5 miles). For more information visit the website at http://www.roselandtriathlon.co.uk/ .

The second triathlon will be held on 26 September. The Nearwater Triathlon is for the Help the Heroes charity and will also feature a range of social events around St Mawes. There is a swim across the harbour, a cycle and then a run around the village. Again, team entries are positively encouraged! More information plus maps of the routes can be found by visiting http://www.nearwaterstmawes.co.uk/triathlon .

Of course, if you want to enter either event, why not make a holiday out of it and visit the beautiful Roseland Peninsula for a few days of even a week. It looks like we are going to have a few properties available for short breaks, even at peak times of the year so please do contact us or call us on 01872 264441.

New Character Cottages for every season with cornwallscottages.co.uk

Whatever the time of year, the county of Cornwall has something of interest to offer visitors: from gardens brimming with new life in the spring, shows and water sports in the summer, to food festivals in the autumn and cosy escapes during the winter. And, with the continued rapid expansion of www.cornwallscottages.co.uk, specialists in high quality self-catering accommodation, there is also a good range of character properties in which to stay during each one of the seasons. The following is a selection of brand new accommodation for 2010.

SPRINGTIME brings a revival of the many gardens in and around the Roseland Peninsula, among them Caerhays Castle gardens with their magnificent displays of tree magnolias, rhododendrons and camellias (open Feb 15 to May 31). And, of course, there’s the magical Lost Gardens of Heligan and The Eden Project, with its million plus bulbs coming into bloom, as well as a magnificent display of tulips in March in the Mediterranean Biome. An excellent base from which to visit all of these attractions, is Carvinack Cottage, near St Just in Roseland, which is often said to have the prettiest church in the country. The tastefully converted Cornish stone barn overlooks a picturesque valley and is surrounded by organic farmland, yet is only a short drive from St Mawes, Portscatho and the King Harry Ferry. Spring prices start from £379, based on one week’s accommodation in March. Sleeps six.

SUMMER hails a raft of entertainment, including the County’s biggest annual event, The Royal Cornwall Show (10-12 June 2010). Complete with agricultural competitions, farm animal shows, parachute displays, show jumping, a traditional steam fair, live music, singing and dancing, and even a human cannonball, to name but a few of the hundreds of attractions, it has something that will appeal to every country loving visitor. What’s more, within walking distance of the show ground is Burrow Cottage, a ‘chocolate box’ pretty 16^th century property packed with charming features such as original beams, slate flagstones and an inglenook fireplace. Prices range from £399 to £699 during the summer months - £499 during the show - for one week’s accommodation for four people. The cottage is also just 15 minutes’ drive from Padstow and the glorious beaches along the North Cornwall coast.

Alternatively, Merrose Barn near the peaceful waterside village of Portscatho, is a good choice of accommodation during the summer for lovers of water sports. The comfortable barn conversion, which sleeps up to six guests in a double bedroom, a bunk room and on a futon in the lounge, belongs to the owner’s of Roseland Paddle & Sail. They offer guests who are staying in the cottage a year-round discount of 15% on equipment such as wetsuits, kayaks, windsurfs and sail boats. Prices in the summer range from £499 to £899 for a week.

AUTUMN highlights an abundance of fresh produce and everything that’s good about the food and drink of Cornwall, beginning with the Cornwall Food and Drink Festival in Truro (24-26 September) and including the Falmouth Oyster Festival (14-17 October), which celebrates the start of the oyster dredging season. Both events give visitors the chance to appreciate the skill of master chefs in action, marvel at the extent of Cornwall’s produce and savour some of it at a series of popular tasting sessions.

An ideal base for these culinary events, is a small cluster of new barn conversions, situated outside Truro. Lighthouse Cottage, Sunlight Cottage and Moonlight Cottage have all been converted from traditional agricultural buildings into first-class, comfortable, modern holiday accommodation. Prices range from £259 for a week in October in Moonlight, which sleeps two people, to £369 for Sunlight, which sleeps four.

WINTER is a time to savour rugged landscapes, take pleasure in deserted beaches, revel in attractions with no queues and take advantage of celebrity restaurants with availability. And it’s a time to snuggle up in cosy hideaways to enjoy the company of loved ones. Bethel Cottage is one such retreat, brand new for 2010, located in a remote corner of the Tregothnan Estate, home to the UK’s only tea plantation, but still within easy reach of the shops, restaurants and nightlife of Truro. Overlooking a tidal creek in a peaceful conservation area, and complete with wood burning stove for chilly winter evenings, this recently renovated cottage is a perfect base to return to for a warming cup of English Estate tea, after exploring the many footpaths nearby and perhaps spotting herons, cormorants and other wildlife along the way. Prices for seven nights in December range from £319 to £699 for the Christmas week.

For further information about these and other cottages available for short breaks and longer holidays, whatever the season, visit www.cornwallscottages.co.uk or telephone: 01872 264441.

The cat’s out of the bag – Cornwall in winter is a secret just waiting to be shared!

Think you know Cornwall? Then think again. Take another look at the county and gain a fresh perspective during the winter when its incredible beauty is laid bare. In fact, for the people that live there, Cornwall at this time of year remains its best kept secret, encapsulated in its wild and bracing atmosphere.

“Cornwall is both at its most beautiful and deserted in winter and for the locals, it really is a hidden gem waiting to be discovered,” comments Richard Beaman, Director of www.cornwallscottages.co.uk. “Rugged and windswept, it is quite spectacular and there’s nothing more mesmerising than a wild winter storm. I’m fascinated by the seasonal changes that coast and country undergo and it’s exhilarating to see the stirring seascapes and landscapes, whether it’s to stride out on an empty beach or take a ramble over brooding Bodmin Moor.”

Here are Richard’s six of the best reasons to visit Cornwall in winter:

• Dramatic walks are to be had on both the coast and moors. The South West Coast Path, wrapping around the county, offers spectacular cliff-top and beachside walks; try stepping out from Polruan to Looe on the Gribbin Head-Polperro Heritage Coast. Bodmin and Dartmoor, rich in history through their stone circles and tors, are perhaps most evocative in winter, and it’s likely you’ll only see a handful of people.

• Main attractions such as the Eden Project (just as spectacular in winter as summer) and the National Maritime Museum, along with castles such as Pendennis at Falmouth and stately homes like Lanhydrock House, can be taken in without the crowds.

• Enjoy glorious gardens such as those at The Lost Gardens of Heligan, Trebah and Lanhydrock, all to yourself, and there’s plenty to see thanks to Cornwall’s mild winters.

• Breeze into celebrity restaurants without sight of a queue – check out Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen in Newquay and Rick Stein’s eateries in Padstow.

• Give the dogs a treat - take them out to hare along open beaches, from which they are banned in the summer.

• Drop into the art galleries and boutiques of St Ives, Padstow and Fowey with more time and space to peruse; and more than likely you’ll find a parking space first time!

www.cornwallscottages.co.uk & www.stmawesholidays.co.uk have over 50 self catering holiday cottages across south Cornwall, specialising in the Roseland Peninsula. From waterside cottages to converted barns to luxury apartments, there is something for all tastes and budgets. For more information, visit the websites of call us on 01872 264441.

Stay on the Tregothnan Estate!

The historic Tregothnan Estate in the St Michael Penkivel area of south Cornwall can boast a number of ‘firsts’. It is home to the UK’s only tea plantation; the first place outside of New Zealand to produce Manuka honey; the first to cultivate the Wollemia Pine, one of the world’s rarest trees; the only place where Black Kea Plums are grown and the site of the largest historic garden in Cornwall.

Now, following the introduction of a small selection of characterful coastal and creek-side properties, completely refurbished to provide comfortable self-catering retreats in 2010, it is also possible to stay on the Tregothnan Estate. The Estate has introduced their “Wild Escapes” concept which offers basic, yet very comfortably refurbished holiday cottages in unique and remote locations around Cornwall. You can escape from the realities of everyday life in these peaceful spots, where often, mod cons such as TV’s, DVD’s, dishwahers and washing machines have purposely been left out of the refurbishments to create a total “Wild Escape”.

Home to the Boscawen family since 1335, the Tregothnan Estate is one of the largest land owners in Cornwall and e stretches from the north side of the Roseland Peninsula to the unspoilt coastline of the Lizard Peninsula, both Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and is an ideal base for those who enjoy walking, wildlife, botany and water-based activities.

One of the new holiday properties, Bethel Cottage, offers a remote, rural location, with herons, cormorants and other wildlife visible from the vantage point of its bedroom window overlooking the tidal creek. Numerous footpaths traverse this conservation area, with its unique plum orchards, while creek-side trails add to its diversity.

English Tea, Manuka honey, Kea Plum Jam, handmade chocolates and edible chilli and herb bouquets, are among the delightful products available at The Tregothnan Shop. A limited number of private tours of the Botanical Garden are also arranged each year, giving a select number of visitors the opportunity to appreciate the passion for growing and collecting plants behind Tregothnan.

Whilst peace and remoteness are at the heart of this holiday, Bethel Cottage is still only 10 minutes’ drive from Truro, with its numerous excellent shops and restaurants, as well as being within easy access of the watersports facilities offered by both Falmouth and St Mawes.

Prices for a week at Bethel Cottage, which sleeps up to four guests, range from £449 in May to £999 in August. For further information visit www.cornwallscottages.co.uk or telephone 01872 264441.