Holiday Attractions & Events

Queenstown’s Shotover Jet, the world’s most exciting jet boat ride, is launching a dynamic new campaign to further strengthen its position as a market leader in the New Zealand tourism industry.

For the first time, the world-famous visitor attractions of the Pool of London have joined forces in a unique promotional venture that enables families and school groups to explore this historic area and its iconic landmarks in an innovative and entertaining way.

Mick Hucknall, lead singer of Simply Red, is coming to Villa Maria’s Auckland Winery on 15 February 2009, to belt out Simply Red’s greatest hits in the beautiful surroundings of Villa Maria’s Auckland Estate. As well-known for his love of good wine (having launched his own Sicilian wine brand in 2004) as for his flaming red curls and distinctive gravelly voice, the singer will play an open air concert within the grounds of the Villa Maria Winery and Vineyard park in Auckland.

Silver surfers have been parking their boards in Cumbria in ever-increasing numbers since leading attraction, The Lakes Aquarium, installed a new feature originally designed to entertain visitors of school age. The attraction spent £100,000 on a new Virtual Dive Bell feature unveiled by Michaela Strachan, in March 2008, targeted mainly at children aged eight and over.

Fright Nights, the UKs leading ghost hunting specialist, have announced the results of the second ‘Great British Ghost Hunt’, an investigation to discover Britain’s most haunted location. For 10 years Fright Nights have been organising ghost hunts across 170 locations in Britain and are the leading expert in carrying out investigations of this nature. Last year the Galleries of Justice in Nottingham was voted the most haunted venue in the UK with 31 reported paranormal incidents.

Fright Nights, the UK’s leading ghost hunting specialist, will be holding paranormal investigations from 9pm – 5am at Warwick Castle once a month from February 2009. The public will be allowed to spend the night at the Castle, reputed to be one of Britain’s most haunted Castles, visiting the legendary “Ghost Tower” and using the latest ghost hunting and psychic equipment to detect ghosts.

Emily Young, one of Britain’s greatest contemporary sculptors, brings seven and a half newly sculpted Angel Heads to Salisbury Cathedral from 20 November 2008 to 8 February 2009 as the final and most spectacular art installation celebrating the iconic building’s 750th anniversary.

The kids are at home for a week, the winter weather is upon us and parents everywhere are seeking advice on how to keep the children entertained. Well look no further, Destination Bristol, the tourism and marketing organisation for the city, has created a special website page available at visitbristol.co.uk with dedicated half term ideas and money saving advice featuring the latest Autumn events and Halloween activities taking place in and around the bustling city of Bristol.

Earlier this month and despite the weather, nearly 500 people turned up to help celebrate the 150the anniversary of rail passengers coming to the small market town of Llandovery.

Luxury travel company Grand Tourist have launched their new range of white truffle hunting experiences this week at one of the Republic of Ireland’s largest luxury travel fairs. Grand Tourist, who ask their clients to follow in the footsteps of the original travellers of the 18th and 19th century, is launching its white truffle hunting experiences at this year’s Ideal Home Show, Dublin. This year, Grand Tourist has also launched Ferrari driving experiences and Ischia island tours in Italy.

Federer, Bjorg, McEnroe, Blake – four of the biggest names in tennis, spanning two eras, will come together for ‘The Showdown of Champions’ - one night of tennis in Malaysia’s capital city, Kuala Lumpur. An age old sporting question of new versus old, experience taking on youth and wisdom up against agility will be confronted as four tennis’ greats compete in both singles and doubles matches.

Homecoming Scotland 2009 in partnership with Scotland’s favourite whisky, The Famous Grouse, has this week launched The World Famous Burns Supper Celebration as part of the Homecoming Scotland programme that will mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns, Scotland’s national poet.

Thousands of British boxing fans are set to follow Ricky Hatton to the U.S. next month as he prepares to fight light welterweight champion, Paulie Malignaggi, on 22nd November at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Do you have a taste for the gruesome? Ever fancied tackling a headless ghost - head on? As caretaker of some of the country’s oldest and most haunted properties, English Heritage has delved into our murky past and created a ‘Haunted Heritage’ map to share its spookiest findings, just in time for Halloween. For a limited time only, ghostly thrill seekers can log onto english-heritage.org.uk/halloween to view an interactive map detailing some of the most spine-tingling tales in English history.

The beautiful Western Lake District is reinforcing its innovative approach to tourism by offering half term holidaymakers and local residents something entirely different during the school holidays.

BeWILDerwood, the curious treehouse adventure park in Norfolk, will be celebrating its final weekend of running WILD in the woods this season with a grand BeWILDerMonster party on 1st and 2nd November.

Parents can find some spellbinding and spirited events with which to entertain their children, if they head to the South Lakes – arguably the most stunning part of the Lake District.

The task of peering into the night sky trying to discover new galaxies might seem like a job for astronomers armed with telescopes the size of small houses - but Cardiff and Swansea Astronomical Societies have definitely left visitors starry-eyed at two recent events held at the Brecon Beacons National Park Visitor Centres.

The innovative TEA (Tenerife Espacio de las Artes) developed by the Cabildo de Tenerife, the Tenerife Government, opens its doors on 31st October and will be the latest addition to the cultural infrastructure in Tenerife and the Canary Islands. This ambitious project aspires to be a reflection of contemporary art, influenced by new technologies.

From Saturday 25 October - Sunday 2 November, the Stratford Butterfly Farm is inviting children of all ages to get up close and meet the insects. The Butterfly Farm, which has the largest live insect display in the world, will be holding “Meet the Minibeasts” talks and handling sessions each day at 11:30am and 2:30pm.

Camel Valley Vineyard has won a Gold Medal in the Cornwall Tourism Awards held at the Headland Hotel, Newquay, on 16 October 2008. The awards were presented by TV personality Ruby Wax; Camel Valley received the Gold award for ‘Small Visitor Attraction of the Year’.

With 20 cities at your fingertips, Halloween haunts this year are only a click away with citybreaks.org.uk. This year we have come up with our Top 5 spooky happenings across the UK. So avoid endless hours of trawling the internet and log-on to citybreaks.org.uk, to discover top Halloween haunts and more spooky happenings at a city near you.

Condé Nast Traveller presents The Luxury Travel Fair with British Airways at Olympia, London from 6th to 9th November 2008 showcases the definitive collection of authentic and tailor-made travel experiences. Whether looking for an adventure, or seeking advice on how to get the most out of your favourite destination, this is the UK’s most stylish event for the discerning traveller, providing quality, choice and inspiration.

Regent Street is looking forward to the annual London to Brighton Veteran Car Run International Concourse on Saturday 1 November preceding the 112th London to Brighton Veteran Run on Sunday 2 November. A record one hundred and twenty cars will be displayed on the northbound carriageway in Regent Street between 10:30 and 15:30 making this the largest free to view motoring event. There will be a contra flow will be operating on the South bound carriageway.

Pumpkin carving, storytelling, fancy dress, spooky zoo tours and Halloween trails will all be part of the ghostly goings on at Blackpool Zoo this half-term. Plus the attraction will be hosting a special Halloween evening on Friday 31st October, from 4.00pm.

In less than a month, a large and exquisite piece of modern religious art has undoubtedly become the centre of attention for visitors to one of Britain’s greatest and most iconic buildings. The contemporary sculpture in question is the new font, installed at the end of September at Salisbury Cathedral.

The greatest wizard on the planet will arrive on the platform of Lakeside station in the beautiful Lake District, on October 27, as he makes his way to the fabulous Wizards on Windermere event at the Lakes Aquarium, running between October 27 and November 2. Harry Potter lookalike, Luke Williams, described as the most realistic Harry Potter in the world, will be using his uncanny resemblance to Daniel Radcliffe to bring magical moments into the lives of children and adults alike.

A hootin’ tootin’ half-term of fun is ensured in the Western Lake District this year, if families visit two of the country's top Halloween haunts, each nestling in the spooky shadows cast by England’s tallest mountains and fells. It will most certainly be a hoot to visit Muncaster Castle, where families can ‘owl with delight and also cast a little more light on some spooktacular goings on.

Spine-tingling and terrifying tales of ghosts will be performed at a special theatrical production organised by Fright Nights, the UK’s leading ghost hunting specialist and Theatre of Ophidia. ‘The Ballad of Spring Heeled Jack’ will bring the ghosts of Dudley Castle alive for one night only on Saturday 15 November at 7:30pm, 9:00pm and 10:30pm in the haunted grounds of the Castle.