TRAVEL
Home & Away with Robert Walshe CONCORDE Travel offers a dedicated Wedding service for those wishing to say “I do” abroad. Featuring a comprehensive selection of wedding destinations and venues abroad, Concorde Travel have useful information on hotels, selected restaurants and even a palace that could be just what you were looking for on your special day. Featuring the popular destinations of Cyprus, Croatia, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Malta; these sun-drenched locations promise great weather and lower prices than for the same event at home. Substantial savings can be made depending on the size of the wedding party and a host of offers for the newlyweds are available throughout their dedicated wedding brochure. The typical cost of a wedding with Concorde Travel in Cyprus or Croatia for 50 guests starts from just €8,000. www.concordetravel.ie
Weekend Hotspot
Devon is truly a delight – the moors and the rugged coastline mix with clotted cream to make an enticing, relaxing and tasty treat. Bovey Castle on the edge of Dartmoor is a smart country house hotel in some of the most imposing grounds I have seen in the UK. Built in 1907 by the second Viscount Hambleden who was heir to the WH Smith Empire and he certainly chose a great spot for his home. Since that time it has been used as a convalescent home during the First World War and as a military hospital when war broke out again in 1939. From 1946 to 1983 it was returned to the Great Western Railway and re-opened as a hotel. It then changed owners again in 1991 when considerable expansion took place and the golf course became a top priority, shortly becoming one of England’s finest courses. It is set in more than 400 acres, and its public rooms, with their roaring fires and plush furnishings, are perfect places to settle with a drink. The rooms are decorated with bold woodland and floral prints, giving them a contemporary feel. They have classic furniture, divine beds, and flatscreen televisions all en suite with comfortable bathrooms and Elemis products throughout. As well as the rooms in the main house, there
Living
■ Bovey Cas
tle Interior
■ Bovey Castle
are self-catering lodges in the grounds, each with three en-suite bedrooms and fully fitted kitchens. Despite its grandeur, Bovey caters for children, with plenty of activities for youngsters. A vast range of afternoon activities were on offer, including falconry displays, archery, rifle and fly-fishing lessons and wine tasting in the castle cellar. We opted instead for fresh air and a scenic drive around the majestic Dartmoor National Park in the company of Bovey’s Geoff - where the dark, moody clouds grumbled away above the rolling green hills and roaming ponies. Bovey Castle Golf Club provides excellent golf in one of the most beautiful settings around. It’s immaculate, thanks to former owner Peter de Savary who bought the place in 2003 and threw £30m into restoring the golf course and the stunning Edwardian country house hotel to its 1920s heyday. The Edwardian Grill Restaurant, stylishly kitted out with hand painted Chinoiserie wall coverings, carpeted floor, large round tables and comfortable modern dining chairs provides the main dining experience with a menu that is refreshed seasonally. An aperitif can be enjoyed in the Oak bar prior to dinner and you’d be foolish to pass up tasting one of the large whiskey collection on display before retiring for the night.Gateway to Bovey is Moretonhampstead, which happens to have the longest town name in the UK, as well as being a rather lovely little place. Just down the road from the castle and
Pet’s Corner...
within walking distance is another splendidly named and attractive location, Bovey Tracey, which features plenty of those old-style shops selling confec■ Bovey Castle & Dartmoor tionery in big jars and other delights. The hotel is easy to Weekly Best Buy locate, just 45 minutes drive from With schools returning the eveExeter International Airport and 40 minutes from Exeter St David’s Sta- nings getting a bit cooler and aution. Guests can arrive in style and tumn is on the way. Have something arrange for a Land Rover Discovery to look forward to this October Midpick up if you feel like splashing term Break by booking a fantastic out! If you’re travelling by car it is family deal with www.holidaysoneasily accessible from the M5 The line.ie Departing on 23rd October, new ‘Blissfully Bovey’ special offer www.holidaysonline.ie is offering 1 for Autumn includes accommoda- week in the Jutlandia, Apartments, tion, breakfast and dinner on both Santa Ponsa, and Mallorca for €1316 evenings for two people, as well for 2 adults and 2 children (under as full use of the spa facilities and 16yrs). For the first time ever, Amera choice from the signature Bovey ican Holidays is offering the opporBliss Hot Stone Ritual followed by tunity to enjoy seven days on the either a Booster Facial or Exotic high seas in the company of George Hand Ritual. Or a fabulous Full Body Hook. Listen to George give semiMassage priced at £375 per person nars on ‘How to beat the recession’ for 2 nights. Devon is truly a delight and ‘Irish Rugby to the World Cup – the moors and the rugged coast- 2010’ as well as enjoying his usual line mix with clotted cream to make craic and repartee whilst cruising an enticing, relaxing and tasty treat. around the Mediterranean! FullBovey is a member of Pride of Brit- board prices, inclusive of flights, ain Hotels, a collection of the finest start from €1169/£1052 sailing from privately-owned hotels in the coun- Monday October 23rd to Saturday try. www.prideofbritainhotels.com/ 30th October. www.americanholidays.ie bovey_castle
with Kathleen Murray
Do you know where your dog is? with Kathleen Murray: Animal Behavioural Therapist
IF YOU don’t have an enclosed, safe space for your dog to go out to the toilet, then you could easily lose it if you open the door and just send it out. The dog could just be at the end of the garden and you wouldn’t see it in the dark evenings. It may have just run off down the road after a cat and you would have no idea where to start looking for it because you couldn’t see which direction it went as it was too dark. Anything could happen to it when it is away from home. It could get knocked down by a car and be in agony on the roadside and on top of that it
could cost you a lot of money. When dogs are away from the house, by themselves, they can be up to anything. Even if it is a saint at home it will not behave like that in the outside world… especially with other dogs to influence it. The excitement of the chase can take dogs a long way in a very short time, if they are after a cat or another small animal of some kind. Your dog could be following a bicycle or a neighbour walking down the road. It’s not difficult to lose a dog but it can be incredibly difficult to find them again. If your dog causes an accident you
are responsible for any costs involved. These costs can be anything from paying for a telegraph pole (if the car has to swerve to avoid the dog) to any damage caused to the car itself or an injury to a driver or passenger. Other problems that your dog, and you, may experience are, if the dog pulls out someone’s bin. There are many things in a bin from used bleach bottles to empty plastic bags that have food smells on them. There could be bones from a chicken. Any of these things could cause a lot of damage to your dog if they are
eaten and the vets bills could mount up. Your neighbours won’t be very happy with you or your dog either if your dog is at their place often and unsupervised. There will be complaints. The most common complaint about “Loose” dogs is their preference for going to the toilet in the neighbours garden. Another complaint is about dogs following walkers or joggers. Dogs that run along the road or charge out of a gate when your passing, with a dog on a lead, is a very scary and dangerous thing. The dog
could be attacked or the owner could get bitten. A major problem with dogs on the loose is the chasing of livestock. This is a very sad sight to see. It is sad for the dog that it’s owner didn’t think enough of it to keep it under control and at the house, and incredibly sad for anyone looking at the sheep, not forgetting or taking away from the horrifically savage encounter for the poor sheep. Don’t be an irresponsible owner. Know where your dog is at all times.
Home and Away Extra As part of the new classification just applied to the hotel industry in Monaco, Hotel Métropole Monte-Carlo has been awarded a fifth star. This new distinction allows the palace to reinforce its position as a prestigious hotel, by finally offering an easier point of reference for its increasingly international clientele. Opened in August 2004 following a largescale renovation programme by world renowned interior design Jacques Garcia, Hotel Métropole Monte-Carlo is a member of The Leading Hotels of the World, an international network of over 450 prestigious hotels and resorts offering exceptional service. In November 2006, the hotel was named Best Hotel in Europe – hotel of over 100 rooms or more – during the 2007 annual convention held by The Leading Hotels of the World. Robert Walshe is a freelance contributor / broadcaster and is guest travel writer for River Media newspaper titles across the island of Ireland