Big Green Fun with Britain’s Greenest Holiday company

Haven’s Big Green Weekend is becoming another ‘don’t miss’ fixture on the summer calendar with eco-conscious families enjoying a break that celebrates why staying in Britain is good for your carbon footprint.

Taking place at selected Haven Holiday parks around the UK the weekend encourages families to leave their cars behind and join in with a range of fun family events that won’t impact on the environment.

Options include guided walks and rock pool rambles, bat hunts, mini- beast safaris and birds of prey displays. Children will be encouraged to join in with recycled sculpture competitions, green-themed fancy dress and workshops with local artists.

The weekend highlights Haven’s commitment to local communities with Farmer’s markets and local craft stalls invited onto the parks, car boot sales and fund-raising events for local charities.

A holiday with Haven is an ideal way to access National Parks, coastal walks and some of Britain’s most beautiful stretches of coastline - whilst perhaps better known for its fun-packed family breaks and first class facilities, the company takes its eco-credentials very seriously.

All 35 Haven Holiday parks hold a Conservation Award through the scheme initiated by Professor David Bellamy and 32 parks also hold the prestigious Green Tourism for Business Scheme award – with three receiving the Gold accolade. Several parks employ a full time Park Ranger not just to manage the park environment but also to offer guided walks and nature-aware activities to holidaymakers.

Big Green Weekend Events vary from park to park so check the website on www.haven.com for details. Three night breaks arriving on July 15th at Hafan y Mor on the Llyn peninsula start at £219 for a family of up to six people in Standard self-catering accommodation. A similar break at Perran Sands, which is located directly on the South West Coast Path will cost from £279 or at Rockley Sands, which borders a SSSI will cost from £259.

Call 0871 230 1900 or www.haven.com to book.

29th June 2011
For media information, hi-res images or further information about individual parks Big Green Weekend events please contact About Words on 01444 235 154 or email office@aboutwords.co.uk

Haven’s Festival of Fun!

Haven’s Festival of Fun!

Those busy Entertainment bods at Haven Holidays have been coming up with all sorts of extra special plans to make sure this summer will be a veritable festival of music and activities.

It’s all happening at Haven’s 35 holiday parks around the UK! Sit back, chill out and listen to the music or give it your all - singing and dancing to your favourite rock anthems! Haven are promising music from now and sounds from every decade since the greats of rock and roll.

This summer ‘Beautiful World’ will be celebrating the music of Take That (didn’t get tickets for the tour? This will more than make up for any disappointment!) as well as the best of Abba; Westlife; Michael Jackson and the ultimate 80’s experience with Wham Bam Duran.

Same Difference, stars from X Factor could make a real difference to a great night out and don’t miss Lorraine Cosby (the amazing voice that sang with Meatloaf on ‘I would do anything for love’) or Ray Lewis (former Drifters frontman).

And d’you know what’s even better? It all comes included in the price!

Jamie Thomson of Haven Holidays added, ‘We’re really excited about our evening entertainment this summer, but we’ve also added in lots of additional daytime activities too. This year summer holiday guests can enjoy some Fun in the Sun - a new family activity that celebrates traditional sun and sand beach games, a touring circus, wrestling and some touchy, feely live encounters at Wildlife Detectives. Sporty families can book coaching in football, tennis, archery, fencing, golf or fishing. There are ‘Bikeability’ lessons for under 5’s as well as our usual bike and kart hire. And children’s cooking guru and TV presenter Annabel Karmel will be appearing at selected parks during the summer holidays.

Children staying at Craig Tara in Scotland will be able to take part in the Razzamataz Theatre School with trained drama, dance and singing instruction.’

Entertainment, activities and facilities vary from park to park, click on www.haven.com to see which acts, music and activities will be appearing at which destination.

Book a week’s holiday with Haven from just £499 for a family of up to six, based on seven nights in a Superior self-catering holiday home arriving on August 19th at selected parks.

Call 0871 230 1900 or click on www.haven.com

21st June 2011

For media information contact About Words on 01444 235 154 or email office@aboutwords.co.uk

Will Billy Bright be next Rory McIlroy?

Four year old Billy Bright has just been awarded Haven Fun & Fitness ‘Sports Tot of the Year’ and is hoping his prize might make him the next youngest US Open winner.

A nationwide search for the tot with most sporting potential was conducted by the Haven Fun & Fitness Campaign to encourage talent and enthusiasm for sports in preschoolers. Judges knew Billy would be an inspiration to other sporting tots as soon as they saw the video of his golf swing and read the impressive list of his sporting achievements, all before the age of four.

Award winners will receive a year’s coaching in their chosen sport and as a keen golfer Billy is hoping to follow in the footsteps Rory Mcilroy and be the next youngest winner of the US Open with professional golf lessons.
Billy’s proud mum, Ellie said “Billy has always loved being active from a very young age and playing golf and tennis has given him great hand eye co-ordination. Playing sport gives Billy a lot of confidence and helps wear out some of his energy! I can’t wait to see how his golf swing improves with professional coaching.”

The Haven Fun & Fitness campaign launched the Sports Tot of the Year awards to find those youngsters with exceptional sporting potential and provide the opportunity to develop their natural talent.

Naomi Woodstock from the Haven Fun & Fitness campaign commented “We had some fantastic entries for the title of Sports Tot of the Year but Billy stood out not just from his remarkable sporting prowess but also his enthusiasm. Whilst we were awed by his natural ability with a golf club we were also impressed by his eagerness to participate in tennis, rugby, swimming and even body boarding!”

Organisers have confirmed that the Sports Tot Awards will be an annual event and Haven Fun & Fitness will be looking to receive nominations for next years’ awards when they re-launch their giveaway campaign in September. For more information on how to enter and for details about the giveaway campaign for pre-schools click on www.havenfunfitness.com

-ENDS-

The Haven Fun & Fitness Sports Equipment Giveaway donates age appropriate sports equipment to early years settings throughout the UK to encourage sports and physical activity amongst under-5’s www.havenfunfitness.com
Rory McIlroy started playing golf at the age of 18 months.

For media information and images contact About Words on 01444 235 154 or email office@aboutwords.co.uk

Haggerston Castle powers into a greener future

Haggerston Castle is delighted to be the first holiday centre in the UK to benefit from a Quick Charge point for use by the ever increasing number of electrically powered vehicles on the roads.

The new unit, due to be unveiled on June 23rd means it will be possible to travel from Newcastle to Edinburgh, re-charging at the five star Haven Holiday park, which is conveniently located directly on the A1. Eco-conscious holidaymakers and holiday home owners staying on the park will be able to travel around the region making use of charging points located at a number of National Parks and other attractions.

Haven takes its’ environmental responsibilities very seriously and Haggerston Castle has held a Gold David Bellamy Conservation Award ever since the scheme began. More recently it has been awarded a Silver Green Tourism Business Award and the park hopes that the introduction of the Fast Charger will help boost this to Gold this year.

Daniel Coward, Environmental Consultant to Haven holds a unique role within the UK holiday industry. He said ‘I’m absolutely delighted that Haggerston Castle has been chosen as a site for the Quick Charger. Promoting the use of electric vehicles fits in with all our best environmental practices. We have policies in place to minimise our CO2 emissions on all our parks and the Fast Charge unit will help us take our green mission the extra mile. We want to do everything we can to encourage people to shun gas-guzzling transport in favour of carbon neutral travel around the region.’

Recent motoring surveys have revealed that people in the North East are more likely to buy an electric vehicle than other regions, with 5% of those questioned expressing an interest in the benefits of motoring for around 2p per mile – compared to 2% nationwide.

Experts have cited ‘range anxiety’ as the main reason for not converting to electric power but the North East’s Charge your Car project is hoping to combat this with plans to install 1000 charging points by 2013, including 12 quick chargers which can recharge cars such as the Nissan LEAF and the Mitsubishi i-MiEV by up to 80% of their capacity in 20-30 minutes. Drivers stopping off at Haggerston Castle will be able to enjoy a stroll around the park and the lakes or the chance to take a coffee-break whilst their car charges.

This infrastructure work is part of the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) 'Plugged-In Places' initiative, which is helping to establish electric vehicle recharging infrastructure in key strategic locations around the UK. The North East fund of £7.8m has been funded with £2.9m from OLEV, £3.8m from One North East and just over £1m from regional partners. The 1,000 charge points will also include residential charging points, along with the mixture of standard and ‘intelligent’ 7KW and 3KW charge points being installed at businesses and in public car parks.
John Lowes, Nissan Senior Engineer and Charging Infrastructure Specialist currently working with the Charge your Car Team, said, ‘We’re really pleased to work with Haggerston Castle. The location on the A1 is perfect and Haven’s commitment to reducing CO2 emissions makes them the ideal partner for a project of this nature.’

General Manager Gordon Walker said, ‘Many of our holiday home owners and holidaymakers live no more than 2 hours drive from Haggerston Castle. We’re hoping the Fast Charge unit will provide the additional incentive for them to take the plunge and convert to electrically charged motoring.’
The charger will be available for use by motorists from June 23rd and can be found at Haggerston Castle, TD15 2PA , signposted from the AI seven miles south of Berwick on Tweed. The full network of charging points can be viewed online at www.chargeyourcar.org.uk

For more information about Haggerston Castle visit www.haven.com

09/06/2011

For media information please contact About Words on 01444 235 154 or email deborah@aboutwords.co.uk
Note for editors:
Stats from the BBC: Experts expect that 8,600 electric cars will be sold by the end of this year with two million of the cars on Britain's roads electric powered by 2020.

‘Tuna favoured by Northern kids whilst Southern children love cream cheese and cucumber’ say Haven

Youngsters on Haven’s 35 family holiday parks are relishing the new sandwich making activity that takes place in Annabel’s Creative Kitchen – fun sessions devised in conjunction with children’s cooking guru and TV presenter Annabel Karmel.

But feedback from the activity shows a distinct North/South divide when it comes to preferred sandwich fillings.

‘We’re having to buy in extra tuna for our Northern parks,’ say Haven, ‘whilst our Southern parks have seen a run on cream cheese and cucumber!’

The free midweek sessions are available on all Haven parks and are especially popular with under-5’s who are encouraged to roll up their sleeves, don a chef’s hat and make their own lunch. Children also take part in foodie games and are encouraged to think more about healthy eating.
Other sandwich fillings on offer include marmite and grated carrot but tuna and cream cheese are definitely the favourites, with children shunning jam in favour of savoury options.

Haven added, ‘Kids get really creative with their sandwich making and we’re delighted that children are choosing the healthy options. Some are trying grated carrot for the first time and it makes great hair on a funny face sandwich! We also offer a choice of wholemeal or white bread and have been pleased to see lots of youngsters making checker board sandwiches using healthy wholemeal bread!’

Haven have a wide choice of free sessions for under-5’s include mini-fencing, mini-archery, ‘B Fit’ sessions, Water Confidence and Little Cubs club – plus a full programme of family friendly daytime and evening entertainment featuring children’s favourite Rory the Tiger and Anxious the Elephant.

Annabel Karmel will be appearing in person at a number of Haven parks during the summer– along with Jimmy the Penguin – who stars with her on the new CITV show ‘Annabel’s Kitchen’. Guests at Haven will enjoy a stage version of the TV show with an interactive cooking demonstration that Mums and Dads will enjoy, fun foodie games to play, free recipe cards to take home and a question and answer session with Annabel herself!

Annabel and Jimmy will be at Primrose Valley on the North Yorkshire coast on 26th July; Devon Cliffs, near Exmouth on 2nd August; Combe Haven, near Hastings on 9th August and Caister, near Great Yarmouth on 16th August.
Prices for early summer toddler friendly breaks start at just £149 based on four nights at Golden Sands near Mablethorpe or Cala Gran near Blackpool for a family of up to six in two bedroom ‘Superior’ accommodation on selected dates.

For bookings and more information visit www.haven.com or call 0871 230 1900.

Why Travel Further?

Haven Holidays have re-introduced their half price holiday offer up to the end of June – so families can enjoy a four night break at Seton Sands on the Firth of Forth from as little as £99 in June for up to six! School holiday breaks start at just £199 for three nights arriving on July 1st or £499 for seven nights.

There’s loads for all ages and plenty that’s included in the cost. And if you pick one of Haven’s Scottish parks you can be on holiday and enjoying yourself in less time than it takes to check in at the airport!

Little ones will enjoy pint-sized fun with Little Cubs Club for 0-4 year olds, splash-teeny fun in and around the heated indoor pool, water confidence sessions, indoor and outdoor play areas and free mini-archery and mini-fencing sessions.

Children’s favourite Polly celebrates her birthday between Mon 11th – Fri 15th July. Highlight of the week will be Polly’s Party, when everyone’s invited to join in with party games and dances, cupcake decorating and a special birthday show.

Other activities available at no extra cost include the Wildlife Detectives with mini-beast hunts and a nature trail around the Park, character Olympics with Haven’s own Rory the Tiger, Annabel’s Creative Kitchen – fun cooking sessions created in conjunction with TV presenter and children’s cooking guru Annabel Karmel and family entertainment in the evenings.

And it’s not just about little ones. When schools break up there’s loads for bigger kids and grown ups too with organised sports and activities, kids’ clubs, daytime and evening entertainment.

Check out parks with golf courses, climbing walls, Laser Combat Zones, Adventure Golf, indoor and outdoor sports zones and even Spas!

Facilities and special offer deals vary from park so check the website or phone for details. Click on www.haven.com or call 0871 230 1900.
6th June 2011

Tots Away with Half Price deals from Haven

If your kids are still small enough not to be restricted by school holidays treat them to some seaside fun and grab a bargain break before the peak summer rush.

Haven Holidays have re-introduced their half price holiday offer at selected parks – so you can enjoy a four night break from as little as £99 for a family of up to six!

There’s plenty of pint-sized fun on the parks at no extra cost, with Little Cubs Club for 0-4 year olds, splash-teeny fun in and around the heated indoor pools, water confidence sessions, indoor and outdoor play areas and free mini-archery and mini-fencing sessions.

Children’s favourite Polly will be celebrating her birthday on all the parks between Mon 11th – Fri 15th July. Highlight of the week will be Polly’s Party, when everyone’s invited to join in with party games and dances, cupcake decorating and a special birthday show.

Other activities available at no extra cost include the Wildlife Detectives with mini-beast hunts and a nature trail around the Park, character Olympics with Haven’s own Rory the Tiger, Annabel’s Creative Kitchen – fun cooking sessions created in conjunction with TV presenter and children’s cooking guru Annabel Karmel and family entertainment in the evenings.

Littlies Love Letterland – and their £50 goody bag!

The Letterland characters Annie Apple, Bouncy Ben and Clever Cat will be appearing during special four day breaks exclusively at Hafan y Mor in North Wales on June 13th, Thorpe Park in Lincolnshire on 20th June and Devon Cliffs in Exmouth on 4th July.

There’s a special Letterland Treasure Hunt and kids can star on stage with the Letterland characters. What’s more ....all the children who take part in the activities will receive a Letterland goody bag worth £50!
Haven have a choice of 35 fabulous award-winning parks in stunning locations around the UK, all offering comfortable self-catering holiday homes, heated indoor leisure pools and first class facilities – with plenty for grown ups and bigger kids too!

Check out parks with golf courses, fishing, climbing walls, Laser Combat Zones, Adventure Golf, indoor and outdoor sports zones and even Spas!
Facilities and special offer deals vary from park so check the website or phone for details. Click on www.haven.com or call 0871 230 1900.
6th June 2011

For media information contact Deborah McCabe on 01444 235 154 or email deborah@aboutwords.co.uk