Guest Post: Crabbing in the UK!

Crabbing is a fun activity that people of any age can enjoy!

If you don't know what crabbing is, it's a popular summer pastime in the UK. All you need is a crab line (which looks like a kite spool or you can make your own with a stick) and some bait which could be fish or bacon or any sort of meat...the smellier, the better! You cast your line over the side of the sea wall and see if any crabs are hungry. A bucket of water nearby is handy to put the crabs in so you can see how successful you've been before you throw them back.

Tips

• Once you've found a good spot let down your line so it's touching the sea bottom. Pull it tight and wrap it around your finger so you will feel if a crab pulls on it.
• Leave it for a good few minutes before pulling it up – crabs need a bit of coaxing. Being patient will pay off.
• When you feel a bite, pull it up slowly enough so that the crab doesn't fall off from the speed, but not too slowly that the crab has eaten all the bait and decided to drop back into the sea.
• Don't keep them in the bucket for too long as they don't like being so close to each other and will probably end up fighting at some point. Also keep them out of sunlight as they aren't accustomed to it.
• The best time to go crab fishing is the end of summer (Aug-Sep) as the crabs are bigger then.

You haven't lived until you've tried crab fishing! Grab a line and a bucket and visit one of these best places in the UK to go crab fishing:

Beaumaris Pier, Anglesey, North Wales

Beaumaris is a historic sea town with lots to see, making it perfect for a family day out. The pier attracts as many as 1,000 people a day and is great for catching crabs and there's even a little shop at the end of the pier when you can buy your line, weight and bait.

West Mersea, Essex

West Mersea has been a favourite amongst 'crabbers' for quite some time. The best place to catch them is off the floating pontoon. One side of the pontoon can be better than the other, depending on the tides so find out which one if you want to be more successful. Many boats drive up to the pier to moor so be aware of this while you're crabbing.

Mudeford Quay, Dorset

Head to The Fish Stall to buy cheap leftover fish to use as bait. The good spots get taken up quickly so don't arrive too late! There's a café and pub nearby if you're in need of a break. You can also take the ferry from the Quay to Mudeford Sandbank or go for a nice stroll.

Dartmouth, Devon

Along the embankment is a great crabbing spot and you get an awesome view of the River Dart. When you're done with crabbing why not take a ride in The Picnic Boat where you'll see the sights and be offered a nice platter of tasty foods. Don't forget to book in advance though!

Blakeley Quay, Norfolk

The historic quay provides a great crabbing opportunity and the area around it is actually National Trust land so be prepared to see lots of birds and seals there because of the nature reserve.

Bio:

Suzanne is an avid blogger who writes for many blogs including hungryhouse, the UK's favourite online platform featuring takeaways across the country including restaurants in London, Nottingham and Manchester.

Places to Spend This Easter Weekend

This weekend is the weekend many people all over the UK have been looking forward to ever since the Christmas holidays came to a close some 3 months ago. With 2 bank holidays on the calendar this Friday and next Monday this weekend is a great weekend for a nice long Easter weekend break. We have some brilliant holiday properties available all over the UK this weekend and so we thought we’d recommend what we believe would be the best places to spend this Easter weekend. The odds are that it will be a White Easter, so wrap up warm!

Mid Wales

At the heart of Easter is the idea of rebirth and new life. What better place to witness the burst of life that spring brings than in rural mid-Wales. The area provides some fantastic landscapes for a lovely back-to-basics day out including the Llyn Peninsula and the Snowdonia National Park where you will be sure to see Daffodils flowering and lambs frolicking.

The Lake District

Aside from boasting some of the UK’s most breathtaking scenery, surely to be covered in a glistening white sheen this weekend, the district is home to The World Of Beatrix Potter. The landscape itself inspired many of the books and this Easter weekend the attraction is allowing visitors to join Peter Rabbit in a forage for 50 limited edition ceramic eggs; which will be hidden around the lakes and waterways of Windermere.

The National Trust

For this one we thought we’d leave you with a little choice. Once again this year, for the sixth year running Cadbury has teamed up with the National Trust to create Easter Egg Trails in over 250 national trust locations across the country. We have properties located near many of the UK’s National Trust locations. Find an Easter egg trail here and find a place to stay here, perfect!

We hope the severe weather subsides by the time this weekend rolls around but if it doesn't, remember to check for weather and traffic updates before you head off!

English Tourism Week!

This week we are dedicating our blog post to celebrating English Tourism Week! English Tourism Week runs from the 16th March to the 24th of March and so we’re taking the opportunity to celebrate the week as it runs by. The week was created to raise the profile of tourism within the UK, increase awareness amongst consumers and provide a framework from which destinations and operators can their campaigns.

England is a fantastic place to take your holiday. The country is filled with world famous landmarks and attractions but it is also famed for its landscapes and culture.

Tourism in England is a major part of the economic structure of the country with many of the villages, towns and cities in the country offering something for the would be tourist keen on visiting.

In total there are 17 designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites in England which include world famous landmarks such as Stonehenge and the Tower of London. Blessed with natural beauty England boasts 15 national parks which provide some of the best scenery the whole of the UK has to offer. The English love a trip to the seaside and with good reason, there are 69 Blue Flag awarded blue flag beaches dotted around the scenic coastline of England.

We were tempted to write a list of some of the best places to spend a holiday in England but we just couldn’t bring ourselves to choose what to include, we were spoilt for choice! Let us know where you think the best places to holiday in England are in the comments below. Don’t forget to check out our site if you’re planning on holidaying in England!

The UK's Beaches

It’s no secret that we here in the UK enjoy a trip to the seaside. As an island nation we spoilt for choice when it comes to where we’ll be taking our bucket and spade to when we have the desire to feel the sand between our toes. Our beaches are not just rolled out at summer, they're there all year long and can be enjoyed just as much in the winter months as in the summer; surfers will probably tell you the winter is better!

When it comes to beaches we are blessed with both quantity and quality here in the UK. A Blue Flag is awarded to a beach or marina that meets strict high standards. England has 69 blue flag beaches, Wales has 40, Northern Ireland has 11 and Scotland has 5!

But the beaches of the UK are receiving accolades beyond their blue flag rewards. Recently beaches in both England and Wales were recognised by international bodies for their quality.

Recently Porthminster Beach in St Ives, Cornwall has been voted as not only one of the top three beaches in the UK but as one of the top ten in Europe. The poll which was conducted by holiday website TripAdvisor chose the family friendly half mile stretch of golden sand to the delight of the people of the area.  The area is an incredible place to take a holiday in the UK, whatever your age or interest. We have a wide range of properties available in Cornwall, take a look! http://www.travellingsuitcase.co.uk/map.php

The Staycation

Choosing where to go on your holidays can be quite a tricky choice, you have the whole world to choose from after all. But have you ever considered holidaying at home? The Staycation, a blending of the words stay and vacation to go along with the spork and the liger has become somewhat of a UK phenomena.

There are many advantages to choosing to take a staycation. For one staycations cost far less than holidays that involve great amounts of travelling as you will only be travelling within the UK! Less travel invariably means less stress: less packing, no currency exchange. On top of this you’ll also have the added knowledge that you are placing money back into the UK economy!

In a survey carried out by the English Tourist Board (VisitEngland) provided an insight into what was fueling the sudden rise in the numbers of people choosing to stay in England. Listed below are some of the findings from the survey which was carried out in late 2012:

• 1 in 10 people cut their holiday spending by choosing England rather by abroad
• Most people choosing to holiday in England are motivated by discovering new places
• 6 in 10 feel more proud to be British as a result of the 2012 events
• 14% changed holiday plans as a result of the 2012 events
• Leaving a lasting legacy 2 in 10 people felt more likely to take holidays in England in the future.

The UK has an incredible array of attractions, both manmade and natural and with all this available on our doorsteps choosing to take a holiday in the UK is an opportunity not to be missed. Here at Travelling Suitcase we have a great selection of properties located all over our isle, everyone of which is near to a major attraction! Check out our range of properties here:
http://www.travellingsuitcase.co.uk/findaproperty.php

Benefits of Renting Out Your Holiday Home

For this weeks blog post we thought we’d provide a little more information to those with holiday homes. The staycation has become a very popular travel choice for Britons over the past years. WIth the feel-good British sentimentality of the jubilee and Olympics still alive in the public consciousness millions of us Brits are choosing to stay at home in Britain for our holidays. For holiday home owners this is an opportunity too good to miss, the demand for UK holiday homes is enormous! Away from the demand there are also many other benefits to renting out your holiday home, some of which are listed below:

• The most obvious incentive is the financial benefit. You aren’t going to be living in your holiday home 365 days a year so you might as well turn that empty property into money!

• Use the money gathered from renting out your holiday home to take trips elsewhere! As nice as your holiday home may be you may occasionally wish to travel to horizons new.

• Although you may be concerned about letting others stay in your property, there are benefits granted by insurers. They are often of the opinion that it is better to have someone in the property than leaving it unoccupied for large portions of the year.

Valentine's Day UK

It’s Valentine’s Day on Thursday and there’s still time to book that romantic getaway for two in the UK. Why travel abroad when you can experience a great getaway in the UK this coming weekend. For this blog post we thought we’d forget Paris and Vienna and share with our readers some of the UK’s most romantic getaways.

• Mid-Wales allows couples to get away from “it all” and back to nature. With miles of pristine coastline and the magnificent Snowdonia National Park nearby couples will get a chance to spend some quality time together, alone. The Welsh word for love is ‘cariad’ by the way.

• The South-West of England has so much to offer couples. A visit to Exmoor National Park, recently designated an International Dark Sky Reserve (the first in Europe and the second in the World to receive the designation) will provide couples with some of the clearest skies in the UK.

• If you fancy travelling a little further North into Scotland then St. Andrews makes for a great getaway. Ruined castles for princes and princesses clinging to the cliff top adorn the picturesque little town. As an added royal link St. Andrews is also where Prince William and Kate Middleton first met and fell in love.

We have a great variety of properties available up and down the UK, including in the areas mentioned above. So if you are still looking for somewhere to spend the coming Valentine’s weekend with the one you love then please have a look at our range of properties here : http://www.travellingsuitcase.co.uk/findaproperty.php