Bosinver wins double Gold at the 2014 Cornwall Tourism Awards

We are delighted to report that Bosinver won double Gold yesterday at the 2014/5 Cornwall Tourism Awards hosted by the Headland Hotel Newquay, in the Self Catering Holiday of the Year and Sustainable Tourism categories.

Pat, Dave, Paul and Helen had a fabulous evening at the glittering ceremony (Elaine was also invited but she chose to happily spend the evening following proceedings and tweeting about it due to her aversion to posh frocks!) and they thoroughly enjoyed meeting rugby international Phil Vickery, who was a great speaker.

With such strong competition, winning Gold feels like a fantastic achievement and we are particularly delighted to have attained such an honour for sustainability. We would just to thank everyone for their good wishes and messages of support, it means a lot to us.

Dave, Pat, Helen and pictured with Bosinver's Gold Awards made by Jo Downs Glass

10% off Autumn and Winter promotion

The festive season in Cornwall is great fun, with fantastic events such as the Truro's City of Lights Parade (19th November) and Padstow's Christmas Festival (4th-7th December). For details of these and lots of other forthcoming events see our What's On webpage. 

To celebrate, this winter we have a special offer - enjoy 10% off a Bosinver break of 3 nights or more between now and 5th January 2015 (now including the last 3 cottages available at Christmas!). Just use the voucher code WINTERSPECIAL when booking online (please note this cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer). We can't promise snow but you'll be assured of a good time! 

Spooky goings on at Bosinver

Regular October half term guests will know what great fun we always have at Bosinver around Halloween.  This year our Wild Kids session featured spiders web and spooky potion making, skeleton art and pumpkin rolling followed at dusk by a candlelit walk through our woods - with more than a few surprises for the older children! The evening was rounded off by Helen's delicious pumpkin soup served appropriately from a witches cauldron (our new Kotlich pot)! Check out this video of the event on our You Tube channel.

During the week families were encouraged to make a 'Farmer Dave' guy with straw provided by us and old (blue!) clothes, ready for presentation later in the week at our traditional 'Spooky Do'. This is an early evening get together in the games room (beautifully decorated by Helen) for sausage and onion rolls and the judging of the fancy dress and pumpkin carving competitions.

The evening culminated with sparklers and the burning of some of the Farmer Dave guys on a bonfire - we hope you agree that from the photos of the Spooky Do it certainly looks like a good time was had by all. We can't wait for next year's event now!

Exciting plans for 2015

Now that our main season is over we can start turning our thoughts to 2015. We have some really exciting projects coming up, the first of which will be a complete overhaul of our office and reception space. As usual, Pat doesn't want a run of the mill solution and her creative juices are flowing, planning to make this a space to be proud of.  No doubt the end result will be well worth waiting for! 

Another really exciting project is one very close to our hearts - we are working with the Cornwall Sustainable Tourism Project (CoaST) and partners such as Buglife and the Cornwall Wildlife Trust to create environmental growth on our land. As "Environmental Growth Champions" we are making a committment to go beyond reducing any negative impact our activities could have, and make changes for the better and positively enhance our precious environment. 

We are in the early stages of this work but envisage it may include activities such as managing our land more effectively to encourage wildlife and planting wildflowers to benefit insect pollinators. We will certainly keep you posted on progress with this important project.

Thinking of booking again with Bosinver?

What a great summer we had this year - the weather was amazing and many guests booked again before they even left Bosinver! Some of the most popular cottages are already booked up for most of next summer so if you are thinking of returning to us again next year please don't leave it too long to book or you might miss out.

We have loyalty discounts of 5% for your third visit or more (enter BOSINVERFAMILY in the voucher code box when booking) and 10% for those on their 10th or more stay with us (contact the office for this discount).

Don't forget we keep a close eye on what's going on locally so we can share details of a whole range of activities and events to help you make the most of your holidays in Cornwall. Check out our social media accounts (facebook, twitter, pinterest and google+)  to keep in touch. We feature many of the best events and places to visit on our website and our archive of blog posts contains a wealth of information.

We love to hear from you too and see photos of your time at Bosinver - here's a gorgeous picture sent to us by Jo Farey of her son with our lamb Badger - thanks Jo!

What's On in Cornwall

Cornwall Film Festival to November 30th 

This celebration of Cornish and international filmmaking festival will take place at venues around the county 

St Austell Torchlight Carnival 15th November

Marking the beginning of winter, a one day celebration in the china clay capital of Cornwall. Live bands, stalls, music and dance and the Torchlight Carnival parades through the town.

Truro City of Lights 19th November

Truro's midwinter lantern festival with a dazzling procession of handmade withy and tissue lanterns floating through the streets, plus the switch on of the Cathedral City's Christmas Lights.

Made in Cornwall Christmas Fair Truro 26th - 30th November

The first night of this special fair also includes a visit by Father Christmas and his Reindeer who will parade through the city to mark the start of late night shopping.

Winter Festival at the Eden Project 29th - 24th December

In addition to their ice rink (which is open now) Eden also offer the chance to visit Father Christmas and his real reindeer on selected days in the lead up to Christmas (NB to see Santa booking is essential and sells our quickly). Also this year you can experience Christmas as you've never seen it before, in the humid tropics of the  Rainforest Biome. Wander through twinkling trees and glittering glades, and stumble upon unexpected moments of festive loveliness. 

Truro Primestock Show 3rd December

The annual Christmas Primestock Show is a favourite with farmers and townspeople alike. The Marquee on Lemon Quay will be filled with the sight of cattle and sheep as the best Cornish livestock is judged.

Fowey Christmas Market 5th – 7th December

The beautiful seaside town of Fowey hosts a weekend of festive entertainment, food and drink along with plenty of opportunities to pick up some great Christmas gifts.

Santa by Steam - Bodmin and Wenford Railway 6th - 7th Dec

Join Santa aboard his steam hauled train for a one hour journey. Whilst on board the Elves will invite you to visit Santa in his magical grotto, where all children will receive a special present!