New section Good Offers launched

We love a bargain at Goodtrippers, so we thought we’d start a new section of the site – Good Offers, full of lovely reader offers to help you travel for less!

Now live with a selection of special discount offers from some of our favourite travel brands, we recommend you bookmark the page so you can catch the latest offer. We’ll be adding new reader offers, exclusive to Goodtrippers, on a regular basis and promoting all deals on our Twitter and Facebook pages, plus in our monthly e-newsletter.

Don’t miss out on our new reader offers

 

Are you a business that has something to offer our readers?

Our eco-friendly and travel-savvy readers would love to hear about special reader offers (money off purchases/booking, freebies etc). If you’re a business selling products or services in travel/tours, accommodation, food, outdoor/camping equipment, books, visitor attractions, or anything else you think may be of interest, do get in touch with us at hello@goodtrippers.co.uk

Take me to Good Offers!

backpacker on a hike

Competition time! Win a set of Wild Things books

Do you love taking a dip in Britain’s lakes and secret coves? Running the fells or cycling along hidden country lanes?

We love refreshing ways to enjoy the wild outdoors which is why we’ve teamed up with one of our favourite book people Wild Things Publishing – the people behind the best-seller Wild Swimming – to offer you the chance to win a full set of their brilliant series, worth almost £150!

5 wild books

Wild Things Publishing have created a series of inspirational books and apps to get people back in the wild, exploring the outdoors, experiencing nature and having amazing adventures. The authors write about and photograph their own experiences, spending their summers outside exploring new places to share and their winters writing it all up to produce beautiful books. Their inspiring and beautiful books are a celebration of the simple pleasures in life and will be just what you need to start your own special adventures!

One lucky winner will receive the entire set of nine Wild Things books:

  • Wild Swimming (UK guide) – by Daniel Start
  • Wild Swimming: France – by Daniel Start
  • Wild Swimming: Italy – by Michele Tameni
  • Wild Running – by Jen and Sim Benson
  • Wild Swimming: Hidden Beaches by Daniel Start
  • Wild Guide to the South West by Daniel Start, Joanna Tinsley, Tania Pascoe
  • Lost Lanes – by Jack Thurston (hidden bike rides off the beaten track)
  • France en Velo – by Hannah Reynolds and John Walsh (a journey across France by bike)
  • Only Planet – by Ed Gillespie (one man’s amazing global adventure by all kinds of transport except flying)

 

How to enter

To enter, simply sign-up to the brilliant e-newsletters from both Goodtrippers and Wild Things. Click here to enter the competition and subscribe on the Wild Things website before 5pm (BST) on 6 October 2014 to be eligible. All new email subscribers on the list by the closing date will be entered into the draw with one winner chosen at random. If you already subscribe to the Goodtrippers newsletter, you can still enter the competition by signing-up to the Wild Things newsletter on their website. (See full terms and conditions below)

Good luck!

Wild Things new books 2014

Terms & Conditions:

  • Eligibility requires subscription to both the Goodtrippers and Wild Things e-newsletter
  • All sign-ups must include a valid email address
  • One entry per person
  • The winner will receive the full series of printed books from Wild Things publishing
  • No cash alternative is available
  • This competition closes on 6th October 2014 and the winner will be notified by email within 10 days
  • If we do not hear back within a week we reserve the right to choose an alternative winner
  • Your email address will not be shared with any third parties unless express permission is given

GT + Wild Things logos

Wonderfruit music festival to launch in Thailand

As the UK festival season draws to a close, we say goodbye to Glastonbury, see you later Latitude and bye-bye Bestival. But what if another eclectic, eco-conscious festival was yet to come? And better still, you can leave your wellies at home as this one will be set on a beach in Thailand!

It’s time to welcome Wonderfruit! This brand new music festival, from the people behind Wilderness, makes its debut in Chon Buri, a stunning tropical setting just outside Bangkok in Thailand. Wonderfruit takes place from 19 to 21 December 2014 with tickets on sale from 15 September.

Wonderfruit

Nick Mulvey, Seth Troxler, Hercules Love Affair and Fat Freddy’s Drop are all confirmed with more acts to be announced. A mix of Dance, Electro, Folk, Disco, Dub, House, Reggae, Punk and Techno will be played out across some lovely sounding stages including The Floating Stage and Lotus Gardens.

The festival promises to be eco-friendly and socially-conscious, promoting a lifestyle of health and sustainability. The ‘barefoot luxury’ ethos of the organisers’ current UK festivals will give you some idea of the kind of event to expect (at Goodtrippers we are desperately trying to find a diary gap for a pre-Christmas trip!).

Alongside a great musical line-up will be fine dining, health and well-being workshops, art, theatre, film and eco farming activities.

Nick Mulvey plays Wonderfruit
Nick Mulvey joins the Wonderfruit line-up

Jo Vidler, co-founder and director of Wonderfruit, said, “All too often, large-scale music festivals leave a scar on the land. Fields of mud, plastic, empty cans, discarded tents and more are left on-site with toxic toilet chemicals leaching into the soil. Wonderfruit actively looks to work with and improve the land it sits on using only natural and locally sourced materials for its structures and stages.”

Pete Phornprapha, co-founder of Wonderfruit said, “Since we own the land, we will be creating some permanent sustainable models for the festival, and the experience as a whole, to serve as an advocate for eco-friendly and sustainable ways. We want to help people understand that social responsibility and enterprising shouldn’t be viewed separately. Part of the proceeds will be used to create opportunities to ignite the movement through the year and not only at the festival.

“It is a long-term goal and this is just the start. We are working with the vest people in all relevant fields to make sure that the programme is developed properly over the years to better impact lives and values in society. And, of course, to celebrate and have fun.”

For more information about Wonderfruit, and to book tickets, visit www.wonderfruitfestival.com

 

Top 10 special places of Wales revealed by National Trust

The Gower, Snowdonia National Park, the Brecon Beacons and The Lonely Tree have all made the top ten of ‘Special Places’ in a National Trust Wales poll.

The national competition has seen the public debate and champion the places that mean the most to them. For eight weeks celebrities, politicians, schoolchildren and the general public have been involved in a national conversation and voting in their thousands for their ‘Special Place’ in Wales, part of a major campaign by the National Trust Wales to find the country’s most treasured places.

[gdl_gallery title=”NT Wales” width=”110″ height=”110″ ]

Penarth Pier, the restored Art Deco pier pavillion, won the conveted top spot but several natural, green spaces made the top ten list. The Powys landmark ‘The Lonely Tree’, an iconic Scots Pine that has surveyed the Llanfyllin landscape for at least 150 years was voted in third – according to local tradition, anyone walking up Green Hall Hill should visit the tree and give it a hug! A recent storm sadly blew the tree down but a special protection programme is now in place to restore the tree and protect it for years to come.

The beautiful bays and beaches of Mwnt and The Gower secured both coastal places a top five place with the walled seaside town of Tenby in eighth place. The stunning mountainous landscapes of Snowdonia National Park and the Brecon Beacons also appealed and made numbers seven and nine respectively.

National Trust Wales’ ‘Special Places’ Top 10:

  1. Penarth Pier
  2. Cyfarthfa Castle
  3. The Lonely Tree
  4. Mwnt
  5. The Gower
  6. Dyffryn House and Gardens
  7. Snowdonia National Park
  8. Tenby
  9. Brecon Beacons
  10. Hay-on-Wye

 

The campaign kicked off in May with celebrities including Julien MacDonald, Matt Johnson, Alex Johnson, Matthew Rhys, Sophie Evans, Wynne Evans and Bryn Terfel getting behind their favourite landmarks and encouraging the public to vote.

TV presenter Alex Jones, who chose the Brecon Beacons as her favourite place, said, “I think the landscape we are lucky enough to have in Wales is what makes places in Wales so special to us, it’s so breathtaking and diverse. We have great coastal areas and some beautiful mountainous parts in the north. It has everything wrapped up in the perfect small parcel!”

Launched following research by the conservation charity which showed that 67 per cent of the Welsh public consider the National Trust as the main trusted protector of Special Places throughout the country, the campaign has aimed to uncover Wales’ most treasured space and award them with support by the Trust and other partners in the coming year – whether this be help with local fundraising, a celebratory event or support to help preserve it for everyone to enjoy.

Research has shown that childhood memories from places where we grew up (44 per cent) is what makes a place truly special. The National Trust campaign has encouraged the public to get behind their own place and celebrate them, from castles to coastlines and countryside.

For more information on all of the places in the top ten, visit National Trust Wales.

 

5 of the coolest camping accessories

From staycations to festivals, romantic weekends away to family holidays, we all love camping nowadays! No longer just for earnest outdoor types, camping’s renaissance means a wealth of brilliant kit on the market. Here’s our pick of the coolest camping accessories for your next night under canvas… (click on the images to buy direct from the page)

Solar powered tent – £179.99

Can’t bear to be without your camera, phone or tablet when sleeping in a field? We’ll forgive you tech-heads when you arrive on site  with one of these super cool shelters! These 4-man tents, by Bang Bang Tents, come with a 5W solar panel, lithium solar storage bank, and mobile phone/USB charging adaptors. They are also available in some very swanky designs, including Woodstock, Machu Picchu, Butterfly Collector and Fool on the Hill – never again lose sight of where you’ve pitched up!

‘Moomin’ enamel mug – £16.95

Whether it’s for your morning coffee or a hot toddy around the camp fire, you’ll need a cool set of enamel tin mugs. We love these Moomin designs! Matching plates and cooking kit also available.

Glamping lantern bags – £5.69 (for set of 5)

These pretty lanterns will add a magical atmosphere when the sun goes down. Made of fire resistent paper to hold tea lights there’s enough in one pack to dot them around your temporary ‘garden’.

 ‘VW Campervan’ deckchair – £34.95

You could go for one of those ubiquitous canvas fold-up camping chairs, or a squishy inflatable number (but do you really want something else to pump up along with the airbed?!). Why not go old school with a deckchair? Classic, retro and perfect for relaxing back at the tent, this version boasts a VW campervan print design (polka dots, butterflies and ‘beach rules’ also available).

 ‘Cool Camping Cookbook’ by Jonathan Knight – £9.06

Printed on organically-textured, wood-free paper (yes, really!), this cookbook is bursting with rustic, campfire recipes that taste great al fresco from smokey barbequed mackerel to cakes in a tin. It even includes advice on creating your own fire pit and has a whole chapter dedicated to vegan-friendly recipes.

 

All of the Amazon links in this article link to the Goodtrippers Amazon Affiliates site – this is at no additional cost to you (prices are the same as going direct to Amazon) but Goodtrippers receives a small percentage from sales when you purchase using these links. Many thanks for your support.

Win a 2 week conservation trip to Fiji

To celebrate their 25th birthday, our friends over at volunteering NGO Frontier are offering you the chance to win a fabulous holiday…

Do you dream of snorkeling through crystal clear waters, experiencing South Pacific charm, and encountering some beautiful wildlife? Well you could be doing just that if you enter Frontier’s competition to win this two-week conservation holiday in Fiji.

marine life in Fiji, Frontier

The azure waters surrounding the islands of Fiji are home to around 1,200 species of fish, 12 species of whale, and many corals and other marine plants. On the Fiji Beach Conservation project, you’ll be working with the University of the South Pacific to collect essential data that helps a number of organisations protect the marine habitat. Whilst snorkelling , you’ll see an extraordinary array of animals from turtles to manta rays, sea cucumbers to feathery starfish, spiny urchins to octopus and jellyfish. When you visit distant dive sites you may even encounter gigantic manta rays, sharks, humpback whales or flying fish. By the end of your project you will be expert at identifying vast numbers of colourful and patterned reef fish as well as being an experienced and competent diver.

Up for the experience? To be in with a chance of winning, all you have to do is ‘Like’ Frontier on their Facebook page, then fill in the questionnaire online.

Good luck!

diving in Fiji, Frontier

Competition: Win a stay at Britain’s Best Beach

Imagine waking up to this view every morning for a week…

Rhossili Bay ©CCSpCW

The beautiful Rhossili Bay, in Wales’ Swansea Bay, has been voted Britain’s Best Beach by TripAdvisor and was described by the poet Dylan Thomas as “very near nowhere”. And you have the chance of winning a week’s stay in this glorious secluded coastal spot.

As part of the 2014 centenary celebrations marking the birth of Dylan Thomas, Visit Swansea Bay is running a competition to win a week’s stay in the National Trust owned, four-bedroom cottage, The Old Rectory – the only place in Britain with the country’s best beach as its front garden! Located on its own in this beauty spot, the cottage is the perfect base to explore the Gower Peninsular.

All you have to do to enter is share three words to describe your favourite place in Swansea Bay – take a look at the website, www.visitswanseabay.com, for inspiration and to enter. Get your entries in by 29 June 2014.

Good luck!

Wormshead ©CCS (Rhossili)

 

New wildlife film calls for action to protect Rwandan gorilla

A new wildlife documentary, narrated by Sir David Attenborough, aims to boost support for the critically endangered mountain gorillas of Rwanda.

The 15-minute film, Hope by award-winning film-maker Peter McBride, can be viewed for free online (see below). The producers want to inspire viewers to support those working on the ground to save these majestic creatures, as well as help raise awareness via social media using the hashtag #gorillahope.

large gorilla group.jpg

The film takes a behind the scenes look at the work of the charity The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International and their dedicated team of trackers and anti-poaching patrols – their job is to monitor the mountain gorilla population 365 days a year (an estimated 20,000 hours a year), often in the dangerous and difficult terrain of Volcanoes National Park.

Hope also follows the local people who live next to the gorilla’s habitat and the work that is being done to change attitudes to these great apes. Years ago, mountain gorillas were hunted by poachers wanting to sell infants to zoos, or gorilla hands and heads as tourist trophies; children today are now growing up with a new found respect for these creatures.

47 years after Dian Fossey began her life’s work in mountain gorilla conservation, there are some facts to celebrate – the gorilla population has doubled from 250 to 480 (at the last census in 2010) – but this still represents small numbers and the situation remains extremely fragile with the great ape still on the critical list. The 120 people who now work for the Fossey Fund are the mountain gorilla’s only hope of survival – a message which Hope makes desperately clear.

gorilla baby.jpg

Clare Richardson, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, explains: “Our research over the last 40 plus years has shown that simply having a protected area like a national park is not sufficient to save a species like the gorilla – which takes a long time to grow to adulthood and reproduces very slowly. Instead, extreme measures are needed.

“The Fossey Fund is all too aware that the survival of the mountain gorilla, and the safety of its habitat, is intertwined with the growth of a country in recovery since atrocities of the Rwandan Genocide of 1994. The work we do is unique, challenging and costly but we are seeing results. The population has grown and while this is encouraging, the mountain gorilla is still critically endangered and without extreme conservation work could face extinction.”

Outdoor clothing brand Craghoppers, who funded the film and sponsor the Fossey Fund, has launched a campaign T-shirt to help raise much needed funds for the charity. The 100% cotton T-shirts are £12 and available to buy at www.craghoppers.com – £5 from each sale goes directly to The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International.
http://youtu.be/hRfcdVQkmQA

 

mother and baby gorillas

Volunteer for PoD’s new community football team in Ghana

Volunteer organisation PoD has launched a women’s football team in rural Ghana  – and you could join them!

The ladies football team, which started in March 2014, involves up to 30 women between 13 to 35 years old getting together on the village football pitch for fun sports sessions every week.

Running football training in Ghana

They, and the community’s men’s football team, would love to have more sports coaching volunteers around the year to help them increase their skills. The community is keen to learn other sports too, so if you are more interested in netball, cricket, volleyball, rugby or anything else they would love to learn.

Gemma, from the PoD UK office who has just returned from her African visit says “It was fantastic to watch the ladies team develop while I was on my recent project visit; everyone was keen to learn new skills and proudly posed post match in their new football kits. It was great to see the community supporting the first ever ladies football team in their first match against the neighbouring village – especially against the spectacular backdrop of the red setting sun!”

The football kits for each player are kindly donated to the charity by a past volunteer, but donations are more than simple hand-outs – the time given by volunteers helps the women and girls develop skills beyond the classroom. The women have lessons with a teacher from the secondary school before the volunteers run football sessions for the squad.

the ladies football team, Ghana, Africa

These sessions help them to increase their in confidence in everyday situations. It is also a great way to encourage team work and inspire increased school attendance by having fun in a relaxed environment, since many girls drop out of school early to start a family or help their family income.

A confidential weekly women’s health group run by the community nurse has been established to compliment the training and allow the women to ask questions they may not want to ask in a regular clinic.

If you would like to get involved in coaching football or any other sports in Ghana find out more about how you can get involved on the PoD volunteer website – visit www.podvolunteer.org

Sponsored Video: How to make the most of longer, lighter days

Finally – longer daylight hours are here in the northern hemisphere! It’s the perfect season to get back out there and reconnect with nature. Here’s how to make the most of it…

hiking in the UK

Research shows that exposure to daylight and fresh air helps our bodies produce essential vitamin D, help us get a better night’s sleep, and enhancing our overall well-being. And if you combine a jaunt outside with some challenging activity, you’ll also be boosting your health and fitness levels.

This month, The North Face are launching the Longer Days campaign to inspire everyone to get outside and run, hike, climb and explore for longer this Spring. Download the new Explorer App from The North Face Europe’s official website and start sharing updates and photos of your own outdoor adventures on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram using the hashtag #LongerDays. Every day, The North Face will award prizes for the best photos capturing your outdoor adventures in the Explorer Photo Competition.

So how will you spend your extra daylight hours?

Running – No more running in the dark after work! You can now squeeze in a sunlit run before or after you leave for the office. See if you can time it right to capture sunset on your home straight.

Hiking – Longer days mean longer, more challenging hikes aren’t cut short by the night drawing in. In the UK, we’re spoilt for choice for hiking spots – heritage coastal paths, ancient forests, fells and downs – all wonderful places to hike and get the heart rate going (with wonderful views thrown in for free!).

Climbing – For an even more physical challenge, try rock climbing. Some of the UK’s best places to go climbing include Derbyshire’s Peak District, Snowdonia in Wales, the sea cliffs around Portland in Dorset, the stunning Lake District, and the National Trust for Scotland’s Glencoe area. Reach the top of a climb in one of those hot-spots and you’ll be hooked!

Camping – It’s not just about physical challenges; longer (and warmer) days are a great time to get under canvas and go camping. There’s been a boom in the number of boutique campsites in recent years, many allowing you to live a more ‘back to basics’ lifestyle of campfires and foraging. For an even more basic, but exhilarating, camping experience, pitch your tent in Scotland, home of wild camping. The Land Reform (Scotland) Act means you are allowed to camp on most unenclosed land, but do be a responsible wild camper and read up on the guidelines in the Scottish Outdoor Access Code.

Ready to get outside and make the most of the longer days…?

 

This post is sponsored by The North Face but words are Goodtrippers’ own.