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March 2008 Newsletter

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New title - Go Slow England

Featured properties - British self-catering for Easter and spring

New title - Special Places to Stay: Devon & Cornwall

New edition - Special Places to Stay: Italy

New edition - Special Places to Stay: French Hotels & Châteaux

Sawday's recommends - Triodos Bank

Sawday's recommends - Riverford

Please feel free to forward this newsletter to any friends or family whom you think would be interested.

Need somewhere to lay low and recharge over Easter? It's never too late! There are still some stunning self-catering properties available at www.special-escapes.co.uk - our online self-catering in Britain guide. Even if you have Easter sorted, why not treat yourself to a break in April or May as well? We've plucked out three special places that we would like to share with you - and there are many, many more at www.special-escapes.co.uk

Penpoll in Cornwall

A web of narrow lanes and a tumbling green valley have done the trick: Penpoll is unstirred and all the more special for it. Open the front gate, hop over the lane to the shallow creek, bring the children to dam, paddle and splash.

Click here to read the full entry

The Coach House & Apple Store Cottage in Yorkshire

Both cottages are Georgian and listed: oak beams, quarry tiles, thick towels, wood-burning stoves, harmonious colours, French touches and gorgeousness galore. Each has its secluded garden while the main grounds are vast, with swathes of daffodils in spring, rabbits, badgers and chirruping wildlife. To crown it all, the village pub is a three-minute walk.

Click here to read the full entry

Spekes House in Devon

Plonk yourself down at the garden table and there is the sea; stroll down the driveway and there's the valley. The Hartland Peninsula is exceptionally beautiful, and the elevated Spekes House is an exceptional place from which to enjoy it.

Click here to read the full entry

Devon and Cornwall provides so many of our Special Places that we have yielded to ‘popular request' and have published a new guide to the area. For the first time we've also included a bunch of lively, useful articles on the  best beaches, cream teas, walks, pubs, outdoor activities and stuff for the kids on wet days. In a new smaller format, this friendly little guide provides the insider knowledge of a friendly local.

Click here to purchase a copy of Devon & Cornwall

Over 350 places are listed in this new edition and more than 100 have rooms for under 100 EUR. Wonderful places for wine-tasters, hikers, lovers and families big and small. Plenty in cities too including Venice, Rome, Florence, Lucca and Milan. Your own beach on an island, or an entire hamlet? From the simple to the luxurious, in landscapes untouched by the centuries.

Click here to purchase a copy of Italy

A seductive collection of over 380 hotels, châteaux, auberges and other places, all beautiful, unusual and great value and all inspected and then selected because we like them. Over 150 of these places have rooms for 100 EUR or less. Wine tasting, bike trips, cookery courses, tango workshops, antique hunting, making your own perfume - all these activities are possible.

Click here to purchase a copy of French Hotels & Châteaux

Banks have choices. Some choose to use our money to finance businesses without worrying about its wider impact on people and the planet; a few sidestep the most harmful industries, like arms manufacturers and tobacco companies; or, if they're Triodos Bank, they only finance enterprises that actively do good - from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's River Cottage to us at Alastair Sawday Publishing.

As a Triodos saver your money's actively connected with some of the UK's most inspiring sustainable organisations.

Why not consider opening a tax free Triodos Cash ISA with your savings? Visit www.triodos.co.uk or call free on 0500 008 720 to find out more.

If the Slow approach to food, which we celebrate in Go Slow England, appeals to you, an organic veg box will bring you the joys of fresh, seasonal eating - weekly, fortnightly or as often as you need a fix. You will cook more, eat better and enjoy a direct connection with the British farms where the veg is grown. You won’t find fresher, or better value organic veg, and by adding extra fruit, veg, dairy and other products you can get the most out of your free delivery.

Riverford have lots of boxes to choose from and they recommend starting small - then give yourself at least 3 or 4 weeks to adapt to living with a seasonal box.

If you don’t want to scrub the carrots yourself then you can eat at the Riverford Field Kitchen. The Guardian gave it a rare 9/10, Gordon Ramsay said ‘he knew it would be good, but not this good'.

The Small Print

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