Bee-keeping for Beginners Short Break

Would you like a never-ending supply of honey for yourself and your family?  Then Warner leisure Hotels have just the Experience Break for you - A beginners guide to bee-keeping.

For a very small creature, the humble bee produces an extraordinary number of useful things. There's pollen, royal jelly, and propolis, all which are also used for nutritional and medicinal purposes. Mead is a delicious beverage and beeswax is used in candle making, cosmetics, polish and for modelling. And many of us would be sorry to lose the delicious sweetness of honey in our porridge or on our toast.

Bringing all those products to the supermarket and health food shop shelves, of course, is big business. But throughout the country thousands of amateur beekeepers (or "apiarists" to be precise) play a vital role tending for billions of the insects that not only nourish and heal us - but also pollinate our trees, shrubs, flowers and crops.

Our apiarist and tutor Rosemary Proud first became fascinated with bees as a child after many visits to the glass hive of a beekeeper patient of her country G.P. father. But it was not until many years later that the interest became a reality when she was given a hive and beekeeping kit as a surprise birthday present by her daughter. After five years the apiary has a constant 6 - 8 hives and, although a knowledgeable apiaist, she says she continues to learn something new about her bees everyday.

On this course you'll be introduced to a few bee's and the basics of beekeeping! There will also be talks on beeswax and candle making as well as a chance to sample some different honeys. "A bee sting may last for a day or two, but a bee bite will last a lifetime."

It promises to be a fascinating course!

Bee Keeping for Beginners

Littlecote House
Hungerford, Berkshire . RG17 0SU
Dreamily beautiful Littlecote House has hosted King Charles II and Elizabeth I. It was here that Henry VIII wooed Jane Seymour. This atmospheric house spans the centuries, with its beautiful Roman Orpheus mosaic and Cromwellian chapel. Explore its ancient rooms, relax in the pool, and enjoy live nightly entertainment.

5 April 2010
14 June 2010
9 August 2010

Visit the Warner Leisure Hotels website to find out more...

Neilson Windsurfing Holidays

Windsurfing holidays make this exciting and exhilarating sport accessible to everybody. Just step on board and have a go.

Four good reasons for choosing a Neilson watersports centre for your windsurfing holiday:

1. Whatever your age or windsurfing ability, you will improve in leaps and bounds on your windsurfing holiday with free expert tuition and Royal Yachting Association coaching.

2. Beginners and those starting out will find a friendly and fun environment, ideal for windsurfing. The right equipment, instruction and conditions make it easier for beginners to gain confidence and make great progress towards the next level.

3. Modern lightweight equipment and the very best RYA instruction allows intermediates and experts to work on all aspects of this water sport from advanced planning to freestyle windsurfing techniques.

4. With different conditions in each of our centres, Neilson hand pick equipment from an unrivalled variety of leading manufacturers to ensure each location has a range of kit to reflect the local wind and waves. The exact kit in each centre will therefore vary and some items maybe withdrawn from use for repairs but rest assured, there's always plenty to go around.

Every day of your windsurfing holiday you are free to enjoy windsurfing independently within Neilson's designated sailing areas, which stay open until the last windsurfer returns to the beach at the end of the day. Our constant safety cover means you can concentrate on cracking that new manoeuvre.

Women Only Windsurfing
These sessions have proved very popular for intermediate and advanced windsurfers, looking to develop their skills away from their macho contemporaries. We are delighted to offer them, subject to demand, in all our centres. Keen female windsurfers visiting our high wind centres will find the Starboad Diva Carve and Tushingham Mustang offer performance fine tuned for smaller sailors. Just turn up and go.

Beginners
You have the widest choice of locations with all of our resorts offering a great environment in which to start windsurfing, along with an excellent array of wide style boards and lightweight rigs.

Intermediates
You will also find the majority of our resorts, with the exception of the Retreat in Sivota, offer great windsurfing conditions and allow fast progress with attentive tuition and the right equipment.

Experts
Experts looking for the very best conditions, tuition and performance equipment should head for the Coralia Beachclub in Dahab, Egypt, The Cosmos Beachclub in Vassiliki, Greece and The Seaside Beachplus Club in Ortakent, Turkey.

Where to windsurf?

Vassiliki - Vassiliki is one of Europe’s most famous windsurfing destinations, and a well known Mecca for windsurfers who want to blast on flat water. If you want to learn to windsurf then don’t let Vassiliki’s reputation put you off, as the morning breeze is always gentle. However, when ‘Eric’, Vassiliki’s famous wind, kicks in for the afternoon, experts can choose from the impressive array of high performance kit. If you still have the energy, we offer late safety cover most evenings when the winds blow.

Porto Heli - Beginner and intermediate windsurfers will enjoy the mix of wind conditions, with flat water in the bay creating excellent conditions for learning the basics and intermediates to learn harness technique.

Dahab - Windsurfers of every level and ability will find conditions to suit them in Dahab. In front of the hotel the beach shelves gently providing easy launching and gentler winds - ideal for beginners and intermediates. There is also an area known as the speed course with a choice of flat or choppy water, great for cracking advanced manoeuvres. Beyond the outer reef is a ‘Kamikaze’ an area with ‘bump ‘n’ jump’ conditions for expert sailors. Due to the fantastic wind conditions, our centre in Dahab is a Starboard and Tushingham test centre.

Lesvos - The wind conditions after breakfast are ideal for beginner windsurfers, with light winds that build steadily throughout the day. The afternoons provide great sailing conditions for improver windsurfers.

Halkidiki - The light morning breeze is the ideal environment for beginner windsurfers to get on the water, the afternoon brings a stronger breeze, perfect for tuning skills and blasting across the water.

Lemnos - Mornings see stronger, cross off-shore wind, perfect for windsurfing. Afternoon sees the wind swing on-shore with great conditions for beginners.

Sivota - The very light winds of Sivota provide flat, calm waters. Beginners to windsurfing enjoy this gentle environment, though intermediate sailors will rarely be challenged.

Ortakent - The wind builds slowly throughout the day with flat beginner conditions close to shore. By the afternoon, the wind usually picks up to a fresh force 4 offering exciting and challenging conditions for improvers and adventurous beginners, who will enjoy the excellent choice of boards for all levels and conditions.

Teos - The wind builds slowly throughout the day to Force 3-5, with flat beginner conditions close to shore. The bay and launching area is sheltered by a headland, inside the bay is ideal for learning new skills. Once out of the bay intermediates and experts can make the most of the excellent wind conditions, extensive tuition and our large sailing area.

Reiki Courses With Warner Leisure Hotels

Warner Leisure Hotels short breaks are exclusively for adults. At each of their hotels you can expect great activities, fine dinning and superb entertainment with breakfast a three course dinner and accommodation all included in the price.

Reiki for Beginners
Enjoy an insight to Reiki, during 2 sessions over your break you will be taught the basics of Reiki, an Universal life force that can assist us to regain balance and to replenish our own energy systems. Reiki can at times enhance intuition and highlight personal insights into areas of our lives that may need our care and attention. In nurturing ourselves in this way, we can provide a perfect opportunity for our Personal Development and Spiritual Growth.

No diagnosis or guarantee is offered as to a specific experience or outcome. Reiki is a very personal jouney and each individual will receive the energy in the way that is most appropriate at the time.

Although Reiki should not be used instead of orthodox medical treatment, it can be a perfect and safe complement alongside.

8 May 2009
Cricket St Thomas - Reiki for Beginners Check Availability

Reiki Level 1
The purpose of this Experience is to offer you opportunity to develop your spiritual awareness through guided workshops to learn how to channel healing energies through Reiki. You will be taught by Reiki masters, who will take you through Reiki Level 1. You'll receive training on how to channel and give Reiki healing. You will also receive a recognised certificate and manual on completion of the workshop.

22 May 2009
Alvaston Hall - Reiki Level 1 Check Availability