Would You Go For This Type of Holiday?

[JulieSherris]

No gas here either - oh, apart from the bottle outside the kitchen feeding the hob!!

We've got 2 bog plots along the way, but we also have full turbary rights with the house deeds. In this part of the country, methinks the EU bods will have plenty of problems if they tell the folks they can't cut their turf.
Our local turf cutting man is the brother of the local Garda as well..... haha, I'm not sure that EU law will be pursued too vigorously

As for the fuel prices, yep, we have a coal order in already - our local place has done a 'Pay half now' deal. If you pay half the bulk order now, then you have your fuel delivered in September & pay the final half then at the price now. I'm not sure what sort of prices the trailers of turf will be, but hey ho.

Actually, if you were hand cutting turf & doing it as a training method, given the nature of the resort, then you might well be able to do it legally. After all, you're not going to be having stainless steel kitchens to demonstrate your cooking are you? The Heritage label is always a good one to pull when the EU bureaucrats raise their little heads!!

[Milims]

It sounds like a fantastic idea and certainly something I would realy love to do - however I do wonder what you'd do in the winter. I can't realy see many people (nonishers) wanting to take part in such stark simplicity without a bit of sunshine. I can see it working for a christmas holiday - you know a traditional Victorian Christmas, but not so much the rest of the winter time. Sorry to be such a damp squid but it would be a real shame to see such a fantastic idea go wonkey because there aren't enough hardy folk about.

[Thomzo]

Good point, Milims.

There will still be animals to look after and jobs to do around the site when there are no happy campers. So you will have to have staff to look after them. Maybe you could offer courses outside the tourist season on how traditional methods could be used on modern farms. These could be marketed to agricultural colleges around the world.

Zoe

[JulieSherris]

And that's where the NOTS courses could come in, because they train the trainers, so Organic courses could be run out of season & if they are day courses, that would be even better because there wouldn't be any accommodation worries!

[Cligereen]

Yes, the winter season had occurred to me as being a potential problem. I think courses are the way to go, both organic agriculture/livestock (which would need to be learned before the mad rush of the growing and rearing season starts) and also the more craft type courses.

Halloween is a big thing here, so that may entice some families. Then you have the pre-Christmas cookery and craft courses, followed by the Christmas holidays as Milims so rightly says. Would have to change the name from 'Victorian' to 'Traditional', being in Ireland

I can envisage a quiet period after New Year until Easter. Good time for repairs, cleaning and prep for the new season. I do think there may be a few hardcore 'ishers that may come for weekends out of season to learn new skills for the coming year

[Thomzo]

All the hoiday camps in this country hold dance or music weekends out of season and they are usually sold out. If your site had a dance hall, then a weekend of traditional music and dancing might entice (especially if accompanied by cheap drinks).

Zoe

[JulieSherris]

(especially if accompanied by cheap drinks).

Zoe

Zoe, go wash your mouth out!!
This is Ireland... believe it or not, 'cheap' drinks aren't allowed!
Seriously though, all the drinks offers are frowned upon here - you find huge alcohol price differences between the north & south here... which means a lot of folk go over the border for shopping - it's a huge hornets nest, especially in light of the economic problems at the min

[Cligereen]

Aaaa, yes but you are forgetting that we would be making our own! Not sure quite how the authorities would take to that one though!

In my plan there is a dance space where ceilis would be held in the evening. Perhaps we could teach some jigs and reels and make it a weekend of trad Irish music and dance.

Julie, if a suitable site could be found near the border then Bob's yer uncle!

[JulieSherris]

Traditional Potcheen making, huh? Coool!!

** Edited to add:

Cligereen - when's the deadline date? Is it tomorrow or the end of May?

[Cligereen]

I think it's tomorrow but to be honest the countdown clock on that site is different depending on which page you look at, so I'm not 100% sure but am assuming it's tomorrow.

Unfortunate thing is that once the project is submitted, it can't be edited. I could have put loads more into mine after all the suggestions here. I have incorporated them into my paper copy here though just in case I get shortlisted out of the 6500 submissions

[Thomzo]

Good luck, this could be our first Ssish holiday camp

Zoe

[Cligereen]

Thanks Zoe,

I'll let you know how I get on. If I get one of the two prizes then all of you who have made brilliant suggestions and comments can a free week on me! (don't cancel any arrangements you have made on the strength of this )

There were over 6500 entries so lets hope the judges are very ish!

Thanks for all the feedback.

[JulieSherris]

I think it's great that there was so many entries though! It just goes to show you that folk do care about the country - I hope they choose wisely now......... I dread to think to some of the entries though!!