Sykes Holiday Cottages Blog • 23rd June 2017

10 money-saving tips for renting out your holiday home | Sykes Cottages

Owning a holiday let is a brilliant and profitable way of earning extra income. With demand for staycations on the rise, UK holiday homes continue to be the ideal investment...

Sykes Holiday Cottages Blog • 7th April 2017

Walk in the Footsteps of the Brontë Sisters

2017 marks the 170th anniversary of the publication of three novels by three obscure sisters from a little town beneath a windswept moor in Yorkshire… Three novels and three sisters that would go on to change the face of literature forever...

It Would Crumble Blog • 27th January 2019

EXPLORE: The Contemporary art gallery, Chester

Chester's newest gallery is the very picture of success. Local founder of The Contemporary, Jonathan Shingfield, originally planned to open six pop up galleries in different cities, including Chester - but this all changed when...

Sykes Holiday Cottages Blog • 27th October 2017

What is farm diversification and how could holiday letting benefit me?

Holiday letting as a means of farm diversification is an excellent way for farmers to generate new sources of income and create a host of attractive extra benefits...

Sykes Holiday Cottages Blog • 7th April 2017

6 Weird and Wonderful Yorkshire Folktales

With all manner of vast, ruggedly beautiful landscapes dotted with settlements that stretch far back into the ancient past, it’s no wonder Yorkshire has spawned some wonderfully curious folktales. We’ve brought you six of our favourite, lesser-known Yorkshire legends to spook, delight and inspire you...

Sykes Holiday Cottages Blog • 9th February 2017

5 Mythical Places to Visit for Wales’ Year of Legends

Almost every rock, lake, hill and tree in Wales has some fantastical folklore associated with it, so it’s really no wonder myths and legends have been an integral part of the fabric of Welsh culture stretching way back into the mists of time...

Sykes Holiday Cottages Blog • 11th July 2017

Guide to National Trust Properties in Norfolk

From ancient woodlands and marshy waterways to lordly family dynasties and medieval peat-mining  – geography and history go hand in hand in Norfolk, and, as a result, it’s a county that’s full to bursting with intriguing architectural treasures...

It Would Crumble Blog • 27th January 2019

Film review: Robert Eggers' The Witch

The wilderness of colonial New-England, 1630.  Upon the threat of banishment for his extremist religious views, a Puritan farmer leaves a plantation town with his wife and five children and founds a farmhouse at the edge of a forbidding wood....

Sykes Holiday Cottages Blog • 26th June 2017

The very best picnic spots in Dorset

What better way to spend a warm, sunny day in Dorset than with a scrumptious picnic in a picture-perfect setting? This beautiful county has an almost never-ending list of stunning locations for an alfresco feast to remember...

Sykes Holiday Cottages Blog • 8th August 2017

Great Days Out in the Norfolk Broads

There’s so much to see and do on days out in the Norfolk Broads. We’ve chosen some of our favourites to suit every taste. Whatever kind of Norfolk day out you’re looking for, read on to find one that’s up your street...

It Would Crumble Blog • 27th January 2019

Readdressing the Art of Correspondence

It’s so meaningful to know that someone cares enough to put pen to paper, go out, buy a stamp, and track down a post box. A letter is such a delicate thing, but is so reassuringly real; it’s a physically tangible reminder of how important you are to somebody...

Sykes Holiday Cottages Blog • 13th April 2017

5 Castles in Devon You Must Visit

From lordly strongholds filled with resident phantoms to dramatic fortresses keeping watch over the waves, Devon has a spectacular array of castles  We’ve chosen the top 5 favourite fortresses you simply must visit. So, what are you waiting for?

Sykes Holiday Cottages Blog • 21st June 2017

Discovering Thomas Hardy's Dorset

Hardy’s Wessex is seen by many as a vivid embodiment of that age-old pastoral world that was already fading away by the early 20th century. His intimate understanding of the people and customs of old, rural Dorset is perhaps one of the reasons he was to become so popular an author...