UNISON member discounts and deals at our Croyde Bay holiday resort in Devon

 

Hat tip ‪@unisonfifehealth.bsky.social‬ 

"UNISON owned and operated Croyde Bay Resort, in North Devon, offers 20% off any holiday or short break for UNISON members, rising to a huge 50% off for low paid UNISON members.

The resort features a modern 56-bedroom Hotel as well as self-catering Cottages and Lodges.

The brilliant location next to the fabulous Croyde Beach, rated as a 5* holiday village with top quality accommodation, lots of free facilities and a super friendly welcome, have all contributed to Croyde Bay Holiday Resort receiving TripAdvisor’s Travellers choice for 3 years running!

This popular surfing mecca has a well-earned reputation with all age groups and makes a great base for exploring all that beautiful North Devon has to offer, on land and sea".

Check out the holiday possibilities 

t.co/to26RVmTh9

Three Cliff Bay Walk (The stunning and beautiful Gower Peninsula)

Off message but last month Gill and I spent a week on holiday in the Mumbles, South Wales. This walk was magnificent. I have heard over the years many people praise the Gower Peninsula as a top holiday destination but have never been until now.

This walk is 9.3 miles and a mixture of classic coastline and inland valley walks. Check out Hikideas for the route but make sure you download instructions and have a decent map. You start at a National Trust car park in Pennard where there must be ancient common law rights for cattle to range at will in the car park and village. Reminds me of our own backyard in Wanstead flats, East London where cattle also used to roam freely before the onset of BSE in the 1990s.

Once you leave the amazing cliff tops and go inland the route is a little overgrown and unclear. A fair bit of up and down work but well worth the effort.

Lots of history en route including ancient green lanes and completely isolated medieval (open) churches and the remains of an early non conformist chapel. The last leg of the walk you rejoin the Welsh coastal path route and enjoy more stunning bay views.

A moderate effort but at times a breathtakingly beautiful walk. Recommended. 

Walking in County Kerry

Off message but after a week in Dublin I spent a wonderful week walking in County Kerry, Republic of Ireland. Hired a cottage in the tiny former smuggling port of Portmagee. A drop dead gorgeous, relaxed and friendly part of the world. Reminded me of Madeira.

There are a number of "looped walks" which are well signposted and very quiet and peaceful even in August. Many have historical themes.

My only regret was that I left it too late to book a boat trip to visit Skellig Michael. Next time.

The Guinness wasn't bad either.

More pictures on Facebook here and here.

Britain Deserves a Pay Rise - Demo Sat 18 October 2014 (and I'm back)

Back from 2 weeks holiday in Ireland. Will post soon on my impressions of history and politics from a fantastic time in both Dublin and County Kerry.

Feeling very refreshed and relaxed, looking forward to busy year ahead (this feeling will not last very long of course!)

There is a Council by election in Beckton to help fight; a load of trade union and local political issues and the national TUC demo on pay in October to promote (see UNISON poster on left). Last, but not least, will be the the General Election in 2015. Now less than 9 months away.

As the Agent for West Ham CLP, I think it is really important that we do not take anything for granted locally but unless Ed Miliband becomes the next Prime Minister - all of us in West Ham and the country will be stuffed. So we have to help out in the targeted Labour marginals that West Ham have been allocated.

A busy time for all.

Tossa de Mar

Off message-ish homily rather than homage to a relaxing short break in Tossa De Mar, Costa Brava, Catalan. The resort is famous for its medieval walls around the old town and sandy beaches. It is also far more popular with locals than Brits and other northern Europeans.  I last visited the town about 15 years ago and I was pleased to see it had hardly changed and it was as pretty and pleasant as I remembered.  

Some fantastic free walking maps from the local tourist information office. Along the coast (1 hr) and the hills behind the town (no shops so take all the water and snacks needed - 4 hrs). The route descriptions and way marks (see red and white strips in picture) are a little unclear at times but you should not get lost if you take your time at junctions. A less successful walk (supposed to be 3.5 hrs but took 4.5 hrs) from Tossa to Lloret spent too much time walking past endless holiday and retirement bungalows although the final couple of km along the coastal path was magnificent and made up for it. The wild spring flowers found everywhere were simply gorgeous.

As usual avoid the fixed price menus at the seafront restaurants like the plague. The better value ones tend to be the furthest away from the front. I would however recommend watching the sun go down with a cold beer from the bar in the old town overlooking the walls and the beach. During the civil war a British destroyer took off foreign nationals trapped by the fighting from this beach. 

What is striking and a joy to behold is the Catalan love of their family and especially children. The grumpy and officious bus driver who refused to let us on the bus 2 minutes early then held up the queue of passengers while he made a number of attempts (unsuccessful) to make a toddler smile. On the journey itself another passenger spent most of the trip trying (equally unsuccessfully) to persuade the child that he had stolen his nose. In a restaurant a teenage girl at a family meal completely unconsciously loudly kissed and hugged her grandmother. Dogs are numerous and also clearly adored. I had thought this was a particularly British canine love affair. The near constant cacophony of barking dogs is seemingly ignored. In London this would have resulted in at the threat of an ASBO! As for the Catalan’s loving football; try finding a bar or restaurant that didn’t have a massive TV on as loud as possible when local team Barcelona played on Wednesday evening (alas impossible)

Goggling Tossa I was pleased that I had a sort of excuse not to have gone swimming (the sea was freezing) by finding this report.

Btw for the avoidance of any doubt the title of this blog is no geographic reference whatsoever to any other (unison) blogger :)