22 The Star, Saturday, August 25, 2012 www.thestar.co.uk

l Camping (£250) STILL time to go five-star HOLIDAY on a budget with camp- EDITED BY BILL AUCKLAND ing in France and the UK. TRAVEL Trevella Park, Cornwall is an award-winning campsite close to Crantock Beach. IDEAS Safari tents have wooden floors, comfortable beds, a four-night mid week book- futon, kitchen and TV (www. ings from September 10-No- trevella.co.uk, from £206 for vember 10. From £360 for a up to six in a safari tent for four night midweek stay or three nights from Septem- £495 for seven nights. Call ber 7. Chateau de Boisson, 01380 828351 or email info@ Languedoc, France is ideal Uncovering the Spanish side millfarmglamping.co.uk. for exploring the Ardeche region. ispycamping.com, TIM COTTON has seven nights from l Mediterranean (£399) September 8 from £250 in a furnished tent for up to six. VIRGIN Holidays Cruises Travel Writer 3 DAYS IN Sand Le Mere, Withernsea, offers seven nights on MSC has spent £4m on a giant lei- Splendida from Barcelona, IN A Benidorm bar, tension sure facility with indoor pool Tunisia, Sicily, Civitavecchia was growing and the beer BENIDORM complex: www.sand-le-mere. (for Rome), Genoa, Marseille flowing as Spanish football co.uk, three nights from and Barcelona. Prices per fans on the edge of a nerv- September 28 from £133 for person based on two adults ous breakdown urged their up to six people. sharing an inside cabin, full- heroes on to penalty shootout board and includes flights glory against Portugal in the from a London Airport. De- semi-final of Euro 2012. l Tuscany (£289pp) part 14 Januar 14. Includes But with England out it made a nice change to sit all applicable taxes and SEVEN nights at the 4 star back and watch Spain’s fuel surcharges which are Torrevecchia Apartments in success-spoiled supporters subject to change. Tuscany, bed and breakfast, experiencing some of the two sharing, flying Jet2 from same agonies our fans have Leeds Bradford, September l Bulgaria (£156pp) been going through for years. 29. 0844 879 8014, www.cre- This piece of Spanish staholidays.co.uk or Thomas DIRECTLINE Holidays (www. drama was being played out Cook or Going Places. directline-holidays.co.uk \ just a few streets away from TRAVELFACTS 0800 408 6324) has Sep- the main area of bars and l We stayed at the 4* tember sunshine at Sunny clubs from which many of l Melia Hotel Benidorm. Wiltshire (£360) Beach: seven nights from the 1.5 million visitors from www.melia-benidorm. LUXURY camping holiday £156 per person at the three Britain never strayduring this autumn in the Wiltshire star Bravo 1 Aparthotel, their time in Europe’s most com/en/index.html countryside with www. self catering, fro m Lon- popular tourist destination. l Mundomar www. millfarmglamping.co.uk. Mill don Luton on September Which is a shame, because mundomar.es there’s another ‘Spanish’ side Farm’s safari style canvas 3. The Bravo 1 Aparthotel l to be uncovered just a short Aqualandia www. lodges sleep up to six with is a 10-minute walk from aqualandia.net one double room, one twin a sandy beach as well as way from the Brit haunts. room and a children’s bunk shops, bars, restaurants Playa de Levante, the l Terra Mitica www. room. The living and dining and entertainment venues. archetypal tourist beach terramiticabenidorm. area is centred on a cooking Apartments can accommo- rammed with parasols and com sunloungers, was packed stove with oven, hob and date up to four people in one l with British families during Terra Natura www. wood burning fire. Save 10 bedroom units and six peo- terranatura.com per cent on seven-night and ple in two bedroom units. our visit at the end of June. It’s a lovely Blue Flag l Visit www. standard beach, which is en.visitbenidorm.es extremely safe for children, and www.facebook. with plenty of activities, including paragliding, cable- com/visitbenidorm. skiing and banana boats. l We flew with Mon- But only a stroll through arch, which operates the old town, with its quaint year round flights narrow streets and tapas to Alicante from GREAT bars, is the chilled-out and Manchester with bijou Mal Pas beach, flanked by an attractive promontory fares, including tax, and Virgin of Carmen. was undoubtedly the chance landmarks of the ancient where a castle once protected from £38.99 one way Benidorm’s ancient mari- to buy a plate, speedily and world, including the Egyp- summer savings time history is celebrated by expertly decorated with a tian pyramids, the Acropolis Benidorm against pirates (£69.50 return):www. concerts, fireworks and fes- photo of our faces. None and a full-size Lighthouse of from North Africa. monarch.co.uk At the homely Mas Pas tivities culminating in a sea of our group could resist Alexandria. on holidays in the UK, restaurant we tucked into procession of fishermen on snapping up such a power- A log flume ride was more delicious tapas of fried fish ‘golodrinas’ travelling to Be- ful memento of the island, than enough excitement for Europe and worldwide and chopitos (battered baby May and June account for a nidorm Island accompanied intriguingly nicknamed ‘the our band of thrill-avoiders. cuttlefish). sizeable chunk of Benidorm’s by small boats in a colourful isle of the journalists’. Joint tickets are available Beyond the old town five million tourists a year parade to Poniente Beach. Back on the mainland are for Aqualandia water park stretches Playa de Poniente, and in winter many British Visitors can take a trip to five family theme parks: and the smaller Mundomar a stunning three-mile beach pensioners escape the cold the tiny wedge-shaped island. Terra Mítica , Terra Natura, sealife park, a great day out very popular with Spanish and book in for long stays. Legend says it was created Aqua Natura, Aqualandia for families with small chil- families. Many Madrilenos Two festivals have been when a giant knocked a huge and Mundomar. dren. You can take your own have holiday homes in this launched since 2010 to attract chunk of rock out of the Terra Mitica is Spain’s food into the restaurant. part of Benidorm. It is easily younger people to Benidorm. 3,000ft Puig Campana as he largest theme park. It’s a bit Terra Natura, incorporat- reached from the capital city. Superstar DJ Carl Cox tried in vain to save his wife of a slog when it’s hot but ing another waterpark in Near the new seafront topped the bill at this month’s from dying by prolonging the you can visit it over two days Aqua Natura, seemed a bit promenade designed to emu- Electrobeach. The Lowcost life-giving rays of the sun. with the second day free . A tired around the edges, with late sea waves on Poniente Festival was headlined by You transfer to a glass-bot- season ticket could be good the animals appearing bored beach, Restaurante Barranco Kasabian, Placebo and Suede. tom boat to get a close look value if you plan to return. and in need of more space. Playa was the perfect spot to A more typically Spanish at shoals of brightly coloured It’s a lot of fun just stroll- Back in the Benidorm bar enjoy a paella lunch. occasion is July’s Festival of fish in the Mediterranean. ing round the immaculately fans of La Roja were set free Benidorm has a unique the Patron Saint of The Sea But the highlight of the trip landscaped park spotting from their spotkick agony micro-climate all year round and celebrating wildly as thanks to the sheltering Sier- l Cerveceria Victor, Calle Lepanto, Spain kept their nerve better ra Cortina mountains which tel.96 586 40 11 EATINGOUT than Ronaldo and Portugal give a stunning backdrop to l Benidorm Palace, Avenida Severo to win the shootout and book the town. The sun shines for Ochoa 13, www.benidorm-palace.com www.ducado.restaurantesok.com) their place in the final. 3,400 hours a year and there l Barranco Playa restaurant, Calle l Restaurante L’illa de Benidorm, Beni- The party was in full swing is an average annual tem- Vicente Llorca Alos 14, www.barranco dorm: 965 97 24 82 as car horns blared and perature of 18C (15C in winter playa.com l Restaurante Mas pas Calle Mal Pas, people sang. The demolition and 26C in summer). l 1 | 03501 of Italy, now that would have 0800 4080 525 Ducado Restaurant, Avenida Almeria, been one extra-special fiesta.

ALSO ONLINE AT blog PASS IT ON ... Share your holiday experiences: Tweet @SheffieldStar or find us on Facebook at: Sheffield Star www.thestar.co.uk The Star, Saturday, August 25, 2012 23 EURO: 1.26 TELEVISION WEATHER IN Benidorm: CURRENCY Your guide to EDITED BY BILL AUCKLAND HOT And SUNNY (it never rains) (at time of print) £ = DOLLAR: 1.58 what’s on: P24-25 SHORT BREAK RICHARD MARSDEN Uncovering the Spanish side Travel Writer LODZ is known as the Man- chester of Poland – and with good reason... The city used to be famous for its cotton mills and expanded dramati- cally during the Industrial Revolution. Today, as in north-west England, most of them have closed. But the imposing buildings remain and have been converted into apart- ments, museums and the largest is now a huge enter- tainment venue on the edge of the city centre. Known as the Manufak- tura, it’s a good starting point for visitors and would take half a day to explore. The venue is vast, cover- ing around two square miles which include a hotel, bars, bowling alley, cinema and restaurants, and a shopping centre. Among the eateries is the Pierogeria, serving Perogi, traditional Polish dumplings with a variety of fillings. Outside, there are fountains and an area that is a beach in summer and an ice rink in winter. There are two museums, one about the old cotton mill which houses surviving looms and displays about Brick built: The Manufaktura working life. The other is The City of Lodz Museum, in the former owner’s house, a beautiful French chateau- style building at the corner of the complex. Lodz to do and Its ornate rooms house ex- hibitions and displays about key figures from Lodz includ- ing the pianist, Rubenstein. Starting close to the Manu- see in Poland faktura is the main street, Piotrowska, which runs for around two-and-a-half miles landmarks of the ancient in a straight line through the 48 HOURS IN POLAND world, including the Egyp- city centre. tian pyramids, the Acropolis Piotrowska has numer- l Hotel: www.hotelfocus. regular flights. The Star and a full-size Lighthouse of ous brass statues of famous Alexandria. locals. Rubenstein is here com.pl. flew from Luton Airport. A log flume ride was more again, seated at a piano, l Tourist board www. l East Midlands Trains – than enough excitement for while others include local poland.travel/en-gb www.eastmidlandstrains. our band of thrill-avoiders. poet, Julian Tuwin, outside l Budget airline Wiz- co.uk fast, frequent serv- Joint tickets are available the Town Hall. zAir - www.wizzair.com: ices to Luton Airport for Aqualandia water park His nose is worn smooth and the smaller Mundomar because local superstition sealife park, a great day out has it that if you touch it, you for families with small chil- will return to Lodz. ka, another old mill housing journey from the UK with dren. You can take your own Look at the ground and you a textile museum and a venue WizzAir or Ryanair; flights food into the restaurant. will find a version of Hol- for open-air concerts. There arriving at a new terminal Terra Natura, incorporat- lywood’s Walk of Fame. Lodz is also Europe’s second-oldest just a 10-minute drive from ing another waterpark in is the centre of Poland’s film modern art museum which the city centre. Aqua Natura, seemed a bit industry and stars have been has exhibits including paint- I stayed at the Hotel Focus, tired around the edges, with laid into the pavement with ings by Picasso. a converted factory which the animals appearing bored the names of famous people A less-than-pleasant boasts large, luxurious and in need of more space. who have been based there. episode in the city’s history bedrooms and is a short walk Back in the Benidorm bar Roman Polanski and Oscar- is remembered at a haunt- from Piotrowska. fans of La Roja were set free nominated Polish actress Ag- ing memorial. Before World One word of advice, espe- from their spotkick agony nieszcka Holland are among War Two, one third of Lodz’s cially after a drink or two. and celebrating wildly as them. You can find out more 700,000-strong population Poles are very strict about Spain kept their nerve better at the Museum of Cinematog- was Jewish. All but a few pedestrian crossings and than Ronaldo and Portugal raphy on the south side of the thousand were sent to Hit- walking across the road on to win the shootout and book city centre. ler’s death camps. The bleak a red man can land tourists their place in the final. Lodz’s cinematic history station from which trucks with a hefty fine. The party was in full swing began when it was the base departed has been preserved, But as long as you don’t as car horns blared and for an army film unit in the with a replica train and tomb- stray onto the wrong side of people sang. The demolition early 20th Century. stones, for each of the camps the law, Lodz is an interest- of Italy, now that would have Other museums worth a where prisoners were sent. ing and lively destination for been one extra-special fiesta. Quaint: View from the old town visit include the Biala Fabry- Lodz is a swift two-hour a weekend away. PASS IT ON ... Share your holiday experiences: Tweet @SheffieldStar or find us on Facebook at: Sheffield Star