Nominate your favourite Green
Space
PICTURE this. A remote cottage in the wild French Pyrenees where the owners
grow their own vegetables, keep goats and chickens and the only access is a
long, winding dirt track.
Strawberries, thyme and girolles flourish in the surrounding woods; there is a
terrace, BBQ and tennis court - and the whole lot sleeps seven and costs
under £450 this week.
Got your interest? Good. Now factor in wood-fired heating, water heated by
solar panels and a swimming pool fed by a stream and what have you got?
I’d say something along the lines of a memorable break and a long-lasting halo
of acute smugness that destroys the argument about green holidays being
insufferably worthy or intolerably expensive.
So thank you Andreea Petre-Goncalves, who visits Mas Perangel every year and
who nominated the cottage for our 2008 awards. “To me, it is the wildest,
most unspoilt and most breathtakingly beautiful place,” she says.
When The Times launched the Green Spaces challenge in April, this was the kind
of nomination we hoped for: passionate, informative and challenging.
The awards were deliberately left open-ended to ensure inclusivity, which has
ensured diversity and entertainment.
You told us about The
Ecolodge in Lincolnshire, with a windmill for power and recycled beer
pumps which pump rainwater into the tank for showers. And we heard about the Titanic
Spa in Yorkshire, which alongside fluffy towels and treatments has its
own borehole for drinking water as well as provide for the pool and showers.
One of our judges, Anna Shepard, succinctly says: “What I like about Titanic
is that nobody is shouting about the spa's good green behaviour; it is
quietly getting on with it.”
You also got on with it and voted for London parks and caravan sites; US
trails, Latin wildlife centres and African lodges. A number of British
landmarks feature, from Golden Cap in Dorset to Solway Firth, where Mick and
Pauline Greenwood “sat in a hide and watched a hare run past and heard the
wild geese fly overhead.” Lovely stuff.
I’d love to visit Breakwater Country Park, Anglesey, after Gillian Oakes made
an impassioned nomination, citing puffins, falcons and the cliff path around
South Stack. While in north Wales, I’d call in for a pub lunch at
Porthdinllaen, a fishing village, and walk the Lleyn peninsula, a headland
already known to another of our judges, Richard Hammond, as “a wild and
rugged north coast.”
In our June
nominations, Richard and Anna enthuse about more green spaces, in
Cornwall and South Africa, while Toby Sawday bangs the drum for the Eden
Project – the “stuff of dreams.”
We now think it helpful to start drawing up categories based on your
nominations, which form the basis for the awards to be presented at the end
of the year.
This is what we’ve come up with, and where your nominations to date would
live:
BRITAIN
1 Best place to stay (eg the Ecolodge)
2 Best open space (eg Golden Cap, Breakwater Country Park)
3 Best project (eg Eden Centre)
EUROPE
4 Best place to stay (eg Mas Perangel, France)
5 Best open space (eg Danube delta)
WORLDWIDE
6 Best place to stay (eg Napo Wildlife Centre and Lodge, Ecuador)
7 Best open space (eg Kosi Bay, South Africa)
We still welcome nominations from all sources, and if other categories suggest
themselves, we will add them at a later date.
Keep your suggestions coming - you have until September 1 to nominate, so
report on your quality breaks this summer - and send us photos.
To reward your enthusiasm, we've teamed up with Railbookers.com
to give away a
train holiday for two to Venice: all nominators go into a hat and a
winner will be picked at random.
Green holidays, pah? Not judging from your recommendations so far - there's a
world of difference out there.
Nominate your own online at Greenspaces@thetimes.co.uk.
The awards have a local bias (to ration those carbon footprints a little)
but extend across the world.
The nominations featured in The Times and Times Online each month win a copy
of Alastair Sawday's Green Places to Stay. We'll put the places on
the longlist to the test towards the end of the year.
THE IMPORTANT BITS
You are invited to nominate a favourite Green Space that you have encountered
on holiday in the UK or abroad.
This could be any place that has impressed you with its environmental and
social credentials, such as a hotel or villa, a park, a beach, a city, an
area of natural beauty, a restaurant, a bar, a method of transport, a tour
or holiday.
Your nomination can be anywhere in the world, but we are especially interested
to hear about UK destinations.
Your Green Space nomination should practise sound environmental policies, help
to care for and preserve local wildlife or give something back to the local
community. We are also interested to hear about individuals in travel who
are making a difference in these ways.
Tell us, in no more than 250 words, about the place or person who you would
like to nominate for our Green Spaces Travel Awards, and tell us where you
live.
Nominations are open until September 1 - so you've plenty of time to
discover a Green Space this summer. Please do send a photo to back up your
nomination - it's always helpful to visualise your passion.
If you would like to be entered for the monthly prize draw for a copy of
Sawdays Special Places to Stay, please ensure to provide your full name,
address and contact details.
Remember! Email your entries to Greenspaces@thetimes.co.uk
LEGAL BITS
1.Closing date for nominations is midnight September 1, 2008.
2.Unless otherwise stated, the nominations and prize draws are open to all
residents of the UK and ROI aged 18 or over, except employees of Times
Newspapers Limited (“TNL”), Railbookers and their associated, affiliated or
subsidiary companies, and their families, agents, or anyone connected with
this competition, including the third party promotional partners.
3.A person may nominate more than once but each nomination must be different.
Entrants may nominate a favourite Green Space from any location in the
world. Entrants may not nominate any organisation in which they have a
financial or family interest. The Green Space nominee should practise sound
environmental policies, help to care for and preserve local wildlife or give
something back to the local community or may be an individual in travel who
is making a difference by embracing these principles. Nominations should be
made using no more than 250 words detailing the place or person the entrant
wishes to nominate. By nominating, entrants agree to allow the free use of
their names, material/comments submitted and general locations in connection
with the awards. TNL reserves the right to publish all or parts of an
entrant’s comments at their sole discretion.
4.TNL reserves the right to reject any nomination in its sole discretion. By
submitting a nomination entrants agree that TNL may edit and publish
nominations in its sole discretion. Publication does not mean a nomination
has been shortlisted.
5.Nominations will be judged by TNL’s panel of experts. Each month independent
judges Anna Shepard, Toby Sawday and Richard Hammond will select their
favourites based on the nomination criteria. The final winner(s) will be
selected by the independent judges plus Kathleen Wyatt, Travel Editor, The
Times, Steve Keenan, Online Travel Editor and Kate Quill, Assistant Travel
Editor, The Times. The final shortlist and all awards will be at TNL’s
discretion, following consultation with all judges and no correspondence
will be entered into regarding the awards.
6.The winner of the prize draw is responsible for ensuring they are able to
accept the prize as set out and in accordance with these terms and
conditions, in the event they are unable to do so then the TNL reserves the
right to redraw the prize.
7.Entry is free but entrants should be aware that they may be subject to local
call charges depending on their own individual arrangements for Internet
access.
8.An eligible entrant must be an individual and must submit a nomination in
the form provided by TNL under this promotion including their name, address
and e-mail address.
9.By entering, all eligible entrants agree to abide by each and all these
terms and conditions. TNL reserves the right, with or without cause, to
exclude entrants and withhold prizes for violating any of these terms and
conditions. TNL reserves the right to amend these terms and conditions. Any
amendments will be published on the Website.
10.There are monthly prizes and one overall prize. The monthly prizes will be
awarded to any entrant whose nomination is featured in the Times and/or the
Timesonline. The overall winner will be drawn at random from all valid
nominations received by the closing date. The overall prize winner will be
notified by email within twenty eight (28) days from the draw date. All
reasonable endeavours will be made to contact the winner during this time.
If a winner cannot be contacted or is not available, TNL reserves the right
to re-draw another winner from the correct entries which were received
before the closing date.
11.Monthly Prize: Each month entrants whose nomination for the Green Spaces
awards is featured in the Times or Timesonline will win a copy of Alastair
Sawday’s Green Places to Stay. Entrants will only be eligible to win one
copy of the book.
12.Overall Prize: The overall prize is a 5 night trip for two adults to Venice
by train, travelling via Zurich and Turin with a one night stop in each
city. The prize includes return Leisure Select (First Class) Eurostar travel
and onward First Class return train travel for two people with 3 nights 4*
accommodation in Venice and 1 night in Zurich on the outward journey and 1
night in Turin on the return, for two people sharing a double or twin room
(winner’s choice), including breakfast. The prize must be taken between
January – March 2009 (except during Venice Carnival 13- 24 February 2009)
and cannot be used for stays including Bank Holidays and Trade Show dates.
Once notified the winner must contact Railbookers to book their trip within
30 days. The winner's travel and hotel accommodation is subject to
availability.
The winner is responsible for all costs and expenses not set out in these
terms and conditions and for ensuring they and their guest have all
necessary documents including valid passports, visas (where applicable) and
travel insurance.
13.There is no cash or other alternative to the prize stated and the prize is
not transferable and no part or parts of the prize may be substituted for
other benefits, items or additions.
14.The winner may be required to submit valid identification before receiving
their prize.
15.The judge's decision is final and binding on the entrants. No
correspondence will be entered into.
16.TNL will not be liable for technical, hardware, or software failures of any
kind or lost or unavailable network connections which may limit or prohibit
an eligible entrant's ability to participate in the competition. Other than
death or personal injury arising from the acts or omissions of TNL, or their
employees, TNL will not be liable for any loss or damage arising out of the
winner or their guest’s enjoyment of the prize
17.By entering, any subsequent prize winners agree to allow the free use of
their names, photographs and general locations for publicity and news
purposes during this and future promotions by TNL or any associated or
subsidiary company of News International Limited.
18.Uses of personal data received by TNL in the course of the promotion are
subject to the privacy policy found on the Website. Winners' names may be
published on the Website.
19.Completion and submission of a registration slip or e-mail will be deemed
acceptance of these terms and conditions.
20.TNL reserves the right at any time to cancel, modify or supersede the
competition (including altering prizes) if, in their sole discretion, a
competition is not capable for being conducted as specified. TNL reserves
the right to substitute a prize of equal value in the event that
circumstances beyond their control make this unavoidable.
21.The promoter of this prize draw is Times Newspapers Limited (address below)
22.For a list of winners, please send a stamped envelope to Times Newspapers
Limited Competitions Department, 1 Virginia Street, London E98 1RL, stating
for which competition you would like winners’ details.
23.Terms and Conditions printed in The Times/The Sunday Times newspaper or on
Times Online form a part of these terms and conditions.
