Pop and Shop are not necessarily things you would associate but if you go to Sheffield you can do both in the same day. The National Centre for Popular Music is well worth a visit - to see a hands-on example of what a museum should be. You can make music, record a song or revisit the discos of the 1970s. Then hop on the tram and a short time later you are at Meadow Hall, one of Britain's newest and biggest shopping malls. I remember Sheffield from the late 1970s and early 1980s and it was an extremely depressed area; today you would hardly recognise the city. Sheffield is now only a short hop away with British Regional Airlines. The new service to Sheffield is three times a day from Belfast and once from Dublin, fares are from £79 return.
Choice hotels have a selection of properties around the country and this summer have some very special offers. They are also opening a new hotel and leisure centre in Clonakilty, west Cork and have some excellent opening offers - £99 will get you three nights bed and breakfast and two dinners, midweek and (two night) weekends with one dinner will cost £85 per person. They also have some luxurious family rooms. Other hotels in the group are situated in Killarney, Dublin, Carrickfergus, Oranmore, Waterford, Ennis and Tralee. Details from callsave 1850-200550.
Hats off to Cork Airport, it has done it again and added another new route to this fast-growing airport. From September 10th you will be able to fly direct from Cork to Birmingham. Jersey European Airways will fly twice a day to Birmingham and the same aircraft will continue to Glasgow, making access into Scotland more convenient from the South. Other destinations available from Birmingham with JEA include Jersey, Guernsey and Toulouse.
If you are heading off to foreign parts this summer, then do not forget to pack that most essential item - the travel guide. Book Stop, upstairs in the Blackrock Centre, has an extensive range of travel guides. In addition to all major travel guides it also stocks a great selection of holiday reading - including new editions of Wild Guides (published by the Sheldrake Press). Each book portrays the wilder parts of a country with a unique blend of evocative writing and practical information, beautifully illustrated with colour pictures and line drawings of plants and animals.
If you're tempted you to consider the outdoor life, then you cannot go wrong by visiting O'Meara's Camping Centres. Located at Bridgefoot Street, Dublin 8 and at Clondrinagh, Ennis Road, Limerick, you will be amazed at the variety of tents and equipment they stock. They also have a repair service for worn tents and camping equipment.
Oakwood time is coming and if you are on holiday in the south or south-east I can recommend a day trip to this Welsh theme park. It is set in acres of lovely woodland, with some of the best rides your children will ever experience - the megafobia wooden roller-coaster is a must for daredevils. Stena Line offer a family package to Oakwood for £78 plus tax from Rosslare, which includes crossing, coach and entrance fee for two adults and two children.