HUDSON'S HISTORIC HOUSES & GARDENS

- SOWING THE SEEDS OF INSPIRATION

Price: £16.99

Contact: 01733 296910

Email: info@hudsons-media.co.uk

Hudson’s Historic Houses & Gardens celebrates its 28th anniversary in 2015, boasting a comprehensive guide to historic properties that are open for public viewing. Hudson’s Historic Houses & Gardens is an annual heritage guide to Britain, available to purchase in high street bookshops and heritage attraction stores nationwide. Hudson’s bulky 2015 edition is very much picture-led, featuring a voyeuristic, arms-length view of some of the most renowned historical sites in the UK. Hudson’s features a strikingly sublime image of The Alnwick Garden at its plotted peak on front with Alnwick Castle on back, ensuring it remains on trend following the prestigious attraction’s most recent publicity.

Hudson’s Historic Houses & Gardens is 426 pages in total, proving a useful aide to GTW’s ‘English Country Gardens’ feature. From a group perspective, Hudson’s provides subtle inspiration for itinerary ideas with a ‘visitor information’ tab highlighting the available capacity at each attraction, accompanied by a list of upcoming events to tailor your tour. 2D QR codes at the bottom of each panel provides further information on different platforms, perhaps accounting for the occasional blank space that makes the guide appear somewhat unfinished. With a detailed foreword by publisher Sarah Greenwood, Hudson’s Historic Houses & Gardens commences with a slideshow outlining ‘what’s new’ throughout 2015, complimented by the frequent injection of travel writing, which adds a personalised aspect to an otherwise informative guide.

Stamford's Burghley House is featured in the book.

Hudson’s Historic Houses & Gardens proceeds to print attractions consistently separated by region, including London, Yorkshire & The Humber and Northern Ireland. Extensive editorial content is topped off with a number of maps for reference, which makes the supplement ideal for large coach journeys in particular; though there is perhaps little in regards to coaching information. The weight of the product appears perfectly balanced in consideration to flicking through and/or remaining on page, with the advertising to editorial to picture ratio amounting in a successful, well-constructed piece, supported by interviews with some key industry figures that make the supplement feel more like a bookazine. Hudson’s Historic Houses & Gardens’ glossy finish engulfs readers in that pleasant ‘new book’ smell and is guaranteed to prove a hit with heritage/history buffs.

At first glance, I’d say the guide is suited to a much older demographic, but deeper reading suggests a more family-orientated, wider target audience that is rather tricky to pin down. Regardless, Hudson’s Historic Houses & Gardens is certainly worth its £16.99 price tag. Hudson's Media is the leading publisher of heritage and tourist information in the UK. Further information is available online at www.hudsonsheritage.com 

Hudson's Launches Three Unique Short Breaks

Hudson’s is scheduled to launch three unique short breaks in summer 2015, including tours to Rutland, Derbyshire and Yorkshire. Each break will last three days with two nights’ accommodation, one evening meal and the company of an expert lecturer. Each break will include a number of stately homes such as Burghley House, Haddon Hall and Kedleston, in addition to lesser-known country villages such as Deene Park and Tissington. There will be the option to book a short weekend break or combine two tours to make it a weeklong adventure. Sarah Greenwood, Publisher at Hudson’s, said: “We are delighted to be able to use Hudson’s unrivalled knowledge of Britain’s heritage to launch our three special and unique tours this summer.” Prices start from £530 per person including accommodation, meals, entrance tickets and travel. Tours can be book via phone on 01733 296910 or online at www.hudsonsheritage.com/shortbreaks