Easter is a truly cracking time to unwind and head off to enjoy a very egg-stra special English break.

And Enjoy England, which is charged with highlighting some of the delights of a short break stay at home, has come up with some delighful offerings.

If you are looking for a really cuddy break, for example, immerse yourself at award-winning Combe House (pictured left), near Exeter, Devon.

It is plying all the vital ingredients for a memorable time, including the promise of cuddly bunny, chocolate eggs and a bottle of champagne.

This Elizabethan manor, hidden on a wooded estate, is within easy reach of Exeter and the seaside at Sidmouth.

Two-night breaks taking in Good Friday, Saturday or Easter Sunday are priced from £575 for two people sharing a room. This includes a three-course dinner prepared by the hotel's two resident Master Chefs of Great Britain, serving contemporary British cuisine.

You can start the weekend with champagne and canapés in the bar, enjoy a candlelit dinner and then relax in front of a log fire in the oak panelled great hall.

Accommodation is in 15 en-suite bedrooms and suites, some with views across the Devon countryside to Dartmoor, or in a newly-restored thatched cottage.

For further Information and bookings, call 01404-540400, quoting Easter Teddy' or visit: www.thishotel.com.

You can live like a lord on a special Eastertide break at the splendid Devonshire Arms in the Yorkshire Dales.

Owned by the Duke of Devonshire, this four-star Pride of Britain Hotel is located on the 30,000-acre picturesque, historic Bolton Abbey estate, near Skipton.

A three-night break beginning on Good Friday, April 6, costs £417 per person, based on two sharing, with a full English belt-busting breakfast every day. Children will be charged £225-a-head.

You will take dinner for one night in the hotel's Michelin-starred Burlington Restaurant and another night in the informal Brasserie. Guests receive a luxury chocolate egg, and a traditional afternoon tea in the pavilion café beside the River Wharfe on the estate.

Optional activities include an Easter treasure hunt and quiz, riverside walks to the ruined 12th-century Bolton Priory or pampering at the hotel's spa with its indoor swimming pool, gymnasium and treatment rooms.

For further information and bookings, telephone 0800-089-3929 or visit www.prideofbritainhotels.com.

Alternatively, guests on a three-night break at Swinton Park country house hotel, near Ripon, can enjoy their last night for free.

The offer at this North Yorkshire haven is based on the dinner, bed and breakfast package, with meals from the bar - with a complimentary bottle of house wine - an alternative to the restaurant menu.

Stay a fourth night, on Easter Monday, for £125 per room bed and breakfast. To add to the fun, there is a wine appreciation lunch on the Saturday, and an Easter egg hunt on Easter Sunday.

The turreted and castellated four red star hotel is set in great walking country and boasts its own spa and nine-hole golf course. Call 01765-680900 or visit www.swintonpark.com.

Meanwhile, for the budget-concious, The Buarnham Broom Hotel in Norfolk is offering an Easter break at less than £100 a night.

Set in the River Yare Valley, within easy reach of Norwich and the Norfolk Broads, the three-star hotel claims to offer something for everyone. It has a leisure club and two 18-hole golf courses rated among the county's best.

Available from April 5-10, the break includes a full English breakfast, three course table d'hote dinner in the award-winning Flints Restaurant, and free use of the leisure club.

The cost is £99 per room per night based on a minimum two-night stay. Call 01603-759393 or visit www.barnham-broom.co.uk.

For further information and ideas for a relaxing break, go to Enjoy England's justRelax website at www.enjoyEngland.

com/relax.

  • TRAVELLING across the other side of the world ex-radio presenter Sarah Newman did not expect to come across a newspaper article talking about Kendal - but that is exactly what happened.

Using her blogging column on The Westmorland Gazette website Sarah has been writing about her trip across New Zealand and reported back about Kendal and a mention for this newspaper.

Sarah said: "What are the chances?! Here I am exploring the other side of the world and the local paper takes me straight back home with pictures of Kendal Castle and Postman Pat's Post Office!"

To follow Sarah's blog visit: http://www.thewestmorland gazette.co.uk/lifestyle/kendaltravel/kendaltravelblogsarahn/.