Sweet! Easter treats for your chocaholics: Egg hunts and tasting sessions are springing up across the country… Families can join in outdoor chocolate egg hunts organised by the National TrustThe purple-hued Chocolate Room at the Alton Towers Hotel is a fun place to stayTry your hand at making and decorating chocolate bars at York Cocoa House
Every week our Holiday Hero Neil Simpson takes an in-depth look at a brilliant holiday topic, doing all the legwork so you don’t have to. This week: Tasting trips and treats for Easter.
Bournemouth, Bourneville and York are just three of Britain’s most tempting cities for chocaholics. And with Easter just three weeks away, chocolate egg hunts and tasting sessions are springing up across the country.
Bournemouth is home of the Chocolate Box boutique hotel, a family business and labour of love for manager Leoni Wilton. Her favourite phrase, ‘Forget Love, I’d Rather Fall In Chocolate’, is displayed throughout the freshly renovated Victorian building where the chocolate theme runs throughout.
The Chocolate Box Hotel in Bournemouth has a chocolate theme throughout. Pictured is the dining room
It’s no surprise that warm, chocolate colours dominate the decor, while chocolate pancakes are a hit at breakfast and chocolate-tasting sessions are held in the dining room. Staff can direct guests to the regular South Coast Makers Market to find local, artisan chocolate-makers. From £115 per room per night (chocolateboxhotel.co.uk).
Bourneville, on the outskirts of Birmingham, was the garden village set up by the Cadbury family in 1893 to house workers at their nearby factory. Today it’s home to Cadbury World, one of the tastiest theme parks where the 4D Cinema experience lets you ride a Crunchie Rollercoaster and dive into a bowl of liquid Dairy Milk. You can also sample chocolate in the Chocolate Making Zone. Tickets from £19.95 (cadburyworld.co.uk).
York is where the Rowntree and Terry families built their confectionery empires. It’s where everything from KitKats and Smarties to Chocolate Oranges and Aeros were created, and visitors can explore the past on the York Chocolate Trail. Get a map at visityork.org or at the information centre on Museum Street.
If you fancy trying your hand at making and decorating chocolate bars, then York Cocoa House is a great place to start. The independently run chocolate academy and mini-manufacturer lets you see the whole chocolate-making process and has hands-on activities for all ages. You can also create your own unique chocolate bar. From £19.50 for 90-minute sessions (yorkcocoahouse.co.uk).
Enjoy chocolatey fun at Cadbury World in Bourneville on the outskirts of Birmingham. Pictured is one of the rides
On the hunt: Families can join in outdoor chocolate egg hunts organised by the National Trust in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (stock image)
Another fun place for families to stay is the purple-hued Chocolate Room at the Alton Towers Hotel. Sleep amid Cadbury Dairy Milk colours in an over-sized room with a main bed, sofa-bed and two bunk beds. Look for the room’s secret supply of chocolate, then crack the code given by reception to find more treats. From £77 per person, per night (altontowers.com).
Families can join in outdoor chocolate egg hunts organised by the National Trust in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Follow the trails, complete activities on your map and claim a chocolate egg as you leave. Among the prettiest places to search for chocolate treasure is the medieval gardens of Godolphin House in Cornwall. Clues could lie in the 16th Century King’s Garden, or in the orchard.
Other idyllic gardens to explore are the 18th Century orangery of Felbrigg in Norfolk, and Castle Ward in County Down. Opulent Dyffryn Gardens in the Vale of Glamorgan has an egg hunt round the croquet lawn and old arboretum. There is a £3 fee for National Trust egg hunts (nationaltrust.org.uk).
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