Let’s face it, celebrating Hallowe’en is usually camp fun; scaring or being scared is usually furthest from a reveller’s mind.  But for those interested in a genuine fright; a brush with the paranormal, how about a Haunted Break.  These guys, spurred on by the likes of TV’s Most Haunted, wanted to bring an authentic ghost hunting experience, with the best mediums, psychics and haunted accommodation.

Now I wouldn’t normally consider such an activity, but the fact that one can dine and stay in the fabulous Borringdon Hall, a 16th century Manor House, I’m pretty sure I’d get sucked into the heady atmosphere.  For something a bit different, why not give them a try – they’re listed on Ooh.com, of course.

More info here.

These graffiti lessons – run by the aptly named Graffiti Lessons (who clearly do what they say on their paint tins) – need little saying about them. 

Just watch the video and we think you’ll love them as much as we do.

You can read more about the lessons and book them here.

A short time ago, the Ooh team recruited London RIB Voyages to the ranks listed on Ooh.com. We were childishly excited when they offered us the chance to experience a RIB Thames tour first hand.

A time was duly set and skipper Joe collected us from Cadogan pier, by Albert Bridge, before jetting us East to Southbank’s Millennium Wheel to collect 5 more intrepid RIB adventurers. Warm jackets and buoyancy aids fitted, we pulled off the millennium peer and motored West against the ebbing tide towards M16.

After a brief allusion to the famous James Bond scene where the boat launches from an M16 window into the river, Ben, our cheerful guide, turned to Joe and invited him to let us have it…

Joe pointed our RIB across the river at the landmark Aztec style building, only acknowledged by the government in 2004 as the home of its Secret Intelligence Service. Surreally, and totally unexpected, the classic Bond theme twanged into life over the RIB’s loudspeakers and we felt a surge of power through the giant twin Johnson 225 engines.

The bow rose out of the water and the hull crashed and skidded across the Thames as we charged towards the building. Next, Joe swung the RIB to the right, carving across the river in front of Vauxhall bridge and swooping back towards MI6 within 15 feet of the colossal bridge columns. With each turn, the sidewall of the RIB dug deep into the water, lifting the outside edge into the air like a twisting rollercoaster.

Laughs, screams and whoops faded with the Bond music and we straightened up to head East with the tide. The onward journey was an electric mix of unbelievable speed and illuminating details narrated by Ben, bringing the historic landscape to life as we passed.
After we’d nipped out of the busiest part of the Thames, beyond Tower Bridge, Joe took our speed up another notch, making use of the 400 horsepower to reach speeds of 35 knots.

As we cut from one side of the river to the other, past London’s financial centre in Canary Wharf, we experienced another highlight: the weightless sensation of the hull bursting clean out of the water as we popped off a wake.

The return upriver gave us the chance to gawk at all the sites again, with a few more snippets of London history thrown in. We were also given a great photo opportunity when Joe lined the boat up with Tower Bridge looming in the background.

Basically, whether you live in London, or you’re just visiting, you should book one of these tours. It’s a no brainer, because there is simply no other way to see so many of London’s landmarks, from such a unique perspective and at such electrifying speed. Thank you London RIB Voyages. We salute you!

The Ooh.com team was recently contacted by Ben Cooper, Editorial Director of TravelIntelligence.com, a site combining an extensive collection of chic, boutique and luxury hotels, with reviews, articles and insider knowledge from professional travel writers. Ben offered us a sample of his wisdom to celebrate halloween.

Halloween is almost upon us, which means that historic hotels – from castles to country houses – will soon be full of eerily-inclined guests padding the creaking corridors and staring suspiciously at the slightest twitch of a curtain. Whether you’re a sceptic or believer, it’s hard to deny that these five famously ‘haunted’ luxury hotels have seen more than their fair share of things that (may or may not) have gone bump in the night…

Lumley Castle – Durham
Durham’s Lumley Castle is positively crammed with creepy credentials: it’s all four poster beds, crenellated towers and tongue-in-cheek medieval trimmings. The story goes that Lady Lily, wife of Sir Ralph Lumley, haunts the castle’s corridors having been bumped off by the local clergy (who then rather callously dropped her body down a well).

Lumley Castle hit the headlines a few years back when the Australian cricketer Shane Watson was so troubled during the course of a night’s stay that he chose to bed down on a teammate’s floor rather than be in his room alone.

Thornbury Castle – Thornbury, South Gloucs
Another castle, another spectral lady – this time of the grey variety. But she’s far from the only spirit lingering around Thornbury: Jasper Tudor, Duke of Bedford, is believed to have been seen on several occasions, while a greyhound said to belong to Mary Tudor has been known to drift through the library.

Along with gargoyles and the odd suit of armour, Thornbury’s riddled with secret passages, priest holes and a dungeon (now the hotel’s wine cellar). One room even has a hidden bathroom; which sounds like fun – until you’re caught short in the middle of the night, that is…

Ettington Park – Alderminster, Warks
The facade of Ettington Park is all elaborate Neo-Gothic twiddles and eerie plays of light and shadow. The classic haunted house, in other words. And that’s precisely what appealed to film director Robert Wise when, looking for a suitably creepy location for his 1963 classic horror, The Haunting, he cast Ettington to play the starring role of horrible ‘Hill House’.

There are plenty of reports of hauntings of the non-celluloid variety, too. Amongst a glut of ghastly goings-on, there’s a ghostly monk in residence, echoing children’s voices have been heard, and a former governess known as Lady Emma has been known to slip through walls from time to time.

Langtry Manor – Bournemouth
Edward VII built the graceful Arts & Crafts Red House – now Langtry Manor Hotel – as a South Coast love nest for his mistress, Lillie Langtry. And so besotted was she with the place that her love-struck spirit has frequently been spotted wandering the grounds.

Chilston Park – Lenmouth, Kent
Bit of a cheat, this one. Chilston Park sneaks into our list through proximity, rather than any reports from guests of anything untoward happening. However, nearby Pluckley has a reputation as ‘the most haunted town in Britain’ – the Piccadilly Circus of supernatural sightings, if you will.

Not everywhere can claim a highwayman nailed to a tree, the shade of a headmaster, a phantom horse and carriage, a Red Lady in the churchyard and bloodcurdling screams coming from an abandoned brickworks. So if you were setting out to spot a spook this Halloween, the elegant confines of Chilston Park are as good a place to be based as any!

Let’s face it.  Caring for the environment can sometimes be little dry, even a bit sanctimonious.  But there are plenty of individuals and cottage industries dedicated to making this worthwhile pursuit of sustainability and eco-friendliness fun and inspiring.

We’re big fans of Dick Strawbridge, star of the BBC series ‘It’s Not Easy Being Green’ and Channel 4’s ‘Scrapheap Challenge’.  You can book his sustainable energy and self-suffiency courses on Ooh here.

Many of them can be found on Ooh.com, where we’re very pleased to provide a [sustainable] home for passionate people in this ever expanding field.  And new skills really are the gifts that keep on giving, as your friends and family coo over your home made chutney, organic lip balm, even your wood burning stove!

If you fancy taking it a step further, how about really going back to nature?  We’ve got bushcraft and eco-survival courses that take you into the wild in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, the Arctic Circle, even back to the stone-age.

The guy in the sweet hat is from Selfsuficientish, who run fantastic food foraging tours.  Like your food so fresh that it’s wild?  Book a course on Ooh here.

Have you been on a course or tour that inspired you to live more sustainably?  Tell us! Or do you offer one, and want people to learn about it and book?  Then head here – listing on Ooh couldn’t be easier.