Inspirational ideas for group days out and holidays

Gloucester-based English Holiday Cruises has launched its schedule of UK cruises for 2012 - including an all-new three-night ‘Midweek Break’.

Possibly one of the UK’s best-kept secrets, as well as Britain’s answer to cruises along the River Rhine, English Holiday Cruises offers its guests fully inclusive holidays on board the 11-cabin MV Edward Elgar.

Purpose-built and launched in 2000, the Edward Elgar has been owned and operated for the last eight years by the Clements family, whose sole aim is to give their guests the holiday of a lifetime as they cruise the length of Britain’s longest inland river and an historic ship canal.

Billed as “a relaxing holiday with a difference”, it combines the kind of service you’d expect in a four-star hotel with the chance to sit back and simply watch the world go by.

Offering glorious views of the English countryside from a completely different perspective, a cruise on board the MV Edward Elgar also includes guided tours of some fascinating and historic locations; en-suite cabins with full air-conditioning; home cooked breakfast, lunch and dinner; at least one night with live entertainment; and a choice of breaks ranging from two, to six, nights.

Each one of the eleven cosy twin-bed cabins has a window and en-suite facilities and, like any hotel room, is serviced each day while guests are sightseeing, or simply relaxing on board - in the lounge bar or on the viewing deck.

The fact that all meals are also included in the cost of the holiday helps to make this possibly the best-value river cruise holiday anywhere in Europe. (Prices, in general, work-out at around £100-£115 per person per night – as opposed to around £150 a night onboard most European rive cruises).

English Holiday Cruises will be offering a choice of five different cruises between April 1st and October 31st in 2012.

The all-new three-night ‘Midweek Break’ takes in The Lower Severn Vale beside The Cotswolds, with visits to wildlife and historic sites.

And while the ‘River Severn Heritage Cruise’ is a four-night holiday featuring stops in Tewkesbury, Upton and Worcester; the two-night ‘Unique Weekend Break’ is a relaxing couple of nights sailing through some glorious Cotswolds countryside.

Week-long holidays, meanwhile, include the ‘Cruise To The Views’ six-night package exploring all the sights and attractions alongside an historic ship canal and the mighty River Severn; and the spectacular ‘Full River Cruise Into The Heart of England’ which combines glorious views, wildlife and heritage – as well as ride on the Severn Valley Railway.

Some of the ‘Severn Wonders’ and guided tours offered during the cruises include Gloucester Docks, the Slimbridge Wetlands Centre, the Purton ‘Ships Graveyard’, Berkeley Castle, Tewkesbury Abbey, Worcester Cathedral, the Stourport lock basins and the Severn Valley Railway

Prices range from £230.00 per person based on two people sharing for the Unique Weekend Break, through to £645.00 per person on board the week-long River Cruise Into The Heart Of England. For full details visit www.englishholidaycruises.co.uk.