All of us here at Bluestone are very proud of his achievement. It was not easy and in a world where we’re all able to communicate and travel with ease we don’t necessarily realise just how extreme his trek unaided has been.

After setting off from the UK on New Year’s Day, he spent the past three weeks reaching the glacier before embarking on his mammoth task. But last Sunday he finally reached his end goal – the South Pole.

It is also quite poignant that William was at the Pole to commemorate the arrival of Captain Scott 100 years ago to the day on 17th January.

Indeed, he celebrated the occasion at the official South Pole station where more than 150 people work on scientific and environmental projects.

William has been training for this for the past year and as well as raising awareness of the Teenage Cancer Trust, he saw it as a personal challenge.

“Because I wanted to raise a lot of money for the Teenage Cancer Trust and increase amongst other things the awareness of Bluestone, this sponsored walk was a high profile one from the word go. I have already done many of radio and TV interviews before leaving the UK and was conscious that if I didn’t complete this challenge I would have to come back with my tail between my legs and face the consequences,” he said.

You can find out more about William’s trek and donate to Teenage Cancer Trust by visiting www.90degreessouth.co.uk. All money raised will go directly to the charity which helps teenagers with cancer.

It’s a new year and a time for some new inspiration for 2012. So why not check out the new Bluestone National Park Resort television advert for some great ideas.

Luxury short breaks don’t get much better than here at Bluestone in Pembrokeshire, West Wales, and once you’ve watched our latest ad we’re sure you’ll want to know more about the great all weather activities as well as our luxury accommodation.

After all, coming to Bluestone is all about being able to relax, have fun and…. play! So Let’s Play….

Click here to see our great new TV ad.

We have the perfect Christmas gift idea for those looking to treat that someone special with a range of gift ideas including inclusive weekend and mid-week breaks, spa mini breaks, adrenalin fuelled getaways and just somewhere to get away after all of the hustle and bustle of the festive period.

We’re offering five star accommodation, dinner and breakfast, combined with a wide range of activities, including the Steep Ravine and its high ropes to the splashtastic Blue Lagoon water park. And then there’s The Well Spa with its thermal rooms and a wide range of holistic treatments that are sure to help you relax and unwind.

If that’s not enough, you can enjoy some of the best cuisine in our Carreg Las restaurant or potter around the private Bluestone village with its shops, bakery and pub.

It’s your gift and so you can choose how to wrap it – romantic getaway, spa break, walking holiday, adventure getaway… Bluestone National Park Resort is the perfect place and the perfect gift.

Visit www.bluestonewales.com for more luxury Christmas gift ideas. And if you find one, make sure you quote the DBBA offer code when booking.

So it was no surprise when Bluestone’s founder and CEO, William McNamara, wanted to take that to a new level…. heading off on a trek to the South Pole with plans to raise £100,000 for the Teenage Cancer Trust in the process. Oh, and he’ll be trekking the last 100kms unsupported.

William’s adventure will mark 100 years since Captain Robert Scott reached the South Pole on his ill-fated expedition in 1912. This was an expedition with many Welsh connections.

Over the past year William has been busy training for the trip. He told us more about it.

“It’s going to be hard and there’s a lot of training and safety requirements to consider and undertake. Only 200 people have undertaken this route in the history of mankind. But this is something I’ve wanted to do for sometime. It’s a bit of a sabbatical for me – and a sponsored walk with a difference,” said William.

“After we opened Bluestone to guests three years ago, seeing the business reach record occupancy levels this year and become an established destination brand, I feel now is the time to do something I’ve always wanted to do.

“It’s even more poignant that it’ll be almost 100 years to the day of Scott’s arrival at the Pole that, hopefully, I’ll be reaching. It makes the expedition even more challenging and gives me the drive and determination to complete the last 100kms  – paying my respects not only to Scott, but the four members of his team who perished, including Welshman Edgar Evans.”

Scott’s ship, the Terra Nova, and expedition team left Cardiff Docks on the 15^th June 1910 on their fateful journey. The ship’s Binnacle is currently on display at the Pierpoint in Cardiff Bay.

William is currently undertaking a gruelling pre-expedition training regime and has undergone intense checks and tests to ensure he can endure the extreme conditions, with temperatures varying between -20c and -40c in 24 hour daylight.

A dedicated website has been set up explaining his trek www.90degreessouth.co.uk and will map his progress. It also accepts sponsorship and donations.

He will be in a very small group of other adventurers on the expedition which will take approximately three weeks. The last 100kms of the trek will be undertaken unsupported, dragging a sledge and 80kgs of equipment with him.

He leaves for Antartica on New Year’s Eve, arriving on the glacier plateau several days later, before starting the trek.

William’s decision to attempt to raise £100,000 for the Teenage Cancer Trust followed a visit to one of the Trust’s specialist hospital units in Cardiff.

“I saw a 16 year old who had been diagnosed with cancer while doing his mock GCSE’s. He’d been to a routine cancer unit but with much older people – it wasn’t a place for a young person. Being able to stay in a unit with people the same age made a vast difference to the treatment and his life. Ironically within the unit I sensed positivity, vibrancy and comradeship which I found very humbling.” said William.

“That’s where the Teenage Cancer Trust makes a difference at a crucial time in a young person’s life. I’d like to support the Trust in creating more outreach centres, including one here in West Wales. It’ll make a huge difference to young people with cancer. Remembering that family and friends of a cancer patient are often significantly impacted also.”

The trek has received corporate sponsorship from Red River Creative Ltd, Blue Tiger Marketing, Dawnus Construction Ltd, 3663, Western Log Group, Dyfed Cleaning Services Ltd, Bluestone Resorts Ltd, and Northcliffe (SWWales Media).

You can read an interview with William in the Western Mail (30/11/11) where he talked openly about his planned trek. Read it here.

More details about William’s trek to the South Pole can be found at www.90degreessouth.co.uk. Anyone wishing to donate to the trek and the £100,000 he wants raise for the charity can find the details on the website.

It’s been an amazing first week of Elf School at Kingdom of the Elves at Bluestone  in Pembrokeshire, but don’t take our word for it. Read a review from Wales Online here to see how much fun they had.

The elves have really been getting into the spirit of helping youngsters (and their parents) get into the festive spirit, learning how to become one of Santa’s little helpers in the process before graduating from Elf School.

We’ve even caught the elves and their friends at Elf School having a bit of fun out of Elf School hours. Check it out here – we’re sure you’ll have a great laugh watching their festive antics.

So why not come to Bluestone and try your hand at Elf School with a winter festive short break at our luxury five star resort.

Entrance to Elf School costs from £23.50. You can even choose to meet Father Christmas if you want.

Check out our special Elf School page here for more details. We look forward to seeing you soon. Merry Christmas.

The Diamond Wood project is part of a Woodland Trust initative to plant 60 woodlands throughout the UK to mark the royal occasion.

Bluestone has started planting 35,000 trees at our 500 acre countryside estate. The project, which will take 12 months to complete, will join together two parts of the ancient Canaston Woods for the first time in centuries, creating 60 acres of new natural woodland habitat.

Planting will continue throughout next year, involving guests and the local community throughout the project.

It is the first of possibly three Diamond Woods to start planting in Wales and one of the first to be revealed in the UK.

Sixty new Diamond Woods, each around 60 acres in size, plus hundreds of smaller Jubilee Woods are being created across the UK as part of the Woodland Trust (Coed Cadw’s) ambitious Jubilee Woods project. The aim is to plant six million trees and to involve millions of people in the planting.

We are expected to be one of just three in Wales and we are one of the first to be revealed in the UK. “We’re very privileged to have been chosen as a site for a Diamond Wood,” said William McNamara, CEO of Bluestone.

“We’re a guardian of our local environment and the natural habitat here at Bluestone.  It is a fundamental part of why many of our guests come to enjoy time with us, taking in and enjoying the stunning natural surroundings, fauna, wildlife, walks and spectacular Pembrokeshire countryside.

“The Canaston Woods form an important part of the local countryside and our planting will bring two parts of the woods together for the first time in many hundreds of years.”

Mr McNamara added: “We’re very pleased to be helping mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in such a way. The environment and sustainability is integral to the Bluestone ethos and I can think of no better way of celebrating the Jubilee. It will allow generations of the future to enjoy a natural habitat rich in wildlife.”

A range of native trees are being planted following consultation with the Woodland Trust, Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority, Wildlife Trust, Countryside Council for Wales and the Forestry Commission.

They include Ash, Oak, Rowan, Hazel, Wild Cherry, Guelder Rose, Hawthorn, Crab Apple, Field Maple, Common Alder, Downy Birch, Blackthorn, Alder Buckthorn, Elder, Spindle and Aspen.

The project is being funded by Bluestone with part funding from Forestry Commission Wales through the Rural Development Plan for Wales 2007-2013. The plan is funded through the Welsh Government and European Union.

And this year, here at Bluestone National Park Resort, we’re pleased to reveal that even with our additional 60 new luxury lodges (which takes our lodge, cottage and studio accommodation to 280), we’ve broken all records with 100 per cent occupancy during the easter and summer holidays.

What’s more interesting is, perhaps, that more and more people are coming to Bluestone National Park Resort to spend time in Pembrokeshire for the first time - demonstrating how our five-star luxury short-break destination is contributing to West Wales’ rural economy with guests visiting local attractions, towns, villages and countryside.

Over 44 per cent of guests to the resort so far this year said they had not been to Pembrokeshire before. Many who had done so had not visited since their childhood days.

As a local Pembrokeshire business we’re proud of close ties to local suppliers, our 400 staff and our contribution to the local economy. We’re also pleased to support and raise the profile of Pembrokeshire and West Wales to a much wider audience through our marketing activities.

As we move into autumn and on into winter, why not take a look at our website and see if there’s something we can offer you for a short break or even a day visit to our spa, the Blue Lagoon water park or the Adventure Centre.

We’ll be welcoming Santa and his elves to the Kingdom of the Elves on the 12th November until the 31st December, and that’s an opportunity not to be missed for guests and day visitors.

Good Natured Fruit is a range of pesticide residue free fruit, salad, herbs, potatoes and veg and they taste great too. You can find them on Facebook as well.

All you have to do is read the on-pack competition information on how to enter.

So go on, be good natured and go out and get some great tasting and healthy food and you could come away with a luxury short break here at Bluestone.

And now they’re at it again – and once again we’re not sure where they’re going. But if you want to help track them down before they start their work at Kingdom of the Elves on Saturday, 12th November, you might be in with a chance of winning a festive short break here at Bluestone.

Just ‘Like’ our Kingdom of the Elves Facebook page and you’ll be entered into the competition. In the meantime, check out the elf-antics by watching our video. You can also follow them on Twitter.

Last week quite a few of the elves from Bluestone’s Christmas Kingdom of the Elves went on a bit of a walkabout. We think they wanted a bit of a break themselves before starting work at Santa’s Elf Academy on 12th November.

They ended up in London and yesterday, after a big search with some friends on Facebook (www.facebook.com/kingdomoftheelves) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/kingdomofelves), we tracked them down and followed them back to Bristol and then Cardiff.

They managed to have a bit of a frolic and dance in Bristol and Cardiff, including outside the iconic Millennium Centre in Cardiff Bay. Did you see them? Did you take a photo? Let us know.

They had great fun and have somehow managed to get into the Facebook account, so you can keep up with their antics right up until the 31st December.

In the meantime, if you’d like to know more about Kingdom of the Elves or our festive five-night Christmas week package, visit www.bluestonewales.com or call 01834 887 807.