Saturday, 5 December 2009
Lighting Up Hadrian’s Wall. What For?
Our friends at Hadrian’s Wall Heritage may struggle to publish their annual bus timetable before June, but still find the time for the really important activities, like placing gas burners at 250m intervals along the entire length of the wall and lighting them. Really. It’s going to take place on 18 March.
Apparently this will create “something really quite extraordinary to bring to life Britain’s longest and greatest piece of heritage, and celebrate the landscape of Hadrian’s Wall Country” or so thinks Linda Tuttiete, Hadrian’s Wall Heritage’s Chief Exec.
Did someone say global warming?
HWH claim the event will generate £1m for the local economy. It’s difficult to see how. Optimistically we could expect maybe 1000 non local people to visit the area because of the event, and maybe half of those will stay the night, and a quarter the weekend. Allowing for £50 a night average B&B, £50 a person for eating out, and £30 spend each in local shops, we’re struggling to get to £150,000.
Locals turning out to see the spectacle could amount to a few thousands, but how much extra will they spend ? Maybe £10 each on average – so no more than another £50,0000, most of which would be spent in the local economy anyway.
So where’s the rest? Well I guess they would argue the awareness of the “Hadrian’s Wall Brand” has been raised. Maybe so – but by how much? Luckily for HWH, we can’t measure this, but to get anywhere near the £1m we’d need well over 2000 extra overnight visitors – just because they have seen the Wall with lights on it? Mmm.
The job in maintaining the Wall, maintaining and improving the National Trail is an important one the HWH the do reasonably well on limited resources . Without that, the tourism industry in the region would be dead. This is what HWH should be spending it’s £1m plus budget on.
Ensure the historic fabric of the wall and forts is maintained in first class order. Make sure the national trail is really well managed and maintained, through sensitive historical and environmental area. Improve the footpaths and bridleways linking the wall to the towns and villages along the way, (so often overlooked at the moment ). Develop facilities along the wall are fit for purpose, and really add to the visitor’s experience. That kind of sensitive, long term investment will result in a steady, long term growth in sustainable tourism – much better than a flash in the pan media circus measured in media exposure.
Apparently this will create “something really quite extraordinary to bring to life Britain’s longest and greatest piece of heritage, and celebrate the landscape of Hadrian’s Wall Country” or so thinks Linda Tuttiete, Hadrian’s Wall Heritage’s Chief Exec.
Did someone say global warming?
HWH claim the event will generate £1m for the local economy. It’s difficult to see how. Optimistically we could expect maybe 1000 non local people to visit the area because of the event, and maybe half of those will stay the night, and a quarter the weekend. Allowing for £50 a night average B&B, £50 a person for eating out, and £30 spend each in local shops, we’re struggling to get to £150,000.
Locals turning out to see the spectacle could amount to a few thousands, but how much extra will they spend ? Maybe £10 each on average – so no more than another £50,0000, most of which would be spent in the local economy anyway.
So where’s the rest? Well I guess they would argue the awareness of the “Hadrian’s Wall Brand” has been raised. Maybe so – but by how much? Luckily for HWH, we can’t measure this, but to get anywhere near the £1m we’d need well over 2000 extra overnight visitors – just because they have seen the Wall with lights on it? Mmm.
The job in maintaining the Wall, maintaining and improving the National Trail is an important one the HWH the do reasonably well on limited resources . Without that, the tourism industry in the region would be dead. This is what HWH should be spending it’s £1m plus budget on.
Ensure the historic fabric of the wall and forts is maintained in first class order. Make sure the national trail is really well managed and maintained, through sensitive historical and environmental area. Improve the footpaths and bridleways linking the wall to the towns and villages along the way, (so often overlooked at the moment ). Develop facilities along the wall are fit for purpose, and really add to the visitor’s experience. That kind of sensitive, long term investment will result in a steady, long term growth in sustainable tourism – much better than a flash in the pan media circus measured in media exposure.
Labels: Hadrian's Wall, Hadrian's Wall Heritage, Hadrian's Wall walk
Thursday, 5 March 2009
Hadrian's Wall Bus Timetable Published.
The new timetable for the Hadrian’s Wall bus has just been published. The bus follows (roughly) the course of the Hadrian’s Wall National trail, starting at Newcastle and calling at Heddon, Corbridge, Hexham, Chesters, Housesteads, Once Brewed, Haltwhistle, Roman army Museum, Gilsland, Birdoswald, Lanercost, Brampton, Crosby and Carlisle. - So plenty of opportunity to walk a section the Hadrian's Wall Path, of if you are doing a longer walking holiday, the bus can provide a useful backup when the weather’s bad, you get injured, of just feel like a rest.
This year’s timetable is very similar to last year’s. The big change is one extra afternoon bus between Hexham and the Roman Army Museum, the central section where the bus is most heavily used. This had been at the expense of the 2 o’clock departure from Newcastle. Apparently this was little used. If you need to get from Newcastle in the afternoon, jump on the train to Corbridge or Hexham, and pick up the AD122 there. Definitely an improvement, in my opinion.
It’s an excellent service, heavily subsidised by various bodies, including the County Councils – so make use of it to make sure we keep it. Hopefully this year Hadrian’s Wall Heritage, the body in charge of publicising and managing the Wall, will manage the get the timetable printed before the season is over. Whilst they do well to organise and oversee the bus service, they need to improve their publicity, and get things organised earlier, to maximise its usage.
In the meantime, the timetable can be downloaded at
http://www.hadrians-wall.org/ResourceManager/Documents/HWC%20Bus%20Timetable%20%20AD122,%20185,%20681.pdf
This year’s timetable is very similar to last year’s. The big change is one extra afternoon bus between Hexham and the Roman Army Museum, the central section where the bus is most heavily used. This had been at the expense of the 2 o’clock departure from Newcastle. Apparently this was little used. If you need to get from Newcastle in the afternoon, jump on the train to Corbridge or Hexham, and pick up the AD122 there. Definitely an improvement, in my opinion.
It’s an excellent service, heavily subsidised by various bodies, including the County Councils – so make use of it to make sure we keep it. Hopefully this year Hadrian’s Wall Heritage, the body in charge of publicising and managing the Wall, will manage the get the timetable printed before the season is over. Whilst they do well to organise and oversee the bus service, they need to improve their publicity, and get things organised earlier, to maximise its usage.
In the meantime, the timetable can be downloaded at
http://www.hadrians-wall.org/ResourceManager/Documents/HWC%20Bus%20Timetable%20%20AD122,%20185,%20681.pdf
Labels: Bus, Hadrian's Wall, Hadrian's Wall Heritage, National Trail
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