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| Welcome to the Exmoor Tourism Update |
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A bi-monthly update from Exmoor National Park Authority - part of the Exmoor Tourism Partnership - keeping tourism providers updated with the latest news and encouraging the development of Sustainable Tourism on Exmoor.
Please do let us know if there is any relevant sustainable tourism information that you would like us to cover in future issues.
Dan James
Sustainable Economy Officer,
Exmoor National Park Authority. |
| Tourism boost for Exmoor |
 Exmoor National Park Authority has launched two new initiatives aimed at supporting sustainable tourism on the moor in time for the busy summer period at a special Exmoor Awareness launch.
www.exploremoor.co.uk is a new website promoting car free, care free opportunities within the area providing inspiration, ideas and information. The site includes an interactive transport map, timetable links for all Exmoor services and a series of car free days out, car free walks and much more besides. All tourism providers are encouraged to link their sites to this new, free, resource and to make it available to guests.  A new Exmoor National Park 'Pocket Guide' was the second initiative to be launched. Packed full of information on what to do and where to go the guide includes a map and background information to help visitors get the most out of a visit to the National Park. It is freely available in return for a donation to CareMoor for Exmoor (see below).
For further details regarding the laucnh event click here. |
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| Take the green edge |
 Visit England have recently launched Green Start - a new web-based resource as part of www.better-tourism.org available free of charge to all tourism businesses wanting to begin the journey of becoming more sustainable leading to lower costs, greater efficiency, increased marketing opportunities and business growth potential. The site has all the tools required to help review performance as well as to demonstrate how sustainable practice can be part of normal business through training, and an on-line community of like-minded businesses with discussion boards.
Once you've made a start use Devon's new Green Tourism Marketing Toolkit for top tips and advice on communicating your green credentials to your visitors and in turn encourage them to do their bit. To download the toolkit as a PDF or digital brochure click here. |
| CareMoor for Exmoor Update | |
 Peter and Irene Larcombe from West Hollowcombe Farm have presented a £500 cheque to the National Park conservation and access fund, bringing their total contribution to over £2,300 by inviting guests to make a donation to the scheme in lieu of energy charges. The fund has now raised over £25,000 from visitors, event organisers and businesses wishing to invest in making the most of the special Exmoor environment for the benefit of all.
Thanks to the generosity of so many supporters the National Park Authority has recently been able to commit CareMoor funds to a range of new projects including conservation work to support the rare and threatened fritillary butterflies found on Exmoor, a project to tackle invasive Japanese knotweed, support and equipment for conservation volunteers, an access for all project providing all-terrain wheelchairs for a series of events and support towards 'Reaching Out' which will help to fund the cost of promotional materials and transport aimed at encouraging people from surrounding communities to explore the moor - especially those on low incomes, with young families, the elderly or those with mobility or other difficulties. Looking to the future exciting plans are being drawn up to revamp the scheme - in particular investigating ways in which those participating in the scheme can have more involvement in allocating funds. If you currently participate in the scheme, or are interested in doing so in the future, please contact Dan James. It is hoped to hold a workshop in the early autumn in order to gain industry views. In the meantime we have a series of new collection boxes which will also house the new National Park 'Pocket Guides' (see above) on order. If you wish to register for such a box, made of local Exmoor timber, please get in touch. |
| Exmoor Events |
Exmoor plays host to a range of events all year round helping to attract millions of visitors. Highlights over the coming months include National Parks Week at the end of July, a visit of the red arrows and red devils to Minehead on the 11 August, and the return of the Tour of Britain cycle race on 14 September starting in Minehead before tackling the gruelling hills of Exmoor.
As Autumn takes hold it's time for the Walking Festival (1 - 4 October) and the Exmoor Food Festival (2-10 October), followed by the second Dartmoor and Exmoor Low Carbon Festival culminating on the tenth of the tenth.. For full details of these and many more Exmoor events check out the events listings on www.visit-exmoor.co.uk. |
| Two Moors Festival Garden takes Gold |
 The Two Moors Festival Garden, supported by the Exmoor and Dartmoor National Parks' Sustainable Development Funds, scooped a double at the Chelsea Flower Show - a Gold Medal and the award for 'Best Courtyard Garden' in the Show.
The garden was created as part of the celebrations for the tenth anniversary of the Two Moors Festival. Designed by Exmoor based Christina Williams the garden highlighted the best features of Dartmoor and Exmoor including a domestic garden running into the wild open moorlands. Specific features include a moorland stream, Exmoor beech hedging, and cobbles a granite Dartmoor cross and wall and vegetation representative of moorland scenery with characteristic wind-blow hawthorn, wetland Molinia caerulea turf, small native crevice ferns, mosses, liverworts and other characteristic plants. The success of the garden attracted TV coverage highlighting the moors with viewing figures in excess of 20 million. The garden has now been permanently installed at the Calvert Trust's Exmoor centre. For further details please click here. |
| A beautiful farm |  Congratulations to Roger and Penny Webber of Hindon Farm on being commended in this years 'Beautiful Farm Awards'. Hindon Organic Farm offering organic produce and a place to stay already has an award winning reputation and this latest accelode demonstrates their commitment to the natural enivornment of Exmoor.
Farming provides the beautiful views we know and love, and which attract so many visitors to the area each year. The award was presented by TV chaf James Martin.
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| Nature takes over the ladies loo at Porlock Weir |
 After a recent upgrading of the National Park Authority owned toilet block at Porlock Weir, the former ladies toilets have now been transformed into a wildlife information centre by members of the Exmoor Natural History Society. To complement the new Centre, a new information board about Porlock Weir has been produced and installed on the outside of the building. The Centre is run entirely by volunteers and is open 1.30 -5pm on Wednesdays and Fridays to the 10 September, as well as on Saturdays throughout August. |
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