September 2011

Summer header

Welcome to the Exmoor Tourism Update 

As the main season draws to a close there is still much going on around Exmoor, and plenty of opportunities to gear up for the future. In the last month or so 3 new Exmoor based websites have been re-launched and a profile of these is provided at the end of this update.  

 

This e-update is produced by the Exmoor National Park Authority as part of the Exmoor Tourism Partnership to keep tourism providers updated with the latest news and to encourage 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.
Festival Time

Autumn on Exmoor brings a wealth of events and festivals to the area for you and your guests to enjoy. Just some of the forthcoming ones include:

 

Porlock Arts Festival 8 - 11 September

 

Devon Open Studios To 18 September

 

Somerset Art Weeks 17 September - 2nd October

 

Exmoor Walking Festival 30 September - 3 October

 

Exmoor Food Festival 30 September - 9 October

 

Dartmoor and Exmoor Low Carbon Festival 5 - 12 October

 

Two Moors Festival 13 - 22 October

 

Lynton and Lynmouth Comedy Festival 14 - 16 October

In This Issue
Festival time
Renewable energy workshop
ETP Update
New Partnership Fund
Autumn Watch and Crew clothing on Exmoor
Dark Sky reserve Bid
Exmoor Story Walks
New website profiles
Quick Links
Renewable Energy advice for businesses - 12 October, Porlock

As part of this year's Low Carbon festival (5-12 October) the National Park Authority is hosting a workshop for tourism businesses wanting to find out more about Renewable Energy options. The workshop will include speakers from the National Park Authority's Carbon Neutral Exmoor project and a range of businesses who have already installed renewable energy. The event takes place at Porlock Village Hall from 11am to 2pm on the 12 October.

 

The programme includes opportunities to learn how renewable energy can cut costs, how you can benefit financially from the Clean Energy Cashback scheme (Feed in Tariff and Renewable Heat Incentive), a warts and all assessment of the different types of technology available and their applicability to Exmoor tourism businesses and practical information based on real life scenarios.

 

The event costs just £5 including a buffet lunch. Advanced booking is essential - please send a cheque (payable to Exmoor National Park Authority) with your name and business to Ben Eardley at Exmoor National Park Authority (see end of email for full address). Download a flier here (PDF).

  

Exmoor Tourism Partnership update
The Exmoor Tourism Partnership has published its annual update for 2011.
 
The report contains a full update on the new website, a summary of shows visited, an overview of marketing work last year and plans for the future and much more besides. The report has been sent to many providers and can also be downloaded here.
 
The annual Exmoor Tourism Conference is scheduled to take place on the 23 November at Exford (tbc). Further details will be sent in the future, in the meantime please make a note of the date and plan to join us.
New Partnership Fund

Building on the success of the Sustainable Development Fund over the past 8 years the National Park Authority has launched a new Partnership fund. This is the main grant programme available from the Authority and is available to support projects that further one or both National Park purposes with a weighting towards those that also deliver community and economic benefits.

 

Early awards include funding for the Tourism Partnerships marketing work, establishment of a grant fund to assist new group visits to the area, and the development of an apprenticeships programme focusing on tourism, renewable energy, farming and outdoor activities with West Somerset Community College.

 

The fund is open to community, charity and business applications in addition to internal bids within the Authority. For further details on the criteria and application process please click here.

Autumn Watch & Crew Clothing come  to Exmoor

This year the acclaimed BBC programme Autumn Watch will be coming to Exmoor. On the 21 October the programme will be aired live from the National Park and feature a number of Exmoor related stories. With a first class natural environment playing host to an abundant range of flora and fauna this will be a great opportunity to show case the National Park to a wide audience.  

 

Crew clothing have recently published their latest autumn catalogue which features Exmoor as the location for all their photography. Many of the photos also appear on their website.

Dark Sky Reserve bid

Thank you to those tourism providers that responded to our survey last time showing your support for our Dark Sky Reserve bid for Exmoor. The results were very encouraging, not only in demonstrating the number of supporters for this initiative but also showing how much action is already being undertaken to protect our dark skies.

 

The application has now been submitted to the International Dark Skies Association. If successful Exmoor will be one of only 3 designated Dark Sky area in the UK (alongside Galloway Forest in Scotland as a Dark Sky Park and Sark in the Channel Islands as a Dark Sky Community). Exmoor is seeking to be a Dark Sky Reserve and could be the first ever in Europe.

 

Independent verifiers have been to the area (kindly hosted by the White Horse at Exford where Peter Hendrie was able to discuss the potential benefits to tourism in the area) and we eagerly await the final decision later this year.

Exmoor Story Walks

Story Walks - Tales from the Combe, are free site specific stories that you can download into your smart phone or sat nav. Each chapter of the story is linked to the location and with clever use of the GPS you are guided along, not sure where it will end or what will happen. The stories are all different, site specific, and ask you to interact with the tale as you journey. You can download walks for Dunster, Porlock Weir and Horner Water for free here.

 

At the end of each walk is a hidden book for you to make your mark and prove that you have done it. As part of Somerset Arts Week the story's creator, Chris Jelley, will be leading a guided walk following each one. For full details click here.

New website profiles

Exmoor National Park Authority - www.exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk

The official National Park website has a brand new look and incorporates a number of new features in response to user feedback. A new structure ensures the most popular pages are easier to find. Greater use of photo galleries and video clips has been incorporated, with more to follow. The home page is continually changing with latest news, forthcoming events and highlights of Exmoor facts, species and places to see - in total there are over 160,000 different versions a viewer may see!

 

There is an updated section providing information for tourism providers whilst the visiting section has everything needed by visitors to plan a successful visit to the National Park with an interactive map and more. Further highlights of the new site can be viewed here.

 

Visit Exmoor - www.visit-exmoor.co.uk

Visit Exmoor is the main tourism portal for the area including accommodation, food and drink, attraction and event listings. The vast majority of the information is just 1 click away from the home page. Rather than displaying adverts in alphabetical order they are displayed randomly to ensure each provider has an equal opportunity to be the first viewed. A 'Favourites' feature allows users to compile their own list of accommodation, attractions, events and activities that they're interested in which can be printed out or e-mailed for future reference.

 

A blog, videos, fresh new images and essential visitor information complete the site which has been funded by the western Somerset Local Action for Rural Communities scheme with additional support from West Somerset Council and Exmoor National Park Authority. To advertise click here.

 

Active Exmoor - www.activeexmoor.co.uk

The Active Exmoor brand continues to live on, presenting the best of the many outdoor activities and events that Exmoor has to offer. The new site presents a fresh new image whist maintaining its ever popular activity listings and events diary. If you have an active event in and around Exmoor you can use the free entry link to upload your details to the site.