Arlington Bluebell Walk Blog 25th November 2016

Planning for the 2017 Bluebell Walk

Charities

We have just sorted out which charities will be involved for the 2017 Arlington Bluebell Walk, which will be open every day over the period Saturday 8th April to Sunday 14th May. This time we have the Easter Weekend as well as the May Bank Holiday in this five week period. It is quite a juggling act to ensure all the days are covered, as we have to bear in mind that there are dates that some charities are unable to cover, as they might have other commitments. We have added three new charities to our list: Care for the Carers, Eastbourne Foodbank and Memory Lane – Eastbourne. It can be quite a daunting undertaking if their key person has not been involved before! We supply guidelines for the helpers who will be in The Gate House, Information Kiosk and preparing refreshments in The Bluebell Barn, but as the footfall from visitors is so dependent on the weather, catering can be quite a problem! The dates that each charity will cover can be seen on the below list.

Visitor Experience

This year we were delighted to hear The Arlington Bluebell Walk & Farm Trail was awarded ‘Highly Commended‘ in the ‘Tourism Event of the Year’ class which is part of ‘The Beautiful South Tourism Awards 2016’. This was the first time we have entered. We are told that the judging is based on all the elements of our business, publicity leaflet, website and searches, telephone calls, emails and visits purporting to be the general public, value for money, plus all available evidence, but not told what that means! I am making a big effort for this coming year with various improvements, some minor but helpful and others quite costly, all of them trying to improve the ‘visitor experience’ so that we have a better chance of being at the Top Table when they give out the awards! We are therefore re-designing our website, Walks leaflet, Comment Card, changes in and around the Bluebell Barn, new coloured interpretive signs in Beatons Wood, also an extension to the White Walk (see photo).
This means that there will now be two entrances to this popular walk, the new one from the Upper Pond supporting the existing one from the Lower Pond.
We have the material (see photo) to surface and level this new path as well as the path leading to the River Walk, so that our visitors, especially those with push chairs, can walk with ease, rain or shine. This passes alongside the field that is now ploughed ready for planting maize, which after harvesting is fed to the milking herd.

Publicity

We are looking forward to receiving the 2017 Publicity Leaflet, which should be available in the New Year. If any of our readers would like to help with distribution please contact me on 01323 485151, as publicity is important, there being so many other competing attractions especially over Easter and the May Bank Holiday.

Next Blog

My aim is for it to be posted on the website on Friday 30 December.

John McCutchan

This message was added on Friday 25th November 2016