Saffron Walden Town Council (SWTC) hosted an event last Tuesday 18 March for English Tourism week. Recently named as The Sunday Times ‘best place to live in the Uk’!, Saffron Walden has so much to offer, to residents and visitors alike. English Tourism week is an annual celebration of the tourism industry, showcasing its importance to local communities and economies. The theme this year was ‘Supporting people and places to drive growth.’
Celebrating local tourism and to promote the importance of the visitor economy, SWTC and the team at Saffron Walden Tourist Information Centre (TIC) highlighted the importance of local tourism with a pitch in last weeks’ Market. The town has a particularly impressive tourism offer, with Bridge End Garden, the Market, the Museum, the (seasonal) Fry Art Gallery, St Mary’s Church, Saffron Hall and Saffron Screen all of great economic and cultural benefit to the town.
Information was available with free freshly baked Saffron Buns to enjoy, supplied by Dorringtons. Shoppers and visitors chatted with; Hello Food Tours, Saffron Walden Library, Saffron Walden Museum and Saffron Walden TIC! And from 2.30pm, a sizable group enjoyed the introduction to The Town Hall.
Two coach groups; one from Peterborough and the other from Stowmarket arrived late morning. Said a TIC spokesperson, “Hearing reasons for choosing Saffron Walden was valuable and feedback on their time here was very positive”, Ms Green, a frequent passenger with Peterborough’s Shaws Coaches added, “I had a lovely day in Saffron Walden. The tourist information staff were so welcoming and the weather was perfect. The Town Hall tour was excellent and the ‘meet & greet’ at the coach on our arrival was wonderful too – we each received a paper bag containing various leaflets and maps! It is encouraging to see that the Saffron Walden TIC is obviously thriving and a credit to the town, rather than other places which have sadly lost their local TIC’s.”
A Blue Badge guided tour of Saffron Walden took place on Thursday 20 March, with Free Saffron Bun! Said a TIC spokesperson, “local Blue Badge Guide Sarah Kirkpatrick was booked to lead a walking tour focusing on the history, heritage and attractions of Saffron Walden. The tour was fully booked and all participants thoroughly enjoyed it.”
Saffron Walden Business Improvement District (BID) also supported English Tourism week, producing a discount voucher for visitors to take advantage of. Said Pri Bamford, BID Manager Saffron Walden; “Saffron Walden BID was keen to support English Tourism Week by working alongside the Town Council to offer businesses exclusive discounts to visitors as part of this initiative. Encouraging local engagement and boosting visitor footfall is at the heart of what we do, and this was a great opportunity to showcase all that Saffron Walden businesses have to offer”
The local community station for North Essex & East Herts, TouchPoint Radio dropped by to see what was happening in Saffron Walden. Judith Thompson – Tourist Information Officer; Rachel Hewlett from Hello Food Tours and Colette Kerr, SWTC’s Events & Activities Officer were interviewed. This was broadcast on Saturday 22 March. Hear the full interview here; https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/4z9b64q35ot9zxecxoq8y/Tourist-week-final.mp3?rlkey=zb76hsdwihoikiyihsi9p64op&st=lnk7576y&dl=0
