Should everyone be able to find ‘Secret Britain’?
During the Second World War reinforced concrete pillboxes, such as this one overlooking the Royal Military Canal, near Appledore on Romney Marsh, were hurriedly thrown up, with a view to holding up invading forces from across the Channel
Are you among those who caught the latest BBC television series Secret Britain, which has attracted rave reviews? Personally, as a tourism industry insider, I found the first episode of the series all rather frustrating, although I admit that the landscapes were visually stunning. It’s hardly surprising that’s the case, such is the astonishing variety of scenery to be found when travelling in the British Isles.
In the first of four one hour long episodes of ‘Secret Britain’, presenters Matt Baker and Julia Bradbury presented fairly vague information showcasing various ‘secret’ sites in southern England, from Cornwall to Kent, a region of Britain I know well. What I found particularly frustrating was that the sites given so much high profile airtime were nearly all either inaccessible or pratically impossible for the ordinary viewer, or potential visitor inspired by a programme such as this, to visit; but perhaps that was the point. They wanted to ensure they were kept secret.
Secret locations revealed
The presenters understandably admitted that locations shown where frangrant orchids and fly orchids were seen growing somewhere on the South Downs, could not be identified for security reasons. Unfortunately the fact that the South Downs was recently declared a National Park, and that that there are plenty of practically unknown places within it where visitors are welcomed, yet relatively few venture, was not even mentioned. For example, within the Park in deepest West Sussex, you can still walk up the old Roman Road, Stane Steet, and visit well preserved Roman mosaics at relatively unknown (because it’s privately owned) Bignor Roman villa, or explore the wonderful Weald and Downland Museum at Singleton, near Chichester. Not far away, on the shores of Chichester Harbour you can visit the ancient Saxon Church of Bosham, which was illustrated on the Bayeux Tapestry. That’s just a little sample of some of the secret (or at least little known beyond the local area) places to visit in Southern England that deserve and would appreciate more attention, yet don’t get it.
Surely it would make sense for a series such as this to include more locations like the ones I’ve suggested, and to give some indication of their location so that people can get there? The programme spent a long time rambling about on the Greenways of Dorset, without identifying a single village along the route of Hell Lane, denying the interested viewer, or walking enthusiast, any hope of finding it. Likewise, Matt Baker was filmed in in a seagoing kayak visiting inaccessible caves and beaches, as well as shooting the dangerous looking passage between the mainland and Seven Souls Rock on Pentire Head near Padstow, experiences that the casual visitor to north Cornwall probably has little chance of duplicating in safety without the accompaniment of people with local kayaking expertise.
I found myself wondering if the programme makers been forced to sign a confidentiality agreement with the couple who took the camera crew to a rocky valley near Tintagel, where they had celebrated a picnic after their wedding? It certainly seemed possible, so scanty was the information divulged about its location.
Frustration mounted further as it soon became obvious that visiting Iron Age hill forts on Ministry of Defence land on Salisbury Plain, surrounded all the while by danger signs warning of unexploded ordnance, and tank manoevres, was equally unlikelyto be accessible to the general public. Perhaps that too was trying to score a point about keeping the locations secret?
However, it wasn’t the case, as Charleston Farmhouse, near Lewes in East Sussex, once home to Virginia Woolf and The Bloomsbury set, was also featured. It’s a site you can quickly locate by Googling. As were the well known honeypots of Tintagel Castle and Mevagissey in Cornwall. Footage of Dungeness might have inspired more visitors too. You can also find information about what to see, and how to get there, fairly easily online. I felt that, in general, the programme makers could have found some unappreciated locations with interesting stories attached that were far more deserving of their attention, such as the Royal Military Canal on Romney Marsh, shown above, where you can go for long walks in a landscape with fascinating history and wildlife. Here there is plenty of capacity for more visitors to venture. I could go on.
For the benefit of any truly inquisitive programme makers out there, I’d like to give you a pointer about just one out of many places I know about in my own area, which deserve to be more widely known. Cobham Hall is an Elizabethan mansion near Gravesend in Kent, which now operates as an independent girls school. My jaw dropped when I saw the exquisite interiors on a recent visit, including original hand painted antique Chinese wallpaper in a staggeringly well preserved state in one room (it turns out to have been so well stuck on that it has proved impossible to strip it off to sell).
Visitors, a few of whom manage to find their way all the way from the Antipodes, are also regaled with the romantic story of the origins of the sport of English cricket’s ‘Ashes’. The original urn that is fought over as a trophy for the winners of the bi-annual series of test matches between England and Australia, may now be kept at Lords Cricket Ground in London; but Cobham Hall was its original home. So, if you want to know the full story, and most especially if you have Australian connections, you really should try and visit. Details of opening dates.
What chance for the promotion of Secret Britain?
Annoyingly, last week’s speech by Prime Minister David Cameron on the subject of tourism in Britain received practically no media coverage. It was drowned out by threat of strike action at Heathrow over the bank holiday weekend (now called off). It’s not at all amusing that negative stories always seem to manage to crowd out good news during the media’s annual August ‘silly season’. Unfortunately they often do!
Significantly it looks like the Coalition Government is planning to try and give the industry more priority, with a white paper and launch of a new national tourism strategy. It still seems doubtful in view of the comprehensive spending review, whether this will actually lead to more funding for the industry, and offer scope for launching PR or marketing initiatives to promote lesser known but deserving attractions, including more like those I’ve highlighted. Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see details of the new strategy and white paper. There could be a lot of interest in secret Britain in the run up to 2012; but I fear that the scarcity of investment to fund its marketing could yet keep a lot of it under wraps.
I think it’s already a good sign though, that Tourism South East have today taken the decision to delay their AGM and conference until November, citing that ‘this will enable us to deliver a more informed agenda on the future of tourism in the south east.’
Do you need help?
Are you a business or organisation that needs help to boost accommodation or admission sales, or secure more media coverage to improve awareness amongst visitors? Or are you a TV production company looking for an enthusiastic specialist researcher with insider knowledge about lesser known or unusual visitor attractions? Manifold Associates could help you by coming up with compelling ideas to bring the world beating a path to your door, or viewers to a screen near you. For further examples of how the presentation of interesting stories behind tourist icons can engage, inform and educate visitors as well as inspiring visits, read my February post ‘Surprising stories behind tourist icons’.
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